The "in-between-the-holidays" lull

Mr. Wonderful is at the gym, being so good at his workouts, he has worked out 3-4 times a week for the last ten years. I started a couple times, and oozed out of it. He loves it and never gets tired of it...

But since he's occupied, and not on his laptop, I'm taking the opportunity to play on it for a while...tee hee. My poor little puter has issues, and my "techie-geek" son worked on it for a while when he was here for the holidays. It works in spurts now, I can milk my cows on Facebook if I log in through Mozilla, and I can read blogs through AOL, but can't post anything. He wants me to back up all of my pictures and files and then he can "start from scratch" whatever that means. He said my files are corrupted, but I've known for a long time parts of me were corrupted, I just never told anybody....tee hee While on my blogging hiatis, I managed to get 4 Linus Project blankets done,,,I tried my hand at the raggy quilts, and while I love the fact that I could use up little pieces of batting, I'm not too sure I did it right. I freehanded hearts in the blocks, and oh, my, it was so easy, I was afraid I was doing it wrong...but it looks ok, and I personally know a few little girls who would love these little blankies. Not my favorite way of quilting, but I hope the ladies who run the Linus Project in my area find a home for them, anyway.

I also got three raggy rugs done. I have the most awesome cousins, and I wanted to give a little something to them for all the support and love they have given me this year. Cheryl, Rainy, and Lorie, I love you!

Santa's job was lighter this year, due to the economy, so Mrs. Claus had a lighter job, too. None of the grandbabies recognized him this year, but his watch almost gave him away...good thing Papa thinks fast!

Rachel, from Country & Cosy at http://countrycosy.wordpress.com/ sent a little squishy all the way from Belgium! She is such a precious person, loving and giving. Her eye candy alone is worth the click! She included some hand-dyed threads from Gloriana Threads, and (how did she know?) I've been eyeing some blackwork designs here http://www.sebadesigns.com/ so I'm dying to try it out. They even have some freebies, if you want to venture over and see.

I have been given a box of quilting magazines by a friend who's aunt passed, and she was a beautiful quilter. Most of them are "Quilt" magazines from the 80's, 90's, and early 2000's. If anybody is interested in some, let me know, I'll share, or I'll swap, what ever you'd like.

The quilting community has given me so much joy... the love and support of beautiful people all around the world is astounding. So, I am wishing you all have many blessings and much love for the New Year.

xoxo

lyn

Gearing up for the Holiday Season

I have been feverishly working on gifts for Christmas, it is a favorite tradition of mine to send out hand made gifts to some of the loved ones who have a place in my heart. Some of my family never read blogs, so I can show a few of the ones I have done. This is for my wonderful DIL, she is a "purry" type and I know she will love the french look to this. Pink is her signature color.

This one has some memories in it, my mother's blouse, and my grandmother's fabric. It is for my nephew's family, they just bought a new home outside of Chicago, so this fits.

This is for a perfect friend, she and I have been best of friends since we were 13,,,and I'm not going to count how many years that is!!

This is a rag rug for my neice, she loves the bags I made, and hinted that she'd love a rug, too. I love the controlled ragginess in this one.


And, another UFO of the yarn brand. I had a few granny suares, so I put them together and kept going, this one is a Linus Project blanket. I am still bogged down with yarn, after 6 of these are done, I have to admit to at least 5 more boxes of yarn...is that a bad thing? or do I get bonus points for using the skeins up? tee hee

As for Mr. Wonderful, he is getting physical therapy on his shoulder, his insulin has been readjusted and they added another fast acting insulin, he has had an MRI on his knee, and will most likely have to have surgery, his back has been getting worse(worse than BEFORE his back surgery!), and they will re-evaluate in January. His stomach is better, with the help of Reglan, his foot problem is something called Charcot Foot, and is caused by his diabetes, and he has an appointment with a foot surgeon for that one. We only have one Dr. appt this week,,,,hip hip hooray!! one more thing to be thankful about! His pains are easing, one by one, and he is, once more, the wonderful husband I love.

I just want all of you to know how thankful I am, to have found a whole world of women to share and laugh and learn with. In these blogs, we spill our hearts, not just our stitches, and you have all been so wonderful!

I am thankful for you!

hope all your hearts are thankful!

lyn

It's Official...

I have become a Bag Lady!!!! I made this one with a "Lazy Girl Design" pattern and I absolutely LOVE it!! and I have gotten many compliments on it! I highly recommend it and would give you a link if I could only figure out an easier way to do it! Any help out there, Ladies???
These I crocheted while we were up North, and they are all gone, the "Pool Grannies" all wanted some, and the lightest one ended up as a shower gift filled with what-nots and tied up with a rag bow. Lorraine bought it and is now pushing for a few more in reserve, since "green" is in with the young crowd and the bag was a big hit.
So, I am making more, and have orders for two made out of camo colors (???)
My swap partner, Rachel, is such a sweetie, and I received her box today when I got home. Above is the package I sent her, and below is the wonderful box I received. The card is covering the name of the chocolate,,,Lindt, my favorite, and the perfect little doll from the thrift store, and best of all, the polka-dot kitty...perfection wrapped in cotton!!! I'll have three grand daughters wanting to make quilts for her! tee hee.... Wonderful goodies, all over the place!!

We have been trotting the state, hither and yon, visiting and hiding. Then we run back home and work our hineys off catching up on yard work. In between we caught the nastiest "ick" I've ever had, and it lasted days...and days...I still have bags under my eyes. Could we have eaten a bad tomato??? or two? EEEK

Now we are under a severe storm warning, and it is raining sideways, so I"ll take the rest of the night to get caught up with all of you, How have you been?? I've missed you and thought of you many times!

Hope you all get to cuddle pink polka-dot kitties!

lyn

What season is it?

All our spring blossoms are "past their prime" like me, but it is not quite summer yet... at my house, we call that Helicopter Season, translated, that means I am sweeping the deck and sidewalks daily and it looks like it's snowing when the wind blows. The good news, is that in a week and a half, Mr. Wonderful can put down his cedar shavings and make all the flower beds look gorgeous!

My "Ethnic Stars" are coming along slowly but surely, they are kinda finicky because I picked the stripes,,,forethought is a wonderful trait that I know nothing about. But oh, girls, look at how ethnic it looks!! How fitting for today!

It is Liberty's turn to go with Granny, Papa, and Auntie Leash to the Creek, and her last day of school is today, so tomorrow we will be off! That means S'mores, Hobo pies, Hot dogs over the fire, and Pop, I always drink Pop (Diet 7-Up) when I'm out in the wild,,,call me crazy!

So, we are packing the Strawberry Shortcake Game, coloring books, and Granny's bag has some new balls to play with....

Does this look like a basket to you? I'm gonna figure out how to make one using the rug theory. Think it will work??? I cut up two old valances from the 80's and some left over black from the rug. I think I can...I think I can...

So I will be gone all weekend, back (dirty and sore and tired) on Sunday, so you kids behave while I'm gone!

Hope your weekend is "Campy"

hugs, lyn

As a Bee....

As I'm veeerrryyy slooowwwly working on my Ethnic Star, I have been pecking away at some other things,,,,I am done with the rug, and I love it!! How scrappy can you get? I am so glad I pulled it out and started over! It is flat now and the black-ish stripes just give it a little definition, don't ya think? And the outside has been calling my name, large cuts of lilacs make my kitchen table feel like a garden,,,
and cut roses fill a vase on my computer desk, and, oh....girls.... I think this must be what Heaven smells like?
Liberty was sick, running fevers, caughing, poor baby. It was just a bad nasty virus going around... so we took Elly home with us for the week, and had a ball with her! She had the three of us going non-stop. It is so wonderful to be able to have a "tag team" with the kids, I get worn out and pass her onto Auntie Leash, then she passes her onto Papa, then back to Granny, whew, time to rest!
The holiday weekend was wonderful, with cookouts and bar-b-q's and family and friends.

My prayers and thanks go out to all the families who have sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, who are fighting for our freedom, God bless us all!
lyn

Cuttin' a Rug

Getting the strips together is the most time consuming part of the process. I started sewing them by hand while watching TV, and crocheting them as I went. Tread a needle, sew strips till the thread ran out, attach strip to the last one on the rug, crochet the strip, sew strips. I got a little rhythm going during Desparate Housewives and Dancing, and I added a black stripe to contain all the scrappiness of it all. (sorry about the rotten pic)Then, I got to really looking at it, and decided I could do better, and I had a major bump in the middle that I tried to stretch out, but it always came back. So, I gave up and ripped it out, started all over, and this time it is going so fast because I (finally) followed Finns advice and sewed the strips on the machine. And now look, even Cubby likes this one better! She can't wait till I leave it on the floor for good, she thinks I lay it down just for her.

In between, I tested a theory. I wanted to put a flannel backing on the Ethnic Star, but I wasn't sure how it would wash. I had visions of the flannel shrinking and getting so soft, and the front, not shrinking as much, so it would be wrinkled, puckered, and old looking,,, sounds wonderful to me. What a wonderful, warm, cozy effect that would be, right?

So I cut a square of flannel, and a square of cotton, put a simple grid on it, and bound it. Threw it in the washer and dryer, rubbing my hands together the whole time, thinking how clever I was, I was going to make this quilt look a hundred years old! Pleasure oozed out of my pores.
Until I pulled it out of the washer. It did not look a hundred years old, it did not have the wrinkled, softly aged look at all. It just had the puffy look of the 70's & 80's. I was so disappointed. I hung my head as I brought it up to show DD#3. I handed it to her and tried to explain that I had other theories we could test out......She didn't hear a word I said, she was squeeling with delight! "OH, That is exactly what I wanted!! Look how old that looks! It's perfect!!! Oh, Mom, I"m going to LOVE it! Thank you so much!" Needless to say, I (like any of you would have done,) pretended that was exactly what I wanted it to look like.

Why is it, I think the 80's are out of fashion, and now my daughter thinks of the 80's as "retro." Go figure...

Hope your day is wrinkled and sofly aged!

lyn

I am going to have to start a Support Group

I have neglected my family, my dogs, and I cannot concentrate at work, this drug is so powerful.
These habits need a stronger will than mine to be conquered. I need therapy and rehab. But it's not my fault...Blame the pusher!

That's right, you know who you are,,,finn!!!! (finn has a wonderful tutorial on her blog, she is so patient with us) You lured us into your trap so smoothly! You knew how addicting your drug was, and yet you taunted us all with your innocent looking crochet hook. All along, you were plotting to get us hooked, so you could laugh at us with your scraps!!! Well, your trick worked, I am hooked, and I know others who have fallen under your spell!
I am never going to be able to do another thing with my hands, I will grow old sewing strips together!

....What have we here??

ok, I might be able to put the strips down for just a moment ot two, but then I'm back to the guilty pleasure of ragging a rug.

Actually, this is not that far off, I am really loving this process!! I have loved rag rugs forever, and now I am addicted!

thank you, again, Finn, for the wonderful lessons!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, mine will be a little "ragged"

lyn

Ps: Carolyn at http://ohioquilter.blogspot.com/ has an awesome give away, go "dream" on her blog!