A Christmas to remember...

Good Morning, this year's Christmas was one to remember...the love of my life (pictured here) spent Christmas in the hospital!  This 6'2" gentle giant called me at work Christmas Eve requesting me to "come home"...knowing the tone of his voice something was wrong...I simply said, "okay".  I took him to the emergency room to find that his body was "trying" to process a kidney stone.  Long story short...4 days later...the kidney stone was lasered out and we were finally home Friday evening!  

We were left with the void of missing the last 4 days which included Christmas...but very thankful for my family which is "re-celebrating" Christmas for us...later today!

Merry Christmas to all....and a Happy New Year!

Another fun year of christmas cookie chaos....

Good afternoon! Yep, another year of christmas cookie chaos...it's the time of year when I think I'm going to get a couple of cookies completed, but end up helping my mom with her cookies...oh well! I don't care! It was a lot of fun...a lot! Now I have invite everyone I know to help with eating the cookies and such! I'm sick to my stomach at the thought of eating a cookie...of course, that statement comes after I'm monster chomped three or four cookies...Oh, tis the season!

Hope you have a great week....running around for the preparation of next week!

Merry Christmas! and remember the New Year is coming!  

Time well spent...

As I mentioned, I spent my day INSIDE! The Minnesota weather kept me from doing anything outside...it's just TOO cold!  It worked out well since I needed to sew another dress for my nieces' Christmas gifts.  Here's the Christmas Day church service dress...I think it turned out cute, but the lace isn't laying nicely!  My hubby says, "You are too critical of your own work!"...perhaps I am, but I don't want it look dorky!

Anyho, I'm going to wrap up the day...since work has me starting early as usual!

Hope you have a nice evening!

What I'm doing today...

Um, what I'm doing today...well, I will NOT be in the great Minnesota outdoors! Holy crap, it's cold outside!  It's not so much the -3 degrees...it's the "feels like" -21 degrees...that's the clincher! I'm staying inside the house...perhaps work on some Christmas presents...a little baking, a little sewing, a little knitting...and probably some other projects!

I've completed another dress for my nieces, so I'm going to start the Christmas dresses for their American dolls...can't wait!

Here's the other dress: I think it turned out cute...I really like the soft colors!

2013 Progress Report...

2013 Progress report...if I were to grade myself on the progress of my list...I would give myself a "F" grade (with "A" being the best and "F" being the worst).  

Here's what I've accomplished on the list:

Here's what I didn't accomplish on the list:

This list is, well, disappointing...I think I shopped more than I worked on projects...there's always next year...but I'm not going to lie...maybe I'll have other project on it instead...and crap...here I am with another Christmas and I don't have a tree skirt for the Christmas tree...oh poo!

Here's my progress...

I can't say that I've consciencely been working on this scarf with any real purpose...just every time I sit down to watch TV with hubby...I pick it up and knit. As a result, I've managed to make some progress on it.  Here the image shows the inside of the scarf...the outside has a really pretty pattern...but please don't look all that closely...there are mistakes. Never fails...I always add a stitch here and/or decreasing a stitch there...any ho, I still like it.  Hope everyone is enjoying their day!  Until next time...

Lookie, lookie...what I got...

I have the best Iowaian friend...and step daugther ever...Oh, my goshness...I have no idea what I am going to create with the birthday gift, but one thing for sure...it's going to be messy...and it's going to be fun...most definitely! Recently, Ben Franklin Craft Store in Iowa was going out of business...and these are products which I wanted to try...I have some sprays, but wanted to compare them with like sprays...now I can.  Thank you, Abigail for thinking of me! I love it! And I love you! But most of all...even without the gift...thank you for being always thinking of me...I love you to the bone!

It's a birthday gift...

Recently, I had a birthday! I know it's hard to believe...but the damn thing comes every year! However, something which makes it bearable is having a gift to open...here's what I got from my Oregonian peep (and the family of the Oregonian peep)...I think I pee'd my pants when I saw the wonderful and creative possibilities, however, when I saw the much desired ENVELOPE MAKER, I screamed with delight...like a little girl! Study the picture...look at all the goodies! I LOVE IT!  I have so much to do around the house, but all I want to do is create, create, create!  Hopefully, I will find the time today, since this little chickie is NOT working today! So if I stay on task...I'll be able to have some fun!  Keep your fingers crossed...please!

Thanks mom...

So my mom...is the greatest! Recently, she was cleaning out one of the downstairs rooms of my childhood home...and she had received 2 bags full of the magazine, Magic Crochet after my grandmother passed away...I mean, T-W-O FULL bags of these magazines!  I am the luckiest girl! I can't wait to start a project from one of the magazines!  Seriously, I am the luckiest girl!

Starting something new...

Since I finish the knitted afghan, I thought it would be okay to start something new...and here's what I picked.  It's something that I bought a couple of years ago for Tim's daugther...with every intention to start and finish it within a "reasonable" time...well, that didn't happen.  The first time around, I started it on my bamboo knitting needles, which didn't work very well...I needed to use the Turbo knitting needles.  I got some Turbos at Goodwill store some time back...and to my surprise it was in the size I needed...(side note: why would you give away TURBO knitting needles...they retail: $15.99 and I got them for $2.99).  I thought I would start this project again using them...and it was wonderful! Very easy to knit...(a sigh of reflief).

Thrift store find..

 Oh my gosh, this quilt is such a cutie! I found it at the local thift store, Savers...at best guess, it's a baby quilt a grandmother embroidered for the new born...it's soo cute! Darling hubby is teasing me because I have it on the bed...he says its my nana blanket...he's a nerd!  It's not, but I love it...it's so cute, cute, cute...

It's a another finish...

Good Morning, again!  I'm posting 2 in 1 morning...and it's only because I think I'm figuring out the photo editing program, Picasa from Google...I had Photoshop for school, but the subscription had expired and I am not able to renew the subscription...so in the meantime, I'm going to use Picasa...so far so good...what the heck it's a FREE program, so honestly, the expectations should be lower...

Anyho, here's a 2013 finish...it's a knitted Afghan that I started SEVERAL, SEVERAL years ago.  It's a really nice lap sized Afghan...I don't know if I really like the color...any more...but it's F-I-N-I-S-H-E-D!  WooHOOO!

See ya soon...maybe another posting later...MAYBE!

One of many...

Good Morning, this outfit is one of many that I'm sewing for my nieces...as a Christmas gift.  What I have learned: every sewing pattern provides varying levels of instructions...and some are better than others.  These dress instructions had minial instructions...but I managed!  One to the next outfit...posting will be later!

Hope you have great day! Laterz!

You aren't going to believe this...

You aren't going to believe this...I re-started another craft project....Hubby and I had company this weekend, his daughter and family, which included little ones.  I needed to "tiddy" up my craft nook by my recliner; so after they left yesterday, I headed upstairs to find something to work on...and I found this knitted afghan which I started SEVERAL years ago.  I think it's time to finish it!  

It will be a great project for today, since I think I caught a little bug while the kids were here.  So today, I'll be laying low...kinda a perfect day!

I'm not going to lie...

I'm not going to lie...I think I will need a drink...or two...after sewing this American Doll witch costume...THE FIRST OF TWO DRESSES TO BE SEWN!  Yes, I think it turned out cute...but there's reason why I'm a quilter and not a seamstress!  Completely, a different language! COMPLETELY!  Anyho, here's the pic of Morgan's American Doll dress:

So needless to say, I picked up the Christmas Rules stitchery again...just to find my zen again...and yes, I found it!

Oh, before I crawl into bed...because my alarm clock sings to me at 2 am!  Hubby and I stopped by the Goodwill store...and I found these purse patterns!  Yippee!  There were, also, a BUNCH of wool applique patterns, but they will wait for me until they are 1/2 off...at least I hope they will wait for me!

That's it! Night, night! This gal needs some beauty sleep!

Very sad...for Archivers...

Good Evening...I'm sad...Archivers for the last year has closed several locations...here's the last posting from them:

Archiver’s fans, today we sadly announce that four of our locations will be closing on October 20th—Coon Rapids, Gurnee, Nashville, and North Olmsted—and our Mall of America store will be closing on October 26th. Decisions like this are never easy, and we don’t like closing any of our stores. We are a small company and take what we do very personally. However, we find ourselves in tough economic times and are forced to make difficult business decisions in order to ensure our future success. The hardest part is saying goodbye to our amazing employees in these locations. We thank them for their hard work and dedication, and wish them the very best. Our other store locations will remain open, and shopping is always available online at www.archiversannex.com. Also, at our Memory Lab (www.archiversmemorylab.com), you can print photos in lots of sizes for traditional scrapbooking, create amazing photo projects and gifts, and a whole lot more. With closing our Mall of America location in particular, you may be wondering about ScrapFest. We’d love to keep ScrapFest going, and are looking into all of the possibilities. We’ll keep you posted as we know more. We thank you for your continued support during these difficult times.

COON RAPIDS! What that's the store I frequent! I'm very sad! There's still a store front in Maple Grove, however, I don't travel to the northern suburbs...I hope they are able to stay a float!  While darling Hubby was visiting his sister, I thought I would "check things out" at the Coon Rapids location.  Surprisingly, they were open with 25% off store wide.  Although I didn't REALLY need anything, there were some things which I didn't go home without!  I was really excited to add these beauties to my collection!

But I'll be honest, I was MORE excited to find this punch! I've been looking all over...eBay, Amazon and nearly every online scrapbooking store...remember this posting: for some time Posting...I haven't done much with it...maybe now I'll have some major mojo creative stuff going on!  Any ho, check it out!

Lately, I've been working on a little of this with a little of that...tomorrow, I'll post my recent sewing project! I've been working on my wee Santas from 2002 by Heart in Hand, but then I ran out of thread...poo!  So what's next...I don't know...I don't work tomorrow, so I'll be in the craftroom! WOOOHOOO!