Knitting

Would you believeeeeeeeeee that I have actually taught myself to knit! Well with the generous help of all those utube vidios out there! some of the knitting sites have some great ones too! Anyway I have managed to learn to cast on and knit. Next comes the pearl stitch! They tell me that once you learn both these stitches you can do anythingggggg. I love chrochet too and have been chrocheting hats like crazzy for the grandkids. By the time I arrive there in september the snow season will be just around the corner so I know that they will come in handy. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh I ordered some Harmony knitting needles. I have heard so many good things about them on the knitting forums that I have to try them.
So far I have finished a scarf welllllllllllll I still need to add the fringe but thats no biggy. and I have a couple of dishcloths going and another scarf. can you tell I am getting into this knitting thing! My poor quilting has been completely ignored this past few weeks. its a good thing I finished all the grandbaby's stuff before I got into this new hobby. In a couple of weeks we are going to start beading at the church craft group so that should also be interesting.
I was laying in bed this morning thinking about my little house and how full of stuff it is" Kerrie you poor thinggggggggggg! If anything ever happens to us you are either going to have to hold one gigantic yard sale or make several trips to the dump. I realyyyyyyyyyyy need to start going through things before I get too old to do it and get rid of some of these things. I don't know why we brought everything that we did all the way down here from Idaho. O.k.......... enough depressing thoughts!
Doug is going to make brats with beer on the grill today and I thought I would make some zuchinnie couse couse to go along with that. Its so nice to just stay home today. This past week has been soooooo hectic.
I went to craft group at the church on monday and following that a couple of the ladies and I go to the senior center to knit. well then we leave there and go store hopping and usually follow up with something to eat. welllllllll I decided to drive and I never ever have problems with my car. It still only has very few miles on it because every place I drive is mostly short distances. welllllllllllll wouldn't you know we went into big lots and came out and the car wouldn't start. so I called hubby and he came down to jump the battery. wellllllll it started but nothing ran like the lights, wipers ect. sooooooooo we jumped on the freeway and headed for ford which is not far from there. we dropped it off and they called that nite and said that the batter had a bad cell and had burned out the alternator. sooooooooo the following day we went to get it and they said they had replaced the alternator " doug asked them for the battery so that he could take it back to where he bought it and get it replaced since it was still under warrenty. the guy told him ohhhhhhh the battery was fine. so off we went and after dropping doug at home I went grocery shopping. luckily I had stopped off and had my perscriptions filled and filled the gas tank before the groceries, because on the way home the battery lite came on. once I got home doug checked it and said he would call them in the morning. well we started driving it in the next moring and doug said whatever you do" don't turn anything on. sure noooooo problem! well when we got to the corner I automatically turned the blinker on to turn. wrongggggggggggggg!!! so it kept driving but a few miles up the road it gave out so thank god for cell phones ! we called and they sent a tow truck. This battery had burned out the new alternator sooooooooooooo they took it back and put in another alternator and we took the battery back and got a new one. sooooooooo now I finally have my car back again. ya knowwww being without a car drives me nuts! Its surprising how dependent we are on our vehicles even if we don't want to go any place just knowing they are sitting there waiting for us means a lot!
O.k. other then all that excitement we have been getting some produce from the garden. a few zuchinnies , some cuke cumbers and a couple of tomatoes and peppers. yummmmmmmm
Right now I am looking out my craft room window at our hanging geranium. we have two little brown birds that have decided to build a nest in it". not sure how we are going to water it now but will have to do it very carefully. I was suprised that they would build one in a plant but they seem to be working feverishly to get it done. I am glad they picked the one in front of my window as it is very interesting to watch them. If I worked half as hard my house would be spotless! Take care untill next time.

Schools out!!!!!

O.k. Normally I never post the day after a post " Not because I don't want too but usually if I am not too busy " I just don't have anything new to add. welllllllllll I just got home from the school dinner and let me tell you! I had something I have never had before. The girls all teased me when I asked what it was because as they reminded me if I were a true southerner I would know these things" Anywayyyyyy Its called chew bread and you guys just have to try it! It resembles a brownie in looks but thats where it stops. I just happen to get the recipe from the catering group. yummmmmmmmmm!!! Here goes. Did I also say it is super simple""""
1 stick butter
1 box brown sugar
2 eggs
2 c. self rising flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. chopped nuts They used wallnuts but I will use pecans Thats another word I get teased about" where I come from we pronounce them pecons and here they say pecans Hubby just tells them pecans is something you pee in. I knowwwwwwww thats soooooooo bad!
o.k. back to the recipe. "
Melt your butter and add sugar, remove from heat, add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, add flour, one cup at a time, add vanilla and nuts . bake in a 13x9x2 inch greased pan at 350 degrees for 20- 30 minutes. yummmmmmmmmm
You all take care untill next time"

Hi everyone" Its sunday!

Thought I would try and make a quick post before I get ready for church. I managed to get my tablerunner finished and just love it! I have decided to start collecting fabrics for baby quilts maybe just quarter yard pieces to use for the quilt as you go strip method. that is sooooooooo easy and so much fun! I am thinking it would be adorable to make them and then applique some cute animal on each one. They are easy enough to make that I could make a couple and have them ready for the next baby quilt that I need.  sorry the photo looks so dark on one end. not sure why maybe because it was early in the morning.

Have also been teaching myself to knit and found this wonderfull vidio that explains it step by step. so this morning I actually got serious and managed to get three or four rows down. (not even oneeeeeee slipped stitch! this is amazingggggggg. Have still been working on hats. I have decided that I will watch the sales and start picking up soft yarns as I found a couple of neat hat patterns for cancer patients and would like to start making them as I think they may be able to use them.

Lets see what else has been going on. ohhhhhhhhhh I finally broke downa nd bought a mandavilla??? think that is what it is called. These are sooooooo gorgous. Everyone has told me that they won't come back because they cannot withstand the winter and that they are an annual. mine is still in a pot so we might try and take it in this winter and see what happens. That is something I do love about living here is the flowers are soooooooo gosh darn gorgous!

We picked our first two zuchinnis from the garden yestarday and fried them up with cornmeal and flour dipped in egg. yummmmmmmmm I also made a new recipe I found for sour cream lemon pie but would you beleive after getting the filling all cooked and the whipped topping all made " I discovered that my pie crust from the freezer was not any good any more. I acutally had my hair in rollers which I do about once a week " I knowwwwwww terriably old fashioned (especially for a cosmetologist) but I am one of those people that my hair just won't hold a curl with a curling iron for very long unless I put a can of hairspray on it. sooooo here I stand with no way to go to the store and get another one. Why don't I just make one you say.? welllllllll by this time I am beat, have been doing laundry and dishes all morning long all the usual things you have to catch up on when you only have one day at home to get it all done and I said to heck with it. I put everything into covered containers and into the fridge so today I will pick up some of my favorite shortbread crusts and we can have it for desert tonite.
Lets see" I think that is about all that is going on right now. Monday will be clean up day at school and after that it is church crafts and then race back home as the principal is throwing a dinner for all of us to say good by for the school year. You all take care untill next time.

Last week of school!!!!!!!!!!

Well its the last week of school yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Vacationnnnnnnn I think" maybe not as I seem to work just as hard around the house as I do if I am working although this way I won't be doing both".

Have not written much lately as there hasen't been a lot to write. Have been doing normal activities, like going to bible study, going to church and church crafts.  Its gardening time again and we are patiently waiting for everything to mature. We have grapes , blueberries and strawberries ooops almost forgot the rasberries. I am sooooooooo looking forward to the tomatoes and squash getting ready.

I somehow got a big burst of energy this weekend and managed to finish two of my granddaughters quilts , my lap quilt and started a quilt as you go tablerunner. those are soooooooooo fun and easy! To make one all you do is lay your backing right side down on your table , then spray with a little bit of adhesive spray. apply your batting and now you are ready to start adding your strips. You can cut them any size you want or mix and match if you like also. take the first strip and lay it right side up at the edge of your runner. make sure this one is straight. stitch it down on one end then take your next strip and lay it on top of the previous strip face down and stitch it down. then fold it back and press it. continue overlapping them untill you get to the end. poof! you have pieced and quilted it all in one step. now all you have left is to bind it. I have mine by my chair right now and will bind it while watching t.v. The new granddaughters quilt is very special because her mom and I planned it out together just like we did with the last one. That makes it so much more fun!

The other thing I have been doing is chrocheting hats for the grandkids.  Now let me tell you something I discovered duhhhhhhhhhhh that I should have figured out long ago and would have saved me a ton of work!
I hate trying to bend over on the floor to put quilts together so a few years ago" I started doing them on my bed which meant less bending. wellllllll it hit me when I went to put these together whyyyyyy not put them together on the kitchen island???? I did ! And let me tell you from here on out that is the only way I will everrrrrrr do them again. what a great idea! Have any of you figured this one out already? sooooooooo easy. The pinning and layering was super simple ! will never do it the old way again.

Well I just finished taking the brownies out of the oven that I made earlier so I had better go cut a piece for hubby before he dies of starvation! Take care untill next time"

ooops almost forgot!

Ooops I almost forgot to post a picture of the kindle cover I managed to get made for the new kindle " Gee I haveeeeeeeee been busy after all" Its funny you never realize just how much you are manageing to actually get done untill you start inventory.

 o.k. now I really ammmmm outta here! bye"

Its monday again""""

Well here it is monday again and I am posting. hmmmmmmm beginning to notice a habiit I have of posting on mondays. wonder why that is? Oh well I digress"

First of all the kindle is working out great! I have already managed to read four books ". Now I need to get back to some sewing. I have managed to get the top of the baby quilt up on the design board but not sure they are arranged the way we want them yet. Will compare notes with kerrie before I put them together.

Have also managed to finish another doll quilt top " It is ready to quilt.
Besides that we have been extreemly busy with church. It seems like every weekend lately we are having craft fairs, motorcycle rides for cancer , runs for cancer or barbeques to earn money for the new roof. andddddddd yestarday I decided enough was enough and started to straighten out my sewing room. I was sooooooooo good " even I couldn't belive it! I have this huge laundry type of bag hanging on my closet door that I am throwing all my little scraps in to get out of the way. then one day I will empty it out and cut them into manageable pieces. The other material I started folding neatly and stacking by color. after I got through several stacks I realized I have absolutely noooooooo where to put them. so I stopped. I think what I might do hopefully this week if time permits " is move everything out of my closet and store it out in the trailer which has become our storage unit ( very expensive storage unit) anyway since that is all it seems to be used for these days I might as well make room for shelving in my closet to stack my material on. That would open up a lot of room and make my sewing room soooooooo much neater. I have tried other methods but nothing has worked. This might even give me some extra space to clean out some of my overflowing bookcase. I know that when my sewing room is cleaned to where I can actually find what I am looking for " I am much more likely to sew. so wish me luck ' maybe it will get done this week!

Did everyone have a nice mothers day? I talked to all of my kids and the only thing that would have made it better is if they could have been here with me." I am sooooooo envious of all you people out there that get to have yours with you on special days like that. I miss so much" living so far away like we do".
O.k. I guess I had better finish this and get ready to go to work. you all take care untill we meet again!

Another day""""""""

O.k. lets just start with that great little kindle my hubby bought for me" would you believe that we couldn't use it to download books? well apparently there are three different ones and the one we bought you have to have wifi to download with. Why dosen't someone tell you these things. I thought maybe he didn't read far enough but when I went back and looked you really had to look hard to find out this information. Anyway the old one is being sent back and the new one will be on its way .
This has been an absolutely crazzy week. We have a beloved pet cat that we have had for almost nineteen years now. Welllllllll she suddenly came down with an eye that looked completely dead that was not showing her iris at all and her neck was completely bent in one side long direction. She could not stand up by herself and so she quit eating and drinking. This all started yestarday. Well needless to say I spent most of the nite sitting up with her because she kept crying . Hubby and I talked about it this morning and decided that she must have had some kind of a stroke and we would take her in just as soon as I got home from work and have her put too sleep. We didn't want her to suffer. Welllllllllll when we got to the vets office she said she didn't belive it was a stroke that was something that didn't usually happen to kitty cats and wanted to take some quick blood work. so we said go ahead. she came back out and all of her blood work looked good so she told us that she was pretty sure that it was an inner ear infection. I would have neverrrrr beleived that something like that could cause so much damage. She said the ear has lots of nerves involved and that is probably why the eye is rolled back into her head and the reason she can't stand up is because of the balance thing. sooooooo she said she would keep her tonite and give her plenty of fluids, antibiotics and ear drops. hopefully by tomorrow she will be getting back to normal. We were sooooooooooo releived. we had both gone in crying and expecting to take her home and bury her and instead she is being fixed and we will be able to enjoy her for years to come we hope". I actually said a prayer late last nite that God not let her suffer but this is sooooooo much better. and we are both sooooooo thankfull!

O.k. I am off to hunt for an applique giraff for my newest granddaughters quilt. Today I found some of the cutest little onsies and did I tell you that I made a big girl blanket for the youngest so she won't feel so badly moving into her todlers bed.

Sunday the seventeenth.

The church craft bazar went well yestarday" We were a bit worried because of the air show that was schedualed at the base as they expected well over three thousand people to attend But at the last minute thunder storms moved in so they had to cancel. problably a good thing they did because after that the tornado warnings started. one touched down in Raleigh and caused quite a bit of damage. Once I got home from church we were on tornado warnings most of the afternoon and evening. Anyway I got tirid of sitting there watching the news on them so went into my room and decided to play around with the kindle cover. before I knew  it" I had managed to get it completely finished.
I have also come to the conclusion that I really need to pick up a container for all of these cords. I have cameral cords, kindle cords, music cords ect. ect. I think I should get one gorgous box to keep all of them in and mark the name of each one so I know what they are for. O.k. guess I had better get through the rest of my mail so that I can get ready for church. take care untill next time"

Apologyyyyyyyyyyy

I really do owe you all who follow my blog an apology" I have been so busy between church , sewing for the new grandbaby, work and cooking that I just don't seem to take the time to get here and post like I should.
This has been one heck of a winter for sickness also. It seems like between my hubby and I we have just been going back and fourth with respiratory infections.
Yestarday I ran all over trying to find something to wrap candy in that I am making for the churches craft fair which we are having tomorrow. I finally found some cute little easter bags to put it in. Today after work I drove to the church to help them get everything out on the floor. what a job! and tomorrow I will go in and man the goody table. (not a bad job) But I bet I will be the busiest one there! I made up bags of chocholate peanut butter balls and from what the other ladies are bringing we should have lots to sell. I am conemplating making a loaf or two of beer bread because it is so easy and fast and I am at the point now where I am beat. Wonder how that would go over at the church lols

Lets see what have  I sewn lately that you haven't seen. ? ohhhhhh I made a little diaper bag for my daughter just one of those you throw a few diapers in and once my granddaughter saw it she immediately said ohhhhhh grandma made me another purse ! so you know what I stayed up that nite making.
Then I managed to make a couple of bibs for the new baby. I did them in blues and browns because we thought it might be a boy but Girls still ruleeeeeeeeee so will have to make some up in purples as the other granddaughter informed her mama that pink is herrrrrrr color. Shes only two so there might be a little bit of jelousy.
I have been looking at other blogs and the circle thing has been all over every where sooooooooo I got on the band wagon and made a lap quit top. I say top because that is as far as I got as other things kept getting in the way which is o.k. because I sure won't need it around here untill next winter.
The next two projects will be a cover for my new kindle that hubby bought me for our anniversary. Hes so sweet he got it for me early because I didn't want to buy another book" knowing that I was going to get it next month. I am also working on another baby quilt for the new baby. My daughter always laughs at me because I usually make each new baby enough darn quilts to keep them warm for a lifetime. Anyway this one is a work in progress not too mention the one I am making for her and hubby. I swear no wonderrrrrrrrrr I never get any time to blog" I am always doing something! lols
Linda wrote and asked me if I had finished my embroidered kitty " The kitties are done but the flowers aren't and from the looks of it they probably won't be for awhile. I have a dear friend in Australia who is always sending me patterns and I would dearly love to get busy and do some of those too. Well we get an easter break so I am hoping the new joanns in Greenville will be open by then so that I can go check out the material. would like to make the new baby some washclothes and other things . Who ever said life slows down as you get older didn't know what they were talking about. I am busier now then I was when I was younger. It seems like there is always something to do or some place to be!
O.k. I am off again and I will really try to do better but no guarantees. Life just does what ever it wants too"

pictures from last post.

saturday the 12th of feb.

Just a few words to let you know I am still around. Have been busy doing laundry today and baking bread. Found a new bread recipe on one of the many blogs I am always searching through. Baked four loaves much to my hubbys glee" Did I mention that he is a bread lover" And in between I managed to finish one of my stitcheries that I started some time ago.
Right now I am getting ready to go to a church valentines dinner tonite. They are supposed to have some music for us too so it should be fun. Thats about all that is going on right now. I knowwwwwww not much excitement but I kind of like it that way. lols Excitement can be reallyyyyyy over rated.

mugmats

Just finished making another mugmat and I bought two cute cups filled with candy for the perfect valentine gifts.
Last nite I was up late making chocholate peanut butter candies for my grandkids and daughter and son in law in Spokane. Had planned to send them candy at christmastime but as with all christmases time seems to get away with you" so valentines day seems like a good day to make up for it.

As for my previous post on the potatoe bags I am one potatoe bag short well two actually. one was sent to my daughter and the other one my hubby managed to burn up in the microwave along with the microwave. He baked a potatoe which turned out beautifully and then he managed to set the potatoe bag on a wet counter and decided that he could simply throw the empty bag into the microwave and dry it"Mennnnnnnn! well he smelled something burning and when he came into the kitchen both the microwave and the bag had burned sooooooo I wound up with a newer and better microwave. much more powerfull one. Now lets hope that I have him convinced to use the dryer to dry things instead of the microwaveeeee.

Haven't decided what to work on next. Ohhhhhhh I did order a new book that has come out called scrap basket sensations thanks to my friend maria who sent me the picture of the book. It looks interesting so hopefully it will be". I am not buying nearly as many books as I once did because I find that usually there is only one or two patterns in the book that I want to make. Seems to be the same thing with quilt magazines but for some reason I can't seem to resist a couple of monthly subscriptions of those. O.k. enough talk" I am off to check some of the blogs for some more inspiration" .

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh I almost forgot" My daughter called and she goes in for her ultrasound on valentines day so hopefully we will have an idea whether we are going to have a boy or a girl. yesssssssssssssss!!!!!!

Have been busy"""""

Just thought I would try and get a quick post in today. We were discussing bordom at work today and for the life of me" I cannot understand how anyone can be boredddddddddd. There is just tooooooooo much to do all the time and to many places to go. We have spent three days at church this week and between that and work I seldom have time to do anything. I did however manage to stitch up three potatoe bags and a doll quilt so I am getting something done.
I am hoping to find some time this weekend inbetween the church valentines dinner and laundry ect. ect. to get the baby quilt put together with a batting and backing so that I can hand quilt it. will just have to see how the time goes.
Still anxously waiting to find out whether our newest grandchild will be a boy or a girl so that I can get busy and start sewing . Wellllllll I think that is about all there is to write about right now. I am thinking seriously about re joining our quilt guild so may have more to add later. Take care

Needle cases for the church craft group"

Its about time I am getting out of my no sewing mode " which alwasys happens after christmas. I think there is just soooooo much sewing to get ready for christmas that by the time its all over with we are exhausted. Anyway I digress" As many of you already know I joined a new church a few months ago and I have been involved in the craft group. It simply amazes me how much of the financial responsibility comes from these ladies. They make money from the crafts we sell at bazars and pay for building extra rooms on to the church ect. ect. so besides having fun we are actually doing something for our church and community.

Anyway the president of our group was going over the rules last week and said that we all need to carry a bag of our own with our own supplies such as scissors, glue sticks, paint brushes, needles thread ect. things that we might need to work on different projects. they also have things there for us to use but its nice to have our own available in case what we need isen't there. SO I got to thinking it would be nice to have a little needle book to keep my needles in. welllllllllll that made me think gee Linda you could make one for each of the other crafters so that is what I did this morning. If you are interested in the pattern for these little cuties go to http://weddingdressblue.word/  I have also made a small list of a few things that I need to do so hopefully I can stick too it and get them done. already these can be marked off and I made a little tablet cover for my tablet at work so that can be marked off too.
O.k. its time for lunch so I beleive I will go make a cassidiaaaa Its soooo nice to have the day off! take care untill we meet again.

Another quick post!

O.k. just a quick post to show you number two mug rug! I am thinking that these things could just become addictiveeeeeeeee lols Linda

Ohhhhhhhhhh my Goshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Ohhhhhhhhhh my Gosh! Have I got newssssssssss I am going to be a grandma once againnnnnnnn by none other then my daughter and babyyyyyyyyy Kerrie: Number five will be born on or about septemeber first! I am soooooooooo excited for her and me! This time I hope to actually be there while she has the baby. Every other baby I have not been able to be there either because of work or distance. I came very close with the first one and only missed him by minutes but this one I am hoping to be there on time. This will make eleven grandkids and two greats between us. wowwwwwwwww who would have everrrrrrrr thought".

I know its been awhile again since I have posted but it seems like there is always something going on and its just hard to get here each day. I think I mentioned not too long ago that I found a new church that I really like. Well hubby has even taken an interest in it so we spend a bit of time there between going to dinners, my craft group and last week we offered to help clean as it is a very small congregation so they do not hire anyone to come in and clean so the members take turns signing up. we signed up for the next three months to clean the nursury. Wouldn't you know the day we were supposed to clean I had to work late so Hubby got to go and clean by himself. He said he had a nice time as there were others there cleaning and they all sat around and visited with coffee afterwards. so I don't feel quite so bad.

Have you all heard about the mugrugs going around? these are sooooooooo cute! I have been wanting to make some forever and this afternoon I finally got around to making one. I mentioned to kerrie that I wanted to make some and she said it would sure be nice if I made one that was coffee themed hint hintttttttt so thats what I did. The fabric is actually much brighter then it is shown here. not sure why the picture came out so dull but its cute! These are larger then a coaster so that they will hold your cup of coffee or tea and a couple of cookies, or a cupcake, doughnut you get the ideaaaaaa anyway I just love them. Would like to get some made up for christmas next year. I bought some valentines fabric yestarday at the fabric barn so I might have to make a few more.
Lately I have been in a no sewing mood. It always seems to hit me after christmas is over with" I think I am just plain worn out. But it is gradually comming back too me so I have a stack of things that I would like to work on. Ohhhhhhhhhhh I am even going to teach myself to knit. My daughter in law bought me a bag of yarn with a beginners book , cd, needles ect. so today I sat down and watched a vidio on continental knitting which I love. after watching all the other methods I think this is the one for me. I already have some thread casted on to the needle so its a beginning. I still have my afghan waiting to be chorcheted too. 'Have been working on my grandmothers flower garden blocks . Welllllllllll guess I had better get off this thing as it is getting late and I have been in here most of the day doing one thing or another. take care untill we meet again.