Applique - A Love/Hate Relationship

I have this love/hate relationship with applique.    I love to do it, I hate that it takes me so long to accomplish anything.   There are other people who are so fast and seem to have no trouble getting their all of their BOM's finished.   I can't even seem to get mine started.   But I do love it.    That is why I recently joined the TAS. " The Tallahassee Applique Society."


A group of ladies who have begun meeting on a monthly basis to share and encourage one another in the art of applique.    Some of the ladies are good at it and some of us just watch in wonder.

 That is me in the green sweater in the corner working diligently at the appliques that I have been working on forever.   I will share them one day when they are closer to being finished.    I really do enjoy it and joined the group to see if it would spur me on to complete something.    The jury is still out on that one.  We will see.

   

Falling Waters was only a trickle!

We spent this past weekend at Falling Waters State Park, near Chipley, FL. It is a lovely park and the campground was wonderful with clean facilities and camp hosts who took great care of the grounds. We had a campsite right beside our good friends, Bill & Barbara, and beside a huge dogwood tree with berries in bloom. A pair of red headed (piliated?) woodpeckers spent every day flying back and forth to this tree, with lots of noise and it was hard to get a good shot of them. They wouldnt pose for any close ups.



The falls are the tallest, maybe the only waterfalls in Florida and the park is the highest elevation in Florida.

We had a great time with good friends and hated to come home, but we had to go back to work on Monday. At least it is a short work week.

20 Things About Me

Sue over at Bits & Pieces, This & That:

Challenged us to answer these questions and I thought I would share a little bit about myself, as I haven't done any sewing in the last week and had nothing significant to share today. 

1.Sweet or Savoury?  I have a definite sweet tooth, that I am trying to cure.


2.Dresses or Jeans? I am all about comfort.

3.House or Apartment? I love living in the country in an old house.

4.Shop Online or Offline? I hate malls and everytime I go to one, it reinforces that feeling.

5.DVDs or Downloads? I love my gadgets.

6.Cocktails or Juice?  I don't drink.   Not much juice either, but definitely not cocktails.

7.Chocolate or Strawberry?  Is there anything but chocolate?

8.Laptop or PC?  I love my laptop.   I really want a Macbook Pro, but not yet.

9.Magazines or Newspapers?  I have piles of magazines.   I need to get rid of some.

10.Facebook or Twitter?  Facebook.    I don't get the whole twitter thing.

11.CDs or MP3s? I love my gadgets
12.Kids or Pets?  Grandkids to be correct.   I love my babies.

13.Cookies or Cupcakes?  Oatmeal raisin

14.Walk or Run?  I love to walk in the woods, but get on the treadmill most days for exercise.

15.Breakfast in Bed or Breakfast Out?  I love a good omelet, made by someone else.

16.Market or Supermarket?  We don't have many small markets where I live.

17.Sourdough or Grainy?   I stick with whole wheat.

18.Heels or Flats?  I told myself when I turned 40, no more shoes that hurt my feet.

19.Late nights or Not?  I love the late nights, but have learned I am healthier and happier if I get enough sleep.

20.  Coffee or Tea?  See my previous post.    Coffee, Latte, Cafe', whatever you call it.   It is one of the good things about life.

I put Sue's challenge out there to you as well.   Put the answer to these questions on your blog today.    Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Janice

What A Fish!

I spent the weekend celebrating my older sister's 50th birthday.    We had a great time talking, laughing and remembering good times that we had shared.    Since we were having a girl's weekend I left my husband at home and he decided to go fishing.

What a Fish!  The picture says it all.

That will teach me to let him go fishing by himself.   It was 41 inches and weighed over 30lbs.    Too bad he had to let him go.    He caught several other fish that day, including a red fish the right size for keeping.    He says it was just because he is a blessed man.    I think I have to agree with him. 

Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?

Mathew 7:10

Favorite Things Friday! - One of My Passions

Coffee! Latte! Espresso!

battery acid, brew, caffeine, café, café au lait, café noir, cappuccino, decaf, decoction, demitasse, espresso, forty weight, hot stuff, ink, jamocha, java, joe, mocha, mud, perk*, varnish remover

 

				Whatever you want to call it, I am addicted.  Not just to the caffine, but to the smell.   To the mugs, the grinders, my french press, and yes to Vanilla creamer.

  

I am sure that I drink to much of it, but I don't smoke, do drugs, skydive, and I try to eat healthy meals.  I won't give up my coffee, and it is one of my favorite things! 

Check out the other bloggers and their favorite things at

Favorite Things Friday!

Thanks! Mrs P. for hosting this for us.

Design Wall Monday: Old Projects Awaiting Attention

My design wall has been primarily in my head lately.    Most of the projects I have worked on and/or completed have not made it to my design wall.   My sewing space is a flux.   Going from a guest room to a temporary bedroom for a live in uncle, to a live in son & DIL who are having financial and marital problems, back to a guest room and now I just haven't had the energy to move everything around again.    

I am getting my plan for a sewing room makeover and trying to figure out where to put everything.   But right now I have two projects that have been hanging out on my design wall for a long time.

Two lonely New York Beauty blocks that I really love.

I need to add to these blocks and make a quilt or take them down and put them in my orphan block bin.

    I haven't quite decided which I shall do.   But I do like them, I am just not sure I like the paper piecing that I did to produce them.     We will see.

The other thing is a small Valentine Day wall hanging.    I was supposed to finish it  3 years ago, but couldn't find the right border fabric.    I am going to get it finished because I really like the hearts and the button hole stitch that I did by hand around them.    I am going to finish this one.    I have just joined design wall Monday and have decided to use it to prod me into finishing projects, so that I have some progress to show everyone on Monday's

Hopefully on Monday, this will have a border.

We will see if this works.

Have a great evening.   I am going to bed early tonight, as I am starting back to the gym in the morning after missing 3 weeks.   2 weeks of vacation turned into a third week of laziness recovery.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. . . [Romans 1:20-22].

We were born to give thanks to God.    As we go into this holiday season, I am reminded of all I have to be thankful for, and how important it is to acknowledge God in my life.

Janice
 

The 3 P's

If you look at the title of my blog you will notice the 3 P's  -   Prayer - Which is a big part of my life.    My relationship with Jesus defines who I am.    I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.    I am not preachy, I don't try to shove my religion at other people.    I just share what my faith in Jesus has done for me.   How it saved me and changed me.    If you ever are in need of prayer, shoot me a line, or leave a comment on any of my blogs and I would be happy to talk to my Father about it.
 

 

The second P is Patchwork.    It seems like I have not been sewing enough lately.    I work full time, am active at my church, have a husband that I love too distraction and 10 grandchildren that I love spending time with.   But I have managed to keep in the game a little.   I currently have a Hobby Grand Quilter on an Inspira Frame sitting in my living room.    It isn't mine, but due to some fortunate circumstances it resides in my household rather than its owner's for the time being.   I will introduce you to her later.    I have a quilt on the frame, that is definitely not my style.   It is a novelty print of long haul semis.   My friend Gail Bohannon died several months ago after a long battle with cancer.    She had started this quilt for her brother(He is a truck driver), her daughters don't quilt and so asked me to quilt this top for their uncle.   His birthday is in December so I will have it done before then.

 Actually I will have it done by tomorrow night, because this top

needs to go on the frame and be quilted in time to go with me to Gainesville to visit my sister next weekend for her birthday.     About 6 years ago, she said she would never get a quilt and I told her she would if my kids would ever stop making babies.  (They still haven't)  I told her I would make her one before she turned 50, well she turns 50 next Saturday.    I will have to get it on the frame tomorrow to get it quilted in time for our sisters weekend, scheduled for next Friday.    I guess I need prayer to get it done.

The 3rd P is for Popups - My husband and I bought a popup travel trailer in March of this year.   It is actually what precipitated my entrance into blogland.    I thought blogging would be a way of keeping track of our travels in our new mini rv, and then found out that quilters all over the world blogged about fabric, quilts, their families and yes their travels.    We have been on just a few trips with our popup, but we really like it.  Well I love it and he likes it.   We will see how long it takes him to upgrade.

Our popup is a Coleman/Fleetwood Americana/Utah.   It has a small bumpout, and sleeps 7-8.   But my husband says camping is supposed to be restful.   So after the last time we took some of the munchkins, he decided it was an adult activity.   Our last trip was to the mountains to see the change of colors, but we are planning a short weekend a couple hours away from our house.   The temperatures in Florida are alot milder than the mountains this time of year, so we will try out a few of the state parks close to home. 

It should be fun and I love to sit out by the camper and watch the birds and listen to the sounds around me.
Now to find a hand sewing project to take with me.

Until next time,

Janice

Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are?—Matthew 6:26

The First Saturday in November

Most years on the 1st Saturday in November you can find me (and at least a few members of my family) in dusty hay strewn field in a little GA town called Calvary.     Where mule enthusiatasts and funnel cake lovers are having a grand time.   This little town's claim to fame is Mule Day.     It has been going on for 38 years.

They grind corn, and sugar cane.   They cook cane syrup and sell stalks of sugar cane.    It is alot of fun.

There are lots of craft and food vendors.     We try to get there early for the parade and my grandson Easton loves to watch the mule and buggy rigs.   It just makes him smile and that makes me happy.   

The rest of the family just opens their folding chairs along the parade route and raids the local food vendors while I watch Easton watch the parade.

Kyla was loving the cotton candy, while everyone else was sharing fresh squeezed lemonade, smoked turkey legs and a bloomin onion.    Nutrition and calories don't count at Mule Day.      We did buy some oranges and grapefruit though, and they are good for you.

 Easton loves to ride on the ponies.   He is not at all afraid of the huge mules and horses either.     We are going to see about some riding lessons for him soon.   He is so happy on the back of a horse.     If he can just touch them.      I was that way when I was young.       

We walk the rows of vendors and buy lots of things we don't need, by the time we walk the last aisle we are out of money, our feet hurt and it is time for one last funnel cake and the trek back to the car.    

and one last photo of Easton with a mule.     He can't  seem to pass one by without getting close.   Until next year.

Even the Kings of Israel had mules.

So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down , and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon.

1 Kings 1:38 KJV



Favorite Things Friday!

I have alot of things in my life that make me smile.   So I have decided to share them one at a time, on Fridays.    This is not an original idea, but it is a great one.     I saw it on the blog of a new blogging friend.     The Sarcastic Quilter


My DH has taken it upon him self to make it his goal in our relationship to make me smile everyday.    This has been going on a while now and he has succeeded.     So today on this first of "Favorite Thing Fridays", my favorite thing.    Is my husband's smile.

You may look at this and say "He's not smiling."   But for a photo this is as smiley as he gets.

  

   Now I might catch him with a grandchild in his arms and he will smile in spite of trying not to get caught on camera.   But he has the most joyful heart I know, even if he barely smiles for the camera.   Thank you babe, for making me smile every day.

I love you!

" A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones."
Proverbs 17:22

Knitting & Crocheting with Friends

A group of women that I met over in the next building at work, invited me to sit and stitch with them at lunch.     I was working on a hand applique project and would sit and sew while they knitted.  I enjoyed the company and the break in the middle of the day to stitch is a great stress reliever.     They were working on a community service project.     They were knitting for women and children that were clients of our local battered womens shelter called "The Refuge House".

I decided to join them and since I don't knit I took up my crochet needle and worked on scarves and hats.    I have been enjoying the portability of the yarn and crochet hook.    I guess I have added crocheting back to my list of hobbies.     It has been lots of fun getting to know these women and creating something that will help keep others warm this winter.   

A Large Pile of Items for the Battered Women's Shelter

 

 As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."

Proverbs 27:17 (NLT)

 Have a great evening and I will talk at you later.

Janice

New Fabric Purchases

If you read the posts about my trip to the mountains, you would know that I recently purchased some wonderful fabrics from a couple of shops that I visited in TN.    

It was the fall colors that just called to me in this one.   I tried to walk away, but it wouldn't let me.

I seem to have an obsession about teal fabrics.   There is always at least one teal fat quarter in every purchase.

 The next fabrics are the background white,  and the inspirational fabric for the next hand applique project I am going to do.    It is from Piece O Cake designs and is called "My Whimsical Garden."  It  calls for hundreds of circles of various sizes in the border.   I am using this fabric instead and now have a wonderful color palate to choose from for my applique pieces.    I will keep you posted on my progress.   Not too often, it is hand applique.

  One of my favorite new fabric designers is Blue Hill Fabrics.   I look forward to lots of future purchases from this designer.

 and of course a few fat quarters.     There is that teal again.    It must jump into my hand.   

  I will add these to the piles to be put away in my stash.    I need to get around to organizing my stash again.   It is getting a little out of hand.


Thanks for reading!

Janice

"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.
But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers."

Luke 22:31-32 (NLT)