Better late than never

This is another ornament I stitched as a Christmas gift. I didn't mail it until the week after Christmas (I thought we were going to see each other before Christmas but it didn't happen) then I forgot to post the pic after Sherry (no blog) let me know she had it.


Of course I don't remember the details and I'm lazy and don't want to hunt for them. (iffin I was organized I would at least know where to start looking, but that just isn't the case)


A look at the back.


And a close up of the front. I used beads in the center part.

And just in case you are wondering, spell check doesn't know 'iffin'.

Flower power

I was beginning to think we might never see the sun again, but I think it is trying to sneak out! I guess even if it only has a couple of hours before dark, that is better than nothing! I can still see a lot of clouds so I'm not going to get too excited yet.

Okay - so what was I up to on Friday. I thought I might try to spiff up this plain gray sweatshirt. (no before pic - just a plain gray sweatshirt) Sounds easy enough, right? I've done a (tiny) bit of applique but what I've done was mostly straight lines or large curves and it has all been on small pieces of fabric. (dish towels, pillow tops) So anyway, with my bright idea I cut out and ironed the flowers on, then sat down with Bertha to do the stitching around the edges. First, as I said, I haven't had much practice - and second it has been awhile since I have done any at all so we won't be showing close-ups of this project.

Anyway - here is what I did.



I added some rick-rack down the front along with a few flowers.



Then I put some flowers on the back. I made about a dozen yo-yos before I finally got the hang of it. (and will probably have to start from scratch by the next time I do any!) They were starting to get kinda fun though. Anywho - after I got it all ironed on I decided that I had the flowers on the back too low, but I wasn't going to try to change it - I'll just have to try to do better next time. Next time won't be anytime soon!

I did learn a few things that hopefully will make for a better outcome should I ever decide to try this again. Next time I will work on placement with the garment hanging instead of laying flat on the work table. (the hood came way lower on the back when it was laying flat - which is why the flowers on the back are so low). Straighter lines or larger curves would be much easier. Sweatshirt fabric is rather stretchy when trying to sew on it and trying to sew on a sweatshirt - especially when trying to constantly turn it - is kind of like wrestling with an octopus! So, while it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, it is only for me so we will call it good enough for now.

Where is the sun?

Enough with the cloudy days already! Mama needs some sun! It isn't quiet as cold as it was, but it still is far from warm! That wouldn't be so bad if there was just a little sun to go with it. (and if my hair didn't look like I stuck my finger in a light socket! can we say frizz?)

I have stitched a little over the past few days - I've also un-stitched a little over the past few days! Between that and my hands being so dry, I'm not moving very fast on the stitching front but some is better than none!

Bertha and I are working on something



if it doesn't look like total crap when we finish I'll show you a picture next week!

I think we have some work in the bathroom on the schedule for this weekend. Hopefully it won't rain since I have some boards that need painting and I would rather paint with the garage door open. Hubby will be painting the walls this time.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Let there be light!

So - I seriously think I need a time management lesson (or three!) I never seem to get through my daily to do list. For instance, I intended to write this post on Monday!

Anyway - on to the lighting. I think the builder looked for the cheapest lighting possible when building this house. We have been working on replacing most of it and we are almost there! (the previous owner didn't change anything - nada, didn't even so much as hang a curtain!) This house has an open floor plan so the kitchen looks into the breakfast area and then into the living room. The kitchen has 4 can lights (hate, hate can lights - still haven't quite figured out what to do about the ones in the kitchen yet) and the breakfast area had one dinky little can light - way on up there. (the kitchen/bay window ceiling is 9' and as you can see, this goes on up from there)


The hubby got a little ahead of me and had already taken the bulb out before I could get my 'before' picture so just imagine a bulb in that little black hole.


Out came the useless can light


And in went a chandelier!


So much better!


And look - it actually throws light on the table! I would have liked to had some cute (maybe even vintage) fixture here, but the whole reason for the replacement was the lack of light and some of those really cute/vintage fixtures are just that - cute. I tried to pick something with bulbs that were directed down for maximum light. (I took this picture on Monday when it was cloudy - sorry about the off color)

Now, how long do you think a project like this should take. Couple of hours maybe? Try more like seven! The converter kit for the can light said 'takes minutes, not hours'. Ha! They don't say how many minutes! LOL. Part of that time went to two trips for spray paint. The converter kit had an adapter plate in it to cover the hole but it was white. The ceiling is builder beige and the fixture is brushed nickel so that was going to stick out like a sore thumb. Off we went to Wal-mart (closest place) to get some spray paint (the closest thing I had in the garage was chrome) They had a satin nickel so we got that. Two coats (dries in 10 minutes!) later I brought it in only to find it was too 'gold'. Back out again, this time to Lowe's where we found brushed nickel - only the dry time is one hour! (we used that time to have a bowl of soup for dinner) Of course by then it was dark so we had to use the lights from the kitchen and living room along with my stitching lamp and a flashlight. At least it is done now!

Whatcha think? Better?

We have sun today, but it is cold. (for Houston anyway!)

Hope you are having a productive week! :)

Good mail!

Look what was in my mailbox yesterday!



Aren't they 'yummy'? Terry (from Arlington - no blog) sent them to me! They were wrapped and tied with that ribbon - too cute! I can't believe she sent them to me 'just because'. They are going to be so cute on my 'sweets' tree I'm hoping to have on my breakfast bar next Christmas. I'm off to a pretty good start with it - I will have to wait and see what size tree I will need, depending on how many 'sweet' ornaments I can round up by then.

Thanks again, Terry - you are the best!

Oh so slow

I seem to be moving oh so slowly this week. Of course my 'to be done' list is always way longer than the 'possible to get done in one day' reality. As usual, I made a good start yesterday but have lacked motivation to get much done today. I tend to get stuck now and then - like today. Oh well - I suppose it isn't going anywhere. I wish I was one of those people who can look at a space and see how to organize it. I spent a LOT of time organizing and re-organizing. Like I said, it ain't going anywhere!

I thought I would show you pictures of a couple of ornaments I did for Christmas gifts.


They are both the same so I turned one over to show that backing fabric.


I have one more ornament I stitched for a gift but it hasn't been delivered yet - hopefully I can show it next week. That is the extent of the handmade gifts I managed to turn out this year. I had really hoped for more.

Hope you are having a productive week! (someone needs to)

Getting back into the groove

Or at least thinking about it!

All the Christmas decor has been taken down and put away. Now comes the task of cleaning and putting the 'regular' things back where they go. Or in my case, trying to remember what went where and where I stashed it while the holiday decor was out. Since most of my stuff is still on a quest to find a permanent home (I move things. a lot.) who knows what will end up where - but I guess that is what makes it fun!

I had all these big ideas for handmade Christmas gifts but most of them didn't pan out. I did sew up this quilt for my mother.

Never mind that I actually bought the fabric to make it two years ago.

Yes, it was planned as a Christmas gift two years ago and I finally got it made this year! Maybe there is hope for all those other projects I've had planned - someday.

Hope you had a safe New Year's weekend.