Happy Belated Thanksgiving and an early Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

I've been very lax in blogging and as I've read your blogs I just don't know how you fit it all in.  I can't even say I've been so busy because so have all of you!  Anyhoo, I've done some things - sadly no rug hooking yet.  But I wanted to share with you some of the things I've done.  First we painted the hallway and living room of our house about two weeks before Thanksgiving.  I took some before and after pics.  My living room had previously been mostly light houses - well actually all light houses and I decided after viewing a lot your pictures that I liked the primitive/country look so I did not put back all my light houses. 

 Before - light blue

 Another before shot - light blue wall

 Now - a Colonial revival tan (sorry about the clutter around the sewing machine!)

A Christmas ornament I made for my staff - from a pattern idea in Create and Decorate.  In Create and Decorate the designed used buttons to make a hate and lace as the scarf.  I wanted a more rustic look so I did the homespun, no hate, and peppercorns for the eyes and mouth.  Everyone seemed to really like it when I gave it out yesterday.

I took a class at a local quilt shop in Vermilion, OH and made this lovely Santa wreath.  I loved it!  It was sooo easy to make.  I'll be making more for gifts next year!

I still want to take pictures of some of my purchases from earlier this fall, but my craft room is such a mess I'd be too embarassed to take pictures!  LOL!

Next weekend my daughter and her children are coming over so we can bake up a storm.  I need 8 dozen cookies for a cookie exchange at work, she needs cookies for them (there are 7 of them) as well as gifts.  I'll try to take pictures along the way!  I hope I maintain my sanity when it's all said and done!  LOL!  It should be fun.

I hope you're all staying warm and are not too overwhelmed with all that needs accomplished yet for the holidays.

Thanks for stopping by.  Leave a comment/let me know how you're doing!

Char

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I hope you all have a wonderful day, don't eat to much chocolate, and don't get frightened out of your wits!

Things are finally settling down for me so pictures will be coming soon.  Pics of things I've purchased and the finished baby quilt.  Since I've finished the quilt I've started working on my Christmas crafts.  Not as far along as I'd like to be at this stage of the game, but at least I'm moving along with them!  I'll have to show you those after Christmas!  :) 

I've cut the wool from my one saltbox house mat that I'll be hanging over the doorway leading from the living room into the kitchen.  I want to paint my living room and hallway a beige color (it's currently very light blue).  Then I'll have hubby hang a shelf I bought in Amish country to hang small quilts or rug hooking projects on.

So, what about all of you?  What are you working on?  If you make gifts for family and friends - how many do you need to make?  (I need to make at least 24 - maybe 2 or 3 more!!!).

Thanks for stopping by! 

Introducing Juleigha Renee!

She was born October 11 at 5:05 p.m. by c-section (she was breech).  She weighst 7 lbs 5 oz and is 19/12 inches long.

 Just chilling waiting for the nurses to get done with all their things.

 Grandma (my daughter, Ginger) is in love already.  Juleigha doesn't like all the lights.

Dominic, her uncle, at 16 months old.  He's keeping me busy!

I'll write more later!

Better today!

Thanks to everyone for their sympathy when I whined the other day here on my blog!  My daughter told me this morning that the gas is to be turned on tomorrow and if everything goes well they'll be moving out tomorrow or Friday.

I promise I'll be posting pictures soon.  I've bought a few odds and ends over the past couple of months and just need to charge the camera, take pictures and then post. 

As the weather is getting cooler I'm starting to really get the urge to craft/hook/quilt - whatever comes to mind.  I do need to finish my granddaughter's baby's quilt and I need to get it done fairly soon!  She's due October 18!!!  Then I need to work on my Christmas crafts because that is approaching very quickly!  But I really want to work on a saltbox house hooked rug to hang above the doorway from the living room into the kitchen!  I read all your blogs and see you all doing so much.  How on earth do you find the time to fit it all in?  I must be doing something wrong because more days are spent not crafting than on crafting... :(

Happy crafting to all!

Thank you so much for stopping by.  Any tips on how you get so much crafting done will be truly appreciated!

Hi - It's me!  Sorry I haven't been on in a while and sorry no pictures with this post....again!  My daughter and her family are staying with us until their house gets finished (there's seven of them in our tiny two bedroom house).  It's like wall to wall people.  Our office is holding the baby's play pen (for him to sleep in; my craft room has all their blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, purses, diaper bags (you get the picture ) in there with just enough room to get to the shelf that holds my extra toilet paper, kleenex and paper towels.  During the day they put the air mattress that the girls are sleeping on in to our bedroom so when we get home from work we can barely move around in our bedroom.  So upstairs my daughter sleeps on the couch, the baby in the office, and the two girls on the living room floor.  Downstairs her husband sleeps on the couch and the boys sleep on the floor down there.  In that room there are multiple suitcases (looks like they're planing to stay with us forever!) and various items of I don't know what all over the counter down there.  Then in the wash room there are piles of dirty clothes all over the place.  The other side of the laundry room (where I usually walk on the treadmill or do the stationary bike) is full of toys scattered all over.  I'm just a tad stressed.  Last Wednesday we were out at their house to hopefully clean but the water department said a part was missing and they couldn't turn the water on.  So while my daughter and her friend were in the trailer trying to figure out which boxes to bring in when the baby saw a power tool and that little devil is quicker than a NASCAR driver and he went right for it.  I tried to grab him and in doing so pulled a muscle in my back.  A trip to the doctor and anti-inflammatory meds, muscle relaxers, and pain pills later I'm in la la land.  I feel a little better today but am still sore.  The doc said I'd probably be sore for a good two weeks!  Yikes!  With luck, they'll be out by this weekend and I'll have my sanity back!!!!

Thanks for stopping in and listening to me whine!

Finally! I thought I'd lost my mind!

For a couple of weeks now I've been trying to be a good blogger and leave comments on all the blogs I follow...  Well, it kept getting a message that it didn't recognize my account, etc.  So this morning I fooled around with it and after multiple tries of trying to leave comments I finally went to the "help" section of blogspot... duh!  Should have done that a couple of weeks ago!!!  Any hoo - I found out what I needed to do, did what the instructions said and voila!  I had time to leave comments on two that I follow!  Whew!

Thanks for stopping by!  Leave a comment if you have a second or two!  I would enjoy hearing from you!

Have a great day!

I've finally gotten busy! YAY!

 Getting my pattern drawn onto my primitive linen.  Whew!  Trying to make sure everything was straight wasn't easy.  Had to get my hubby's help!

 Started working on my futher great-granddaughter's quilt.  It's a split rail fence.  Mom didn't want a lot of pink and happens to love purple so I did the purple paisley, pink, and lime green.  The back if pink "minkee" fabric that is very softy.  I cut my fabric into 2 1/2" strips and sewed them together.  Then I cut the strips 6 inches. (a little further below is a picture of that).

 Then I laid it out to the design that I wanted and proceeded to sew it together.

 Oops!  Some how I didn't sew it together right so I had to rip it all out and start over!  Ugh!

 Here it is laid out on the batting and backing, ready to pin.

 Here is the cut square I mentioned previously.  I cut this from the three strips sewn together.

 Here is the quilt all pinned and ready to hand quilt!  Yay!  I will quilt each strip.  Oh, baby is due October 18!!!! Guess I'm gonna be super busy!!!

Another view of my rug project!  It is called "Hooked Saltbox Row" and will be 10" x 26" when finished.  It is by Humble Handwork by American Fold Artist S. West.

A cross stitch project that I finished a month ago but this past weekend finally pressed it and framed it.  Then realized I hadn't initialed or dated it!  Sigh...

Work has finally settled down somewhat.  Still a mystery each day as to what I'll be assigned to do/supervise/plan next!

Hubby is preparing to retire which is a little stressful right now with the debt crisis we appear to be in.

Son-in-law keeps coming into town from Kentucky for job interviews and to look for a house so that is throwing my schedule way off.  Sigh...   Hopefully one of the interviews will pan out!

Looking forward to Sauder Village next Friday (19th).  Stacy, a friend, Sharon, and I will make a day of it.  We'll leave early, stop somewhere for breakfast, then hit the road.  After Sauder and lunch we'll head out to the Cozy Cabin quilt shop and from there we'll go to The Door Mouse quilt shop (they have tons upon tons upon tons of fabric!  it's overload there's so much fabric!!!), then we'll head home.  We'll probably have to stop for dinner just to have the energy to make it home!   LOL!  It's going to be a fun day!

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you're all being creative and enjoying what's left of summer!