Happy New Year! (Sutherlin, OR)

My plans were to post after Dan's next appointment on Thursday so I could give everyone an update.  After a month of sitting around and waiting, his appointment got moved to the end of January due to his doctor not being available this week.  Rather disappointing, we are ready to hear how his foot is healing.   At least, Dan was able to sit outside for awhile when we had a rare sunny day earlier this week.  The sun felt so good and warm.  Look at that gorgeous blue sky!

 It has been too foggy and overcast to get photos of birds, so I blew the dust off my Macro lens for some close-ups.

One thing I like about this weather is the moss and mushroom life that thrives here.  I love the textures and the different shades of green.

All I need is to find a fairy........ 

nope, no one here.  Ah well, I'll keep looking.

Speaking of fungi, the mold and mildew is under control!  We bought a de-humidifier and I have been using CLR Mold and Mildew killer on the window frames and in the closets.  The de-humidifier made the biggest difference.  I no longer need to wipe down the windows every morning and I'm not sneezing as much as I did before the de-humidifier.  Yes!!

On The Cutting Board

In the spirit of a new year, I decided to finally get out my largest UFO that has been with me since we started full-timing.  It is in the hoop and I'm ready to get it done....in one year.  I want to put the last stitch into it by 31 December 2018.  I think this will be my last big quilt.  It is 72 x 72 inches and it is all batik fabric - front and back.

 I have found out that cat hair sticks very well to batik fabric.  Dusty can rub up against one of the pillows covered in batik and he can leave a grey streak of his fur across it.  Lots of fun keeping the pillows clean.  Keeping this big of a quilt cat hair free is going to be fun while quilting it.  We all know the magnetic pull fabric has to cats.  They can all be asleep in the bedroom and hear fabric being moved.  Soon I'm surrounded with helpers wanting to test out the fabric.  They are such good helpers! 😸😸😸

Max testing out fabric

I have been going through my storage areas looking at all my different projects.  I forgot that I had this bead kit.  Actually, I have three of them.  I thought about getting rid of them then I started working on this one.  

I had also forgotten how much fun cross-stitch projects can be and how fast they are when they are small.  It was such a nice change from my quilting projects that I decided to keep the other two and hopefully have them finished in time for next Christmas.  😊🤞
Happy Quilting!

Quiet Days, Lazy Ways (Florence, OR)

Happy Valentine's Day!  Today, I'm feeling very lazy.  I know there are projects I want to get done before we leave here, but motivation seems be running on empty.  I am certainly aware that the days are flying by.  Hard to believe we have been here for ten days. 

I thought I would share this for Valentine's Day from LOLCats - A purrfect spot for a cat to wear his heart...

source:  ICanHasCheezburger

We are enjoying a break in the rain, but no sunshine.  I haven't taken a single new photo.  So, here are a couple of old photos from our sunny day in Florence....

And one more of the duck enjoying the weather while swimming around the docks....

On The Cutting Board

I know I should be thinking of heart-filled items to make to celebrate today, but I really want to get some UFO's done.  

I decided to take apart the heart on the gingerbread man.  You can't see the heart with all those beads.  I knew that I wanted to do something to accent the heart instead of hiding it.

After, viewing some online photos of other quilters crazy quilts, I decided to do something similar by embellishing the heart with beads, lace, and ribbons.

It isn't very Christmas-y, but I can see the heart now.  I did try to add the look of mistletoe hanging below the heart.  Next time, if there is a next time, I will try to stitch in some mistletoe before assembling.

The top looked a little too plain, so I added more buttons with lace and ribbons.

This time I am happy with the results.

Off to get some more stitching done.  I'm not sure what to work on next...hmm, I have turtles to applique, a cat to quilt....I should clean out my scrap bags...eh!...time for a walk.  Get that heart pumping and some oxygen to the brain...yawn!
Happy Quilting!

Sunshine and Christmas Stockings (Florence, OR)

We had a full day of sunshine after the much needed rain moved inland.  We took advantage of the sunshine and drove into town for a walk through downtown Florence.  We were not the only ones enjoying the sunshine.  People were out walking their dogs, hummingbirds were zipping around in and out of flowering bushes.

 We stopped at a sweet shop on the main street for a sugar fix.  I had the best pumpkin ice cream ever!  Okay, so I have never had pumpkin ice cream, but it was very good and it was not so rich that by the end I was still enjoying the flavor.

On The Cutting Board

I have been looking through my Etsy inventory and wondering why some items have not sold by now.  I decided it was time to modify or transform a few of the items to see if that will make a difference.  Plus, some of my old photos need to be taken again.  

So, I'm starting with the Christmas stockings.  Above, it the old photo of the stocking and below.  Quite a difference from my old photo.

I added a ribbon rosette with some metallic red thread.  I also added some clear glass seed beads to the rose for a dew drop look.

The gingerbread man was a little harder to add to without blocking the little guy...

So, I added a doubled red bow with green thread and white glass seed beads giving him a more festive look.

With the second gingerbread man, I decided to spruce up his little heart....

with some seed beads and threads.  Hmmm, this one might go back for more changes.  The heart has disappeared behind all the beads.

I got a little more creative with the elf's hat on this one.

I added purple and red metallic threads with more gold seed beads.

I don't have the old photo for the reindeer.  I added a green bow with gold metallic and blue threads.

The ribbon and threads were not enough this time.  I added a blue star and some clear seed beads to give the reindeer a more winter look.

Well, I am off to my Etsy shop to change photos and renew the listings.  

Happy Quilting!

Christmas Stockings Are Ready for Etsy

Well, it is that time again.  It is the "Starting Season":

• People are starting to THINK about the holiday season.
• Christmas events are starting to show up on people's schedules
• Christmas advertisements are starting on TV. 
• Stores have already started their seasonal section for Christmas.
• I'm surprised I haven't started hearing Christmas music on the radio.

Hmm, did I miss anything?  Oh, I know!......

• And it is time for me to start posting my stockings for Christmas.

I'll be posting new Christmas stockings this week.  I have a total of eight stockings.  They are small enough to use as a tree ornament:   9.5 x 5 inches ( 24.1 x 12.7 cm).  They are big enough to hold a small gift or money.  They will also make a great office gift or a great decoration for your office.  I know the size is perfect for our home since I don't have a lot of room for decorations.

I'm going to try something different this time.  I'm going to post one item a day on Etsy, but I am going to give you a sneak peek of all eight stockings today.

Elf with Candy Cane

A close-up of my hand-stitching

Gingerbread Man with blue stars

Christmas Tree

Reindeer

Santa Clause

Angel

Mistletoe

Gingerbread Man with Peppermint Candies

More Information:
Price: $10.00
Hand-stitch embroidery and quilting.

Size:  9.5 x 5 inches ( 24.1 x 12.7 cm)

I use all cotton scraps. All embroidery is hand-stitched with DMC 100% cotton thread.  All quilting is hand-stitched around design.  Appliqué is fused with Steam-A-Seam2.


All of these cute patterns are designed by Nancy Halvorsen from Art to Heart.  I am not affiliated with or sponsored by Art To Heart.

Discount on shipping if you order any two *Small* items. (Mug Rugs or Stockings)

Oh! It's beginning to look like Christmas!

 

New Floors and Christmas Stockings

I know I just posted, but I wanted to boast about our new floors.  We had them installed by a friend and an experienced carpet/floor installer, Ernie. It took Ernie and Dan about 9 days to tear out the old flooring and install the new bamboo flooring with carpet. The old tiles turned out to be the toughest part. It took Ernie almost 3 days of hammering and chiseling to get the tiles out.

It has been about three weeks since they were installed and I feel like I have a Cabin-on-Wheels. It has such an open, clean feel to it.  It is so much easier to keep clean. Before, I would not run around barefoot because I could not tell if the floor was clean or not. Nothing hurts worse than stepping on a grain of cat litter with your bare foot. Now I can spot dirt from the other end of the motorhome and I’m walking around with bare feet. So nice!

While Ernie and Dan worked on the floor, I took care of our cats inside Ernie and Brenda’s house. They were gracious enough to let us borrow a large kennel and to set it up in their living room so the cats could stay cool. In the mornings, I would try to take one cat out for a walk.

Hitch enjoyed the walks the most. Dusty went a couple of times, but later decided just to stay at the back of the cage until it was time to head back to the motorhome.

Squirrel was a big pain in more ways than one. He wanted out so I would take him outside, but he would immediately go to the motorhome and HOWL! I tried more than once to convince him he would not want to be inside and to enjoy his walk while it was cool. We ended up in a fight on the front lawn. That must have looked strange to the driver passing by because he slowed way down to watch the crazy lady wrestling a big tasmanian-like cat around on the front lawn. I ended up with scratches on my face and Squirrel was a little squashed when I fell part way on top of him. Um, I did not fall on top of him on purpose and he only had the air knocked out of him. Although, I have to admit that it did feel rather satisfying to hear him squawk since my face was hurting a lot at the time.

I felt the worse for poor Mad Max. As soon as he saw the leash and harness, his eyes would get very big then he would freeze up and turn into an orange ball of fur. He would not move for hours inside the cage. I spent a lot of time talking and trying to comfort him. Towards the end of the 9 days, Max was starting to move around and he even let Ernie pet him. On our last day, Max gave me a wonderful surprise by jumping out of my arms on our way back to the motorhome. Instead of running for the door, he started exploring the area. He has not been outside since we started traveling. It was so nice to see him snooping around and eating grass. He even let Ernie come near for a petting. Now Max wants out when the others go for their walks and he does pretty good as long as it is in a quiet area.

Oh, I did get in a little quilting in the afternoons. Most of my work was getting some embroidery done on pot holders and Christmas stockings. I still need to embellish them with buttons before I sew them together.  Aren’t they cute? I got the patterns from Nancy Halvorsen.

If you are interested in my new bamboo floors, here’s a link to our Webshots Album. http://rides.webshots.com/album/578499643vFFIgh