MIA

I am returning from MIA and ACTION is the key word. Since my last post we have graduated my son from high school, moved him to an apartment for college, and he is about half way finished with his first semester. Next up we sold our home and moved to the lake with my mom while finishing remodeling the place to make it comfortable. My Mother in Law has also moved in with us making in the middle of all of the chaos. Thursday completed my 25 years of service from the hospital I have worked at I am officially retired today. I am unemployed for the first time since I was 16. The drive from the lake was brutal for the last few months,71 miles each way. It really takes a toil on the mind and body. I have a new respect for people who commute. I plan to take off until the first of the year and start looking for a new job in January. My computer email is not updating the photos I sent from my phone. I can see them on the phone email but not the computer. Taking suggestions on how to fix this issue... So although I have finished a few projects I cannot post any photos. I'll post another update when I can get the photos working.

Thanks for stopping by,
Pam

Spring is finally here!

First up is a finish from the LHN 2012 Market release. A Stitcher's Heart. I was able to get this done last month but an just now posting a pic. Thinking about turning it into a set for retreats. You finish this as a pillow so it would be like a pin pillow for my retreat stitching station. There was another piece in the release called Gentle Stitches. This was from Shakespeare' s Peddler. I am thinking about turning it into the mat for my station with some quilted stitches and trims. I added the button from my old button jar. They come from my great aunt's buttons and my step-dad's mom. She was always known as Miss Evelyn to me. A very sweet lady who raised a good son.I miss them both. 

We have finally made it to Spring. It has been a cold winter for the South. We are normally just a few cold days in January and then very mild temperatures. I am sure the rest of the country is much colder and had many more harsh days but it was cold here for me and I am not usually bothered by it. The Japanese cherry blossom trees and the Bradford pears are blooming like crazy all around. The daffodils and forsythia are going strong as well. All of this creates a wash of pale yellow on everything. We call it the yellow river after rain from all the pollen. I knew it was starting 
Monday when I pulled out of the garage and my car was covered in the pale yellow haze. My eyes will be gummy soon and sinuses fight the annual battle against infection caused by the full explosion of Spring.  

We have been busy getting our house ready to sell. As soon as my son graduates in May we hope to move to the lake full time. Below is my stitching nest last weekend. It makes for quite a nice view to work with needle and thread. It was a bit overcast but still warm enough to sit outside and sew the day away. We put together new deck sets that are a bit higher so the rail in not in your line of vision first so there was a bit of work in the day.  

Happy Spring and thanks for stopping by,
Pam

Eye on the Sparrow

This is a piece I got back from the framer the day before my husband lost his job. Just a little heads up from someone up above I would say. It had been stitched for months and away a the framers for a while. It was a fresh surprise when I got it from the framer. It is under glass so it had a bit of glare in on my camera unless I placed it at an angle. Things are still going amazingly well with my husbands new business. Matthew 7:25-34 is always one of my favorite passages.My husband would rock our son and sing Eye on the Sparrow when he was a baby at night. 

This is my fourth quilt attempt. I practiced free motion quilting on it. The pattern in the fabric was very forgiving to my learning and so I just relaxed and enjoyed it. I am sure in a few years I will not be happy with the work but the little girl it is for will have enjoyed it still and I will have learned something new. 

We went to Jamaica last week for a vacation and had a wonderful time until the after vacation in the airport in Charlotte.  We were snowed/iced in for 3 days. But once again we were blessed! We got one of the last rooms in the city that night. It was not one but two bedroom suite. God gives more than we ask for! We had a friend call looking  for a hotel and had been told there were no rooms by 18 different hotels. My husband called from his phone and the second one said they had the suite. We booked it and then were told no taxi's were running. We went outside the airport to find a skinny string of taxi's running ( of 800 in the city only 50 were still active per the cab driver) We got in line and I stood in line praying for them to keep coming as they were being taken faster than they were coming. We were in the middle of the line when a driver stopped right in front of me. They took the person from the front of the line and then the driver spoke and said I want to take another fare at the same time and asked where we were going. It was the hotel next door. I laughed as I got in the car. You see, anyone could tell by her accent she was from Russia. I was quite nervous about driving in the ice, sleet and snow with someone unskilled so God sent a driver who could drive in the frozen mess better than most! She became our taxi driver back and forth to the airport and hotel for the 3 days. The second day we took this poor young girl, barely out of her teens, who had been trapped there for 2 days before us. She was from our town and had a break down in front of us in line when they said again all flights were cancelled. She had not had a change of clothes or bathed in 4 days and had been sleeping in the airport for days with strangers all around. She got to the hotel, took the spare room, bathed and slept to wake up and eat and then go back to sleep. We were able to get clothes washed and everything at the hotel. The next day we were all able to fly out after lunch when the temperatures went above freezing. It was so fun to realize all the little ways we were blessed to bless someone else in the middle of a difficult situation.

Thanks for stopping by,

Pam

Upside Down

I've been quilting! This is the third finished quilt top. It is not big enough to be a twin but larger than most throws. I used up the scraps from another project. I just loved the colors and when I pulled out my fabric to start something else I decided I still wanted to play with these fabrics. This is what I ended up making.The best part is the only money spent was for the backing fabric. 

This is the second quilt I have been working on, I have tried two new techniques on it. I bought some templates a while back and used them for the circles on the green blocks. There was just too much green when the top was pieced so I added the circles for a little whimsy. The fabric is very fun and the circles and squares worked well together. I tried by hand a free motion quilting on this one too. The fabric has lots of fun scrolls so I was able to try scrolls on the quilt top. It is not as nice as I would have liked but not too bad for a first attempt. I am down to the binding at this point and if I make it home from the current snow/ice storm I'll work on finishing that tonight and quilt number four will be complete.

One last update on the goodness of God. Just to remind us all things are not always as they appear. My husband was fired from his job on Thanksgiving eve on his way out the door. He had never been fired and was very upset but I was at perfect peace and assured him God had always provided a better situation when he changed jobs and this would be no different. There was no real reason. He had been in the job about 9 months and done everything that was expected of him but the owner just struggled with him. Before the weekend was up he had 4 job offers. (over the Thanksgiving Holiday) We decided to partner with one of the offers and moved forward with his new venture. Within the first week unexpected money started flowing into our savings account. I say unexplained but his job change did not take God buy surprise. Jehovah Jireh- The Lord Will Provide, had a the deposits all mapped out. We have had money is savings to carry us through 3 months of bills to see if this job route was right for us. More than we have had in 18 years of marriage. Just so you understand how much God provided in this gloom and doom economy, when we started we were on dead empty. Over the years we have tried to save but there always seemed to me an emergency that kept us a ground zero for savings. We would take care of some thing that broke for ourselves or others or take a vacation when we probably should have stayed home. We really stink at storing up for that rainy day. Well God has blessed and each month as the bills have been paid more money has come in for the self employment venture. So a reminder to myself and anyone thinking things are upside down in their life to hold on to some of those worn out verses for guidance.  

Jeremiah 29:11-13
      For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to ME, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 

I had a friend who used to say our God is and upside down God. The principles of His word are upside down to the worlds way of thinking. When you find yourself upside down in life know He is up to something.....

Thanks for stopping by,
Pam 

all I got

I know it is a small finish but it is still a finish! I was able to finish up this 2012 SB fob last week. I picked the kit up when I went to the shop a in 2012. The ribbon is a bit of a battle bit it is on there. 

I managed to loose the bead back that came with so I substituted a button from my tiny stash. I was just lucky that I had one that matched the style of the piece. 

And just how cute are these boys? They are so handsome standing looking out on the lake. Both of them have had a surgery this year to remove mysterious growths. The small one had a fatty tissue under his front arm and the larger one had a tumor removed from his front leg. They are 2 years apart and the bigger one is actually the baby of the pair. 

What to stitch next? Suggestions?

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving state side. We are going to have the traditional beef brisket. I have never cooked one so we shall see. My peeps don't love turkey so we are always trying something a bit different for the holidays.

Thanks for stopping by,

Pam 

Small Ta-Da

I know it isn't a big finish but they all count! Right? This past weekend was so lovely at the lake I was able to get this small finish complete. I only modified it a tiny bit to calm it down a bit. It was just such a fun stitch to me with the patterns. Who knew I could be so amazed by blocks of color. I am not sure if I am going to finish it into a needle book as I originally thought or do a framed piece for my son. You know teenage boys are not really into moms needlework but I think he would like this piece.

Look at these lovely thread I ordered from Nancy. The ladies at the Pals retreat we sat next to really seemed to love them. I ask her to send me 10 and I love all of the colors she pulled for me. Can't wait to work them into a chart or two. I have a small SB fob I am trying to finish this week and then maybe I can pull a chart that will work with these yummy colors.

The wind was so strong today driving home I about blew off the road. It is going to drop into the  20's tonight. This weekend it was in the 70's. Gotta love the weather in the South.

Saying prayers for the people and now rescue workers in the Philippines. How difficult their lives are after the storm that blew through. The pictures are almost too much to believe.It brought back memories of when my husband and I were stuck in hurricane Wilma a few years back in Cancun. It was like a military zone with all the destruction and the marshal law.We were able to return to normal after a few  days trying to figure out how to get home. I held it together until we got on the plane and took off. I started crying when we were in the air. I remember my husband asking why I was crying when we were on our way home. I told him I could not break down while we were in the middle of it all, only when we were on safe on our way home. How difficult to face that as life for the next few years... Pray for them to have strength that only God can provide in that type of crisis.

thanks for stopping by,
Pam

Fabulous Fall

This photo does not do the amazing fall colors now showing off on my back deck justice. I am sure I will blink and they will be in dire need of raking, but for now they are just lovely. I looked and there was yellow, red and orange all showing. Couple that with the crisp air and oh so pleasant temperature and you have a very nice fall season. There was just a slight amount of wind today when I walked for lunch. Such a welcome change from the thick, hot, humid air of late August and September which respiratory distress syndrome when you exit the air conditioned comfort of home. Just walking outside leaves you with a total body sweat wave. 

 This is my progress on Soil and Sand. I am working it in Sampler Thread Midnight rather than black. It is really a fun stitch. I am loving the positive and negative space effect from the pattern. Beth Ann really came up with a nice idea in this piece. I can so see stitching it in a nice red or tropical ocean colors. My son has been really into drawing lately so I may make it into a gift for him.I think he would appreciate the patterns in the piece.

While at the Pals Retreat I sat next to Anne from Iowa. She has just started her blog so hop on over and give her a nice welcome into blogland. She promises to be an interesting read and really does some lovely stitching.Click on link for Anne's blog .

Thanks for stopping by,
Pam