Welcome Husqvarna 6240 :D

Here's my sturdy new little girl - I have such bad luck with sewing machines - I think I plumb wear them out. I really wanted a basic workhorse machine that wouldn't get the $hits when I use it for more than 5 minutes in one day --- and I think this girl is going to fit the bill. I bought it on kijiji - as near as I can tell, the machine was made in 1976 (that's the date on the manual, anyways) - this thing is HEAVY! The machine body is metal, and it runs like a charm. The seller said she has her machines serviced regularly and I don't think she was exaggerating - the machine ran perfectly from the minute we turned it on to test it! I made a crazy quilt block to test things out - I'm a happy camper!

My eyes are watering!

HOLY CRAP I sat down to post some pictures just as my 19 year old got home from work. He's going back out so I went in to get him a little snack, but I had to scuttle quickly from the kitchen because the smell of his stinky feet is making my eyes water! I can see the snail trails of foot sweat he's leaving across my kitchen floor - good grief what a stench!!!



Here are a few projects I've finished lately - some gift bags, beer pillowcases and a quilt I'm working on for a special young man (the one with the stinking feet, LOL) :D

BTW - he doesn't know about the quilt and he doesn't read my blog, so to the family members that DO read my blog - don't mention it on Facebook, LOL!!

Teaching hubby a lesson :D

Me, upon hearing oven beep: Can you please come take the brownies out of the oven so I can test them? (psoriasis hands, I don't want to risk dropping the pan)
He: OK. (and he takes it out for me)
Me, after testing: Can you please put this back in - they're not done yet.
Him, in disbelief: How long were they in for?
Me, wondering wtf his problem is: 23 minutes.
Him, still in disbelief: How long are they SUPPOSED to cook for???!!
Me, ready to poke HIM with the toothpick: 23-28 minutes!!! GLARE!!!

5 minutes later, as oven is beeping:

Me: Can you please come take the brownies out again?
Him: Total silence - cos he's smart, and he LEARNED, lolol.

Brownies were done to perfection at the 28 minute mark, and hopefully he learned a lesson - don't question my cooking skills when there are hot pans of brownies in my vicinity, or you might end up WEARING them!!

OK, it wasn't really THAT bad, but he was actually surprised that the brownies weren't done the first time the oven beeped --- WEIRD!!! Anyways - the brownies worked out deliciously - I'll definitely be making THAT recipe again! What a nice supper we had tonight - chicken stew and dumplings, cheese bread and latte bars. Thanks, Lisa, from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary, for such a great - and EASY!!! - brownie recipe :)

More sewing, and birthday wishes!

Here are a set of pillowcases I made this morning to go in my "Bazaar" box (for upcoming shelter bazaars), and here are the 15 cage quilts I made this month - if you click on the picture to enlarge it, look very closely at the top left side - I actually quilted my name onto the quilt, LOL!!! I'm so weird :D

Have a FABULOUS day - my temporary new psoriasis medication has kicked in and I feel a lot better, so life looks a lot brighter right now!!! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONA!!!

It's in the bag ... or the case! ;)

My psoriasis is flaring up like a son of a ***** - the heavy duty medication I started taking in October isn't working at all, so it's back to the dermie next week - I guess to try something else *sigh*. Getting tired of this crap - nothing is working, and the problem is getting worse! Sometimes it's so bad I can't walk, and sometimes I can't do much with my hands because they're too raw. 'nuff about that - there are people out there with far worse problems, so I try not to complain too much! But once in a while I start feeling sorry for myself - I whine for a while, then I buck up and get over it :D I'm in the whining stage right now, LOLOL.


Here's what I've finished up so far this month - some snowflake gift bags, and a pillowcase :) I also got some cage quilts finished, but they all look the same and I've posted many pics of them, so just take my word for it - they're cute, they bust stash, and they'll make some 4 legged critters feel comfy :) January's quilts are going to Kate and Me Cat Rescue, a local group who provided my friend Linda with her little kitty Punkin :)

I get my empty nest back!

Our youngest son completed his health and safety training in December to become a member of IBEW353. His dad and older brother are already members of the union. We found out today that DS2 starts working tomorrow in downtown Toronto, working for the same company that his dad and brother have worked at since '84 and '07 - I couldn't be prouder! I've already warned him that he has to go through the "My son is now a pre-apprentice!" hazing that I put his brother through last summer - attack of the photographing momma!!! As long as I get up early enough (they leave at 5:00 a.m. to head into Toronto) I'll get photos :D

His dad is going to drop him off on a street corner tomorrow morning, and he has to catch a bus and then 2 subway trains to get to to his location. I hope he isn't as directionally challenged as his mom (aka ME!) or he's screwed, LOL. I know he was hoping to be sent to a location that wasn't on the busline so he'd have to take the car - I'm glad he won't have to do that - I'm already nervous enough about his brother driving into Toronto - if I had 2 of them doing that, I'd totally lose it!

I don't have a photo to post that relates to this story, so enjoy looking at my Zoomer explaining the facts of life :D

BTW - there's a major storm headed towards Toronto - it should arrive sometime tomorrow morning -- aaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee YIKES! Two kids and hubby headed into that - I'll be a wreck all damn day long!

The threads of 2008 :D

Last year I saw someone post on their blog, a photo of the empty spools of thread they had created over the last year. I thought it was a great idea, so I saved all my spools last year, and I officially present to you ... The Threads of 2008 :p Actually it isn't all of the spools - there were an additional 13 wooden spools that I freecycled to someone who collected them. I don't know why I didn't take a picture before she picked them up *doh*. So when you look at and admire this spectacular photo *rolls eyes* - mentally add a bakers dozen spools!

The other picture is the last of the cage quilts (for an animal shelter) I completed in 2008 --- I'm ready to start making my 2009 batch ... my scraps better look out, because I'm coming after them!!! (Yes, I'm that corny, LOL).

Sandra :)

Happy New Year :)

Like most people, I got quite busy at Christmas/New Years so I haven't had a chance to post until now! I hope everyone had a happy and safe Christmas and New Year, and that Santa was good to you ;) December 31 and January 1 are sad days for my husband's family and mine, as we each lost a special family member on that day (1998 and 2008). I don't want to get mopey, so RIP Brian and Estella ... we miss you.

For my Christmas present my husband took me to New York (Niagara Falls area) for a bit of a fabric shopping trip - we left on January 2 and came back the next day. Left the kids at home, of course ;) Hubby got a call from work on the Friday - they wanted to know if he could come in to do a shift on the weekend (that particular person didn't know he was in New York) - he was able to send our oldest son instead - how cool is that! How convenient that said son has his own truck so getting to and from work wasn't a problem :D

I've posted pictures of the goodies I bought Stateside - such fun I had buying that stuff :D

Enjoy the pics!

Sandra :)

4 pennies ;)

I couldn't resist - I made 3 more pennie pockets last night before I went to bed, lol. Here are the 4 I did :)

A "Pennie" (pocket) for your thoughts!

Pennie pockets!! TOO CUTE, and also TOO EASY!!!

Designed by Monica, the freebie pattern is available here. I was inspire to do these in Christmas fabric by this sweet post by Sherri. I made mine a little bit bigger than the pattern - I cut my pieces 10 X 10 and 5 X 5. I can't wait to make a few more of these little cuties! Flickr group for more inspiration pictures is here --- bet you can't make just one!!! ;)

Train quilt and bibs :)

A little Christmas gifty I got finished yesterday - the flannel is from my New York shopping trip on Black Friday! I used up the last of it for the second bib - I had to piece the backing! The quilt is bound with bias binding - I made it from the Dread Pirate, Shelley Rodgers instructions :)

I've got reindeer on my mind ...

I keep finding delicious cross-stitch reindeer patterns, and I can't stop myself - I save all of them!! I even save ones where there's no free pattern available, but the picture is clear enough that I might be able to draft a pattern. Yep, it's a sickness, lol! I spotted these posts today (here and here) and couldn't resist - I had to stitch the little "solid" guy :D When I went searching for the pattern, I found the fun blog that provided the pattern -- It's Daffycat - lots of fun and eye candy!! The free pattern is available on this post. Thank you Sharon for a great pattern and a fun read!

I also made a couple of hotpads today - I had some batik scraps to use up - aren't they sweet? :)

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree ...

You were so very difficult to get done this year *sings* -- I won't go into details, but the cobblers kids don't have shoes, the bakers kids are hungry, and the electrician's wife and mom (X2) didn't have proper tree lights for quite a while --- 'nuff said!!!

I finally finished decorating the tree yesterday - nobody else in the family really cares about this kind of stuff so I do it myself. And every year I put out less and less decorations, because it's a lot of work to do when nobody (but me) appreciates it! I don't think I'm the only one that feels that way, tho - I know Barb @ So How Was Your Day? has had some Scroogey days too!! Been there, done that, go through it every year, Barb - so I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!! I don't know why I even bother with the tree and the trimmings - every year I just want to cancel the whole shebang - and that includes this year. It's pretty crummy being outnumbered by SCROOGES!

XS gift bag :)

I can't post pictures of the other items I've gotten done in the last few days - the intended recipients will recognize the "themes" and will know what's coming, hehe. This, however, I can post, as it was really a trial run to see if I could make the project - on someone's blog recently I spotted an adorable picture of a Christmas bag with a cross-stitched panel in the front - I fell in LOVE, and wanted to try my own version. Mine turned out sweet as well - I'm so happy with it! In case you can't tell from the photo, I even added jingle bells on the end of the drawstrings - just for fun :) The XS pattern is a freebie from a wonderful XS site called Cross Stitch Happy ... she has amazing and fun goodies to share - I have plans on making other projects from her patterns!

My part of the challenge!

I recently challenged Miss Lettie to get her van unpacked after her craft show - in return, I would finally get around to decorating my tree ... which has been up since the beginning of December, but which is STILL almost totally naked! There are 2 ornaments on it that I bought in New York on Black Friday - a reindeer which is hidden somewhere, and the sweet flamingo that I've photographed. Got both of the ornaments at Menne Nursery - you should SEE their decorated trees!!

She completed her part of the challenge, and threw the ball back into my court! I'm a woman of my word, so tomorrow I'll do my tree :) Here are the before pictures ... tomorrow I'll get the after pics :D Note the unlit section near the bottom - for some reason that strand of lights is out - I'll have to have hubby or one of the boys have a look at it - that's a BOY job, lol.

More goodies :)

Two XS ornaments that I finished - Tall Trees by Helga Mandl and Barbara Ana ... and Night Flyer by Erica Michaels, which is available online for free :) Notice the reindeer backing for the reindeer ornament, LOL!!!

Steno Pads :)

Wordless Monday because I have to run upstairs and get a roast in the oven, but I wanted to throw this picture up before I get busy doing other stuff.

Oh wait --- Wordless means ... uhhhh never mind!!! ;)

Finished projects :)

Cage quilts, pet stockings, more cage quilts, XS ornaments and some gift bags - lots of sewing done in the last week!!

Shopping bonanza :)

My girlfriend Chris and I ventured down to New York yesterday for a shopping trip - my first Black Friday foray. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but we didn't arrive at our first destination - Walden Galleria - until about 9:30 a.m. - as I understand it, the insanity starts much earlier - at the unGodly hour of 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. I'm sure you've read about the crazy bastards that trampled poor Jdimytai Damour to death in Long Island. I saw nothing of that nature - the stores were certainly busy, but no crazier or busier than any mall during the Christmas shopping season. We had a great day going from store to store - I bought fabric and craft supplies, mainly (big surprise!) - we were lucky enough to get waved through the border and didn't have to pay any duty, so that was a hell of a bonus!!

This is most of what I bought - there's one piece of fabric I didn't post because the recipient will know instantly it's for him ;), and I don't know if he reads my blog or not :D There are also 2 ornaments I need to find (not sure where I put them when I unpacked everything, lol) and some groceries - I don't think you need a picture of my Campbels Cream of Chicken soups!

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the projects I've been working on this last week :)

Feel free to laugh - I am!

I've seen this style of potholder several times online, and I decided it was time for me to try it. Sans pattern. It looks pretty good ... except for the fact that it appears his HEAD IS MELTING - I didn't do a very good job of piecing that one square, LOL. I'm going to test how they stand up to a hot pot right off the stove - potholders shouldn't melt - I'd like to make a few more of these (without the melty head, hehe) but I'll need to give them a trial run first. Another change I'll make will be to bind the project instead of birthing it - it turns out that I like the bound version better. Here's a picture of one of these creations that isn't as deformed as mine ;)