Monday, November 20, 2017

LONG OVER DUE POST...


Goodness!  It's been soo long now and I am soo far behind I am not sure how to go about catching up.  I wish I could tell you I've been on some big important trip, or had some totally valid reason as to why I've been away soo long, but I just can't.  I have been soo busy is all it really is.  My daughter is about 3 hours away with her family to come and spend the next week with us, so I thought to myself....hmmm, maybe I can FINALLY take a little bit of time and TRY to catch you up. 

I don't think I can get real specific because WAY too much time has gone by, and I've no doubt forgotten what happened when.  Soooo I will just jump in and show you my pile of sewing/gifts that I have prepared to be given on Thanksgiving Day.  I am really excited because like I said my daughter is coming and they have rented a large enough house in Temecula to accommodate all of my kids and grandkids for Thanksgiving dinner.  We have become such a large number that we just don't fit here anymore, and the only one of us whose home is big enough is my oldest son's.  Well, his poor wife who works full time has had to have ALL of the gatherings anymore at her house and it just doesn't seem fair.  Plus Melody really wanted to take a turn hosting.  So they decided to rent the house, drive 1000 miles to California with 3 children under 6 and their dog, and cook dinner for the rest of us.  oh to be young again...lol.  So they will stay here with us a couple of days, and then we will ALL travel to Temecula and stay together Wed. - Friday.  To say I am looking forward to it would be to say it mildly.  I am giddy.  Now they can't all stay for 3 days as of course they have busy lives, but we will all be there for Thanksgiving at least.  As most of you who have followed me for a while know, I let the women in each family chose what they would like for a new Christmas decoration for their homes each year, and I make it for them and give it to them on Thanksgiving so that they can have it for the whole month of December of course.  I also make a new ornament and then make Christmas pj's for all of our grandkids.  Actually, I have eliminated the oldest 4 this year as I really had to start drawing the line somewhere, but that still left me with 9 pairs to make.  I had enough fabric left over to make a pair for my 16 year old grand daughter Lindsey, so I made 10 altogether.  Let me show you these things first....

THIS GUY IS DECEIVING AS HE DOESN'T LOOK VERY BIG FROM THIS PHOTO, BUT HE IS ABOUT 3 FT TALL.  MY DIL LARISSA CHOSE THIS DARLING DOOR HANGER FOR THEIR HOUSE AND I HAD A LOT OF FUN MAKING HIM UP.  I BOUGHT A KIT AND ONLY HAD TO ADD THE BATTING TO IT WHICH WAS USED TO PUFF HIS BODY AND HIS HAT.  HE IS ATTACHED TO BURLAP TO GIVE HIM EXTRA BODY.  I STILL HAVE TO ADD A HANGER OF SORT ON HIS BACK, BUT IT IS ONE OF THE FEW THINGS I STILL NEED TO DO.

I THINK I MAY HAVE SHOWN YOU THIS IN PROCESS AS I WAS READY TO SEND IT TO THE QUILTERS.  I GOT IT BACK A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AND ALL I HAD LEFT TO DO WAS TO SQUARE IT UP AND BIND IT.  I REALLY LIKE HOW THIS CAME OUT AS WELL.  THIS TOO WAS A KIT SO ALL THE FABRICS WERE PRE CHOSEN FOR ME, BUT I LOVE THE COLOR COMBINATIONS.

JUST A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PATTERN AND THE QUILTING

NOW THIS PROJECT TOOK WAY WAY WAY LONGER THAN I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT IT MIGHT, AND HONESTLY MELODY I THINK WANTED SOMETHING WAY SIMPLER.  I KIND OF GOT CARRIED AWAY, LOL  SHE HAS A BAR AS WELL AS A TABLE IN HER KITCHEN AND SHE LIKES TO DECORATE THE BAR FOR THE SEASONS WITH A COUPLE OF CUTE ITEMS AND PLACE MATS FOR THE KIDS.  THAT'S WHERE THEY EAT THEIR BREAKFASTS, LUNCHES AND SNACKS, AND SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN TO HAVE GRANDMA MAKE THEIR CHRISTMAS PLACE MATS FOR THE BAR.  WELL.....I HONESTLY JUST COULDN'T DECIDE WHAT TO DO.  I HAD A BAJILLION IDEAS, BUT THEN I SAW THIS STAR PLACE MAT DONE UP.  IT'S AN "IN THE HOOP" PROJECT.  WELL, THE DESIGN IT CAME WITH WAS DONE WITH ORNAMENTS IN THE CENTER OF THE LEG OF THE STARS, AND DIDN'T SEEM VERY KID ORIENTED TO ME, SOOOO I FIGURED OUT A WAY TO GET DIFFERENT DESIGNS INTO THE STAR LEGS, ADDED THEIR NAMES AND HERE'S WHAT I CAME UP WITH.  MELODY HAS TOLD ME SHE WILL NOT REALLY EVEN WANT THE KIDS TO TOUCH THEM, LOL, BUT I TOLD HER THEY ARE VERY WASHABLE AND SO NOW SHE THINKS IT WILL BE OK.  EACH LEG OF EACH STAR (so 18 legs altogether) TOOK AN HOUR OR SO TO DO.  THEN ALL THE LEGS HAD TO BE ATTACHED TO EACH OTHER TO MAKE THE STAR.  THEN THE BACKING HAD TO BE ADDED AND YOU TURNED THEM RIGHT SIDE OUT, AND THEN I ADDED ON SOME QUILTING.  SOOOO AS YOU CAN SEE THEY TOOK FOREVER.  BUT I REALLY LOVE LOVE LOVE HOW THEY CAME OUT.  

JUST A LITTLE CLOSER LOOK

THE DESIGNS WERE NOT TO DENSE AND YET HAD PLENTY OF COLOR CHANGES...THEY ARE JUST THE CUTEST DESIGNS.




THESE ARE THE PJ'S THAT I MADE FOR SAM, LUKE, VINNY,  ( and my nephew Weston) I LOVE THIS FABRIC FROM PEEKABOO FABRICS.  IT IS SOOOO SOFT AND COMFY AND HONESTLY JUST A DREAM TO WORK WITH.  

11 YEAR OLD JD AND 8 YEAR OLD CODY GOT A DIFFERENT VERSION OF PATTERN, BUT WITH THE SAME FABRIC.  THEY ARE TOO BIG (JD IS A MEN'S SIZE!) FOR THE OTHER PATTERN AS IT ONLY GOES TO A SIZE 8.  THEIR BOTTOMS ARE THE SAME FABRIC AS THE SLEEVES LIKE THE OTHERS WERE, BUT WITHOUT THE CUFFS.  FOR SOME REASON I NEVER TOOK A PIC OF THE FINISHED ONE OF THESE.  

AND THESE ARE 8 YEAR OLD TELLA'S, 2 YEAR OLD CLAIRES, AND 18 MONTH OLD SOPIA'S.  THIS WAS JUST THE CUTEST FABRIC EVER ALSO FROM PEEKABOO...HAVE I MENTIONED I LOVE THEM???  lol  SAME SOFT AND COMFY AS WELL

THIS IS WHAT I KIND OF PIECED TOGETHER FOR 16 YEAR OLD LINDSEY,  SHE FREQUENTLY SLEEPS IN SHORTS SO THIS WILL WORK FOR HER.  I HAD TO KIND OF MAKE UP MY OWN PATTERN AND PIECE TOGETHER PIECES OF FABRIC TO MAKE IT WORK, BUT IT CAME OUT PRETTY GOOD IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF, LOL.  I THINK SHE WILL LIKE THESE
AND THEN THIS NIGHT SHIRT IS FOR ALMOST 13 YEAR OLD CAPRI.  IT LOOKS LIKE A TEE SHIRT HERE, BUT IT IS LONGER THAN IT APPEARS.  I DID MAKE HER A LITTLE PAIR OF SHORTS OUT OF THE GOLD FABRIC TO WEAR WITH THIS THOUGH IF SHE WANTS.  

HERE ARE THIS YEARS ORNAMENTS....THESE DARLING LITTLE REINDEER IN THE HOOP DESIGNS WERE PRETTY QUICK AND SUPER EASY.  I ADDED THE YEAR IN THE HEARTS AND THEIR NAMES IN GLITTER THREAD, AND ADDED THE LITTLE BOWS WHEN I WAS FINISHED WITH HOT GLUE

CLOSER LOOK AT ONE

AND HERE ARE THE BOYS...STARS INSTEAD OF HEARTS, AND NO EYELASHES AND NO BOWS...SOO CUTE

CLOSER LOOK AT THE BOYS....OH! ALL OF THESE WERE MADE WITH FELT

AND THE FAMILIES ORNAMENTS THIS YEAR WERE FREE STANDING LACE ANGELS.  I WAS SOOOO EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO ADD MERRY CHRISTMAS AND THE YEAR TO THESE DESIGNS.  I WILL NOT LIE....IT WAS KIND OF FIDDLY AND HARD TO GET THE 2017 ON THERE, BUT I AM JUST KIND OF STUBBORN THAT WAY.  LOL....THESE ARE KIND OF STIFF WHEN THEY ARE DRY AND I ADDED THE WHITE RIBBON HANGERS ON TODAY.  EACH ONE OF THESE DESIGNS IS DONE WITH JUST WATER SOLUBLE STABILIZER AND THREAD.  THEY EACH TOOK OVER 90 MINUTES TO STITCH.  HOWEVER, I COULD GET EVERYTHING ALL SET AND TURN THE MACHINE ON AND GET BUSY WITH SOMETHING ELSE SO THAT WORKED WELL FOR ME.  

I WANT TO HANG MINE IN OUR KITCHEN.

Soo that is mainly what I have been doing for the last month.  Plus we have decorated our home inside and out for Christmas already as with Melody here for a week we wouldn't have gotten to it then till a week or so into December which is a little late for me as I enjoy it so.  And then!! We have gotten some new furniture in both our living room and family room.  This has had us very very busy for some reason.  Shopping and picking it out took forever....arranging and re-arranging and re hanging pics etc. after it finally came, and on and on.  One thing has lead to another and then another and on and on.  We have not bought anything new in over 16 years so it was just flat out time.  But it is such a process and was soo much work that honestly I am thinking I MIGHT not ever do this again.  I will show you now what I can...

THE COLOR ON THIS IS TERRIBLE SO SORRY ABOUT THAT.  WE ARE BOTH LOVING OUR RECLINING LOVE SEAT CHAIRS (sitting here right now!) AND THE CONSOLE BETWEEN THEM THAT HOLDS REMOTES, AND HAS POWER PLUGS AND PHONE CHARGING CAPABILITIES MAKE THEM TRULY WONDERFUL  I AM SOO GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF THIS

OH AND I FORGOT WE PUT IN A NEW KITCHEN SINK TOO.  LONG, LONG STORY ON THIS BUT HERE IS THE RESULT, LOL

HERE'S THE LIVING ROOM....I TOOK THESE LAST NIGHT SO IT WAS DARK AND AGAIN THE COLOR ISN'T VERY GOOD.  WE ADDED A LOVE SEAT TO THIS ROOM TO ACCOMMODATE MORE SEATING ROOM WHEN FAMILY IS HERE.  THERE IS ANOTHER CHAIR THAT WILL GO WHERE THE TREE IS AFTER CHRISTMAS.  IT'S IN THE FAMILY ROOM RIGHT NOW AND HONESTLY I KIND OF LIKE IT IN THERE.  WE WILL SEE...

A VIEW INTO THE ROOM BEHIND THE LOVE SEAT.  ONE THING ALWAYS LEADS TO ANOTHER AND ANOTHER.  NOW I DON'T LIKE THE CURTAINS WITH THIS, AND HONESTLY I DON'T REALLY LIKE MY TREE SKIRT EITHER.  NEXT YEAR....OH!  AND THAT FIREPLACE SCREEN HAS GOT TO GO, LOL

NEW LAMP....I LOVE THIS.  I HAD TIFFANY LAMPS AND I LOVE THEM SO BUT THE COLORS JUST DIDN'T GO PLUS I WANTED A CHANGE.   I COULDN'T SEEM TO GET AWAY FROM THE TIFFANY'S THOUGH

CLOSE UP ON ONE OF THE CHAIRS....I FELL IN LOVE WITH THESE CHAIRS FOR SOME REASON...I BUILT THE WHOLE ROOM AROUND THEM.  BUT ONCE I GOT THEM IN HERE THEY WERE BIGGER THAN I THOUGHT.  IT'S SOO DECEIVING IN THE STORES.  THE LIGHTING IS BAD AND THE STORES ARE SOOOO BIG (or where I bought from it was anyway) THAT THEY SEEMED VERY DIFFERENT IN OUR HOUSE




Well this of course took a long, long time.  I will try much harder to keep up.  I have been around reading your posts when I can, but not always leaving comments.  That will change too.  Hopefully I have not lost any of my few remaining readers with my long absence.  I KNOW I won't probably post again till after Thanksgiving, so I am wishing you all a very blessed holiday.  I have soo much I have been blessed with and maybe I should have posted about that.  Much love to you all!  Blessings!  Debbie
















5 comments:

  1. So happy to see you hear tonight, Debby! You have been as busy as a beaver . . . no wonder you have not had time to blog! As always, you have done such beautiful work, and your family is blessed to have such wonderful gifts made by loving hands.

    Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I know it is such a gift to be together!

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  2. Your house is so pretty. I really like how it looks and your Christmas decorating is wonderful. I love all of the p.j.s and the ornaments. I bet you are so excited to have Melody and the kids there and to be able to visit with them.
    Have a lovely Thanksgiving Debbie. It was nice to see a post.

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  3. Howdy, Stranger! 🙂

    I enjoyed seeing the Christmas things and seeing the new furniture!

    Have a fabulous time with your daughter and your sons. How wonderful that you’ll all be together for Thanksgiving! 🧡🦃🧡

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  4. Well, no wonder you have had no time for blogging. I was getting worried about you and had even thought I needed to email you and make sure you were okay. Sounds like a wonderful plan for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

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  5. I was so glad to see you had a post in my list of favorites today. I've missed you. I too have been out of the blogging world for a while but was nearly as productive as you. In fact, I have very little to show for my absence. Except pictures of grandkids, that is. Everything you do is so lovely and I know the recipients will love their gifts. Also the new furniture looks so pretty and comfortable.

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I am so glad that you would take the time to comment on my thoughts and feelings, it is such a blessing to me!