Movies

One of the movies I rented is Hancock. It is totally different than what I had expected. I thought it would be a silly comedy but it's not. Don't know if I'd recommend it yet but so far it's okay. Not great but okay. Will be stopping it soon to head to a New Year's Eve potluck at church. It's supposed to last til midnight but I doubt I'll make it that long :)

Happy New Year again. Especially to Brian who may be in NYC as I write -- stay out of trouble Bubba :)

CHRISTMAS WRAP-UP

Well, as usual I hardly took any pictures. Got too involved in just watching I guess. When I got to Nashville on the 18th, the grands opened their MS presents. They loved the sleeping bags I brought them. There was also a NASCAR race set for Avery and a really neat doll for Kates and I've forgotten what Vail got. I know -- how sad is that - I just can't think right now. Anyway, here is Avery opening one of her gifts.


Vail opening a puzzle.

Katy sitting on her sleeping bag



Vail opening a gift.



Vail and Katy with their sleeping bags.










Waiting for Daddy to open the sleeping bag




My brother-in-law playing Grandpa. Hard to tell who is more relaxed :)


Ava with Toby. Those girls wore him plumb out! He was asleep before we got out of the driveway and didn't move til we were past Louisville - about 2 1/2 hours. He had a blast with teh kids though.




Pictures I could have gotten if I'd been picture oriented: Maddie the rottweiler chewing on a new bone each day by the back door from the dead deer she found out on the back 40 somewhere. We were greeted by a different bone each day including a skull!! Pics of all the gorgeously decorated homes and trees of each Neely family. The look on my sister's face when her hubby was washing the kitchen floor on Christmas morning with the carpet cleaner (lots of water involved) as she was fixing breakfast. Icy roads. About 40 people all eating an Italian feast at Nana's on Christmas day.

As expected, it was a very memorable trip but I was glad to sleep in my bed last night.
Now it is time to make a list of all the things sewing I plan to do during the next 4 days. My first project is hemming a pair of pants. Then I have some napkins to finish serging, two dresses to cut out and work on. A quilt to sandwich, three receiving blankets to finish edges on, and I'm not sure what else will make the list. I'm having a hard time thinking right now. Think it's time to think about getting some sleep. AND, I rented 4 movies to watch . Too bad there's not a
blizzard outside so I could just hunker down and not worry about going anywhere or having anybody drop by and could just sew to my heart's content.



Custom Glitter Text

CHRISTMAS 2008

What a day this has been!! What with being out of the country from the ninth until the 20th, Beth was a little behind in her Christmas preparations. Then, between the virus that John's family and Ben had and Holly being in the hospital - we found out she didn't have a virus but her problem was actually a result of scar tissue from her gall bladder surgery awhile back wrapping around her intestine and causing it to kink or something similar. Anyway, all is well in the health department for now. Back to my story, what with all those things happening, the tree didn't get decorated until 11pm last night. And there were still gifts to get and wrap yesterday. We managed to take care of those things and got to bed before midnight. Breakfast was set for ten am today. I was downstairs around 9:30 -- Beth had been up since before eight. She had fixed a great breakfast for us. Yogurt parfaits -- fresh fruit and yogurt topped with homemade granola, bacon wrapped cocktail sausages, cheesy grits and cherry ring. Of course coffee, milk and juice were part of the deal. After breakfast Beth cleaned up the kitchen and I put the tree skirt around the tree and put the gifts under the tree. Then Lundy, Beth, Robbie, Brian and I opened our gifts. Santa left me a sack of neat happies -- a Christmas towel and potholder for the kitchen, a quilting calendar, some note cards, recipe cards and other things I dont' remember right now. I also got an ott light lamp, Mama Mia on DVD, and a really nice digital picture frame. Can't wait to put my pictures on it. I'd tell what everyone else got but since this is about me . . . .

We ate a Nana's at 2- that was the time for the appetizers. They included some boiled shrimp, mussels, chip and dip and antipasta. At 5pm supper was served -- a true Italian feast -- homemade lasagna with meatballs and italian sausage on the side, chicken cacciatore, salad and deserts to die for including tapioca which I haven't had in years. It was delicious and I ate entirely too much. Now we are back home and Brian has helped Uncle Lundy get his surround sound/tv/vcr/dvd/all hooked up and working together and now we are watching Home Alone on FX. Tomorrow is a no cooking day at this house. Beth and I are going to hit some after Xmas sales and hopefully just chill for awhile. Amy and her family will be in tomorrow night sometime.

Hope everyone had a great day (especially the TX Neals). Hugs to one and all

CHRISTMAS UPDATE

#1 Son's wife had a dye test today and it went great. They've taken the tube out of her nose and started giving her clear liquids. She will be on solid food tomorrow and if all goes well she might even get to come home then. More later

HOW TO NOT TO START CHRISTMAS WEEK

I'm in Dayton at my sister's house. Got here Friday night about 10:30 eastern time and we've been busy ever since. First of all, I was maybe going to pick up Beth and Lundy from the airport -- they were coming in from Philly after being in Paris all week on a business/sightseeing trip. They got stuck in Philly so I was in the BIG house by myself. Needless to say, Toby and I slept downstairs on the couch. I was wound up from the trip so I didn't go to sleep until well after midnight. Got up yesterday morning and fed their dog and got the rest of my stuff out of the car and was so thankful I packed my warm coat and gloves because it was cold and getting colder by the minute:) Beth and hubby got in about noon. On the way home Son#1 called saying his wife had the stomach bug and had been throwing up regularly since about 2 am. We came home and Son #2's wife brought lunch over from Skyline Chilli (I think that is the name). Then Son#1 called again saying he was taking his wife to the emergency room so we went and picked up the three grands and brought them to the house. Then Son #2 called to say that his youngest had started throwing up so whatever the bug it was in two houses. Then my sisters Son#5 called to say he had been sick as a dog since noon. Anyway, to make this long story shorter. Son #1's wife is in the hospital. She has a kink in her intestines (we think from all the vomiting) and they've put a tube through her nose down into her intestines to try to get the kink out. If it works, she will be home by Xmas -- if not, she will have to have surgery and be in the hospital for a week and a half. Yuk!! The girls are staying here for now but don't know about the kink/maybe surgery stuff. Anyway, their son#5 is better today and I haven't heard how things are at son #2's house today.

Now for the better part of the story. It snowed enough last night to kind of cover the ground and is freezing cold today and I do mean freezing. Toby wasn't quite sure about going outside. He stepped very gingerly on the grass -- I think because it was crunching under his feet. We've eaten out last night and today at lunch but the cooking will start in earnest tomorrow. And my sister definitely knows how to cook. We've got some shopping and wrapping to finish and Christmas movies to watch on Hallmark and lots of visiting to catch up on.

So, that's the capsule version of my first 36 hours here.

STRAIGHT NO CHASER -- AWESOME!

This was linked to another blog but it's too good not to share. This group is awesome. There are several other you tubes of them in action too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

If you get an error when you click the link, just search for straight no chaser 12 days of christmas and you'll find several versions.

THE MACHINE IS TURNED OFF AND PARKED

I've finished my tote bags and they turned out well if I do say so. Ran into a few problems with mine and had to take out part of the border at the top and fix the pleats but it didn't take too long. Now I've got to get my gifts that go to TX boxed up and ready to go so I can mail them Wednesday. I'm also going to start putting all the things I'm taking to Dayton on the extra bed so I'll be ready to load up my car on Wednesday and while doing this I'm watching (sort of) a cute Christmas movie on Lifetime called Secret Santa. Jennie Garth is a writer and she's in this small town doing some investigative reporting. The town's only inn is full so she's having to spend the night in the Old Folk's home. I know I know ... but I'm enjoying it. Here's a picture of a finished tote.

LAST PROJECT ---BEFORE CHRISTMAS THAT IS!

I decided to make Beth and myself a small tote. I'm making them slightly larger than the pattern so that they will hold a Bible (or two in Beth's case). I got the idea from seeing her always toting Lundy's Bible - and hers along with anything else they need at church. I had asked her awhile back if she would use a small tote to carry her church stuff is she had one and she said sure. So, I looked through my stash and found the cat tapestry/upholstery fabric I bought on a whim several years ago and decided to use that to make a couple of small tote bags. I've really liked that pleated bag pattern so I decided to use that. I needed a fabric to use for a border around the top and also a lining.



Well, I didn't have anything to go with the cat fabric in my stash -- unless I wanted to use baby prints or quilt prints --none of which really did much for me. So, I ran to the fabric store downtown and looked at her Amy Butler prints and home decor fabrics. There wasn't really anything there either that just reached out and grabbed me and I was about to "settle" on a deep gold AB when I noticed a folded up scrap on a side table that had a textured look to it. So, I grabbed it -- looks pretty good with the cats don't you think. It was 30 dollar a yard fabric but she said I could have it for 15. When I got home and opened it up, there was at least a yard. I thought it was a good deal!!




After cutting out the purse and basting in the pleats, I added the top.




Then I ended up going to Wally World and looking through the Dollar table and I found this to use as lining It was actually 1.50 but hey, my sister is definitely worth the extra :)). It is a thinner fabric than the border but has the same sort of textured look. I think It goes well. I also picked up some iron on interfacing which I needed too.



The iron on interfacing really gives the lining some body. I will definitely use interfacing more often when dealing with lighter weight fabrics. It would be worth the time and trouble.




Here is the purse -- wrong side out I just noticed:) -- and the lining. You can see I added a pocket. I figured if she does use the tote for church stuff, she can keep Lundy's pitch pipe in the pocket or maybe some gum and/or cough drops.



Here are the handles. They are also interfaced.


I'm over half finished with the bags. I've already sewed the bottom of one to create a flat bottom. I have to do that to the other, sew the handles down both sides, pin the handles and baste them to the purse, pin and sew the lining to the purse, turn the purse right side out-- always the hardest part for me to figure out how to sew the lining to the purse and have the handles in the right place so they will show up when I turn it right side out. Then after I stitch the lining closed where I turned it right side out and top stitch around the top I think I'll be finished -- if nothing comes up I hope to do that tomorrow after school. Then, I'm putting all my sewing away til I get home after Christmas.

SEW FUN

I've had so much fun sewing this weekend. I've made Christmas pillowcases for the kids and a baby gift for Matty's brother's wife. In between I've been to the ladies Christmas party at church, out to eat on Friday night and downtown trying to find the perfect present for my big sis. Usually I see something that just says "Beth" but no so this year. At least not yet. But I'm not giving up. I'll have time to do a little looking in NashVegas and in Dayton too. Anyway, here are pictures of my weekend sewathon.

These are the pillowcases. I think that they will be big enough for kingsize pillows but that's okay. I'm hoping they will become part of each family's Christmas traditions. They were very easy to make but as usual, I learned something from making them. The red fabric was thin enough that I think if I had used some iron on interfacing of some sort, it wouldn't have puckered when I embroidered it. I used heavier stabilizer but it didn't quite do the trick. I liked the decorative stitching (hearts) that I added at the end. The Names just seemed lonesome on the red all by themselves. The border could have been a little narrower but it's fine as is too. I felt all the Christmas fabrics at Walmart and these were the two softest and the two cutest actually.














This is the practice sew out from one of the things I did for Natalie. I just use one color usually so I don't have to spend time changing thread colors. I thought the cupcake was really cute and then just added the words.



Here are the final products. I love doing single initials with the name on top. The little blanket and the burp cloth have cupcakes , lollypops, ice cream sodas and hearts on them. Hope Nat and Micah like them.



Well, I've dug through my stash and found fabric for another project. I ran to the fabric shop and found a really neat scrap of 30 dollar fabric and got it for half price and it will make a great coordinating fabric. I'm off to start on it. Watch for photos. I'm using the pattern from the Internet of the pleated purse that Jessica had in her giveaway.

I'm also going to put my suitcase out later tonight so I can get started packing for my trip next Thursday. I'm excited to see everyone in NashVegas for an evening and especially to spend Christmas with my sis. She's the best.

LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS SEWING

The almost finished blanket for Jennifer's friend in Ruidoso who's having her first baby in a few months. I'll take it to school tomorrow and during my free time after lunch, add the embroidery floss ties where the squares meet and also close the opening I had for turning it right side out.



So, I was in Wally World today and in the spirit of stress and rush the season, I decided to make a little last minute Christmas "happy" for the grands. Here is the beginning of one. I'll let you guess about what it is. I'll be posting the finished products.



Off to bed.

UPDATE --GUESS HOW LONG IT TOOK TO STITCH THIS OUT

UPDATE - SUNDAY 8:00PM --Made another Merry Christmas - this on an actual towel. It will need to be washed and then starched and ironed but it looks really good I think. I've trimmed all the strings and everything.







I had fun stitching this out. I wouldn't want to do a bunch of them -- it took me over two hours!! One reason is because I had to change the thread color 32 times -- that's a lot of times to change thread colors and rethread the needle. I also slowed my machine down because the stitching is pretty dense and I was afraid if I went full speed I might break the needle. As it was, the thread broke a couple of times but nothing major and I just think it is a really fun design. It would look nice on a hand towel or even in a frame to sit on a shelf or something. I worked on a couple of other projects last night and today too but can't pictures of those yet. Hope everyone is have a nice weekend.

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND IN CLEVELAND

Here are some pictures from my Thanksgiving at home with the kids and grands. Avery snacking after she, her Dad, Jen and her girls arrived Wed. afternoon.


Vail and Katy being my helpers as I was making something -- don't remember what it was. Katy was eating an apple too.



Jack playing with Jed. Jed is really great with all the kids. He lets them do anything to him and never complains.



Suzy Q grinning about something. Jen and Matty in the background. Notice the hair on Matty's head ---- he shaved it all off before we did pictures on Friday:)



Jack trying to get away from Uncle Brian.



Sorry for the blurry picture but you can see it's G'ma opening up her quilt. The next picture is better.





The girls playing Swiss Family Robinson.







Katy talking to her "Jammie" in New Mexico. She has the phone stuff down pat don't ya think??



Watching a show








Notice that even Jed gets to wrap up in a quilt. I love having extra quilts around that I made.


Katy looking like an eskimo and wondering why Toby doesn't want to run and play:)


Well, we all had a good time and one day I'll really have taken some fun and interesting pictures.
In the meantime, get busy and decorate for the holidays and quit reading blogs :))