Family Harmony

Not a whole lot going on here worth blogging about. I have 2....TWO...blocks left to quilt on the Hidden Star. It will be finished by this time tomorrow. SO glad to be done with this one. It will be bound and washed and put up for Christmas.

Meet my new best friends..... My son's friend has chickens (the exact ones in the picture) which produce the most wonderful organic eggs. His prices are much cheaper than the stores, and they are the nicest eggs! Clean, and fresh and so good! Some of you have asked me what is "eating clean". I will be honest. I have not quite figured it all out yet, and I am by no means eating completely clean....I still love my Road Ranger Diet Coke, and my Splenda and powdered creamer laden decaf coffee.....I know those are ALL LOADED with plastics and chemicals, but I am taking small steps to cleaning up my diet. Organic eggs, lots of fresh veggies and berries (I am not eating any other fruits just yet) and some grass fed beef straight off the farm are helping me. I am not eating breads, pastas, potatoes, or any sugar at all. I did have a cream-filled, chocolate covered Long John from Swiss Maid Bakery....they are to die for...literally, I think you can die from them they are SO bad for you, but they taste SO good. Anyway, I felt the effects of that Long John for 3 days!! No more. UGH...it was not worth it.

Well, like I said...nothing worth blogging about. Without going into detail, prayers for family harmony are appreciated this time of year. It has been a rough season already. I find that I am less and less compassionate and patient with each year...I tend to actually get a bit ticked off about the whole ordeal. Not a flattering commentary on myself....Pray for me in this.

No pics of Sass this time, but let me tell you, she is a joy to have around. I can pick her up and have her purring "I love you" 's in a matter of seconds. For not being a real cat person, she sure has stole my heart....silly cat!

I want to leave you with some wonderful sounds....I have this CD on my list....WONDERFULLY uplifting music!!

Let The Sunshine In

It has been freeeeezing in my house. Footies and sweaters and extra quilts at night have been the norm. We are not ready to turn the heat on just yet. This afternoon the sun came in and raised the thermostat high enough to open the windows!

My childhood neighbor just turned 99 last month. Lou was such a huge part of my childhood. She is a quilter and has dozens of quilt tops waiting for her to tie...she prefers to tie them. She offered one to me. I will be hand quilting it.
It is a "Trip Around the World" pattern and though it does not lay flat in most places, her points are perfect. If I am doing this well at 99 I will be content! I know the "puffs and puckers" will quilt down just fine. What a treasured gift!
My 15 pound block for The Fat Quilt will probably be another week or two. I have slipped....the last couple of days I have fallen off the eating clean wagon. It was not worth it. I sure can feel the difference. No more...I am back on.

I even have fresh veggies all cut up and ready to grab for an omelet or salad...makes it hard to just not do it right.My son's friend has organic eggs at $2.50 a dozen. WOOHOO! I eat 2-3 eggs a day, so that is good. My kids LOVE eggs too.

Tonight my crockpot has sauce simmering for spaghetti and the bread machine has dough rising for pull apart bread. It is one of my family's favorite dinners. I will be having lean ground beef, low fat cottage cheese and a nice salad.

Have you all entered my giveaway? If not, it is in the post just below this one. Even if you are not a quilter, you could make pillows, or use the panel and fabric I am giving away to make an apron...the possibilities are endless. You can also click on the scarecrow in that post and find 150 other giveaways. I have found some inspiring blogs while visiting....I am only 1/2 way through the list so far!

Hope you all are having a productive and enjoyable week. My bread machine is beeping at me....time to go make bread!

Fall Into Fall Quilter's Giveaway

The winner of my giveaway is Vickie!!! Congratulations Vickie....LOVE the owls on your blog!

HAPPY OCTOBER!!!!!

It is Giveaway time!!! There are 143 personal giveaways and 8 business giveaways. You can find them all by clicking on the scarecrow! Good Luck and have fun!

My giveaway is a Harvest Town panel by Jacqueline Paton for Red Rooster Fabrics.
There are 4 total panels (Acorns, Pumpkins, Apples, and Corn) all with different scenes and all measuring 17 1/2 X 10 inches, not including the sashing. This would make a beautiful wall hanging or some cute bags.
Included is 1 yard of this coordinating pumpkin fabric! Gotta LOVE Pumpkins!!!I plan to add some extra goodies in the package for the winner too!!
To be entered in my giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment. Please leave an email address if you are a no-reply or do not have a blog. I am allowing anonymous commenting from today until the end of the giveaway (on the 15th) so you do not even need a google account. Just leave your name and email in the comment. Though I do not require you to follow my blog in order to be entered, I would love if you clicked the "follow" tab on my sidebar so you could visit again.
Be Blessed.....now go enter more giveaways!!!

A Quilty Post

My third Libby Quilt top is done. I really like this one. Even after having to rip out seams, it is going to be a favorite.
Too cute. Those baskets are 4 inch blocks set on point. Now to plan out the next one.
School is not going well this year. It is one frustrating day after another....I took control yesterday, so I am assuming the better day we had today was not a fluke. After an incredibly stressful morning yesterday, I told Sweetheart I just HAD to get out of there for a while. Where did I go? Acorn Quilts, of course! I grabbed a yard of a beautiful black fabric (not pictured) I need and can be used in several projects. Also, 2 half yard cuts...another black (which I used as the borders for the above Libby Quilt),and a pretty floral...another perfect Libby Quilt fabric.

6 different fat quarters.....THESE are my favorites and I think I may get some actual yardage of that large floral.Some yellow, cause you gotta have some yellow.And this interesting piece. A great Libby Quilt border, I think.All in all ,that fabric therapy cost me 33 dollars. Blessedly, I got an unexpected $60 check. Still, it is not something I will be able to do very often, so those kids better pull it together QUICK!!!I am really concentrated on the Hidden Star. I am at the count down! 9 blocks to go! I can not WAIT to have this thing finished!!!!Tonight is church and tomorrow is a day with my mom. Both activities I look forward to.

That silly cat! She just lands her butt where ever she pleases!She got the spray bottle just after this pic was taken! Her expression was the same as in this pic where we were telling her to get down....a "Who me? How dare you" look!

Come back on Friday for the Quilter's Giveaway post. See you then.

A Quiet Sunday

Fall has certainly arrived. Our trees are beginning to turn and the air is crisp. Soup and chili are finding their way onto the menu. Sweetheart took Zach out to the farm where he grew up. Much work to do out there and he needed the extra hands. I am spending my day quietly doing hand work. I had quilt group yesterday and I walked in ready to enjoy my time of sewing and fellowship. As I headed back to the back room, Kay said, "Hi Brenda. How are you?" I replied, "Just fine", and headed back to the classroom where we meet. A beautiful woman approached me and asked if I was Bren...I think she said Bren, maybe it was Brenda. Either way, I told her I was and she introduced herself to me. Joanne!!! Over 3 years ago, I had "met" Joanne on an online Flylady Quilters group. She shared her blog, Rockin' on the Porch, with me and I read it, along with others from her comments and blog list. I was HOOKED. I started Pieces From Me soon after. So I finally got to meet my blogging mentor! We hugged and spent the next 2 hours talking and sharing with the other ladies in the group. Joanne just had carpal tunnel surgery so she did not sew, but I can not wait to see her creations in person....she is coming back (I hope!) Joanne started a new blog last summer (just like me) when her sweet Bill passed away. New beginnings....you can find her at Attitudes and Gratitudes. What a great spirit she has. I so wished I had my camera with me!

Instead of taking the Hidden Star to quilt group I had planned to take the wool. Well, I did not have the right background. So instead I took my hexagons. I had attached 2 of the 70 I have basted, but was not happy with the outcome. I could see my stitches. One of the girls at quilt group is doing hexagons and promised to help me. It was a matter of thread color...that was it.

I decided I would work on these at group only, but liked them so much, I decided to take a hand quilting break (for only a couple of days) and work on these at home too. (See the fabric they are laying on? That is the background I picked up for the wool.) I have 2 full rows put together.
Another project I was whipping up has not gone as smoothly as desired. Look at this!!!!!
UGH!!! I will be froggin for sure! Rip it! Rip it! For today, this quiet, stress-free Sunday, I will whip stitch hexagons!
Kyle is having a PJ, movie day, and Charlotte is spending her day stitching a new towel I prepared for her. Christmas gifts are well under way!Food. Let's talk about the food thing for a minute. I got the new book, "This Is Why You Are Fat" by Jackie Warner. I won't put a picture on because the cover is very immodest, but let me say the content (minus the phrases "hot" and "se*y" every once in a while) is packed full of wonderful information. I am a fitness/diet/health book fanatic, and I must say this is by FAR the best one I have read yet. So of course it says eat clean....and organic....and that is impossible here. Organic is not financially feasible at this time. Clean...I can, maybe, do that. Still I can afford a few items that are organic. Some produce and eggs for starters.
Some of you asked exactly what I am doing. I am doing what works for my body. Low Carb (not high fat or high protein). It does good things for me. For me, it corrects high blood pressure, low/high blood sugars, and cholesterol levels (good and bad) come into normal range, plus I lose at a nice pace....1-3 pounds a week. I am also exercising.....UGH! So far I am doing a 2 mile power walk 6 days a week, but may change that to do Jackie Warner's workout in the book. It looks TOUGH, so we'll see.

I am also a Splenda freak. I guess eating clean means getting rid of Splenda. Not sure I can do that completely, but I did get some Truvia. It is ok....I like the chemical fizz I get from Spenda, but then what are ya gonna do??!! I treated myself to some flavored coffee this afternoon....I added Truvia to my Splenda French Vanilla, so that was better than the extra spoonful of Splenda I would have added. Only 1 more pound til I can make my 15 pound block for the fat quilt!
Sassy has fallen in love with a box.She rubs her face on it and purrs loudly. Finally, she climbs in and takes a snooze.CrAzY cat!
Hope you are all having a quiet Sunday too!

"The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet"
Isaiah 14:7a

Wool?

I did it. I took the plunge. I needed something small to take to my once a month quilting bee. We are growing and my big quilt and hoop just take up too much room. I decided to try the wool. Wool....omgosh is it expensive. Little bitty 2x3" rectangles are 60 cents! The "chunks" are between 5 and 9 dollars. Thank goodness I only needed a little bit. I have always wanted to try wool applique. I love the wool penny rugs and Acorn Quilts (the shop near my house) has a whole section of wool. Lots of hand dyed and just so soft it begs to be handled! I am going to make the Pineapple wall hanging.
I love Pineapples and have them in my family room. I have never been able to master the stitch required for wool applique, but I have seen a "whip stitch" version I think I could maybe handle.
My mother's birthday is tomorrow. She has been begging complaining ragging pleading asking very sweetly for a table topper for her kitchen table. I just do not have the time to make one for her just now. If I took time away from the Hidden Star I would lose all momentum. Anyway, it does not matter to her that I personally make it....she just wants one. I called my good friend Sue....my mother has known her for 28 years, and LOVES her quilts.....and begged complained ragged pleaded asked her very sweetly if she would make a topper for me. She did! It is beautiful. Her own design....she is talented like that....and she got it finished in a week.Hand appliqued and hand quilted....Her prices are SO reasonable. If you need a baby quilt, a table topper, or even a queen sized quilt made from beginning to end, or even your own top hand quilted, let her know. She is amazingly fast!!! You can contact her through her blog.

I am going to participate in the Fall Into Fall Quilter's Giveaway. The giveaways will be posted on October 1st and drawn on October 15th. You should see how many people are participating.....I am bound to win something, right? Even quilting businesses are jumping in this time! Thank you Debi, for hosting the giveaway.....lots of work involved there! It is appreciated by us all!!!!



That's all for now. I will let you know how the wool applique goes. I am taking it to my Saturday bee and will have lots of help ;)

Some Pictures for Grandma Dianne

Great Grandma asked for some birthday pictures. I hate to say, I only took a few at the party and most of those did not turn out. It was so busy, I just plain forgot. Before the Saturday party, on Emerson's actual birthday, Old Grandma and I took Emerson and her mommy to a birthday lunch at Chili's. Emerson got to do some of her favorite thing....COLOR. The girl LOVES to color.
Old Grandma does too! ;) An appetizer of Ranch dressing. Like her mommy, Emerson loooooves ranch dressing.Get it all......
After a lunch of grilled cheese and fries, Emerson was treated to the famous Chili's Birthday Dessert. A hot fudge brownie sundae! It was so big! Mom and Old Grandma tried to help.

Nope. She could do it herself.After lunch we all went shopping for a new pair of kicks. A girl needs birthday shoes. It is a "tradition" of 2 years now that Grandma takes her girl shoe shopping on her birthday. This year she got biker boots! I know....but they are so cute!
Emerson's big party was an Elmo party. This cake was made from cupcakes. So cute.

I failed at the picture taking this day. Emerson had on a gorgeous sage green polka dot dress that had a bright fuchsia flower on it. Black leggings, white ruffle anklet socks and patent leather shoes in the exact same fuchsia and OMGosh was she a doll. The outfit lasted less than an hour before she got so filthy she had to have a change. She opened tons of presents and ooohed and ahhhed over all the clothes. 2 years old, and she already has a love of clothes!
That is about it. So there it is Great Grandma! We all missed you and hope you are feeling better.

No I did not forget....I knew you would want to see that Great Grandson of yours too!!!!