Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my family and friends, near and far! May this coming year of 2015 be just the best ever! My husband and I are staying in on this cold night and plan to watch a John Wayne western. So very glad to stay in out of the wind and cold! I fixed tacos for supper and I reminded him, or I should say I helped him to recall, that 46 years ago we ate tacos in Old Towne in San Diego on New Years Eve. At midnight, the bells rang out across the city because it was the start of San Diego's 200th birthday and a year of celebrations (1969). I can clearly remember being at the window, hearing the bells. My husband......uh, no recollection at all. LOL! And I am not surprised. 

Tomorrow I will announce the winner of the giveaway that I posted about earlier in December. I'll be tossing all the comments into a basket and my Random Number Man will draw a winner. See you then. Have a wonderful evening wherever you are! 
Sandi

Looking back..........

Earlier today, I was tagged in some photos that were shared on the Deep Valley Quilter's Guild page. I hadn't seen them before but after commenting on a post, the admin Cathy shared the photos. They are so much clearer than my own photos. I am thinking I either need a new camera or perhaps I just need to learn how to better use the one I have. LOL! Anyway, on a cold night in January of 2011, I presented a program to Deep Valley Quilter's Guild in Mankato. It was cold but not quite as cold as it's going to be here tonight. It's a three quilt night tonight! I filled baskets and boxes full of wooly things and quilts to take along to the meeting.....

That's my "Eggs-a-blooming" penny rug on the upper left and on the right is my "Patriotic Stars" penny rug (and purple Grand Champion winner at the Sibley County Fair in 2009) and one of my favorites is that "Irish Blessings" penny rug. The gold "coins" that surround the penny rug are cut from some vintage wool that my mother-in-law gave me many years ago.

I had lots of small pieces to display and inspire............

I love to make wooly pincushions and needlecases and scissors cases and covered boxes and.....the list goes on! My fascination for fabric and wool projects began when I was a kid. I still have Barbie doll dresses that I made in the late 50's and these little donkeys that I made in the late 70's.........

The donkeys were featured in a December issue of Woman's Day or Family Circle in the mid 70's. For a long time I saved the issue but I must have given it away as I can no longer find it. The gray wool is another piece of wool that my mother-in-law Ora gave me. There was enough that I made a gray cape with a hood and then the scraps were used to make the donkeys for my son Devlin at Christmas. The mane on the donkeys is real scraps of mink from an old hat. They were seldom played with but they sat on the top of my son's chest of drawers for many years before they were packed away. Now I get them out just at Christmas.

There was a picture taken of me on that night. I look really happy and I was. I had begun to have some health issues but I was loving the chance to share how much fun I have when I stitch! I've only done a couple programs since then as my health issues and other family health issues just sort of multiplied. But I've been stitching........and I've been drawing.........and I am making plans. I've got a program to do in June and looking forward to "Quilts in the Valley" with my brother Doug on the first weekend in October. I'm excited to host some "Wooly Gatherings" at our local library and our quilt group "Sew and Share Quilters" is having fun making blocks for our Christmas quilts. If you live nearby and want to join us, please leave a comment and I'll get back to you with info. And if you are interested in a program on wooly things or quilts, please let me know. I have a new planner and it's just waiting to be filled with lots of fun stitching plans!
And now.......it's time to grab that good book I got at the library yesterday, crawl under that stack of quilts and stay warm and read!
Have a wonderful New Year's Eve! Stay safe, stay warm (or cool depending on where you are!) and be happy!
Sandi

Old tree, new life.........

This afternoon, I met Mary and Arlene from our Friends of the Library group and we took down this big old tree at the library. You may recognize it as I shared about the tree early this month when I summed up our Silent Auction event. We bought this tree in 1993 at Seasonal Concepts in Minneapolis. It was huge for our house in Prior Lake but there was a corner where it worked out. But when we moved here, it didn't fit so well. And it sheds pine needles as if it was real. But, there was still life in this old tree so we used it at the Henderson Library to collect books for the local toy drive. Last year we must have collected close to 100 books but I didn't get an exact count. This year there were 75 books when I counted. And then today, I found two more when we dismantled the tree. LOL!

I am hoping that next year we can collect 150 books on and under the tree!!!

I know it will hold that many books because when it sat in our basement family room in 2010, it had almost 500 ornaments on it! That was the year when a local magazine came and did a photo shoot but due to circumstances beyond control, they were never published. I decorated a silver and gold tree for our living room that year, something I've always wanted, and it was very pretty. But.........nobody in my family liked it. They wanted the traditional "every branch covered in ornaments that have meaning tree". And so, that's what I do now. Not sure what I'll do with all those silver and gold ornaments I bought, almost all of them "on clearance", but they might find their way into future projects at the library. ;-)

And speaking of projects, I am working on one that will involve this stocking..............

More info to come later this week or on the weekend. I have some fun stuff in store for this year on my blog. I am so excited to be blogging regularly again!
Right now, though, I am headed to bed with a good book that I picked up at the library. We have extra quilts ready as the weatherman says it is going to be the coldest night since last March! Not to worry here. Plenty of quilts to keep us warm!
Sandi

Quiet Sunday.........

Yes, it was a quiet Sunday. And after all the busy-ness of this past few weeks, that was just fine. Several folks were not in church this morning, probably still doing some Christmas gatherings. Those of us that were there, got to celebrate this dear man's 90th birthday. Well, actually when you read this on December 29th, he'll be 90. This is Bert Karels, a WWII veteran, one of the kindest, nicest guys I've ever met. He is a fellow Iowan, perhaps that's why? ;-)

There was an awesome selection of cookies that Bert's wife Arline shared. They were from the bakery and they were yummy! Bert has such a positive attitude and so does Arline. Having people like this in my life, makes me so happy, feeling so blessed! I have met the best folks since moving to Henderson. Small town living is the best, in my opinion. Another dear friend is Lisa Mathwig. I met Lisa when I discovered her jewelry booth at local events here in Henderson. I love the Papparazzi necklaces and buy several for myself (they are just $5.00 for necklace and earrings) and as gifts. My mom loves necklaces so she has several of them now. Lisa says I'm one of her best customers. :-) She also does custom signs and last spring I was going to buy three small signs on canvas that said "Dream", "Hope", "Believe".... but instead, Lisa gifted them to me! I have come to know her Grandma when I visit a nearby assisted living facility and I've come to know Lisa because I buy from her every time I see her at an event. Maybe I am a good customer. LOL! So, I liked those signs so much that I asked her to make two sets for me, one that would be for Collette, one for Devlin. No hurry, I said. A week before her last sales event in December, she sent a message......"be sure and stop by when you come to the craft show, I have a gift for you". Now I thought it was probably a piece of jewelry. So when I stopped by, I bought jewelry, of course, and then she handed me a long thin package and said "Don't open this til you get home". And I followed her instructions! Was I surprised when I opened the package. Wrapped in tissue were two signs with just the words I wanted. I almost cried! She gave me a gift that I could "gift" to my kids. How cool is that?!! So, I gave them to my kids and told them the story behind the signs. They were both impressed and thought it was very thoughtful of Lisa to do this. Me, too! Thank you, Lisa!

So, those words are ones I plan to live by this coming year. I have a Dream......I Hope I can fulfill it........I Believe I can do it! More on what it is as the year unfolds. In the meantime............I took the day off. I had my feet up quite often, wearing these fun socks that Collette, Daryl and Jacob got me for Christmas. I got several pair and they are the most comfortable socks I've ever worn, and warm, too! They are all I wanted from them. I have much, don't need much. I enjoyed some chocolate while I had my feet up. Aldi's makes a great hazlenut chocolate bar and all I asked for from Devlin was "buy me lots of chocolate bars". I gave up CocaCola but there is no way I am giving up chocolate. LOL!

The warm socks are going to come in mighty handy as the temps are headed down to the single digits here in Minnesota. I have just one errand to run on Monday and otherwise, I will be staying in and staying warm. Must go take down the big tree at the library and pack up the very last of the ornaments until next year. All my Christmas stuff here at home will be up til the end of the month. Once I get this place decorated, I love to enjoy it. Sometimes I just sit on the couch and look at the tree and the ornaments. It's a fun stress-free trip down memory lane.
Well, there is still time to do a little tidying up here in my sewing room. I will be "tidying up" for the rest of the week and into the next week. Boy did I make a mess this holiday season. ;-)
Happy Monday!
Sandi

Deju vu.........

You may think you have seen these photos before.............

and yes, you did! My last post showed tiny glittery snowflakes on these same things and this is all the snow that accumulated......only about 2"! Makes everything look so pretty though. I'm guessing there will be more snow before winter is over. :-)  Cold temps moving in this week but that's okay. It's warm in my sewing room!
I did every bit of laundry and really tidied up the house today. In the morning, I'll be off to church and then I am spending the rest of the day in my sewing room. It looks like a summer storm blew through here and there are craft supplies and projects all over. Must get it cleaned up because I am planning something fun for January. I'll share on January 1st. In the meantime, have a lovely Sunday!
Sandi

A brown Christmas but snow is on the way..........

Late this evening, I let Kaiser the Wonder Beagle outside for his evening constitutional and I was surprised at the glittery snow that was beginning to cover everything! It looked just like glitter! It was sprinkled on my little chair that last night held my Santa Bear (and in spring and summer holds my flowers and in fall holds a pumpkin or two!). This is an old Sunday School chair that was going to be tossed and I brought it home because it brings back good childhood memories.

Sprinkles of glittery snow were on the fake Christmas gifts that sit in my planter boxes. I pulled out my fall mums and the indentation in the dirt was the perfect cradle for fake presents!

I never got my old wooden sled down from the garage as without snow, it would look strange sitting on a bed of rocks. So I left my red wagon and the old lawnmower that my brother, Doug, gave me last summer. I added some of those fake flowers that I grow so well and made them look a bit festive. There is just the slightest dusting of real snow in my little red wagon.........

I wonder how much snow will be there by morning? The best part of this snow is that it came after all of our family holiday travel. Nice to know that we have no place to go. I will be in my sewing room. All day. :-)
Sandi

Merry Christmas 2014

It was a Christmas without snow and I missed that but......it made travel easy and we had a great day. Here's a little collage of a very nice Christmas day at our house. Warmed my heart. I was happy all day long. :-)

And tomorrow, I think I will sleep in and do nothing for the day. Well, almost nothing. There's a bit of laundry and tidying up that needs to be done. Both Devlin and Daryl have to go back to work but Collette is on vacation this week. She is doing much better, sort of. She has a cold and that is not a fun way to spend Christmas Day. Jacob is also on vacation. He was so happy with his Christmas gifts. Steve is on vacation because he is retired. In that photo above, he is unwrapping a "MyPillow" from his sister, Linda. We both got one and in a few minutes, I am going to give mine a try. I've seen the TV commercials and if this pillow works as good as they say, then I will be one happy sleeper. Going now to test it out............. ;-)
Have a relaxing weekend!
Sandi