Ten Days to Christmas! I'm Not Ready!

Hey everyone!

I literally just realized today that we are ten days (10 days!) out from Christmas! I'm so not ready! Yeah, I've bought a few gifts, but they aren't wrapped and I'm pretty sure I'm not finished shopping yet. I just thought about Christmas cards yesterday and still haven't done anything about writing them or getting them out. To say that I am behind is an understatement! Are you ready for Christmas?

If you, like me, are not in fact, ready for Christmas, here is a link and another link, and just one more link (you're welcome) to some quick and easy Christmas gifts that you can make. Guess, I'd better choose which ones to make and get crackin'!

I am working on my embroidery piece...still! Not sure it will be ready by Christmas but I get an A for effort, I guess. 

Next week I'm off work for the whole week and I'm so excited. My plans are 1) get ready for Christmas...wrap presents...send out cards 2) organize my sewing room, which is long past due 3) get another quote for new kitchen cabinets (Monday) 4) finish embroidery piece 5) get some rest. I'm not sure I'll get any or all of that done! I already have babysitting for my grandsons scheduled on Saturday, so one day down. We'll see what happens.

My daughter sent a Christmas photo of my grandsons. They've grown so much! My oldest grandson will be 9 in January along with my youngest granddaughter (how are they 9 already! Weren't they just born?!) Geez, time flies!

My handsome grandsons with Santa!

I also celebrated another spin around the sun last week. Funny, I don't feel older, but my body would beg to differ! I guess you are really as young as you feel...not! LOL! Anyway, my oldest daughter made me a ginormous delicious chocolate cake and I had the whole family over for dinner. Yes, I cooked (and cleaned) on my birthday! But we had a great time.

Me with my ginormous chocolate cake!

Here's to looking forward to the holidays and a new year.

Happy Sewing, Quilting, and Embroidering!

And if I haven't told you yet, Happy Holidays! 🎄🎅🤶

Another Successful Surgery and a Cold Front

Howdy Folks!

Just stopping to let you know that my second cataract surgery was a success and I am recovering well. 👀 I was nervous about it, but there was no reason to be and now it's all behind me...well, except 4 more weeks of eye drops and another ophthalmologist visit. Ha! 

One of the nurses at the surgery center asked me if cataract surgery was a Christmas present to myself. I had to think about that one for a minute, but...um...yeah...I suppose it was! 🎁 So Merry Christmas to me!

I woke up to near-freezing temperatures this morning and frost on the ground (I mean...it's Texas, so that's newsworthy). So, it's truly winter here...at least for a few days. LOL! Just wait a minute and the weather will change! Sunday it was 81 degrees, so Texas weather is like a roller coaster most of the time, except in the summer when it's just HOT! 🔥

My embroidery piece is coming along, but I have to rest my eyes for a few days at least before I can get back to it. Not to worry, I have more Christmas shopping🤶 to get done and I'm working on a big project at work, so I'm staying busy!

Gotta go rest now.

Happy Sewing, Quilting, and Embroidering!

Turkey, Surgeries, and Christmas Shopping

Hey there!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving! I know I ate my fair share of turkey and stuffing!🦃 😉

Now it's on to Christmas. Speaking of which, did you do any Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopping? I sure did! Trying to get gifts for the kids and grandkids. I found most of the gifts on Amazon and a few at Target and may have bought a few things for myself along the way 😉 I always forget (every single year) just how stressful (and expensive) Christmas shopping is. I still have some shopping left to do, so trying to save up. 

When I was at the doctor's office last week, I was chatting with one of the nurses who mentioned that she had all of her Christmas shopping done by August! August...I don't even think about Christmas shopping until after Halloween, or even Thanksgiving! I'm curious as to how many people get their Christmas shopping done early 🤔

I also had cataract surgery in one eye 👁 and am going in tomorrow to get the other eye done. I am so hoping this will not only improve my vision but also my night vision. Haven't driven at night for quite a while now. Surprisingly, the first surgery was fast and easy (I was quite nervous!), so here's hoping tomorrow's surgery is fast and easy too. 

My Christmas tree is up! I actually bought a new tree this year (on sale) and put it up the day after Thanksgiving. Now, I'm not normally a tree-putter-upper but decided that since I'm in a new house and I have the kids and grandkids over more often (because...bigger house) that I would go ahead and put up a tree this year. 🎄 So here's a photo of my new tree! (I'm still waiting on some decorations and tree skirt that I ordered...so don't judge the bareness of my tree)

My new Christmas tree!

I'm still working on my next embroidery project and hopefully will be finished soon. It's been hard to finish it with the eye surgeries, but I promise to post photos as soon as it's off the hoop!

Here are some photos of the grandkids from Thanksgiving week, and also my tree out front is changing colors and it is beautiful!

The boys had a concert at their music school.

My beautiful tree, changing to autumn colors!

Happy Sewing, Quilting, and Embroidering!

 

Hickabilly Christmas Tennessee Trip

Howdy y'all!

I just returned from 5 days in Chattanooga, Tennessee where I attended the Hickabilly Christmas Live Event by Lizzy & Erin. I'm tired from traveling but had a great time crafting and catching up with my long-time friend, Debbie. 

Me and Debbie (she made us matching shirts!)

It was really great to see Debbie and her daughter and meet her four-year-old granddaughter (even though she wasn't feeling too well 😞). The weather turned rainy and cold when we were there, so sightseeing moved off our list (bummer). I was really excited to see the sights...but it just wasn't meant to be. However, we ate some delicious food while we were there! We had a wonderful brunch at Milk and Honey and had amazing ramen at Two Ten Jack's restaurant.

Driving into Tennessee

Cool tunnel in Chattanooga!

Also, I won a gift basket! (I never win anything!) It was so big that I had to ship it home...LOL! It should be here tomorrow, so it'll be like I won it twice 😂

The giant gift basket I won and shipped home!

Hickabilly Christmas...Look at all those gift baskets they gave away!

This cute reindeer (made by me) was one of the crafts we made at the event.

Now there's a quilt! LOL!

Well, time for this old gal to rest up from the trip and think about gifts for Christmas. I can't even believe that Thanksgiving is next week! So, Happy Thanksgiving!

Next time, we'll talk about little gifts to sew or quilt for Christmas.

Happy Sewing and Quilting!

November and the Houston International Quilt Show

Happy November or as I like to say Happy Almost Turkey Time! 🦃

It's starting to cool off here in Texas, at last! I love going outside and not instantly sweating. And we've finally gotten some rain. Yep, the cooler weather is exciting!

Today the Houston International Quilt show begins and runs through November 6. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend again this year for various reasons. I've been to this spectacular show a couple of times and I have to say that it's a wonderful, if a bit overwhelming, quilt show. It showcases some of the best of the best quilters on the planet. It's also fun for everyone (husbands and kids included). 

My late husband took me to the Houston Quilt show twice, years ago, and we both had so much fun. Hubby loved looking at all the art quilts and I had fun shopping. 😃 So many vendors come to the quilt market and show in Houston. It's amazing! 

If you can't make it to the show (like me) click here to see the winning quilts. I am determined to make it back to Houston, if not next year, then the following year (fingers crossed). I mean...I'm not getting any younger! But if you do want to go next year, or the year after, be sure to reserve a hotel (or stay with friends) well in advance...like right now! The hotels book up quickly, especially the ones nearest to the venue.

I have never entered a quilt in a quilt show before. I mean...I'd like to I'm just chicken. One day, perhaps I'll be brave enough but until then I just like to look at everyone else's beautiful quilts.

My vacation is next week and I'm excited to be off work for a few days. Plus I'm excited about seeing my long-time friend, who I haven't seen for several years, her daughter, and her little granddaughter (who I haven't met yet). As mentioned in a previous post, we are attending the Hickabilly Christmas Live event in Chattanooga, Tennessee where we will be crafting up a storm. They do have a virtual option if you are interested in attending without the cost of travel. I'm just calling it "Girls Week"!

My latest little embroidery project is nearly complete and I'm anxious to finish it. I'll post photos when it's done.

Happy November, Quilting, Embroidering, Crafting, and Sewing! 🍁🍂

Las Vegas and Latest Embroidery

Happy Thursday!

It's hard to believe that the end of October is here already! Seems like October just began and Halloween is in a few days. I have a couple of costumes to choose from for a Halloween kids' party on Sunday, so I just have to decide which one to wear. 💀👻

I was in Las Vegas for a work conference last week and it was...exhausting! (You thought I was going to say fun.) I mean...it was for work. I'm not a gambler, however, I did play one slot machine...just for the heck of it...and after winning $24, I walked away a winner!💲

One thing about Vegas that I discovered is all the walking! Everything seems near enough but then you walk miles to get there. One of the ballrooms in the hotel where the conference was held was a quarter mile of walking each way. Now, that may not seem like much but when you walk it several times a day, the steps really add up. The good news is, I did get all my steps in last week! My tip for going to Las Vegas is to wear comfortable shoes!

Me in Vegas

Amy Pohler was one of the main speakers at the conference and she was really interesting to listen to. I was excited to be able to sit near the front of the audience and got some good photos of her.

Amy Pohler in Vegas

More photos from Vegas

My next trip is in a few short weeks for vacation. As mentioned in a previous post, I'm going to Tennessee for a Lizzy & Erin craft show. I'm just really excited to be taking a vacation for the first time all year! 😃

After I got home from Las Vegas and rested up quite a bit, I finished an embroidery piece I've been working on for several months. I was happy to be done with it and have moved on to another embroidery project for Christmas. And yes, I know, Christmas is looming!

My latest finished embroidery project

The printed fabric for my latest finished embroidery project is from The French Needle (link on the right) and the thread colors are my own. Most of the thread I used is from Sublime Stitching (link on the right). My next embroidery project is also from The French Needle and I'll post it when I'm done with it. It's a small piece, so should go pretty fast.

Happy Quilting, Embroidering, and Traveling!

Writing and Quilting

Hey there!

I just returned from the Dallas Fort Worth Writers Conference (DFWCON) and it was a fantastic conference! Not only do I learn so much about writing at these events, but I also get to meet great people. And since I write fiction in between working, being a Nana, quilting, and embroidering, I'm always excited to go. 

I actually met an author...cannot remember her name (I'm terrible at names)... at the conference who also quilts and we sat and talked about quilting and shared photos of our quilts for about an hour. I was so excited and so was she! She'd only been quilting for about a year, so she picked my brain about quilt tips. I'm always happy to help out fellow quilters! Needless to say, even at a writing conference, the highlight for me was chatting about quilting. LOL!

Next week I'm headed to Las Vegas (first time ever!) on a business trip and then definitely looking forward to actual vacation time in November. I probably won't take any embroidery to Las Vegas but will take it to Tennessee. I honestly need to look for "airplane" scissors so I can sit and embroider on the plane. Any suggestions? I've been meaning to search for some but have been way too busy.

The weather in Texas is finally starting to cool some (well, today it's 91 out) and I was able to spend some time outside with my youngest daughter yesterday. We made some bird feeders out of toilet paper rolls, peanut butter, string, and birdseed and hung them up in the trees. 

This was a fun (sticky) crafty project that you could do with your kids or grandkids. It's also a great way to repurpose toilet paper rolls rather than throwing them away! 

Here's a short video on how to do it.

We love the birds!

Homemade bird feeders

As you can see from the photos, we already have several bird (and/or squirrel) feeders in the yard. The squirrels love to raid the bird feeders! 

Viva Las Vegas and Happy Quilting, Sewing, and Crafting!