Superbowl 49

Granted, I am not a huge football fan like my good friend Amy. However, I do watch some games with my hubby and I do keep track of those Green Bay Packers to see what Amy gets all fired up about. The football I enjoy most his college ball and even that isn't life altering!

This week has been football hell. The Superbowl will air on Sunday and it can not be over fast enough for me! It seems like every news channel ... including The O'Rilley Factor, AOL log on pages and even TV specials are focused on the Superbowl. EEKS! If I see/hear Marshawn Lynch one more time saying "I'm only here so I don't get fined" I'm am literally going to scream.

May I introduce to you Mr. Marshawm Lynch ... tat's and all.

#24, he has no comment, he's on the field so he doesn't get fined.

 Then there in Richard Sherman. He is some kind of super dude that according to himself the Seahawks just can not do without. As of today he is "unsure" if he will play or not on Sunday. His girlfriend is having a baby and it might come on Sunday! OMG, give me a break. He has known this baby's due date for at least 8 months and it never occurred to him he might be playing in the Superbowl? Perhaps he and the girlfriend could have worked this out before now? Personally, I hope he doesn't play and his replacement is amazing causing the coaches to realize he is replaceable. Stay home Richard, I'm so over you.

PS - Get a hair cut.

 I think Pete Carroll is an awesome football coach. I loved him when he was USC's coach. This man has class and such knowledge of the game of football. How he managed to take a group of egotistical, over paid men to Superbowl 48 and then win it is a feat in itself! Good luck Pete, you're gonna need it.

Pete Carroll, Seattle Sea Hawks coach

 Finally I bring to you "deflategate." My issue with this whole scandal is ... why didn't a player from the Seattle Sea Hawks say something about the mushy football during the game? You mean not one Sea Hawk touched the ball/s in question the whole time? Shame on them, this issue should/could have been a non-issue had some of these overpaid players spoken up at game time. Did Tom Brady deflate his ball/s?

Tom Brady - deflater on not?

 That is too funny .. hehe. Did coach Belacheck order it to be deflated? Or ...did the guy paid $18.00 an hour - the equipment manager decide on his own to let the air out of the ball? Oh please, really?

This is what you get when pay grown men millions of dollars to play with balls.

A Quilt, A Birthday and Thread

It has not even been a week and I have already completed one of my "small" quilts I bought at Road to California. I finished it this afternoon and I LOVE it!!

Some of my FAVORITE colors ... RED and TAN. I don't usually use floral fabric but I really loved this one ...

I'm ready for my close up Mr . De Mille. This little quilt kit was created by the girls at "My Red Door"

 Yesterday I took my friend Shirley to lunch for her birthday. She has been working very hard at releasing some excess body weight. When I opened my front door I was surprised to see how great she looked! 75 pounds gone, keep up the great job my friend.

We shared this delicious dessert and even left some for the weight loss angels!

 Last week my friend Tanya brought me a very vintage mending kit. This little plastic box was probably popular in the late 40's or 50's. It holds 14 spools of thread a thimble, a pair of scissors, pins and a measuring tape. So darn cute. I had a box of vintage spools of thread so I moved them into the box.

Each spool has a slot, you place the strands of thread through the slots and this way it is conveniently ready to use!

With the lid up there are places for scissors, pins etc. It came with the thimble.

A close up of the very vintage spools

 I love the old wooden spools thread used to come on. Most of these are stamped with the thread information, a few have the papers on the ends. And some of them even have the price ... 15 cents! I pay $3.00 to $4.00 per spool now. Got to love inflation!

Sideways but you get the idea!!

 

Vintage Flea Market

The definition of Vintage:

—used to describe something that is not new but that is valued because of its good condition, attractive design, etc. 

A few weeks ago I was invited to participate in a "Vintage Flea Market" I thought this would be great fun and a wonderful way to pass along some of my wonderful treasures that have been living far to long in my closets!

Yesterday afternoon I headed off to my friends house to set up my vintage treasures ...

Because we were the first ones there we got to pick where we would like to set up our vintage shop. We selected the dining room, it offered a lot of light, ample room and we were the first space the shoppers landed as they entered. The French rooster lamp was a huge hit, could have sold him numerous times!

Lucy and Judy ( far right) have been a part of my doll collection for many years. They have been living in the closet for awhile and today I am excited to say they have moved to a new home and will be living in Victoria's studio.

Many moons ago I decorated my guest room in a "French" style. When I re-did it all of these toile items were delegated to the closet ... (that closet was really full) Along with Tanya's Frenchie alarm clock these all went to the same loving home. However, one of the striped pillow cases was later found on the sidewalk, oh dear! I was so glad the finder new where it came from!!

 

Longaberger baskets, lamps and several of my quilts also found new places to call home!

The event hostess Marty (left) and her adorable daughter Mindy ...

Another vendor had the most wonderful succulents for sale ...

These signs were amazing. She does all of her work free hand with chalk. She was still in the setting up stages when I snapped this pic.

Here she is!! The chalk artist Ms. Katie! If you would love to have some of her work done for yourself she can be contacted at pandhchalk@gmail.com And speaking of talented ladies ... do you see the white chair on the left? That is a slip cover and it fits absolutely PERFECT. She can work wonders with fabric and a sewing machine! I am having her re-cover some chairs for me, I am soooooo excited! For affordable, detailed custom sewing and/or lessons she can be reached at 714-686-1261 and ask for Michelle.

Some of Michelle's pillows, a partial pic of Marty's couch and the chair on the top right ... she made a slip cover for it last night! OMG and has 3 children under 5! Yikes, she is amazing.

It was just the best day, so many of my friends and customers popped in to shop. Tanya, my partner in crime was by my side selling her wares and making me laugh. My daughter Tiffany came by and did some shopping and helped me out with photography!

Happy shoppers, can you see they are all talking at the same time! Women, we just love to find a good deal and TALK.

 So ... the definition of Vintage .... Tanya and I fit it to a "T". Many of the other vendors were providing new products, never gently used. But, we all melded together beautifully and each brought something different to the market place!

On the Road Again ....

That is on the Road to California once again! Yep, the popular quilt show has come to the sunshine state once again and my friend Debbie and I were there promptly at 9:00 am to shop till we dropped! I am always amazed at how many quilters there are in California. It's like an ocean of women oozing in and out of one booth after another. We oooh and ahhh at all the beautiful fabrics and patterns. Booth after booth you can hear the hum of the newest sewing machines with all the whistles and bells. Even the Tin Lizzie machine was all a flutter offering the newest in affordable long arm quilting.

Being a smart shopper I took my new quilted tote with me. I was sure it would have plenty of room to hold all of my purchases. WRONG! I filled my tote to the rim and had to finally accept a bag to bring home my final purchase.

Remember my tote??

A view way down inside after three hours of shopping!

Debbie and I wove up and down the isles searching for our favorite shops. Primitive Gatherings, Orange Quilt Bee (hi Lisa!) Rusty Crow, My Red Door, Farmhouse Threads and Stars and Scraps (hello Raquel)  were just a few of the many places we left our money.

Seven new patterns, four quilt kits, two spools of thread, 1/2 yard fabric cuts and misc. treasures found their way into my tote.

 After we left the show we made a stop and visited the college town of Claremont for a wonderful lunch. The weather today was so amazing, just perfect for lunch on the patio! Then a short walk across the street found us at Starbucks for a cup of dessert coffee ... Carmel Macchiato on ice Yum, yum. Then ... it was time to get a treat for the boys. Debbie's husband loves Bear Claws from Some Crust Bakery so we walked up town to get one. I saw a beautiful chocolate croissant ... one of my hubby's favorites. That's what's in the bag in the above picture. His face broke into a big grin when he saw what I brought him. As my mother said, "the way to a man's heart is through is stomach" she was so right!

Before I sign off for today I want to share a few pics from around the homestead ....

With Valentine's Day just a few weeks away I decorated my entry way to celebrate. My newest small red and white log cabin quilt is being held by my Santo's Angel. And yes, I can really spell BE, however, I was all out of "E's"!

My living room .... the table in front of the sofa used to be in the family room. Recently I needed to move it and my husband liked the open space. To keep him happy I moved things around and this is the new placements. Everything seems to have found a new home and I have a happy hubby to boot! Life is good.

 And my final note ... If you are a quilter, stitcher, etc. and you love everything primitive I have good news! Yep, the wonderful quilt shop currently housed in Wisconsin is opening an additional shop in Murietta, CA. Primitive Gatherings is coming to California and everyone is a buzz with excitement. While visiting her shop this morning this was all anyone could talk about. She will open her new doors on February 2, 2015. She commented how nice it is to be in the warm California sun and plans to stay in town at least through the 9th of February and enjoy the warmth.

Welcome to California Lisa!!

See you in Murietta!

 

Little Treasures ....

I really love making small quilts. They don't take much room, I can quilt them myself, it's a great place to use small pieces of fabric and they are so fun to tuck in places all over my home.

With the holiday's in the rear view mirror I have had more time to spend at my sewing machine making little treasures, finishing projects from the fall and even made a tote!

This is one side of my completed tote! What a ton of work this fella was ...

and side two. My friend Debbie and I took a class at the Star's and Scrap's quilt shop in Corona. We started in December and had to finish in January. This was a labor intensive bag, about 20 hours of hard sewing went into it!

 Next I finished up a quilt I started at a retreat I attended in the fall. It's all pieced, borders are on, now it needs to go to the long arm quilter!

I am really pleased how this came out. I even mitered the corners of the inner border without any help!! Woo hho a first for me!

 My friend Penny gave me the best 2015 calendar for Christmas this year. Each month is on a 4 x 6 piece of card stock with a picture of a small quilt on the front with the pattern to make it on the back! I have been busy making February and March ....

February is almost pieced, isn't this the best calendar idea for a quilter?

And February is done! LOVE it.

 Next up ... March

I don't have a lot of brights, especially greens, but I did find enough to get a small quilt made.

I call these crosses, the pattern calls them Shamrocks!

A favorite spot in my sewing room. An antique cradle filled with small quilts and my handmade doll Emma, she's from Australia. The wool quilt was done by my dear friend Paula.

If your a quilter, stamper, crafter or maybe a painter be sure to take time for your craft, nurture it. This is something you can leave as a legacy long after we're gone.

Happy 2015! Wow, another year is underway and I am still sorting through Christmas pictures to post! Time really needs to slow down for this ol gal.

My son and his family were in town for a few days after Christmas to celebrate with the So Cal side of the family! We had such a great time except for the fact that he arrived here at mid-night with an abscessed tooth. After a 12 hour drive to get here I put him back into a car and hauled him to the local Urgent Care to get some medications to hold him over until his dental appointment on Monday. Two hours later he was medicated with an antibiotic, pain meds and Mortrin! The next day we celebrated Christmas again. My grand-daughter Karlee wanted a foot spa ... like every good sister she gave her brother a pedicure ...

What a life! Austin is getting a pedicure while eating warm chocolate chip cookies, life is ruff!

An embarrassed Karlee soaking her feet. Mom was giving her a pedicure this time. She is wearing her new gymnastics outfit that I gave her for Christmas!

Austin is such a goofy kid, like his Aunt Tiffany and Uncle Shawn he had elf pj's, he brought them with him so while he had his on I got a pic of his auntie and mommy wearing their elf Jammie's too!

Three Christmas elves in my living room, just love these kids .... big and small.

Ruby the French Bulldog came for Christmas as well. After a rough day of playing and barking she decided to take a nap with her brother 

Austin on daddy's lap.

Along with providing his services as a pillow my son is finding a way to check and send emails. Is that a contented dog or what??

 Well folks, this is all for Christmas 2014, I have posted the final family events for the year ..... tomorrow, quilting!! Woo hoo!