Vintage Tablecloth Love

No one here loves it except for me.

I found this tablecloth at Goodwill on Monday.

For $2.87... perfect vintage condition.  No stains, no tears.  And it fits my large table.  It makes me smile.  I know that someone spent a lot of time embroidering this cloth... someone who enjoyed doing things like this.  I will never use it; but I will love looking at it! Thank you to whoever dontated it to Goodwill.

How to get out of a rut and other stuff

I allow myself to 'get in a rut' quite often.  When most of us fall into a rut, it is usually our own fault.  For me, it's pretty easy to get out of the rut, if I just do a few things differently in my day to day life.

I rejoined Curves  this week.  It had been almost a year since I had been, and boy! could I tell I hadn't been in awhile.  I had gained way too much weight, however, I knew exactly where each and every pound had come from:  I  have enjoyed lots of ice cream and peanut m & m's this past year.  I mean a "crazy" lot of them. (did anyone else enjoy the chocolate dipped vanilla cones at McDonald's this summer??? oh my!!)   At least I wasn't surprised at the weight gain, right?  (I guess I was glad it wasn't more weight!)

On my way home from Curves today, I decided to stop by the library.  I realized that I had not been inside the library since I started using my Kindle to read e books.  Really??? As much as I like my Kindle, I still prefer paper and ink reading.  I checked out these Gooseberry books to browse through this afternoon while lounging around the house.  (it's raining here!)

On my way home from the library, I decided to take a different route.  I normally take the shortest route, but there are several ways to my home that only take an extra 2-3 minutes.  I enjoyed seeing things I don't normally see and just before I turned onto my road, I heard something on the radio that got my attention.  (I would have missed this if I had taken the regular 'in a rut' route)

Did you know there is a whole song for this chorus?  I'm not sure that I did.  Here are the words:

Some thank the Lord for friends and home 
For mercies sure and sweet 
But I would praise Him for his grace 
In prayer I would repeat 

Refrain: 
Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul 
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole 
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me 
Thy great salvation so rich and free 

Some thank Him for the flow’rs that grow 
Some for the stars that shine 
My heart is filled with joy and praise 
Because I know He’s mine 

I trust in Him from day to day 
I prove His saving grace 
I’ll sing this song of praise to Him 
Until I see His face 

This is one of my favorite songs to hum.

Last night I tried a new recipe from Pinterest: a keeper!!! 

 It was this taco salad recipe and it makes a huge bowl full and we had leftovers for today.  Very inexpensive and the kids loved it, too.  

taco casserole 

I would love to find a pretty pot like that to serve mine in sometime.  I served ours in a large wooden salad bowl which was pretty too.  But this pan is way more 'country'.  The only thing I will do differently next time is add another small can of olives to this, as we all love olives in my family.  We also added a dollop of sour cream on the top of ours.  A must try if you are looking for something different.  (It served four adults, two children, and  we had enough leftovers for another meal for hubby and I)

So, what simple things do you do to get out of a rut?? Some people rearrange their furniture, cut their hair, change jobs, etc.  I would love to hear your ideas.

Happy House

Please click on the link

Please click on the link below the picture to see pic's of this happy house.  I love, love, love everything about it.  I'm on Pinterest these days.  I'm getting ready to transform my kitchen into red and white gingham... pure country!  :)))

The lady who owns this house is Joy from Joy's Thoughts and Things.  Click on her link to see her whole blog.  It's adorable.

Sweet Pea and the Bouffant

What am I working on?

Well, that's what Sweet Pea wants to know.  What are you doing, Mama?

Let me under there, please! Oh, it's not really big enough, is it?

I'm finishing up a little bouffant embroidery done for my 'hair stylist' daughter.  I quilted  it using my machine and walking foot this morning. It was the first time I have used my walking foot.... love it.  I should have used it on Kameron's quilt.  Still learning......

On My Quilting Table Today

Don't get too excited.  I didn't make the top.  Isn't it pretty, though?  I bought it from ebay and I'll tell you why.

Hubby is in a wildlife association that meets every September in Smithfield, NC.  There is an auction at the end of the weekend and I have been promising him for several years to have a quilt ready for auction.  Well, he told me this year is the year, because he has already discussed it with several other members and organizers.  So, what to do?  Get a quilt ready!

I was browsing through ebay, as I so often do, and spotted this one last week, that I thought would be perfect for the wildlife auction.  Hubby agreed, so I bought it. I promise not to sign it, as if it were my own, but I sure would like to take the credit for making this sweet quilt.  I'm not sure if you can see in the picture, but the ears and tails are 3 D.  Click to enlarge to see if you can see them.

Hubby and I are on vacation from each other for the next couple of days. He is playing in a yearly golf tournament with his

A new quilt top for Nancy

I had a friend to ask me about making a baby quilt for her soon to be born grandson.  It caught me off guard because no one has ever asked me to make something for them.  Several have hinted, but none have come right out to ask.  She said she would be glad to pay me.....hmmm, how do you even begin to charge for the time it takes to make a quilt?

Knowing that this friend can also sew, I told her I would put together the quilt top, but she could finish it up.  She was hesitant, but agreed.  She bought all the fabric and I used my new  'go to' baby quilt pattern.

Yes, it's JUNGLE BABIES!  I'm not sure how this quilt is going to wash, as the top is made from cotton jungle baby fabric and flannel giraffe spots.  I'm not sure how mixing flannel and regular cotton will do together.

I like the way the two fabrics contrasted with each other.  And I just love the giraffe fabric.

Nancy chose this fabric with larger face babies for the backing.  I think it's going to be a pretty cute quilt.

** I do enjoy making quilts for others, but only if it's my idea....I choose the fabrics, I choose the pattern, and I get it done in my own time.  I have so many of my own things to sew, I would never want to sew for others as a business.  I think that would take the joy out of it for me. **

Little Kameron's Quilt

My sweet niece is having a baby boy, due in September.  His Aunt Penpen just finished up his little quilt and hopes to get it mailed off to her tomorrow:

This is the second time I used this pattern (Eleanor Burns) and it is so simple, and I love the traditional look of the design.  I quilted it on the sewing machine, but one could do some pretty handquilted designs in each square.

I chose to try straight line quilting on this one.  I didn't even switch out to the quilting foot.  I ran this little quilt through the machine and I was pleased with the tension and how the threads looked on the back side. I usually have a difficult time getting the back tension correct when free motion quilting.

I remember reading somewhere that you should always stitch in the same direction... not stitch to one end and travel back to the other end.  I think I may have done just that with a few lines... see the ripples in the middle?

I like to personalize my quilts, but never 'love' my labels.  Next time, I may try to embroider on the quilt itself, before the quilting stitch is done. (this would probably look better with an embroidered border, too)  I save labels on pinterest and found the following label recently.... I may even try this one next time.

corner label from Fresh Off The Spool blog

Click link for tutorial

I hope sweet little Kameron enjoys playing on and sleeping under his quilt.

July 2013

I'm here.  I've been reading your blogs, but not commenting a lot.  And I certainly haven't been posting! It's been awhile...

We just got back from our beach vacation.  We went to a new beach (for us) this year.  It was a lot of fun exploring new places, but I missed our 'home' beach.  The water wasn't as clear at our new beach AND we saw an alligator swimming along the shore!

Avery and his dad, Will

I forgot to take my camera, so not a lot of pic's.  My I phone is just about full already, so picture taking was very limited.

Chandler enjoyed the sand a lot! 

It's hard to believe this little fellow is having his first birthday party this weekend.  He will be ONE on Saturday.

April and Chandler

Bombshell news!  This girl is getting married!  A big surprise for me and her dad (and everyone).  She is packing up and moving to Tennessee by the end of July to be with her love.

Ronnie and Chandler

She is marrying this guy!  I'm trying to be happy about it.  I will miss my best friend being just a few miles away.  She will be living near Nashville, a place I've never visited before.  So, yes, I am looking forward to visiting her there.  :)

Most of my sewing time has been limited to this quilt.  It's being hand quilted and I'm almost finished!!  I've enjoyed the process of hand quilting again and had forgotten how much I enjoyed it.  It's a slow process, but so pretty.

I've been sick with a sinus infection, bronchitis and just plain ole' yuk!  I'm much better after a round of antibiotics and steroids.  But my ribs are so sore.  I went back to work this weekend and I sure felt those ribs every time I helped to lift a patient.  Whew, glad for this day to recover!  

Our garden is just about gone.  We've had a lot of rain in NC and I think the squash just couldn't take it this year.  We still have a few cucumbers and a few tomato plants.  But they aren't the prettiest plants we've ever grown .  I think I see a trip to the farmer's market in my near future.  

Just checking in.... I hope everyone is doing well!

Glencoe Mill Village

Hubby and I took a 30 minute ride to a nearby place that I've been wanting to see for some time. I had no idea it was so easy to get to, or I would have gone by myself a long time ago.  :) (and I will def. go again!)

The little mill village has been restored with the help of the NC Historical Society.  Seeing places like this just makes my heart flutter.

These old homes were restored from such a run down condition.  It's amazing to see them now, perfectly repaired and restored to historical guidelines.  (the lady at the museum said they were originally all white, when they were being used for employees of the old mill)

This was one of my favorites.  The houses with the double front doors were built with 'shift workers' in mind.  This was done so the whole family would not be  disturbed  when the worker came in from a late shift while the family was sleeping.

A few of the houses were torn completely down and rebuilt to replicate the original mill houses.  However, most were restored from houses like this.

Only the supervisors were allowed to live in a house with a wrap around porch.

I have many more pictures of the houses, but wanted to show you these few.  These houses sit very close to the street and if the families were sitting on their porches, they could talk back and forth to those around them.  I'm sure it was a very hard life, working in a mill for very low wages.  But the history and nostalgic side of me just loves this area and would be proud to live in one of these houses today.

There was a museum (which was the original old general store) that housed a lot of memorabilia from Glencoe Mill.  The weaving looms were amazing.  Not only their size, but the fact that someone had to mastermind all those bits and pieces and how they would work together to make fabric. Some women had looms in their homes and made fabric for the mill as a cottage industry. (for very little pay)

These are some of the plaid fabrics that were made at Glencoe Mill.  Click here to read more about the museum.

This quilt was made by locals to represent the mill houses.  Isn't it beautiful?

A little girl's dress made from flour sack fabric.  It was an embarrassment to most people to have dresses made from these fabrics.  Who knew we would someday pay big $$ to get our hands on some of it?

An interesting bottle tree in someone's yard.  Click to enlarge to see better detail.

I like this mailbox, but was surprised that it was 'allowed' to be decorated this way in a historical village.  (posted this for you Ancient One)

More feedsack/ flour sack fabric

A pretty quilt (I think it was made with fabric from the mill)

It was a beautiful day and so much fun to get out and do something different.

~Thrifting Goodness~

There is a thrift store  in downtown Asheboro that I like to visit.  For the month of May, everything in the store is 1/2 price. So, of course,  I've been several times this month and this is what I've picked up recently.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love vintage stitchery.  These were made in 1961 and gifted to someone for their birthday.  (written on the back) Love the happy colors!  Cute!!

Some of you also know that I collect rolling pins.  See the one in the middle?  The hand carved one?  Yes, I bought that from my favorite thrift store.

And who could resist this vintage pencil sharpener?? This will work great in my shadow box that I plan to make some day, displaying vintage sewing items.  Total spent on all of the above:  $7  I love thrifting! :)

Recent Photo Shoot

We took the grandsons to a local park and a friend did a photo shoot for us.

Notice the boys are sitting on Chandler's baby quilt.

Aunt April came along with us; making it even more fun!

One of my favorites!

Sweet boys!

Mr. Blue eyes!

Little ham!

Me and Sweet daughter

Aunt April loves

It was a fun day!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

 The Good:

I finally put a quilt into my quilting frame all by myself.  (it was a little crooked) The machine sewed well with no bobbin or tension issues.  It was fun!

(this quilt was made many years ago by me, using the scraps I received after my dad's mom died.  I never finished it because my borders were wavy, and I didn't want to remove them to fix it.)

The Bad:

I made lots of boo boo's on this quilt,  always trying to figure out what in the world to do next.  I love this machine, but I'm not so much into the quilting frame.  I think I still want to sell it.

I had several of these creases in the back of my quilt; not to mention my batting got folded along one little section.  It should be plenty warm in that area!  :))  (the backing is a thrift store sheet... I love it)

 The Ugly:

This is some ugly machine quilting here:

I tried meandering and loop d loops.  It really was a fun process, but this girl needs lots of practice. Those who quilt for others truly have my respect!!!  I did trim the wavy borders off and I'm going to bind it with something happy.  This will be my little couch quilt...just for me... "with love from Mary" is what I'll call it.   While I was quilting, I thought about my Grandmama and wondered what she would think of this huge quilting set up.  Would she have had this contraption if they had been available to her?  I wondered about the fabrics....did she actually use these to sew her clothing, or were they just scraps that someone else handed to her?  I wish she had lived longer so that I could have talked 'sewing' with her as  grown up.

So, that's it.... one quilt down... and do I make impulsive purchases?  I think so!  I 'so' didn't need this machine and frame.  (if anyone is interested in purchasing in NC area, send me an email)

But, look what I found at a thrift store today:

Everything  in the store was 1/2 price today.  If you click on the picture to enlarge, you will see the original price was .50 cents.  I paid a whole quarter for this book!  I just love treasure hunts, don't you?