Down but not out

The spirit is willing but the body is weak! I have been sick. The usual Springtime allergy/bronchitis hit bad this year. The worst in years...goes along with more pollen in the air, I guess. Ended up going to the Dr. three times and I almost "lost it" this time around. Truth is, I had quit using Barleygreen (green drink) and my allergies have gone nuts. Live and learn, eh? Well, no sewing, quilting, dolls, or even crochet. Everything is on hold. I'm slowly on the mend, but still am not breathing well, and the COUGH! Yikes!! Gives me more time for prayer & meditation...it is very hard to read, also.  Big sigh, this too shall pass.   God Bless!  (drawing acquired from internet "Ravelry")

Spring Doll Challenge

It has been many years since I have made a cloth doll. I used to be "famous" for them. I made Raggedy Ann and Andy's by the dozens (and sold them, sadly I didn't keep a set)  when we lived in Raleigh. It was a lot of fun. But somehow I got sidetracked by ceramics and then quilts.  Well, you know the story, we do move on, don't we?  My great pleasure in the mornings is to look at blogs.....all kinds of blogs, and lately I found one I really like called Ravenswood Whimzies. I saw the Doll Challenge and it sparked a rememberance in me about my love of cloth dolls. I copied off the pattern (it is free) and will most likely give it a try. Click on the sidebar to go to the pattern and information.  I made my first cloth doll from a book of my sister's and I was about 7 or 8 years old. Kathy and I used to play "little house on the prairie" and her mother made hers. My doll and her dress was all hand-sewn (by me) and I guess it got left in Michigan. I'll let you know how things turn out!   God Bless!

Civil War quilt blocks

I have been working on the 6 inch quilt blocks from "The Civil War Diaries" book by Rosemary Youngs. I have 36 completed and am now moving on to her other book "The Civil War Love Letter Quilts". I am only making those blocks from each book that interest me (uh, the easy ones). As I complete a block, I put a date on the page of the book. The first date is April 2005, Oops! I hope to finish up these blocks soon, as I have been making 2 or 3 blocks a day. Haven't decided how many I'll need yet.  I have been using solid color fabrics instead of repro prints, just to be different.

On another note, I have decided to stop making Prayer Shawls for the hospital. I will still make some on my own to give away, just not for them. I am instead going back to my "first love"....the watch-cap and scarf project for Seamen's Church Institute in NYC. I began giving items to them in 1990, and enjoyed it very much. The POSTAGE is the only drawback.

The last couple of days have been so wonderfully Spring-like! I saw a small brown bird this morning trying to fly away, carrying something in his beek that looked like quilt batting, or somekind of insulation. He/she was determined! Guess it will insulate the nest.       God Bless!

New Grand-dog

My daughter has adopted another rescue dog. This one was left-behind at our house and she just happened to be here at the time. He was half-starved, but has gained over ten pounds since she's taken him to her home a month ago. She calls him Bobby, and he is a red hound dog. He is a very good watchdog as he bays like a hound!! He gets along well with her other dog, Lucky, who is a black lab. She feels safer with her canine companions!!   Happy Easter or Resurection Day. God Bless!!  (photos taken by my son)

More fabric?

I know that this photo is not really large enough to see. Amazon.com would not let me use the larger photo. It is Nancy Drew fabric and I have been seeing things made from it on different blogs I like to look at. I was a really big Nancy Drew Mystery book fan back when I was young. I inherited my sister's books, and then got a few of my own, and also read a lot from the Library. My daughter has my books now, as I gave them to her when she was a girl. I am thinking of rereading some of them! Yesterday, in a moment of non-thinking, I ordered a set of 42 Nancy Drew 5" squares from Amazon.com.  They have already been shipped and should arrive here by next Monday. Just call it another BD present to myself. I do go a little crazy this time of year. (March Madness, maybe? No, I don't give a hoot about basketball!!) Hmmm, now what to make from 42 Nancy Drew 5 inch squares......   No Spring in sight here, still cold, rain, and yuck most of the time!  But happy first day of Spring, anyway!!

God Bless!

Jo Morton Fabrics

Today has been a really nice day! The weather is warm and sunny and a nice day to be outdoors.  My son and I decided to go to Mocksville, NC. It is one of my favorite places to go!  He did some shopping at the video game store, and I went to the Ben Franklin Store. After selecting some things that I needed for knitting and Prayer Shawls, I decided to look at the flat-fold fabrics. Ah hah! Civil War fabrics!!!  I nearly fell on the floor when I read on the selvedge "Jo Morton" for Andover Fabrics. I couldn't believe my incredible find. I found four Civil War prints that I can use, all in the same color family and they were $3.99 a yard. There is no other place anywhere around here that sells Jo Morton fabrics, not even in Winston-Salem, to my knowledge anyway.  I am so excited. My BD is in 2 weeks, so Happy Birthday to me!!  Wow, what a difference in quality from walmart thin yucky stuff and the Andover.....unbelieveable! We then had lunch at our favorite BBQ restaurant. The waitresses are exceptional and must have come by the table 15 to 20 times to see if we wanted or needed anything! The name of the restaurant is "C's", and it is on Hwy. 601 before you get to Mocksville.

To all of us who are Irish or Scots-Irish...Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. I'll be wearing green, (even though I am German)!  God Bless! ( By the way....Happy International Quilting Day...today!)

Little Quilt

Yesterday was a bleak and icy day, and cold too. So I decided to work on this little quilt top and finished it! I had bought the pattern in the late 1980's or early 1990's and never got around to making it. It is supposed to be a replica of a Civil War doll quilt. I fell in love with it then, and never made one, nor have I seen one made up. The quilt shop I got the pattern from is long gone & closed up. I suppose it was originally made for a Black child?  Anyway, I am glad that I finally got around to making one. I am sorry if my quilt offends anyone. It was not my intention at all. I was told stories by my Grandpa Atterholt that his family was involved in the Underground Railroad in Holmes County Ohio. He was born right after the Civil War and has been passed on since the 1960's. I hope to get my quilt basted today. I think I will hand quilt it, although I haven't decided on a design yet. Oh yes, the little quilt is doll sized, and measures approx. 20" by 29". The original pattern is by "Country House Quilts", and the original block size was 4.5" and used 9 blocks. Mine blocks are 6.5" and I used 6  (enlarged on a copy machine). Take care & God Bless! 

Leggings??

Ain't these a hoot?! No, they are not mine...I would not fit in them, but I saw this photo on a blog & had to post it here, too. I think they had found the photo on another blog, too, or Pinterest....or something, etc., etc.?? Anyway, as cold as I have been this winter, I am tempted to use some of my bazillion little balls of leftover yarn and make me a pair (haha!!). Whoever thought these up, my hat's off to you.  Although I think they would be most useful...you'd never see a photo of me in them on the internet!!

I got out the almost-forgotten Tupperware box of Civil War Diary books and blocks (solid colors and white) yesterday. Old Abe Lincoln stared at me and said "where have you been all winter?".  I think I will work on these this week. More rain, more wind, possible winter weather..yuck!  I have stayed in lately, and now have 10 Prayer Shawls to deliver soon. I keep busy. Take Care, God Bless.