QUILTIN' ALONG WITH MY SASSY SEWERS ON RETREAT

QUILTIN' WITH MY SASSY SEWERS

LAKEHOUSE RETREAT

JAN. 2014

We did it!!  We, meaning my sewing/quilting group, the Sassy Sewers, went on our very 1st retreat!!  We have evolved from a group of ladies who didn't know each other nor had little in common except for our desire to sew, quilt, or learn to quilt, into a group of ladies with much in

common.  Funny, how that can happen, isn't it?  My husband, Tractor Man, had heard me complain for over 2 yrs about my need to find a group of ladies to stitch with so his response was finally, "Well, why don't you form your own group?"........AND that's EXACTLY What I Did!!  A few well placed announcements in 2 church bulletins, A few phone calls, and a Facebook invitation, and I had a resemblance of a quilting group.  One Problem, most of the ladies who came didn't know how to sew and wanted to LEARN HOW to quilt.  Ok, Drop back and punt, Jane.  You can do this.

That was October 2012....Fast Forward to Jan. 2014 and the following pictures will tell you how things are going!

Lakehouse

What a PERFECT spot for a retreat!

Winter on Lake Weiss

Arrival Time

7 degrees!!!

Eating...What We Do Best!

Janice is holding down the Sewing Tables

Hard at Work on our Project!

Fancy Folded Star...Moda  Bake Shop

 Here we are working on our stars

Shirley was our Teacher since she had already 

made one; which we ALL fell in love with and decided

The Fancy Folded Star would make a great Retreat Project

Jan, all alone in her own world...that's just a long white straw Ladies!

Half-Way Thru the Process...Now for the Folding!

Nancy's Star in Progress

Beautiful Cabin Bedroom Furniture!

Part of the Gang watching me climbing up the bank

where I went down to stick my toe into Lake Weiss

7 degrees

Supper Time

Nancy's Homemade Lasagna

 Side View of the Cabin

 GoodBye Lake Weiss...We'll be Back When Warmer Weather Arrives

THANK YOU TAMARA 

for sharing your beautiful Lakehouse for our 1st Quilting Retreat!

MY RED WHITE & BLUE FANCY FOLDED STAR...STILL IN PROGRESS

Thank you for indulging me by reading along as I shared pictures of my Sassy Sewers First Quilt Retreat.

God has been good to bring together such a close knit group of ladies and allow us to not only share our love of stitching but of fellowship and friendship too!

Blessings,

NEW YEAR 2014...NEW SEWING ROOM COMING !!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2014

LOOK....The Sochi Olympic flags have a Quilt Theme!!!  Isn't this cool??  It's listed as Russian Folk Art and in my quick research, it would appear that quilt patterns and colors are prominent throughout the marketing emblems for the Winter Olympics taking place in Sochi, Russia.

I'm still de-Christmasing my house, cleaning up from all the festivities, grocery shopping for "healthier" food, and getting ready to create my new sewing room.

Yep, I've decided to take the plunge and repurpose my dining room into my new and MUCH larger sewing room!  The family will have a heart attack but since my kitchen was remodeled and I have room to feed 9-10, I can't really justify a room that's used at best 2-3 times a year.  I've always loved my dining room and big family dinners but since I sew EVERY day this is my gift to myself.  This room has a fireplace with a beautiful white mantel and french doors that open up to my patio full of flowers in spring and summer.

I've been pouring over all the beautiful sewing/craft rooms on PINTEREST and I have the perfect room to take the plethora of PINTEREST  inspiration and make my sewing room a reality.  The latter half of 2013 was stressful for me and my immediate family so I've decided to take charge and make 2014 a year of taking care of Gmama Jane & Tractor Man.  I'll post pictures along the way and ask for suggestions as I proceed in making my wish come true!!

2014 is the year of ........

Gmama Jane's Great Sewing Room Makeover!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope your 2014 is one of making your own dreams come true!

Blessings

Gmama Jane

DON'T OPEN TIL CHRISTMAS...UNLESS YOU NEED TO OPEN BEFORE CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 TO ME

BLACK BEAUTY

IS 

WHAT I'M GOING TO CALL HER

What's a girl to do when she needs to complete the Christmas Baking but her old mixer has met an untimely demise?

All the ingredients have been purchased, kitchen cleaned, sewing put on hold, and recipes chosen.  But No Mixer!!!  The hand mixer is out of the question.  A pound cake just can't get that light texture without the power of a good stand mixer.  Ask me how I know???  Trust me...there's nothing worse in the baking world than to have your pound cake "FALL" along with 6 fresh farm eggs, Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract purchased at Jim's Steakhouse in Suwanee, Tn.,  Swans Down Cake Flour, and sticks of Land O Lakes sweet cream butter!  The MIXER can make a difference in success or failure when it comes to Baking!! JUST TRUST ME!

SO....

When the UPS man delivered my beautiful Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer this evening, I had absolutely no choice but to

OPEN BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

Tractor Man wanted me to wrap it up and place it under the Christmas Tree but I put a STOP to THAT SILLY NOTION right off the bat!!!

(Psst...I picked out the mixer after seeing it on sale, told Tractor Man he was buying me a Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas, and  got the go ahead mumble from the recliner which means "as long as I don't have to go shopping it sounds like a perfect plan to me")

HOWEVER...

what Tractor Man doesn't quite understand is this now means he has to go shopping anyway because I'm NOT getting up Christmas morning with NO PRESENTS to open! 

Like I told him tonight before he left to attend the local High School Basketball game, "You have to Up your game now Big Guy.  You're on your own as you go seeking that perfect sentimental necklace or bracelet that will live up to Black Beauty."

Am I the ONLY person who 

OPENS BEFORE CHRISTMAS ?

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS

FROM

THE FARMHOUSE

TO 

YOUR HOUSE

GMAMA JANE

A LITTLE SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT...

BLACK TIE BOOGIE...

TODAY IS MY DAY!

My half bath is getting a small make-over and since it's located next to the kitchen, the idea of combining a Black Tie Boogie project with a newly repainted antique shelf was a two-for-one winning combination.  If you've followed me for long, you know I almost always use my blog hop projects for utilitarian purposes.

I'm also cooking Thanksgiving dinner for 11 and week-end house guests which didn't leave a lot of time for any elaborate projects...just the necessary...can't have an ugly bathroom with company coming!

Cock-a Doodle-Doo!.............

Two Roosters for You

Black and White 

They're Outta Sight!

Made of Fabric Strips from my Black and White Stash

Beautiful Wall Art from Stuff Bound for the Trash!

The Fellas will look Manly beside this nice little black shelf

 And to Think, I did it ALL by Myself

So Good-Bye for Today,and Please Drive Safe

As you visit Friends and Family

on this Great American Holiday

THANKSGIVING TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT

Scott is showing you his "crow worthy" Super Hero toboggan and gloves.  He wanted to be in Grandmama's "blog thingy"  Isn't he adorable?  Bless his heart, he's been with me for 2 days because he was running a temp and couldn't go to school.


Madame Samm always comes up with such creative projects for us to Crow about
and
Vickie brought us all together quite nicely

PLEASE VISIT MY BLACK TIE BOOGIE FRIENDS

Wednesday

November 27

How Art you?

Living with Purpose

Sew many yarns

Grandmama's Stories (GMAMA JANE)

Blessings

Gmama Jane

Tractor Man

and Grandpeeps

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

PILLOWS... FOR THE BOYS...DUCK DYNASTY STYLE

MY BOYS

ARE ALL ABOUT THE OUTDOORS!

"DUCK DYNASTY" STYLE OUTDOOR KINDA GUYS

WITH THAT IN MIND...

 BLOG HOPS 

ARE MY EXCUSE 

TO 

KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE

*FOR THE BOYS* BLOG HOP INSPIRATION

WILL TAKE CARE OF SOME CHRISTMAS STOCKING STUFFER GIFTS

SUCH AS...

  

CAMO PILLOW CASES

DUCK DYNASTY STYLE!

YOU CAN BARELY SEE THEM 

ON

THE BACKYARD SWING

EASY PEASY PROJECT FOR A BEGINNER 

 PURCHASED WARM AND COMFY CAMO FLEECE

THANK YOU JO-ANN FABRICS VETERANS DAY SALE

50% OFF FABRIC

 PLUS

 25% OFF TOTAL PURCHASE 

AT REGISTER

SEWED UP 3 SIDES, TURNED UP CUFF, ZIGZAG STITCHED,

VOILA!

SEW...

WITH SUCH GREAT PRICES AND AN EASY PROJECT

WHY NOT MAKE PILLOW CASES FOR EVERYONE

I ALSO BOUGHT THIS...

AND THIS...

AND THIS...

AND THIS...

MATCHING THOMAS THE TRAIN PILLOWS

 FOR THE 

THOMAS THE TRAIN QUILT

WITH ALL THIS GGORGEOUS FABRIC AND INSPIRATION FROM MY FELLOW BLOG HOPPERS

I SHOULD BE ABLE TO CROSS OFF SEVERAL CHRISTMAS GIFTS

I'M TRYING TO GO MAJORITY HOMEMADE

FOR CHRISTMAS 2013

NOW GO VISIT MORE BLOGS....

November 14^th

 I like to QuiltBlog

Marjorie's Busy Corner

My Fabric Relish

Feathered Nest Studios

Moose Stash Quilting

QuiltnQueen

Grandmama's Stories (YOU ARE HERE WITH GMAMA JANE)

Our Busy Little Bunch

Words and Stitches

 

 November 15^th 

 Everyone Deserves a Quilt

From This to That 

Monkey Makes Three

Just Quilt It  

Life, Quilts and a Cat too

Thimblemouse and Spouse 

More Stars in Comanche

Sew Incredibly Crazy

Sew We Quilt

THANKS MADAME SAMM 

AND 

AMY AT SEW INCREDIBLY CRAZY

FOR MAKING OUR BLOG HOP *FOR THE BOYS* POSSIBLE!

BLESSINGS

CEREBRAL PALSY...GLASS HALF FULL PHILOSOPHY (Funny Story)

My Grandson

James Patrick

Tonight while taking his bath, James asked his mother a question she has been dreading.  James 

stops playing, looks dead pan into his mother's face and asks, "Mama, why do I have *the palsy* (his name for CP)? My daughter, holds her breath and begins to share with James what "the palsy" means, but before she gets more than 1 sentence out, James interrupts to ask, "Do any of my friends have "the palsy"?...Mother, "Well, 1-2 of your friends have Cerebral Palsy but none of your friends at school have CP."  And just as deadpan as he could be, he says,

 "Oh?! (said as though he has had an Ah Hah, Lightbulb moment)

Is *the palsy* why I'm so AWESOME ?"

I GUESS, IT'S ALL IN HOW YOU LOOK AT A SITUATION!

YOU CAN EITHER BE A GLASS HALF EMPTY OR A GLASS HALF FULL

KIND OF PERSON.

PERSONALLY, I LIKE JAMES'S PHILOSOPHY BEST!  HE MAY JUST BE THE WISEST LITTLE FELLA I KNOW!

James Patrick

was born 8 weeks premature

with a Grade 3 Brain Bleed

This is his MRI

JAMES IN NICU...OCT. 7, 2007

 JAMES AND HIS FIRST WHEELS

                               

                                            JAMES , AGE 2 1/2, SDR SURGERY, ST. LOUIS                                       SCAR....BUT SO WORTH IT!   

                                                                                 

                                           AFTER SURGERY PHYSICAL THERAPY                                          

                                                JAMES IN ADELLI SUIT DEVELOPED FROM THE
                                                          SPACE PROGRAM TO GIVE SPATIAL
                                                             ORIENTATION TO CP CHILDREN

                                                                            

                                             JAMES GROOMING HIS HORSE PRINCESS

                                   
                                                                   COWBOY JAMES  

     
                                                           SCHOOL PICTURES 2012                        

                             
                                             JAMES BEING INTERVIEWED ON LOCAL TV

                           
                                                JAMES AND HIS FAKE BLACK-EYE

                                                      JAMES READING WITH SANTA  

                                                 
                                                        JAMES AND MOMMY

                           
                                      DADDY, MOMMY, AND JAMES

Today, James is enrolled in a typical Kindergarten class with an aide to help him maneuver from place to place.  In the classroom he uses a walker or canes along with the braces he wears on his legs and feet.

Academically, James is right on grade level and somewhat above with his reading.  He uses a device called an alphasmart to take spelling tests by using a keyboard.  This device is needed since his lack of motor control over his arms and hands prevents him from holding a pencil. Next year he will receive an IPad for written work.  Recently, another MRI was done to rule out any anomalies that would explain his nocturnal seizures.  Nothing had changed since the one you see at the top of this post.  However, within the last month, James has had a few peti mal seizures at school.  Medications have improved his concentration but further adjustment is needed to control the seizures.  Given all his physical disabilities, James is a delightfully funny, articulate, little 6 yr. old boy who loves people, his music, his dog Neela, his cat Flower, and just happens to think of himself as AWESOME.  

My Grandmama Prayer for James is to always believe in himself while having empathy for others.

I would say that is a Glass Half Full Philosophy!

BLESSINGS