Halloween Hair Bows

 What do you think?  It's been a long time since I've made hair bows!  My youngest daughter is now 26 and she had a Bow for EVERY outfit!  Remember the 80's??...had to have a matching bow for every outfit and every occasion...especially Holidays!!!


These hair bows are for the Grand Princess Emma Grace.  She has her fingernails & toenails painted in orange & black to match all her Holiday finery!  The pumpkin patch field trip demands a special ensemble so I hope theses hair bows are suitable for pumpkin picking.

I have an adorable Halloween door hanging to make but alas...I'm afraid it won't be completed for Halloween 2010...maybe 2011???  I keep saying I want a Halloween quilt but never get around to making one.  Oh well...one of these days...I'll get my time management skills honed to the point where I can have a quilt for every season.

A Very dear friend who now lives in Georgia is going to be my accountability partner as we begin our weight loss journey together.  Monday, Nov. 1st, begins our journey to feeling better and hopefully having more energy.  Both of us have different reasons for wanting to have more energy.  Sharon and her Pastor husband along with their youngest son, were given a gift by their church to go visit their oldest son off the coast of Marta.  Paul is on a Mission ship doing mission work.  Getting to see their son is definitely a wish come true however, Sharon wants to be able to make the long journey and still have enough "mo jo" to enjoy her visit.

In my case, I babysit my 2 yr. old grandson every day...need I say more???  Plus, I have 4 other Grand peeps who want me to accompany them on various field trips and other adventures around town.  Add that to my daily duties of Housekeeping AND my love of Quilting....I NEED some ENERGY so I don't fall asleep at the sewing machine!!  Do you ever feel that way?  

SO................with all that in mind, I now need to choose some special fabric to go along with a special patchwork pattern in order to chronicle my weight loss journey back to Health!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I will reveal my choice on Monday when I will be GUEST BLOGGER for STASH MANICURE!!!!!!!

I am so excited...stay tuned...............

BLESSINGS

GMAMA JANE

THIS & THAT

Sugar Maple in my Backyard

 

 

 

                                                                               

Old Wagon Wheel in Tree beside Yard Swing

CHEESE ISLAND??  Why Cheese Island??  This particular spot close to the Barn is where the 2 oldest Grandsons do all their pretend play!  They named it Cheese Island (don't ask me why...have no idea) 4 yrs ago and the name stuck!  Sometimes I can be doing yard work and eavesdrop on their conversations.  Sometimes Cheese Island is a fort, castle, or bunker.  More often than not, Cheese Island is simply a Hide-Out.  If I'm missing garden tools, pots, etc..I know where to go look.  It looks rather tacky from a landscaping perspective and you can see it from my driveway but from the eye of a 10, 7, 6, 3 & 2 yr. old, Cheese Island is nothing short of Paradise!  Visitors will just have to overlook it's outer appearance and see it for the wonderful world of imagination that it is!

                                 Blessings,

                          GMAMA JANE

Fall Fotos

I thought I would take some pictures of quilts that are 'in process" so to speak.  The teddy bear quilt will be a gift for a baby girl.  The Black Toille & Sage Green Quilt is ready for the quilt frame.  She will be a gift to my baby daughter Anna Laura who chose the color palate I chose the fabric. I Love Love Love this quilt because it is unlike any color scheme I've ever done.  I think it has a more contemporary look to it even though it is still a patchwork quilt.....much more like my daughter than using vintage colors.  

Anna Laura is thrilled so I just need to get this show on the road.  

What's holding me up??  Hubby has to put together my new quilting frame!!  I actually ordered an old fashioned quilt frame which will have to go in the dining room for now until I decide a better placement for me and "Lucy Loo" (I name my quilts).  Today's post is short because I've wasted way too much time blog hopping and looking at everyone else's quilts.  I'm also involved in a local fund raiser event scheduled for Friday evening and I'm one of the Leaders in charge of Food Vendors.  

We are raising funds to have a community built playground complete with bells & whistles AND HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE!!!!  Why do you say is this such a big deal?  Because my precious 3 yr. old grandson was born premature and has Cerebral Palsy.  James is making awesome progress in his journey toward independent walking but it will be several years before he gets there.  In the meantime, a playground that he and other special needs children in our community can use is near and dear to my heart!!!

Here She is "Lucy Loo"

              Lucy Loo is ready to be hand quilted...my winter project!

Can you see the double border I added??  That was my design

                                 I plan to quilt like crazy inside the Black Toille Blocks to make them stand out!
                    Not sure what quilting motif to use...any suggestions????????????????????????????????????????

                                           
                                                    This will be Ella's quilt

          I love the colors in this quilt.  I tried machine blanket stitching and it didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped.  I can't seem to find the proper stitch on my Brother sewing machine.  I'm a much better hand quilter but with my arthritis getting worse I need to sharpen my machine sewing skills in order to finish quilts before the Rapture!!

 

  

Here is the backing to Teddy bear quilt (above).  My photo doesn't show the richness of the chocolate brown.  Below is a look at my quilting motif chalked onto the fabric.  What is your favorite marking tool??  I like those little chalk rollers.

                   Now THIS quilt is a Family Quilt made from scraps of my husband's grandmother's house dresses!!  Isn't that precious???  It has been very "loved" as you can tell by the torn blocks.  I plan on repairing ASAP IF I can't get it away from whomever is sitting on the couch and using it to snuggle up with.  This quilt is so soft and worn from years of love.  I can just imagine the love that went into making this quilt and all the love that went into "Ma Lonie" as she wore each of these house dresses.  I didn't know her well but she was an icon in my husband's family.  As the mother of Roger's mother, Ma Lonie hosted EVERY Holiday function at her little house with the wood heater.  Going to Ma Lonie's was tradition until she died in 1973.  Around 1975, the family began coming to My sweet MIL's house for Holidays.  I've only known holiday's at Edna's house but the memories of Holidays at Ma Lonie's live on in the many stories that are told each year at Christmas.  it seems that Ma Lonie LOVED Christmas so much that she ended up giving the children theri presents BEFORE Christmas simply because she couldn't wait!!!!  Being very poor, getting or receiving gifts was a HUGE event.  Ma Lonie was like a kid at Christmas and waiting for Christmas morning was just too much for her to do.  I never found out what they did on Christmas morning...I guess I need to ask that question before it's too late. 

                                                   How will I repair this without ruining the   quilt???

                                           I threw these last few pics in as extras.  I made a new Fall wreath for my front door!  I went to Hobby Lobby...my favorite store!!!...and bought fall flowers on sale for 30% and 50% off!!

 

Here is what one crafty crafter can do in one afternoon with some fake flowers, a grapevine wreath and a hot glue gun!!

MY NEW FALL DOOR WREATH

The colors are much prettier in real life but you get "the picture"

Blessings to all

GMAMA JANE

Fridays Pretty Little Things

Fabulous Fall

A Friend over at Pretty Little Things is always hosting Friday Pretties and this week I"ve posted:

a baby quilt being quilted in the quilt frame by my chair
The color theme is Pink & Chocolate Brown
I found a pattern I liked and incorporated my own color scheme
to match the colors of the new baby's nursery!!

Pink Polka Dot Teddy Bears

Old Country Roses China & Fall Foliage
Don't you want to share a cup of tea with me in this beautiful tea set?
This is from my favorite set of china that I've been collecting since 2003.

Old Country Roses (OCR) is the oldest china pattern still in circulation

I actually began collecting this pattern when I bought a tea cup at Marshall's
and before I knew it 1 cup turned into a complete setting for 12. No pieces are brand new but rather from my relentless pursuit of discounted items at any MARSHALLS or T.J. Maxx I could find. Family members helped out and within 1 year I had most of my set. Now, I'm looking for those extra's that come with the set such as butter knives, gravy bowl, etc...

You are looking at the tablescape in my front foyer. You can see the staircase behind with the wool stair runner that we installed back in 1987 when the hosue was built. It has withstood 3 children, over 20 Christmas mornings, teenagers stomping down or sneaking up after curfew, toddlers sliding down, and daughters dressed for Prom coming down to meet their dates. This old house has a lot of memories within it's walls and on it's floors. I pray God's Blessings on this house that became a home and where Love abides!

Tonight, this house has a guest...a sleeping little 2 yr. old Prince named Scott who is spending the night with Grandmama & PaPaw so his Mama can drive his Daddy to the airport early in the morning. My post will be short as I need to get to bed in anticipation of an early riser, breakfast, then library storytime tomorrow morning