MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

If you'd like to read a little about Christmas traditions in Wisconsin, visit the Wisconsin Historical Society's story: Ghosts of Christmases Past. It's a great read and some interesting facts!

On a funnier note...well, maybe not so funny since this is an issue in today's society... (Thank goodness my son goes to a church school so we don't have to worry about being politically correct with some things)...

A Northwoods Blanket of Warmth

A Christmas gift that is ever so soft and very WARM! 

The bear print side is fleece while the brown plaid side is a flannel with brown faux fur added to the sides.

"A Sweet Bundle of Love" Blankie

Using up fabric from my stash, I just made this little Blankie today.  This one is available for purchasing: $35 plus s/h, and it's yours!

Peacock Quilt

I was recently a part of the Stitcher's Angel Swap 2009, and my swap partner, Wendy, has a love affair with the gorgeous Peacock bird.  The theme of the swap was roses.  I had fun with this swap, and or the first time ever, decided to try a quilting project from a peacock shawl I had purchased on eBay.  The shawl was made in India and is 100% rayon, so I was terriblly afraid of ruining it, but I just had to try.  Here is the outcome...

Wendy is a quilter, and if you check out her blog you'll see the gorgeous work she does.  My lack of sewing skills (other than baby bankets) and my zero knowlege of quilting made this a difficult project for me, and I was so worried it wouldn't be good enough.  I used a gold colored twisted rope-like pillow edging around the sides of the quilt, then took yarn in a color that matched the peacock blues, and pulled and knotted yarn pieces throughout the quilt in order to keep the batting in place.  Wendy loved it, as well as all the other things I made and sent to her in the swap box of goodies.  I am so glad I gave my very first quilt project to her...she so deserved it!

A few more Blankies recently finished...

Finished two of these a couple weeks ago

and finished one just tonight.

All three of these blankies are available for sale at $35 each.

Rose-Themed Projects

I recently made some items for a swap that was themed on roses.

Here's a couple of items I made for that swap...

Canning Jar Pincushion and a Christmas Stocking:

How to Make Pretty Pincushions - CraftStylish

How to Make Pretty Pincushions - CraftStylish

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Kia's Blanket

My very first adult-sized blanket...
I made this blanket to give as a birthday present to a teenage girl.  Her favorite colors are pink and purple so I used a white cotton fabric with pink and purple hearts & girly skulls for the top side, and a purple flannel with circle-like designs for the back.  The lady who cut my fabric did not cut me enough of the purple flannel fabric, so I had to improvise with some pink fabric I had in my stash at home...gives the sides a pink border, which doesn't look bad at all.
I am thrilled with how it turned out, and I've already gotten an order for another one identical to it!

Kierra Renee Blankie

This blanket was a special order...

It had to be very girly and personalized with baby's name & date of birth.

Thanks goes out to June at Junebug's Creations for her wonderful job of

embroidering the personalization onto this blanket for the customer.

I decided to try using a soft fuzzy edging fabric for the borders rather than the ruffled edges I usually go with...it turned out great and the customer is very satisfied with the outcome.

(For the back, I used white flannel with tiny pink roses).

I completed this Blankie on Tuesday, October 13, 2009.

Another Completed Blankie...

This Blankie is made using one of the fabric panels that
Vanessa had sent me in a

F-R-I-E-N-D-S Swap a couple months ago.

I just made this Blankie tonight and am taking it to work to donate it

to a silent auction we are having on Thursday.

All proceeds for the auction go to Partners In Giving.

Hey Diddle Diddle...

Latest completed Blankie, featuring a well-known Nursery Rhyme.

And I just love the bold colors!

My Heart is Heavy...RIP Patrick

PATRICK SWAYZE
August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009

My heart is heavy as I type this blog...

Yesterday evening I received a text message on my phone from a friend telling me that Patrick Swayze had passed away. I have been a long time fan of Patrick, and always admired the actor for who he was in the movies as well as who he was outside of acting. He was a gentle and caring person, and was different from so many other actors.
I will never forget his performance in Dirty Dancing...my all time favorite movie EVER. Man, the guy could dance!

Patrick Swayze - Chippendale

Uploaded by tressage. -

Official Patrick Swayze International Fan Club

She's Like The Wind - Performed by Patrick Swayze

Thank you Patrick for entertaining our movie screens with
fantastic performances and great movies like
YOUNG BLOOD, GHOST, DIRTY DANCING, NORTH AND SOUTH
and many, many more!
You'll be forever in my heart and memory.
RIP Patrick.

PATRICK SWAYZE TRIBUTE
A free online tribute & memorial community

Bunnies Blankie

Another completed Blankie. (Just please ignore the fact that I didn't iron it out before taking the pictures). This one had a special request from the buyer...personalization embroidered onto it. Since I don't have the resources to do the personalization myself, I outsource this job to a friend of mine who does beautiful work. So June embroidered the pink personalization right inside the heart...how perfect! It looks great...thanks so much June for your help with this project!

Another person I must thank is Tresa over at the Daisy Chain Craft School and Office store in Columbus, WI. Tresa assisted me with picking out the flannel fabric I used for the back of the blanket. She pointed out the green flannel bunny fabric, and it ended up being the perfect match for this blanket! Thank you for your help Tresa!

If you're ever in the Columbus, WI area, do stop in and check out Daisy Chain Craft School and Office. If you can't find what you need in the store, Tresa can usually special order it for you!

P.S. If you click on each picture individually, it will enlarge it so you can see more detail if you want to.

Noah's Ark Blankie

I just made this Noah's Ark Blankie earlier today for my cousin's baby shower. Will be shipping it off to Tennessee tomorrow!

Mondays Shouldn't Be This Good! (F-R-I-E-N-D-S swap pkg Received)

Today is Monday and the thing that totally made my day was receiving a much anticipated SWAP package in the mail from my sweet swap partner Vanessa, from Minnesota! What a fantastic box of goodies! She sent many neat items and even included a couple of things for the boys! Here's a picture of the awesome things Vanessa sent to me...

Obviously, there are a few things missing from this picture...I blame the boys~LOL! They broke into the stash! ;o)
*In case you're reading this...VANESSA...You are awesome! I really hope we stay in touch, and maybe even meet someday. We visit Winona, MN frequently, which we've discussed is 2 hours or so from where you live. I would love to meet you someday! Thanks for making this swap a fun one!

Ravelry's Flat Rate Box Swap

I recently joined a few swaps on Ravelry.com, and am excited to say that today after work I came home to find a package waiting for me on the front porch. It was a swap package from the Flat Rate Box Swap on Raverly. The theme for this particular swap is "Local Theme" meaning, we are to send items from our local area (town / state). My swap partner lives in the state of Maryland, so she sent me some things related to her area. WOW, I must say I sure did get a nice package of things! Even my kitties got treated by my swap partner!

Jasper & Casper with their new toys!

Here's all the neat stuff I got in my box from my swap partner...

• "Crochet Boquet" Book from Joann Fabrics - This is a book on crocheted flower motifs.
  (And you'll never believe that just this morning I was online trying to find a pattern for a flower motif, then I find this awesome book in the mail from my swap partner today)!
• Skein of Vanna White white yarn
• Skein of red yarn made locally in my swap partner's community
• Old Bay Seasoning (YUMMY! Can't wait to try this!)
• Souvenier sand keychain
• Souvenier toothpick container (shaped like a small coffee mug)
  
• Stationery note pad designed by a local person
• ANNA magazine - never heard of this magazine before...it's filled with needlework patterns!
• Hallmark Wedding photo/scrap book
• Gummy Worms for my fiancee's boys
• Webkins Oriole for my son - Orioles are Maryland's state bird
• Postcards with pictures of Maryland and places in the area
• Postcard with a crab cake recipe on it
• Kitty Christmas wrapping paper
• Kitty stickers
• Stuffed toy crab
• Crochet hook comfort grips
• Maryland collector spoon
• Magazines on Maryland and the local areas
• Blue Angels magnet
• Hand crocheted angora hair tie, made locally in Maryland
• Lavender soap from Ireland
  

If I've overlooked something on this list, I'm sorry! There's just so much, and I am so grateful to "cardidog" (my swap partner). This was her first swap, and she did awesome! I appreciate and love everything!

THANK YOU CARDIDOG!

Mother's Day 2009

Mother's Day is always special, but this year was more special than ever... it was the first time my son was ever able to give me something for Mother's Day without having to get help from someone else.
A week earlier my son & I were shopping at a local JoAnn Fabric & Craft Store. I was looking at birthday cards and hadn't realized that my son was looking at Mother's Day cards. When we got to the checkout counter, he told me not to look, so I closed my eyes...he had picked out a card for me and had the cashier scan it with my items as my eyes were closed, and she put it in a separate bag for him to carry. I hadn't even realized he had picked out a card for me until that moment, so being the mom I am, I pretended like I didn't know what he was doing and what was going on. And even though I had to pay for my own Mother's Day card, it was a most memorable and special moment for me...the first time he had picked out a Mother's Day card for me without any help from someone else! Here's an image of the card & envelope (inside & out, since he drew some wonderful pictures on it for me). It's a card I will treasure forever, and will never throw away!
But the card wasn't the only gift I received from my son! He also made me an awesome bookmark in school and decorated a planter pot with flowers in it. He kept it all hidden in his bedroom until Mother's Day came. :o) I love my boy so very much!
Here's a picture of the front & back of the bookmark that he made for me...
Picture coming soon of the planter pot & flower.

I had another surprise on Mother's Day this year... my fiancee's son, Dalton, had a gift for me as well. He made me a really neat clothespin "Superman" character in school, as well as a tissue paper flower! I usually just get a verbal "Happy Mother's Day" from my fiancee's boys, but Dalton must think of me as more than just his dad's fiancee, because he thought about me when he was making these Mother's Day gifts in school. My eyes got all watery when the boys gave me all these great Mother's Day gifts. I know I'm loved, and I love them back ten-fold!

Here are two different angles of the gifts Dalton made for me...

We had to take my fiancee's boys back to their mom's by 10am on Mother's Day so they could spend the day with her, so after dropping them off at their mom's house we decided to go to Watertown, WI to stop at Wal-Mart SuperCenter so I could pick up some much needed yarn for something I'm making for the Kitchen Swap 2009 to put in my swap partner's gift basket. After Wal-Mart, we decided to go for a late breakfast somewhere and ended up at Frank's Corner Cafe. Talk about a wonderful breakfast! We also had beautiful weather, so all in all, I had a most enjoyable Mother's Day this year, thanks to my wonderful family!