Happy New Year

Hi there, hope you all had a very good holiday season and look forward to a bright and productive new year.

"Santa" was very good to me this year, I received goodies from everyone in my family and one of those goodies was a new computer. We are trying to set this computer up in my sewing/sitting room, and we are experiencing all the fun problems that you can expect when trying to do this kind of thing. NOTHING...ever goes right the first time....or the second...you start making progress around # 5 and that's where we're at. We are trying to put in a wireless router and to have my own 'stuff' up here there will have to be a lot of file sharing between our computers. It seems that I also had to get a new account with Outlook Express. My new e-mail address is ...quilters7@sympatico.ca... All of our picture library is still downstairs in hubby's computer, have to move that, along with all of my folders and quilt patterns and whatnot's, so please bear with me while we try and work this out.

I always say I won't make any New Years resolutions, but as always I broke the rule and made one.
My goal for 2009 is NOT to buy any more fabric until I have used up at least 1/3 of my stash.

I just love scrap quilts and boy-o-boy do I have scraps. I bought Bonnie Hunters book Scraps and Shirttails. It is an amazing book, you should see all the beautiful quilts that can be made from your old scraps. I've made a promise to myself to make at least 3 of these quilts this year.

I also MUST finish my 2008 UFO's, if for no other reason, that the space these projects are in is piling up......{the closet}...it's getting to be like Dagwood's closet, for those of you that remember Blondie and Dagwood... I can't open that closet without 3-4 things falling out...that's pretty bad...*lol*
I've asked Belinda at Brown Dirt Cottage to keep me 'honest'. Have you all had a look at that beautiful baby quilt she's done? Gorgeous and all hand quilted. Big hand of applause for her.

Spent the afternoon at my quilt guild and now I have to go get dinner ready. I think the evening will be spent on trying to find some Irish ancestors. My daughter is doing our genealogy, and doing a darn good job of it but she's reached a snag, and I'm going to try and help. Wish me luck.

Until next time...

~~Fran...:c)

OMG First Quilt !!!

O My Gosh!! My grandaughter just finished her first quilt. It's for her dad for Christmas. He's a Nascar fan....loves those races and watches them on TV and attends them when he can. My daughter decorated "his" room (the recreation room) all in a Nascar theme. Chelsea made this lap quilt for him with all the Nascar pizzaz, the colours, and the checkered flags.. I am so proud of her.

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For those of you who have not read my posts of last August ...(We have a new quilter in the family)...she visited me and I taught her how to quilt. Her very first project was a purse, to me a large bag, and she took to quilting like a duck to water. And now would you look at that?

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Of course where you find a quilt you'll find a cat. This is Lucky. So named because Chelsea found her abandoned by the rail way tracks, 2 years ago. She was a pathetic little thing, half starved, with a wicked eye infection. The vet estimated her age to be 6-8 weeks old at the time, lucky kitty he said and I think my grandaughter and the family feel as lucky to have her as she is to be there. But talk about a pampered pet. She rules the roost, even the dog has to give over to her when she gets after him....*lol*

They also have a dog. His name is Moose. As you can see he is very large, and at the moment he is feeling very left out because they are trying to take pictures of the quilt, and this guy is a real ham. He loves to have his picture taken and they kept saying "Moose get out of the way." So this is Moose feeling very rejected.

I haven't posted for awhile but honestly folks I was all done in at the end of the day. BUT...."I'M FINISHED!!!! all my Christmas sewing presents are done. I've put miles and miles and miles on my sewing machine. I had that baby smoking at the end, but I'm done., and I don't believe I will ever do this much again. Too much pressure. Trying to get things done by certain dates so they could be mailed off in time for Christmas....phew....wore me out. I have not been able to post pictures of my endeavours because most of my family read this blog. But get ready for a LOT of pictures come the New Year. The last of the gifts will be received on January 2nd when my 2 grandsons come to visit. After they leave and we take down the tree, this quilter will take a well deserved rest.

In the meantime there is still a week left before Christmas and now I have to move my buns and get this house in tip top ship-shape as I'm giving Christmas dinner this year AND... I have to finish my Christmas shopping. I have nothing bought yet for 1 son, 1 son-in-law and 1 husband. Now the reason for this is that these last three are SO hard to buy for. You know... we all have one of those people on our list, well I have 3, so if you will forgive me for not posting.... ( I'll be in the Mallsfor the next few days )... until the holidays are finished I will wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year

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~~Fran...:c)

Early Christmas Present

Wow, this is the best present ever....I've been so bogged down with sewing and making sure that all my commitments were filled and I was fighting a timetable.
I kept thinking that I only had less than 10 days left until Christmas, and I had no idea how I would manage all that's left to do. I was just talking to my daughter and she just said to me "Relax mom, there's still 2 weeks left to go until Christmas"....."What?" I ran to the calender and sure as shooting there it was in black and white. I just got an early Christmas gift...the gift of time....*lol*
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Today I made 3 batches of sugar cookies and my DH made 2 butter tart squares and a banana bread. All that's left to do in that department are the shortbread and the spice bars.
Phew...what a lot of fuss, but you know it just wouldn't be Christmas without all of these goodies that we only get to eat once a year. I never make shortbread or gingerbread at any other time.
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I don't usually make much of a fuss for New Year, but this year will be different. My 2 grandsons will be here on January the 2nd and I have to make special dishes for them. I make a French Canadian Ragout, and of course meat pies or Tourtieres and little "pigs in a blanket" which is small spiced pork sausages wrapped in pie dough... Yum... I won't be making these until after Christmas.
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Now, I'm going to go take a long relaxing bath, (might even add bubbles) and light a few candles in the bathroom and bring in my glass of wine. Enjoy my new found present.
Now how decadent is that?
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~~Fran...:c))

Gingerbread Men

Only 10 days left until Christmas and today was the day for the Gingerbread Men to be baked. ..The house smells so yummy... I just love the smells of Christmas.. gingerbread, cinnamon and spices, pine smells from the tree, hot chocolate...all of them have a special meaning for me.

These little guys are the best ever. Gingerbread made without molasses and it doesn't take a steam roller to roll it out. I've always had trouble with traditional gingerbread recipes, I've always found them so hard to roll. These are as easy as pie crust, and as yummy as any Christmas cookie you will ever make. My daughter found this recipe on line a few years ago and now it's the only one we use. So I want to thank the creator of this lovely confection.

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The Best Ever Gingerbread Men

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1 pkg. of butterscotch pudding mix (not instant, the one you cook, serves 6)

1/2 cup butter of hard margarine

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon of ginger

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

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Cream together the dry pudding mix, butter and brown sugar. Add egg and mix well.

Mix the dry ingredients together, flour,baking soda, & spices and add to the wet mixture.

Chill dough for 1 hour or more, roll out 1/8th inch thick ** and bake on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper in a 350 degree oven for 14 minutes or until just brown

bottom. Cool on cookie racks. Ice with a thin icing. You can add raisins for eyes and

buttons, chocolate chips work well also. Makes about 3 dozen.

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** I used 2 wooden paint sticks on my counter and I place the dough in between

them. I then use my rolling pin and roll out the dough to the thickness of the

of the paint sticks. This assures me of nice even thickness to bake, and you

don't get any burning of the thin ones. I've been doing this for years. Works for me!

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Tonight is Christmas concert night for our granddaughters and I have to make sure they're all ready to go when mom gets home from work at 5:30, so I better get off this computer, make sure the camera is ready to go, and get the girls all dressed up on time.

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Until next time....

~~Fran...:c)

Remembering Christmas Past

For some odd reason I'm having difficulty posting pictures from my computer. So I thought I would try what 'Picassa" has to offer and these are the ones chosen. I had a lot more but I guess it only takes 4 at a time. So this is a test. The pictures you see are of Christmas 2005 some of the crafts I made for my daughter in laws and some of my grandchildren. I dried fruit and placed it with spices in antique preserving jars. They were made by Crown and some date back to 1937. The frames were just a bit of needle work that the grandkids could place in their rooms. Hope these all show up and you can see them clearly.

I'm finally finished all my "out-of-towners" and the last of them all went out yesterday. I spent the evening last night catching up on some long neglected posts. Way to go Nannete and daughters on your first anniversary of Freda's Hive. Go take a peek, she's giving out all kinds of prizes this week, and they are really neat. I have my eye on some that I know would look good right here in my home...*lol* I'm sorry I can't give you a link, I haven't learned how to do that yet.

When I returned from the post office yesterday I had a lovely surprise of my own in my mailbox. Belinda of Brown Dirt Cottage sent me 3 lovely snowmen panels. I was delighted and I hope I have the time to make them into a wall hanging before Christmas. I'll just have to make the time, that's all...I know just where I want to hang this panel. Thanks Belinda.

I've started Christmas baking by making 2 batches of cookies. Family favourites "Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" and Ginger Crackles"...YUM... I hope I can get some shortbread made and some sugar cookies done. I'm training my DH to make the squares and cakes using our old family favourite recipes. So far he's managed a date square, a butter tart square and a brownie. I also want a couple of banana breads and some pumpkin bread and spice loaves. He's great in the kitchen and it sure takes the pressure off of me. I will handle the cookies 'cause he doesn't want to 'fiddle around' with all the small stuff like that.

Today is the 9th I'm told...(I don't know for sure, as I can't seem to keep the days from flying by). There are 11 days left until Christmas, and I still have some sewing to do and last minute Christmas shopping. It's a good thing the stores stay open until 9pm every night, or I would really be in trouble.

I am so looking forward to my grandsons visiting after the holidays. The oldest I haven't seen in over 4 years and the youngest one, his brother, is a sweetheart that I thankfully see more often. Eric is coming home from South Korea, where he teaches English, and the 2 boys will get to spend a few days together here. AND....yes Eric Nana did make you one of those "thingies" also. Hope your not fussy on colour.*lol* ...could be pink.... then Brittney would take it over.... I know he reads my posts all the time and he has the nerve to tell me he thinks it's funny that I have so much trouble understanding this computer stuff. What does he know? He grew up in the age of computers, it's a lot harder for us older..ahem..I mean more mature... folks to master this stuff.

Until next time....

~~Fran...:c)

P.S. I'm seeing that the same pictures have been posted below this post. Grrrr...computers!!!

Well I'm darned if I know how to delete this .....~~Fran...:c(

Does anyone know??

Let's try that again.

Hi folks, don't know what happened there but the 'puter must have hic-cupped or something.Don't know how to undo it., either.

I have to take a week off for my own sanity. I'm getting bowled over with responsibilities and feel that "this will be a good thing" for me at this time..

Will post in a week or so. In the meantime. Have fun, Happy stitching to all.

~~Fran...:c)

'Tis the Season

Well at least it's the begining. Last post I showed you a bit of my kitchen and this post you get to have a look at the old lady who lives there...*lol*..

Concentrate on the two beautiful grandaughters ok?

Only for the love of these two great kids, would I put a toque on my head and go and stand on the square, freezing my toes and anything else that might have been exposed. I swear the older you get the more you feel the cold. The kids were fine, but I just couldn't wait for the old man in the red suit to get there. He's at the END of the parade. Brrrr.

The parade was a hit, best one we've had in years, marching bands, highland pipers, dancing academies doing their *thing* and float after beautiful float . It lasted an hour. My nose and cheeks, toes and my ...humph...thought it was about 45 minutes too long.

Anyway we had fun, we we're 'making memories'. It was their mom's and dad's anniversary and these two charmers we're having a sleep over. We came home, had hot chocolate, warmed our toes and...humph...then got into pj's and settled down to watch the movie "Wally" with bowls of buttered popcorn and all. Papa fell asleep about 20 minutes later and the little one Jaime was not long after him. Brittny and I made it to the end. Later they got tucked in under the 'sleep over' quilt and had dreams of sugarplums. (I hope)

This snowman wreath welcomes you into our warm kitchen.

This is our kitchen table, look at the neat placemats I picked up at the Dollar Store for $1.00 each.

Last week I gave my kitchen curtains a bit of a lift. I took some cordinating print and I put wide hems and side panels on them. I made tie backs and folded some of the dark print to put up on over the pelmets.

By the way, the 'cat' you see on top of the pelmet is a painted wooden one that I did during my Tole Painting Era.


The curtain over the the window on the door is a small table topper I bought at the $$ Store and added the fancy hem, (it was too short) and put a a rod pocket on the back. *LOL* I have had more compliments on this door curtain than anything else.



I guess I've made this post long enough. And now I think I'll go and finish the soup. It's the kind of day when a hearty Beef Barley soup will give you a warm homey feeling. Fresh Rolls and butter, a glass of milk and that's all you need. Then I will go spend a couple of hours in the sewing room trying to catch up on all those Christmas projects. :)

Well so long until next time....

~~Fran...:c)

Friends Gather Here

Well by the looks of our yard I think it's official, winter has arrived, and that means SNOWMEN!

Snowmen and gingerbread men are my favourite things to add Christmas flavor in my kitchen. In the basket you will see them together with a little sign that says "Friends Gather Here".

For the next few weeks I thought I would give you all a peek into my kitchen one shot at a time...ok...so maybe 3-4 shots.

My Christmas Cactus's are anxious and started blooming all over. They are beautiful, it's too bad that such a lovely flower has no scent. Here you see the red one along with a couple of snowmen sitting on my freezer.

And a close-up of the flowers.....

And here you see the pink one on top of the fridge with a bunch of snowmen buddies keeping it company.

So that's my first venture into Christmas decorating, putting out a few snowmen. I've sewed up some new curtains for the kitchen and I'm cleaning and spit polishing all the silver and the crystal. All the Christmas dishes need a spiff up also. Thank goodness for a dishwasher. I figure I only use these once a year for Christmas dinner and the 'gold' around the rim should be good for a few years, seeing they only get washed, twice a year, before Christmas and after Christmas dinner. And if it doesn't?...Well the kids can deal with it 30 years from now. By then I won't care..*lol*...
So welcome to my kitchen. Stay tuned for more ....

Until then

~~Fran

Is it Winter Yet?

This is what greeted us this morning. But I know this will be gone in a couple of days, it's too mild out there. I am one of these rare people that live in the north and LOVE snow. On the other hand this part does not thrill me. This is just a warning that we had best get with the program and finish the outdoor chores, like bringing in the 2 proud grandparents.






The bear however has gone for his long winter sleep....he-he-he...





I took a short drive around the neighborhood with the camera, and wouldn't you know it the batteries gave out. Oh well, it's no big deal, just have to get to the camera store this week.

As anyone can tell, I'm not a great photographer. (Now if you want to see photography, go see Daisy Cottage and Jellybeanangel. ) Those gals know how to wield a camera! They have talent plus in that department. I realize there's more to it than just point and shoot.
1. You have to have good equipment and
2. you have to have an artists eye. Hey...I try!

This is what I managed to 'shoot' before the camera gave up the ghost.











As Porky Pig would say....."T-t-that's it folks... I'm off to the sewing room to see if I can get anything accomplished.

Have a great day.


~~Fran...:c)

tAKING fIVE

It was a beautiful sun shiny day and I decided to take advantage of it and I took five
We have a beautiful boardwalk down by Lake Huron . It was unseasonably warm and I kicked off my shoes and went down the beach to the shore. I wish I would have thought to bring the camera, but there's always a next time, the lake won't go away...*lol*...

But I love to pick up pebbles, and I usually come home with a pocket full of rocks. Today was no exception...here is today's loot. I look for color, shape, and differences like the little one that's half red and half white. (center of picture) to me they look like jewels of the lake. Some days I'm lucky and the gods of the lake delivers fossils to the shore. I have a load of these.



Everyone has to have a hobby and this is one of mine. The best thing about it is that's it's free, and it includes fresh air and a walk along the shore. All I have to do is look down.

I've been in my sewing room so long that I've forgotten what the rest of the house looks like...*lol*...

Well break is over so I'm going to back to the work room and start sewing again. I'm starting to feel like one of Santa's elves...

Until next time...

~~Fran...:c)

Going Thrifting

Saturday was my day off, so I did the thing I love more than sewing . I went shopping, and I hit a couple of thrift shops. Got some pretty good deals. Here are some pictures 3 lovely Toby mugs in 3 sizes for .25 cents each

a few pieces of jewelry , the broach in the center is enameled, the cost for all this was .75 cents.

A bag full of fabrics, all are at least 1 yd to 2 yds. Cost $1.00

What you see above is the contents of a bag of quilt pieces, and scraps. Ya gotta love it, all for $1.00

This is a 'bronzed' picture frame of leaves. I fell in love with it and spent the whole $1.25 for it.

And a lovely old tin for .50 cents I just love old tins like this.

And the best buy of the day was this denim reversible jacket for .50 cents.

One Saturday each month all clothing in this little shop called "Blessings" sell all of the clothing for .50 cents each. I came home with a car full of 'stuff'' and only spent $9.00.

Anybody want to come shopping with me?...*lol*...

Until next time

~~Fran...:c)

Chelsea's Quilt

Do any of you recall my teaching, my granddaughter from Nevada, how to quilt this summer? She made a HUGE bag/purse and was thrilled with it. She went home determined to make her dad a lap quilt for Christmas. A red, white and black lap quilt. He's heavy into Nascar. She sent me this picture this morning.....

and this one this afternoon. I'm so proud of her I could" just bust my buttons" as they say. Here's what she says after I wrote back and told her she was doing great, and does she think this will be passed down to her daughters if she ever has them, she replied........

Hi Nana! Thank you, that was this morning, now look how far I got! It looks so cool, and I am so glad you showed me how neat and fun quilting can be! Tell me what you think of the center! I will definitely pass this on to my daughters! love you! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo!

The black and white check doesn't like the camera lens very much and tends to blurr, but it is black and white checker flag/like checks. The print is just for the fun Nascar colors of the cars. I can't wait to see those pictures coming in. She's promised to keep me posted. Ya gotta love it!!!

Until next time

~~Fran...:c)