Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Thank You!

I wanted to pop in and thank you all for your sweet comments about Max. He was a wonderful little dog and we miss him so much. What a comfort to read your comments. I am having major computer issues and am trying to get it fixed. I can't even post a picture. I'll be back as soon as this is working. Hopefully soon!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Our Little Max

It's with tears that I write this। Our little Max died yesterday after a bout with pneumonia। He put up a gallant fight। He was always at my feet or on my lap। He was my shadow.He was our baby for thirteen years and we will miss him everyday। I love you, Max!




Saturday, September 15, 2012

New Banner and More Goodies

I couldn't decide what to do with the embroidered paper doll squares. I didn't want to make a pillow or quilt, so I made a banner. I colored in the squares like I did here and then embroidered away.
It looked like something was missing, so I added hangers to all the clothes. Edged them with vintage looking fabrics that I had. So much fun.
I sewed it together with seam tape . Easy and fun. I strung it on the end of my bed, because the light is better in here.
Here it is in my craftroom। This is where it will stay.If you want the patterns for the paper doll or clothes I will be posting them soon।I've had a few issues with my computer. I'm trying to solve those. I hate computer problems!
I received a package of Halloween goodies from Kim at Musings from Kim K. What a wonderful surprise.She is so creative! Each thing was wrapped or in a cute bag. It was so much fun to open and really brightened my day!I just love that little Halloween tree. Thank you, Kim!
I also got my scallop pinking shears, and they seem to work great. They are hard to find and so I had to order online. Hmmm, I see a project coming up!
I have reorganized my fat quarters. Every time I pulled one out, half of the pile came with it. I'll see how long it lasts like this. I actually wrapped each one on a 5x5 cardboard scrap. If I get any more I'll have to go into plan B, cuz plan A is getting pretty crowded!
I'm getting geared up to do some fall and Halloween decor. The weather has finally turned for us. I even made soup today! I hope you are enjoying your weekend and some glorious fall weather!
Leslie

Monday, September 10, 2012

Fredricksburg, Texas

We had a wonderful time in Fredricksburg, Texas. I did some junking. The antiques were outrageously high priced. So I mostly junked. I found this perfect set of Pyrex for a steal.Two pretty hankies-one is round. I love those!
Vintage sheets and pillowcases for projects.
Other stuff. I did find A Childs Garden of Verses that I didn't have for 99 cents. Yeah!

Here's a collage of some of the things we saw. We did a self driving tour to see restored school houses from the late 1800's. There were 17 on the tour, but we did a shorter version. You drive out into the rugged Texas ranch country, where you don't see a single car on the 1 lane road. The school houses are upkept by a preservation society. They have the 1 room schoolhouses, teacherages, outhouses,flagpoles, water pumps and some had the teeter totters and swing sets. It was perfect for the the beginning of the school year. I wish everybody thought that keeping up these old building was worth it.Some of the counties and tiny towns, still use the schools for town meetings and Bingo.

We saw wild life, huge beautiful oak trees, wonderful vintage houses ,went to hear real country music at a historic dance hall, and ate good German food. The area was originally settled by Germans who had great architecture. All in all a fun weekend. I hope yours was too. Now back to the grind, but so good to be home again. Have a great week!
Leslie

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Wonderful Surprise!

As most of you know my Dad died a little over a year ago. One of the things we looked for all through his house, was a violin that had been my Great Grandfathers and had been passed on to me. We searched his house from top to bottom and couldn't find it. When we sold his house, I asked the new owner if they found it would they please let me know. I didn't think anything would come of it. They moved in. A few months later we got a call. Would we meet them at a restaurant near us(they had kids that lived close by)? "Sure", we said.
We walked into the restaurant, sat down, and the new owners with big smiles, pulled out the violin. I was speechless. (That doesn't happen very often to me!) They said, "Open it" so I did. I remembered the violin being old, dirty and coming apart. This couldn't be THAT violin. "We sent it out and had it restored by a professional", they said."It's our gift to you."
Sometimes , people do wonderful things. Of course I cried and thanked them over and over. It still had the letter to my Great Grandfather when he sent it away to have it appraised in 1947. The violin was made in 1860 in Germany. Nobody in our family played it, but it was passed to me because I was the only musical one.
I wanted to share that story with you, because what they did meant so much to me. It's like having a little piece of your family given back to you, that you never thought you'd see again. By the way, they found it in my Mom's fabric closet, stashed in the back.
I made a little folder for Caroline to keep her and her clothes.
I'm still working on embroidering a few of the outfits. Click HERE and HERE for the PDF if anyone wants to make their own. I'll be adding more clothes as I upload them.
Thank you to Pam from Treasures-N-Textures for my wonderful box of wool. I'll be using that in a new project. We're going away for the weekend to Fredricksberg, Tx, so I hope some heavy junking and antiquing will be happening. Still hot as heck here-upper 90's and even triple digits. Hope you all have a great week.
Leslie

Friday, August 31, 2012

My Great Grandmas Quilt

My Favorite Thing is my Great Grandmothers hand sewn quilt.I never met her, but my Mom would tell me stories about her. This quilt has been hung, draped, or folded in every house we've lived in, since my Mom gave it to me. It now resides in my craftroom/guest room. It was the inspiration for the colors in there.
I wanted to have some red and pink so I added those in to the color scheme. This quilt was also what started my genealogy search. I wanted to know more. This would be something I would grab if we ever had a fire,(besides my boxes and boxes of pictures).
I'm joining Mockingbird Hill Cottage's new party A Favorite Thing. Go check out the other favorite things. I hope you all have a great Labor Day Weekend!
Leslie

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Paper Doll

I've been busy working on a new to me project. I'm thinking of calling it Carolines Closet. I've been so inspired by all the vintage paper dolls out there in Blogland. I used to have tons of them, and also used to make my own. I thought I'd make one for you.I am working on converting the image so I can share it with you all. (Computer stuff is not my forte).
You can copy and color her. I used colored pencils, but you can use what ever you have.
After you color you can cut out the outfits. Her she is ready for the first day of school.
Ready for those cold days ahead.
After school Caroline comes home and changes into her play clothes. How many of you remember that?
Gotta get dressed for those fall rainy days.
I'm also working on embroidering some of the outfits.You could use the pattern with scrapbook paper to make little tags. Just cut off the tabs. I'll show you more as I go. I have lots more ideas for clothes. I was so excited I couldn't wait to share. Please bear with me until I get the images on PDF for you.
I want to announce a sale in my Etsy Shop. Everything is 20% off until next Monday. You enter the code SALE1 in the box at checkout. So run on over and check it out!
The weather is still hot here in Texas, but you can feel a little change in the air. Hope it 's cooling down for you, and hoping for the best in the hurricane areas! Have a happy day!
Leslie