Winter 2015 Update

We have had miserably cold temps the past few weeks. One day last week it was -22 actual with a -30+ wind chill. Brrrrrrrrrr... 

I have been enjoying this centerpiece that I made from a supermarket bouquet that J brought home two weeks ago.

This rusty centerpiece is actually a candleholder that I bought from Wayfair a few months ago.  I just put in some votive vases filled with water and cut the flower stems down.

I was thinking positive thoughts during the cold spell and ordered flowers for my summer garden. :)  I can't wait to get these beauties:


Little Blue Wonder Sea Holly - it's a miniature...I think I ordered 5 of these. 

Dahlias:

I ordered 3 of these White Feather Hosta just because they are so unique.

For the past two days, it's been a Stay-at-Home-Work-on-Quilts weekend.

On Saturday my goal was to make a bench-back pillow out of three bird blocks that I made a few years ago.  I am happy to report that I accomplished that goal. Here is the pillow:

Today I am crawling around on the floor getting this cardinal star quilt "sandwiched" so I can begin to quilt it. 

I am getting way to old to be doing this!

I  hope you are all surviving the winter in whatever state you are in!

Bling-bling

Last week I received a few pieces of jewelry that I ordered from *C*oldwater *C*reek during their closeout sale.  You all know I stalk the CC site daily and pounce when I see a great sale event!

   I left the price tag on this necklace, aptly named 'Brilliant Blossoms', to show you what a great bargain it was. I would never pay  $100 for costume jewelry .  Fortunately it was at the outlet price + 60% off  and I found a coupon code for $30 off a $100 order. .................   .................   ...................... .........................................................drum roll please.................................................................

This big ol' hunk of bling was mine for just $17.55.

This is more the true color:

I also bought  a few other bold pieces:

Love this one!

 

 

 

Not sure about this set-- the pic on their site showed a totally different color - I thought I was ordering the aqua color below.

 Every now and then I get something that is not as I expected. I never return anything.  I am sure I have something in my closet that will coordinate with the more green color.

I also bought some cute gloves (for next year) & a couple of belts:

 

 This morning I added these  Easter chair backs to my dining room .

Today we are expecting rain and snow.  It's a good day to stay inside and finish up the Easter decorating. 

Life is good in my little corner of the world this weekend. :) I hope it is in your corner, too



My January so Far...

I hope you all have been having a good January.  I have not been doing much of anything worthy of a blog post. 

One day last week I spent two hours mending bathmats and a few towels for the hotel.

Can you believe the terry products arrive brand new looking like this?

We are not purchasing discount quality linens. In fact our brand mandates a certain thread count, which is a very nice terry towel.  Unfortunately the company that has our worldwide multi-million dollar contract does not appear to be deserving of it.  I hope the ultra BigWig decision makers of our franchise find a new supplier soon! 

Since the new year began, I have been in the mood to sew a little something.  Last week I found this Halloween pattern at a site called Artisania.  She drafted the pattern herself and generously shares it with all of us for free. This is my somewhat flawed rendition:

I think she is kinda cute, don't you?  I have no idea what I will use her for, but I am getting quite a few Halloween blocks. I may make dining room chair backs with each chair having a different block.  I will do that right after I finish the 4 or 5 quilts that are next in line to be worked on.

 

 

We have no snow on the ground. It's another strange winter in northern Michigan. We had some snow, but it all melted during last week's rain.  I took this pic on Saturday when it was 55 degrees here.

I am hoping we get some snow soon as my garden needs a good snow cover. Without snow, I am likely to lose quite a few perennials. Did you notice the turkeys way in back in the above picture? Here's a close up:

They come around every afternoon about 3:30 p.m.   These days I am never home to see them at that time unless it's a weekend.

Last week  a little package appeared on my desk at work from my favorite clothing retailer.  Inside I found these items:

The middle sweater has an interesting metal detail all around its center.   I would never pay full price ($99), but it was quite reasonable at the sale price.

I ordered two sets of the little Christmas clothespins. They have holiday words like "believe" and "joy" across their tops.  They will be cute to attach Christmas cards to a piece of wire or rope.

I do love a good closeout sale!

 

I hope your January has been wonderful.

Christmas Wishes to All of You

 

I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas.

 

The image above is from one of the towels I received from my sister.  She has an embroidery machine and made the holiday design on them.

 

I think they are beautiful!

I was up early (a bit before 5 am) as usual this morning. We did not have to go to our Christmas brunch until 11:30 a.m., so I had plenty of time to finish the green star quilt I have been working on for...e.v.e.r.

I am so thrilled to finally have it completely finished!  I spent an hour or so curled up in it late this afternoon reading those magazines.  Tomorrow I plan to relax in the same spot with that stack of cooking books. It's so nice and warm and cuddly.  In fact, I think I am going to finish this post and head right back under it for the rest of the evening!

For Christmas Eve I made a few dishes to take to my sister's party. One was these festive jello squares. The white is condensed milk with unflavored gelatin.

I have been meaning to try these for the past few years. DH is a jello lover and he really liked these.  They may become a new tradition.

I hope all of you enjoyed your holiday as much as we did this year.

Work Planters & Quilt Decor

It took me less than 30 minutes to plant 4 containers at work.  I planted them all the same:

What you cannot see are the cannas, dahlias and calla lilies I brought from home. They are under the soil toward the back.  These containers are stuffed to the brim! I did not even realize that the petunias I bought were one of the Proven Winners called 'Bubblegum'.  I have seen 'Bubblegum' on many of your blogs, so I know it's a great choice. I am now very excited to see what happens when the big 'thrillers' shoot up.  I have no  idea what color dahlia I planted. I am hoping it is a purple 'Rembrandt'.  I will keep you posted with pics as the new plants emerge. You will be amazed at how much more I have planted in these containers!

When I was off last week, I finally put the binding on my pink star quilt.  I put this on with the sewing machine and I am pretty content with how it turned out.

My next quilt to finish will be this double star quilt:

I love this one, but I had no reason to finish it because it did not match anything in my home.  Now I think it looks wonderful with my new sofa.  It will be perfect to snuggle up with this winter.  I plan to hand quilt this one, so I had better get busy as it will take quite some time.

With the warmer weather, I am embracing my pastel floral living room.  The burgundy slip covers have been removed and the pink star quilt that I just put the binding on has found its summer home.

I made this one to match my sofa and love seat. It was a very detailed star quilt with the tiny center star being an exact replica of the large star around it.  I almost cried after I ruined it by machine quilting it.  I am a terrible machine quilter!  After it sat unused for over a year, I finally came up with idea to add a second backing and add ties to hold it together.  That worked wonderfully to hide the hideous machine quilting on the back.  I am now happy that I can display this one without shame.

I won't be posting for a few days as I will be spending time at a mini family reunion.  I hope you all have a great weekend.  May all our gardens be filled with rain water!  I don't know about you, but we desperately need rain.