Once again, Christmas has come and gone

And in it's place are the left over decorations, waiting to be packed up for another year. I love having the same treasures to unwrap every year. We add something new each year of course. Our two main things we add yearly are a dated ball and an animated figure. My mom and dad gave us a Christmas ball that said First Christmas Together 1981 the year we got married. Since then, every year we have added a dated ball. Some years have new babies on the ornament. Some celebrate special things that happened a particular year - the year our football team won the championships. Some celebrate "world" things such as the American flag proudly waving on the 2001 ball. But each is special because it celebrates another year of togetherness. We hang them on a lighted garland around the ceiling in the livingroom.

The animated things are the little dancing, singing snowmen from Hallmark as well as some Santas (one on a motorcycle lol) and a few Nativities. We have a snow globe that I just love. Each night after the children put the ornament on the Advent tree they pick one to play. We have a house that plays The Night Before Christmas that we always save to play the first time on Christmas Eve.

Well since Christmas is over and all the gifts have been given I can update you on what I've been working on. This is Ryan's quilt:



And this is Cassie's:



I had posted a picture of the adorable little tree my daughter made in school. Here's my version of it:



As I was making ours I somehow committed myself to making eight more of these - yes that's right - three days before Christmas and I needed to make eight of these for presents. So Tasha and I started drawing, cutting, stuffing and sewing. And here is the result:



And even though Christmas is over the tree making isn't. We're going to try some in different sizes. But not for a week or so. lol.

I've removed my quilting gadget wish list from my sidebar because I was blessed to receive everything on it for Christmas! But I'm sure it won't be long before some other nifty thing crosses my path that I just "have" to have. lol.

Looking forward to the New Year I'm going to try some things here. I'm going to try to keep my quilting list to a minimum this coming year because with the added hours at work I'm going to be having less time to commit to quilting. So I'm going to gather up a list of things I really, really want to get finished and post them here and try to stay accountable to that list when all the neat ideas my friends forward to me come along. I have a few things I have made commitments to make and a few things I just want to make.

Well before I go here's the latest of Thunder. He got three wonderful presents for Christmas - his duck that he has already chewed the feet off, a box of gourmet dog biscuits and his pillow. And he loved them all.



Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Getting Ready

Christmas is only a little over a week away and we are pretty much done with the decorating (finally lol). The tree is up:



The nativity is out:



And I have done a bit of Christmas sewing. We normally put a train and village under our tree but not this year. Thunder is still a puppy so we didn't want to spend all our time pulling him out of it so we decided to skip it this year. So I made a tree skirt. It's not finished - it needs sandwiched and quilted but I still have one more quilt that also needs sandwiched and quilted and it's a present so it comes first. So the tree skirt is together just enough to be used and will be finished after the holidays.



My darling daughter has been taking "home ec" classes at school and made this cute little tree and brought it home today. The picture really doesn't show how cute it is - and believe me it is cute. lol.



And of course Thunder loves sitting by the tree looking out the window hoping someone will come to play with him.



Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Christmas Cookies

Memories of Christmases past abound at this time of year. I've been thinking about my mom a lot because Sunday was the eighth anniversary of her passing. I was talking with some friends and cookies came up. My absolute favorite cookie is called Mommy Bakes. They're actually called Joan's Cookies but when I was little I would ask for the cookies Mommy bakes and so the cookies ceased to be Joan's Cookies and became Mommy Bakes.

I went through a phase of making scrapbooked recipes. I have very few things in my mother's handwriting. She was sick for a long time before she passed and she didn't do a lot of writing after a time. So this recipe in her handwriting is very special. I found a picture of her with my sister and me and make this recipe page.



Not much going on as far as the quilting goes. And I really need to fix that. I have one more quilt to get made for a Christmas present. I'm going to do the Last Push Quilt-a-thon December 13th. But since I won't be able to post a picture of that until after Christmas anyhow I'm posting a picture of a Christmas quilt I made a few years ago with blocks from a swap with an online group.



Before I go - here's a funny picture of Thunder.



Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

So far behind

Well today is the 22nd so I am ten days behind in my posting. sigh. I knew when I started this I probably wouldn't be able to post daily but I didn't expect to get this far behind.

Day 13 - I'm thankful that I have eyes that allow me to see all of God's beauty.



Day 14 - I am thankful for books. This one of course ties in the Day 13. I'm thankful that I can lose myself in books. I can go places I will never go in my lifetime. I can "meet" new friends and in the lucky event that the author makes the book into a series I can see my new friends again and again.



Day 15 - I'm thankful for Angel Food Ministries. I'm not sure how this program was started but I'm so glad I found it. Its a group that provides inexpensive food in these tough times. We're all pinching our pennies now and this program provides good food for a low prices. The menu changes each month and some things are better than others but it is certainly a wonderful program.



Day 16 - I'm thankful for our dog Thunder. He's a big goofy lovable mess and he gives us unconditional love.



Day 17 - I'm thankful for Penn State football. They are having a great season and that makes my hubby happy. And of course I'm always thankful for anything that makes hubby happy. :0)



Well I have some other things that simply must get done tonight so I'll be happy with catching up on 5 days and hope that tomorrow I can do more.

Until then, hugs and stitches. Jody

Thanksgiving Days 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 YIKES!!

Well I haven't done a very good job of posting these things daily and so I am five days behind. Of course I have so many things to be thankful for it won't be hard to come up with five for here.

Day 8 is color. God has given us so many vibrant colors to brighten our world. When I think of color I think of crayons. And of course you have to have the big box. lol. Although I believe you can get larger boxes now when I was growing up the 64 box was the big box.



Day 9 is a day off. I have been working six days a week and November 9th was a day off and I thoroughly enjoyed being home.

Day 10 I am thankful for two wonderful ladies named Melissa and Susy. These ladies drive school buses. Melissa takes my daughter and Susy takes my boys. I can't express how much these ladies mean to me. Melissa I have known for probably 35 years. Susy I have know for about 12 or 13 years. I completely trust these ladies with my kiddos and I can't begin to explain all the wonderful ways they have taken care of them over the years.



Day 11 was Veteran's Day. My Daddy is a Veteran. My father-in-law and my husband's step-father are Veterans. My Uncle Chubb died in the Korean War. Three of my brothers-in-law are Veterans. Many of the things we enjoy we have because of the sacrifice men and women have made in service to our country. So, in true military form, I salute them.



Day 12 I am thankful for my computer. I have learned so many things from having a computer. I have made friends I would never have known. I have seen things I would never have seen. I even used my computer to earn money for a time.



Until tomorrow, hugs and stitches. Jody

Thanksgiving - Day 7

Normally by November we are in to heavy sweaters and sometimes even winter coats but today we are having Indian Summer. And that's what I'm thankful for today. In the middle of wet and cold weather God blessed us with a gorgeous day. It was over 70 degrees and the sunshine was incredible!

So I went looking around online for a picture to post and this is what I found:



What's so special about this picture is it's actually from my town. And it's on a road not far from me. Welcome to my world! Isn't it beautiful?

Until tomorrow, hugs and stitches. Jody

Thanksgiving - Day 6

I thought for quite a while about today's thanksgiving. I really have so many things to be thankful for it's hard to pick which to post.

But today I'm thankful for my washer and dryer.



It's so easy to just pitch something in the washer and it comes out clean, pitch it in the dryer and it comes out dry. When you think of how our ancestors had to wash their clothes I am so thankful that I have it much easier.

Until tomorrow, hugs and stitches. Jody

Thanksgiving - Day 5

This past March I went back to work. Not that being a wife and mother isn't work - but you don't generally get paid for it. I had been earning some money at home for a couple of years but this was an honest to goodness get up every morning, put on a uniform, leave the house, punch a time clock, earn a paycheck job. And I love it - but that's for another day.

Today I worked an eight hour shift. I work at a restaurant so this is eight hours on my feet. Over the summer I worked six hours almost daily but here lately I have been working four, maybe five hours a day. I am definitely not used to being on my feet for eight straight hours.

So when I came home I had a nice long soak in the tub. And that is what I am thankful for. Bath tubs filled with steaming hot water.

Now in keeping with my days of thanksgiving so far I have provided a picture of what I'm thankful for so I went in search of a picture of a nice relaxing tub of water. I found tubs with bubbles (I don't do bubbles), tubs with candles, tubs with flowers - in the tub and on the side of the tub.

None of them seemed just right - until I saw this one:



Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

More Thanksgiving

Today I'm thankful for the right to vote. I think far too often voting is seen as a "given". It's not. It's a privilege and an honor. It gives us a say in our government. If you voted in this election I say thank you for helping to make a difference. If you didn't vote in this election I urge you to make sure that you do vote in the next election. And not just the "big one". There are many offices we elect officials to and you should be voting from the local level on up.



Over the weekend I was able to get some quilting work done. I finished up a Christmas present (that I will post a picture of after Christmas naturally).

I finally got the last border on my roosting robin. It's not the best picture because the last border is black on black and it's hanging against my navy blue drapes but here's a picture:



And I have put another border on my Christmas roosting robin.



This will be the last round for a while because I'm up to the final round and it will be what my friend Carol calls the "WOW" round. It's a sort of save your best for last concept. And if I can actually pull off what I'm planning it will be nothing short of a miracle. lol. But it's going to take some time.

It's been a while since I've posted a picture of Thunder. This one is an old one but he's soooo cute in it and besides, he's laying on my patriotic quilt and what better day than today?



Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving fast approaching I'm planning to do a month long thanks for my blessings. Since I very seldom post daily I'm probably going to end up posting a few things at a time. Since this is the 3rd day of November I already have three things to be thankful for and here they are:

For November 1 I have chosen the biggest blessing in my life - the gift of everlasting life I have in my Savior Christ Jesus. I can't even begin to describe what this gift has meant to me. And it is a gift. I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it. And the good news is if you haven't accepted this gift for yourself it's there just waiting for you to claim it. If you are unsure how to go about this please scroll down to the red "ready" button on the right side of my blog. Click on that link and it will take you to a website that will explain it all to you. I looked around online for a picture to go with this and when I saw this one I knew immediately it was the one.

The reason I chose this one is something someone explained to me years ago when I inquired about crucifixes. I was told that there were no crucifixes in the church I attended because we serve a risen God. Jesus had to rise to complete His purpose. He had to come back from that grave for me - and you. So this is my Lord and Savior after conquering death.




November 2 is my family. I don't know what I would do without this crazy group of folks. We may not have a conventional home life (although I'm not even sure what "normal" or "regular" would be considered anymore) but there is lots of love in this house.



November 3 is quilting. I have loved quilts for years and I am thankful for the opportunity I had to learn to make quilts. Quilting is my stress reliever and creative outlet.



Until tomorrow, hugs and stitches. Jody

A Day Late

My mother was very punctual. As a matter of fact she was always early. And she made sure that I understood that you should not make people wait for you. So I wonder if that's why I'm chronically late. Not so much time wise - I'm always early for work. But when I do send cards (which isn't often - I'm not a "mailer") I'm normally late. Of course it doesn't really help that my darling husband doesn't know how to tell time. Okay, he does know how - he just doesn't do it. After living with him for over 27 years it's no wonder I am becoming more and more time challenged.

So today, on the first of November, I finally finished up my Halloween quilt. lol. I machine quilted it - I got some nice thread that goes from red to orange to yellow that I thought would look really nice in a meandering stitch. I even got a solid brown backing so the stitches would show up. The problem - oh right, I don't know how to do a meandering stitch. lol. I was going to practice. Then I got cold feet and decided to do a grid. And I did a grid but not like I was going to do. I got very discouraged - as I normally do when I machine quilt. I keep thinking I'll get better the more I do it but it doesn't seem to be working that way.

Well it will pass the galloping horse test so I'm happy with it.



Since it's a holiday quilt it won't be out all the time and I think I can stand the mistakes for a month or so every year.

Now it's time to work on a few more things. As we get closer and closer to the end of the year I want to get some things finished up. I like to end the year with more in the finished column than I started the year with in the to do column.

So I'm off to the quilting room. Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Trying to get something done

Well for the second weekend in a row I have been determined to get some quilting done only to have life intrude on my intentions.

I've gotten a lot of cleaning done. Did some Christmas shopping (including shopping for fabric!) and even a bit of reading.

I did get a tiny bit of quilting done. I've gotten the top and bottom of the current round on my roosting robin done:



I am working on the sides - they will only be two rows wide - I'm going for a rectangle. Maybe this evening......

We've been having an adventure with Thunder. At long last the fleas have arrived. sigh. Last week the poor thing felt so abused - two baths and one application of flea repellent. Doesn't he look happy? lol.



We tried to tell him everyone else is having a terrible time with fleas this year but it didn't really make him feel any better.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Terrific Give-Away

Can you believe someone wants to give away a quilt? Check out this link:



and you too can have a chance to win this beautiful quilt.

Be sure to look at all the pictures - this is a gorgeous quilt and this lady designed it and made it herself.

Sure hope I win it. lol.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Goin' To A Show

No I'm not going to a quilt show - although I sure would like to. lol. Goin' To A Show is the name of my latest finished project. Its a wallhanging I made to hang my show pins on. I spent a lot of time looking for a pattern specifically for show pins (there aren't many out there) and finally found this wallhanging that I decided would work.



I thought the pins would make nice centers for the flowers.



A couple of these are not show pins but are very special. The pin to the left is from Capital Quilts - a great quilt shop in Gaithersburg MD where I went with three wonderful ladies that I'm on a Yahoo group with. The pin in the middle is of a quilt block with four flowers that I also got at Capital Quilts. Of course each of the flowers represents one of us. Not that I need anything to remind me of that very special day but they sure are nice to have.

I've also done two more rounds on my Christmas roosting robin. They were very simple - basically a separator round and a round to take it off point.



I mentioned before that my daughter has taken an interest in photography and I found this picture on the camera. This is the front of our house.



Now you can picture where I'm at when you read my posts. (I'm sure you were all sitting on the edge of your seats just wondering what my house looks like. lol).

Well it's time to get moving and get something productive done.

Here's a look at one of Thunder's latest pictures.



It's hard to believe we've had him 7 1/2 months. He'll be a year old before long. My baby is growing up. lol.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Something New

My friend Barb is a multi-blogger. She has a quilting blog, a book blog and a devotional blog. I already have the quilting blog and have been wanting to do a book blog but since I have a hard time posting here regularly I didn't want to start up another blog to keep up with.

So when I found Shelfari I saw my opportunity to mention the books I like without having a book blog.

Now when you come to visit you can check out my bookshelf (on the lower right hand side of my blog). You'll find a selection of books I have read and loved. Right now I have a selection from Jennifer Chiaverini, MC Beaton, JK Rowling and Cindy Woodsmall. I have read multiple books from these very talented ladies and would recommend anything any of them has written.

So be sure to check every now and then to see what I've been reading and maybe you'll find something that looks good to you.

Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

Just a bit of fun

I found this on my friend Molly's blog and it was fun reading her answers so I decided to swipe it and put it on my blog.

We've all filled out all those different questionnaires about ourselves but this one is about the hubbies.

So here's the info on my better half.

He's sitting in front of the TV; what is on the screen?
Football or Nascar or the weather channel

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
None - he's not a salad eater. He either gets something else or gives the salad to me (or Tasha if she's with us).

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
One? I only get to pick one? Onions (mushrooms, peppers)

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order?
None - we don't drink alcohol

5. Where did he go to high school?
Chambersburg Area Senior High School

6. What size shoe does he wear?
size 10 1/2

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
Holy cow, how much room do I have? Anything to do with football or Nascar - cars, hats, pennants, figurines, footballs. He also has a collection of marbles from his childhood.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
Right now it's this chicken carbonara thing from Subway

9. What would this person eat every day if he could?
probably candy

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Super Golden Crisp

11. What would he never wear?
A dress.

12. What is his favorite sports team?
Dallas Cowboys and Penn State Nittany Lions

13. Who will he vote for?
I imagine McCain.

14. Who is his best friend?
Brad

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
ask him to help with my quilts

16. How many states has he lived in?
three, NY, PA and MD

17. What is his heritage?
Darn, we've talked about this (school projects for the kids) but I'm not sure I remember - I think his people came from Scotland and England

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
Raisin spice (a secret recipe)

19. Did he play sports in high school?
Football

20. What could he spend hours doing?
Watching tv, playing video games, anything at all to do with football and house repairs/remodeling

So now you know all about him. lol.

Until next times, hugs and stitches, Jody

Back Again

Well I am back after a brief bout with computer interruptus. We have really been lucky. We've been doing computers for at least ten years and have never had a major problem. This one wasn't as bad as it could have been - the power pack died but at least we didn't lose everything on the computer. But I ended up using the kids' computer for more than a week and it's not hooked up to use the printer, camera or anything.

So I have had some time to get some things done. So I think the last thing I was doing with the Quiltathon. I'm not sure what happened with that. The blog I read about it on was supposed to have updates and check-ins over the weekend but I never saw anything. I don't know if I was looking at the wrong place or if she didn't get to it or what.

I did however finish up my round robin from my quilting group. I didn't take a picture of the backside and I really need to because it's reversable. The back side is a charm quilt using many of the fabrics I used on the front. Here it is:



The next one I finished is my Valentine's quilt. This is a rare all machine sewn quilt. I always machine piece but mainly I hand quilt. But there are those times when I just want to finish something. Mainly I machine quilt when I get to feeling like that.



Next I have the first round of my Christmas roosting robin I'm doing with my favorite online group. I'm venturing more and more into machine applique and starting to feel a bit more comfortable with it. I still need to work a lot more with small pieces - the holly berries almost made me crazy. lol.



I have also been working on Christmas presents but I can't post pictures of those for obvious reasons.

Other than quilting, the kids are back to school, my hours at work have been cut back to almost nothing and you would think between those two things I'd be getting tons done but for some reason I'm not. Maybe tonight.

And of course I can't say good-bye without posting a picture of Thunder. This one was just too cute.



Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody

A Quiltathon!!

While looking at various random blogs I came across Patchwork Times who will be having a Quiltathon this weekend. A day to do nothing but quilt! What a dream. Sigh.

I figured I wouldn't even try it because my youngest son's birthday is this weekend but some things have fallen into place that I will be spending the majority of my day quilting with the Quiltathon. Real life will intrude in the way of laundry - but it's supposed to be a beautiful day and I will be able to put the clothes on the line.

So I've decided to work on a Halloween quilt. I went through my stash and came up with these fabrics:



I have the pattern picked, I've started cutting and I even did a bit of sewing tonight.

I can't wait to get started tomorrow. I'll be doing periodic posts for the check ins.

If you can, join us. You can click on the link in the title for all the details.

Until tomorrow, hugs and stitches. Jody

A Quick Catch-Up

It's been a few weeks since I've last posted and they have been busy weeks. I've gotten some quilting done. I've done two rounds on my roosting robin and am almost finished with it.

Here's July's round:



And here's August's round:



August was to be the last round but I think I want to put a black tone on tone border on it and make it a bit more rectangular.

I've been working hard to find more time for quilting because we're on the down side of the time until Christmas (less than six months yikes!). I'm planning a few Christmas gifts so I really need to get moving. One thing that is helping is it's football season. Rodger and Joe are at practice every night and I sew a lot while they're gone.

I'm still hand quilting my TATW but I have a really great reason to finish it. Rodger is very supportive of my quilting, helps me pick patterns and fabrics - he has an incredible eye for color. But he's not really into quilts and although I've offered numerous times to make one for him he always politely declines. So a few months ago we started talking about painting the bedroom. It really needs it. We've been here 11 years and probably haven't painted it since right before we moved in. We want to do a light brownish color and I mentioned making a quilt for on the bed. And he reacted typically. It's almost like I can see the wheels turning in his head - oh no, she's coming and she's going to want quilt advice. lol. I've suggested a number of different patterns for a quilt for our bed and he's not really been excited by any of them. But the other night while I was quilting the TATW he said "I really like this one. It's really nice. The colors work perfectly together." Yikes!! So I quickly suggested that it could be the new quilt for our bed (I am soooo lucky it's big enough lol) and he agreed! I'm not sure when I'll finally finish it - I'm echo quilting in each square - but I guess I have some time since we haven't even picked a paint color.

Oh - here's a picture of the TATW top:



Our big news over the past few weeks is that Joe's hospitalization is over with and he is off the medicine and the doctor said we can stop the finger sticks. Joe is so thrilled. However, we are going to continue the finger sticks throughout football season just to be on the safe side. But it looks like our journey through these medical conditions are at an end. Thank God.

As always I will leave with a parting shot of Thunder. This is his "room".



Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody