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Thursday, March 30, 2006

Annie's Attic and Crochet Magazine... Sorry... Annie's Attic No Longer Has Free Patterns ;o(

Annie's Attic and Crochet Magazine have teamed up to include some of the "Talking Crochet" back issues of Crochet Magazine newsletters on the Annie's Attic website. Since I subscribe to "Talking Crochet", I can absolutely recommend it. This is a really good development..grin Now some of those free patterns that come out in the issues of Crochet Mag are once again available. There is also a daily free crochet pattern on the Annie's Attic site... that's a "two for one" ! The operative word here is "daily" for the Annie's Attic one... each day there is a new one, so be sure to bookmark it and check back every day or it will gone!

Went looking for this Annie's Attic page not long ago (June 2010) and the free patterns are no longer there. I don't know what has happened that it has been discontinued, but thought I should tell you before you click on the link... ;o( 

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Pastel Paintings

It seems I did these pastels in very late 2004...boy, does time fly. Today we matted and framed them to hang in our son's kitchen. Jim and Don bought a new set of dishes and these fruits were on the decal in the center of the plates. When Don asked me whether I could do these as framed art, I wasn't sure I could actually do it..grin But a couple of weeks later they were done. The question now is whether they will be matted with the sage green or pastel yellow inner matt (the sage is on the top row, the yellow on the bottom). I guess that decision will be made later tonight when Jim gets home from work. Love the way they turned out. These guys have such great ideas!
The frames may or may not be stained with a white pickling stain. Or mayber thinned white acrylic paint... or maybe just left the pure wood and coated with polyurethane... we'll see...

Monday, March 27, 2006

Embroiderers Guild

There is a beautiful technique using raised embroidery to create an underwater look on muslin.. take a look! Project of this coming up soon!

Fabric Postcard WIP


It looks like there may be a short hospital stay in the near future, so I am starting several small things to occupy the time afterward. This is a new FPC that I put together yesterday evening and started the stitching on last night. It has been a while since I have done any ribbon embroidery and it sure shows up... grin
The idea came whizzing by this morning as DH and I were drinking our coffee in my work room that if (just perhaps) I use a 3x5 piece of Aida cloth and work some designs on it, the stitches would have to be more precise and (just perhaps) this would aid in perfecting my stitches in other areas. So, I think that is another thing I shall do.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Round Robin Letter Update


I got the word last night that the RRL is now in the hands of the last person (yayyyy) before it gets back to me (yayyy again!) I was told (by our son!) that in no way could I look at it before it was sent on to the last person (our daughter). I'm not sure when this was first sent, but it sure seems like a long time ago..grin I've heard all kinds of tantalizing things about what has been put in it, but nothing I can put my finger on, so it will be a real treat to actually get it back..

Friday, March 24, 2006

Crocheted Basket


wyldwmn.com is a wonderful site I found several months ago, then wandered off into doing all the cornices for the house and didn't get back to it until now. Anyway... there are several patterns for small baskets that can be used for ribbon embroidery work, as appliques on whatever you want to applique.. etc. Take a look at her site.. it's wonderful.
Last night I decided to try to work up one on my own and this is what I came up with. It is my own work, but I think the idea for it came from the wyldwmn.com site. So, while I will put up the pattern for this one on my Fabric Follies site, I don't think in all honesty I can claim it as completely my own.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Snow,Snow,Snow



I'm sure the people up north (including Phil, our son) would laugh and say that this is not even real snow..grin But down here in Texas ya'll, when it becomes 32 degrees and snows in late March, it's snow! grin

Monday, March 20, 2006

Crochet Heart Pattern & 50 birds.com


Blogger still seems intent on not letting me upload pictures, so this little rose will have to do, I guess.
It's foggy outside, but we are loving it. The last couple of days have been rainy and wonderful. Mild but steady rain that we needed so badly. There is a sprinkling of trees in the meadow that have put on their leaves, but the largest ones out front are still leafless.
Busy week ahead. There has been little time for handwork other than crocheting tiny hearts during the evening, and looks like that will continue this week. I have found a new pattern for a small heart corner bookmark here... take a look. I haven't made this one yet, but it is next on the list.
In the meantime, there is a wonderful site called 50 birds.com that has great graphics that can be used as clipart, line drawings that can be put together as a coloring book to teach youngsters about birds, floral prints, calendar prints...and etc..etc..etc..

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Wrong Again...ughhh

I really thought Blogger was back up completely...but wrong again. It won't let me upload photos...A couple of blogs that I have seen online are looking for a new server for their blog..but in all honesty, every server runs into problems every now and then. So will stay with this one..grin

Finally Back



Blogger has been down for a few days... and just when I would think it was back, guess what... it wasn't. Something about a file server being bad. But it's finally back.. yayyy!

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Housewife Pillow Cases

I've always wondered where people found those great pillow cases that hug the pillow and don't wrinkle up during the night. They always look so neat! Well, now I know. They are called "housewife pillows" and are very easy to make. Alternative-Windows.com shows how to make them with very easy to understand directions. Guess what the next project around here will be?? !! grin

There are also wonderful directions for making many types of window curtains, duvet covers, draperies. This is a "must see" site... run over and check it out!

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Things It Took Me Over 50 Years to Learn


THINGS IT TOOK ME OVER 50 YEARS TO LEARN

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."
3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
5. You should not confuse your career with your life.
6. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. (I wish I had!)
7. Never lick a steak knife.
8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.
9. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age 21
10. A person, who is nice to you, but rude to a waiter, is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)
11. Your friends love you anyway
12. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.
13. Thought for the day: Men are like fine wine . . . They start out as grapes, and it's up to the women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Knitting Nonni's "Horsey" Pattern


Mariella has this pattern up on her blog Knitting Nonni . She made this pattern as a knitting pattern for a cute knitted cap. Have a look at her site here .. :)
I think I will use it as a cross stitch pattern for a pocket or perhaps around a picnic tablecloth..

Windy gray days, but beauty anyway


The clouds continue to keep the sky gray, but no rain falls. Perhaps later today.
The pomegranite in the front yard is a blaze of color as we come into the drive and the redbud in the back is a lovely pink-purple. I'm not sure whether the term "cabin fever" is still used very much, but it sure fits around here. As the temperatures warm up enough, we can once more sit on the back porch for morning coffee and listen as the birds vie over the best mates and the squirrels do the same. Such a lovely time of year.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Busy Time


Yesterday we spent the day in Dallas putting the final touches to the Ranger Reunion plans. The Radisson at Mockingbird & I35 is undergoing a complete renovation and wow! what a difference it is making! The staff is wonderful and we were treated to a complimentary lunch in the bar. Delicious! How cool is that! They are putting Sleep Number Beds in all the rooms... Can't wait to try that..

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Absolutely No Reason For This Post


There's absolutely no reason for putting this post up except that I love this little bird, flower and saying! Posts may be more sporatic than usual as there are several doctor's appointments, trip to Dallas to continue our preparations for hosting the upcoming Ranger Reunion, etc.. going on this week and into next week.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Newsletter Time Again


Dear Hubby and I publish the newsletter for the E51-G75 LRRP Ranger Association every quarter. While it takes a small chunk of time and some work, I can think of nothing else that is more worthwhile.
With the doldrums of winter this year, we've kinda been in a "put everything off" mode... Well, I've put it off as long as I can..grin Deadline time is staring at me pretty hard, so I guess the next few days will be devoted almost exclusively to finishing the newsletter. So best get started.....

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Daffodils Blooming



The daffodils have bloomed in profusion this year. I planted these the first year we moved here in early 2004 and they bloomed a little last year. This year they are quite happy and have made a beautiful show along the back fence.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Apricot Blossoms


Apricot Blossoms 2
Originally uploaded by Linda S..


Apricots in this part of the country only produce every few years because of all the late freezes we have. But the blossoms are beautiful. We are hoping that the hard freezes are over since our tree is blooming profusely right now. (There are two entries for this picture because I found a button to click over at Flickr that will put you picture and blog entry right on your blog...how cool is that! But the first one didn't show up so I tried again...and guess what...now have two entries... oh well!!

Apricot Tree in Bloom


Apricot Blossoms 2
Originally uploaded by Linda S..


I keep holding my breath that we won't get another hard freeze. The apricot is blooming so beautifully and if the cold will hold off long enough, just maybe we will have an apricot crop this year... yayyy!

Round Robin Letter Update


The Round Robin Letter has left Michigan and is on it's way back to Texas for a double stop and then on to Oklahoma. So far the response has been great as everyone has so enjoyed hearing from family that has not been seen in many years. Can hardly wait for it to get back here...grin

Tomomi Has a New Quilt in the Making


Tomomi at Black Cat has a new quilt in the process of being quilted. It is a truly lovely Hawaiian Sampler. The site is mostly written in Japanese, but the links and pages are written in English, so it is easy to move around the site. Have a look at her lovely things. (The red markings on the quilt top are the areas that are currently quilted. As she progresses, she marks the areas that are finished.)

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Crocheted Purse Finished


I had some leftover yarn from another project and wondered if I could make a purse...so I did. I have put the pattern up here on my Fabric Follies site.