Life is A Beach

Neither wind, rain, sleet, snow, ...... can keep me off the beach!

Here is the wonderful beach house that we return to yearly!

And here are my wonderful friends who make the trip fun no matter what the weather conditions!

Your real friends like you with no makeup, bad hair, baggy sweats, etc. So far they can like you that way for at least 3 days. Maybe longer, but we had to leave to return to the real world!

This is my Pray and Crochet group that I have been meeting with for over 2 years. They meet each week at CBC to pray and crochet for friends in our church. Since my move, I no longer get to go to all of the weekly meetings, but have been known to join in on the phone from time to time. Once we get our computer confidence up, we might even try the webcam so it can almost seem as though I am there! This weekend was our second annual retreat and we had a blast. After 3.5 days, we still had much to talk about. We learned some new crochet stitches, had great food and even learned a new domino game. New for me that is.

The weather was wet, windy and cold, but we still enjoyed just being able to visit and share what each family has been doing this year. We exchanged recipes and craft ideas. As a matter of fact, I was able to make a good Christmas craft list so that I can get started on next year's gifts.

Of course, what trip away would be complete without stopping at a few new thrift shops? We only found one, but I hit the jackpot. Found just what I was looking for so I will be posting my newest thrift redo in a few days. Sew long for now.

One Little Dausdhund Went Out to Play....

With her three babies! Isn't this the cutest thing you have ever seen on my blog??? I got the pattern online at www.audreyandmaude.blogspot.com . It was designed by Cathy Porter and when I saw it I just had to order. I intended to make several sets for Christmas but this is the only one that was actually completed. It went to one of my "great grand" nieces. It has several parts that are sewn on by hand and I am waiting to see how they hold up to loving and playing before I complete any more of them. They are fun to make and take very little fabric, so I plan to make a few more in the future.

This was probably one of my favorite gifts to give this season. I probably had more fun making and watching the little dogs be created than anyone will have playing with them, and that makes it even more rewarding. I love that this year my preparations for Christmas were almost as enjoyable as seeing the receipients open their gifts.

Mom and I made several homemade items to give. She crocheted lots of hats and scarfs and we also made lots of fabric alphabet letters that went out to all the smallest great grandchildren to help them as they learn to read and spell. They didn't seem overly thrilled with those as gifts, but I think that once all the new, flashy and bright toys get old, they will find that these are a fun way to learn and play at the same time. I especially hope that my niece who homeschools her children will find many uses for them. We found the pattern online as well at www.ohsohappytogether.blogspot.com. And it is a free download. My favorite!

Sew, with Christmas behind us, we are starting to look forward projects we can do for the coming year. We each have a stack of ideas and plans. Let's just see if we can stay motivated to get some things finished. We already made 2 more scarfs, so we are already stocking up for next Christmas! YEA!

I Have Been Away from Blog......

To all my faithful blog followers, you two or three know who you are, I am finally back at the computer. I took some time off for Christmas and to be sick, get well, get sick again, get well, get sick again....well I think you get the overall bad picture. School started back up today, so I decided to get back to work as well. I downloaded all my Christmas pics (never as many as I thought I was taking) and started looking through them for some interesting blog material. I'm still looking.

My computer is located in a rather cold part of my house and currently my feet and fingers are freezing cold, but nevertheless, I will continue looking around in my computer files for interesting material to blog about. (I know that is wrong sentence structure to end sentence with a preposition, but saying interesting material about which to blog, is just so "not me".) So, for my young, still in English class, followers, ignore all gramatical things you see here. This is not an English lesson!

I will be posting a few more holiday topics while they are still fresh in my memory, so I hope you will begin checking again for new and exciting news from me! Sew kidding!

Christmas Projects

So, a few days before Christmas, I stopped off at my favorite thrift shop in Huntington Tx, Second Blessings, and found this cute picture in a blond wooden frame for just $1.00. Immediately, I had a vision for what it would become.




I went to my stash of paint and found these colors.



I started painting the frame until I got just the right affect I was looking for.

And here is the finished gift! I had previously traced off the three girls hand prints earlier in the month, and then I just traced them onto a piece of scrap fabric and embroidered in different colors that blended nicely with the frame. Beginning cost of frame, $1.00. Final cost of gift, priceless!