Handmade Christmas Gift Swap

Beth emailed me my swap pal for the Handmade Christmas Gift Swap. My pal is Patti and it turns out we live near each other. Today is her birthday and guess what....our birthdays are near each other. Mine is friday. However, as it turns out I am several years older than her .....older by 17 years.

Speaking of gifts....I ordered a couple of pairs of earrings from Heidi and was so please with them, I think I'll order some for gifts for Christmas. My nieces would love these.

30 Years...Where Did The Time Go?

My husband and I have been married for 30 years. Our anniversary was Monday. I have lived longer with him than with my parents. Amazing! This is one of my favorite pictures of him with our son taken on a camping trip.

Knitting Obsessions??

Have you ever thought knitting could and/or has become an obsession? Check out these links.
The English Garden

The Last Knit

Fall is in the Air

I sure have been missing my time reading my favorite blogs. My time on school items has carried over into the evenings lately. Plus there have a few internet issues. Hopefully they will be solved tonight when my husband installs the new modem/router.

The weather has been so nice lately. Cool in the mornings and pleasent during the day. And there are definitely signs of fall in my yard. The leaves on my blueberry bushes and on the maple trees are changing and fall flowers are blooming.



As the saying goes...all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy....Well I have had some fun this week. I was able to squeeze in a little time to complete a few items. A baby blanket, a matching burp cloth, and a blue fuzzy bib .
These will be given to a teacher friend at her shower tomorrow. I always get so much pleasure when I give something handmade to a friend.

Sewing in Honduras, Fat Quarter and Earrings

The other morning I had my usual monthly phone call from my brother. He is an civil engineer who lives in Honduras and builds mines in Central and South America. He told me that a purse I had sent to his wife for her birthday was now being used in a sewing class. She is director of a trade school for adults. The woman often commented about her purse. She is letting them figure out how it was sewn together and they are practicing their skills by sewing their own purses. I was flattered. I told him to tell her that there were so many women in blogland who do such amazing work on purses and other sewing projects. I plan to email her some links to some of my favorites. Maybe they can be inspired as much as me.

Today I received a couple of items in the mail. The first were some fat quarters from Barbara - Raggedy Ann and Andy. I once had a Raggedy Ann doll with a heart embroidered on her chest when I was little. These fabrics are so cute. I need a baby gift in a few weeks. Wonder what I could do with this cloth between now and then? Thanks, Barbara!

I also received a pair of earring that I ordered from Adriene. You can always find some of the neatest stuff over at etsy.


One last note: did any of you watch the documentary titled "9/11" on CBS Sunday night? Portions of it was filmed inside Tower One of the World Trade Center during the attacks. Very powerful documentary!

Hunting for Fabric

It has been a busy few weeks. At school we have started our first round of instructional testing which is one of my major responsibilities. Plus for the last two days I have been working on a science textbook selection committee for the state. I always enjoy meeting and working with teachers from across the state. There are so many talented teachers in the schools across the state. They always energize me with their love for teaching.
I get so frustrated living in a town with limited resources....one fabric store and zero yarn shops. So today after the committee meeting, I went on a mission....find a fabric shop with a nice selection to choose from in Columbia. Using the phone and goggling on the computer, I began the journey. As it turns out there seems to be more fabric stores that sell only upholstering fabrics. However, I did find a small quilting shop. I loved it. As I expected, the shop owner told me about some other places I could visit and a shop in a small town near my home. Great!!! Can't wait to visit that shop. I purchased some fall color fabrics and I am thinking about quilting a fall table runner. Here some of the fabrics that I purchased:
Here are a couple of completed projects - the lime green/yellow bib and a new black, white and red bag.


The weekend looks promising....my husband and I will start our yearly adventures to the University of SC football games. We have been faithfully attending these games for 15+ years even when Carolina was losing what seems like all the time. Tomorrow we play Georgia and there is no telling how it will turn out. Go Cocks!!!