On Veteran's Day, we remember

Thank you...Elaine

Christmas 2011, we can make a difference!

I received this in an email from a good friend of mine from back east. It could apply to Canada, Australia or wherever else that is drowning in goods not from their own countries. As a small business owner, I have felt the crunch of the economy. So I will be using these principals for myself this year! **Remember sister Georgie, slip Canada in...oops, Canada is American too! And Lizzie, you slip Australia in where appropriate**    

Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into highgear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods --merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor.  This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuineconcern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift-giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands.  Yes there is! It's time to think outside the box, people. 
                                                                                     

Who says a gift needs to fit ina shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper? Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut.  How about gift certificatesfrom your local American hair salon or barber? Gym membership?  It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about somehealth improvement. Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed?  Small, American-owneddetail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or abook of gift certificates.
                                                                                      

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plonking downthe Benjamines on a Chinese made flat-screen?  Perhaps that grateful giftreceiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course. There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates.  And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half-dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint.  Remember, folks this isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.
                                                                                   

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom?  Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day. My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal.  Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves.  They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.
                                                                                   

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner-operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip.  And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theater? Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand foreign-made lights for the house?  When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community.  If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or delivery person and babysitter a nice BIG tip.                                                          

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets and seeing our hard-earned wages go outside the country.   Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine.
                                                                           

THIS is the new American Christmas tradition. Enjoy family get-togethers, church services, caroling, as in past Christmases but put more emphasis on the REASON FOR THE SEASON and less on material gifts.                                                              

Forward this to everyone on your mailing list -- post it to discussiongroups -- throw up a post on Craigslist in the Rants and Raves section inyour city -- send it to the editor of your local paper and radio stations,and TV news departments. This is a revolution of caring about each other,and isn't that what Christmas is about, plus remember Jesus after all HE is the reason for the season !!!

                                                                                 

Well, we did it...!

but first, here is Helen's, my bff, Christmas quilt. It JUST came back from the quilters and doesn't have the binding on yet.











The next pic is a pic of a project we have tried, a Pioneer Braid. I am not crazy about it. But...we keep trying, lol.

 













Now, the coveted embroidery hoop.   Helen tells me that she has had this for years. I love it to pieces. I have searched the internet to no avail, no such hoop. I love it though. Check it out...         

                                    
 It has little sections on it with a stretcher wire under the beads. It appears to be made to accept a single piece of fabric, like a kitchen towel or pillowcase.                      

       Note to self:

Do not wear your mom jeans to Hooters!                                                                                  

And yes, we did go to lunch today...peel and eat shrimp...yummo. And I did get the T-shirt to remember our lunch date!                                                                           Our waitress was so darn cute. She was awesome. Next time...come along with us!        

Here's my reason

I haven't blogged in a week. My computer crashed so I had to buy another. The hubs hooked all the cords up to the back and moi got us online. I am now using picassa, thank you my fab friend downunder, Lizzy. No pics today, having an "interesting time" downloading in a new format, yadda, yadda. But I have to tell you why I may need bail money next Monday!

Every Monday I go to her house where we quilt, lie to each other and just generally be girlfriends. We do have a wee space in our ages, but we fellowship just fine. She "gets" me and I "get" her. My bff is 83, the one I am making the paperdoll quilt for.

We were sitting in her expansive sewing room today, sewing along, when she said she needed to go into the next room and write something down for her grocery list. She waits for one of her daughters to come every Wednesday, most months anyway, to take her to Wallyworld to shop. She did make the comment that it pretty well sucks to be her and depend on her daughter to take her shopping.

This is the conversation:

Me: so you only go shopping every Wednesday?
Bff: yes, unless I want to brave the roads to drive to Walmart on my own.
Me: how about if I come over next Monday am and take you into Dallas, we go to Krogers, we do a bit of shopping then go to this killer Chinese buffet. Heck, if we aren't careful, we might hit Hooters too!
Bff: oh, Hooters, I heard about that place.
Me: yep, the girls have big hooters but they say the chicken wings are yummo.
Bff: well, I think I need to see that.
Me: cool.

So here's the deal. When is the last time you took your grandmother to Hooters? And yes, I am taking my camera and buying her THE t-shirt! Could be fun...wanna go with us?

The center block

I am nearly finished with the embroidery on the center block, just the last word. The 2 dolls are going to flank the words. I can hardly wait to get them down! Wait until you see the fabric I chose for the "girls."

                                                                                           
I found this spring type aluminum hoop for this quilt, no screws to tighten. I like it much better than the old one. I am going to get a pic of Helen's awesome hoop, hopefully this week.

Off to bed, work comes early...have a great week~~Elaine

I want you to meet Bee in my Bonnet

I actually follow Lori Holt's blog, just a wee bit of a stalker, eh? If you haven't seen her blog, drop everything and head on over to see it. I would love to be one of her friends and go to her house.......I would encourage you to go back on her blog, be prepared to stay a long time so you can see everything she has in her house, including her to die for sewing room.  Check out her unique finds, the little gifts she makes, and before you know it, you'll be at Lucy's house!

She makes the most amazing quilts and sells her patterns on different web stores and also at some of her local quilt shops. I would highly recommend this quilt shop...no excessive shipping, packaging was very nice and the speed was super! There are more of the story quilts, family reunion, count your blessings, gardening, etc. Have fun, back to my embroidery on the doll section...

In between living....I love to quilt

Have you guys seen this quilt pattern? It's from Lori Holt at Bee in my Bonnet.

My bff, Helen, had a nice collection of paper dolls from when she was a little girl...Gloria Swanson, Shirley Temple, and many more girls of that bygone era. Her daughters are trying to help her downsize and one of them sold her dolls. I don't think she realized how she would grieve for them, but she is. She mentions them often.

She doesn't realize it, but I am making this quilt for her. But it is now Helen and Elaine, go figure! I have started in the center...

    I found the most awesome gray for the scissor blades....love it.                                                                     

I get to tackle the dolls next, wish me luck.






Have a great weekend...

Last of the pics

Last 2 pics of fabrics you might want to see. Hope this helps Jen,

Elaine

More for Jen

One more pic coming in a few minutes.

Does etsy give you fits?

I have tried to upload some pics for Jen....she needs some fun fat quarters to complete a project she is working on, but I am having difficulty sending the pics thru etsy. So, hello blogger, help me out!

So here you go Jen, more pics in a few minutes, k?

We found some fabric!

Today was quilting with my bff day. I started talking about finding the "right" fabrics for our quilts when she said, "I don't think the ladies back then (1843) went to quilt shops to buy their fabrics. Didn't they 'make do'?" Ahhh, yes they did! I can be so dense sometimes. So off to her sewing room to find her browns, tans and off whites. Then I came home and found mine. Isn't it interesting how you take pics, look at them and then find the 'wrong' colors and shades? I see several that just have to go.

Hmm, a bit better. But I think there are 2 more to go, to pumpkiny, don't you think? We did decide to try to stay with the chocolates, light brown and unbleached muslins.

So, what do you think so far? My bff is happy and I think I am too! Now back to packing. It's time to wing off to my sisters' house in a few days. I fully intend to eat my weight in shrimp and Alaskan salmon...and I do weigh alot!

I'm still working on that blogger issue. Wish me luck on that one!

Can you help me please?

I have 2 different blogs with 2 different emails. I was wondering if there is a way to make both blogs go thru just one email address? I went to blogger help and got a headache trying to figure it out. Thank you for your assist, I appreciate it~~Elaine