Two Blessings In My Snail Mail

Thank you so much to Jen at Jen's Fun Little Things,  I won a giveaway she had last week.  I have been visiting her blog for a while now and she had this great giveaway and I made a comment and I won, I won!  She put the package in the mail right away and so now I want share what she sent with you.

This is what it looked like when I took it out of the box

These things are a so nice, Jen made the apples, she says that the largest one is a pumpkin.  Three pieces of fall fabric.  I will have to share later what I use them for.  The wooden bowl works great at my house and the chicken is just the cutest.

I received another precious piece of mail from Lynda at Prairie Flower Farm.  She had a party to celebrate one year and I won 6th place and this is what she sent me. 

This is their American Flag Ornament

Go visit Lynda and see what else they have in their store, her blog is always a blessing.

I will be very busy for the next couple of weeks so it will be hard to do much blogging or blog reading.  I will try to check in as often as I can.  I am still trying to visit all of my new Bloggerette Sorority Sisters and also working my way through the long list of creative spaces at Where Bloggers Create II.  Go visit both of these, you will enjoy.

Bloggerette Sorority

This is "Rush" week for those who are joining the Bloggerette Sorority.  This Sorority for bloggers is hosted by Karen at Some Days Are Diamonds .  When I read about this I thought it would be great fun.  I know it will but this may have not been the greatest time for me to participate in "Rush" week.  What we had to do was take this picture and create something with it.

I had several ideas come to mind, all using a sewing machine. 

This is what I came up with.

I did use my sewing machine but ended up finishing it up with a hot glue gun.  I started by using an iron on transfer that I put through our printer.  I ironed it on to some cream fabric and then started adding trim.  Once I added the pink lace that was the direction I ended up going with it.

 

Another thing we were supposed to do for this "Rush" week project is take a picture of ourselves with the project we made. 

Here I am with my little Bloggerette Sorority project.  I have a link on my sidebar, come and take a look at what others have done with the picture and its not too late to join the Bloggerette Sorority.

It should be a lot of fun!.

Sherry's Oatmeal Cookies

I would not say that I would be considered a great cook.  I did manage to feed a large family and nobody starved, or got seriously ill. There is one thing I make that most people seem to like very much.  My sought after recipe is for my Oatmeal Cookies.  Back in 1980 sometime I found a recipe on the back of a very large bag of oatmeal.  The first time I made them we liked them but over the years I have changed a few things.  I like them much better now that I use half butter and half shortening.  The original recipe used shortening only. 

This recipe makes 10 dozen or so and I used to mix them by hand in my largest bowl.  Now I have a Kitchen Aid Mixer given to me by my children.  It is so fun to use, I just dump things in the bowl and let the Kitchen Aid do all the work.

Here we are ready to go.

Kitchen Aid working hard.

With a handy little guard, even a messy cook like me can keep things neat.

How do I make such round cookies I am often asked.

I use my handy little pampered chef "cookie scoop", that's what I call it anyway.  I am using my pampered chef pizza stones to bake the cookies.  It makes it hard to burn them that way.

Baking done, time for tea and cookies.

I am using my new plate and teacup from my dear friend Mary and my lovely tray made by Carol at

The Polka Dot Closet.

Sherry's Oatmeal Cookies

              1 C. shortening                  

 1 C. butter

2 C sugar

2 C. brown sugar

4 eggs

2 t. vanilla

3C. flour

2 t. baking soda

2 t. salt

6 C. oatmeal

2 C. chopped nuts (optional, I don't usually use them)

 Cream shortening, butter and sugars.  Blend in eggs and vanilla.  Sift flour, salt and soda.  Fold into creamed mixture along with oats and nuts.  Roll into small balls and place on greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes

(just a little note, if the first batch is too flat, just stir in a little extra flour)

Now when I am asked for my recipe I can refer to my blog and people can copy it down themselves.  I made enough cookies to put a bag in the freezer, a bag for some special friends and a bag for munching on around here.

Happy Baking!

It's Bloomin' Tuesday!

I pulled into our driveway on this dreary drizzly afternoon and realized that it was Monday and I should check out our gardens and see what is happening.  I am glad I did because I found some surprises.  First I found that there were a few peonies left that I should cut and bring inside.

When I looked closer I found several peonies to cut and bring inside

The plant this beautiful rose is on looks terrible, poor neglected thing, but it aways has such beautiful blooms.  Maybe I should give it a little attention, who knows what would happen then.

Iceland Poppy

Honeysuckle

(I found this on a clearance shelf last year and had forgotten about it.)

Coral Bells

Huechera "Cherries Jubilee"

Perennial Gold Dust Alyssum

Lavender

I purchased several small plants at the Lavender Festival last summer, it is ready to cut as are several of the lavender plants.  I usually cut and dry most of my lavender.

Lettuce in our unplanted vegetable garden.  This came up from last years seeds.

The first signs of red on our raspberries, there will be bigger berries, maybe some sun will help.

Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis fruticosa)

This is what we are able to enjoy.  I would have missed them if I hadn't been thinking about "Bloomin Tuesday."  Go visit and see what's bloomin. Thank you to MsGreen"thumb"Jean for hosting. 

My Space to Create

Last year when Karen at My Desert Cottage hosted the first where Bloggers Create it was so fun hopping  from blog to blog and learning about the spaces where people in blogland create. I had never intended to have a blog of my own  but here I am blogging and enjoying it.  When Karen started blogging about Where Bloggers Create II, I signed up right away, I knew that would give me a deadline for getting my creative space organized .

My interest in embroidery and crochet began at an early age, my Mother and two Grandmothers all crocheted.  My Grandmothers and one of my Aunts were embroiderers.  I am left handed so it was always a challenge for anyone to try to teach me handwork.  I did my first embroidery from a kit that my Aunt Becky bought me when I was 13 years old.  I found that it was easier for me to learn by reading the directions and looking at the pictures in an embroidery book. That was the beginning of my need to have a project of some kind going most of the time.  

Sewing is something else that I have always enjoyed.  I made doll clothes for years by hand until my Mom bought me a sewing machine when I was about 14.  I used that machine for many years, I even made my wedding dress on that machine.  It would only go one direction, forward, no reverse but I loved using that old machine.

Over the years I have stored my "stuff" in many different places and used the dining room table for projects.

Now that our children are grown and have homes of their own, we have the room for my special creating space.  It is not quite completed, with everything painted as I hope it will be some day, but I can say that it is organized.  I know where everything is and that feels great!

I hope you enjoy taking a peek at my space to create.

Up the stairs and turn to the left


Welcome

Jars of buttons, sorted by colors

The view from the door

I started on the right and will travel around the room

Closer view of the work space

My resting chair with the cat I made for my Mom many years ago

My crocheted pin cushions and old lace on wooden spool

Tomatoes made by my sister Lynda.

Lynda made the card too.

Applique quilt blocks (ten more to make after these) and redwork 

My Grandmother's shawl draped over my chair

The green work table was the first table my Grandfather built for my Grandma back in the 1920's

Grandpa seemed to like green paint.

This old trunk is great for storage

My "inspiration" board.  I just put whatever I want on it, it is ever changing.

Old sewing items

Old lace, paper rose, and a bird made by Rebecca Ersfeld

A couple of my crocheted buddies and parts for more in the basket.

Jars are great for storage.  I have several sewing baskets throughout the room.

 More organized stuff, the drawers are labeled, I do forget where I put things sometimes so having those labels is helpful.

These drawers still need labels.

Here we are, we have traveled all around the room, the door is to the left of this dresser.  The dolls with the crocheted outfits were made by my Grandmother many years ago, I have several patterns for these dolls.

  I have never been a designer, I usually use a pattern created by someone else and try to add a little something of my own to it.  I do love to make things.  Many of the items I make are used for gifts and that is part of  the blessing my creating gives me.

These are some of the things I have made or am working on.  The cross-stitch all hangs in our home and the quilt tops will be gifts some day soon.  The crocheted bag is not quite complete, and the embroidered pillow sits on our bed.  There is a croceted bedspread hiding underneath that I worked on of and on for about 10 years.

I am thankful for a husband and family who have always been supportive of my need to be creative.

I enjoy spending time in my special creative space and I hope you enjoyed visiting here with me.

Please use the button on my sidebar or click below see where other bloggers create at Where Bloggers Create II