My Pay if Forward And Other Fun Gifts

I received my Pay It Forward gift from Kimberly.  She has a beautiful blog and is a very creative lady take a minute or two or more and visit her blog here. 

I love the pattern paper wrapping, she also sent the package in a pattern envelope.

Isn't this great, I will enjoy having this piece of Kimberly's artwork.

I received another special gift, this time from my husband.  I received a promotiion to supervisor at my work and started in this position on Monday.  My husband delivered this flower arrangement to brighten up my new workspace.

It still looks great on day 4.

The next gift I received is from a dear friend at church.  Her name is Virginia and she is always a blessing to me.  She said she saw this and just had to order it for me.  It looks perfect in my sewing/craft room.

Tulips say SPRING to me. 

These are some my daughter in law Michele brought to me last week. 

The weekend is almost here, I hope you have a great one.

A Few More Blocks Of the Month

I have completed a few more blocks of the month and hope to finish a couple more before the month ends.  I have been a little distracted with a vacation, changes in my job, wedding and baby showers, etc.  I have also been distracted by projects I attempt after seeing them on the great blogs I visit. 

Here are pictures of the completed blocks - so far these are completed, I have a couple more in the process.

Block 1 of Birdie Stitches

Block 2 of  Retro Nine Patch

Block 3 of 12 of Hearts


Block 3 of Out of the Box by Dawn

Block 3 of Out of the Box by Vicki

I have had fun working on these blocks.  Block 3 of Retro Nine Patch is almost complete and Block 2 of Birdie Stitches will be next.  Check my sidebar to find a link to each Block of the Month  pictured here.  It is not to late to get started.

I will be linking with Studio Sunday at A RE-purposed Life, visit Rebecca and the other creative bloggers.

Celebrate Spring!

What do we find blooming in our garden?  It is still early so we don't want to miss a thing.  I wander around looking for any sign that spring has arrived.  The few plants I do find make me smile.  The new life I find  reminds me of what I have to look forward to as our garden comes to life in the spring and summer to follow.

This picture we took last week while visiting Savannah, Georgia.  Spring arrives a little sooner in the South than it does here in the Northwest.

"I wandered lonely as a cloud"

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

 Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed-and gazed-but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills

And dances with the daffodils.

Wordsworth

Victoria Magazine -  March 1993

When I take the time to sit in my favorite chair and look through my Victoria and other magazines and garden books I think about the beautiful flowers and trees we will see soon in our gardens.  One of the first and my favorite is the deep red peony plant that came from my grandmother's house where she had lived almost 60 years.

This is one of last years flowers.

I want to take the time to really look and enjoy God's amazing creation, one flower at a time.

 Victoria Magazine - April 1994

 What kinds of seeds do we want to plant to add color to our garden this year?

It will soon be warm enough to start seed planting.

While we are waiting for the show in the garden I thought I would bring a little spring inside.  I filled the terrarium I purchased last summer with things that say Spring.

Spring time is a time of renewal and new beginnings.

Visit Kathy at A Delightsome Life and see how other bloggers are Celebrating Spring.

Pay It Forward 2011 - Update

I have read about Pay it Forward a couple of times and liked the idea. When I read Kimberly's post at Art Joy Stuff I decided I would sign up and give it a try. 

This is how it works. 

 The first five people who leave a comment on this post will receive a gift  handmade by me for you. 
There is an important catch, First you must create a post explaining Pay it Forward 2011.
Then for the best part, make and send a gift to the first five visitors who comment on your post and who agree to do the same. 
Don't worry you don't have to send these gifts out tomorrow, your gifts from the heart will take a little time. 
 This should be a fun way to make new friends and share your creativity. 

Pay it Forward is about friendship and sharing.

I now have 4 participants in Pay it Forward 2011, Thanks Julia, Beth, Emily and Jeanine.  I would love to send a gift to one more person, leave a comment if you are interested.

Stylish Blogger Award

My friend Beth gave me this award a couple of weeks ago, it was just before we left on vacation so I was not able to do anything about it until now.  Beth has a fun blog called Another Summer of Fun where she writes about home, family, work and her faith.  She has been a blessing to me in many ways.  Thank you Beth for giving me this award.

Rules of this Award

1.  Thank and link back to the person giving the award

2.  Share 7 things about me.

3.  Pass this award to other bloggers I have recently discovered and think are fantastic.

4.  Contact these bloggers to tell them I have awarded them.

 

I would like to share this award with a few  blogs I have enjoyed visiting.
Everything Sewing is one of my favorite blogs written by a grandmother who loves to sew for her grandchildren.  She is an amazing seamstress.
 Crocheting in Georgia   is a blog I started reading after Doris had my name in a swap.  She is amazing when it comes to crochet but writes posts about many other fun and interesting things.
Julia's Sew Sweet and Special Occasion Clothing for Children is another blog I visit often.  She is also a talented seamstress.  
Each one of these bloggers have been an inspiration to me, take the time to visit these "Stylish Bloggers"

O.K.  Now for 7 things about me.  It is getting late so I will make this quick.
1.  I seem to have to have some sort of hand work available at all times or I get nervous.  While in South Carolina I had to visit a cross stitch store to buy a new project. (it wasn't too painful) because I could not find the quilt blocks I had brought to embroider. 
2.  My husband and I met when we were both 16 years old, a long time ago.
3.  I work for a library system and part of my job is reading stories to 3 to 5 year old children, I love how there faces light up when they are enjoying a story or we are singing a silly song.
4.  I love to fill an old fashioned hot water bottle for me and my hubby to warm our feet in the wintertime. 
5.   I enjoy working with fabric, taking a piece of fabric and creating something with it. I started making my own clothes when I was 13 years old on an old sewing machine that would only go forward.
6.  My husband and I love to garden, we have less time for it than we would like but both enjoy the process of planting and designing and most of all sitting and enjoying.
7.  I have an amazing family, 6 grown children all serving the Lord with there families and 10 beautiful grandchildren who bring us great joy.
Thanks again Beth

Fun New Fabric

     A couple of weeks ago I received some fabric I ordered from Jacquelynne Steves at The Noble Wife.  It is her first fabric line for Henry Glass Fabrics and she is working on another.  It is beautiful fabric and I am excited about using it soon.  My pictures are not the greatest but I wanted you to get a little glimpse of the fabrics.  The line is called Sewing Room Social.  I bought a stack of fat quarters  and the panel.

I will be making something for my sewing room with this panel.  Jacquelynne has suggestions for using the panel on her website.  The note cards in this picture were an extra treat in my package, Jacquelynne's artwork.

A  closer look at the fat quarters.

She also sent me this pattern.

I also had the chance to stop at my favorite fabric shop on Whidbey Island, Fabric Chicks and I bought these two pretty pieces.

Fabric lover or not you will enjoy Jacquelynne's blog The Noble Wife so take a few minutes to visit.

It's Fun To Make Doll Clothes

I was thinking about what kind of project I have been working on using textiles so that I could link up with Air Your Laundry Friday at Freckled Laundry and Studio Sunday at A repurposed Life.

I had fun making doll clothes this week.  I had big plans for several outfits but was able to complete two outfits for two of my granddaughters.  Little doll clothes are pretty time consuming but fun to make.  I chose fabrics from my scraps and stash. These are for their American Girl dolls.  They have not seen them yet so I hope they don't see this blog post.  We are leaving tomorrow to visit with them and we are very excited. 

Once I started I wanted to create more outfits for their dolls, I guess I should have started sooner. 

 I will be doing very little blogging and blog reading for a while as we will be visiting our family on the other side of the country.  Maybe we'll get the chance to share some of our fun while we are visiting, we'll see what happens.

Don't forget to check out Air Your Laundry Friday and Studio Sunday