Daughters and an ADD-ON post today!

One daughter has been married 12 years as of yesterday!!!! My how time flies.
Another will be 31 tomorrow!!! Ugh!!!
The other has her 28th birthday coming up very soon!!!

There's no way I'm old enough for all of this!!!!

Mother is not doing well, so far, but they really haven't started DOING anything. Please continue to pray that it really is her meds that are messing with her and that she will get straightened out. I'm not sure she knew me tonight.

We took my father-in-law to see two of his daughters this week. We went to Nashville to see one on Thursday and to Winchester to see another yesterday. We spent the night in Winchester. It was very nice to see my sister-in-laws and their husbands. My father-in-law seems to being doing very well since the death of my mother-in-law a little over a month ago.

Life is just crazy!!!!


Add-on to yesterday's post

I just read my post from yesterday and realized that it sounded pretty negative about my daughters growing older. I am so happy that our girls are independent young women, and that they have found the perfect spouses. I am so grateful that they have happy marriages and that the oldest is celebrating 12 years with her best friend. Our other two daughters will be celebrating their 5th anniversaries this year (yep, they got married within 3 months of each other, That was a busy year!) I am also happy for all three of our daughters that they are at the stages of their lives where they are raising their own families. One of the best times of my life was when our daughters were little. I wish I had taken more time to just enjoy them, though. It seems that we were always in a HURRY to go to one place or another. Our girls seem to be taking more time with their children to do "fun" things than we did. I am grateful that they have seen the importance of this part of their kids' upbringing. I said "ONE" of the best times of my life a few sentences above, because even though that was a wonderful time, I wouldn't give up the times that I get to spend with the grandchildren, now, for anything!! This is an equally wonderful period of our lives.

Sometimes, like yesterday, I get in a funk about my mom, my husband's mom, etc...., but truly I am a BLESSED woman! I realize that becoming elderly comes with things that we don't understand and that I suppose we aren't really supposed to understand. My husband and I were fortunate to have the moms we had and now we just have to realize that phase of our lives are over. I am still hoping that the doctors will be able to straighten out my mom's meds and that she will be able to spend the end years of her life in a much more peaceful state than she is in now.

Not the Baby's Room and Copying a Designer Dress???

This is not the baby's room. This is in my house. This is the crib that we used with our babies, who are now 34, 3o till Tuesday, and 27. It was used by my cousins' babies when they were little and visiting my mom's home, and all of our grands have slept in it when they visit Granmomma and Grandaddy. So, it has been through lots of little ones, and it isn't finished with its job yet.
I am going to add some pink pom-pom trim to the crib skirt and make a couple of pillows. I've got to get to Knoxville to buy the trim, though so it will be a few days before I get to finish. The baby's real room is painted yellow and has a white crib and chest and a blue chair. I'll get these in the mail as soon as I can, and then, once my daughter has it all together and sends pictures, I'll share them with you.
I'm also going to make a sling for my daughter and another one for one of my other daughter's sister-in-law, whose baby was due last Friday. I haven't heard if its here yet or not. I sure hope so for her sake.

New fabrics that I bought at Katy's today. One of the blue prints is to make a dress for my friend's almost 8 year old. She brought her mother this..............

very old and well loved Barbie dress ( well someone designs Barbie's dresses, right?) the other day and said, "Do you think Miss Julia can make me a dress like this?" Her mom asked me if I could, and I said I'd try. I am going to look through all of my patterns to see if I have a basic one that I can use to get the size right. Now that I see the pictures together, I realize that the Barbie dress is more aqua than the blue fabrics. I guess I'll ask her mom if that will matter.

UNBELIEVABLE!!! I WON THE CHALLENGE!

Click on this button to go to the CSI blog site! I am almost speechless over this!!!!

My Brother has a New Hip and Some "LOVEBIRDS"!

My brother had his second hip replacement done yesterday. He had his first one done two years ago!! So, now, he's going to be even more annoying than he already was, by thinking he's the "bionic man" or some such! If any of you have older brothers, you know what I'm referring to, I would guess. My brother is only 22 months older than I am, and rather than me being a pesty little sister, he was always the aggravating one! He delighted in making me squeal, "Mother, make him stop!" He has grown up to be just as aggravating as a man, at least in height, but not in maturity! Seriously, when he is around, I have to ban the topics of religion and politics, because whether he truly agrees with you or not, he will argue just for the sake of argument. He thinks it's funny to see me, or anyone, get frustrated, etc...... I love him, anyway, though, and wouldn't trade him in for anything. I was there yesterday morning when he had the surgery, and he did remarkably well! I wouldn't want to be one of his nurses!

A quick up-date on my mother.....
The doctors have decided that perhaps some of her meds, or a combination of some of them, could be causing some of her anxiety, crying, headaches, etc.... So, she was taken to a nearby hospital yesterday, where they have a special unit for seniors with these types of issues. They are planning to gradually take her off of most of her meds and gradually add back some or change them altogether. The goal is to get her off as many drugs as possible and send her back to the nursing home a much calmer lady.

These are the two main fabrics that are going into the baby's nursery. Lovebirds from the Leanika Collection by Dena FreeSpirit Fabrics is for the crib skirt and a few accent pillows, etc... The pink has tiny white polka dots and will be made into curtains and perhaps a pillow, as well.
I haven't purchased the minky dot fabric that I want to use for a blanket, but I will probably stop at Katey's today to see if she has a color I want.

The CSI Project - Create....Share....Inspire

I'm doing something new for me! I'm entering a challenge. It is a PAINT challenge. I am entering the garden mural that I did on the fence at the nursing home that I posted about a week ago. I've included one new picture here and one of my favorites from before.

Click on the CSI link above to learn more about this challenge.

Mother and A Couple of Grands Celebrate Birthdays!

My mom is 86 today! I made her the shawl she is wearing. Bless her heart, you can tell from this photo that she doesn't feel well today. You may recognize these quilt squares that I posted about awhile back. These are the ones that I made about 28 years ago, and other than a few pillows, I never made them into anything. When I was trying to decide what to give my mom for her birthday, these came to mind.


My husband and I took her these cakes to share with the other residents and some of the staff. I got her the hat because she is always commenting about some of the other ladies having hats. I put it on her, and she immediately wanted it off because she had a headache.
She received lots of cards. I meant to take a picture of her bulletin board where I hung them, but I forgot.
She really wasn't feeling well at all, so she really didn't feel much like celebrating. She actually told me to go home so she could close her eyes and rest. THAT'S A FIRST!!!!! I knew she didn't feel well then! I am expecting to get a phone call to go back to the nursing home after while. I can tell she is going to have a rough night.

Here is the shawl all spread out. I purposely made the back really short so that it will just cover her shoulders and not have to go down between her chair and her back. Sometimes whatever is on her back gets bunched up and makes sore places. But, she's always cold and wears a shawl all day everyday. I had made her two others from fleece that I posted about a long time ago. But, I thought she needed a springy/summery one for now. I lined this with a cotton pink rosebud print.

Our youngest grand was 2 last week. We got him this wheelbarrow. He loves to "help" his mom and dad stack wood, etc..... So he needed his very own wheelbarrow. We also got him some gardening tools. He got a gym set with swings and slides, etc..., a hot wheels, a blow-up pool, all the swimming things to go along with it, lots of clothes, puzzles, and lots of other things, too.

Our oldest grand was 10 last week. This is her at the Medieval Fair at her school. I got to take her and our 7 year old granddaughter for this event. We also got to go to her band/chorus concert. We are so proud of her musical talents.


May Birthdays in my family
6th- son-in-law
7th - mine/my grandfather
15th - my granddaughter
17th - my sister/my father
21st - my grandson
24th - my mother
28th - my sister-in-law

Thank you all for your kind comments about my last post. I had so much fun painting that fence. I went back today to touch up a few places that needed it. I do not consider myself as an artist at all. I like to dabble with painting, drawing, etc...., but I am not truly an artist. What talent I do have comes from genetics, though, so I can't take credit anyway!!! My dad was very artistic, as were my grandmother and aunts. My daughters are all three extremely creative and talented, as are their children. So, whatever the gene is, it's getting passed along, but it is more intense with the older and younger generations than it is with mine.
I did enjoy taking a week off from blogging. I tried to get online and read a few, but I didn't get much of a chance. We ended up going up to the Northeast to celebrate the grands' birthdays, and we were very busy. I don't know that I am rested, but at least we got away and were around different surroundings. I think my husband really needed that after the death of his mom a few weeks ago.
I was back in my sewing room today finishing Mother's shawl, and now it's time to get started on baby nursery sewing. We have number six grand due this summer! I'll get started on baby stuff tomorrow!

What I've Been Doing This Week - Warning Lots of Pictures!

This tells why I did it. My mom is at the nursing home where this fence surrounds a picnic area. My husband's mom, his grandfather, and my aunt all were residents at one time.

Do you see "Cissy" in the vine. She was my aunt who lived at the nursing home years ago.

Here is "Marie" - my mother-in-law

This says "Ruth" - my mom

And here is "Ed" - my grandfather-in-law

These names are all on this gate.

The rest of the pictures can speak for themselves.







I will comment on the next two photos. The residents planted tomatoes a week or so ago in this planter. One of the residents saw my painting from inside and she thought the tomatoes had already grown to the top of the fence!







I had planned to work on this for 3 days, but it took 4 instead. I am sore from bending, stooping, reaching, etc..... I'm exhausted and don't have any sewing projects to do right away, so I am going to take a short break from posting. I'll still try to get on once a day to read your blogs and make comments, though. We've had so much going on since my husband's mom first broke her hip, had surgery, spent time in the nursing home, came home, and then passed away, that I am mentally tired and just need some time to relax and do little thinking. On top of all that I've been sick with sinus stuff!! I have a couple of good books to read, a deck to sit on, and flowers to enjoy, so that is just what I'm going to do.

Heaven - at least in realm of fabric stores!

I love this store!!

I've posted about this store before, but I've never had my camera with me when I've gone there, until now.
When you enter the front door, there is an old iron bed with gorgeous quilting fabrics, etc... laying on it. Look at the tin ceiling! I LOVE it!

To the right when you first enter, this is what you see. Tables stacked with all kinds of really nice fabrics of almost any kind you can imagine, well, you won't find fine silks, etc... here, but most anything else. Every time I have needed something unusual for a costume, or whatever, I have found it here. Also, when my daughter was looking for fabric for her nursery decor, she looked on line, and guess what store carried this same line of fabric? Yep, you're right, Katy's. I called and talked to Katy and she ordered it. We got it for lots less here than in a major chain store where we could have found it.

Do you see the barrel of buttons? You scoop up a coffee mug full and pour them in a bag. The whole cup full is just $1.00. In the back are some home decorating fabrics. There are cottons, minky dots, chenille, fake fur, seer sucker, all kinds of knits, flannel, wovens, prints, plaids, you name it and you'll find it here.

There are trims galore! You can find tulle, silky princess fabrics, character fabrics, velveteens, University of Tennessee fabrics, and all kinds of quilting supplies! They have a good selection of threads and lots of embroidery floss. There are bunches of vintage patterns. There are pillowcases to embroider. There are embroidery kits. Oh yeah, and all the fabrics are less expensive than the same exact name brand fabrics in the stores that are in Knoxville and over an hour away from my house. This store is much closer to me!!


Need I go on? Can you tell I like this place?

Oh yeah, I talked to my daughter and she doesn't think that "almost 10" will like the bright colors of the top I made for her that I posted about yesterday. Hum.....I'm not sure there will be time to make another. So, I may just go buy her something else. I may not have time to do that either, though, since I'm painting the mural (also talked about in last post), but you know what? I have enough for her anyway. Perhaps I can make her another one for when school starts back in the fall. She'll need it more then, anyway. This one may go to her younger sister, if she would like it, or maybe to a little girl at our church. My daughter was afraid it would hurt my feelings to tell me that K wouldn't like this top, but no feelings hurt here. I just wish I had thought to ask her mom if she would like the fabric before I made it. Oh well, like I said in my last post, I know what it is like to be her age, and I would not want her to be uncomfortable wearing something just because she thought she had to because Granmomma made it for her.

Sewing Again!

I have actually been sewing again. Not much, but still sewing.
First of all, I made this baby car seat cover with pockets for two ThermiPaq hot and cold packs. I stuffed the ends with some folded fleece to give it a little body to hang over the head and foot of the car seat. My daughter who lives in AZ saw one of these (well sort 0f) in a store that was $60 last summer. It had pockets for cold packs. You know when your car has been sitting out in the hot sun, how hot the seat, especially the buckles get? This will prevent burns to baby's sensitive skin and cool off the seat. AND..... when it's cold weather, like my daughters up in the NE experience, the packs can be heated in the microwave. The cover can warm up baby's seat before getting out on a cold morning.

I made this for a baby shower gift. The recipient is one of my daughter's best friends, and her mom is one of mine.

The ThermiPaq pads have clay in them, which is supposed to stay warm and cold longer than the gel pads.
It sounds like I am advertising these pads, which I'm not, it's just that these are the ones that I found at our Walmart.

Now, here is a picture of the Maya baby sling that I made for the same young mom-to-be. I've made these for my daughters, and they love them! The pictures show all the ways to wear it. The site that I've linked to above is a tutorial for making these. They are very simple. I used the brown and blue wavy striped fabric because it is fairly neutral so should look ok with whatever the mom-to-be might wear. It's also masculine enough that the dad-to-be won't feel self conscious wearing it.

Now, for my almost 10 year old granddaughter's birthday, I have made the B view of Simplicity 4106. I made it longer than the view shows, but not as long as the other view.

I used cotton batik in bright colors. As you can see, I used turquoise for the neck band, waist band and tie. This went together very quickly. If my daughter (mom of the almost 10 year old) sees this post I hope she'll let me know if K will wear this. When you are a tween you become particular and don't want to look like a little kid anymore. I can remember feeling this way myself. But, when you are a 58 year old grandmomma you don't always know what's ok to wear and what's not. I don't want to give her something she won't wear or that she thinks she has to wear just because Granmomma gave it to her. I do think she may need a tank top under this. It's hard to tell, but it may be a little too low cut.


I was overwhelmed with all the birthday greetings my blogger friends left for me. Thank you so very much! It really means a lot to me!

Over the next few days (weather permitting) I will be painting a mural on a wooden fence that is around a picnic area at the nursing home where my mom is. The director asked me what I would charge. I told him I just want to cover my expenses for paint, because I'm doing it in honor of my mom, and in memory of my mother-in-law, aunt, and grandfather-in-law who were all residents of this same nursing home.

The Women In My Life by Julia

Some very special women are a big part
Of my life and will always be in my heart

My daughters are the first to come to mind
They are all three strong, yet so kind
They are the moms of my five grands
These lucky little ones are in such good hands

My Mother is a rock in my life
She's worked hard through a lot of strife
She raised us three and helped with cousins, too
She never questioned what was the right thing to do

My Mother-in-law was an amazing lady
She taught school while raising her 5 babies
She made the best biscuits and chocolate pies
She cooked a huge breakfast so was always early to rise

My aunts, Joyce and Cissy, played an important role
There's a place in my heart for them I'll always hold

My grandmother, Honey, is always in my thoughts
Compassion, manners, and to sew are a few things she taught

Big Mama was always fun to be near
She loved to fish every day of the year

Then there's Johanna, my big sis
To be like her was always my wish
To be as smart and accomplished as she
Is something I could never hope to be

My cousin, Malinda, has played a huge part
She and I have shared so many "heart to hearts"
We're the same age, so as we grew
The dreams and wishes of the other we knew

My dear nieces and my sisters-in-law, I admire
The loving spirits they display, to everyone, inspire

Many dear friends have truly been there for me
To name them all here would be impossible you see
So I won't try, but you know who you are
From my thoughts and prayers you never are far

I am the luckiest woman I know
To have such special women who have blessed me so
I thank each one of them individually
For the part of me that they will always be

jr

Only Happy Thoughts Today! It's My B-Day!

Today is my birthday, so there will be nothing but happy thoughts all day!!!! This is what's left of the cake that my daughter and Lil E made for me before they left. They got to stay longer than our other girls and their families, who had to get back for work and school.


My husband gave me a gift card to Belk's Department store. I went yesterday and got 5 new items for my wardrobe!!! I'll show them to you sometime!

My cousin, Malinda, gave me this awesome University of Tennessee jacket. It will be perfect to wear to the games this fall!!! Malinda is the one who makes the beautiful quilts. Our grandmother taught us both how to sew at the same time.

My dear blogger friend from Crazy Mom Tats (I don't know why she calls herself Crazy Mom, because she is one of the most sane people I know!) sent me this wonderful tatted book mark!! She sent it just because I told her I loved one she had made for someone else! She didn't know at the time that my birthday was today. She actually sent it inside a sympathy card. Now, wasn't that thoughtful? My friend Kim also sent a sympathy card. Wow!! The blogger world is amazing.

The first thing on my agenda today is to color the gray roots in my hair! Then, I'm going to my sewing room and only come out to go feed my mom. This evening, I'm going to a baby shower for one of my daughter's best friends. Her mom is one of my best friends, too.
Then, my husband is taking me out to dinner.


My father-in-law and husband planted the garden yesterday. It is a small plot between our houses. This is my father-in-law. He loves to be outdoors. He is moving on and staying busy. We are thankful. He is still very sad and lonely, though. We are trying to keep him company as much as we can without hovering! There is a fine line there.

Beautiful flowers that were given to my husband and me in memory of his mom.


We were given these three rose bushes. My husband thought that was very fitting for remembering his mom and the close relationship she had with our three daughters. We had the perfect spot for them in a neglected flower bed that we can see from our deck. We have been trying to decide what to put there for years. We have some work to do around this bed, now.

We were also given two peace lilies. We decided to put them on our front porch. Our cat likes to use them for a litter box if we have them inside the house (learned from experience!). The porch is covered and only gets late evening sunlight and no rain. (I think they need a little water from the looks of them in this photo) This is the perfect spot for these. I've been wanting some kind of large plants to put on our porch. Our house sits way back from the road so something small doesn't show up. These should thrive here in the spring through late fall. We will have to put them where the cat can't get to them inside the house in the winter, though.

This is the peony bush that is right outside my sewing room window. When we moved here 8 years ago, my grandmother-in-law had planted one peony. I have divided it yearly. Now, I have 10 separate plants and have given two away!!! I love them!!!!

I know it is Friday and that I have neglected my Fat Fighting Friday posts the past two, now three, weeks. I will get back to it next week. I did really well with all the food that people brought and now with a birthday cake! I have not gained an ounce from the last FFF post!
I think I have gotten the best of my allergies. The Z-pack seems to be taking care of the sinus infection, and the other suggestions that people have made seem to be working. Thanks.
Thanks for the caring comments about the flooding in the SE on my last two posts. I think the media is finally catching on that there is a disaster here.