WELLLLLLLL......I guess I'm not much of a blogger....ehh?  Okay, I got a little overwhelmed the last 12 months & ....blah....blah....you know the rest.  Anyway, I've been uber busy working at the fabric shop, sewing & crocheting & teaching myself how to knit.  Aaaaannnd....then there's the "p" word....Pinterest....how did we ever survive before???  :)

I wanted to tell you all about a great giveaway over at www.violettefieldthreads.com/blog

Go to their blog & enter for the fantabulous sewists giveaway they have going on right now.

Till later....see you on the flip side!

Whew!  The holidays are finally over....a whirlwind as usual.  Glad to be back to some semblance of normal.
I'm "sew happy" that I found some free online patterns and have been making up baby things for Hope House in Kingsport, Tennessee.  This is a women's shelter that houses expectant women.  So it's nice to be able to provide some items for a newborn to these ladies.
I was especially happy about the free bootie pattern I found at http://asmatteringoflaura.blogspot.com/2011/11/free-0-3-mos-10-minute-bootie-pattern-2.html. 
This is a really neat website and I sincerely thank Laura for sharing her bootie pattern.  It has afforded me a way to put together nice booties in haft the normal time.
Here's my first attempt.....thought it turned out really well with her superb instructions.
Thanks Laura!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to my friends and followers.  Take time to enjoy your family and while your savoring the turkey be sure to savor the conversation and smiles of your loved ones.  During this holiday season, I hope to be able to bless someone else's life in some way.  I think at the core of all of us there is a desire to touch someones life in a positive way.  The key is to be aware of opportunities that present at times when we're not really looking for them.  Lord, teach me to be conscious of my environment and open to the directions You're taking me.

Enjoy Life!

Coupon crazzzzy!  What a day!  Had a wonderful time with my Mom visiting a few stores and "stockpiling."  I'm not like the couponers you see on TV and we don't get the super coupon deals but we do okay.  Today's haul landed me lots of staple items like sugar, canned vegetables, juices and the all-american soy sauce. Hee!  Including tax, my entire OOP (out of pocket) was $122 and I had $15 in credits to use on my next shopping trip!  About a 55% savings which is really great for my part of the country.  For the first time, I took a picture of my bounty.
So, it occured to me (as I was trying to make room for everything) that I am truly blessed to have food in my pantry, clothes on my back and a roof over my head.  Everything DOES NOT always go my way but as I "sew" the fabric of my life together I sometimes step back and see the marvelous pattern that has developed out of "scraps."  I am thankful.
Valeri

Well, hubby and I just finished a limited tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway as a commemoration of our 25th wedding anniversary.  The weather was beautiful - sunshine and balmy breezes.  The Parkway was abosolutely breath taking!  We enjoyed views at the Peaks of Otter, Knob Ridge and Mabry Mills.  Without question, our short stay in Floyd, VA was the best.

We stayed at a new B&B, Bella la Vita Inn and Lisal, our innkeeper, was so sweet - the food was delicious.  The town of Floyd hosts street bluegrass jam sessions every Friday night where locals and travelers from all over the world descend to share musical talents.  While we missed the Friday night jams, we were priviledged to attend a small jam session In the quaint Floyd Country Store on Sunday afternoon.  There, local musicians sang old time hymns and mountain favorites. 

It was so comforting to sit and listen to songs that I remembered from childhood.  As I watched older folk smile and mouth along to the lyrics, I drifted in my mind to how it must have been many years ago.  Neighbors and families making music together on the front lawns and porches all through these beautiful Appalachian Mountains.

The fiddle softly pierced the room with a mountain waltz as a singer began to voice the story of enduring love for "my sweetheart."  Suddenly, a couple who appeared to be in their 80's floated onto the tiny dance floor.  The burly gentleman deftly guided his "bride" to the gently flowing music.  Their eyes shined as bright as diamonds and he looked at her as though that was the first dance they had ever had together. He, missing the ring finger of his left hand, wore the symbol of this undying love on the third digit. 

I stared at them with tears welling in my eyes.  I wondered if my own love story would reach such paramount moments as dancing on a little wooden floor on a Sunday afternoon with my husband.  These two will never know how touched our lives were as we watched them glide - paying no mind to the people, wrinkles and old bones.  We only had a glimpse of their "book" and the heart was so curious to open the cover and read the pages.  Watching them certainly brought new meaning to the song "I Hope You Dance."

We had a wonderful celebration and if you ever have the chance to visit Floyd, VA on a Sunday afternoon, be sure to visit the Country Store.  I'm sure you'll be as blessed as we were......

Valeri

Getting It Right

Okay, so I was finishing up a skirt for my niece today.  I took all manner of pains to measure the length exactly at all points and tacked with dress pins.  Needle threaded, I sat down to hand stitch the hem.  After I had completed about 8" of the hem I observed my work.  Grrrr!  Nearly every stitch was visible in an otherwise attempt at "blind stitch hemming!"  I pulled every stitch out and started again.  Off to a better start I felt comfortable and didn't check my work until about 15" later.  Grrrrrrrr!  More sloppy stitching!  whaz up?!  I took out about 6" and meticulously started again.  It was at this attempt that I discovered if I hid the black threaded stitches in the black pattern of the fabric I had nearly invisible stitches and didn't have to compromise on length either.  With my insiders knowledge, I completed the hem in no time.

So is life with me these days.  It appears that most of what I try to do, no matter how subtle the task, it wants to shout "you're a complete failure at this."  Seemingly simple tasks that I had long ago mastered are once again having to be relearned and reapplied in unfamiliar ways.

I wonder how many women throughout history have thought they didn't have what it took to succeed?  How could the pioneer women possibly endure all they had to in a days time and still put beans and cornbread on the fire for dinner? Hee!  This fast paced life has us stressed and spoiled all at once.

If you could slow it all down, where would you be?  Time traveler?....where would you go?

Buy fabric, enjoy life,
Valeri