"A Star a Star ....Dancing in the Night ....."

So here we are just one week away from Christmas !!!!  And what am I doing ?  Well digging out one of many Christmas UFO's  of course and deciding if I should finish it.  Are my pumpkins and other fall decorations put away ...... NOPE!  Is our Christmas tree up and decorated ...... NOPE! (it's still lying on the garage floor ).   Do I have a wreath on the front door yet ..... NOPE!  Did I wrap anything yet ...... NOPE! ( I'm just thrilled that I am almost finished shopping .... all done online at the last possible minute to make it just in the nick of time for Christmas delivery).  So "A Star a Star... Dancing in the Night" Christmas stitchery will more than likely be put on the back burner for yet another year ( darn ..... so close !! )   along with the other long suffering Christmas UFO's !!!  And even though I have plenty to keep me busy ......

.....I still have visions of new pretty fabric dancing in my head !!!!

From my over flowing fabric stash to  yours ...... I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year !!!

Be back soon !

Toodles,

Mary Anne ( aka Mare)

Dusting off the cobwebs .....

Ok ....... so here I am again .....dusting off my poor neglected blog.   It's been almost 6 months ....... sheesh !!!!  Alot has gone on in the past 6 months ....... Matt (older son) married his sweetheart Brittany on May 28th in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in the Poconos.  Then, I barely put my Mother of the Groom dress away when  my younger son Evan proposed to his high school sweetheart in July!!!!!  They are busily planning for a November 2017 wedding !!!! So ..... here I go again on the hunt for a Mother of the Groom dress Fall version .......... or should I sew one ???? ( I do not hear an encouraging word from any of my family members on that one ...... they know my track record on finishing things before they get moldy).  

ANYWAY ....... so here we are between Halloween and Christmas ...... oh WAIT ...... what about the poor forgotten holiday that gets squeezed out by those other two !!!!  THANKSGIVING !!!

I LOVE Thanksgiving .... since the only shopping involved is grocery shopping .   AND it's a  nice family day gathering around the table for a (hopefully) pleasant meal.  And, if the weather is anything like it was today , then that's even better !!! Perfect autumn weather here in Pa.  

Bright blue skies....

colored leaves and a chill in the air ........

put me in the mood to gather up some fabrics, look for a piece of paper and my colored pencils,  and design a Thanksgiving table runner (or whatever it may turn out to be).   "We Gather Together"  is just in the planning stages ( and may possibly never get out of that stage) ..... but it was a fun diversion from everything else I'm supposed to be doing today !!!

Happy Fall !!!

Be back soon ( I'm being optimistic !)

Toodles,

Mary Anne ( aka Mare)

CUTE SEWING MACHINES ALERT !!!!!!

 Be still my heart !!!!   Pink, turquoise and yellow sewing machines !!!! Just like candy !!!!   I want one of each !!!!  These are Singer Simple Sewing machines spotted yesterday at JoAnn Fabrics .  Aren't they the cutest !!!!!  

Do I have time to sew right now ....... no (son's wedding is only 2 weeks away !!!!).   Did I finish (or even start their wedding quilt ) ......no.   Did I sew my Mother of the Groom dress ....... no ( bought one after much trial and trying on every single dress in every single store ....ugh .... would have been faster to just make what I was looking for instead of looking all over the place for it !).   

Oh well ......maybe (hopefully) I can become reaquainted with my sewing machine after the wedding and when the day job isn't so crazy !

Be back soon !

Toodles,

Mary Anne ( aka Mare)

Spring has sprung and love is in the air !!

Spring has sprung VERY early here in northeast Pa !! It was 75 degrees today !!!  A record breaker I'm sure !!  Can't say I'm minding the early spring ( just so it's not a brutal summer !!).  This nice warm weather puts me in the mood for Bridal Shower planning ...... and it's a good thing cause my soon to be daughter in law's bridal shower is zooming up soon on April 2nd !!!  So, her mother and I have started gathering up the makings of what we hope is a successful shin dig .   As you can see, we are going in the direction of shabby chic.

With  favors displayed in a vintage suitcase ( those are little mason jars we plan to fill with candy and tie pretty ribbon around the tops).

AND, as soon as the shower is over, the main event ( wedding) will be here before I know it ....... and what am I , the mother of the groom, going to wear ????  I HAVE NO IDEA !!!!  I walked into a bridal salon about a week ago  and I thought they were going to have a stroke when I said I was looking for a dress for a May 28 wedding  ...... apparently I've waited a bit too long to look for a dress !!!!!  OOPS !!!! In my defense, the mother of the bride hasn't looked yet either ....... So, I was thinking maybe I would sew my dress or maybe a suit ?   The wedding is an outdoor afternoon wedding, so I don't want anything shiny or sparkly or dark colors.   I picked out these 2 Simplicity patterns .....

The dress and skirt and top should  be pretty easy to put together..... the jacket might be a bit of a challenge to get the right fit ...... getting the right fit is ALWAYS the problem  !!!!!   So...... it's crunch time !!! Tick Tock !!!!  and if I end up sewing my outfit, it would be true to form for me to be hemming it as I'm being escorted up the aisle 2 minutes before the wedding starts !!!

 

Be back soon!

Toodles,

Mary Anne ( aka Mare)

Counted Cross Stitch Revival

Well it's a VERY frosty February day here in Jim Thorpe, Pa !!!  The steam train is in town for the President's Day holiday and it's making quite the spectacular scene !!! Looks like something out of The Polar Express doesn't it !!!  I'm FREEZING just looking at the picture ( and I was REALLY FREEZING taking the picture !!) .   So, to warm up, lets talk bunnies and spring time ...... and the counted cross stitch revival that has been going on the past  few months/year or so.

I LOVED counted cross stitch the first time it was popular ..... back in the 1980's and 1990's .  In fact, I was a cross stitcher way before I was a quilter .  I did a wedding sampler for myself , and then birth samplers for both of my boys ...... 

I just love sailor suits on little boys !  So I couldn't resist this bunny wearing one too.

And Beatrix Potter bunnies !!! How can you resist Peter Rabbit, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail ???

Now doesn't that just look like Spring !!!!

So, I'm really happy to see counted  cross stitch picking up steam again ..... I have TONS of great patterns and half started projects ( big surprise) ..... I'm gonna have to dig them out and dust them off and get stitching again !

Be back soon,

Toodles,

Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Winter Storm "Jonas" ..... a whopper !!

So this was the scene from my kitchen window this morning .....

I thought it was appropriate to light my "Winter Morning" candle....

.... and by 3:00 PM, my car was pretty much buried in the driveway ( this is after I uncovered it a bit) 

....  and  as per usual, ignoring the gigantic "should list" category of the "To Do " list, I came across these 2 drawings ( more like doodles on scrap paper) I started about 8 (yes 8) years ago .... 

 ..... and all of a sudden I just couldn't stand to not have them colored in .....

..... so, after shoveling out my car, I came inside and relaxed with some very therapeutic coloring !!!    Maybe one of these days ( probably 8 more years) "Let it Snow" and "The Skating Season" drawings will turn into something else ?  Applique maybe ??  

Hope you are warm and cozy if you are in the path of "Jonas"  !!! 

Be back soon !

Toodles,

Mary Anne (aka Mare)

Am I too late to say "Happy New Year "????

Ok ..... so I'm only about 2  - 3 weeks late on the "Happy New Year" thing  ...... in my world that's still within the realm of  being on time !  As you can see, the baby quilt ( last post) still isn't finished ..... baby is now 3 months old ( again, in my world that's still within the realm of being on time !)   So here and there I'm  stitching down fluffy fluffy clouds and "dream houses" floating on clouds ...... promise to show you when it's finished ! 

Then there's the teensy matter of my sewing room /stash mess ...... ( and here you are only seeing a smattering of my "collection" ) ..... and there's a graduation quilt ( or two) partly finished AND my soon to be daughter in law's Bridal Shower to plan .... AND I have to hunt for a Mother of the Groom dress (a major under taking)  .... AND what the heck am I gonna do with my hair !!!!!!  (big sigh) ... The wedding is going to be here before ( way before ) I'm organized !!!  ( May 28th ....... oh , wait ..... I have TONS of time ..... don't I??????) 

Be back soon ! ( I know ..... I keep saying that ....)

Toodles ,

Mary Anne ( aka Mare)