Yes, We Really Have a Roof

Yesterday the workers built all of our front porch and framed for the large 3 section dormer window in front. Today they have put all of the OSB roofing on and the roofers came to put all of the felt paper on. As I write, they are putting OSB on the sides of the house. It really is starting to come together. They wanted to get it closed in today because we have a chance for severe storms tomorrow. (that means no work for them again)

On another note, I made some yummy pumpkin muffins this morning. I used some amish sweet potato butter along with pumpkin and added a vanilla pudding to the mix. I topped them with streusel topping and YUM.
I also made peppermint bark and wrapped all of my husband's work goodies today. I have had all of my kids home since Monday at dinner and have loved every minute of it. We went Christmas shopping all day yesterday. We have eaten and laughed and just enjoyed being together. My daughter goes back tonight after dinner and we won't see her again til Christmas day. Boo Hiss! I am so thankful for the few days we have all spent together.

All Done and an Apron to Boot!

I finally finished all of Beth's blocks today. I hope to lay them all out once we have a sunny day so I have good lighting. I did decide to make an apron today though. I bought this Riley Blake panel from an Etsy seller and found a heavier fabric in my stash to back it with. I thought it was too thin for me without the extra backing fabric. I will take a picture of mine soon, but this is the panel. It was a super easy fast project. I recommend finding one on Etsy in one of the 2 colorways and sewing it up.

Progress and Procrastination

They have been steadily working on the house this week. It is really starting to take shape. I on the other hand have felt a little unproductive this week. I have worked on a few of Beth's blocks, but mostly Etsy bags. That is great, but I don't see things getting done. I bought a couple of remnant Minky pieces for $5 on Etsy and did manage to cut them out into squares today. I plan on sewing this together for our builder/neighbor's daughter who is due in February. Not bad for a $5 Minky purchase. The colors are so cute for a little boy.

A third floor in the works

Well it has been an interesting week. My hubby has had the flu, we had several days of rain, that held up the building process and my daughter has had two choir performances. I am glad to say that after a full day of rain on Monday, the builders were back today and really accomplished a lot! The third floor, which is basically just four bedrooms and two baths, is almost completely framed. They also framed the three front dormers. Tomorrow they will start on the beams that will hold the roof. Yesterday, I baked a cake and also homemade bread. Figured since it was raining I might as well eat. Today I have been sewing and completing a few bag orders. Just lack two blocks to be finished with Beth's blocks. Will take a pic once I have them all laid out.

Christmas goodies and Burlap Bags

I really love burlap. It is itchy and kinda has a weird smell but it is sturdy and functional and comes in different colors too. I ordered these bags online a few months back and really didn't know what I was going to do with them. Yesterday was our final co-op for 2012. I wanted to give some goodies to all the sweet families we do school with. I filled the burlap bags full of coffee beans from Starbucks and dipped pretzels and made homemade peanut butter cups and candies to go along with them. My daughter printed some cardstock tags (realized she put an apostrophe in and had to add home) and I distressed them with brown ink. Stapled them to the front and Voila!

Up On The Housetop..Bang Bang Bang

It has finally started and I am so excited! We have had builders here for the last 3 days and there has been a lot of progress. The roof was covered in a layer of ice this morning so they had to squeegee it off before starting their work.  Just thought I would keep up with our new addition on here so I can look back at the pics.

What's Going On?

No I am not going to give you a rundown on Nicholas David's version of this on The Voice-(which I loved by the way). I am jotting down a few of the happenings around here. My 2 college kids were home for Thanksgiving break and we had so much fun. Shot guns, rode the VW rail buggy, went to the movies,decorated our brown paper tablecloth for Thanksgiving, ate tons of food, played music, bought new phones, and of course the not so fun things like laundry, dishes and homework too. My youngest daughter celebrated her 15th birthday on Thanksgiving day. I bought her tickets to the Alex Goot concert in Indianapolis and we returned from there today. She had a total BLAST! Met with our builder today and equipment starts arriving tomorrow-yippee-progress! Have been working on Beth's quilt blocks and only have 6 more to go. Will get some pics of those up here soon. Have bags to stamp tomorrow, but wanted to post some pics tonight.

Latest Project-30 personalized stone trivets

Been working on 30 of these for a few days. I really like this font that I used on them. Listed these as a neat bridal party gift. These were done as an order for a church. Another good idea. What are you all up to this weekend?

Sneak Peek at house plans

The weather this weekend was absolutely gorgeous! I helped hubby move several motors from our old barn to his new barn. Lots of tidying up in the new barn too. Yesterday after church, our sweet friend Nancy came out and she and I went walking around the farm collecting a little of God's handiwork. It is amazing how pretty some of the "weeds" are. My husband calls anything grass like that comes in the house for decorating-weeds. I enjoyed spending time with you Nancy! We were looking at our house plans while she was here and I thought it might be nice to post a couple of pics of what the finished product will resemble. The anticipation is great, but our guest pastor hit home yesterday with "being content" with where God has you. I am focusing on that today. Knowing that God has grand plans and He is definitely in control and is fully aware of our contract and our time. When the house is done, I will want to say that it was all in God's Good and Perfect timing! Help me be patient and content today Lord and rest in You.

This is not exact because the bottom photo shows 3 windows on the basement side and 2 of those will be removed and become our garage. The back porch will all be covered by the roof, not just that small portion. We also have a double front door, but you can at least get an idea. I think it is funny to look at it with no grass or ground around the basement. Still plan on taking pics along the way. Hope you all have a very productive and "contented" day.

Old Chair- New Chair?

No pics to upload as of right now, but my fingers and palm are sore from removing all the staples from the old rocker we bought. Taking shots of where the cording is placed in hopes of a good end result. Not sure about this reupholstering job. Called for quotes today and let them know that I had already taken the chair apart and removed all fabric and have new fabric to replace it with and it was still going to be $100. I think I will try my hand at it first and if it turns out badly then I will remove the evidence and take it to the upholstery shop. What are you doing this weekend????

monogram tags

I couldn't help myself....these were just to tempting. I played around with the size of the monogram and got it to fit the size of my tag punch. I then used a distressing pigment ink in brown on the tan paper and Voila! Aren't they cute? These would make a nice inexpensive gift for a friend as well. My printer does 9 to a page. A cute little box with 27 of these little tags with a pretty ribbon strung through a hole and ready for use on gifts they give throughout the year would be lovely. So pretty and personalized.

DIY Monogram Wrapping Paper or Tags

I found this cool site the other day when I was looking for monograms to download for embroidery. While these are for paper, not embroidery, they would be beautiful for making your own custom wrapping paper or tags for Christmas gifts. I love the vintage circle with flowers and just one initial. Thinking about getting a head start on some tags of my own before the house building gets the better of me and my time.

Pasta Fagoli Soup-Olive Garden copycat

This was posted from Jennfier Walker's blog-Smelling Coffee.

Pasta Fagoli Crockpot Soup
(Adapted from Olive Garden’s Copy-Cat recipe here)

• 1 lb ground beef, cooked & drained
  1/2 or 1 med onion, chopped & cooked with the ground beef
  2-3 carrots, sliced
  2 cans of diced tomatoes, undrained
  1 can of res kidney beans, drained
  1 can of white kidney beans, drained
  1 box of beef broth or stock
  3 tsp oregano
  3 tsp pepper
  5 tsp parsley
  1 jar of spaghetti sauce
• I box of pasta. (We used penne.)

Place all ingredients except pasta into the crockpot and mix well. Cook on high for 4-5 hours, or low for 7-8 hours. Add the UNCOOKED past the last 45 minutes. (That’s my favorite step… Don’t even need to boil the pasta & dirty up another pan!) I used a whole box this last time & it was on the verge of being too much. But since we like pasta, it was fine. Next time, I plan to cut back a bit.

That’s it! How easy! And even easier if you keep 1lb packages of cooked ground beef in your freezer. I always try to cook up a few extra pounds to freeze. If you don’t have the onions cooked with the meat, they will be just fine added straight into the crockpot. Y.U.M!

Serve with a salad & garlic bread & you’ll have a new family hit. 

Andrea's Notes:This would be an easy gift. Include all the canned items, stock, seasonings in a ziplock, the jar of spaghetti sauce and a box of noodles. You could also take a loaf of bread or rolls. Then all they have to do is add the meat, carrots and onions (which most cooks have on hand). Great Christmas or holiday gift for neighbors or friends who already have everything and you don't know what to get them. Food always works!!!

Monogram It Merge on my Brother LB6800PRW

I am really having a lot of fun figuring this program out. I downloaded an anchor for a friend from Stitch in Thyme Designs and wanted to put monogram initials over the top. I first brought the anchor into Monogram It and centered the design. Then just used the monogram it button on the bar and was able to choose my initials and font. Then I centered that on top of the anchor. I was still able to choose colors for each element. Then I transferred the saved .PES file to my machine and it automatically separates it into 2 designs. I did the anchor first and then the monogram. I changed the fill type in the Monogram It program to smooth instead of satin. It did a better job for coverage. I had monogrammed a circle monogram the night before and used satin stitch. It looked good but I think I like the smooth fill better. This program is pretty easy to use. I have briefly read through the instructions but the tool bar makes navigating through it seem fairly simple. I am sure I will discover more as I play with it, but did want to post this because I found very little on it when I was researching before buying. I will try to answer any questions you might have, but again I am a TRUE novice! This novice is happy with the results though.

Little Boy Blue

This pattern is seriously so fast to make. This one took me just over an hour yesterday while I was manning the study hall at co-op. I love this organic yarn. It is so soft and the colors are really nice. I think I will use a wooden button on this one. Just need some baby bottoms to put in them-heehee!

Brother LB6800 Embroidery and Monogram It

I spent quite a bit of time with my new Monogram It program and my Brother LB6800PRW last night. I wanted a simple yet inexpensive way to monogram things for friends and family and possibly an occasional item for Etsy. This program definitely meets the inexpensive mark for me. So many of the programs are hundreds of dollars-(more than my machine cost for some of them) and I wasn't ready to invest that much. The list price for Monogram It is around $99 but I bought it at Amazing Designs and  found an online coupon code that saved me 15%. In the end I paid $85 or so. The program is easy to load and makes sense when you look at the tool bars. It is easy to get a monogram on the screen and pick the appropriate hoop size. You can have the design display in inches or mm. I chose inches because that is what I am used to. Last night I came up with a design and saved it as a .PES file. Plugged in the USB cable that came with the machine to both the Brother and my computer. Sent the file to the removable disc (drive F:) and Nothin! I did this several times and all I could see was memory being used in the Brother, but no design. I hunted around for online help-Nada! This morning however, I found this site available and realized my design was too large for the machine to see. Reworked the monogram this morning to make sure it would fit and Voila!

So if you have a Brother or Monogram It and have struggled at all with using either one-I feel your pain! I will try to post information or tips along the way as I use both of these products. It is so helpful to be able to find answers to your questions online and there just isn't much out there for this combo of products. Can't wait to actually put this on the sweatshirt now.

A new old rocker for me

I have a weak spot for cute rocking chairs. We have a fairly modern rocking chair in our living room and I enjoy it, but not anywhere near as much as I will this old cutie. We went to a place called Yesternook in Louisville to pick up an antique buffet that looked like one my husband's nanny owned and stumbled upon this little beauty. The cushion is very fat and it has buttons on the back. It looks as if someone tried to redo the wood, but did a horrible job. We plan to strip it down and stain or paint it as well as recover it. I happened to find some soft wide wale corduroy fabric in a nice neutral tan today. I think it will work perfectly and give something old a modern flair! The buffet needs work too, but it is a great functional piece for the up and coming dining room wall.

Newborn Organic Cotton Diaper Cover

I don't have any babies to give this to right now, but it was so fun and quick to crochet up. I got the pattern from Ravelry and it only took a couple of hours to do. The original design is plain but I am working on a ruffle to attach to this one. Might put it on my Etsy and see what happens since I don't have a planned person to gift this to. Can't decide which button. What do you think? White or Green?

Fall Fun and Family Photo

This past weekend we were able to meet up with the 2 older kids in Louisville. We went to Sunny Acres and    fed the horses, did the corn maze and ate a few cookies.Our youngest entertained us with a little guitar while we waited on the college kids to get there. After that we popped over to the mall and finally had the boy's hair cut after 3 months of growth. Alli and I went in William & Sonoma and oooed and ahhhed over everything. Then it was off to the Spaghetti Factory-one of the places we like to go to and eat. There was nothing over the top spectacular about anything we did-but it was so good to all be together. We miss having our kids at home!

Brother Embroidery and a Dresden Pillow

I really haven't had much of a chance to play with my Brother machine that both sews and embroiders. I am trying to get a few last minute projects for Christmas finished up. This was my first attempt at making dresdens. I did most of it back in May at my mom's before going to the quilt retreat. I used a Moda jellyroll that I bought for my daughter. These were made using the leftover strips from that project. It is intended for our little niece for Christmas. The Brother I bought has 5 alphabets pre-programmed and a set of script letters that are part of the "patterns". I used a sulky light pink thread and then used the quilting zigzag to do the outlining. I like the results. Can't wait to have an organized craft room so I can spend more time playing.

Newest project-Scentsy Mini Tester Bags

I had a Scentsy consultant, actually 3, contact me through Etsy about developing a mini tester bag set for them. I have to admit that I have never even seen a Scentsy product(I lead a rather sheltered existence), but was excited to make these bags for the consultants. I am sure any little thing to help you stay organized in a business is refreshing. I know how I feel when I have stamps of all sorts scattered about and bags ironed and not ironed in looming stacks. Being organized just helps me get the job done quicker. So in a nutshell-Glad to help you ladies!

Is it too early for gingerbread?

I love gingerbread, hot and moist from the oven with homemade whip cream, but I really don't care to eat gingerbread cookies that are hard and crispy. Thankfully this cute little guy isn't edible! I have still been experimenting with paints and stencils instead of stamps and inks. It is quite fun. I would like to have a Cricut machine, but have read some reviews that make me think again. Any readers that have one and are willing to share their experience would be welcome. Making these bags makes me look forward to Christmas.

Thanksgiving comes early

Was able to go and visit my son and daughter last weekend and it was so nice to cook a big meal for them and all of my daughter's roommates. I baked a ham, made sweet potato casserole, shoe peg corn, macaroni and tomatoes, fried apples and rolls. We ate till we were stuffed and they still had a bunch of leftovers. They don't get much home cooking while they are in college, so this was a treat for them and for me!

The Cart Before the Horse

It is an old saying, but in my case it is very true. We ended up buying all of our paint for the addition to the house about 2 weeks ago. We had already used Sherwin Williams for the outside so we had to continue with that. We went to their once a year 40% off sale and decided to buy all the paint for the house inside and out. We are doing a neutral gray for all 4 of the upstairs rooms called Knitting Needles-so appropriate. In one of the rooms/bathroom I am going to use Anjou Pear as an additional color. My son loves pears and this will be the room he stays in when he comes home. I found some gorgeous material at Hancock Fabrics while shopping with a friend the other day that will work perfectly with my colors. It was on the remnant table and was only $5 a yard. I got 7 yards of the gold stripe with raised velvet leaves and 2 1/2 yards of the charcoal gray. I love them both and will be so excited when we finally get to the decorating part of building. Gives me something to look forward to-making a house into our home!

New barn-Almost Complete

This has been a big project for our family-mainly my hubby and son (until he left for college). It is our new 2 story workshop (it is not a barn I have been told). The side with the tall door is open all the way to the ceiling, but the rest of the building has a second story loft. We have framed out an apartment inside, but nothing has been done on it yet. We are still finishing trim and paint on the back, but the outside is pretty finished. Unfortunately, it is quite full already. Many car projects in there. We still have to tear down the old tobacco barn, but that won't happen until the rest of the house is done next summer. Looking forward to having the framers arrive to add the 2nd and 3rd stories to our basement. It will be a stressful year, but I can't wait for the additional space-including my OWN sewing/craft room.

Long Time No See

Well the summer has certainly flown by and I spent the majority of it in Hilton Head. Once I returned we moved our 2 oldest to UK in Lexington. We have also signed off on the construction for the rest of our house. The barn is basically done on the outside and the inside is unfortunately full. My house is a wreck due to moving things around in preparation for construction and also housing items we have purchased for the upstairs (double ovens, paint, 6 burner gas cooktop, etc.). So many things to share. I hope to post some pictures of the barn soon. I also plan to keep a picture record of the house in progress. I did finish a quilt top using Lucy's Crab Shack over the summer and will post pics of it soon. I am woefully behind on my Craftsy Block of the Month squares. Need to do July-Oct (wow).I have also been doing quite a few muslin bags for my Etsy.  All this to say, I will soon be back in the swing of things I hope. Hope you all have a great day!

Oh Brother!

I have really been wanting to do machine embroidery for a while, but my machine doesn't do any. My mom's Pfaff will do 1/2 inch alphabet, but they are really tiny. I have really loved my Singer, but I bit the bullet and bought myself a new machine. It is both a sewing and embroidery machine. That made more sense for me-due to space issues (or the lack thereof). It still has all the great features, like needle up/down, speed control, decorative stitching top drop bobbin, auto thread cutter and tie off functions, but it can also embroider! I did some research and found the Brother SE400 and the Brother LB6800PRW models are exactly the same, except one has Project Runway markings on it. I was able to get the 6800 with a zippered rolling tote for less than the SE400 by itself. It's not here yet, so I am asking, "O Brother, Where art thou?"-Joke. Hope to get it early next week so I can take it with me to the beach. I am already finishing my 3rd table runner and plan to finish the 4th before I leave, so now I need a new project to take with me. I might just come back with all my clothes monogrammed-Ha!

Plan to keep my Singer while I am taking this one for a test drive-just in case.

Did "Jute" do that?

Ha Ha. I have a sweet friend (let's call her Nancy-because her name is Nancy). She is a creative crafts scout for sure. She is always bringing me little things that she believes I will or can do something with. Usually I do. She plucked some super cute cat head buttons off a garment destined for Goodwill and I turned those into some cute hair barrettes. This time she gave me these cute veggie buttons. I really didn't know what I would do with them, but they crossed my path this morning and I thought they would make the cutest little napkin rings strung with simple jute. They would be great for summer picnics. Simple, sweet and stepped up a notch. Better than just slappin' the paper napkin down. You could do this with wooden buttons too! All different sizes and shapes would be really fun.I will store them wrapped around this cloth napkin, so that the set of 6 stays together. Smart thinking. Now just have to figure out where to store the napkin. Hope everybody enjoyed their 4th! We went out in the Fiat and had dinner with the kids and watched local bands and fireworks.