sableSTOCKINGS

The kids wanted new stockings this Christmas. Cute reindeer fabric and Cindy's nice embroidery make for 5 nice new stockings.
Why 5 you ask? The kids and the herd of course.

fancyPANTS

Topsail Island 2011
Great fun had by all at the island this year.

puzzleTIME

Nice puppies to share a bed

neatQUILTS

Art quilts in every room at the vacation rental house

birthdayTIME

Party time on the island
we celebrate everybody's birthday while we are at the beach
nertz is the card game of choice
it is always puzzle time
six puzzles down, we have to shop for some new ones today since we put everything together that we brought with us

backtotheISLAND

Woo-hoo
Vacation time on Topsail Island again!
downstairs den
Autumn Festival at the south end of the island
my sister's new hat
Brusco supervising the puzzle



Sky in the super sized mermaid bathroom
the children enjoying the festival

paperPIECING

It is always fun to learn a new way to make a quilt block.
Paper piecing is a new way (for me at least) to make a small precise block for a quilt. Since all 140 blocks are six inch blocks in the Sampler I am learning to make, it was time to practice.
No need to look like a total fool in class, so YouTube here I come. There are instructional videos for every quilting style in the world. The best part is that I can watch numerous times and no one will know how long it takes me to catch on.
Basically with paper piecing, you just sew by number. Well heck, even I can do that!

skilletpecanPIE

You all know how I love a new recipe. Skillet pecan pie is the latest of my Southern Living magazine favorites.
Very easy to make.
How can you go wrong with a stick of butter, sugar and Southern Comfort?
Takes a while to cook though. 1 hour cook time, 3 hours cool time in a closed door oven. It was worth the wait!

SERGER

The Serger Nightmare!

Who knew it would take almost two hours to thread a sewing machine?
The manual neglected to tell me to remove the small machine cover piece on the front left of the machine, to thread cone number 3. I watched numerous You Tube videos to figure this out.
Serger guts. Once threaded the machine will sew two threads through two needles and two threads below but no bobbin is involved like a regular sewing machine.
Why would you buy a machine that holds four thread cones and is a nightmare to thread, you ask. Well, I found this machine, unused for 15 years, and barely used before that, in a closet. It belonged to Mark's stepmother, Booger. Yes, Booger. Booger sewed all of her clothes for years and purchased this machine shortly before moving up here to the farm. Once she moved it to the new house, it sat in a box until two weeks ago when I brought it home. The serger sews using 4 threads and gives you the finishing stitch you find on clothes purchased in a store. The finishing stitch sews the layers together and keeps the fabric from raveling.
Let the fun begin....