In the black...

Well it has taken me a long while to convince DH that the front door would look awesome painted black! I kept showing him homes with black doors whenever we were out and about.
It took sweet DIL to finally get him to 'see' it! So here he is giving her a fine makeover!
Not crazy about the oil base smell but the old gal is look'n good!!!
DH will give her a second coat in a week.


Yes more black!

Changed out the old and damaged white shutters, I never cared for , to black ones!
They pop against the new ivory paint on the trim.
DH still has to paint the porch ceiling.
I shared this pic of porch shutters because I caught a hummer coming in for a feeding!
See him up there in the upper right hand corner?? Cute!
I think they come when I call now...really...;-)


Like our new living room flooring?? Not so much I dare say!
This really is 'old flooring' as it is sub-flooring.
All that old carpet was ripped out. YES!! Now DH has a few things to do before calling the flooring folks to put in new carpet. Has to decide what he is doing with the entry way floor which runs on into coat closet. Thought he had enough laminate left over from my sewing room floor to do it but not quite. When we went to look for more like it found it discontinued!
Seems these companies are famous for doing that! WHAT!!


Thanks so much to all of you gals for the Woe is me Hugs you sent. I felt them all.XO
Yes I have received 'real ones' too.
Just seems sometimes life tumbles down on you and you feel like falling into a hole, covering up and not ever peeping out!
Sometimes tears are a good thing too. Get it all out. Almost like a cleansing.
Helps me anyway, step back, look at each situation better.
I can then move on to face and handle each one in a way that is best for me.


I pulled out my Bunny Hill BOM blocks to finish up the machine applique on them.
Has helped me working a bit on them each day.
Therapy I call it. Retreat to my special room and just be in the moment of doing something creative. No real thinking of what is ahead or regretting what is gone, just stitching along in silence of thought and mind. As a child I used to love to lay on the ground and look up at the sky. Watch the clouds or birds go by. Just feeling peaceful with no thinking. Same feeling I get when I retreat to my sewing room these days.

Lessons Learned

Root canals do not last forever.

Body health and dental health is all entwined. They affect each other. If you have any health issues at all keep those dental check up appts!

Medicine can help one aliment and contribute to or cause another. So decide what you can put up with to be able to physically function.

Not to be afraid to go for second opinions or to change doctors.

Dental insurance and health insurance are good to have so get work done while you have them! I am not sure WHY dental is not considered part of health insurance and never have!

Eye appts are best kept on schedule. If you have any thing that does not seem right tell the doctor!

Do not forget your coupon binder at home when you know you have to stop by grocery on double coupon day!!!!

Working on projects a few spare minutes at a time is a good thing! My sewing room is a joy and a comfort to me.

Staying positive can be very hard at times.

Big Brothers can still give hugs, even through a cell phone.

I miss my sweet Mama something powerful at times like these. Mama was right, we never stop learning life lessons no matter our age. Just mine seem to come in big block spurts! Never just one thing to deal with at a time but several!

Sometimes I feel like the powers that be decide to see just how much I can stand.

Not a totally upbeat post today. Cause I do not feel totally upbeat.

Yes, everyone struggles with something I know but today is just my day to wallow.

Soon the pros will all outshine the horrid cons but right now ….Woe is me! Woe is me…;-(

By the way Blogger would not allow me to post any pics today..;-(

and sew on...

Since I have not been overly productive myself I am sharing some wonderful projects by some talented gals here in Blogland.
All photos used with permission.

I bet you could do these cute projects over the weekend!
First up is this cute gathered basket !

This is by Lisa of A Spoon Full Of Sugar Designs.
Lisa has a wonderful Tutorial on her blog so go check it out and whip some up!
I can see these in all rooms of the house!


Just look at these cute pillas by Allison of Cluck Cluck Sew!!
Check out her awesome tutorial on her blog.

These here look retro modern.
By changing up the fabrics you can change the look also.
Even a Sprocket Table Topper!
Allison has lots of other neat Tuts on her blog as well.



These are simple and fast sewing up hanging towels.
Neat idea by Mary of Pin.Sew.Press.

Put those extra strips you have laying around to use!
Check out her nice tutorial on her blog!
Mary has a great gift idea as well!

I also have a simple hanging towel Tutorial.
If you want Fast Freight this one is it!
Just one small line of stitching and one button!!
Check it out too!


Ruby of ZAABERY created a tutorial for this easy fold up tote below.


Sew some up.... one for your purse, another in the car.
Make some as part of a gift!


Hope you all stay busy doing whatever you want or need to do over the weekend!
Whatever you do I wish you a grand time !
Hugs,
Lola

Tom

Meet Tom the Turkey!
He is BEAUTIFUL!!
This photo does not do him justice at all. I tried hard to get his true colors.
Tom is done on a very pretty linen in warm autumn colors.
He needs to be framed!
So will have to get that done before he is to take his place of honor come Fall decorating time!
Now don't think for a second I made him...hahaha! Yeah right!
Tom is yet another masterpiece done by my niece Diana!
She spoils me with her lovely work.
I adore displaying them in my home!
Thanks Sweetie Gal!!!Love ya!

Oh My Goodness!

GEEEZE!!
Been out of internet service for about a week!
Thank you to each who have posted about my top and other posts.
Sorry I could not respond.
Once again had to have Hughes Net send out repair service, but we have to pay for the call at 125.00! Did get a month credit from them!

We have only been with Hughes Net since Oct 2009 and this makes the 4th service call!
Our contract is up this Oct and we have to find out what our other options are other than slow dial up. No cable out here in Boonieville folks.
So needless to say behind on all blog reading or posting!
Loads of emails to get through!

Did get to two appts. Both of which have resulted in more appts!
I am to have my right toe surgery July 15th.
Will be off my feet for a bit!
Need hand work for that one.
My eye appt resulted in my being suspect glaucoma!
More tests for that coming up.
My new glasses are in so will pick them up tomorrow!

Yesterday I awoke to a HELP phone call from Uncle Ollie, 89.
Aunt Dot, 91, could not get out of bed and in pain!
So throw on some clothes off I go!
Ended up calling 911 and off to hospital.
DH came home to deal with Hughes Net repair fella, who was LATE!

Aunt Dot is back home on meds and bed rest.
Was severe neck muscle spasms!
Her daughter rushed up from Raleigh, NC and is with her now.
Dealing with all that at the hospital plus Uncle Ollie too! He is a handful!
I went to bed after, was so exhausted and slept through till this AM!

So on to a bright note!!
My pal Alice had her birthday last Friday!
Alice sews and quilts a lot but blogs very little...;-)

Spent the day with her sewing on her projects! FUN DAY!

Alice loves purple and kitties!!
So I drew up some cats and made her a Purple Kitties wall hanging!
I have to admit my purple stash is very low!


Her fun label!


They do look better with faces!


All quilted, prettied up and DONE!
I do think she liked them!

Also made her a bag!
This is the tulip bag.
Fast and fun!
I did add a stiff interfacing so it has a shape.
This also makes it more sturdy.
I call it the Chinese Fortune Cookie look...;-)

Still crazy round here but then I reckon that is normal for my world!
Hope you all passed a wonderful Father's Day!!

Back to work now on pc catch up!!!

Finished a Top

No not of the quilt kind;-)!
This cute number was easy to make and fun to wear.
Has pleats in front and back.
Simplicity #4176


I wore with my rolled jean capris.
Yes that is cutie Marmalade Kitty in the pic too.
Have another summer dress cut out.
Hope to get that sewed up soon.

Lots of doctor appts going on now through next month.
These include the dreaded colonoscopy then some toe surgery, first up right big toe.
Will have to begin piling up handwork for being off my feet!!
Last Friday was skin doctor. He blistered up my nose and a place on my hand!
Monday was eye exam. New spectacles coming!
Lord only knows what waits in store at the dental appt!
I do Declare!!

Inspiring hues..

I love adore.. covet... want ...desire... all these shades of dark reds along with their coordinating color partners! Be the partners black, blues& grays , creams or cheddars, yellows!!


I fill these wire baskets to look at and inspire me!


Sort of looks like autumn colors in this pic but they are the darker red!
Now the Fall colors run a close second to the reds and of course toiles!!!
I do not buy fabric based only on the maker/designer.
Mostly it is by visual appeal to me be it designer brand or not!
Yes I will admit there are some lines of fabrics I will to be drawn to as they suit my tastes.
When I am in a fabric store or quilt show venders I just go with what visually appeals to me, hang tag is secondary. No fabric snob here.
I sew ..craft, quilts, clothes, bags, home decor so have many different fabrics/textiles in my stash to use on the project of choice.

This is how my table stays set up.
The fabric baskets are there where I can see them and enjoy all that yumminess!
Sometimes it is hard to decide when or if I will cut into them!!!
I do need to get DH's small wall quilt finished.
Yes will be using some of these lovelies to adorn the Civil War Panel.

So which colors inspire you or just make your heart sing??
Do you too 'display' a favorite fabric or fabrics?
Threads? me too..;-)




Zavier Update:
He is still at the Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN.
Still making progress. Finished up the radiation treatments.
Chemo will go on as long as his counts stay at current levels.
Tumor is around 50% reduced as of now, may be more after next scan.
Zavier is on a walker and will be in rehab therapy for a while.
Still has to have feeding tube.
Will take time to be able to eat normally.
Family still struggling to do all they need to do for Zavier and his 5 siblings.
Please continue to keep them all in your prayers and thoughts.
Thanks so much!

Life a bowl of cherries....

..hummm no not all the time, but sometimes a bowl of cherries
is what we need!

Don't they just fit right into the red, white and blue summer time look!
Love me some of these Bing Cherries!
Price finally came down so DH brought me some home as a surprise gift!
Yes sometimes it is not only flower gifts that make my heart sing!

This is our table settings for the time being.
Some red, white and blue for the summer holidays.


I just leave the two setting on table.
After all just DH and myself.


Did pull out some more red, white and blue.
The flag button wall quilt is back up.
Click on link to see how I made it.
Still working on some other things including mantle.

DH did find a DEAL on a couple buntings. ;-)
He needed to replace ones he used on front porch railing.
Well sometimes things are not what you expect!
See how big that one is through the window??
Yes bigger than he needed, bless his heart!
Read labels, my darling, not just the yellow mark down price label!

Hot 'Pressing' Issue

Okay this is a 'review' of sorts.
No I did not receive this FREE to review it.


This Sullivans cover/ironing pad is for the larger crafting/cutting table.
I have had this table since we moved here.
Has served well for my needs in this small room.
It does not stay fully open all the time, just as needed.
I wanted a larger pressing surface so went looking for a cover.
Had considered making one myself but when I saw this one on the All Brands site figured would work for less money.


Okay the liner and cover are of thin materials.

OH DEAR! Yes as I was smoothing on the thin yellowing foam, it tore!
I was simply pulling to this side! Think this happens with age, dry rot!
Does not fit enough to go over sides or sharp corners.


Had to pull a bit on the cover to get to fit corners.
Must be careful on the sharp corners.


Plan to add cotton liner when I do use this.
It is not something that will be used every day.
I wanted it for pressing my Fusi -Boo batting (LOVE)on larger projects.

So my review is ..do not waste your money on this product.
Pay the extra $$ to make your own with materials you can buy at Hancock's or Joann's!

All Brands is a great site and I have no problem with them.

Newest 'old' ironing board!

Say hello to my new 'wide' ironing board.
Yes it has a rather strange shape compared to what we are used to here in the US.
This baby hails from Italy.

This is a wide end, sort of like my wide end! ;-)
It measure's 18" wide by 27" !
Nice pressing area for sewing!
No stains or tears on cover just need to tie it off on the bottom!

It totes a small friend on the underside!

T
She pops up to help iron sleeves or seams when sewing!
How cute is that!


All this for just $6.99 at the local DAV Thrift Store.

Stay tuned for yet more 'ironing' news!
Yes a HOT TIME at the ...and Sew On 'studio'!

Adding this 9-10-2015
Thanks to two lovely commenters we have a source for replacement covers!!!
Link One
Link Two


Adding this 8-11-2015.
I do not know where you can get a cover for this ironing board!  If you find a source please let me know ad I will post it here.
My advice is to use a board cover tutorial (lots found online so do a search) and make your own.
A bed sheet or other nice wide piece of fabric will do. 
Good luck and thanks for popping into too this post!

Appalachian Quilt Trail

Had a question about the barn quilt trail booklet so decided to just post it for every one here!
There is also a web page to visit at the Appalachian Quilt Trail. Think you can ask for a booklet there but you can also download a PDF version from the web site .
Look on the left side bar.


I picked up mine at the Welcome to Tennessee Visitor Center just across the Virginia line on our way to Nashville.

Inside lists counties and a user guide.

All those quilt stars show a barn quilt.

If you decide to get off the interstate you can see a whole lot more!
As you can see there is quite a few in the Knoxville area.
So if you are going to the AQS show in Knoxville you may can get a peek at some too!

Check out Knoxville News for more barn quilt pics here.

Appalachian Quilt Trail is on Facebook as well.

That Time Again...!!!

No… not egg laying season SWIM SUIT SEASON!!!!

The Bathing Suit (by a middle-age woman unknown)

When I was a child in the 1950s, the bathing suit for the mature figure was-boned, trussed and reinforced, not so much sewn as engineered. They were built to hold back and uplift, and they did a good job.

Today's stretch fabrics are designed for the prepubescent girl with a figure carved from a potato chip.

The mature woman has a choice, she can either go up front to the maternity department and try on a floral suit with a skirt, coming away looking like a hippopotamus that escaped from Disney's Fantasia, or she can wander around every run-of-the-mill department store trying to make a sensible choice from what amounts to a designer range of fluorescent rubber bands

What choice did I have? I wandered around, made my sensible choice and entered the chamber of horrors known as the fitting room. The first thing I noticed was the extraordinary tensile strength of the stretch material. The Lycra used in bathing costumes was developed, I believe, by NASA to launch small rockets from a slingshot, which gives the added bonus that if you manage to actually lever yourself into one, you would be protected from shark attacks. Any shark taking a swipe at your passing midriff would immediately suffer whiplash.

I fought my way into the bathing suit, but as I twanged the shoulder strap in place I gasped in horror, my boobs had disappeared!

Eventually, I found one boob cowering under my left armpit. It took a while to find the other. At last I located it flattened beside my seventh rib.

The problem is that modern bathing suits have no bra cups. The mature woman is meant to wear her boobs spread across her chest like a speed bump. I realigned my speed bump and lurched toward the mirror to take a full view assessment.

The bathing suit fit all right, but unfortunately it only fitted those bits of me willing to stay inside it. The rest of me oozed out rebelliously from top, bottom and sides. I looked like a lump of Playdoh wearing undersized cling wrap.

As I tried to work out where all those extra bits had come from, the prepubescent sales girl popped her head through the curtain, "Oh, there you are," she said, admiring the bathing suit.

I replied that I wasn't so sure and asked what else she had to show me. I tried on a cream crinkled one that made me look like a lump of masking tape, and a floral two-piece that gave the appearance of an oversized napkin in a serving ring.

I struggled into a pair of leopard-skin bathers with ragged frills and came out looking like Tarzan's Jane, pregnant with triplets and having a rough day.

I tried on a black number with a midriff and looked like a jellyfish in mourning.

I tried on a bright pink pair with such a high cut leg I thought I would have to wax my eyebrows to wear them.

Finally, I found a suit that fit, it was a two-piece affair with a shorts-style bottom and a loose blouse-type top. It was cheap, comfortable, and bulge-friendly, so I bought it. My ridiculous search had a successful outcome, I figured.

When I got it home, I found a label that read, "Material might become transparent in water."

So, if you happen to be on the beach or near any other body of water this year and I'm there too, I'll be the one in cut-off jeans and a T-shirt! Or the one in the covered lounge chair in the mu-mu!!!

You'd better be laughing or rolling on the floor by this time. Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain, with or without a bathing suit!