Here and There Finds with a Retro Flair

Strolled right through the quilt shop.....not intended to pick up anything but a couple of flosses....and ended up getting this book. I don't quilt but they are having a beginning quilting class series of 6 weeks starting in July and I might  will sign up.

By the way the garment bag behind this book is Emily pattern, Vera Bradley that I found as a rare item, hardly used at all on Ebay last week. I had several of Emily pattern pieces such as the hanging makeup bag, pencil case, curling iron holder, and another little piece. I never thought I would get the garment bag ever as it has been retired a long time.  Well, I found one this week.

I'm dreaming of one day being able to sew well enough to make items like this tea cozy. I know it probably looks simple to alot of people but I really have to work on my skills and my new machine.

Picked up this little pack with muted blues, golds and browns

to play with........

And picked up 2 fat quarters for a backing for a runner I hope to put in the kitchen this Fall. Am I dreaming or what????

A pretty little fat quarter that jumped in my hand.

And then found this spool.....

with a little nest topper. How cute for my sewing room?

and this basket......for a good deal

with 3 fabbie apples made with cinnamon sticks.....

a few old clothespins

And this must be retro week for me. This is an old dress I found and sorry for the wrinkles....it was bagged awhile before I got it out of the hot car today. I love the simplicity, the vintagey pockets and rickrack. I would only wear this at home. It has a tie back sash in the back. The color is a muted teal with black trim.

A pretty little front and a simple old button in the back.

And of course, this little hand towel was so Summery and bright

and it's a fact here:

Oh, I also picked up at the quilt shop a remnant piece of this for some winter pillowkeeps.

Methinks I have enough to play with now.

Tomorrow I will show you Miss Abbie and........

her new bikini.......LOL  seriously......this will be fun...stay tuned.

Oh Do Tell

Hoping your Saturday is filled with fun Summer plans. Plans? What's that???  LOL 

 I plan to venture out today for some me-time. I need it badly! When I get back, I will tell you what I've been up to.

I have some pretty pink fabbies to show you that I dreamed I may (cross my fingers) try to quilt a small piece for Miss Abbie.

I plan to stop by as many antique and thrift stores as possible to rummage through for vintage sewing goodies.

And then whatever else my spontaneous Summer heart fancies at the moment.

Till later......

Jennifer

The Celebrate Liberty Giveaway Winners are........

Winner of number 1 pattern Chessie and Me Preserve Liberty sampler is:

Michelle from Georgia

AND

Winner of number 2 pattern Chessie and Me Liberty House Sampler is:

CJ from Texas

Congrads!

Hope you enjoy!

Just email me at jennifer.dalenberg@yahoo.com

your mailing address and I'll zip them out your way.

Back to a fresh slice of cold, seedless watermelon.....the last piece. Body Guard ate the rest.....yes, he is now pretty full.......and also smells like Fresh Scent Auto spray as he bent down to put Ren in his kennel and didn't know I put one of the battery operated air fresheners near which are wonderful items of discovery this week at Walmart, by the way......problem though......I heard him yell....."Something just maced me in the head!"

Yep, he is all fresh-scented now!  : 0

Things I really dig in the Summertime

• happy, fed animals
• frozen pizzas after a long day of work
• a cold glass of Merlot
• longer sunny days
• birthdays!
• ice cream....any flavor
• stitching Patriotic samplers
• fresh fruits from the country farms
• peach cobbler
• walking in the mountains
• wearing flip-flops
• skinny jean capris
• summer nights on the back porch
• grilling out
• fireworks in July
• summer skirts that are cool and breezy
• tanks of all colors
• Dr. Pepper lip smacker
• my front porch swing
• books, books, and more books
• dreaming of big samplers to start in the Fall
• Albolene cleanser
• red and blue ticking fabric
• eating fresh tomatoe sandwiches with salt and pepper/Helman's Mayo
• cucumber slices and pepper floating in vinegar
• dreaming of vacations
• sweet tea
• ice cream sandwiches
• watching flowers bloom randomly in the yard
• watching June bugs after dark
• strawberry everything
• pretty pink fabbies

What a 24 hours!

I'm so totally thankful and grateful for each and every one of your kind comments about Ren. I honestly couldn't believe as we took one hour at the time. I'm so lucky to have a vet that I've known for 10 years who knows me and our little furbabies. So, first thing this morning, I called him and he answered right away and said Ren was doing much better and we talked about reassessing everything, no heroics, we just want to make him comfortable due to his age.
After Ren got IV fluids he perked up and as his labs showed his thyroid had been functioning way overtime. His kidneys were not as bad as they first thought initially. Of course, he is old.

The Doctor knew we were coming at 4pm today. He didn't feel at this time he was suffering and had actually ate quite well today. He said not at this time  but if he got sick again real soon, it will be a different story.
We talked a long time and we brought him home with medication for his thyroid. Ren was glad to be in my arms again. And when I brought him home, he went walking around and  then curled up in his blanket.

So for this day, he is resting at home and as long as he is not suffering we will let him be.
We will take it one day at the time.
He is resting quite well now in his own blanket and Abbie has welcomed him back home with lots of barks!

I know this is so controversial and I do appreciate your support through this. It's been one busy day.
Besides this and figuring out fixing things from the lightning incident, we also found out we have hail pings all over our new car from the storm night before last.  Will it ever get better??????  LOL

Early this morning, I got some stitching done, not much, but a little.
I hope to get a little more stitching done this evening as I watch some TV and just veg out.

I decided to use this blue homespun fabric here instead of the red.

Of course, the With My Needle sampler is also begging me for a finish too. R and R fabric is very stiff, sorry for the wrinkles......

So, I have a few things to work on tonight while I catch up on the latest cases on Nancy Grace and CNN.

Blessings today:

Ren is better....for now

air-conditioning

sunny skies

  friends who are the best

Our family is thanking each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts.

Till later,

stay safe and sunny

This little fellow, my friend, my buddy

This picture was taken awhile back. Ren, my buddy, is seriously sick and spending the night at the vet. We found out today he has severe renal failure and hyperthyroidism. He has lived alot of good times but recently he has gone downhill pretty fast. Lost alot of muscle mass, weight, and isn't eating well at all. He can't retain his bowel or bladder. He is moaning and we have tried to cater to him for a long time.

Even though I should have known and I thought I was prepared for his terminal friendship, a call today sent me, a professional woman trying to fix everybody, to tears.

He is at the point of suffering now and I always said I would never put him to sleep. I was hoping he would just peacefully go in his sleep when the time came.

The vet, who I've known for 10 years and has taken care of him said he would hydrate him with IV fluids today but tomorrow we have to talk to him about his condition. I know what this means.

There is not much hope for his aged condition and his kidneys are gone.

It's heartbreaking to know you can't  help him live.

But I'm pretty much prepared for what he has to say tomorrow.

I know this is a controversial subject but my buddy is near Rainbow Bridge I believe.

I can't say he didn't live his life to the fullest. I can say he was my friend, my companion for nearly 17 years.

Tomorrow we will know what to do. But in the interim and in our hearts we know he probably won't come home again.

It's amazing how close our furbabies get to our hearts.

We had to tend to him alot last night and his yelps I knew were different. I should be prepared but it still hurts. When I look at him, I think of the Velveteen Rabbit story. He definitely is Real.

Till later,

Jennifer

My stitching on Tuesday

Maggee ordered this pair of scissors from The Nest Feathers Shoppe. I decided to stitch a simple matching fat quarter pouch for her to accompany this......so Maggee your order is in the mail first thing in the morning. I have a soft spot for Breast Cancer Awareness and had this fabric a long time before I got the scissors.

But I think it made a perfect match and maybe a usable little pouch too.

Then stitched a little on this piece by The Sampler Girl called Sweet Land 1831, a patriotic pocket.

The rest of the day was resting and watching lightening storms....strong storms and the electricity kept blinking. At one point the wind was at 56 miles an hour, reported by the weather channel. I thought sure we were getting a tornado at one point but we didn't.

There was some flooding in Helen.

Tomorrow I will draw 2 names for the give-a-way so stay-tuned!

Hope you enjoyed your Tuesday!

Flag Day Week and a sampler

I finished this piece in 2006 and stitched it for Brandon. I believe it's a Lizzy Kate but not sure....can't remember but during this time of year I rummage through photos of my patriotic stitching and so thankful I took a pic of this one.

Liberty

Freedom

Blessings I count EVERY day!!!!!

I wonder if he still has this somewhere now?  The frame came from my LNS at that time and I thought it really complemented the sampler. I think I still have the pattern somewhere....yep, I must look for it again.

Hope your day is well. I had a great long visit with my Godmother and friend Dot. She is great company and definitely fits the Jane Austen phrase "Friendship is the finest balm".

It's super hot here now with high humidity and I'm getting through the first earache/fever since I was in middle school, I believe. It's one painful thing, let me tell you.  I slept 0 hours until 5am this morning and I count my blessings for "black out curtains" so that I slept till 10am on my day off.

We are still working on several things that happened in the last couple of weeks including all the lightning damage and ID theft issues. In fact there will be someone working this afternoon at the house on something damaged and I think I will just resort to "my studio" upstairs and stitch by the afternoon light to stay out of their way.

Till later,

Jennifer

And finally guess who this is?

Oh, my!  I have to go to bed now, I just opened a box of old pictures. Here's is one........of me.....
in about 3rd grade.  LOL

Methinks I have alot of books!

Busy, busy weekend rummaging through papers and books and anything else in the basement. While our basement is partially finished, I have been trying to organize my "stuff" in my office area and books was one of them. I got a new large, oak bookcase about a month ago for a good deal and I found that I have more books on gynecology than I ever knew. The good part is I can find them now!!!!

I also put my laptop there and still, still found a box full of very old cross stitching patterns, floss, etc.
After I get all the mountains of paper work off the floor this week, I'll take a pic of the whole area.
Body Guard's "office" is on the other side of the stairway and it's totally not picture taking material at this time! LOL

I definitely got in my exercise today doing laundry and toting papers and books up and down 3 flights of stairs.

Still a mess, but working......

I have 5 bookcases. And they will be full. The good thing about getting the extra large one is that now I'm organizing them by area. I have the most important children's books I treasured reading to my kids on one bookcase now, 2 large ones for GYN/Legal consultant issues, references, and then one smaller one for books of comfort, like Jane Austen and C.S. Lewis.  So far the GYN is winning. ;)

My desk which has been unused now for awhile is now usable and half is cleaned off. Still getting there.

I have a sofa on the other side and a flat screen TV in this "area of the basement" I call my office, where my quiet time is spent too.

This is how I spent my Sunday, organizing papers and books. I hope to get back to stitching soon.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right?

This week has definitely made me start organizing my books and papers and finding a place to write besides wherever in the house.

Hope your Sunday was restful!

The old Singer box to the left will be moved to a roomier place. I have kept alot of my disks in this. I've had it for many years. As an introvert, books are a true love for me. If I'm not stitching, I'm reading.

Thank you for all the comments and participation in the Giveaway. I do appreciate reading them alot!

Jennifer

Sunday morning in June

On Sunday mornings, time slows dow for me just a bit, to catch up on some Z's and to reflect on the past week.

I worship the Maker in whatever way I can and count blessings.

Here's hoping your Sunday morning is a good one!

This hangs in our home and reminds me of the seasons of life, not the actual weather changes, but the stages in life that we are promised always. There's one certainty in life and that is change. That's the only thing that remains constant. This I know for sure.

I certainly wish I could get credit for this piece below but I bought it already made. I love the embroidery, the quilting, and the flag.

 Flag Day is this week and I'm very proud of the American flag and what it represents. Freedom is one of the biggest blessings we have right now.

So Sunday is a day of rest and I hope to work on some stitching that I've so neglected over the past week. Stitching can soothe my soul. It's one thing I feel like I do right.

Here's my favorite local church. A place of hope. It's small but I love it.

Here's the link to the Celebrate Liberty Giveaway which includes 2 samplers.

http://feathersinthenest.blogspot.com/2010/05/celebrate-liberty-give-away.html

The last day is June 15th so don't miss out for a chance!

There will be 2 lucky winners.