~ Tis a Blessed Engagement!~

 Aren't they beautiful?

 And little Emma is just ecstatic to be gaining a daddy!  Life is more complete that way......
 

We look forward to the big day next June sometime......... and welcome to the family, James!


Blessings to your families, and our family has been praying for those on the East Coast.  May we all cherish life and not take it for granted!

~Shanda~

~A Wee Sampler Finish and Coverlet Finds~

 I picked up my Sampler from the framer today - Love it!  It was worth finishing after 3 years!  Don't know where I am going to hang it yet - my daughter was teasing me and said I would probably take another 3 years to decide :-)!  The red and white coverlet behind the Sampler was a recent find at Heritage Reflections Sidewalk Sale - a very favorite store of mine. 

And I stumbled on an amazing find at JoAnn Fabrics, of all places.  I am not a huge JoAnn fan for fabrics but do get DMC floss, notions, and such there.  But my last trip in I found coverlet fabric!  It is woven like a tapestry/coverlet and had the weight of a coverlet.  The only sad thing was there was only one pattern/color to choose from.  It was 12.99/yd, but with a 50% coupon, made a great deal for a coverlet.  It has a selvage on one side of course, and the other sides I am just going to take a small hem.  Love it!  It would make a perfect lap throw or light weight summer coverup.

Baked potatoes for dinner this evening and going to do some Christmas present stitching as I listen to the debate.  It is a cold, rainy, and leaf blowing afternoon, just the right kind to be cozy in the house and watch the rain fall along with the leaves this afternoon.  I feel the movie John Adams coming on though.  Such a favorite of mine, especially the first two segments up until the signing of the Declaration.  Maybe this weekend.  

Blessings on your Fall Evening!

~Shanda~

My ABC Sampler..........

by Birds of a Feather is finished!!!!!  Ummm, yep.  You see 2009 stitched there.  That is when it was started.  Four years...... WHAHOO!  But working with Weeks Dye Works colors Putty, Onyx, and Caper on 32 count hand-dyed linen - yummy!  It made it all worth it. 

And now, off to the framer I go......... 

HAPPY FALL FRIDAY,  EVERYONE!

Blessing on your day ~ Shanda

~It Just came in the Mail!~

 It was just delivered!  Maggie Bonanomi, rug hooking extraordinaire, recommended I get a Hartman Hook and I am so glad I did!  I ordered it last week and it just arrived!  Now I can finish up some hooked rugs.  I am so very blessed to have a community of great women around me. I admire Maggie's work, talent, and designs!

And I harvested some lavender this morning...



And these colors are for my next unfinished treasure - I know it is gonna rock...... but can't say much other than that 'cause it is a Christmas present. (Shhhhhh....... she reads my blog.)


How is your Fall day going?  Make it a good one!

Blessings ~

Shanda

~Tis a Wee Halloween Finish to Celebrate the Beginning of Fall!~

I have to admit a fault I have.......shhh.  I have MANY unfinished projects.  I know I am the only one of my kind.  No one else starts something and then lets it sit for days, months, even YEARS, on end.  There is not one other person on this planet that has this claim to fame - I have so many unfinished projects, that when I get one old project out, my kids think I started and finished something new!  Anyway, uhmm, this one was started in 2005.  Seven years ago.  Shhhh..... Yep no one else can say they are my equal!  The pattern is 'Jack Be Nimble' from Lori Brechlin at Notforgotten Farm.  I LOVE IT!   I should have finished it 7 years ago!

Now on to something I started in 2007.......

Blessings,

Shanda

~Tis a Time to Be Diligent~

Diligence: constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.

I have so many things, BIG THINGS, going on in my life right now, that I am afraid to make decisions, for fear I will make a wrong one.  I don't have the luxury of taking my time with any particular one.  Some times life for each of us happens slow, and that makes us impatient.  Other times, life happens so fast, that we can't take time to make sure it is the right path to take.  The things I have happening are not necessarily self-inflicted, but I want to make them a happy ending.  

I can't control how fast things happen, but I can show diligence in making decisions.  I want to be an example of good decision making under pressure.  Just as piecing all the tiny pieces of fabric together in a planned pattern to make the top of a quilt, so to does life happen as we make good decisions.  It may have taken me years to piece a quilt of only working on it once a month or every Friday Night when my kids were out on a date and I stayed up to wait for them to come home, but I have the memory of making that quilt and I put thought into its design.  Plus, fabric pieces can be arranged in a multitude of patterns to make different quilt tops.  Five-inch squares are all 5 inches square, but if you put all the dark colors in the middle and light colors on the outside, you can create a bouquet of wildflowers!