A Quilter's Dream

Here in our neck of the woods yesterday was the first day of school.  Yiippeee!!! Woot Woot!!!! Happy Dance!!!!  Oh sorry I got off track a little.  Don't get me wrong I love having my kids home in the summer, but there comes a point where he gets bored and needs to go back.  OK OK I NEED him to go back. LOL.  Anyway, I was planning on catching up with housework, which I did, but needed to run a couple errands myself.  My daughter was suppose to work but they called her off.  I was hoping for several alone hours, but that didn't happen.  So, I had to do a couple things at work and decided then to hit up the local Goodwill and craft store to celebrate the first day of school.

I won't bore you with what I got at the craft store, BUT will gloat  tell about my Goodwill finds. LOL.  I haven't been to this particular store in awhile.  It is only about 20 minutes away, but that is 20 minutes I could be working on crafting or housework.  So, since I was in town I stopped and boy am I glad I did!  I hit the motherload of all motherloads of good stuff.  I know in this store there are certain hot spots for me.  I go to that section first!  In this particular store it is the domestics.  One time I happen to be there when JoAnn Fabrics had donated a ton of fabric and I snatched it up!

At first I didn't see anything good and was starting to get a little down when what did I see....


Beautiful pieced quilt squares!!!!!



I have 2 of each of the above squares.  They are pieced beautifully.

 

Again awesome!!!!!

 

 

Not my favorite colors but....  I can work my magic.

 

Beautiful fall colored huge 9 patch squares.

 

 

And who can pass up fabric.  I just love the eagle fabric.

 



 

 

Last but not least... I will work my magic on the cheese box by painting it.  As for the heart pan I can see a huge wax heart in the near future.

 

It has certainly been awhile since I shared Goodwill finds with you because most times I find nothing.  I haven't been buying like I used to since I no longer have my booth to stock.  Which is a very good thing because I was getting to be a hoarder.  Oh I'm still a hoarder just not as bad ;-).  LOL.

 

 

Until next time... have a great day!!!!



 

 

 

 

 



Leather Britches Tutorial

Many of you know I like using all sorts of drieds in my home decorating.  First of all, it is pretty cheap to do.  Secondly, it is really easy to do.  You can go on a walk in your neighborhood or the nearest park and find all types of seeds or berries to dry.  Yeah you may look like you are picking up dog poop with your little Walmart bag in someone's front yard, but who cares right?  I don't have a dog so I always look really weird. LOL.  Anyway, most times homeowners will willingly let you pick their yards clean of nuts and pods.

In my kitchen I like the looks of dried fruits or veggies and of course garlic.  The other day one of my friends from work brought me in a load of veggies from her garden because she had an overabundance.  I know I probably should have canned some, but there was not that many.  PLUS I am the only one here at this home who eats all types of veggies.  I have added yet another veggie hater who shall remain nameless "RICHARD". ugggghhhh  I was so busy last week I didn't have time to cook up these awesome green beans.  The week before school starts is so hectic along with working.  Anyway, so I decided to make myself some leather britches. 

I have no idea where the name came from but basically back in the day this was a way to preserve green beans for later use before canning came along.  There are many ways to do this if you are actually going to use them.  I have no intentions of rehydrating these and using them.  These are for decorative purposes only. So, it really doesn't matter if they are historically correct.

First you need some green beans.  I didn't bother washing them.  Why?  Basically because I was lazy.  I was in the middle of cleaning my kitchen this morning when my ADD kicked in and said let's do a little crafting.  It helped clear off my counter so it's all good. LOL

 

Next get a darning needle and strong thread.  I used black crochet thread.  Make sure the eye is big enough for your thread.

 

 

Now start threading your beans.  I put my needle through the middle of the pod.

 

 

Keep threading your beans keeping them as close as possible.  The beans will shrink as they dry and are hard to push together at that point.

 

 

When I was done threading my beans I centered them on my string and tied a knot at one of the ends so the beans wouldn't slide off approx. 6"-7" from the end of the thread.  I also tied a loop so that I could hang it from pegs down the line.  Then I made another loop at the other end to hang them from to dry.

 

 

 

There you have it.  Leather Britches... Don't these look fantastic hanging.  I have heard conflicting ideas whether to dry them in the sun or not so I'm going to not dry them in the sun.  I guess we will see how they turn out.

 

Have a great day everyone!

 

 

Idle Hands

Remember in my last post I said I was working on a special project?  I was working on this olde gal.  It is really a mini me doll lol.  I have a mole just like her only on the opposite cheek.  I haven't made a doll in ages so this was fun to do.  I don't normally make witches as I don't necessarily decorate for Halloween, but for some reason she wanted to make an appearance. Have I ever told you I hate painting faces?  Well, I do!  Uggghhh... I have decided to offer my witch at $27, but they will be made to order and the dress can be made in any color.  Make sure you email me if you are interested.

 

I have since coffee stained her to prim perfection.  I will try to get a better picture tonight.

I also started a new punch needle project from a free pattern I found online here.  I wanted to do a fall project and thought this was sort of cute.  Remember, I am still pretty new to this punch needle thing so there are some areas I need to go back and fix.  But, this is where I am so far...

It isn't this bright in real life but I wanted you to be able to see it better so I used a flash.  Cute isn't it?  I hope I can work on it a bit more tonight since "Richard" is spending time with his son and Mom.  

Well, my friends I am off and running again with my son, but I thought I would stop in and let you know what I'm up to.  Have a great day :-)

Mary Wetmore Sampler

I have always LOVED coffee.  I can remember my Dad using a percolator coffee pot when I was younger to make his.  He would fix me a cup of it and would put maple flavoring in it for me.  mmmmmm... I can remember that taste.  I'm not sure my Mom always knew he was giving my sister and I coffee at such a young age, but she never said anything. LOL.  From that point on I was addicted  hooked. :-)  I especially love flavored coffees.  I don't have the money to go to a coffee shop everyday so I make mine here at the homestead and take it with me.  "Richard" works for a very well known coffee brand and brings me bags of coffee or Kcups constantly.  I know you are jealous, but he is taken and he doesn't have a brother. LOL.  Anyway,  I got home from work last night to see this sitting on my counter.

OK, I have never seen this coffee before. The question is WHY? Look at the flavor... Banana Bread Bliss. Seriously, there is no way this can't be good.  So, this morning after taking my son to soccer practice I came home and made my pot.  Ummmm... hello.... this stuff is AWESOME!!!! It is so smooth and yummy especially if you add vanilla creamer like I did.  Holy Moley I'm in heaven.  I really think "Richard" is a keeper if he is going to bring this kind of joy in my life. LOL.  So, this product name "Life is Good" is VERY true this morning!

Alright alright... You want to see what I've been up to.  Well, I saw a sampler in an antique shop many months ago with quite a hefty price on it that I dearly loved.  You all know how much I love true looking samplers.  The alphabets and borders just draw me in as do the mistakes made by the original sticher.  This one was no exception. I tried my best to duplicate some of the details/ mistakes I remember.   I wish I had stitched it on smaller count linen but this is what I had on hand.  It ended up being quite large.  I started this one months ago, but would put it down then pick it up when I wasn't doing other things.  I finally finished yesterday at work.  I LOVE how it turned out!  I need to search my picture frames to see if I have one big enough.  If not I will need to make a trip to the Goodwill. I haven't pressed it yet, but wanted to show you anyway. This will end up in my bedroom when I'm done.

There will be no pattern made for this beauty since I do not own the original. 

I also stitched up a free pattern for a shop hop here in Ohio in the month of October that I agreed to design for it.  I am not allowed to show it yet until all the shop keepers have received their patterns. It is a cute prim pattern for fall.  I am hoping to start crafting again as it is truly my passion.  "Richard" and I have discussed it and even though he is not creative like me he understands it feeds my soul.  It is what is important to me.  And... the best part is he loved football.  And what does that have to do with me you ask.  That means I can craft all weekend long while he is glued to the TV. Yiippeeee!!!! We will both be happy. LOL. 

I am working on a secret project as we speak and am hoping to find a nice fall punchneedle pattern to  also.  But if not I will design one. LOL.  Have a great weekend!

A Night Away Part 2

There was a little bit of information Richard didn't share about the hotel until last night while we were talking about my post after I read it to him.  He of course loves that I have referred to him as Richard Gere. Go figure! Though he says he is not a billionaire and he does not own the company he works for. LOL. OK a few tidbits I left out because HE left them out.  Richard was also impressed that I made him look like a model like in the picture I posted.   The funniest thing is when he came to my house after work yesterday he had that exact outfit on. I kid you not!!!!  I wanted to take a pic of him just to show you but... he is not into pictures. LOL.  Though he is not quite the size of a model. LOL.  But neither am I.

Richard of course didn't want to share how much he was spending because he knows how thrifty I am with my money.  He revealed last night that when the guy told him the room cost $54.99 a night it should have been a tip off as to why there were still open rooms.  But NO!  LOL .  He also told me a little more about the hotel office.  This 1.5 star hotel had a pool.  Keyword is HAD.  He said the pool was closed and said it was "under construction."  My thoughts on that when he told me were 1. too many people were taking baths in there and they needed to take the P out of the ool.  I'm just saying.  Another explanation is that guys toilet that was overflowing... well, I'm hoping the plumbing was not connected to the pool.  Richard said "Could you imagine if the toilet water began to come up into the pool?" Uh no I'd rather not think about that at this time but I wouldn't doubt that it could happen in this hotel.  He then said the lobby looked like "Beirut." All I'm going to say is why did he spend 10-15 minutes in there?  That was 13-14 minutes to long!  As I was showing Richard where I found the hotel pictures on Google images I scrolled down and saw a mug shot of a guy.  Of course we were both intrigued and opened it up.  Here there was a guy who was busted by the police at this hotel in 2011 for providing drugs, alcohol, and soliciting sex from minors.  Yes my friends... Richard will not be booking any more hotels for me in the near future without my approval. LOL.

So where were we with the story... ahhhh yes it is almost "show" time and I am still in my comfy clothes and our hotel is 1 hr and 15 min away.  I know many of you are probably like me and would be nagging I mean asking how and where we would be getting ready for the evening.  First, as you read this story please know Richard has the same exact sarcastic sense of humor as I do.  He still can't believe God created a woman just like him in that sense.  We were still laughing so hard about the hotel story last night I just about peed my pants. This is important to know.  So as I was gently  nagging reminding him we both needed to get ready.  I NEED to have a mirror to put my make up on and room to change my clothes. 

Me:  " Honey we NEED to change our clothes and I need to put makeup on."
Richard:  "Yes, babe I know."
Me:  "I KNOW we are not going to McDonald's, oh wait, that isn't classy enough for you... Burger King to change clothes!"
Richard: "No babe we could go to the Cleveland Clinic and use their restrooms."
Me: " Like the hospital Cleveland Clinic? Uh no!"

In the meantime, Richard is showing me around downtown Cleveland.  Such beautiful architecture, restaurants, and shops. These are just some of the things I saw.

The new Horseshoe Casino in Cleveland

 

 

 This is the gorgeous chandelier that was just added in front of Playhouse Square over the street corner.  It is huge!!!!  It is beautiful lit up at night.

 

And of course Tower City which is a huge mall.  It is actually the rounded building in the front.  I even suggested changing our clothes there as Richard drove right on past. 

OK this is not funny Richard. Where are we going to change!?!?!?!? Next thing I know he is like dang I missed it.  I was like missed what? That parking garage. Why are we parking in downtown Cleveland with no place in sight to change my clothes???  Next thing I know he is pulling into another parking garage. 

Me: "Ummm Richard where are we going to change our clothes?"
Richard: "I'm sure there is a restroom in the basement of this garage."
Me: "WHAT?!?!!? You can't be serious??? I will NOT be changing clothes in a nasty restroom in the bottom of a nasty parking garage in the middle of Cleveland!" NO!!!! Not happening!!!! I know there are crazy people hanging out there waiting for me in there to come in." No, nada, not happening, forget it. I would rather change in the car than do that!"

Richard is now looking for a parking space in the garage.  There are plenty of spaces and he pulls in to one just beyond the cement posts holding up the garage.  It is on the corner where everyone coming into the garage can see through the front windshield then as they are turning the corner in the passenger side of the vehicle.  Richard and I are sitting there trying to decide what to. Time is ticking away until the show starts.  Luckily we are still full from lunch that we decided we would eat dinner after the show.  Finally, I looked at him and said "I don't know about you, but I am changing right here in the car."  The look of horror on his face was priceless!!! LOL I was like don't tell me you have never had to change clothes in a car.  He was like no way.  WHAAAAAT!?!?!? You can't be serious?!?!?!? Look at my face I am dead serious.  This is the safest place around.  He informed me he would not be standing outside the car putting his pants on.  LOL. OK do what you want, but I am changing here! Mind you we are still parked on the corner space with cars coming in and out of the garage.  I know he thought I was kidding.  I grabbed my bag out of the back of the car and got my clothes out.  He just sat there staring in disbelief.  This is where Mr. Planner oh and Mr. OCD, which I never told you about, was pushed to his limit.  I think he finally realized I wasn't kidding.  I am a master at changing without anyone seeing anything because my dress was a pullover my head one as I was sitting in the front seat.  He on the other hand is 6' tall and decided to try and change in the backseat.  LOL All I heard was grunts and complaints the entire time.  "I can't believe we are doing this." "This is really difficult." "Could you please move the driver seat forward. There is not enough room back here."  I swear he was worse than a little girl!  I will give him that he had pants and a button up shirt but come one he played sports in school and I know boys change on buses all the time. Sheesh!!! By the time he was finished complaining I was attempting to put my makeup on in the visor mirror that has 2 little 1 watt bulbs around the mirror.  I'm sure I looked like a clown by the end and had the big makeup line around my face, but I did it! LOL.  I am trying to put gel in my hair to tame the wild messy mane of mine and he is trying to tuck his shirt in.  I have never in my life seen a man obsessed about how his shirt is tucked in and if it looks evenly pulled out all the way around.  My goodness, you would have thought he was going to be on a modeling runway somewhere.  I jumped out the car straightened up my dress and was ready to go.  Viola!!!!! LOL.  The only thing I can say I am thankful about is that he is bald or otherwise we would have been there longer waiting on him to fix his hair!

We walked to 4th St.  This was the most amazing place I have ever gone.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  There were restaurants with outdoor dining, coffee shops, beautiful flowers... 

We enjoyed some frozen frappes at a coffee shop sitting outside on the street people watching until it was time for the "show."  He had gotten tickets to Hilarities comedy club.  We love to laugh and the acts surely did not disappoint.  I laughed so hard I though I would either pee my pants or puke.  OK the iced tea I was drinking didn't help in the peeing part.  My anxiety was doing ok until we went to leave the club when a bunch of people are trying to stampede up the steps which are only made for 2 people to walk up side by side.  I think Richard may have had a hand left.  He told me if I got anxious to grab his hand and boy did I.  Next was dinner.  We went to this great little Irish pub.

We sat outside in the cool clear evening and ate dinner.  There were about 3-4 bachelorette parties going on that night.  The conversations going on at the tables full of men around us were absolutely hilarious when they walked by.  Most of the men were married and were talking about their own woes at home. LOL.  Richard was over hearing them behind him.  Luckily I didn't hear it. LOL. The people watching was the best I've had in years.  We were making up stories to go with the people as they walked by.  Body language will tell you everything about someone. LOL. 

Of course we were both stuffed, but Richard told me we would not be leaving without hitting this place up.

The Chocolate Bar... No I was not there for their martini's but their cheesecake!  He said I would be mad if I went home without it.  So, he dragged me in kicking and screaming. OK I beat him in the door. Oh my word!!!! If you visit Cleveland you must stop here!  It was packed!!!! We ordered our cheesecake to go. It was getting late so we said goodbye to Cleveland and headed back to the infamous hotel.  LOL

Ah yes...this is more like a hotel!!!! LOL.  It was very clean and comfortable.  The best part was there was a Keurig in the room as well as a mini fridge for my turtle cheesecake. :-)  Now this is living!!!! I even got to hear the knock knock "housekeeping" in the morning just like in the movie "Tommy Boy"  LOL. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful.  The cheesecake was eaten for breakfast but shhhhh don't tell my kids. LOL.  You are suppose to eat a healthy breakfast each and every day.  We did eat lunch at a local Bob Evans.  Richard and I have on ongoing joke about our ages.  We are exactly 5 days apart.  Same year and everything.  The joke is he is dating a younger woman.  He told me he has dated older women in the past.  I joke with him that they must be cougars if they are dating him.  Next thing I know a lady dressed somewhat like this walked in to Bob Evans...

Ok she had jeans on that had a leopard print cuff turned up on the bottom but did have a shirt like this.  She was probably about 74 years old.  You can only imagine the conversation that ensued.  What a perfect ending to a perfect weekend! LOL

So there you have it my first weekend away.  Only me!!! It would be such an adventure.  Lots of laughs and very memorable.  Richard apologized a couple times that it didn't go as planned.  I told him I wouldn't have wanted it any other way!!!! I had an awesome time!!!! It would be something to remember forever.

A Night Away Part 1

As many of you know I am a single parent to 2 kids ages 19 and 15.  They have been my life for the past 5 1/2 years.  My daughter has been unable to stay by herself until recently due to her disabilities.  So, that means Mom doesn't get time away or time to herself.  Her Father isn't much help when it comes to her unfortunately.  So, after several years, this past weekend the man I'm now seeing and I decided to get away for one night.  He planned the whole thing out and didn't tell me what or where we were going.  I was sooooo excited!!!! 

Let me tell you a few things about each of us before we get started with this little post.  That way you can get some insight as to where this little adventure might go.

First of all... So the innocent may remain nameless for the time being imagine the movie "Pretty Woman."  OK I know you are all old enough to remember it.  Sheesh! You know Richard Gear and Julia Roberts... every girls dream movie. Yeah that one!!!!

Well, the man I am seeing is Richard Gere.  He works in an office where he wears his dress pants and polo shirts to work in the summer except Monday's where he must dress like this (without the tie) lol...  by the way he would really wear this lavender color.  Please keep in mind I  have NEVER dated or married anyone who has ever dressed like this other than for a funeral or wedding.  LOL  He is very into clothes and even worked at JcPenney's years ago in the men's department.  UGGGHHH trust me I thought the very same thing.

 

Now, me on the other hand, I am Julia Roberts not a hooker though LOL  OK I wish I was that beautiful!!! Anyway, I am nowhere in his league when it comes to fashion.  I have a fashion degree, but that's as close as we get.  When I am in uniform I look like this at work...

 

 



On my days off I dress like this... I really think every girl needs this sweatshirt by the way. LOL  OK I wear jeans too. But you get the idea.  Very casual comfy barefoot kind of girl.  I do own big girl dress up clothes but rarely pull them out.  LOL

 

 

 Are you starting to see where this may cause a slight issue when you are dating someone like Richard Gear? LOL 

 

For our little getaway I was told to pack some dressy clothes as well as comfy clothes for this trip.  Now I must tell you he is a planner.  Me on the other am a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl.   I know him pretty well and figured out we were going to Cleveland for the evening.  Small town girl in the big city EEEKKK!!!! He thrives in this kind of environment.  Me not so much.  I hate big city driving and big city crowds.  I'd rather pick up salt grain by grain off the floor than go to Cleveland!!! BUT I must step out of my comfort zone and try new things or so he says. What does he know anyway???

 

Saturday afternoon came and he came to pick me up.  He had told me to dress comfortably for the ride up and that we would have time to change later at the hotel for the evening.  I can do that.  I had my cut off jean shorts and a t shirt on with sandals.  It was lunch time so we stopped at Chick Fil A.  I know what you are thinking. Mary, we do not need play by play.  BUT what I wanted to say about this was this was my first time ever going to one and I LOVED it!  OK, happy, we are moving on. LOL

 

Please keep in mind we are going to CLEVELAND! There are thousands of hotels... OK hundreds maybe...lol.  Richard tells me he has been calling hotels for the past week trying to make reservations for us and everywhere is booked and he is not paying over $300 a night for a room.  Not so much Richard Gear there in that statement LOL. Anyway, he said he did find one hotel that did have rooms and told me where and the name of it.  I had to Google it to get directions and saw this...

 

 

Hmmmm.... that picture looks a little outdated.  Kind of grainy... right?  OK OK maybe they just haven't updated the picture.  Then I look and see 1.5 stars out of 5... I'm starting to get a little suspicious. 

 

Me: "Ummm... Richard did you know this hotel only has 1.5 stars?" 

Richard: "Honey, I wasn't looking at that when I called.  I was looking for a hotel with a room available."

Me: "OK well we will wait and see I guess."

Richard:" Now what exit are we suppose to get off?"

 

We get off the interstate and head to our preplanned destination which is about 20 minutes away from Cleveland.  No big deal.  As we pull into the driveway of the hotel we do not see the office right away so we drive around the building and this is what we see.

 

This too is a very old picture let me tell you!  This is not a picture I took.  I found it online!  The doors are now all painted poop brown and are dented in.  There are no screens on any windows.  They offer rooms for weekly rates (and I'm guessing hourly ones as well) LOL.  We see someone's humble abode with their door hanging open and a baby gate in the doorway.  I am not sure if it was to keep people in or other things out. LOLOLOL.  I look at Richard and am trying to be nice about not wanting to stay in this hotel.  The nicest thing I could come up with was "I am not staying here because I don't want bed bugs"  He said "Well, just hold on let me go in and check.  This hotel is the only one with rooms babe.  Besides look at the sign it says rooms have been remodeled."  Now when a man sits in the car and doesn't really want to get out himself there might be a problem.  Let me tell you about Richard he does have to travel with his job and is use to 5 star hotels that know his name before he even gets there and calls him "Mr. Gear", has a car waiting for him when he needs one, and orders room service. LOOK at this place!!!! not a 5 star by a long shot!!!! So Richard finally gets out of the car and heads to the office.  He is waiting in line about 10-15 minutes at the desk when a man comes running into the lobby screaming "I need a plunger my toilet is overflowing!" From what Richard said he wasted no time in heading right back out the door.  In the meantime, I have all doors locked and cell phone in hand hoping I don't get any roaches, bugs, or DNA on me that might come crawling out the door of one of the rooms. I was also looking up other hotels in the area that we would be checking out for cancellations.

 

The other places we checked were completely booked.  No room at the inn for Richard and Julia. :-(  Now what??? We pulled into the gas station for some gas and I looked at Richard and told him it was ok if we came back home.  It was getting to be 4-4:30 in the afternoon.  He said no way that we had tickets for a show at 6:15.  WHAAAAAAT?!?!?!? a show???? First of all I still need to change and put make up on. Second, we have no hotel to do this.  Alright Mr. Planner you had better have a great plan!!!! "Hey babe could you google some hotels in the area and call and see if they rooms?" he says.  What?!?!!? this is your plan is to start calling hotels "nearby" and try to find some place when I have to be ready less than 2 hours.  You can't be serious????  Let me tell you he was!  I called and he called and nothing!  We were bound and determined we were not going home to sleep.  We wanted to have a full night out.  He is so romantic right??? Let me tell you where we finally found a room.  We found a room in a hotel in the same city he lives in!  Yes you heard me right, which is only 15 minutes away from my house.  Let me let you in on a little secret.  This hotel is 1hr and 15 minutes away from Cleveland!!!! There is no going to this hotel to change my clothes before the "show" because it is now going on 5pm.  I am sitting quietly in the passenger seat as he is giving his information to the girl on the phone to make the reservations.  I am sure when he gave her is address she stopped and wondered why he was giving an address in the same city.  Maybe it is just me, but wouldn't you think if you were the girl on the other end of the phone you might think that he might be having an affair?   I know my brain works weird but that popped into my head!  UGGGHHH I even work in that city!!!! Let's clear the air here.  We are both divorced!!! LOL I know you were going to ask.  The thing about this is when he travels with work there is a travel department who makes all reservations and arrangements for him.  He never has to do it. I have a feeling I won't let him do it again for us either. LOL

 

Sorry this was such a long post.  Can you see this one night away is going to be fun?!?!?! LOLOLOL.  I will save the rest of my evening for tomorrow.  I want you to digest and savor this part until then.