"Meet Ginger"

Ok, well I wanted to share with all of you "Ginger". She is the cat Nerm knitted for me. I know you probably can't experience her in all her glory through these pictures but let me tell you, she really is wonderful.

I found and bought the pattern and begged mom to make her for me. I can knit but only in a straight line, haha. My mom is obviously a very skilled knitter. I have since then found other projects I wanted her to knit but Ginger was not so easy, even for the most experienced knitter so I don't think she is very anxious. Nerm said that there would be no more projects as complicated as Ginger. We laugh about it all the time though and how tricky Ginger turned out to be. She is super soft and feels almost like a baby blanket, which makes it great to love her but not so great when you have to use that kind of fine yarn. No one can believe that she is knitted and handmade because she really does look like an animal you would buy at a store.

Anyway, she is my very favorite and I keep her on top of the bed in my guest bedroom so she stays put. I can't wait to pass her on to my own kids, whenever I should have some. Thanks Nerm! --Kitty

FIRED UP!!!

I had several errands to run today of the boring variety, so I thought I'd make it worth my while and went by a quilt shop I had never been in before. Oh, boy, aren't I glad I did! They were having a sale and I reasoned that I deserved a few more yards of fabric. After all it's always for a project for someone else, so why not? This great fabric here (by Michael Miller) is for a darling quilt I'm going to make for Morgan (2 yrs old). Just ordered the pattern from Sandy Berry at her Etsy shop. Don't know if you can tell, but it's a leafy green w/chocolate background.
Sweet. Can't wait to get the pattern.





Then there was this Amy Butler fabric on sale for 50% off! Can you believe it? I'm making Mekenzie (10 yrs. old) a Twirly Skirt from Erin's pattern here. The little round things are misc. fat quarters which were $1.00 ea.-buy 12, get one free. So you KNOW I did that, right?

Must get busy-I will report back to you soon (I hope). Luv, Nerm

Easter Ramblings & Misc.

Our Easter day dawned sunny, but cold and windy. After all the church services, the family converged over here for the Feast and Egg Hunt. Everyone was happy and warm feelings with thankful hearts prevailed. Unfortunately, the decor didn't match the mood. I certainly can't match Elizabeth's efforts. Can't have it all, huh? In the process of recarpeting the living room, the dining room has all the overflow. The table was stacked high with knickknacks, books, etc. So no formal dinner for us. I did put tablecloths on the card tables, however, and a bunny or two. The kids' table's cloth got tangled around Tanner's feet and nearly pulled off in the floor! Next we'll be recarpeting the bonus room!--just kidding. I'm going for hardwood floors.

Here are my babes after the hunt-aren't they cute?

Now that life is back to "normal" (whatever that is), I am DETERMINED to finish this craft/sewing room clean up. I have so much to do and I have to get some organization in order to do it. Wish me luck and godspeed. I will report later. Nerm

HOME EC 101

Have you ever had what you thought was a great idea and then the end project was not at all what you envisioned? As I mentioned several posts ago, I am trying to clean out my fabric and organize my sewing space. I ran across this cute teapot print from LONG ago. I love tea, teapots and I drink ALOT of tea-hot and cold. I bought this and put it in the abyss for later. Lately I have noticed a couple of blogs doing potholders (sorry-can't remember which ones). I saw this print and the lightbulb went off! Potholder!
I got a contrasting background fabric, the good ole wunder under and some batting for heat protection. It was fun to cut out the teapots and apply them to the background. I even made my own bias binding. We-l-l-l, let me tell ya what...it looked like I was in 7th grade Home Ec class! Humiliating to say the least. I have sewn for years and years; quilted; made coats and tons of clothes for my girls; drapes, rufflely curtains, etc. All this to say, I will NOT be making any more of these for Etsy. ha ha. Here's the final project:

Oh, well. Hope you love me anyway. Here's wishing everyone has a blessed and great Easter weekend. Nerm

Remembering Paris, Again...

Well I have been doing a little spring cleaning and going through all my photos from our recent trip to Europe. I am determined to get my scrapbook done. I can't wait to go back. I look at each one and remember where we were at that moment. I love remembering through pictures because sometimes I think the memories are actually better than the real thing. You can have them forever and hold them dear to your heart. The pictures above are of my favorite pastries from Laduree, my favorite place in Paris to get pastries. It is very well known and as silly as it may sound, it is so beautiful to see all the pastries lined up ready to be bought. Believe me, they all get bought too! I have always been a sucker for pretty packaging and this place doesn't miss a beat. Wish I could get the pastries shipped here. Oh well, I will have to wait 'til next time.

Happy Birthday, Madison

Here is my precious little granddaughter, Madison, who celebrated her 6th birthday with the family on Saturday. Our familiy has a big get-together for every occasion and this was no exception. Grampie & I had taken her out to lunch, then just she and I went shopping! You gotta train 'em early. However, there was no problem here. This girl LOVES clothes. Between me and her mom, Maddie got 3 pairs of shoes all pink! It was a Hello Kitty affair-should have taken the top off the cake, but you get the idea.











Here is Madison with her little cousin, Morgan, who incidentally, is wearing a sweater that moi made her. She's a cutie too.

And one more little cousin, Tanner, age 4, enjoying the fun.

All that's missing is Maddie's sister, Mekenzie,, who wasn't in any of the closeups. Next time, Kenzie! That's all for now, folks. Enjoy this great spring weather. Nerm

Vive Olivia!

Do we have any Olivia fans out there? Surely you know Olivia? She's a very special porcine young lady with very definite ideas. I made this quilt for my 5 yr old granddaughter, Madison, in honor of her birthday tomorrow. She'll be six yrs old & I can't believe it. I hate my grand-babies to grow up. Anyway, the quilt is no big deal because it's just a panel I machine quilted and backed with a small Olivia print.

But here's the cute part, I took the leftover Olivia print and coordinating fabrics, and made a little purse for Maddie. I trimmed it with rickrack (love that stuff) and sewed a big ole button on it for closure. Pardon me for saying so, but it's cute, cute.
Tomorrow we have the BIG party with a pinata. Now that will be fun. Hope to have some good pics of that to share. Have a great weekend. Nerm

Well, I was looking through some of my recent photographs from our trip to Europe and thought I would share a couple of them with you all. These two above are from the little town of Eze, France. I thought the colors the of handmade soaps were so brilliant, I told my husband they looked good enough to eat. The second picture was a booth set up next to the soap, where a young man was selling herbs all grown locally. Not only did it look amazing but the smell was even more glorious. My husband being Italian and quite the chef, of course loaded up on the herbs. We cook with them all the time and yes, they really are amazing. It's things like this that make me miss Europe soooo much. I wish I could go every year for a couple of months. -Kitty

My New Favorite Toy

Just wanted to share my favorite new addition to my kitchen. It is my new coffee maker and it makes fresh brewed coffee in about 30 seconds. It is so much fun. It can also brew hot tea and hot chocolate. For anyone that hasn't seen these, they use little cups that you put in the top and voila, you have a fresh cup of java!

It's also perfect for company because everyone can select what flovor coffee they want or if they prefer tea. It is delicious and there's no mess! Love, Kitty

SPRING THAW!

This is what happens when the frost melts and the grass hasn't grown yet and the dog goes out to visit nature. What is supposed to be a pedigreed Shih Tzu becomes a rescue dog! Poor Smoocher-it's back to the groomer for you, buddy!

Actually this picture doesn't do him justice, but you get the idea. Just thought this was so cute, I had to share. Hope your day is as pretty as mine. Bye for now. Nerm

IT FINALLY SNOWED!

From Nerm:
Well, it finally snowed here in Nashville! We were all so excited! Here are my two precious granddaughters, Mekenzie and Madison, playing in their yard. This is their snowman. I'm not sure exactly what the nose & mouth is made of, but it looks good, don't ya think? Here are Maddie and Mekenzie (rt) all bundled up and having a great time together.

Here's the sad part: It started melting during the night and by the next day, the sun came out and it was gone! The streets were dry and it was back to normal. But we sure enjoyed it while it lasted. (northern friends, forgive our enthusiasm).

Today it was 60 degrees here. Talk about weird weather patterns. You just get your chili made and settle down with your hot chocolate, when it's time to break out the iced tea. Good grief!

See ya next time. Nerm

"Meet Polly"

Kitty Says,

This is Polly and I just finished her today. I hope these pictures came out okay for everyone to see, sorry if they look a little blurry. I will be putting Polly on our Etsy account hopefully by the end of the night. Hope everyone is doing great out there. Here in Nashville, it is actually snowing!!! They are saying we might get 5 inches.

I can't believe it because earlier this week it was sunny and 60 degrees. I am supposed to meet my best friend for a sushi lunch tomorrow but now I am wondering if that's going to happen. Since we hardly ever get snow it causes everyone here to drive terrible so sometimes it's just best to stay at home then get out with all the crazy people.

I guess most of you saw the pictures from Nerm of her new cat MITZY. A year ago, Nerm knitted me a big cat. I named her Ginger and I love her so much. I have a picture of her and will post it just so you can all see. My mom says Ginger was awful to make because it took forever but she is soooo cute and the best stuffed animal I have.

Meet Mitzy

Hope everyone is fine tonight. I finally finished knitting my kitty. I named her Mitzy and I know she is just a little different, but I hope you all are open-minded and non-judgmental. ha

I will put her on Etsy as soon as I can figure out how that works. I am really advancing in this technical stuff. Never thought I had it in me!

I love knitting and crocheting animals. I have made many for my grandchildren (much better than this ). I've done an alligator, bunnies, cats, bears, a monkey and more. Fun, fun.

My reorganization in the "sewing" room is going great guns. I might even take a photo to share with you when I'm done. I will be so proud! Have a good night.

A Quick Note

Sorry folks, we've been slackin' for a couple of days. Kitty is painting her heart out and I'm trying to finish knitting a kittycat to put on Etsy. He's looking a little funny-but then maybe someone will take pity on him and give him a home. I'll show a pic of him tomorrow and you can have a good laugh.
ALSO---(drum roll) I have completely emptied the closet in the sewing/craft room to sort thru ALL my fabric. Yikes. It was fun tho' b/c I found curtain fabric from all our old houses, scraps from dresses I made my girls when they were little. (I don't throw any fabric away-ever). It was a walk down memory lane. Also re-found old quilt squares & fabrics from grandmothers and even a great-grandmother. Our fabric has sure improved.
So, I will have photos tomorrow and hopefully can report on an organized closet. Nighty-night.

A Special Treat

Yum. Yum. Yum. Soooo good!!!

Well, Tom and I were watching Paula Dean on the Food Network and she was making a pie on her show, so me trying to be a good wife made him a home made lemon meringue pie. Sadly, it was raining outside though so the meringue didn't get as big as I wanted it to. It turned out wonderful though. I actually make these pies often because they are a favorite in my family.

We ended up grilling out steaks for dinner and had the pie for desert. What more could we ask for? HAHA

HAPPY MARCH!

It was a beautiful day today. Sunny and 60's. Spring is in the air. Altho' there is a threat of snow Tuesday nite, but we've heard that before (like last week). So Big Tom & Tomkat went to a lawn & garden show and Kitty, Amy (middle daughter) and I went antique shopping. Kitty bought a great old hoosier syle cabinet with enamel counter top and even a screen-covered hole for air circulation. It was on sale for only $95.00! Wish I had taken a picture of it for you all. Here's what I got:



I have a collection of little china dogs and also old figurines. Most of them are small, but I fell in love with this lady. I don't dare bring any furniture home b/c my hubby would be very, very unhappy (mildly put!) We had lots of mother-daughters bonding time. A good time was had by all.


Tomorrow after mass, hubby & I must go out & buy a new clothes dryer. Boo! I was finishing up a load a couple of days ago & it wouldn't start. Big Tom tried to fix but it wasn't gonna happen. Snce it is twelve years old and the cost of repairman, parts & labor would be almost the same, we have opted for a new one. We should have gone today, but it was too pretty to do anything so mundane, don't you agree? Gee, I sure would rather spend all that money on fabric!

Have a great weekend, friends.