Doll Spread

A spread of Indian Head for Dolly's Bed

Happy Friday!

It's a nice cool morning and I've had one cup of coffee.  Am going to take a long walk this morning to get the blood working!  I've been working in the garden while it's been cool and haven't gotten much done as far as sewing but we have to take advantage of these lovely days before the heat wave rolls in (on Sunday).
Enjoy your day!

Little treasures

Being at home with Paddie hospice allows me the time to look at some of the little treasures I've accumulated this summer.  Like this sunbonnet girl that the nice lady at the nursery gave me.  It's for planters and there is a stake attached to her foot.  Still I think she is charming and the only one in my sunbonnet collection.

This little beauty is a little card that has a thread picture on it.  I really love it in its primitive charm!  Love the birdhouse and the little girl and her cute outfit!

Paddie, 2007

Paddie is stable although she still has some nose bleeds now and then.  She seems to be comfortable and is eating us out of house and home (the steroid side effects include excessive appetite and thirst).  She is constantly looking for me when I am not around and only about 2-3 feet away from me at any given time. So far she is comfortable and lately seems to be sleeping a little better at night.  So Doggie Hospice continues.

Sunbonnet Wallhanging

Blogger's Quilt Festival!

Amy is sponsoring the blogger's quilt festival time! Today I can't find a photo of a quilt that I've made that I haven't posted already--so I am posting a photo of one my antique favorite Sue tops :) It was made by a local Pennsylvania quilter in the late 1920s/early 1930s. Enjoy!

Have a happy day!

Happy Mother's Day everyone! Happy Birthday to dear Martha, a wonderful quilter and blogging buddy! Have a joyful day!

Sunbonnets Finished!

Another for the finished box! A while ago, someone gave me these blocks that an elderly lady had started and abandoned. I redid most of the embroidery and pieced it as best I could (the blocks were all different sizes--a real challenge). Anyway, I like the dear sunbonnets on the quilt. I thought about adding yo-yos at the intersections of the sashing but my spice quilters group voted a strong NO so it is done...

Happy Saturday!

As for me, I'll be in the garden...

and I won't be looking like this:

Happy New Year: Moving Forward...

According to the Pennsylvania Dutch, one eats pork and sauerkraut and mashed potatoes on New Years Day for good luck. My mother always said that she heard a pig moves forward with his nose, while a chicken scratches backwards. All I know is that I get to eat pork and sauerkraut today with my brothers and son!!!!
Hope the new year brings you peace, happiness and all the joy you can embrace

Cleaning up!

Is it me or does there just seem to be a mountain of laundry after the holidays? Between the linens and the cleaning rags and the clothes--it seems I am doing laundry every day this week.
Christmas clean up will continue later. Today I hope to be taking my granddaughter and Aunt and nephew on a road trip!

The Dog Days Of Summer:

They're here! The dog days of summer have finally arrived. I can't complain, this summer has been a menopausal woman's dream, with temps not hitting over 90 since before June. Still, despite our low temps the humidity has crept in and is now at 95%!!!

Too humid to play outside which suits us fine. Teddy's hip has been bothering him and I think he needs a quiet week indoors. I'm about to cancel the grooming appointment he and Seamus had later this week until he is feeling a bit more himself (or the pain meds ease his discomfort). Ted is smiling in this pic because he likes the Irish music I have on the cd player now :)

To be honest, I don't mind these dog days, they are like snow days in midwinter. I'll get things done indoors like attack this huge pile of Sunbonnet Sue patterns. I'll probably get some sewing done as well and clean up the house a bit. What are you doing this week? Stay well and cool!

It's a rainy day!

It's going to rain.
The (pre-fence) yard work was caught up last evening.
I cleaned the house yesterday before the kids came.
All I need is to put dinner in the crock pot.....

Today I am sewing.

ROAD TRIP!!!!

Today is a quilt road trip day and I am ever so delighted to get out of the house and view some beautiful antique quilts!!! Yippppeeeee :)

This just in.........

We heard from our son tonight and it looks like another grandbaby is on the horizon!!!!!!!!!! YEHHHHHH, not sure when yet thought it appears to be in November or December. Helena is ecstatic and gave my hubby a thorough discussion this evening on how one can tell if a baby is a boy or a girl :)
She also is in love with a cartoon called Sonic the Hedgehog....been in love with Sonic for a while and has told me solemnly how she intends to marry him when she grows up. So Nik told us tonight that the one catch is that if the baby is a boy, Helena wants to name him Sonic :D
So good news tonight! Yehhhhhh more babies~!

Ginger Waffle recipe--delish!

Ginger Waffles

Serves: 8 (makes about 11 or 12 waffles, depending on your iron)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Steps:
1. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices.
2. Seperate eggs. In a bowl, beat the egg yolks, add the milk and then oil. Add the sifted dry ingredients. Do NOT overmix.
3. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites to a thick foam and add them gently to the preparation. Your batter is ready. Cook your waffles following the instructions of appliance.
4. Serve waffles hot, immediately after cooking. A lemon sauce would be wonderful with this although I just used plain old maple syrup today!

Here is home....

I've been working on two projects this week. One is the cupcake ensemble for Helena: today I finished embellishing the quilt top wall hanging, pillows, and placemat, tomorrow I hope to do the quilting. Her birthday is on the 9th and I

would like to give her this beforehand so her cupcakes can be in her room for her birthday.

The second project has been to begin to review the mountain of information, photos, patterns, quilt blocks, etc. I 've collected about Sunbonnet Sue quilt patterns. This is a huge project and it has been a little daunting to even assemble the information in some kind of order. It is far from finished and part of the reason is because I just don't know where in the house to set up shop.

The house is a mess. The dogs and their people (us) keep tracking in mud and salt. I haven't cleaned up the salt because it gets so cold at night and freezes the slate path up to our house. I was coping when the days were grey and dreary but today we had full sunshine and the light just vibrated the dullness and dustiness throughout the house. We are only nearing the end of January and I am beginning to wonder if anything will be left in the garden after the dogs are done ripping through the gardens.

I guess I could lament about this, or I could stop my other work and clean for a few weeks but instead, I am thinking of some things I have been reading in magazines lately. One woman said when interviewed about her house said she didn't want it perfect, she just wanted it to be comfortable. Another woman said of her cottage that when people come over, she tells them not to worry about things that get nicked because "that's the look we want." There is something to be said for just actually living in your home.

Don't get me wrong, I still want to declutter the house, but ebay sales are down, yard sales aren't a reality til the spring and it's time to study sunbonnet babies, twins, and sues. Speaking of Sues, I posted pics of one of my quilts. ;)

"Here is home. An old thread, long tangled, comes straight again..." Marjorie Keenan Rawlings

Food Glorious Food!

It's icy in the great northeast and tonight we had french onion soup for dinner with roast beef sandwiches for dinner. I like cooking when DH is home and I like not cooking when he is traveling. I am sharing dinner notes with you because I found a nice recipe online for a spread you put on the sandwiches:
3/4 cup good mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1/2 teaspoon white prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons sour cream

pinch kosher salt

This was actually really good (I'm not big on horseradish normally) and really made the sandwiches special. And while I am sharing recipes...here is Linda's Spinach Pie recipe. Since spinach is a no no for me (because of kidney stones), I substituted chopped broccoli this week. I prefer a really sharp cheddar as well:

Spinach Pie
Box Frozen Spinach, Thawed and drained
4 eggs
6 T flour
8 oz grated cheddar cheese
2 C Cottage Cheese
Paprika

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix flour and Eggs.
Add Cottage cheese, cheddar cheese and spinach. Spray a glass pie pan with Pam. Pour mixture into pan and sprinkle with paprika (we like a lot of paprika). Bake 1 hour at 350.

Be kind, do good work and hug each other often!

Christmas is Officially Over!

Christmas 2008 is officially over: packed up and out of sight until November 2009! Today I finished taking the tree down and packing up the ornaments. I later took a walk at the flea market up the street because I just needed to get out. DH was working on a fishing rod rack in the basement and Teddy wouldn't stop barking every time Brad used the saw. So dogs went into the crate for an hour and I walked around the flea market before going for the week's groceries. (see above pics for linens from the flea market). I wasn't looking for anything in particular but I like tinted linens (the parrot) and of course the little Overall Sam sack was too cute to pass up. Things were reasonable too (for my cheapo purchases, 75 cents is so my style).

Tomorrow morning I'll do the cleaning and then start the 2009 work. Right now I am working on a list that I have broken down to two areas: the long list (long term goals) and the short list (broken down by weeks). The problem isn't all that needs to be completed but being realistic in my expectations.

I take Peter to the urologist tomorrow but he was already saying today that he was feeling better enough to drive himself. It is up and down with him right now, he still experiences painful outbreaks from the stones.

Tonight I am just tired so I am just going to work on my list.

Be well, do good work and hug each other often!

3 Poodles and a Nana

Well I decided to go this route for crafts and sewing since my sewing pals all seem to have blogspot. I'll use the yahoo for DH whenever he is away.





I'm Mickie or as I am known to my darling granddaughter, "Nana". I live in eastern Pennsylvania and love to quilt, embroider, bake, garden and collect old quilts and quilt patterns. I am particularly fond of sunbonnet sue patterns because after having all brothers and all sons, girls are a welcome addition to my world :)





I live with my DH and three standard poodles (the big poodles): Paddie (a girldog), Teddy and our big ol' baby, Seamus. Four years ago when our granddaughter was born, I left my job as a college administrator to spend more time at home with my family. Both of our sons are grown and moved on in their lives, one married (Helena's Daddy) and one is out of college and found the right girl.

This past year, I began a different journey after caring for my sick husband for two years. I am now studying to become a quilt appraiser and doing all sorts of research on quilting and specific antique quilts and patterns. This is going to be next career now that Helena is getting ready for Kindergarten next year and my husband has recovered as much as he will from his fall.





Each day is a gift and I have many blessings in my world, including my family and many, MANY wonderful friends.