I'm coming back!  It has been over TWO YEARS since I have posted on my blog!!!  Oh dear!  Lots of things have happened in those two years.  I'll share this in future posts.

If you have followed my blog -- hopefully, there are a few of you left -- you know that I lost my husband unexpectantly four years ago.  I lost interest in quilting and pretty much everything I enjoyed.  I guess grief can just do that to ya!!!

Well, I'm back to quilting and reading --my two very favorite pastimes.  There is joy in life and I am going to make the best of it.  Not to say that I don't miss my hubby --that I DO!!  However, I'm learning that I DO NOT WANT TO DIE WHILE I'M STILL ALIVE!!  So, I'm picking up the pieces (literally ;) and getting on with life).

I've made a table runner, working on a few UFOs (have enough to last me a lifetime!  LOL), and even starting a new project.

I'm really excited to be back to quilting and blogging so please stay tuned to see what type of shenanigans I am up too.

Have a Blessed Evening!!!

MONday, FUNday

MONday, FUNday

Hey Ya'll!!!! I'm Baaaacccckkkkk!

I have been MIA for an entire year!!!!  I'm back, I'm back.  I hope my readers will come back!  When my husband died unexpectedly in April 2011, I simply 'lost interest' in everything.  I no longer wanted to read or quilt -- two of my favorite past-times.  There were even the lowest of times when I didn't even want to live. Time and spending time in God's Word are wonderful healers.  Am I healed?  Nope, but I'm so much better.  I want to live again.  After about 6 months or so after his death, I finally started reading again.  I did do 'some' quilting, but only things that I absolutely HAD to get done -- a gift, etc.  Now I want to quilt, sew, and blog!  I WANT to spend time out in my quilting studio that he helped me create and spent a lot of time with me.  There were many hours that I would be quilting and he would be in the studio with me watching sports or hunting shows.  He was my biggest cheerleader!  I am still heartbroken and feel like half of me is gone, but I am learning to smile again, laugh, and enjoy myself.  It is what he would want me to do.  

I'm ready to get back to sewing, blogging, swapping, creating, and maybe even buying some fabric....hehehehehehe!  

Technical Woes!

Mr. Ziggy and I went on a quilting retreat last weekend and had sew much fun. I have all these pictures to share with you......BUT......I'm having trouble uploading them! A few months back, I bought a new laptop -- a Mac Book Pro!!!! I'm still learning the operating system. I have download the pictures from my camera and they show up in an album in iPhotos. Then I go to blogger to upload pics and when I click "choose file", the pics don't show up!!!!!!!!!!

I have a sneaky feeling, it could be a 'short' between the chair and the computer!!! LOL!!!! SEW, to get to the moral of this story.....STAY TUNED! I really do have pics to share!!!!!

Texas Rangers & Quilting

YAY!!!! The Texas Rangers Baseball team has, once again, advanced to the World Series. How exciting this is for this Texas girl. It was bittersweet watching them win last night. I sit and stitched on binding on a quilt (pictures are forthcoming) that I had been commissioned to make. I kept looking over at my husband's chair, but he was not there.

We used to always watch the baseball games together. Of course, I would always be stitching on 'something' -- a quilt, hand embroidery, etc. It just wasn't the same without him with me. Loneliness is tough when you are used to doing things as a couple.

So the moral of this story is this: Go hug your loved ones; tell them you love them as you never know when it could be your last time.

Back to quilting. I think I may just be back to the quilting world!!!! After losing my husband, I had lost all interest in quilting. I didn't understand because quilting is my favorite thing to do!!! I've been reading books on becoming a widow and grief and I've learned this is normal -- yea, I'm finally normal!!! ;) I am finishing up a T-Shirt quilt made of Harley Davidson t-shirts. These shirts are from all over the U.S. After this quilt is finished, I'll be making another with t-shirts from around the world. Ya'll stay tuned for upcoming pictures.

SUPERWOMAN..........

I AM NOT........................I have finally resolved myself to this fact. I cannot do everything! Thank goodness I have a wonderful retired husband who cleans house and does laundry while I'm at work.

I have so many things I want to get done....so many quilts, BOMs, embroidery, etc.....so little time! LOL! I know, I know, I'm preaching to the choir. I think all quilters feel this way. I haven't posted on my blog in over a month, I'm trying to learn EQ6/7, a new digitizer program, I love to read, I love to decorate my house, and just everything else.

The last weekend of this month, I'm going to a Longarm Quilting Academy in Houston and am so excited about what I'm going to learn. Stay tuned....I really will try to post more often.

I've been busy!

I have been really busy doing some quilting.....Here is a Christmas table runner that I pieced a while back and I am just now getting it quilted.

Here is another look closer up.

This is another table runner that was also made a while back and is just now getting quilted. I pinned it up on the design wall to get the picture.

The following is a project I've been working on while watching TV. This free pattern is from Val Laird. She made a table runner, but I decided to make it into a small wall hanging. The hand embroidery is done in only four colors -- two shades of purple, yellow, and green. I have really come to enjoy hand embroidery -- great TV work!

Here are a couple of close-up shots at the blocks. They were so fun to stitch.

Here is a picture of my Bunny Hill BOM on the quilting machine. This was one of the funnest (yes! that is a word!) that I've made in a long time.

Here is a close-up of the November block -- isn't that squirrel cute???

This is a baby quilt that I put together recently and I have it loaded on the quilting machine. I decided to practice my feathers and they look like BUTT FEATHERS! Yep, I said butt feathers -- a new original design -- 'cause they look just like big ole butts! LOL

Well, I'm off for a girls' weekend with my sister-in-law and niece. They are going to scrapbook and I'm going to tack down bindings and do some hand embroidery. Ya'll all have a Blessed Weekend.

Catching Up!

Oh My! It has been 'a while' since I have posted!!! I need to do a little catching up. Here goes:

Our precious granddaughter, Camryn, spent the weekend and we spent some time out in the quilting studio. Here is Camryn:

Here she is with a completed project that we made for her Dad. It is going to be a Christmas present. She did all of the blanket stitching and helped with the finishing sewing.

The following is some frame quilted art -- the Texas Flag. This was a fun little project to make. The flag is 11x14 and was great fun to make. Somebody "may" be getting this little gift.

I participated in the apron swap "Hot for Chocolate". The following is the apron that I sent to my partner along with some 'chocolate goodies'. I can't reveal the name yet as I've not heard if she has received her package yet.

The following is the apron I received in the swap along with all the goodies. Cute apron and I really like it!

Here is a table runner that I made sometime back, but had never finished it. I finally got it quilted and now just have to add the binding.

A close-up picture.

Here's wishing each of you a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you have a great time with family and friends. I will be celebrating with my brother/sister-in-law and their four daughters and families. It should be a WILD THANKSGIVING!

Ja-no-me?

Did Ja no me got a new baby????? I did! I have a new Janome machine to sit with my Janome 10001 and keep him company! Now I can have one machine embroidering while I sew on the other. Here are my babies:

My Janome 10001 that I purchased at International Quilt Festival in Houston in 2004. I just LOVE this machine!

Here is my new baby, Janome Sew Precise. It is a good little machine and I plan to be really putting it to the test in the next week. I have been looking at the Janome Jem Platinum 760 and then I found this one. Since I really DID NOT need another machine, I went with the Sew Precise as it was about half the cost of the Jem. I have a Singer Featherweight and a Husqvarna Viking #1+ too, so you can see I didn't need another machine -- LOL -- but whoever said NEED had anything to do with WANT. LOL

It's About Time.........

It's about time....that I got back to blogging. Life has not been the greatest at my house. Some of you know that my husband mysteriously contracted a staph infection (MRSA) in his knee joint and muscles of his leg. It has been a long haul, but we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. After three surgeries, LOTS of physical therapy (and PT continues), he is SO MUCH BETTER. He can drive now and isn't near as dependent on me. It was/is a joy for me to be my hubby's nurse as he is definitely my best friend. Working full time and then coming home and taking care of hubby, taking care of the house, laundry, etc. has been very demanding. I've hardly done any sewing and it's quite obvious I've not done any blogging. Why, it has been 6 weeks since I last posted. In fact, the last time I posted was on September 11th, the day he came home after a 16-day hospital stay.

I have missed all of you!!! I've not been visiting blogs or posting what I've been doing. Well, we now have a "new normal" and life is getting better. I will be posting more and sharing more of my activities. I will be going on a retreat in about a week -- oh, how I need one! SEW, ya'll all stay tuned as the Humble Quilter is 'COMING ALIVE'.

We Will Never Forget!

It's About Time!

It's about time that I posted on my blog! I have been absent and neglectful of my blog, but I do have some good reasons....heheheheh. Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I had some major storm damage to my home. That is finally all repair and things are back to normal. Another thing that has me occupied is FACEBOOK. I checked it out and got completely 'consumed'. I have become addicted to the game FarmTown. It has seriously cut into my sewing time! Now my DS and DIL are here visiting before moving over to Germany so time is still limited. Speaking of Father Time, if any of you know where I can get more than 24 hours per day, please let me know. I sure could use some extra -- LOL! I

Have a wonderful Saturday.

This 'n That and a Few Pics

Just thought I would give a quick update from my world. Just been busy around the house. The installation of our new roof began today. YEA! Once the roof is complete, they will beginning take out the rest of the ceilings in 2 bedrooms and putting in new ceilings. In the meantime, we have to move EVERYTHING OUT of the rooms, including anything on the walls! This is really going to be a mess.

DH and I recently went to Virgina to visit our DS#2 and DIL. Here is a picture of their beautiful home in Williamsburg, VA. It is much bigger than it looks!

The flowers in their yard were just beautiful. I took lots of pics, but won't bore you with all of them.

We drove up to Luray, VA, and spent the weekend in a cabin in the Shennadoah Mountains. It was such a fun and peaceful weekend. DH and I both needed this. However, my DH was still on the phone dealing with the insurance company and contractors try to get our home repaired.
Here is a view from the balcony of our cabin. My DH and DS were fishing from the bank.

We took an 8-mile trip down the Shennandoah River in a canoe. I had never done this before and it was really fun.

We also went shopping, but I didn't find any quilt shops! Here is a picture of a Grandmothers Flower Garden quilt in an antique shop made out of yo-yo's that I thought was nice.

Here are some pretty vintage linens. I now wish I would have purchased these! I was trying to keep my puchases down so I wouldn't have to check a bag on the plane. I guess I could have mailed it! duh....We drove on Skyline drive which was very scenic and beautiful. This is a little shop we stopped at. Really cute and lots of quilts.

Check out this truck that was parked next to the shop. Cool, huh?

Just working at my full-time job, dealing with a messed up house, a limited amount of sewing, and a quick trip to visit our son and daughter-in-law. And that is what has been going on in my world.

t

....and the SOGGA continues..

and I mean SOGGY! Remember a couple of posts ago, I told you that the whole front of our metal roof had blown off? Well the sogga continues....We spent the weekend in Virginia visiting our DS and DIL. We returned home very late on Monday night -- well wee hours of Tuesday morning. We noticed the ceiling was water-stained. During the night Tuesday, the ceiling in this extra bedroom came tumbling down.......

And what a mess it made!!!! There was wet sheetrock and insulation EVERYWHERE! Thank goodness this is my son's old room and and we don't sleep in there.

It is all cleaned up now and thank goodness the contractor came out today and put plastic and boards all over and secured the roof as more rain is predicted. Now we hope the ceiling in the other bedroom doesn't come down as it is wet as well. I have been busy moving things out of the way and cleaning!!! The new metal has been ordered and the contract will begin installation on Saturday, weather permitting. We are also awaiting a bid from another contractor for the ceiling repair and re-installation of insulation.

I need some quality sewing time! Maybe this weekend!

I've been M.I.A.

Yep, I've been Missing in Action. I just realized I've not posted on my blog since April 5th!!! That's not good! I've really been busy at work; I was out for about 3 days to a conference and you know how it goes "when you play, you pay". LOL! May is "Older Americans Month" and in my business that means celebrate! I've been busy planning a luncheon for the County Seniors that will be held in May.

I have not done much sewing at all!!! I guess I've been in a bit of a slump and not much time. I did finish my Vintage Linens Apron for the swap -- I'll post a picture later. I've done some hand embroidery while watching TV with hubby, but that's really about it!

We had some really bad rain and wind in my part of Texas the last couple of days and we lost over half of our metal roof -- it's all in the back pasture! Thank goodness, no leaks as of yet as the metal was installed over an old composition roof. My quilting studio (which is a separate building) also had some damage on one corner, but thank goodness no leaking there either!

I hope you are all have a wonderful Blessed Sunday. The sun is shining at my house this morning!

My Week!

What a whirlwind week I have had! I went to a Meals on Wheels of Texas conference in New Braunfels, TX. It was a great conference and will be helpful to me in my job. Here is a picture of the inside of my "Sunday House" that I stayed in.

This a picture of the outside of the Sunday House.

The first night, we went to the Grist Mill Restaurant in Gruene, TX. The rest of the conference, meals were provided.

The Grist Mill is located next to Gruene Hall -- the oldest dance hall in Texas. I've been to Gruene Hall many, many times, but this is the first time I tool a picture of the Historical Marker:

Of course, my first stop when I got to New Braunfels, was the Quilt Haus! Here are a few pics of things I bought.....TAMU fabric....

Black/white fat quarters to 'enhance' my collection.
A book for my sweet granddaughter.

Some more stash enhancers.

The conference was over on Friday, but I went to Blanco to spend time with family. We went to the Wimberley Trade Days on Saturday. Here are some of the treasures I bought.

Some wonderful vintage linens....I still have to wash and iron them.

This is one of my favorite pieces, a round table topper;

Here's a close-up of the embroidery:


I bought this window frame. I don't think it is very old, but I liked it. I am going to put quilt blocks in the windows and hang it in my bedroom.

It was a fun day and the weather was beautiful!