Valentine Decor

Can you believe it?  It's almost February and with that comes Valentine's Day!  So I've done a little re-decorating here on the ol' blog.  If you're viewing this in a reader you might click over to my actual blog site so you can see the results and let me know what you think of my new header.  I signed up for the premium version of picnik and was able to do some fancy artsy things with photos I took of my grocery store tulips.  It brings a little bit of spring even though spring seems like a long ways off most days. 

In keeping with the Valentine theme, here's a peek at one of several projects I've been working on these past few weeks.  Sharon over at Daisy Cottage Quilting posted a tutorial for a Valentine table runner.  I didn't take the time to do the entire project (yet!) but did use a portion to make a little "mug rug".  But if you want a cute project for coming holiday, be sure to go check out her website for the instructions.  The mug rug is the perfect size for a cup of coffee and a cookie.  Notice, no cookie here.  New Year's resolutions are still in effect here at our house!!

So other than some secret sewing projects and a couple of quick out of town trips, nothing much going on here.  We finally made it to St. Louis for Christmas with the family there.  We enjoyed an afternoon with the grandsons while Mom and Dad had to work but came home the next day.  Another quick drive up to Indy last weekend for D to attend the Woodworking Show at the fairgrounds.  While he browsed through aisles of router bits and designer tools, I ventured out to find a new (to me) quilt shop, Quilts Plus.  (Loved it!)

Warning.  The remainder of this post is purely just a little Grammie bragging.  But it's my blog and so I guess I can!

Mr. J is getting so grown up!  He doesn't hesitate to carry on a conversation - and loves to watch the Packers.  Here he's showing us how he can "smile from ear to ear" !  "Little" Mr. B is such a happy guy and will be walking soon, and just might have the weight advantage over his big brother. 

Local boy Mr. D loves to come to Grammie and Papa's house where his favorite thing to do is sneak down the stairs to Papa's home office and check up on him.  I'm not sure that Papa minds too much though.

Okay, thank you for allowing me to exercise that prerogative!

Thanks for stopping by - and Happy Valentine's Day - just in case I'm just as slow with my next post as I was with this one!

A Look Back Down the Road 2010

We were lucky to be able to take some time during the year to do several trips.  Not all of them are represented here, just some of the longer ones.  And there's no way I could include all of the best photos I took here in this collage.  We weren't able to take as many motorcycle short day trips this past summer.  It was just too darn hot most weekends.

Starting in the upper left corner.  Indianapolis, IN,   Oak Park, IL, Oklahoma City, OK, Kentucky Lake, Hog Fest, Natchez, MS and the Natchez Trace Parkway, Michigan Quilt Barn, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore, Pictured Rocks Upper Michigan, new RV on our trip home from Maine, Booth Bay Harbor, ME, fresh Maine lobster, LL Bean flagship store, J & D on the Harley in NC, Dry Falls near Highland, NC. Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA, More NOLA, Laura Creole Plantation, Oak Alley Plantation, Hwy 66 Round Barn, Christmas lights in OKC.   

I never did get around to blogging about our last trip which circled down to New Orleans, LA where stayed at the Ponchartrain Landing RV Park and did touristy things in the city for a few days.  We also took a very interesting tour of the Laura Creole Plantation before we headed back up through Arkansas for a quick overnight visit with relatives.  Next stop was by sister's home near Oklahoma City for a wonderful family Thanksgiving dinner.  Our son and his family were able to join us there and we enjoyed seeing those little grandsons and a visit to the OKC zoo. 

We're not sure where the next road trip will take us but we are looking forward to more adventures this year!  Stay tuned!

In the Rear View Mirror....

Happy New Year! 

Right when I finally get used to writing 2010, time as flown by and here comes 2011! This year I decided to put together a collage of sewing and quilting projects of the past year.  While browsing though my photo files and blog posts I became acutely aware of how fast the year had sped by.  It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I was working on  baby quilts for the newest grandson, but of course that was in March  and April!  Looking here at the collage, I did get several things accomplished, but there are so many more that are left unfinished in the sewing closet ... and my mind!  Aren't we always filled with the best intentions only to be sidetracked by something else?!  Hopefully some of those will show up in next year's collage, along with some I haven't even thought of yet!

Most of these projects I blogged about during the year.  The table runners have left as gifts and the baby quilts are being well loved.  The table toppers are fast and fun to make and I even incorporated a little machine embroidery on one.  I've used my new embroidery machine to do several towels, shirts, pillow cases and made shoe bags for Christmas presents.  Actually there were many more embroidery projects than I've shown here. Plus I started crocheting again too and didn't include any photos of the hats I've finished in the last few months.  My favorite quilt of the year is the red and taupe one.  My one regret is that I didn't make it bigger.  The most recent completion is the Christmas stocking wall hanging.  In fact, I didn't get it done and hung on the wall until two days before Christmas! 

So there you have it!  Though maybe I'm not as prolific of quilter as many, it was good to review what I have accomplished, just for my own sense of accomplishment!  Now I'm going to do another photo collage of the places we've visited this past year.  That should be fun!  And I'll have another blog post soon too! 

Happy Anniversary Mr. OntheroadwithJanet!  After 36 years, I guess you're still following me!  Or maybe it's the other way around!  Either way, it's a great trip!  Love ya!