Not a purse!

I made a purse for my friend's daughter to tote her Bible (pens, notes, etc) back and forth to church in. One of her sons then said he needed one too. Back and forth they went with the "boys don't really carry purses" (...well, except in Europe but definitely not in Texas) argument. It was decided maybe it would solve it if I came up with a Bible cover which he could use to tote his Bible in.

After much procrastination, yesterday and today I've made this. It is a quilted cover that will fit his Bible, I hope. It has a "hidden" patch pocket in the lining, a small pocket on one flap for a pen or highlighter, a wider pocket on the other flap for whatever and on the front a zipper pocket that is the size of the entire front. It closes with a button and tab to the back and has 2 small handles--so that it doesn't look like a purse!! LoL!

I hope he will like it, I can't wait to send it to him. His Mama says he likes Under the Sea stuff.

For the Birds

We moved into our current home in March of 2006, so we just started our 3rd year here and are unduring, er...I mean enjoying our 3rd spring. Every spring for the last 3 years my husband has a war with the birds on an almost daily basis.

There will be a nice, sunny, peaceful atmosphere and then Tony will put on his slippers and boggin and walk out on to the porch for a morning smoke...and that's when it begins. The yelling, the waving of arms, the slamming of the grill lid, th raising of the grill lid, the puffing, the huffing, the muttering which lasts until he enters the house again shakinh his head and I always catch "..birds..." Basically it sums up to be that the local avian life LOVES my husband's grill. I don't understand because he cleans it obsessively before and after every use, but they still love it. They don't mess with any of our neighbors' grills. Despite Tony's best attempts over the years to foil them, they work around his little boobie traps and fill first the bottom of the grill with miscellanious crap and then the top of the grill (above the cooking rack) with hay from a neighboring cattle farm.

Usuaully about 3 times a week at the least Tony has to pull an almost-finished nest out of the grill (amid the muttering and arm waving) but this morning he discovered he wasn't quick enough this time. There, in the grill was a totally finished nest complete with 2 little light blue eggs. He came back in the house this morning and said, "Y'all may think I'm an ogre, but they win for now... I can't do it, there's eggs in there." ;-D

Today for my block I did a small checkerboard. I am making a Bible cover for my friend's son (he wanted a purse to carry it in, and boys in Texas just don't carry purses!). I got just a little bit farther on it before I quit for the night but not much.

I spent the vast majority of the day sitting in a chair obsessively knitting on my shrug. I've started to knit down the second sleeve and I'm about 2" down, so the end is near... probably not tomorrow near, but near. Then I will have to pick up the 6,120,374 stitches around the opening and knit some ribbing. Lookin' forward to that, let me tell you.

I did sit and play with Play-Doh that SOMEONE who loves me put in my son's Easter basket (not pointing any fingers MOM, what the?!) He's actually beeen really good with it...so far. I made a snowman (right) then he made a snowman (left), then Tony made an M&M (right) and Jeremiah made an M&M (left), then I made a bird's nest (right) and then Jeremiah made one and had me put a bird on it (left). Lots of fun! Then we put it all back in the containers. And yes, I really did make him do all that on butcher paper.

Alpaca Farm

We had a very busy day today. First and foremost my parents, brothers and sisters, uncle and cousin, my kids and myself all piled into 3 vehicles and drove to Loudon today to visit a local alpaca farm. For those of you who are not fiber-addicts and are wondering, Alpacas are like little mini versions of Llamas. Okay, so that might not be an entirely scientific analysis but there you go. This was a huge farm by my standards. I expexted maybe half a dozen to a dozen animals but no, they had about 80 alpacas. All different kinds and colors though they all looked the same to me except for the obvious differences like black virus white wool. They also had this ancient dog that I swear looked like a polar bear--I've never seen such a big and wooly dog before! It was super gentle and was really nice to the kids.


The kids had a fun time "meeting" all the animals and even getting to pet to babies. It was so very cold out there though, maybe 50 degrees. The kids were all wandering around in long sleeved shirts under 2 layers of sweatshirts and hats. Rosy cheeks and noses were had by all. Jeremiah played outside once we got back to Mom's house (even though I told him not to) and TOOK OFF his sweatshirt and hat (even thought he's not allowed to) and now is rapidly coming down with a cold.


I finished spinning one skein of that gorgeous gray merino. I bought a 4oz batt and I'm spinning it in 2, 2oz skeins so that I can then ply them together. Out of the first 2oz I got 178 yards of yarn! I am SO proud of myself!! I wound it into a ball so that when I ply it I can put it in an empty baby wipe container, I've found that this makes it easy. I started spinning the second skein but it wasn't cooperating so I quit because I was getting mad.


Since I was hanging around Mom's house (and since I had brought it with me) I spent the better part of the afternoon knitting on my shrug. I am making this entirely without a pattern and also making it up as I go along. I've reached the halfway point now so all that is left to be done is to work down to the second sleeve the way I've already knit. However since I didn't write anything down it's going to involve a LOT of counting. When I get it finished I have some solid black merino I spun and I will pick up stitches all around the opening and knit an inch or two of ribbing all around the edge to finish it.


I also got a picture of 4oz of white merino that I bought and Sunday used koolaid to dye pretty jelly bean colors. I ran it through Mom's drum carder today just to fluff it up and I love the way it came out. I can't wait to spin this....after I'm done spinning the gray and plying it, LoL! So many projects, so little time.


I really need to manage my time a little better. My beautiful son is acting starved for attention all the time, so much so that my MIL is noticing a difference in his behavior. I need to start spending more one on one time with him. It is a hard thing though because Hannah is such a needy baby in that she wants to be held and comforted, paid attention to, all the time. Before she was born I was a stay at home mama to just Jeremiah and it was him and me by ourselves all day. We did everything together and since Hannah was born Jeremiah and Tony do a lot together, but not me and Jeremiah. I see him all day everyday and he gets on my nerves (LOL) but I am sad at the same time...I feel like I miss him. And I feel so guilty because sometimes I have to work not to be resentful or upset at Hannah for "stealing" me or my time from him. This is just something I am going to have to work out, the balance between my children's physical and emotional needs, with lots of prayer. I am not strong enough to do this by myself but the Lord Jesus gave me these beautiful children and I know that He will be my helper and my strength when I need it, to do the precious Job He has entrusted to me.

On a cheerier, springier note-- dispite the nose freezing temps today I got some very pretty pictures of some flowers in the lady's gardens. Poor, bright little flowers trying very hard not to succumb to the frost. Spring SERIOUSLY is almost here. Friday it is supposed to be 70. I might lay on the porch in my bathing suit. :-p

Disappearing Nine Patch

I am almost back in the swing of things. Not really though since my MIL came and got Jeremiah about 11pm last night and he's still running around somewhere with her, so I am being lazy with just Hannah at home. I've almost recovered my living room from the birthday party and Easter baskets. It looks good in here as long as you don't try to go in my kitchen.

But housework is BORING and I have so many more interesting things I can do! LIKE, I am obsessively and compulsively spinning that beautiful gray batt I bought from WC Mercantile. It is SO wonderful! Tony picked it up last night and said, "Oooh, what is this?" I smiled and said "Merino, of course!" It is spinning into the most luscious even, smooth yarn. This wool has no VM in it and isn't getting little fluffy or bumpy places. Free shipping from their shop too, no affiliation--I am just a very satisfied customer! I am calling the yarn Driftwood because it reminds me of...driftwood, bleached white by the current and salt in the ocean and then darkened again where it touches the water.

I also made a block for today!!! I know, you thought I'd forgotten all about it! Today I am making nine patches to make Disappearing Nine patches. Those were the blocks used in my fall quilt top I posted about a few days ago. It's really easy, just make a nine patch block and cut it in 4ths.



I am going to send these to the lady who sent me my blocks, so she can have a quilt too. I can't wait to see how differently hers comes out. I love to see two different (or many different, for that matter) quilters take the same fabrics and/or same blocks and end up with entirely different, unique and beautiful quilts!


And maybe, just maybe I can get mine pinned soon and begin the actual "quilting" process instead of just the "piecing" process, LOL!

Eventually I'll get a nap

This has been one long, busy weekend and I haven't even grocery shopped yet!
Thursday my MIL brought the kids over some cute, cute Easter clothes and shoes and Hannah's birthday present. While we were at it we went to the local little Chinese buffet that has really good food that NEVER gives me a headache or upsets our stomachs, all for about $6 for the dinner buffet--dr pepper included. Well I don't know if that's where it came from or what but by the time we got back from dinner (and I was praying we'd get back as fast as humanly possible!) I had come down with a really terrible case of food poisoning!

I'd been cleaning/decluttering for Hannah's party for Friday but still had a *lot* to do but nope... I got to spend 3 hours in the bathroom Thursday night and a couple more on Friday. The upside of that is that Thurs morning I ran to the library and they had a copy of Breaking Dawn, the 4th book in the Twilight saga which has roughly 900 pages and I read the whole book by Friday night. Not much else to do in the bathroom.

Mom brought Diantha over Thurs night too and she spent the night, helping me put up clothes and finish setting up for the party Friday morning. Tony ran and got the last couple things we needed and pizza's to feed everyone. It was a great party, I thought. Everyone got along (not something usual) for the most party, Hannah got some really nice things and everyone had fun.

Saturday we got up, I gave the kids showers while Tony went to get the oil changed in the car and then we made a 200 mile round trip to Greeneville to visit with the Bowman side of the family. Diantha was still with us, so we took her along. Tony has a little sister Katie who is a month older than Diantha, I don't know if they get along or not because they both kind of keep to themselves and have only met once or twice before. Hannah cried all the way home.

Today our church had only 1 service (instead of the usual 5). We had 7 services last week and had about 6,300 people so the church rented the Colosseum in Knoxville--the Ice Hockey rink. One service at 10:30 meant be up at 8, leave at quarter after nine so our friend B.P. and his girlfriend could follow us. They didn't know where it was, Tony made fun of him. Tony drove to Neyland Stadium. Oops, wrong place. Turned around, drove to Thompson Bowling Arena. Oops, wrong place again. B.P. calls his Dad and asks for directions, we arrive at the Colosseum at exactly 10:33am. Perfect! The serivice was awesome, so neat to see the entire church in one place. That's not happened in 12 years!!

Left church and went to Mom's for Easter dinner, bringing B.P. and Beverly (his girlfriend, not my sister) in tow. Had a NICE wonderful, quiet lunch with NO fighting. If someone didn't like something, they just didn't eat it! They didn't pitch a fit and tell everyone how much they didn't like it. If someone liked something, they ate two. No one asked how much more of something they were going to eat. Then we ALL (grown ups included) scrounged up baskets, containers, milk jugs with the tops cut off and went to look for the 75 plastic Easter eggs Mom stuffed and sent Artemas out in the yard to hide. The kids hunted eggs, laughing and playing and rolling around in the grass and no one yelled at them for being children. Again, awesome.

While at Mom's I started spinning some beautiful varigated gray/silver colored merino wool I bought from WC Mercantile off etsy to knit some mittens from a pattern I bought from Lily Knitting. I'm spinning it rather fine so that I can ply it when I'm done and make a 2 ply yarn. Normally I don't do this--I like singles and I think it is kind of a waste since to make a 2 ply you end up with only half of the yarn you spin. PLUS, I think the whole point of spinning myself is to get the slubby bumpy thick and thin singles... if I'm going to consistantly spin an even thinner yarn I might as well just buy yarn. BUT since this is for mittens that I want to last for a while, I'm gritting my teeth and making the 2 ply since it does make the yarn stronger and it'll wear a little better.

We are home now finally. Tony and Jeremiah are watching a DVD he (J) got for Easter, a cartoon of Transformers--which I don't get at all. I am wondering if I could sneak off and have a nap? Probably not. :-D

Havana Nights

I am so tired I feel as if I am half melted through the floor. However before I turn in I wanted to share pics of my W/U challenge #15 entry. I called it Havana Nights because the blue and black hybiscus w/u fabric reminds me of night at the beach, with beautiful hispanic women wearing big flowers in their black hair. It's a very peaceful scene in my head, like the quiet pause after a festive party where you take a breath and enjoy the time spent with cherished ones.

Havana nights is 3 days of my block a day rolled into one 21" square quilt. I listed it in my etsy shop.

Happy Birthday Hannah

Birthdays are a BIG deal at our house. My husband comes from a split-but not broken-family and so there are LOTS of inlaws, grandparents, step parents, aunts and uncles not to mention my side of the family. Birthdays, like Christmas, tend to be several days worth of celebration. Hannah first birthday is no exception. Nana Cheryl, my wonderful Mother in law brought her goodies and took us out out to dinner on Thursday night. We had her party yesterday and today we are going to make a 2 hr trip east to Greeneville to visit with my father in law and Tony's grandparents' families.

I can't believe Hannah is a year old already, time has surely flown! But as I watched her sleep Thursday night, counting down the minutes to her first birthday suddenly the labor and turmoil of the day the year before seemed long ago. (Not so long that I want to do it again any time soon though!)

When Hannah was born she looked so much like her brother that my labor and drug confused mind couldn't understand who she was. I said, "That's Jeremiah?" It was incredible. She still looks so much like her brother but personality wise--whoa! Night and day! She is easy going and happy, and clever and sneaky all at the same time. Very much like my sister Diantha was, as long as I am within reach she is the happiest kid in the world.

Hannah Lynn Goode Bowman...

Hannah is named after just about ever female in our family. Tony picked the name 'Hannah' when I was pregnant with Jeremiah since we didn't find out what he was going to be until he arrived--long before the Hannah Montanta craze I assure you!! Hannah also has "Ann" in the middle of it, the middle name of Tony's Mom Cheryl and my Granny Judith. My Mom Nikki's middle name is Lynn and Tony's great grandmother's last name was Goode. It's a little old fashioned to use a maiden name as a middle name but it just seemed to fit! Forever my darling girl will carry the blessing of a name that is Grace and Goode.

As I type this she is watching music videos on VHI and dancing, clapping and yelling at "Bruh-bruh." She had the best time at her party yesterday, making a mess of her cake and opening presents. After everyone left Tony put the clothes she recieved in one bag and set it on the floor next to her rocking chair. She sat down in it and "opened" her presents again all by herself, showing us each item and laughing about it.

She is beautiful and fair, already so smart and independant. I look excitedly to the next year to see hiw she changes and gros, and to many many years after that.

For the Lord God is a sun and a shield;

The Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly.--Psalm 84:11 NKJV

No dust bunnies for Easter!

Today was most likely the most productive day I've had in a while. I put the label, hanging sleeve and binding on my W/U challenge quilt--which I will post pictures of (and list in my etsy shop) when the voting is over on Saturday night.

Since it was laying on my ironing board I added the final two rows to my fall lap quilt, the blocks of which were graciously donated to me by Jenn. ;-)
Then all it needed was 2 sets of borders and it would be ready to pin out, and since I happened to have the border fabrics also laying on the ironing board it seemed silly to put the fabrics and the top away and have to get them back out again later just to add borders! The completed top measures 41"x47" and I have just enough of the coordinating leaf print to back it!

And I got housework done! I can't believe it and I know you gasp in horror, but slowly and surely I did "spring cleaning" things today. I dusted. I got down and vacuumed the carpets around the base boards. I vacuumed my lamp shades! I should mention that the vacuuming of lamp shades is only effective if you first have white or dark and gothic shades. I like to vacuum mine twice a year, because that's just the kind of dedicated house keeper I am. Hannah, having never consciously lived through this biannual phenomenon was ecstatic and danced around the living room in her diaper in a manner in which one might try to ensure a good harvest. Coincidentally I also found the long lost and Hannah stolen back to the remote control....in my left sneaker, underneath the end tables.

I even made a delicious dinner, with all frugality I chopped up leftover pot roast and potatoes and made a beef pot pie. I cheat and dump a jar of beef gravy in amongst the beef and veggies but I didn't have one, so I strained broth leftover from the roast and boiled it until it reduced to about 3/4 cup of liquid and mixed it with a can of cream of mushroom soup. Mixed all the veggies in with that, dumped it into a store bought pie crust and topped with bisquick. Quick and easy and muy yummo. However it's been a couple hours since dinner and I am using all my willpower not to get into the chocolate I bought for Easter baskets. I can resist you, Bunnies!

Delilah, the Saga concludes

And here, in an epic culmination, it is entirely quilted. It is entirely bound. The binding is entirely sewn down; all safety pins removed and all loose threads snipped. FINALLY!

I have nothing else to show for the day except for the hour I worked on cleaning Jeremiah's room. And if you are anal and OCD like I am, your eyes would not alight on the pile of miscellaneous crap left in the middle of his floor nor on his unmade bed. You would instead be delighted by his toy bins which are marvelously re-organized and his bookshelf which is immaculately sorted by book type and height. Yes indeed, and you would smile at me and hand me an ice cold Mountain Dew for I have NOT HAD ENOUGH CAFFEINE FOR TODAY.

Delilah Part 2

You'd think for a small quilt, it would hurry up and get finished?
I bought the backing fabric on Friday, Tony washed it for me in a load of clothes on Saturday but since I was far away in a book til last night I didn't get any more done with it.

When I finished reading last night I DID quilt my W/U challenge quilt, but again I can't show the pics until after the voting. It's still waiting on binding.

Today after putting on a pot roast cook and cleaning the living room I pinned out Delilah and began to quilt it. I got it half quilted, doing pairs of random wavy lines in one direction. Still have to go back over it the other way. I ironed both the quilt top and the backing and taped all three layers down but for some reason it wasn't stretched very tightly and is giving me some issues. I wish I had gone to Mom's and done a random stipple on it, LoL! It would have been done in the the time it took me to quilt half of it.

I stopped doing that after I got a message that someone needed a little bag for a little 2 year old girl, by Friday. Stop the presses! LOL! I threw together a little bag which I think is quite cute, though it ended up smaller than I had in mind but Tony says it's a great size for a 2 year old. It is 6" square.

Now he is home and I am burned out on doing anything so I am going to sit here and read a couple library books to Jeremiah and then read some more of the New Year's Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini.

Purple Rain Handbag

I made quilty promises. I can almost deliver on those, LoL! I finished reading New Moon (my MIL and husband are awed...563 pages) and I actually read every word. I must admit that normally I skim pages of books here and there. I've found that most books don't require 100% of my attention or focus to read, and understand and not miss anything...even when I skim. But I thoroughly enjoyed these books so much that I read all the words. : )

I did manage to finish a handbag I have been working on since Wed. More like NOT working on! It was a long process this morning that involved getting the needle stuck in the machine, bent and through the purse. Tony had to take it apart for me but we eventually got it working and so I was able to finish (and list in my etsy shop) Purple Rain. I am on the SHE(School at Home Etsians) team and they are having an April Showers challenge. Let Rain inspire your work. I took that in a different direction than most people I guess. The rain drops appliqued across the front of this bag are actually purple satin. Prince would have it no other way, I am sure!

I started to quilt my W/U project a few minutes ago so I could post pictures of that and then realized 2 things: ONE I can't post pics because the voting for the challenge hasn't happened yet and it's supposed to be anonymous and TWO even if I posted pics of just the back it wouldn't matter since I am quilting it in a thread that blends in. So y'all will just have to be patient. :-D

It's just as well that I spent the whole day in a book since I have had such a roaring migraine that doing anything except reading has sent pain shooting through my head. My sister-in-law and her husband renewed their wedding vows today and the two hours we were out of the house for that was almost more than I could bear. Thankfully it seems to be waning so maybe it's not one of those horrendous 3 day affairs. I hope not cause I desperately need to take Jeremiah shopping for clothes! The boy suddenly has nothing that fits except a Batman Tshirt and a pair of jeans, LOL! Even socks and underwear...what the heck! : )

Hello, I'm still here

It's been a few days since I blogged because it's been a few days since I had anything to blog about. The days have been passing in a blur of very busy activity without much to show for it. Though I have to admit, I've spent the last 24 hours in Forks Washington, by way of the imagination of Stephanie Meyers and her book Twilight. My darling husband bought me the second book tonight since I finished the first so quickly, though I am rying to be good and visit with him since he is off for the weekend. I am very bad company when I have a good book.

What sewing have I gotten done, you may ask? Well, upon completion of Twilight I machine appliqued via zigzag stitch 9 satin rain drops. Progress, eh? Yesterday I made a quick trip to JoAnn's with coupons in hand and got the backing fabric I need for "Delilah", the backing for my W/U challenge project (I sent my pics in of the top only) and a little bit of batting. How I wish batting had been on sale!! I washed my fabric today, usually I am a huge non-pre-washer but since Delilah has so much white I didn't want the backing which is blue or the binding which is black to bleed. I pieced backing for my W/U on Thursday and promptly lost it. Weird huh? It's only 21" square so not a huge loss, and I wasn't happy with it anyway, so I really didn't mind to buy a little piece that I actually liked to back it with but still...how do you lose backing? And not find it in 4 days??

At Mom's house on Thursday I spun an almost 2oz batt for her which was comprised of misc wools and sparkles in every color you can think of. I ended up with 98 yards of a pretty almost thick and thin single. I called it Heffalumps and Woozles on Parade and my sister Diantha has it for sale in her etsy shop.