My first winter and the one coming up

When I lived in Texas I thought I knew what winter was. We never go anywhere if there is even a thin layer of ice of the roads, if someone did try to drive you'd hear the screaming of tires the whole time because no one knew how to drive on the stuff. Wrecks would be a plenty. I took a defensive driving course the summer before I moved up to Missouri and got excited when I saw a section on driving in snow and ice...their advice "Don't do it", that helped a lot, not! Imagine my surprise when I learned that I was still expected at work when it iced or snows!
So when I moved up here and it was in the 70's I was chilly after coming from 100+ weather. It did warm up though for a few weeks later on though. Then mid-September hit...I was DYING, I HATED the cold...I was always wearing a few layers of extra clothing. At time I was tutoring and the mother of the children ask me is if I was ready for the winter and what kind of coat I had...I told her "Oh its a lot like the one you have hanging in the foyer" She looked at me like I was crazy and told me that kind of coat would only get me through the fall. As an early Christmas present she and the children bought me a thick winter coat and gloves to go with it. I was very touched and thrilled.

As soon as we had report of possible snow everyone was giving me advice on how to drive in the stuff and asking me if I'd be okay. The first snow of the year, my first snow, I was at work and they sent me home early so I wouldn't have to drive in it because it was supposed to get to a couple inches thick before my shift was over. So like any warm blooded Texan,I raced home to hole up inside...little did I know that the hill my dorm was resting on would be covered with students playing in the snow! Oh goodness! The fun we had, I built my first snow man, went sledding for the first time, thew my first real snow ball! I was hooked! I loved the snow! But ummmm, I couldn't walk...at all...I would try to throw a snowball and I would fall on my butt. It was funny to me and to everyone watching.

After awhile I got use to the snow and ice(after many many large bruises covering my backside and thighs from slipping all the way down the hill and stairs). Let me tell you, boots help so much! I am in love in with my winter boots and cannot wait ti put them on again. I utterly hate the cold, I really do, all my friends tease me about how much I shiver and bundle up but it is a nice change from hot all the time. I had my first white Christmas last year, so much white in fact my beloved had to shovel my car out of the snow and I had to wade in the fluff that was up to my thighs! We had a lot of good laughs and he would tease me about my awe in the snow. I would just look out the window and grin like a little kid and beg him to take me out and play in it =) He would put his hands on my shoulders and point to the sky "Little Texas girl...this is what we call snow!...It falls from the sky, but it doesn't mean the sky is falling!" He would say all this because I told him once "Snow is really wet and cold!" I had no idea how cold or wet the stuff was.

This year, I am ready, I am already buying thicker lotions, looking for tights to wear, planning knitting projects, and planning the shortest ways to get across campus! So what are you looking forward to about winter? Any winter survival tips?

What I've been working on

The past few days have been very busy!
Saturday was teachers training at church from early morning to mid afternoon and afterwards I had to go to work.
Sunday was church and I finished my quilt top.
Monday was work in the morning to late afternoon and then school all night.
Tuesday was cold and icy; I spend the day doing school and reading about scholarships for college. I also made some bags for my etsy! I do not have very much listed right now but I'm slowly making stuff up to add!

I have some left over fabric from my own quilt so I'm going to make a baby quilt! Also my mother and I are going to be making pin cushions and other cute things so keep an open eye for future items!



This quilt is going to be a rag quilt.
This quilt is going to be a rag quilt. A rag quilt is sewn with inverse seams and then the seams are clipped very close to stitch line every half inch or so. Then the quilt is washed in hot water a few times so the seams fray and look soft and fluffy. I've never made one before but a couple of older ladies were in Joann's one day telling me all about them and encouraged me to try! These ladies came in about once a week not only with updates on their quilt but also about their grandsons...I guess they thought that a granddaughter-in-law that could sew would be nice I don’t know, but anyways, they inspired me to try my hand at this!

Here is a close up on the clipping I have to do all over the top.










These are the Eco-green shopping bags I've made so far. I had my eye on these fabrics for a long time but was never sure what to make out of them! Then I decided shopping bags so I had an excuse to go buy some cute fabric! I love the dresses on the red and pink bags!












The piggies are my personal favorite!



All of them can fold up like this to fit in a purse to make sure you always have a green
alternative to plastic bags right at hand!



Also bed for little miss kitty that I finished a week or two ago.




Sadly dear little Izzy's life here may not be permanent. The last few months have been hard on my allergies. The beginning of this month I spent a few days in bed because they got so bad. I can hardly wear my contacts which is a drag for two reasons, one, my current glasses make me look really dorky. Two, they are very uncomfortable. Come July when I get my eyes recheck there are a really nice pair of glasses that I want to get instead of contacts. They are frameless around the lenses and the part that keeps them on is very discrete and blends in very well with my hair and skin color. Any ways back to the kitten, I want to get tested before I give away my little one. She's so sweet...most of the time...and is very fun to play with. Even the dog likes her. The down side is she likes to eat thread and tries to attack sewing machine needles as we sew. My mother and I have both ruined projects because of her. If we lock her out of the rooms she gets on the table and knocks stuff over so it’s very hard to get any sewing done. She also likes yarn...she loves chewing and has a fetish for knitting needles whilst I knit. Over all she hardly fits our life style as far as my mother's and my work. The other problem is when I start college in a few months. I'll be gone almost all the time so my mother would have to watch her which is impossible to do while working. I'm glad that we were able to save her and her brothers life and that I was able to raise her into some what decent cat but I think that its time to give her to some one that can give her all the love and attention that she will need. While I dote on her when ever I can it’s rarely enough to keep her out of trouble. Sadly I think I will be saying good bye to Miss Pretty Kitty as my brothers call her. This is the longest we've kept any strays or abandoned animal that we've found before and now I know why my parents always told us not to get to attached to our little visitors. I already know someone who will take her when the time comes. I'm just delaying the inevitable.

Anyways, I need to work on my typing for school and start my baby quilt. If you are having any wintry weather as we have been drive safe and keep warm.

Spring break!

I'm on spring break! WOOOHOO! I'm taking a much needed brake from school, I plan to spend this week getting my store and web site up and running when I do (hopeful by next month) I'll post a link. Saturday my family and 3 other families went out for the day and had a lot of fun! I didn't take any pictures with my camera cause I didn't want to drop it in the water so when my mom uploads them I'll "borrow" some. Thankful I didn't get to bad sunburn just a slightly pink tinge that lasted two days. It was a great time of fellowship and a wonderful chance to hang out with good friends.
Here are the pictures I promised.

This is a bag I've been working on for a while now, when I'm in between project or I get bored/frustrated with one I work on this bag


This is a French market bag or gardening bag that I made a while back, It is very sturdy and holds a lot with out losing its shape.








Here is the bag I made on Thursday.





Here’s the inside



I used Simplicity pattern number 4391 for the bag. It wasn't too hard but it did take a lot of patience at times, and I found something out I have a new best friend...my seam ripper, most certainly a love hate relationship. As I always say "you rip what you sew"