Christmas 2013

 

Another Christmas is over  and soon it will be the New Year. Out with the old....Christmas decorations....and in with the new....Resolutions for the new year. I am always anxious to get the decorations down and things put back in order. This was another fabulous Christmas and here are some highlights.

SNOW! We awoke to a nice white covering of snow on Friday, the 20th. It didn't last long, but school was cancelled and lots of snowmen were built before it all melted.

 
Sunday, the 22nd, Jill and George hosted our extended "Young" family Christmas celebration. I counted 33 of us. Loads of food, fun and fellowship! The highlight was when Uncle Bob dressed up as Santa and handed out gifts to each of the little ones. He purchased the gifts, wrapped them and had the joy of distributing them!

We have our annual gift "grab" with the extended family. All who want to participate bring a wrapped gift and we all draw numbers, select a wrapped gift or steal one that has already been opened. It is a fun tradition and here are a few favorite shots from this event.

Kyle wondering what he will do with this gem of a nutcracker.

Jason noting another Amazon box. Amazon did well this year if you can gauge it from all their boxes we opened!

Here is Robin in her fuzzy hat. She didn't keep it long. Brian stole it from her!
 

Ben opening his gift with Bob and Josh looking on.

 Here are Dave and I with Roger and Jason in the background.

Hostess Jill and Cousin Chip

Christmas Eve golfing at Maplewood with Dave and Dick.  We also golfed on Friday (the 27th) with Dave L. and Dick, but it was not as much fun because we got rained on! Winter golf is less expensive and you need to have some warmer duds, but we enjoy ourselves just the same.


We attended the 4 pm Christmas Eve Candlelight service at Highlands Community Church and it was a very meaningful time. Wonderful Christmas hymns and a full choir. The Bantells arrived afterward and we served Chicken Divan for dinner and then gave them a brush-up lesson on playing pinochle in preparation for the annual New Year's Eve Pinochle Party at the Scotts. We've been part of this tradition for about 20 years now. We EAT and eat some more before, during and after pinochle! Lots of food and fun times for the 16 of us who attend.

But back to Christmas. It was so special to have Pete and Shauna host Christmas at their house for our family. Kyle and Kari and kids came down from Bellingham so all our kids and grandkids were there. She cooked a tasty prime rib dinner and we all opened gifts before dinner.

Charlotte, Annika and Hailey....all girly girls

Shauna, Kari and Saben. I think he is happy!

Annika tried on the skirt I made her over her pants. It fit! I made all three girls outfits out of corduroy.

This is the jumper I sewed for Hailey. The top is purchased.

 

I sewed this for Charlotte who loves pink.

 

I crocheted an afghan for Jason



Fancy table setting!

 

Shauna is enjoying her new kitchen!

 

Thank you Sue Yount for this wonderful Christmas centerpiece! It is perfect!!

YUM!!!! Gluten-Free Fudgy Brownie Cupcakes

You've heard it said....I'm sure....horses sweat, men perspire and ladies glisten. Well, I must be a horse because I am sweating! I've been in the kitchen all day.

First I met 2 friends for coffee at 8:30 am. Yup....on a Saturday! That's kind of early. But it gave me the rest of the day to accomplish some things. Yesterday I had gone to Carpinito Brothers produce stand and got 2 flats of raspberries as well as one of the biggest sweet potatoes I've ever seen! Only need one for the 2 of us, and that will be too much. Anyway, I also got some carnations and asters for color outside this fall. But I digress....

After coffee this morning I hopped to it and made some raspberry jam. I cut back on the sugar and man is it good!! Got them all cooled and now they are stored away in the shed. Lots of clean up. Then I made some pumpkin cupcakes with maple cream frosting.

 http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2011/10/pumpkin-cupcakes-with-maple-cream.html

 It only made 13 cupcakes and since I am bringing them for Charlotte's 3rd birthday tomorrow, I decided to try these:

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2013/04/gluten-free-fudgy-brownie-cupcakes.html

Only made 11 and one broke apart so Dave and I split it. He couldn't even tell it was gluten-free which was wonderful.

Here they are at the party!

Then I put a pot roast in the oven with carrots, potatoes, onions and mushrooms, made gravy with red wine, used the 2 ears of corn I got from the produce stand and cut the kernels off and cooked it in a pot. So good! Best corn we've had so far. Then a LOT of cleanup.

I wasn't finished yet. Still needed more cupcakes so made a quick trip to the store to get more chocolate squares which I discovered Bakers brand has now shrunk its package to include 4 count it FOUR ounces of chocolate so needed to get 2 boxes. (WHAT A RIP OFF!!)

I made a double batch of the chocolate cupcakes and then frosted the pumpkin cupcakes. More clean up and I'm POOPED!! And I'm glistening.....

Now to go watch Shark Tank since I was gone playing pinochle last night and we didn't have a chance to watch it when I got home. I think I need to go hose off first.

Coffee Time!

Here is the latest creation from my craft room. Mug Rugs. When you have a girlfriend over for coffee or tea and you don't want to just set the mug or cup on the table, viola!

Kinda looks like a watercolor effect, but no, just pieces of fabric and rayon embroidery thread. I have several other designs in mind to stitch up. These took longer than the others that I'm planning on making. The binding is always more time consuming because I need to hand stitch it on the reverse side. Here is what I did. I backed some green, blue and turquoise fabric with Steam-a-Seam (or you can use Wonder Under) and then cut out the leaves and circles and ovals. After ironing them in place on some plain white cotton I added the green borders. Then I put some InsulBrite (batting meant for use with hot items) in the middle, with a piece of white cotton for the backing, used more Steam-a-Seam to hold the layers together, pinned it and began stitching the outlines of the leaves and created the flowers freehand. After trimming it to make sure it was square I added the binding. Simple! Here is the book I used where I found the idea and I'm showing the very beginning for some other mug rugs.

I guess I'm really gearing up for fall. I harvested the last of my potatoes that I grew in a big Rubbermaid tub (red potatoes way out produced the yellow ones) and I'm once again making sprouts. This time I'm using red clover seeds. I'm not too happy with how long it is taking them to get going. My favorite is mung beans or alfafa. I haven't sprouted seeds for years!

Just call me Martha

I snatched this idea from another site (probably Pinterest but I can't remember) and if you want to try it yourself or adapt it, go for it! I LOVE my Kitchenaid mixer, even if it is 30+ years old. It still works! Since I don't plan on investing in a new one, and I so love all the new colors they come in, I decided to make some decals or rather "paintable clings" to make it look less boring. Here it is:

It was super easy. I purchased the Martha Stewart brand clings from Michael's Craft Store a few months ago. I know I'm slow! I have so many other craft, sewing and knitting projects going on that I'd forgotten to do this! I also purchased 5 of Martha's Liquid Fill Glass Paints. Here is a link to Martha Stewart's website and you can watch the short video and maybe you will find something that you want to decorate.
http://www.marthastewart.com/938184/martha-stewart-crafts-paintable-clings?search_key=PAINTABLE%20CLINGS

My mixer has made loads of chocolate chip, peanut butter, snickerdoodles and wookie cookies, sweet breads, pie dough, whipped cream, cakes and frostings. I still have all the original beaters and I'm very particular about not washing any of them in the dishwasher. They always get a good going over with someone's tongue before being hand washed. I really don't know how I could survive without this trusty mixer.

A few nights ago I canned some delicious apricot-pineapple jam. So good!

 
I had sold all my canning supplies before our last move, and I had sold hundreds of canning jars at the move before that one! My mom used to can all sorts of fruits, jams, beets, pickles and green beans. She made other pickled vegetables but as a kid I never could choke them down! When our kids were grown and out of the house I figured I wouldn't be doing any more canning for just my husband and me. Oops. Now that daughter, Shauna, has expressed interest and daughter-in-law, Kari, has been doing some canning, my creative juices have gotten the best of me. I found a water bath canner at a garage sale in our neighborhood for $4.00 with a few jars which allowed me to be back in business. I went to Shauna's about a week ago and helped her can peaches and dill pickles. It was so much fun to help her accomplish this task. She already had canned pickled peppers and some other pickled vegetables the night before. She has a good beginning to her future as a home canning mom! I just wish Kari lived closer so the three of us could combine forces and really get some food put up.

I guess that is it for now. I've got a few sewing projects that need my attention.

Posting this so my kids remember to tell this to THEIR kids when they are teens!

MESSAGE TO MY TEENAGER ~

1. Yes, your freshman AND Sophomore years count towards your GPA for college entrance. Screw it up and you’ll work for crap wages your whole life.

2. No means NO. In every possible circumstance.

3. Join every sport, every club, every after school activity no matter what the cost. It’s cheaper than bail.

4. Repeat after me: I am never in that much of a hurry…I am never in that much of a hurry. Now say that every time you get behind the wheel. It will save your life and that of your best friend in the seat next to you.

5. Don’t do drugs or drink - it is so not worth the trouble.

6. Don’t get a credit card. You earn it or you live without it.

7. If I yell at you, it’s because I love you. And also, because you pissed me off. To avoid the latter, don't be an idiot. And don't disappoint me. More importantly, yourself.

8. Make a vivid picture inside your head of every great moment of your childhood. You’ll need those to get through adulthood.

9. Make snow angels as often as possible. Make a bucket list. Check it off!

10. Stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

11. Be always benevolent. Yes, that’s a word. Look it up.

12. Call me for a ride even if you are so drunk you barely know my number. I’ll probably be mad for a while but I’ll respect you for calling and I won’t kill you. Riding with someone who is drinking will. (PS - remember #5?)

13. Be a leader, not a follower. Unless you are following the kid with the highest GPA and (s)he is going to a study group, then by all means be a follower!

14. Love your siblings, even when you don’t like them. Some day you will be trying to get them to take care of me in my old age. If they are mad at you, you are stuck with me.

15. I’ve been there, done that on more things than you can imagine. I’m not stupid and I know what you are doing. I was once you (times ten).

16. Work hard at everything you do. Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

17. Cover it. (Enough said.)

18. When I tell you to clean your room, do not point at my messy room and raise your eyebrows. I’m trying to raise you to be better than me.

19. Learn to type; to budget; to spell correctly and to pray. All are equally important.

20. Never be sedentary. Someday soon you will no longer be able to move like that. Enjoy it.

 

I can't take credit for this! And oops....I can't GIVE credit either. Don't know who wrote it....but THANKS!

The Waning Days of Summer

This is what greeted me when I walked outside yesterday.

And this was just one of many! It is that time of year when I begin to feel like summer is over. The weather has indeed shifted a bit. About a week ago I fell into my usual slump for this phase of summer....I gave up watering my plants. Thankfully Dave is still keeping the plants hydrated! Every year during the middle of August I just sorta quit! Done. I'm bored with the whole deal. I KNOW the potatoes and squash in their tubs still need water. I know some of the flowers are still blooming and need water. But I guess I just see the spent flowers and the leaves turning yellow and brown and get discouraged. I really don't know why this happens each summer, but I'm too old to learn new tricks, so as long as Dave is willing to water, I will continue on this way.

As much as I LOVE hot weather and the sunshine heating up the concrete, there must be part of me that is gearing up for fall. Cool, crisp evenings, sprinkles of rain, cozying up with an afghan while watching the new season of TV programs. Ahhh. But didn't I see some Christmas things appearing in the store the other day? YIKES! Maybe I better try to get outside and water the plants and hang on to summer just a bit longer. Sigh....

Pies and Pinochle

Twice a month I meet with 7 other ladies (most of whom live in my neighborhood) for pinochle. Yesterday was my turn to host. We typically have 2 tables set up with 2 decks of cards (so as not to waste time shuffling) and snacks. We all chip in $1.50 which is divided up when we finish and given to the high point winner, last pinochle and lowest score.

After we play several hands our 2 1/2 hours of playing time is over and we can then all sit together and have dessert. Since our friend, Marv, rode his bike over here yesterday and brought  some yummy fresh rhubarb for us, I decided to make 2 (from scratch) strawberry rhubarb pies. I made one gluten-free pie and one regular. One of our group cannot eat any gluten and I've been avoiding it myself, so I figured it was a good thing to do. Can you tell which is gluten free?

Let me tell you why one is so much darker than the other. Bad me! I didn't think to put a pan under the first pie until it was too late. The one on the left (yup, that's the gluten free one) needed to be cooked at a lower temperature so I baked them separately. As you can imagine, it oozed all over the bottem of my oven, which I had just cleaned last week. Too late for me to do anything about that, so I assume that when I put the 2nd one in all that smoke (gasp...open the windows!!!) made it brown up more than usual.

Actually the gluten free pie was a real hit. It tasted fabulous. Better than regular crust, in my opinion. The only problem was that I couldn't crimp or use a fork on the edges since the crust was a bit crumbly.

This one may have looked over done, but it wasn't. Still very tasty. Strawberry Rhubarb is my very favorite pie! But only homemade. I just don't enjoy store bought pies. Not even Costco pies.

I may have had a hit with the pies, but alas, my $1.50 buy-in went to others in the group.

It's Summer!!

I love, love, love summer! The warm weather brings with it beautiful flowers, walking Frodo with music on my trusty IPod, floating in the pool (my back surgery prohibits swimming for now), sipping a daiquiri or margarita (thanks Dave!) while sitting at the patio eating chips and reading. Homemade salsa, early or late dinners....who cares!? Oh...and of course, our annual extended family campout which had been temporarily posponed for the past 8 years or so. We aren't much into camping so this year, while everyone else camped, Dave and I stayed for one night in a motel. Smart move on our part!!

First of all, I want to share with you one of my latest purchases.

That's right....it's a wind chime. But not just any wind chime! This is a Shenandoah brand which plays a 5-note pentatonic scale in the key of E (whatever that means.) All I know is that it is LOVELY!! 34" in length and when the breeze comes, it is so melodic and relaxing. 

There is Jason. Shauna found a perfect campground at Bumping Lake, which is just off SR 410 east of Mt. Rainier.

This was our main campsite, where everyone gathered to cook, eat, sit around the fire, eat, wash dishes, eat, play games, eat, talk and snack!

My sweet niece, Jenny, husband Jonathan and son Zanzi

The guys spent a lot of time sitting around the campfire, whittling, playing the guitar and talking. My niece Emily is getting quite proficient at playing the guitar!

There goes Shauna with the girls. Time for a bathroom break. This campground offered a no-flush one room toilet. No showers or running water! The water for cooking and washing dishes had to be trekked a short distance from a water pump.

Hailey and Annika are ready to get the bike cart hooked up for a ride to the swimming dock.

Hi Saben! Our one and only grandson. The kids all had their bikes so they kept pretty busy! They captured loads of tadpoles in the lake.

Charlotte is 2 1/2 and loved riding her strider bike all over the place.She found a HUGE bug of some sort...I MEAN HUGE!!! She got it in a cup and showed it to everyone. Annika, who is deathly afraid of any and all bugs, insects, ants, spiders, flys, etc, absolutely shrieked!! Poor thing! I wasn't too thrilled when I looked in the cup either!

Kari, DIL, and Jill, SIL

No tent for us! We stayed in Room #1, bottom right, with a king size bed, overlooking the river, at Whistlin' Jack Lodge.

Here is a sampling of some of the flowers in our yard that I have been enjoying.

And here is my large tub filled with dirt and planted with red potatoes and yukon golds. Where are those flowers?? Lots of greenery to overflowing, but no flowers yet. I have a zucchini on the left side, but it is completely hidden by the potato plant! The zucchini is rather stunted but has developed some blossoms. Next year I will have a small, very small, garden area back here. There is not much light, but enough!

Wool Dryer Balls

I happened upon another blog in which the blogger talked about making dryer balls out of wool yarn. I had never heard that people have used wool in the dryer to fluff the clothes and eliminate the need for dryer sheets. Well, that is all the information I needed to search the internet until I happened upon some simple instructions for creating my own dryer balls. Here is a photo of 3 of the 9 I made. This is a fast project, although it did take some time to wash and dry on "hot" after making 1/2 of the balls, then wash and dry when they were finished to completely shrink/felt them. I made 3 for me and 3 each for my daughter and daughter-in-law. If you are intested, just google "wool dryer balls" and you will find instructions. The inportant thing is that THEY WORK!!

Ambulances and Aid Cars

My heart skipped a beat last night. We had our friends, Don and Mary, over for dinner and as we were sitting at the patio table outside chatting before having dinner, we heard a siren off in the distance. Since we now live in an over 55 community we all joked that maybe it was coming here. We listened as the siren got closer and closer, then stopped. Phew! But moments later the aid car pulled into our community. Our patio faces the only entrance to our community so we see everything! The aid car went down the road, turned around and turned into our cul-de-sac! OH NO! That was when my heart skipped a beat! Since there are only 4 homes on our tiny street, I figured it had to be going to the home of our wonderful neighbors who are both over 90. They just celebrated their 70th anniversary!

Thankfully, the aid car backed out and went toward the gate but stopped at another home. I have met those elder folks but don't really know them. We couldn't see through our rhododendrons whether they took someone to the hospital but it wasn't long before the aid car drove off with no siren blaring. So I calmed down and we all went on with our conversation and soon came into the house to eat dinner.

When you live in a community of elders, you know that the reality is that people will get sick and at some point die. We have the firetruck and aid cars in here on a fairly regular basis. I have taken the time to get to know several of the 250 homeowners in this community. We try to attend the breakfasts that Arlo hosts 3 or 4 times a year, I play pinochle with 7 other ladies twice a month and I play bunco with eleven ladies once a month.  A lovely woman who lived kitty-corner to us was in a nursing facility for 3 months shortly after we had moved in here. When I saw that she was back I went over and visited her, drove out to get her medication from the store and bring her dinner. Three days later the aid car was, not-surprisingly, at her home.  I watched and waited until I saw the ambulance arrive and they brought the stretcher out to take her to the hospital. Then I walked across the street and talked to the medics. I was greeted at the door by one medic who said "Are you Sandy? Sandy Young?" Gulp! They figured it must be me because this dear lady doesn't have any friends close by and since I had told her that Dave and I were nearby if she needed anything, I became her contact person. I visited her in the hospital and thankfully her only child flew in from France and stayed for a month keeping tabs on her and getting her settled permanently in a local nursing home.

Because of the aid car showing up in our community, Mary and I started talking about the elders in our churches and how they are not really cared for properly. For about five years we attended the church that they go to and know many of the people there. Thankfully we are still on the their prayer chain and receive emails regularly. Mary told me about an older couple (the husband died about a month ago) who would have benefited so much with visits from people from the congregation. Older people, especially if they don't have realtives nearby, can live lonely lives. I don't think people mean to overlook them, but after all, just what do we have in common??

Dave and I have always enjoyed being in the company of elders. Many of our closest friends are in their 70's and 80's. But not everyone is older. Mary and Don are a few years younger than we are and we fellowship with lots of folks our own age. I wonder if people are reluctant to befriend the elderly because they know that heartache and death is not that far off? Is it a reminder that we, too, will find ourselves in that situation and we just don't want to think about it? Whatever it is.....it shouldn't be!

My friend, Judy, and I have made a habit of visiting widows within our church body. We have had some wonderful conversations and it made us both very sad to hear from one lady...."you are the only ones from church who have ever paid me a visit." It made us both chuckle but also sad when we visited some ladies about 10 years ago (almost all have passed on) and when we arrived at the scheduled time, we were quizzed a bit. "Did the church send you to spy on me?" "Why are you visiting me?" We realized very quickly that no one had been reaching out to these dear widows who so needed to be cared about.They just figured we certainly weren't coming without an agenda!!

The incident that probably caused me to want to reach out to the elderly happened years ago. When I was about 23 years old and living temporarily in San Diego when Dave was stationed at Balboa Naval Hospital, we lived in the upstairs of a family's home. Next door two old ladies lived alone. One day when I was outside, one of the ladies chatted with me and asked me if I would consider being her "daughter" at the Mother Daughter Tea at her church in a couple of weeks. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HER!! I felt so sad that this lady didn't have a daughter and had to resort to asking me, someone she didn't know, to accompany her. I said yes. With a bit of apprehension I attended the tea with this sweet little lady. So, early in my adult life I saw the need to befriend the elderly and consider it a joy to have the opportunity to brighten their life a bit.

My question to you is, "are you seeking out those elder folks in your neighborhood or your church and offering friendship and concern?"  You won't regret it!! And they will feel blessed.

Homemade Garden Flowers

I've been working bit by bit on these glass flowers. We had a speaker at one of our garden club meetings a few months ago who taught us how to make this type of flower out of glassware that we could find at the local thrift shop. It wasn't easy to find glass bowls and such that would stack together and sort of look like a flower! AND ones that were cheap enough for this project. But I kept searching until I had pretty much what I wanted.

The trick to this is to ONLY use a silicone based glue. I used LocTite Plumber/Marine Clear Adhesive. It will stand up to the rain and cold. I also used some paint pens (made to use on glass) to lend some color on the clear pieces. The pink on the left plate is from a paint pen, as are the pink "flowers" on the clear glass insert in the turquoise flower. The orange trim around the smallest flower is also paint. I baked FIMO for the centers of the flowers and glued in wires with beads on the ends for the stamens. You need to look pretty closely to see them in the photo.

I'm not sure how much I like them....I'm not fond of the square one, but was giving up on finding another plate. You can use bone china, porcelain, stoneware or earthenware. If you use terra cotta, you definitely need to move it to the garage or it will crumble and break like terra cotta does in the winter!

I suppose I will just wait and see if someone steals these before I invest any more time and money in this project. I was rather worried about placing these out further toward the street because before we moved here last spring, I set a beautiful new hosta out in a huge pot so that it would be here and ready for me when I returned to plant it. It was Miother's Day weekend and voila! Gone! I really wondered then what we had gotten ourselves into in moving here!! Aside from that little glitch, we are very happy that we downsized. And I'm very happy that I still have some flower beds to play in and that there was room for the most important items that I use for sewing and crafting.

LIFE IS GOOD!!

Rough hands and feet??

It's time to soften them up. A nice sugar scrub should do the trick. I've tried the ones that they sell at places like Bath and Body Works. They work well, but at $14-$16 it's just way more than I want to spend. Besides I'm a do-it-yourselfer. For a fraction of the cost you can make your own, like I did. My hands are so soft after using this on them just once.

Measurements don't have to be exact, but what you will need is:

1 Cup of granulated sugar (better on your skin than in your tummy)
1 Cup of oil (olive, grape seed, corn oil, etc.)
at least 4 drops of essential oils (I used orange)

Simply combine everything in a glass bowl. Mix together with a spoon and transfer to a glass jar. Keep this in your bathroom and when you are ready to use it, use a small spoon to mix and put a small amount in your hand. Rub into your hands or feet (or elbows!) for about one minute. Pause for about 3 minutes and then rinse with warm water. Pat dry.

I used GrapeOla Grape Seed Oil because it is all natural and contains Omega 6 and Vitamin E. I have made other lotions in past years and have added Vitamin E so this made sense to me! Notice that BIG Tupperware container full of sugar. I have one like it for flour. I've used these for probably 30 years and they are still going strong!

I used to make soap. Preferably goat's milk soap, hence all the essential oils. If you don't use a good quality essential oil you will need to add more drops to make it fragrant, so splurge for the good stuff. I have some good and some not so great oils. Best place to buy your oils is online.

Now wasn't that easy??

 A metal measuring spoon would be perfect for scooping the proper amount out, so tomorrow I will go to my local thrift store and buy one. Don't use plastic! That's why I want a stainless steel measuring teaspoon....it will be short enough to keep in the jar.

And if your hubby has rough hands, have him use this too! Enjoy!

Sewing

I've had lots of hobbies over the years. Some I've lost interest in or life has taken me in other directions. Not sewing! Ever since purchasing my first sewing machine right after graduating from high school, I have never left this love for too long a time. My mom had an old black Singer sewing machine that she used to make me lots of clothes when I was a child. I remember sewing on it when I was taking Home Ec (why did schools discontinue offering this??) in junior high (now middle school) to make my mom a size 10 fitted black wool dress, completely lined, with a zipper in the back. The biggest memory for me now is that it FIT!! AND she actually wore it!

Of course, my first sewing machine had to be a Singer. That seemed to be the standard back in those days. Mine was a nice 646 Touch-a-Matic. I found this photo online of the instruction manual.

 

Since that handy machine, I have upgrated a few times. In the mid 70's I got a wonderful Viking machine that had cams that you could stick in the back of the machine for more stitch pattern options. I loved that machine because it was heavy duty! Sewing through multi-layers of denim or leather was no problem! It was manufactured in several colors other than brown. I searched around online to find this photo:




Then  in 1985 I was able to purchase a lovely Pfaff Creative 1473 that had lots of other stitches displayed under that "lid" and had another attachment that you could plug into it to stitch out a simple pattern that you drew. I LOVED the integrated walking food which would keep two layers of fabric from sliding apart when you sewed them together. The machine looked like this:

 


For several years I threatened that once I saw grandkids in my future I would need an embroidery machine. So once again I got the bug to upgrade (kind of like wanting a new car!) and in 2004 I purchased a Baby Lock sewing/embroidery machine  Here is a photo of it with the "top" (that covers the thread) removed:

This machine required a new table to accommodate the embroidery attachment and a handy lift so I can easily raise the level of the machine to use as an embroidery machine. It is hard to believe that I have owned this machine for 9 years! I have thoroughly enjoyed each of the machines I have owned. The manufacturers keep coming up with new bells and whistles to entice sewing enthusiasts! Of course, I don't have room, nor do I want to spend the $$$ on a designated "quilting" machine that will more easily quilt the layers of a quilt together with beautiful stitching.

With all the machine upgrades and sewing I have done to keep my creative juices going , one would think I would have been better served to just purchase a sewing machine store! Or a fabric store.

Here is my rant for the day. When I think back to that Viking machine, I am saddened by the fact that they just don't make many machines these days that are as solidly built as it was. Now we see plastic on the outside, plastic on the inside, and we're told to bring it in once a year for it's annual "going over." My mom NEVER took her machine in to be serviced! And it ran fine. Maybe I'm just subtly telling myself that I should have kept that old Viking. It sure was pretty! But the prices go up and quality goes down.

I do love my Baby Lock machine (and serger with the jet air treading system) but I still have that nagging feeling that maybe I should have at some point plunked down the extra $$$ for a Bernina. Now those machines are solid as a rock! I have always felt that they were overpriced and not quite up to having the latest bells and whistles. Bernina is sort of the Mercedes of sewing machines. I had an opportunity to try out the Bernina 830 while making a zippered cosmetic bag for Kari for her birthday. Wow! I was impressed! Here is a picture of the Bernina 830:



This machine has a jumbo size embroidery hoop which I don't see offered with other brands. It also has a built-in stitch regulator which I LOVED!! This gives even stitches when doing free motion embroidery. It also had the ability to use a special foot (for extra $$) that would clamp on a permanent marker pen and it would print out a pattern with the pen! Another special attachment (extra $$) easily creates a pattern for putting a design with crystals on your fabric. If you are looking to purchase a machine and spending a bit extra is no problem, you might want to look at Bernina. I think their technology has caught up to that in other machines and passed them up. My only complaint is that the screen is awfully tiny. I haven't been bothered by my screen being off to the right, but I understand that some folks get frustrated with it off to the side and Bernina has taken those complaints seriously. It is easier to see it when it is right in front of your eyeballs!

Here is that cosmetic bag that I sewed for Kari:

Note that the heart design was done with permanent pen and the design for the crystals was also done on the machine.

Here is the latest quilt that I have been working on for one of my granddaughter's preschool auction. I'm tired of working on it and yet my DD says it needs more flowers at the top. Maybe tomorrow I will add those and then get it layered and quilted and bound. I've put in hours upon hours and am ready to move on!!

While I'm at it, here is a wall hanging that I recently made for my sister-in-law, Jill:

And here are some kitchen towels that I embroidered and given as gifts:

I also made that jazzy ironing board cover to spruce up my craft room. It almost makes ironing tolerable!!