Sheesh-a-Moley!

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AN EASY WAY TO MAKE A DONATION THAT IS ABSOLUTELY FREE TO YOU!!

Nessa, from Absolutely Moms and According to Me, has graciously offered all of her monies earned from her Lilaguide registrations!! Lilaguide is a new site with lots of different communities. Nessa has started a group for WAH or SAH moms where we can exchange tips and ideas, read product reviews and even find great blogs to read! This community is new and is growing daily…I know you don’t want to miss out on this!! Even if you are not a WAH or SAH mom yet, you are still welcome…heck, even if you’re not a mom yet, come on in! lol!!

Sign-up is easy-peasy. All you have to do is sign up here and when you do so, Nessa will make as bit of money which she will be sending to me as a donation for Blogathon 2008. So see, you can donate even if you have absolutely no money whatsoever…how cool is that!?

Seriously, this is so easy….just a smidge of time and you’ve joined a cool group AND you’ve helped make a difference in the life of a deaf child! So do it…ok?

banner: Shabby Fall Page set by Shabby Princess

I’ve been stumbling over here and over here. Because I am now addicted, I decided to come here and post my Seven Crafty/Quilty Stumbles! I am tempted to do some homeschool stumbling over there, but I’ve got to get my pjs on and get ready for Deadliest Catch. Yes, I know folks, I lead and exciting life! lol!

Super Circles: What a perfect find! I have been drawn to appliqued circles lately and this method will work beautifully!! I have visited Anna Marie Horner’s blog often and I just love it…can’t believe I have never seen this post!

Melody Johnson: Art Quilts– Bee-youuu-ti-ful! These art quilts are just wonderful…the colors are magnificent. I wish I could combine colors like a true artist….maybe one day. This one is called Orbs and Crosses #5 …love it!

How to Make a Tied Baby Quilt-An Easy Beginner Project: Seriously, folks, Mighty Nancy has a mighty good way of making tied baby quilts. When I first started making quilts, I made a lot of these tied quilts. Now that I see how Mighty Nancy creates her ties, I realize how much time I wasted doing it my way. Some people are so clever….

Sashiko Embroidery: Sheesh-a-moley! Another thing to add to my “to -do” list. Be sure to check out the link to Purl Bee’s great tutorial.

Weiner Dog fabric: I heart Repro Depo for stocking Wiener Dog fabric!

Happy Zombie: This one of my all time favorite blogs! I was thrilled when I stumbled upon this site…aren’t these mini quilts just marvelous?? Happy Zombie is just the best when it comes to colors…I love the red, white and aqua quilt…

Cotton Monsters by Jennifer Strunge: Delightful!

I found a lot of crafty things but not much quilty sites. I’ll have to go out there and stumble some…you do the same, ok?!

Last week I decided to gather up all my projects and make sure I have all the supplies I need to finish these babies up.  This is my first batch I pulled together…it has turned out to be a much larger “tackle” than I had anticipated…

X and O inspired by Lazy Gal Quilting…one of my all time favorite quilting blogs! I just need a neat border fabric and backing…

This is a Gus’ Gang quilt that I am completely hating! It needs a border and backing…

Another Gus’ Gang quilt…needs border and backing.

Small wall quilts using up a very small bit of my scraps stash.  I really can’t throw anything away.  These are ready to hand quilt.

“French Fries”…created when our local McDonald’s closed down for a massive remodel.  It’s been re-opened for several months now…sigh.  This is ready to be hand quilted.

 Small wall quilt ready to be bound.  It looks a little wonky because it had to be washed after I found my stinky dog napping on it…sheesh!   This should be an easy one to finish up, right?!  Ha!

Well, folks, there you have it…my first batch.  I have about 15 other projects to gather up before I’m finished.  It does feel good to have things a bit more organized!  See, I even have all the tops hanging up ready to go!  You will probably never see anything like this from me again! lol!!

I know it’s a big no no to cross post, but there are always exceptions to the rules, right? Today marks the second annivesary of Gus’ death. Gus died on May 31, 2006 while awaiting a liver/small bowel transplant. He was 16 months old.

I have found it very therapeutic to write letters to Gus. The following is the letter I’ve written to mark the second anniversary of this death…or rather, his “homegoing”. I want to make it very clear that by writing this letter I am in no way trying to make contact with him. Contacting the dead is wrong and quite dangerous. (Deut. 8:9-12). There are deceitful spirits out there that yearn to make us think we are talking to our loved ones when in all actuality we are not. Besides…God has provided us with the only Spirit we need…the Holy Spirit. He will not deceive us nor misguide us. Since I’m certain that the Lord and Gus see each other daily, I have asked Him to share these letters if it is His will….I like to think it is!

Dearest Gus,

It has been two years since we said goodbye to each other. When I think about the time that has passed, I am amazed that it has been that long—yet, then again, sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday. I am still able to feel the weight of your little body in my arms. I can even still imagine nuzzling your neck and breathing in your precious baby smell. I know in time that will pass. God comforts me with these memories and I am thankful.

I still dream of you often. My hope is that I will continue to do so until we are reunited. My dreams of you are often funny. I can honestly say that I wake up from them feeling joy instead of the great dread that I could feel in knowing you are no longer here. God uses these dreams to bring me comfort and I am thankful.

Your dad is about to graduate nursing school and I’ve just started working on my three pre-requisites so I can start nursing school next summer. My time with you has shown me that I can handle the toughest things on this earth. Certainly I have not done any of these things—like holding you as your heart beat for the last time—on my own but only through the magnificent power of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Because of this, I am praying that God will bless us with in-home opportunities to care for other medically fragile children—especially the ones that are abandoned in the hospital and have no one. This sounds crazy to a lot of people and I do understand. Who in their right mind would want to get attached to a child that may die?? Who would set themselves up for such heartache?? Well, your dad and I would…and we would be honored to have the opportunity to do so. I have been blessed and equipped with the experience of your death and as I start school, I look forward to the chances I will have to “give back”. God has empowered me to face the tough things and has given me empathy and I am thankful.

As I am aware of the fact that a righteous man’s prayer is powerful and effective(James 5:16), and you my son are as righteous as you can be since you are now with the Lord, I am hoping you will pray for me…well, for all of us Doriots! Seriously, this world is so beautiful yet so dark—so full of sin. I strive daily to live joyfully and I look forward with great anticipation to our reunion. It is hard here though so please pray that we will not grow weary and lose sight of Home. God uses the reality of Heaven and seeing you again to comfort me…and I am thankful!

I love you, Gus!

Mommy

All I wanted was some of this….

But nooooo, our dumb ol’ local Walmart no longer carries embroidery thread. Ok, I’ll just grab some skeins over at Hancock’s.

Next, I look for this….

But, nooooooo, our dumb ol’ local Walmart does not stock quilting needles. Ok, but they do have a pretty good size area full of quilting tools and mat boards…what gives?? A clerk suggested I use embroidery needles. WHAT?! OK…they stock embroidery needles but no thread to embroider with and they have some of the most clever quilting supplies around, but they don’t carry quilting needles!! Seriously, I hate Walmart!!

So, give me some suggestions for online stores where I can buy thread and quilting needles at a great price.

Be sure you don’t miss the really cool…and HUGE….Indie Goodness Giveaway that is going on right now.  The whole package is valued at $547 and you have 24 chances to win!!  You need to hurry though because this giveaway ends on the 14th.  I’m going right now to grab a cup of tea and start working on my entries!!  Neato Mosquito!!

Finally!!  Our first batch of medical teaching dolls are ready to be sent to our local hospital.  These dolls are used to teach kiddos about the different procedures that doctors and nurses will be doing while they are in the hospital.  Sometimes these dolls are used to show the siblings what will be going on.  Being in the hospital can be very scary for not only the child but his/her siblings too!  Belle had a teaching doll when Gus was in the hospital.

We decided to make little gowns for our dolls.  I love them!

And here they are sporting a few of the preemie hats that have crocheted!

I really appreciate all the help Sonya gave me.  These little dolls were not the easiest things for us to put together, but I think they will get easier the more we do.   If you would like the pattern just let me know!

I believe I came across the link to Free Collage Sheets over at  blog.  I was pleased to find that there are several collage sheets offered at this neat site….the birds really caught my eye!  Enjoy!

I am still working on the never-ending quilt.  I think I’ll be able to finish the cross-hatch quilting in about two weeks.  The last time I got a lot of quilting done was over Christmas break…while I was watching seasons 1, 2 and 3 of Lost.  That was very bad of me…but oh so much fun! lol!!  My kids had to forage for food…..

This is an old photo so be looking for a nicer one soon.  I am hand-quilting a cross-hatch design in in the outer border.  The inside “medallion”…is it still called a medallion when it’s a diamond?…is also quilted in a cross-hatch.  I can’t wait to finish it!!  Seriously, I think we’ll have to have a party…or at least a celebratory karaoke night! lol!!

I have a really bad habit of bookmarking sites and adding sites to my reader and never organizing them. What happens is that I just forget about them. Well, this weekend I am setting up some kind of system…the insanity has to stop folks! lol!! Here are a few blogs/sites to start with:

Paperkraft…Tons of info about free online papercrafts, origami and automata!! Oh if only I had some ink…I would have to stop posting and go build a robot or something! Completely fun site!!

Paper Toys…Another great site chocked full of free papercrafts. I’m seriously bummed that I have no ink. I guess it’s a good thing though since I really need to stay focused! lol!!

Jim’s Dollhouse Printables…Ok, I don’t have a dollhouse, but this site makes me want to have one! You’ll find a lot of little printables likes crayon boxes, movie posters, Victorian era bills and much more.

I’m going to be cleaning out my “Favorites” file this weekend so be looking for several of these posts.