Get Well Pressies

I had a bit of surgery on the 18th. Here is some of the sweet pressies I received.

 My sister Penny gave me this oh so soft Winne the Pooh and Piglet. It was to hold when I coughed. Cause you know how that is not too much fun after surgery!

 Our sister Debbie Jo gave me this pretty Vera Bradley purse with matching wallet. I love it! And everything fit too.

 My dear friend Venda, from our Girl Scout leader days, sent me from NM this friendship angel. She is a Jim Shore resin piece. LOVE her! And sweet Venda. So glad we have reconnected after a few years of business/moving away. The details are so much prettier in person. Love the two girls walking in friendship. That covered so much for us. Our love of girls and our friendship also. Thank you again honey! Taking the pics with my phone makes them not so clear. But so much faster. :0)

 And then Miss Laura from MN (who dropped her blog and reallllllly needs to restart it) sent me a box of sunshine cheer. And let me tell you, it was yellow and oh so happy. This is what I saw when I opened it.

 Made me laugh. But she put so much thought into it!

 She covered it all, quilting, chocolate, crafts, bathtime fun, candy, comfy (socks and lip balm) and crocheting! That is a LOT of yellow.

 Look at this clever triangular pincushion with butterfly pins. It is made from 30's reproduction fabric. Adorable. This girl is clever I am telling you!

I am so thankful for my family and friends. They are great encouragers and support. Very grateful also to Penny and Heather for manning our Farmer's Market booth the past 2 weeks without me. I know they are having some bonding time (hahahaha) but still appreciate them so much.
I am blessed. ~Angela

The start of my homestead :o)

But first you have to see this cutie patootie. Precious baby, Cooper Stone. Isn't that the coolest name? His mommy Ashley, has a lovely family in the mountains of Utah. I just had to share a baby hat with her. I do not get to make many boy items. Was hard not to add a flower! She shares more pics of him on her blog.

 Now onto my "homestead". A worm farm for composting and my veggies and flowers. :o)

I used a large plastic tote with a lid. Made a few holes around the top of the base for air holes using a nail and hammer. Mark has hid the drill or something. He wasn't here to ask about it. I created a mixture of shredded paper (thank you Penny), grass clippings, garden dirt and compost. All this was moistened well. I will check it tomorrow to see if it is damp enough. I was cautious about over watering it today. Boiled egg shells were added also. AND some of Penny's yummy bunny poo. That stuff is pure nectar for plants. I bought red wiggler worms. You are not supposed to use earth worms or night crawlers. For whatever reason. Then I popped the wormies into their new home and said "go forth and populate". :o) Supposedly the egg shells and the bunny poo make the wormies frisky and they reproduce more and faster. Interesting TMI huh? The more wormies, the more compost. So this is my first adventure into having a "homestead". Will keep you posted...on if I kill them or if I conquer being a Worm Farmer! yeeehaaaaaaw

I am blessed. ~Angela

A bit of decorating around my house

 The candy basket is ready for the family tomorrow. Peggy gave me the chickie years ago (it is a pincushion) and Lizzie sent me the precious card. Both girls made these goodies. So talented!

 My girls are guarding the eggies. Shhhhh don't tell them they are wooden. The chick figurine is a giftie from Penny. It represent her, me and Debbie.

 One of my punchneedle designs. I love this old crocheted pansy doily. The crockery bowl holds ceramic cookie stamps.

Toby wishes you a Blessed Easter!

We will be having our family party tomorrow. It is a combo for Easter AND Debbie Jo's birthday which was Monday. The menu is awesome if I do say so! Turkey breast, cheesie potatoes, rolls, cottage cheese, carrots, green bean casserole, deviled eggs, baked beans and broccoli. Apple salad and pumpkin pies with whipped topping for desert. I am really looking forward to our family time. 

I am so blessed.~Angela

Jesus Appearing To Doubting Thomas in John 20:24-29.

(24) Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. (25) So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (26) Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”(27) Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”(28) Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”(29) Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

I know a cover girl. Seriously!

Go tell Reeze how sweet this is! Way to go girl!!!

January recap

This month has kinda sorta stunk. Like a skunk. Even cute ones stink. Just sayin.

I have had pleurisy, pneumonia, strep throat and kidney infection all currently and in the past 15 days. And Penny is sick. Both my kids are sick. Deb's lil grandsugar Jaidy has been sick and Mark has been not been feeling too great. Our house is the one with the big quarantine sign on the roof and door.

And then I got this in the mail yesterday from that dollface Miss Laura. Aaaaah if only you could see and touch it. Perfection. The tiniest of stitches. The softest wool. Love that girl. 

“Good friends are like stars.... You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.”

Better times are a'comin'

And they start tomorrow! Cause I am seeing all these friends this week! And having a bit of a virtual retreat with Michelle in Canada too. Fun times.

The long awaited November Quilt Retreat is here! Finally. Old friends and new ones too. Cannot wait to have a fun time. I need it! (And I know everyone else does too!) The past several weeks haven't been great healthwise. I hate lupus. But not gonna dwell on it tonight. Praying my body will play pretty and I can just enjoy my coming week. I plan on building my nest and parking it there. :o) Even taking my sewing machine. Which has not seen the light of day since MAY! Yes you read it here. So we will see what happens. Of course I am taking a huge stash of yarn.
The photo is the name tags I painted for everyone. Giving you a peek cause hopefully the girls are all getting rested for the drive to Indiana tomorrow and not cruisin' the net. The name tags are pretty simple, but they are what they are. Finished!!!! hahaha Which is HUGE! But then they are huge too, 4 1/2-inch long packing tags. I hadn't painted in even longer than I had sewn! Sheesh. Thank God I can crochet I am just telling ya. 

Have a sweet week everyone!

Hitty Anne got blessed

Her Auntie Vickie sent her this loverly dress. I think she bought it at Quilt Festival. It was created by our fabric Hitty dress lady, Nancy Hauk. Look at the smocking detail! It is perfection for a 6-inch dolly.

Hitty Anne says, "Thank you very very much Auntie Vickie. Mommy will be sending your some Hitty love soon!".

Do you play Hittys? We would love to meet your girls.

My lovely gifties!

My dear friend Imi No-Blog, from the Netherlands, sent me this amazing knitted shawl. I was speechless thinking of the hours it took to create it. She said it was a soft merino wool/mohair blend. I cannot wait til cool weather to wear it to church and for special. Thank you soooo much Imi No-Blog. (I am teasing at her to start a blog!) Imi is my own personal sock maker too! :o) We do this in trade. My shawl is being displayed on ANOTHER gift. Miss Lily was gifted to me by Miss Linda. She is very old, Miss Lily NOT Miss Linda. I have her in the corner right beside my computer desk. And am thoroughly enjoying her. I received her and then the loverrrly shawl. What a perfect combo.

And then I was blessed to win this sweet give-a-way from Michelle in NZ. The lil' sachet is filled with buttons and baubles to use in my crafting. The bookmark is made from selvages. How clever it is. Her embroidery is gorgeous. Thank you Michelle. I told her I would host a give-a-way in the near future. I always do if I win one.

A bit of a praise report. My sweet sister Penny had hand surgery recently. Yesterday she got her stitches out and was told she was ahead on her recovery. So yayaya for that. She has not been able to do handwork for several months and it has been KILLING her! So soon Penny, soon!

Purdy flowers

My sweet friend Laura in MN had these delivered last week. They smelt sooo good. Very sweet with roses and the mini carnations and all the special little flowers tucked around. All nestled into a keepable china tea cup. Thank you again honey! I kept them right by my bed on the dresser the whole time. The doll in the pic is an old Boyd Bear doll. She has an embroidery hoop, a small bunny and bear with embroidery floss tangled up on them. Mark bought me a few of this line of dolls several years ago. I love her glasses.

And thank you all for the sweet comments and emails. That each meant alot to me!

I am feeling better. Still being a bum and sleeping alot. I just got through telling Penny, enough already! And she reminded me it hadn't even been 2 weeks yet. Having a devil of a time keeping Toby boy from jumping up onto my tummy. He is used to me picking him up, big ole doggie that he is and that is what he does to let me know he "wants me". A quick pounce and then the puppy dog eye thing. Mark told me to take a pillow and use some fabric to tie it around my waist. I may just have to!

I am behind in my blog reading. So I am off to live my crafting/sewing through you all! :o)) My next post will be 294. That means a Give-A-Way at 300!!! I love doing them.

Wind and Rain

Sounds like a song title from the 70's or 80's. But it is the weather today. And what wind!!! MAN it is fierce. I am not a fraidycat girl at all about the weather. But I am not liking the wind flatlining the side of the house! Or me while I am outside manning the stupid sump pump in the yard. This is to keep my world aka playhouse from flooding. Poor lil Toby is just sitting around with his legs crossed. He hates rain and isn't wanting to go out in this. Smart boy! I had to pick him up as the WIND was picking him up earlier. That bad it is. There is stuff all over the road and my yard I have no clue who it belongs to. Maybe it will blow home? I am sorry for those in OK who just had twisters go there. And all those poor people in Australia with the horrible fires. God bless them all.

My sweet friend Debi just had shoulder surgery. I would appreciate it, if you hopped over to her blog and sent her some love and encouragement. She is a huge charity quilter and this is going to be hard on her to ease back for awhile. Just thought she might use some extra support!

Stay safe and dry wherever you are.

Yummy eye candy.

My friend Reeze worked up my free pattern into this sweet mini wallhanging. I saw it partially completed at our BPF Retreat. The center is appliqued. Reeze does amazing work and has her own pattern company. Be sure to check out Morning Glory Quilt Designs.

It has been horridly hot here. We had a smattering of rain here a couple of times today. Then a hard 5 minute rain just now. Mark has a rotten summer cold, but got the yard mowed before the rain.

We have had Toby 1 week today. I am still on the fence if this is a good thing or not. But he is a sweetie and our's LOL So I might as well get over it. Having my routine changed up has been the hardest adjustment. Old dog old tricks...new puppy new tricks :o))

Wanna see purrrrfection?

Our Gracie baby has the most gorgeous blue eyes. They are even brighter than this in real life! She was snuggled in my bed covers looking precious and I went to get the camera. Of course she got up when I came back. But this picture is even better than the one I was going to take to start with. (ps: Lizzie this one's for YOU!)


Speaking of Liz, if you havent dropped by her blog, you are missing out! This lady does it all. We have been online quilting buddies for years. She has came all the way from California for all my Indiana quilting retreats. Now she has taken over the helm of my Backporch Friends. Send her some blog love please, and tell her Angie sent you!

I spent last night working in my playhouse. The first time in a couple of months to really stay out there very long. It felt good. Right now I am painting. So be looking for some new pics very soon! I got lots of basecoating done so tonight will be actual fun painting. Wanna put new folkart in my Etsy shoppe.

Tomorrow Debbie and I are going to the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show. It is our annual thing. Penny decided not to go this time, but we usually do it all together. Lots of amazing quilts and then there are the vendors! Gotta love vendors! And if I remember my camera I will give you some quilt eye candy this weekend.