My Christmas Gift

I found this great curio on Craigslist. I have added all of my brownware to it, which is wonderful because now I can see it all the time. Before it was in the cabinets in my kitchen and I couldn't see it. The cabinet was $80, which is more than I usually pay for anything, lol. But curio cabinets are expensive and I think it was a pretty good deal!

Merry Christmas Everyone

Dillon's gifts wrapped and under the tree.

Snow man made by George and Dillon Blake, Vanna, Terry and Jordan Sargent. By morning it's head had fallen off. Everyone had a conspiracy theory going that someone knocked his head off after dark :D

Isn't this just beautiful! The snow was just dripping off of the trees. The entire country side looked beautiful! Just enough of the actual tree showing to add a little contrast! I love snow in Kentucky!

I can't believe it has been another year, my baby is almost 11 years old. It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital and now he is almost a teenager. He is so excited about Christmas but is still on the fence about Santa. He thought about setting traps in front of the fireplace just to find out. That is my baby, that is totally how he thinks! We went to Kentucky over the weekend to celebrate Christmas with my Mom's family. George and I agreed that it was one of the best Christmas's we have spent down there. It snowed a ton, the electric was out, it was great. We played board games and uno, the fireplace was going, and the snow was beautiful. Dillon loves going down there and always says he wants to live at Uncle Wayne's house. The house is full of kids, although now they are all older. The entire house is just Happy. The kids (and my uncle Wayne) rode sleds down the hill and built a snowman with the help of George. We are getting ready for bed, the tree is lit, the baby is in bed, the gifts are out and life is wonderful! Merry Christmas everyone, may you have a wonderful, blessed year!

Christmas Quilt top ready to go....

I just finished this Christmas Quilt top last week. I love the colors, I know you can't really see it but the fabric is all sparkly and shiney...not usually my taste but for Christmas it is wonderful.

So excited I've got my MOchine up ready to go!

I've got my husqvarna mega quilter mounted on my grace frame. My cloth leaders are in and I'm ready to go. If I can only get up the nerve to load a quilt and get quilting I'll be set! I am excited to have the premade leaders.....tried making my own but it was a mess, fabric wasn't really strong enough. I really needed canvas, the premade are strong and I'm so excited to get started.

My completed Jelly Roll Quilt

I just finished this top. It is the top I made with the Jelly Roll that my friend Alissa gave me. The top turned out so cute and I can't wait to get it quilted. It is really flat, I didn't straighten it out real well on the floor. :D

Bee Hive basket

I found this beehive basket at the Goodwill today. It had it's top and everything. I thought it was so cute. Don't know what I'll do with it but I had to have it.

My finds

Ok, I admit I am a little frugal when it comes to decorating my house. I love decorating but would rather not spend a fortune doing it. I also am really drawn to older stuff so that works out perfect. I would rather search and gather things I love from the goodwill or garage sales. That is the fun part searching for cool things, getting a good price is just that much better for me. I also love making over things I buy. A little black paint makes anything look better. My husband is truly afraid I'm gonna paint him if he stands still long enough! He may be right :D

My Finds

My favorite find, a little egg basket that I found at a garage sale. It was $5, which I thought was a great price. Obviously I keep magazines in it along with a few of my sons comic books for his goodnight reads.

I bought this recliner at the same garage sale it was, get this $30. I couldn't believe it. I love the check print on it. It is the perfect fit in our bedroom. I have my sons quilt that I made thrown over the back. It doesn't live there just waiting to get time to hang it up in his room.

I found this cute little print at the goodwill. It had a hidious green frame. I brought it home, changed the frame out with one I already had and it looks so cute in my kitchen. I love the jar in the picture. It makes me smile.

I found this little box at the goodwill. I sanded down the top and stained it, stenciled a star on the top and we were good to go. The little cup and bowl were found at a garage sale. The little light was new when I bought it, but I did get it at the dollar store :D

I found this $5 crock at the same garage sale where I bought the chair. I fill it with my magazines and it lives on our fireplace mantle. I love the crock it is so cute.

My finds

Everything on the shelf above except for the star I found at the GW. I loved the little drawer and filled it with bobbins that I found at a garage sale. I'm always looking for cross stitched items at the goodwill. I can't imagine anyone getting rid of a cross stitch!

I found this breadbox at the gw and it was perfect, although UGLY. I did a quick makeover on it. Painted it black, distressed it and shaved off the ugly words on the glass and it is perfect!

I found the clock below at a garage sale. It is homemade. The cross stitch below is beautiful and fits perfectly into my house. I love the clock. I love cross stitch.

I love old brown dishes. I have started collecting them. Everything I have has come from the goodwill or garage sales. My mother in law bought me the green bowls at a garage sale when we first got married. They are so pretty and I love the brownware it reminds me of my grandma.

The table below we bought when we first got married. It's old and the chairs were worn so I found these chairs at the good will. They were perfect and even padded. The stools in the background were also found at the good will as were the candle sticks on the table.

I am very frugal when I buy for my house. I would rather spend my money on fabric for quilts. I find so much stuff at the goodwill or as a lady once called it "the blue boutique", I also find a ton of stuff at garage sales. I have added pictures of all of my precious finds....enjoy

Had to share

I just put this block together using the jelly roll my friend Alissa bought me. I love these fabrics. They are so pretty!

Pin wheel quilt

I started this top a while back. I really didn't like it at first and now it has grown on me. I just need to add the white lattice strips in between the rows and it will be good to go.

This week has been extremly exhausting, this day has been even worse. I so want to hide away and sew for the weekend. I need a break and some time to have fun, not worry about the stresses of life. Time for myself, to relax.

New Jelly Roll!

My friend bought me this beautiful jelly roll this weekend. I can't wait to find a pattern to use it in! I love the colors together. This will definitily be a girlie quilt for me! YEA! Thanks Alissa!

Ok, so today we had a parent teacher conference with Dillon's teachers. If you know anyone with a special needs child you know how stressful this can be.....surprise it went great. He has a special needs teacher that he had a few years ago. SHE IS WONDERFUL! Dillon really likes her and likes his 4th grade teacher. This makes for a very good year! Dillon is changing classes this year, something I thought would cause a major breakdown but no, he seems to love it. Change is not usually good for Dillon but for some reason he has had no problems with changing classes! I do want to share a letter he wrote for school. They all wrote letters to soldiers and this is Dillon's!

Dear Soldier,
Hi I am a fourth grader at _______ in Middletown. How do you put land mines in the ground? and tell Terry I said Hi. I'm Dillon. Your doing good at fighting. I'll be rooting for you. When I grow up I'll be in the army. Good luck!
Sincerly,
Dillon Blake

Isn't that the cutest thing? Terry is my cousin that is in the Airforce. I'm so excited that he is doing well in school. The problems that they were seeing were social. That is typical of a child with Autism. Dillon has a hard time making friends. He tries so hard! It makes me as a mother want to go to the other children and say, IF YOU GIVE HIM A CHANCE YOU WILL KNOW HOW WONDERFUL HE IS! Obviously I don't but as a mother I want to!

Today I went to the fabric shop, not really looking for anything, mostly looking at everything! I found the cutest tree fabric to back a quilt. Can't wait to get started on that! First order of business it to get my new machine up and going. My hubby put together my Grace Frame, I bought a new Huskvarna Mega Quilter and now all I need to do is load it up and start sewing. It's so intimidating! I've had it for a few months now and have been putting off loading it and getting started! My quilting friend Alissa is a go getter, I'll have to make her come over and help! Projects are always more fun with friends! I've got quilt tops piling up and projects on my mind!

Hidden Stars...waiting to be quilted

I love this pattern! I got it from Layer Cake, Jelly Roll and Charm Quilts book by Pam & Nicky Lintott. For someone that is a beginner quilter it looks more complicated than it is! Super fast and pretty!

Waiting to be quilted.....

Quilted Pillow

I made this little pillow out of a charm pack. Loved the pack and quilted little leaves into every other block.

New project in the making!

Shhhhh......Don't tell my husband but I went to the fabric store today. A few months ago I bought half yard pieces of these prints. Today I found a backing fabric (the Green Trees) to finish off the quilt. This is going to be one happy quilt!

Red, White, and Blue

As you can probably tell, I love red white and blue fabric. This lap quilt is the perfect size for a nap! It is used often by everyone! And yes it is backed in Republican fabric! lol

Heart tells me it's prison!

Ok, I know this picture looks pitiful but it's one of my favorite pictures of Dillon, aka the bug man! Last year he was hospitalized for a sinus infection. He had his lap top, his DS, cartoon network 24 hours a day and still he begged to go home. I said Dillon, You have all these same things at home and you still cry to go home. He said, "Mommy my head tells me it's home but my heart tells me this is prison" Made us all laugh! How can you argue with the heart!

War Machine and Captain Rex, also known as my boys!

As I said before, my husband loves to make Dillon happy. What makes a 10 year old boy happier than dressing up for Halloween? Dressing up for Halloween with your Daddy! Best Daddy in the world!

Autism Tattoo

Ok, we are pretty conservative people, however my husband did decide this year to get a tattoo! He decided he wanted one that meant something personal to him! As I said earlier out son has autism, he attends the Cincinnati Center for Autism and he used their logo as an idea for his tattoo! He had our son, Dillon, sign his name under the star and they tattooed his name in his own handwriting! Isn't that the coolest thing! This is my baby's signature at 10 years old!

Nursery Rhyme Quilt

I embroidered these blocks when I was a little girl. My Mom taught me how to embroider. My intention was to make a quilt for my first child. (yea intentions) I did however get the quilt done by the time he turned 10! LOL, for some reason he has no appreciation for my efforts :)

Mom's quilt (on great grandma's iron bed)

Autism's Puzzle

SunBonnet Sue (the little hussies)

My first large quilt for my son's bed

My first post

My first blog post! Let me tell you a little about myself. I am a 35 year old mother of 1. I have been married for 16 years, have a 10 year old son. I quilt, scrapbook, and downright crafty girl. I graduated from college (Miami University Ohio) at 30 years old and went to work for a local Steel Company. My dream job would be working in a creative environment (wouldn't that be nice) Of course it wouldn't do for me to work in a quilt store....have to resist the urge to roll naked in the material (you think I'm kidding)!
Our son is the best thing that every happened to us. He is a 10 year old boy with autism! He has what is considered high functioning classic autism. He is not only the cutest kid but also the sweetest kid in the world! Not a bad bone in his body, he loves people and truly wants to be friends with EVERYONE!
My husband is a locall Firefighter/Paramedic. Yep, real life hero girls! Still makes me swoon after 16 years! He also happens to be the best daddy in the world! Not many big macho 37 year old men would dress up for halloween with their kids but my hubby does! He is completly in love with our little boy and does everything he can to make his life better. What more could you ask for in a husband!
Sometimes I rant, sometimes I rave, not always in a good mood, but hope to entertain and share with people.
Welcome to my blog!