Good bye 2011

Good bye, 2011, it has been a great year......most memorable because Blake and I retired this year.  I have to say that retirement fits like an old shoe.  I miss my friends, but not the work.....which is strange.  I worked in the medical field from the time I was 16 and have been a registered nurse since 1969.  I loved what I did, but I love retirement now!!!

The garden is still providing us with goodies.  We picked cabbage and collards this week, and had enough to share.  We added a storage barn for Blake and a garden house for me at the end of the summer.  Now we are adding an eight foot fence to keep the deer out....it should be finished soon.

A chicken coop is a future possibility.  Would love to have hens and fresh eggs.

Yesterday three hooking buddies came over for a fun day.....we exchanged our Christmas gifts, watched The Help, hooked, ate, chatted.  You get the idea.  We had a great time!

Roxie had to get in on the action.  

Here a few more of my projects from 2011:

Petit Baskets; pattern by Jan Patek

Cupboard Series Snowman Hooked Mat; pattern by Anita White

Team Pillowcases

10" Squares quilt made for our bed - it is okay if the dogs sleep on it :-)

We are staying in and grilling out tonight....guess that means we are old.

Happy New Year, everyone!!

Jennie

It is the middle of the night, and I can't sleep.  As good a time as any to fiddle with my blog, I suppose.  Lots to learn......hope it is not too late to teach an old dog new tricks.  Please bear with me as I learn to make the blog better, hopefully!

On Wednesday some of my "old" friends from our Emergency Room days gathered at a local Mexican restaurant for lunch.  We try to do this several times a year....it is always fun to catch up on what everyone else is doing.

Have to share this cute photo of Miss Poppy.  How can you not love that sweet girl???

I have friends coming tomorrow to watch a movie, eat lunch and hook.  I am looking forward to it; just hope I can stay awake :-(

One thing I have figured out is that I need to work on my photos.  I know I need to be a better photographer, but I also need to learn to do some photo editing.  I have found a couple of sites that are free that might help with that.  If anyone has suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Guess I better take another try at sleeping now.
Jennie

On a roll.......

Yesterday we finished up our family Christmas celebrations by having Blake's family over.  It was a great day and I love having everyone together, but I have to say, I am glad that the major cooking is over.  

I have one more get together on Friday.........some of my hooking buddies.........but we are going to be laid back, watch a movie, have a casual lunch and hook.  Sounds like fun!

Boy, have I been on a roll the past three days!  If I could accomplish this much every week, my stash would definitely dwindle.............of course, part of this was near completion anyway, but it had been that way for a LONG time :-).  First of all, I finished a Pink and Brown Thangles BOM that I started maybe five or six years ago.  It only needed the outer brown border; I pieced the backing and have the binding cut.

 I made this pretty brown quilt called Tobacco Rose.......it is a panel, and I ordered it from Country Sampler.  I only had to trim the panel and add the borders, but I love the colors in it and how it looks as though it has been feather stitched.  And, of course, I had to make the sweet little matching pillow to go with it.  Backing pieced and binding cut on this one, also.  Then I finished the flying geese and outside border on Holiday Inn (a Jo Morton pattern that I had started a couple of years ago)!  The appliqiue is wool, and I love all of the fabrics, so I don't know why it took me so long to finish.  

The next quilt top is one that I pieced earlier in the year from my stash.  It uses the Covey toile by Jo Morton and is made from my stash......I just made up the pattern.  It is one of Blake's favorites.  Now I  need to get all of these quilted.  But at least the tops are done.  I really feel as if I have accomplished a lot.  Just hope I can keep the momentum up!  I am not going to set any hard and fast rules or resolutions about finishing UFOs or projects on hand for the NY.......just that I want to whittle away at some of the things I have stockpiled for so long.  After all, I am retired :-)  No excuses anymore.

I think that I am going to do the little Twelve Days of Christmas block of the day by Temecula Quilt Company.  I will probably use some of my Jo fabric left over from Holiday Inn......every little bit of fabric used up is good!

More later,

Jennie

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.  It was a rainy one here in Georgia, and after a morning spent visiting the various homes of children and grandchildren, then attending church, Blake and I were happy to settle in for the remainder of the day.  I spent most of the afternoon cooking in preparation for our last family Christmas meal tomorrow.























This evening I spent some much coveted  time in my sewing room.  I actually pieced a top from a panel that is really neat, cut the binding and pieced a backing for it.  Will make a matching pillow.....and I have already laid out the fixings for that.  I will give you a peek of it once the pillow is done.   I am starting the post Christmas week with a bang.  Just hope that I can keep it up for the NY.  There are so many things that I want to get done.  I really want to make a dent in all of the UFOs and unstarted projects that I have stashed away.  Since I am retired, I am hoping that I can see this happen.  Of course, I know that when spring comes the yard and garden will call, but I should still have more time than in the past.  Here are a few of the things that I have finished recently:

Wool Feather Tree

Wool Applique Tree Skirt
Pattern by Renee Plains

Primitive Basket, Wool on Linen
Pattern by Rittemire Hurst

                                                                                                                    

Bird on Nest, Wool on Linen with braided edge
Pattern by Karen Kahle

Guess I had better hang it up for tonight......company coming tomorrow :-)  Jennie

Country Christmas, wool on linen
Pattern by Jeanne Benjamin

Let's try this again...........

No posts in over a year!!  OH, my........ so much has happened.  The biggest event being my retirement at the end of August!!!  I am so thrilled to be retired and enjoying every minute more than I could have ever imagined.  One thing, though........where does the time go?  And like my fellow retirees had warned me, how did I ever have time to work????  And why am I not getting everything on my "to do" list done?  Well, I am not quite sure, but I can tell you that I am so much more relaxed and am truly enjoying life......along with Blake, who retired the month before me.

The Christmas season has been so much more fun this year......a little rushing around, but not much.  And time to cook and enjoy being with everyone.  We had Christmas with my family on Sunday, and Blake's family will be here on Monday.  Yesterday we spent time with my sister, her husband and my niece and made a visit to my mom's grave.  Lots of parties, and communion at church tonight.  A most wonderful time of the year!  I hope it has been for everyone else, too!!

I have gotten some stitching done this month..... knitted a scarf for Sara Ashley, binding on a quilt that was quilted months ago, a tiny tree skirt for my feather tree and four team pillowcases for the guys on my finished list.  And work on some other "in progress" projects.  My intent is to enter the NY with a big bang and make a major dent in my stash and UFOs.  We will see.........at any rate, I plan to enjoy what I do.

Merry Christmas to all!!!!
Jennie