Time to Sew!

I'm so happy, the sewing room is finished.  Carpeting is in and now it's time to mess the room up a bit!  Easy clean-up though, a place for everything.  I just love working in this room.  Ronnie's quilt is going to be finished for his birthday, yippee!!  I have other projects that are unfinished and I'm anxious to get to them too.  This room is a dream come true for me.  I've looked at so many magazines to get ideas through the years and then one day Boom!  There it was in Studio Magazine.  I looked at that studio and knew it would work in my space..just a smaller version.  Many thanks to my carpenter for taking a look at the pictures and creating the space I wanted & Thanks to Karen, my organization angel!  This couldn't have happened without her.  It sounds like I'm giving a speech for an award I've received :)  Well, I'm pretty happy!

Off to do a bit more sewing, until later!
Peace,
Diane

Room Re-Do Update

I have finished painting most of my remodeled sewing room/studio space.  On Monday Karen from Tranquil Spaces was here most of the day.  We went through more boxes of fabric and notions and made some decisions on where everything should go.  Now that I have all that storage space and drawers it has great fun planning out where it will all go!

 The closet is all organized with the batting and pillow foams in one area and shelves with bins where I now store my "to do" projects.  A new light fixture has been purchased and installed on the ceiling in the middle of the room.  I will be purchasing more drawer handles just like the others for the drawers on the opposite wall.

I'm going to make one wall into a design wall for quilting.  I bought some foam insulation and I'll cover it with flannel or batting and attach it to the wall. 

Tomorrow the carpet installer will be here to measure the room and  I'll have new flooring on Monday!!  I am making a curtain for the window and then I'll set up the rest of the room with my sewing table, cutting table and some decorations for the walls. Photos to follow. So far, so good!

Family Christmas Time

I'll be attending my extended Family Christmas tomorrow and most of my presents are wrapped (or bagged) :)  Each family brings a dish, I bring French Pork Pie.  We always have too much food, delicious!!!  Each family also brings homemade Christmas Cookies.  I made three different kinds this year: cherry chocolate cookies with frosting, chocolate walnut bars, and crescents made with finely chopped pecans.  The crescent recipe is from my grandmother's church cookbook and it's her recipe.   Each year I open that little church cookbook to the well worn page, covered in grease spots and I think of her as I prepare and bake these melt in your mouth cookies.  She lived in Boston and she stayed with my folks over the holidays. We had a large extended family celebration with grandparents, aunts, uncles, greats aunts, cousins, my brothers and sister.  Then years later we added  husbands, wives, nieces and nephews.  My grandmother, Nana, played Christmas songs and we would sing along.  So many wonderful memories come up this time of the year.  I am reminded of all my relatives who have left us.  I miss them.  But the new generation of family members is special and carry on the tradition of our Family Christmas.

 For me Christmas is about family and friends.  This year our Family Christmas party is going to be a little smaller for us. Some family members are no longer with us, some of our friends are unable to come because of medical (good news, kidney transplant) reasons, my granddaughter had her wisdom teeth out today and isn't feeling up to celebrating.  But many of us will be there and we will have a good time together, laughing and making new memories.

Our gifts to each other usually consist of homemade goodies along with maybe a dish towel or wooden utensil.  Jelly,Jam, Bread, Chex Mix, Fudge are just a few of the goodies.

This year I'm giving a wooden stir-fry utensil, handmade by Ronnie, along with kitchen towels and some spiced oyster crackers.  I got the cute Santa bags at the grocery store for 1/2 price because Christmas is over for most.  Another year is upon us, Best to All!

Check out All Recipes.com if you're interested in making some Spiced Crackers for the New Year.  Easy to make using: oyster crackers, some cooking oil, dill weed, package of dry ranch dressing, and a couple of other things.  Bake in the oven on a cookie sheet and there you go!