Wow seems like I say this every time I come here. LONG TIME NO CHAT~~~~~I  am not the best at keeping up with my blog. Wish I was better.

I have been busy I guess. Quilting, babysitting for my Grandson who turned 4 last month and babysitting for my Grandson who turns 2 months today :) FUN FUN FUN but they do wear me out and I am exhausted by the time they go home at the end of the day.

I have been reading a lot (winter in Wisconsin you know~~~~~~IT NEVER ENDS) LOL.  Just finished The Hum and The Shiver by Axlex Bledsoe and LOVED IT. Now I am reading the 2nd book in his series Wisp of a Thing and so far so good.

I started out this year thinking I would only work on quilting and my planners. Well comes to find out I am not a big planner girl. I am more of a lister and have my own planning systems that work pretty well for me so I am not going to get any more caught up in the planner societies. At least I am going to try not to. :) Keeping my roots with the journaling crowd :) seems to fit me better.

I also bit the bullet and hired an organizer to come and help me with my "Crafts gone a muck" LOL
so far so good with that too. She is amazing. Organizing and I don't get along very well and I am the 1st to admit it and anyone who knows me very well knows that is true.  So this is a whole new mind set for me. she isn't pushy, told me she isn't here to help me "Get rid of things" she is here to help me "Organize what I have without spending tons of money on organizational items".  And she tears into it too. Not one to stand around and tell you what to do, she starts and you end up helping. it feels good to get stuff in a place where it belongs and still be able to find it :). So that is my new adventure for the time being. we will see how it goes, hoping to get a lot accomplished in a short amount of time. I am one of those instant gratification people (NO PATIENCE).

Hoping all my followers haven't left me in the dust :) Let me know.

What a busy week end. Thanksgiving was so much fun. WE picked up my Husband's Aunt at the Nursing Home (She is 97 years old AND SHE STILL HAND STITCHES AND QUILTS)  and brought her over. We had a ton of fun a 3 year old and a 97 year old playing go fish WHO KNEW it could be so much fun. :) We also played "Army Men" and built towns for the army men to "HIDE IN"

Then on Sat. we baked cookies and celebrated my Oldest Daughter's 32nd Birthday party. Baking with a 3 year old has it's challenges but we all had fun and the cookies all got baked so that worked out well too. We did cut out cookies for Jace to decorate, he ate 3 cookies before he frosted them because "YOU CAN'T EAT THE PAINT GRANDMA" LOL. We explained that it wasn't real paint and he could eat them once they were frosted so all was good.  Birthday Dinner went over well too. Home made Lasagna, 7 layer salad and Cheesy Garlic bread for Dinner and Dairy Queen Cake for dessert.

So cookies are all baked, Fudge, Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies, Amish Sugar Cookies, Spritz Cookies and Sugar Cut Out Cookies frosted.

 

Well so much for any more of our nice fall weather. Think we have about 6" of snow on the ground. It is supposed to warm up the beginning of next week so hopefully it will all be gone shortly.

It was the yearly craft fair in our little town so I ventured out to check it out. Came home with some tupperware microwaveable plates for my Grandson and then I worked on my fauxbonichi planner/calendar some more and got a few pages done.  Wishing I had something original in the crock pot or oven for supper but thinking it will be grilled ham and cheese tonight. Fast, easy and MMMM GOOD.

So they (the weather people) are forecasting 2"-6" of snow. I just want the rest of fall/winter to be like this :). Love my Maple tree in my back yard. Now all the leaves are gone, some raked up, most blown away with all this wind we have been having lately. We really can't complain about the fall we have had so a little snow won't be bad as long as it melts. :)

Today I am planning on working on my planner/calendar for 2016. Glamming it up a little and adding the calendar. Not sure if I will do the whole year at one time or if I will do it month by month. Thinking Month by Month might be easier to keep up with.

Today is my oldest Daughter's 32nd Birthday~~~~~~~HAPPY BIRTHDAY LESLEY~~~~~~~~~and we went goofing around this afternoon. She is pregnant and looking for something to wear for maternity pictures. I remember when I was pregnant for her I would have NEVER THOUGHT OF MATERNITY PICTURES~~~~~~~~~mostly I wanted to hide. LOL Things are different now. The photo is of Lesley, her Nephew (Kelsey's little boy) Jace who is 3 and her Niece (Kendra's little girl) Piper who is now a year. This will be Lesley's first baby. Soon I will be Grandma to 3 precious little Grandbabies :) SOOO MUCH FUN.

Jeez, who ever said retirement was relaxing? LOL. Seems I am much more busy now than I ever was when I worked 50 hours a week. I babysit for my Grandson Jace (3 years old) and one of my Daughters (Lesley the oldest) is pregnant and going to have a baby (Sex unknown YAY) in February. SO much fun.

I have been quilting too. I think I have gotten 4-5 quilts done in the past couple of months. Also FUN.

I decided I would do something a little different in 2016 since I can NEVER FIND A CALENDAR that works for how I want to use it. I am making my own.

And I have been making Christmas Cards. I made 25 last night. Toni ( A girlfriend of mine) lives outside of Milwaukee and she is going to a Holiday Market next week. She is sweet enough to sell my Christmas Cards at the Market for me.

All that being said, here are some pics of quilts and quilt blocks, planner (still a WIP), and some of my Christmas Cards. :) Think I am ALL CAUGHT UP on blog posts now :) Well for the time being. This is what happens when you don't attend to your blog for months at a time. LOL.

Some New Projects

1st one is Spirit, 2nd one is Attitude, 3rd one is Hope, I am working on 5 more. Hoping to have them done tomorrow. Love the way they are turning out. 5"x7" art pieces for a friend. SO MUCH FUN

A Day Late but yesterday was Syttende Mai (Norwegian Constitution Day) and a big holiday here in Wisconsin. I got asked to ride on the Sons of Norway Float but passed up the chance :(. Too much other stuff going on.

Trying to get my yard in shape and the weather isn't co operating very well. Also wanna get the geraniums and baby's breath planted in pots to take out to the cemetery in time for Memorial day but again the weather isn't co operating. It is supposed to get down in the 30's tonight and colder tomorrow night so thinking I will wait until later in the week to plant them then take them out to the cemetery before the Memorial Day Services.

Also have been working on some papercrafting swaps that are coming due shortly, so things are busy around here.


I think that is about all my exciting news for now.

Shopping, Eating, Chatting FAMILY FUN

had a fun day, farmers market, shopping, grilling out and sitting around with the Grandkids playing (LIFE IS GOOD) what more can you ask on a Saturday night.

The Girls bought me a new purse (That I got to pick out) some flowers from 1 800 flowers that are beautiful, an awesome crock and a really nice saying about "What My Mom taught me about being a Mom" and we are going out for brunch tomorrow. Should be fun. Hoping to get my porch furniture out of my shed but I can't do it by myself. It's about time for some FRONT PORCH SITTING but I need my couch out first. LOL.
I will post some pics of my new Mothers Day Presents tomorrow I hope.

HOPING ALL THE MOMS OUT THERE ENJOY THEIR MOTHERS DAY TOO.

Long TIme No Chat

It has been a busy time in my life. Seems like I am busy constantly but really don't know what I have been doing to keep myself so busy. If that makes any sense.

I have been working on my yard and flower beds this spring, it is an ongoing project but I LOVE playing outside when the weather is good. I am still working on the yard and getting my flowers all planted. I will post some more photos when I get done. The 1st and 2nd photos are my "Memory Garden" that I am working on for my Husband (Roger) who passed away in 2010 of Lung Cancer caused by Agent Orange in Viet Nam. He was a Master Gardener and there are Lupines back in that garden that are volunteers from when he planted the gardens. Bittersweet :) but so peaceful and calming to sit back there and relax.

Quilt, Play, Babysit, Quilt, Play, Babysit, that seems to be my life lately. I have gotten 3 tops done, 1 for a gift for my Tax Lady, 1 for a gift for a girlfriends anniversary and 1 was supposed to be a Linus Quilt but I was sick and didn't make it to Linus Day so decided to donate it to the Local Library Art Auction. FUN FUN FUN. This is a photo of the Library Donation Quilt top, being quilted as I type.

Today I babysat for Jace, hadn't seen him for over a week (Long time for me) and I missed him. So much FUN, we read some books, played a little "RUN" I sit in the dining room, throw the dogs ball, she chases after the ball and Jace runs thinking she is chasing him. whatever keeps him happy :). He is going to be 2 next month hard to believe he is that old. I bought him a really cute wooden barn. Someone at a craft fair makes them, painted red, the roof painted black, it has a hay mow and the roof opens so you can get to the hay mow. one side is completely open the other side has a little door on it. CUTE CUTE CUTE and there is a fold out fence that goes all the way around the barn. Taking to a girl to have her paint Jace's name on it too. Should be an exciting birthday. HOPE HE LOVES IT!!!!!!!!!! I will take some pics once his name is painted on it and show it off a little.

BUSY

I made this for a good friend of mine, Nan Moore from Port Orange Florida. We have been friends for a number of years, she is a long arm quilter, a quilt historian, a quilt appraiser, a feedsack finatic, a horse lover, etc. I love quilts and quilting and am also a feedsack freak, she also has Twin Girls (I have Twin Girls) and one of her Twin Girls had Twin Girls. This was supposed to be a Christmas Present but I puddled around nervous about getting started on it and finally got it done in time for Valentines Day. :) THEY LOVE IT, I am SOOO HAPPY, worried it wouldn't turn out but it did. That is my usual dilemma, no self confidence to start projects, or to finish them once I start on them. LOL Story of my life.

Also been working on a few quilts, have two done for gifts and one done for Linus Project next weekend, hopefully I feel good enough to show up for that.

And also have been working on some rug hooking, have 2 little mug rugs done except for the finishing, again the FINISHING!!!!!!!!! hoping to get at least one of them done this week.

So what has everyone else been up to lately? Anything exciting? I am SOOO BAD about posting every day but I will try to be better. not too much exciting in my life to talk about every day.

This is what I have been working on the past couple of nights, going to a craft Fair in November and I plan on making some hooked mug rugs. Haven't hooked in years, hoping it all comes back to me pretty fast. my BFF Linda Lee Thomas ditched Wisconsin for the sun and fun of California but she we are still friends on facebook. She drew me some designs, can't wait to get started on the whole project, just a few more colors to cut and I should be good to go . WISH ME LUCK.

Progress

Just spent the majority of the afternoon redoing my etsy store. I haven't listed or sold anything in FOREVER, so now that I started making journals and am having fun dyeing again I decided to revamp "The Shop" and seeing if I can sell some of my designs and fun stuff.

So here is my shop info. Hoping to get some journals on there shortly and maybe some hand dyed wool too. Possibly some of my stash too once I figure out what I want to "Destash" 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/FencedInDesigns?ref=si_shop

so stop by the shop and check it out ~~~~~~~give me a few days to get some listings going but I promise shortly.

Other than that, nothing too exciting going on around here. Rainy Friday here, so I haven't had much ambition except to play on the computer and get the changes made on etsy.

Enjoy your Friday :)

Oh forgot 1 thing, in case you don't live in Wisconsin, it is fall here and THIS IS WHY I STAY IN WISCONSIN and it is worth it 90% of the time.

String Blocks~UFO

Doing a String Block Swap on Facebook Just Us Quilters group, I think I have about 1/2 my blocks from other people. How fun. They are 8.5" blocks and I think when I am done swapping I should have around 30 blocks, Enough for a good sized quilt. These are some of the blocks I have received so far.

I guess I neglected to put the centers together correctly but you get the idea. They are going to look awesome when I get it put together. FUN FUN FUN

One of my favorite places in the area, our little man made lake and park outside of town. My Father In Law named the park Birch Lake :) seems appropriate since there are Birch Trees all over the park area. Lots of people love to travel, I do too, down to the local lake :) Hubby always used to say (And I never really understood it at the time) "why would you want to travel any distance, you go 30 miles west and you hit the Rivers (Wisconsin and Mississippi) you go 30 miles East and you hit Madison, you go 30 miles north and you hit the Baraboo Bluffs, and you go 30 miles south and you hit the rolling hills of Green County" Now I understand, wish it hadn't taken me quite this long to figure it out. :)  I think it is a lesson worth learning :) 

One of my Online Quilty Girlfriends and I decided between the 2 of us we are going to do a Round Robin quilt each. FUN FUN FUN. I think I have my center figured out, it is a Quilt Retreat Challenge from a few years ago and I haven't done anything with it yet and I LOVE IT so I am thinking this is the time to get it done, can't show you a photo of it because we are going to surprise each other with the center block, but once she gets it I will definitely share a photo. Can[t wait to get started on it. 

Lots of projects and my new MOTTO~~~~~NO BUYING~~~~using up my stash, the only thing I will be buying is if I need something to go with what I am working on, it seems like even with all the fabric I have when I work on an ongoing project (UFO) I am always missing something, the perfect fabric, or interfacing, or embroidery floss, or the perfect color thread, and the list goes on and on, so hopefully not much buying going on. :) WISH ME LUCK!!! Right now I am working on my string blocks for a swap I am in, I have over 1/2 of them done, hoping to finish this week some time. Finished a journal for a Girlfriend who is helping me out with another project, have to get that in the mail to her this week also. Have oodles and oodles of awesome vintage sheets to do something with too. Also got some homespuns from a friend and contemplating what I am going to make with them. Any suggestions or ideas on the sheets and or the homespuns????? 

Cleaning and Organizing

Spent most of the day cleaning and organizing my 2nd "Craft" room. My 1st one is a big room down in the basement that I use for my sewing room, it is my "little piece of heaven" down there except for the fact that one of my dogs won't walk down the steps so he sits upstairs barking and whining the whole time I am down there, so that makes it hard to relax and enjoy my time down there. Anyway back to cleaning and organizing. I took the 3rd bedroom (I live in this house by myself) downstairs for my 2nd craft room, I put in some wire shelving like they use for restaurant storage, 3 of them, 2 big ones I bought at Target on sale for $35.00 each and a smaller one that I bought for $20.00. They hold most of my big stuff. What a PITA setting them up tho. It is really not a 1 person job putting those big things up, especially when you are left handed and Norwegian :) but I managed. Now I need a table that I can use for a card and journal making table, preferably with straight legs so I can get a couple of those plastic rolling storage units underneath them and I should be good to go. DD Kelsey came by tonight and I took her down to look at it, she said "It looks really nice Mom but you have way too much crap" LOL.

I know she is right so that is the next thing on the agenda, downsizing my stash of stuff. First I have to decide what I can part with. Hard decisions to make for me. I know I will feel better when I have enough room to store EVERYTHING I HAVE WITH OUT IT LOOKING CROWDED and still have stuff there isn't any room for.

I should take some pics actually I should have done some before (Altho it was pretty bad) and after :) NEXT TIME MAYBE!!!!!!!!! Or maybe after I get my table set up in there.

Recently I have gotten alot of card making supplies that take up alot of space so hoping the table will hold all my new finds. :)

LIFE GOES ON

I have neglected my blog WAY TOO LONG, I have been busy with "life" as the saying goes.

I have been off work for over a year now and have settled into my quiet corner of Southwestern Wisconsin.I am pretty much a home body so that is where I spend most of my time. I am stitching and lots of other new endeavors. Seems like I am so busy now I don't know how I ever worked 50 hours a week. I know that is what everyone says but it is true. In the past couple of months I have gotten back in touch with 2 Girlfriends I went to High School with. How cool is that. Great to see old friends, you get together and it seems like you just talked yesterday and went to the high school football game. :) FUN FUN FUN

I try to stitch at least 1-2 times a week when I have time. I babysit my Grandson (New Man in my Life) 1-2 days a week and am loving being "Grandma". We have LOTS OF FUN together. He is 18 months old now, the age my oldest Daughter was when I had my Twin Girls. how different it is taking care of a little boy. He wears me out chasing after him. He has his Grandpa's sense of humor, EVERYTHING IS FUNNY and HE IS THE CENTER OF ATTENTION. Gotta love it. Just wish Roger was here to enjoy him with me :(

All the Girls have homes of their own now. Lesley and Josh bought a farmette just north of the town I live in and are planning a Wedding in June of next year, Kelsey and Kolbi (Jace's Mom and Dad) bought a farmette about 20 miles from me and our horses are there. Kendra and Jimmy bought a house in suburb of Chicago and are the farthest away (about 3 hours).

Jace loves the horses and he has a favorite "BurBur" or as he is usually known, Wilbur. All the horses love Jace, but he calls BurBur and he comes over to the fence to get a kiss from Jace, here is this 1,200# horse leaning over the fence for a little boy to kiss him and Wilbur gives "kisses" back, Nothing much better than a little boy and a horse :) Next time I am over there I will get some pics of Jace and Wilbur.

Right now I am working on Jenny of Elefantz "Daisy Days' Embroidery and Loving it. Fun colors, lots of stitching and some quilting (best of both worlds)

http://daisydays-elefantz.blogspot.com.au/

I bought the Honey Honey Line of fabric by Kate Spain to do this little quilt and am loving the look of it, not really my colors but this is such a cheery little quilt I wanted some cool fabrics to work with.

Fall is coming fast to the Midwest and I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR, trips to the Apple Orchard, candle tarts in the tart warmer and evenings on the front porch enjoying what is left of the "front Porch sitting" season. that season is getting shorter and shorter but I am still enjoying it.

I have to miss my fall quilt retreat this year, no one can come and stay with my "Critters" 2 dogs and 3 cats. I will miss everyone but at the same time I will enjoy being home enjoying my "little nest"

So I think that has me all caught up for a few days til I can get back and chat with everyone some more.

Thanks for stopping by and definitely come back often because I PROMISE I WILL TRY TO BE MORE DILIGENT about blogging :)  AND P.S. LEAVE ME A NOTE :)

A New Project

Today we had our quilty get together for the month, every year we start a project that goes on all year. This year the project is right up my alley~~~WOOL APPLIQUE, here is a link to the pattern. if you can't see it, it is the one farthest on the right on the top row MY SEWING ROOM

http://www.hearttohandpatterns.com/index.aspx

Too cute, I got a really soft black check (you can barely tell it is checked) for the background on the 1st block, think I might work on it tonight. :) I will post pics when I get the 1st block done.

My 1st Crazy Quilt Block for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project

Here it is, not squared up yet but the embellishments are done on it and I think it looks pretty good. I could do some more and maybe I will down the road but right now I am happy with the way it turned out. Now on to February. :)