Christmas Break crafting....Rag Dolls!!

I have always admired the dolls made by Nicole Ross Ellison. She has made her patterns available on her website. I bought three of them for myself, and have made a doll.  

 Isn't she cute?

 And here she is looking over the pieces for her brothers and sisters. I am making six more!

Halloween Atlanta Style

Here I am with some pretty ladies at the Little Five Points Halloween Parade and Festival in Little Five Points (Atlanta.) My friend's husband is in the band Southern Gothic Revival, and they were playing on stage. It was a really fun day. If you love Halloween, you would love Halloween in LFP!



Christmas Time is Near

Here we are, my kids and I. We were posing for Christmas card pictures. It has been a busy year. My daughter was in a local production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, and I was part of the wardrobe department for the play. Then another play, and now another. It is fun, but is taking away from quilting time. Maybe over the holidays I can do more posting, there is so much to talk about! Have a wonderful holiday season!

Flowers!!!!

I have a new flower bed this year, and I have had so much fun filling it up. Did you know that you can go to Lowe's, or whatever home improvement store you have with a large gardening center, and that they have a clearance plant center? These are nearly dead, or sometimes just a little ragged, plants that are drastically maked down to clearance prices. I have filled my bed with plants either grown from seed or obtained from the clearance area and brought back to life with water and Miracle Gro. Here are some photos:

I have vegetables, herbs, and flowers all together in my little garden. We are already enjoying cucumbers, onions, basil, thyme, rosemary, dill, oregano, chives, and on and on... I love walking out my front door and picking something to put into a recipe. Wonderful!!

Julie

Greater Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop

I fell in love with this quilt on the porch at Little Quilts in Atlanta (Marietta actually). I can't believe I forgot to bring my camera, or I would have had so many neat pictures. I took this one with my phone. The GAQSH includes 11 shops. I only drove up Saturday afternoon and was able to hit four shops. I wish I had done more, and maybe next year I will. I actually did the whole hop the first year they had it, and haven't done another one since. With two kids it was just too much to ask of them to visit all those quilt shops, and it was too much to ask anyone to keep them for me for all those days. Maybe they are old enough now, at 14 and 12, that I can freely hop again. :0)

I hit my favorite shops first. Little Quilts, Red Hen, Tiny Stitches, and then a new one - Stitch 'n Quilt in Mableton. It was a really nice shop and the ladies in there were laughing and having the best time. My kind of shop! Of course, I can never go wrong with my old favorites. Little Quilts has some nice primitive items, needlepunch, wool, rug hooking, plus loads of fabric. Red Hen is just great! Tiny Stitches is too. I guess my all-around favorite is Little Quilts, but it is really hard to choose.

I enjoyed my weekend, but didn't get a bit of sewing done. Oh well, maybe next time!

Julie

Even More Washington, D.C. Photos - My Son's School Trip

 The Lincoln Memorial

 My son in front of the Lincoln statue, (which is inside the building.)

 The Lincoln Statue again

 Looking across at the Vietnam Memorial Wall - a very moving experience.

 Another shot of the Vietnam Memorial Wall

 I think this is Vietnam too.

He had a great time!

Give Away at Mother's Cupboard

Hop over to Mother's Cupboard for a chance to win her fantastic giveaway. You can find out more by visiting her blog, but it includes a a Super Dooper Give Away of 2 "Fresh Cotton" by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda Charm Packs, and 1 meter of the lovely fabric below. Good luck!

Julie

More Washington Photos

 Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 Laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 The United States Capitol Building

 A closer view of the dome

 The inside of the dome

 Mount Vernon, the home of George and Martha Washington, (this is actually in Virginia.)

 A friend and my son at Mt. Vernon

 I am not sure, but I think this must be where George Washington is buried.

 Wax figure of George Washington

No, my son did not carve this. It was already there, so he took a picture of it. :0)

Julie

Beautiful Moon Tonight!

I couldn't get a good shot of the moon, but here is one taken by a friend of mine, Jason. It was truly gorgeous.

Today I planted onions to go along with the rosemary, tomatoes, and sweet peas that I had already planted. I hope we don't have another cold snap this year. If we do I will have to cover everything up with sheets. I have little seedlings of basil, dill, chives, parsley, cilantro, zinnias, cleome, rooster spur pepper, and Jerusalem cherries. I am going to keep them in their little pots until after Easter, when I can be sure there will be no more frost. It was so hot outside today that I spent the rest of the day lying around watching TV feeling exhausted. Maybe tomorrow I can finally get the grass cut.

Julie

Civil War Giveaway

Pop over to Such a Sew and Sew's blog to enter this giveaway. I love these fabrics!! Julie