Adult Outing!!!

DH and I recently spent a weekend in Austin, Texas, aka 'Hill Country' to most. We had a wonderful time despite the heat. Our dear friends Mark and Kathy put us up (as usual) and treated us to some of the 'best' sights and activities.



Anyway, they have a lovely home in the 'hills', and the view and tranquility are awesome. Being an early riser I was able to watch the sun come up over the hills. Sooooo beautiful. If it hadn't been 90+ degrees already that would have been a real bonus. LOL.



Although the heat just didn't seem to bother their Lab, Maddie. But then again, she has a pool to jump into hundreds of times a day to cool off. And believe me she does. It's too funny. The dog really, really loves the water.

Seeing non-flat roads was so great. Gosh, it's been a long time. Leaving the mountains in Utah and coming to Texas, to flat land was really strange. I had all but forgotten what it's like to have to take a curve....too weird!



For everything about their new home that they shared with us, the things that I enjoyed the most were the winery visit and tasting, and the 'Austin Bats'. Not to discount the sight-seeing, the lakes, the food, the company, and the reminiscing.

We went to watch the Austin Bats, as they are called, on the Congress Avenue Bridge. What a truly freaky thing to see. Bats were everywhere. They're not aggressive and they are very small but still just seeing them, thousands and thousands of them, flying, ducking, diving, and darting around is really strange! Definitely something to experience.

Then there was the wine tasting at the Flat Creek Estate Winery. Also, written about at Texas Cooking. Mark and Kathy really know their wine and have even entertained thoughts of opening a winery of their own. They are good friend with the owners, Rick and Madelyn Naber. And needless to say, it was very cool to have the owners of the winery assist us in our taste testing.



(Mark and Kathy, and winery co-owner, Madelyn Naber)

And DH, ready to wet his whistle. LOL.
Oh, and there I am....behind the camera!

Oh, I almost forgot....also while we were there, the Perseid meteor shower was supposed to be at its peak. We stood outside on two different nights but didn't see too much activity. However, we DID see some. But I think we were looking too early in the night. The peak time would have been about 2AM on Monday. But I just don't do all-nighters anymore. LOL. Nasa posted an informative article of their site.

And just FYI, the next meteor shower will be the Orionids on October 21. Find more information here at Star Date Online.

Thanks Mark and Kathy, we had a wonderful time!

Award Recap

This time my thanks go to Kat Lees for her nomination for the "Nice Matters Award". This to the best of my knowledge is the most recent, and maybe the last. LOL.

Kat is a very talented doll artist, whom I met not too long ago through blogging. She graciously gifted me with one of her CD's on doll making (among other things) and I am quite happy to have it. Her most recent work is The Candy Cane Elf, which she also has on CD. I'm sure she will soon have it listed in her Etsy Shop.

Thank you, Kat. I'm glad to have you as a friend.


Nominations from other NICE people:
Sandi: Renaissance Woman, Connie: Cloth Matters, Sandie: Delightfully Crazy, Charlene: When This You See, Remember Me, Norma: Norma's Needlez, and Ati: Ati on the Crazy Road.

Thank you ladies for thinking of me.

And special THANKS to Bella Enchanted for creating such a fun and thoughtful award.

And Again....

I'm really quite surprised and tickled to find that so many people think I'm "NICE" and have chosen to award me for it. I'm on the verge of getting a really big head. LOL.

The most recent nomination for the "NICE MATTERS AWARD" comes from Sandi, of the Renaissance Woman. She's a very talented doll maker and quilter. She is also a writer and a teacher. It seems that her blog name really says it all!

Thank you, Sandi. I am honored :-)

Thank You to a Good Friend

I recently entered into another Sassa Lynne thread buy, organized by Susan N. I opted for the second go-around not only because the threads are absolutely beautiful, and a dream to work with, but also because Susan has such a knack for finding terrific bargains. She is also extremely generous with her time and efforts in putting these things together.

Anyway, the threads alone would have been enough of a treat. But Susan, true to form, sends along other goodies, too. Check out this needle case. And it's Purple! I have to wonder if she got lucky, or if she knew that I didn't have one. I'm too darn lazy to make one myself. But I didn't waste anytime getting some needles into it. LOL. Oh, and that's not all. The needle case is resting comfortably on two pieces of Dupioni silk, which she also sent.



Susan, your generosity is overwhelming. You have a true and genuine kindness. Thank you so much.


(Susan's other blogs/journals: Desert Sky Quilting, and Traveling the U.S.). Don't ask me where she finds the time!

Happy Needling!!

Season to Season Swap

FALL

For those of you who don't know what's going on here, I'll quickly update you. I am hostessing my first swap with one of my groups, CQForNewbies (CQN). This is a FALL themed swap and will run from now until around the end of November.

This is a one on one partner share project. Participants will work approximately 1/2 of the block they make, then their partner will work the other 1/2. Participants will get their original blocks back.

AND YES, I KNOW that technically that is not a swap. But that's what I'm calling it for simplicities sake.

So, with sign-ups closed and 32 participants, I'm setting up this post with links so that those who choose to follow this swap can do so more easily.

For the benefit of our participants without blogs, a 360, a flickr, etc., I will post photos here as they become available, which means I will be updating this particular post.

This post will be readily accessible from my sidebar under "Posts by Topic" in the drop down menu under "STS-Fall".

So, who's on board???
(those who either dropped out or that I haven't received blocks have been removed from the post)

(With sites)
Ati (received 08/21/07)
Carole (received 08/16/07)
Charlene (received 09/07/07)
Christy (received 09/18/07)
Connie (received 08/23/07)
Courtney (received 08/13/07)
Gerry (N/A)
(Okay, I couldn't stop just yet. I added some more beads, buttons, and filled in the swirls to the left)



Unfortunately, there were 3 people who I either didn't receive blocks from or who had to drop out. So, in order to keep the numbers even, I made a 'Make It Even' block. And this is it. This block will be raffled in some way on the group because it is an 'extra' so to speak.



These are the "after" photos, with Sharon R's work. Don't you just love the little bee and gourd buttons? Too, cute!


Helina (received 08/18/07)
Irena (Ira) (received 08/30/07)
Janet (received 08/17/07)
JK (received 08/30/07)
Katrien (received 08/13/07)
Lauri (received 08/16/07)
Leslie (received 09/04/07)
Lori (received 09/04/07)
Mary (received 09/04/07)
Norma (received 08/10/07)
Rebecca (received 08/29/07)
Sharon G (received 09/04/07)
Sue (received 09/06/07)
Susie (received 08/07/07)

(Photos posted here)

Carol (received 08/16/07) and the "after" photo is with Ati's work.


Cynthia (received 08/27/07) and the "after" photo is with Lori's work.


Faith (received 08/29/07) and the "after" photo is with Sharon G's work.


Judi (received 09/07/07) and the "after" photo is with Janet's work.


Marlene (received 09/07/07) and the "after" photo is with Mary's work.


Patricia (received 09/04/07) and the "after" photo is with Susie's work.


Robin (received 09/14/07) and the "after" photo is with Leslie's work.


Sharon R (received 08/13/07) and the "after" photo is with Gerry's work.










Also, PLEASE notify me if you find an error on this page. I've done my best to verify it but there is always the possibility that I've missed something. Thank you, ladies.

Happy Needling!!

Just Catching Up...

Good grief, I go away for the weekend and it's really tough to get back on track. But I'm going to try.

DH took me on a little long weekend retreat to the Texas "Hill Country" this past weekend. Partly to celebrate my One Year BlogAversary (yesterday) and partly for fun. We were able to visit with some very dear friends who have been making a go of trying to get settled for some time now. From what I could tell, they're doing just fine.

While we were there I stole some time out to work on another cell phone pouch, and actually managed to finish it up. Well, the needlework anyway. I'm probably going to have to put a charm or two or something else on it. I just don't seem to know when to call it quits. But I think it's looking pretty good right now. As some of you know, I'm not really a "blue" fan. I don't even eat bleu cheese.



I have completed a swap with Katrien from the Chains of Hearts (COH) group. I sent her the 'garden' themed heart. And in return, I received this lovely yellow, oh so 'spring like' heart from her. It's really a very nice piece.



Oh gosh, I forgot to post this. Katrien also very generously included these goodies with her swap heart. Along with a little personal information.


She and I are also in the CQN group together. Anyway, thank you, Katrien! (See her flickr photos here). Speaking of which....I'm starting to receive blocks for the swap I'm hosting. They are looking soooooooo GOOD! There is just so much talent and creativity out there. In the next couple of days I will be posting the names and website information of the participants. That way you can keep track of our progress, should you want to do that.

I'll also be posting some photos of our trip to Austin and sharing with you some of the really cool and fun things that we did. Until then, Happy Needling!

Whole Lotta Tagging Going On

Good morning everyone. I guess I should have waited awhile to post about the "Nice Matters Award" and had I any idea that there were so many who viewed me in that light, I would have. I really had no idea! But thank you, thank you, thank you.

I discovered yesterday that Sandie and Connie have nominated me, also.

It's so fun to watch this award spread (like wild-fire) through the Blog Community. That in itself says so much about those who blog. Of the friendships being established. And for the sense of "caring" that can seem lost in our daily lives.

It also saddens me that we can become so close over the Internet and yet not so much in our face to face interactions with others. I'm hopeful though, that this is a just a starting point!

Have a wonderful day. And.....Happy Needling!

Vintage Embroidery

A while ago I posted that I was able to add a number of beautiful hand embroidered pillow case sets to the small collection that I already had. And I was going to post them, then I spaced it out. Well, yesterday I took the photos and today I share them.

I don't use them for 'every day' but I do put them out (and rotate them around) in my guest rooms. They're just so pretty to look at that I hate to have them hidden away. That and the fact that I don't want my furbabies to play tug-o-war with them either.

Each set has either a tatted or crocheted edge/opening. Some of them are so tiny and so delicate that I have to wonder how they could possibly have survived for the last 30-50+ years. I know I don't subject them to direct light, I gentle fluff in a cool dryer to remove dust, and only when it's absolutely necessary, do I gently hand launder them.



These little birds are just darling. There is so much detail on these cases. Don't you just love beautifully tatted the edges/openings are with that multi-colored thread? This set is of four pillow cases. Two with the birds and two with only the tatted edge/opening.




I just love these little kittens. It's a little difficult to see because of the light colored thread but one says, "Willing", and the other "Able". I somehow think that one is missing....The one that says, "Ready".





Now wouldn't these just take you to dream land?




This is my favorite set. The photo doesn't begin to do them justice. These are in the "Jill" room on the girly bed, with the pretty throw pillows and my Victorian doll.




I hope you enjoyed seeing them.