I've made a Treasury

For the man in your life, manly-gifts. My men's football BBG apron has been selected for a treasury under gifts for men.http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ce17cbeccae8eef087009af/manly-gifts Please go have a look at it and the other gifts for that guy you need to shop for.

Another Finish!

I have another finish to share :). This one is Alpine Garden by The Drawn Thread. I started it a few years ago and in an effort to get some of my WIP's under control I finished it and got it framed. I have put Royal Roses by Just Nan in it's place in my rotation. This one was a class project from many years ago that I never finshed now I am happy to say I have only 3 sections left on it too. Should I reward myself with a new start?? or finish up another???

On the sewing front for my Etsy shop I found a really cute new apron pattern and am going to go gather up my materials and get started on a new apron. Keep an eye out!!!

Disappointed

Okay so I was very disappointed yesterday :(. I was working on a new Mommy and me apron set for Chritmas, the fabric is black with Christmas candy all over it. It also has a fade line straight down the middle of the apron. I was done sewing the inside and had turned it over to work on the pockets when I noticed the flaw. The fabric was a one time buy so now I have to start over with a new piece of Christmas fabric. Oh well, I have alot more cute Christmas fabric to work with.

Getting ready for the holiday's

I, Mary K, pledge to participate in the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp to the best of my abilities. I vow to check in every week, do my homework and support my fellow Holiday Boot Campers. I will read the weekly newsletters and blog posts, check in on the weekly forum thread, read the weekly blog post, check off the checklists and salute the mascot. I promise to share what I've learned with those who need it, support my fellow Etsy indiepreneurs and, most of all, have a positive and persistent attitude. I understand that together we can spread the word about our handmade and vintage goods, making this holiday season a more unique and meaningful one to gift givers and give-ees everywhere!

Now to get to work :) I have some cute new fabric to try out!!!!!

Dad's Poem

As I told you all a month or so ago I lost my dad. He was a wonderful man and it seems a poet at heart. I always knew he loved poetry but he actually wrote a very beautiful one that I'm going to share with you.
A PRAYER

I wander thru the valley of life
And see the world so torn with strife
And pray that God will help me understand
The things, that make a man, a man
Help me oh Lord to be humble and kind,
And in the work, let me find
The joy of living a life complete,
So I’ll be ready, when it’s time to meet.
I stand ready to do thy will,
And pray the thou my heart will fill
The love of man, and kindness too,
To do the things that I must do,
And when I reach the time to go,
As the sun sink in to the west,
Then, may I look to the heavens, and know,
That, on this earth, I’ve done my best.
… James A. Stewart, CMSGT
USAF (Ret.)

Rest in Peace

My dad's funeral was last Thursday. We had a wonderful funeral for him, I think he would have approved of it. It started early in the day, a group of veteran's called "Rolling Thunder" escorted dad from the funeral home to the church on their motorcycles with flags flying. We had a lovely mass, Kelley and I did the readings, Kelley and Traci sang one of mom and dad's favorite hymns "Be Not Afraid" I can't sing that song, ever, every time I do I start to cry. My brother gave the best eulogy, he gave mom's when she left us 9 years ago.The topper to the whole service were two things, one-the same priest who did mom's service also did dad's and the very best part was the bag pipe player, he did "Amazing Grace" my dad loved that song. This young fellow is the only active duty military Bag Pipe player, anywhere in the US Military. After mass as were leaving the church the Bag Pipe player played "Scotland the Brave", the cars were all lined up and we went out the NAS Pensacola to Baranncas National Cemetery. Rolling Thunder was in the lead with the hearse, family and friends close behind. People all along the road stopped and payed tribute to dad, he would have loved it, he stopped traffic all over town. When he came through the gates of the Navy base even the guards stood at attention. We got to the cemetery and the AF honor guard from Eglin AFB were waiting for us. They did a flag folding ceremony for us, my husband Dave read the story of what the flag means to us. It was then pasted from the honor guard to all the military members of our family, from my brother to sister, to nephew-in-law, to my son, to my brother's son to my stepmother. Tears were rolling down their faces as they did this wonderful thing for my dad. After the flag folding dad got a 21 gun salute, a bugler played Taps and the bag pipe player played Amazing Grace and Scotland the Brave again. Dad was put in the niche with my mom so now they are together forever.

Sadness

It is with tear stained eyes and a very heavy heart that I tell you that my dear sweet daddy has gone to heaven to be with my mom :(. He was doing so well and had been home only a few weeks after being in and out of hospitals, nursing homes and rehab places since January. In May he had a subdural hemotoma removed and was doing great but the damed thing came back. It got big pretty fast and he became unresponsive and actually complained of pain over the weekend. My dad never complained of pain ever. They had done an MRI and found the new hematoma and knew there was no way to fix this one, he just wasn't strong enough yet to have more surgrery. Sunday he was moved to a hospice hospital and passed away in his sleep on Tuesday. I just don't know what the world will be like without him in it. His funeral is next week August 13, he wanted to be cremated and will be in the niche with my mother. Since he was a retired Air Force C/Msgt he will be getting a military funeral. Something I think he earned and deserves.

I love and will miss you forever daddy :(

Stitching and typing my days away

I have been stitching and typing these hot, hot summer days away. We have had heat advisories here in Georgia for 15 straight days. Hope it ends soon. I love my husband dearly but he really, really hates this type of weather. If he comes home from work one more time complaining about the heat I'm gonna find a really large crate, poke a few holes in it, knock him out stuff him in the box and send him to the north pole. We have lived in Georgia for almost 20 years and sure as the sun comes up tomorrow it will get hot here in the summer. Complaining about it day in and day out for the whole summer won't change it and just makes everyone more miserable. Anyway, I got off subject. I have been doing alot of stitching on Angel of the Morning and Alpine Garden. I will post pics later this week. I am also going to school to be a certified medical transcriptist and have been doing alot of practice dicatations lately. I am on my last class and will start the job hunt in the next month or so as it gets closer to end of term. Hoping to combine this with the diploma in CIS that I already have to get a fairly decent job.

I have also decided over the next few months to start selling some of my older stitching stuff. I have a large amount of cross stitch patterns that I bought over the past 30 years and will never, ever get around to stitching. If for some reason we decide to down size out living arrangements in the future it will be one less things to worry about if I get started early. Will keep you posted when I start the process. Probably will sell them on E-Bay, that seems to be the popular choice for this kind of stuff.

Hope you all stay cool, I'm working on it, thank God for AC.

Wow busy summer

I have had a busy summer so far. My dear dad is finally home after being in and out of hospitals, rehab facilities and nursing homes since January. Hopefully things will get back to normal for him and my stepmother now. He still has home health coming a couple of times a week to continue his physical therapy, speech and occuptaional therapy but he is doing great :).

I have been going to school to learn medical transcription, working in retail just isn't going to work for me anymore. I hate the hours, the standing all day and sorry to say rude customers. I have a wonderful husband who makes it possible for me to stay home and go to school instead of trying to juggle school, work and home. I just need to do a better job on the home department.

I have been doing a bit of stitching while home. I finished M by Nora Corbett and instead of pulling out something new from my stash I have decided to give WIP busting a try. I have tons of started projects that I really need to get done. I picked a sampler and an angel to work on off and on. The sampler will get done first as it's smaller but no worries I have others to do once this one is done to switchout with my angel. The sampler is Alpine Garden by The Drawn Thread and the angel is Angel of the Morning by Lavender and Lace.

Daddy

My dad is doing much better now then he had over the past few months. He has been in a nursing or rehab facility since January when he had a shunt put in for water in his brain. It's been one thing after another since then but now we seem to have found and taken care of the root cause of all his troubles and he is on the road to recovery and may after 7 months finally get to go have in a few weeks. Here's hoping.

Busy as a Beaver

I've been busy a beaver the past few days! I made a few new aprons. A cute mommy and me set that I just love. I also worked on two Zebra print aprons, one with rick rack trim and one with out. Go on over to my etsy shop and check out the zebra print ones and all the other available :)

A dear friend

I had a very dear cyberfriend who died about a year ago. He went as most of us would like, in his sleep. They found him sitting in his stitching chair, he must have fallen asleep working on a project and never woke up. He was a prolific cross stitcher who turned designer. Go here to see some of his beautiful finished work http://community.webshots.com/user/needlemania. These are some of the things he designed http://myspclstitches.com/PriceLists/Needlemania.htm. Anyway the point is several of my cyberfriends and I are recreating one of his favorite pieces. Many of them are much quicker stitchers then I and have finished theirs already. I finished part one and now am working on part two

What a pretty day

It is such a pretty day out today here in Middle Georgia and what am I doing????? Putting away groceries, and rearanging kitchen cabinets :(. They had a case lot sale out the the commisary on base and now I have find room for all the extra stuff I bought. On the flip side, I won't have to buy Tide, papertowels, muffing mix and cereal for a while :).

My oldest son is stay here for the day. He had his ACL repaired (or replaced) yesterday. He tore it just before Easter, all the way through, so he had to say here last night, he wasn't to be alone for at least 24 hours due to the surgery and the pain meds. He can't walk on it for a month but does have to start physical therapy on Monday. And if I know Danny, and I do, he will do all the therapy and make sure his knee is as back to normal as it can be. He is a sports nut and is seriously missing playing softball and basketball.

WithThisNeedle's Etsy Items - Yaami Handmade

WithThisNeedle's Etsy Items - Yaami Handmade

When did my life get so hectic?

My life got very hectic lately. I went back to school in January to learn how to do medical transcription. I have done well in my classes and have 3 left to take to be done. Then to find a job in that field. During all of this my sister has been shipped off to Afghanistan (her second go round I might add). My Dad had a shunt put in due to water in the brain and has had 2 bouts with pneumonia since Jan,one of these episodes has done something to his mind and he isn't quite there anymore. He can be combative at times with the staff at the rehab facility. He has been refusing to eat or drink their food or water claiming that they are trying to poison him. He is on new medication to try to correct these issues hopefuly they will work out. While all this is going on my dear mother in law suffered a minor stroke. She is home from the hosiptal but my hubby is going up to visit them and help out around the houses (theirs and the late uncle's they are getting ready to sell). So next week he will go his way to visit his mom and I'll go my way to visit my dad and help out my stepmother, school if out for a week so I will spend about 4 days there. Thank goodness for older sons who have volunteered to take care of the house and dogs while we are all away.

Snow!

We had snow here in Georgia yesterday. It started raining about noon. I was getting ready for school and watching the news, my school closed at noon so I went over to Walmart to pick up a few things and by the time I got home it was snowing. I snowed all the rest of the day and into the early evening. My dogs weren't to sure about it at first but Leia (my Shih Tzu) decided it tastes good :), Chewy and Einstien just did their thing and came in. Matt built a snowman complete with carrot nose. Enjoy the pictures