there are witches in the air...

i don't often

post pics

on this blog...

.

...of the displays

in the store

because usually

there are no creations

to display

of my own work

well...

we just finished this

halloween set up today

and up on that wall

to the right

the lower hexagon

completely stitched by me

the other items

by my friends crystal and helen

don't you love

 the inclusion of

purple in halloween

i sure do

peace, love & happiness...

if ever i've

questioned

the validity...

.

of a grand master plan

the perfection

 of this evening

showed me otherwise

the mere hands of man

could never have

orchestrated

what i witnessed

what i felt

the manner in which

twenty seven years of life

played out

the script was better

than anything

i could have written

the wonderment

the healing

the thankfulness

shall never be taken for granted

i am humbly grateful

and most excited

 for the future

celebrating family...

the beauty

of

the evening...

.

...can't be defined

 in just a few words

being with family

celebrating love

being witness to our creator's

master plan

is a great evening indeed

congratulations to

christy & abel

new husband and wife

in kristen's memory...

this day

will always

be etched...

.

...in our mind

july 20th is the day

the kirton's lost their

beloved kristen

the day they held her

 in their arms

as she took her last breath

the day her siblings

had been dreading

yet they knew

was inevitable

so they selflessly

moved their wedding days

on a few days notice

to an earlier date

so kristen could attend

i thankfully have not yet

buried a child

although i know

the possibility is there

it often lurks

 in the dark hours of night

and when it does

i think of kristen

and how brightly

 her light still shines 

and how i know

in my heart

we would not be

where we are today

without kristen

i think of how much  good

has come from her

and what she was

able to teach us before

she had to say goodbye

my heart is heavy

as i write this

for polly and her family

left behind to grieve

with a void

 that never goes away

we are so very grateful

to have been given the

honor and privelege

of being introduced to

this wonderful family

not a coincidence i'm sure

but rather by design

please leave polly

some love tonight

a rare sighting...

i just turned

the page of

the photo album...

.

...the one from ten years ago

and look what i found

miss sarah

 hanging out with me

in my sewing studio

it did not happen often

only when she wanted

 a new twirly

from my ribbon drawer

never, ever and

i mean absolutely never

did i think back then that

the two of us

would be working

side by side

in a fabric store

or a sewcial lounge

happiness does come

 to those who wait

it's a lemon cooler...

how many times

a day do you

get lemons...

.

the quilt, which has nothing to do with the post i just love it,

is by shirley lips of  the quilt haus in greenback tennessee 

and currently hanging in jellen's house of fabric

...thrown your way

i thought i might

have had a lemon

you know

the upside down pfaff

i won on ebay

i wrote a note

to the seller

being as nice as i could be

but still stating that i was

a tad miffed the

girl had been hanging

the entire way from seattle

my hopes were not high

in fact i'd already written

it off to another lesson learned

well that's probabaly not the truth

as i will bid again

you know i will

today i opened my email

and guess what

read this one for yourself

I'm sorry to hear that your machine arrived broken. Rest assured we took great care when packing and shipping it, but unfortunately these things sometimes still do happen.
I will email you a shipping label so that you can return the broken machine at no charge to you. Simply re-pack the machine, tape the box closed, print out and attach the label, and then take it to your local UPS shipping center at your convenience. What email would you like the shipping tag sent to?
Then we have a few options: I will check to see if we have another 1475 that we can send you, or we can try to repair your damaged 1475, or I can give you a full refund (including shipping). Please let me know which of these options you would like us to pursue.
Thank you

well how about that

an honest joe

assuming and accepting

responsibility

and making good

truly made my day

just like a refreshing

lemon cooler

on a hot and humid

summer day

bottoms up...

i simply can't

believe 

i am sharing...

.

a photo of a box

and retelling this story

 again

are you ready

for what might seem like

deja vu

i bid on another pfaff 1475

and then i left town

 when i returned home

i had a message from ebay

i was the lucky highest bidder

jumping for joy

i quickly paid for my favorite

sewing machine...

it arrived today

in a perfectly wrapped box

i carefully sliced the tape open

and then gasped loudly

as i removed the top layer

of the pretty blue padding

to discover

the poor thing

 had traveled across america

upside down

i suddenly felt like an ob/gyn

trying to decide

whether to reach in

with forceps

 or gently rotate

from the bottoms up position

after consulting

with my team

i opted

to turn the box on it's side

and gently slide her out

simply hoping to give life

to my new baby

in an otherwise

nauseating world...

...unfortunately

it appears our efforts

were in vain

as i inverted her

to the standing position

pieces and parts

 began to fall

in every which direction...

as i stared down into the box

i wasn't sure what to do

laugh at my own

repeat of a mistake

or cry

 for the mind

that packed this delivery

wondering

 whatever were they thinking...

as i held the broken pieces

between my calloused

thumb and forefinger

i recalled the last time

i had won

realizing i'm

averaging three to two

and sixty percent

is better

than none

pixar...i feel your pain...

for nearly

nineteen thousand one hundred sixty nine days

and three hours...

.

i have lived with

that hair
on my head
enough said

thursday thoughts...

reflecting on father's day...

the third sunday

of every june

is the day...

.

...we honor the father's

in our life

i've been thinking about

this subject alot lately
for a variety of reasons
maybe it's because
i am getting older
mostly though
 i think it's because
 i am watching
my son
 become a man
and every single day
i see more and more
of my father in him
and that's a really good thing

she's home...

houseboat

my latest

schnibble...

.

...is back from the quilter

i often quilt these

on my own

i needed this one in a hurry

so i called on

 my friend diane

of longarm legacies

she had it

completed in hours

good thing

it is going in the front window

tonight

one year from today...

this fine gang

of

lads and lassies...

.

...will be dressed

in their finest

toasting and cheering

for the new mr. & mrs.

we'll pray for the evening

to be just like tonight

with the stars

 sparkling and bright

tiny orange fireflies

fluttering about

the moon glowing

with happiness

the birds chirping

 with delight 

the countdown begins

 as fifty two weeks

will quickly fly by

 as groomsmen

and maidens

dresses and suits

are selected

there are

flowers and shoes

table tops and linens

wedding cakes

and music

even champagne

to be chosen

as the planning begins

it can get overwhelming

my best advice is this

never lose sight

of the original desire

to simply be
 husband and wife

we love you so much

tj & julie

thursday thoughts...

birth to graduation...

in a short

eighteen

years...

.

...sarah and i went

to a graduation party today

for a young man

we've had the pleasure

of knowing

since birth

as i was creating this card

in his school colors

i couldn't help

but remember

that just yesterday

or so it seems

we were hosting a baby shower

for his parents

on our deck

one beautiful spring evening

back in

nineteen ninety three

it's funny

 how we all look a little older

on the outside

yet inside

little seems to change

our friendship

carries from year to year

perhaps we are a bit wiser

definitely

 grateful for our time

together

i have NO idea either...

a friend of mine

recently made

a commitment

.

to post everyday

for 30 days

today he had nothing

really

so he dug into

 his picture reserves

and found one that he

had just never used before

so i decided

 to do the same

elton john

never tire of listening to him

channing tatum

never, ever tire of looking

at the man

and the fact they are both

on the stage

at the same time

downlite in purple

well it just makes it worth posting

i have no idea why

it just does

so close...

to shore

yet

so far...

.

houseboat

 is almost

so very close

just a tiny seam away

to being done

but i just can't seem

to find that one

 half hour of time

i need to tie her down

bring her on in

to shore

i must though

reunion by sweetwater

 is about to be

front row and center

in the store