I'm back in Blogland again! (picture heavy....)

I'm sorry I've been gone so long but I'm back again with lots to share!   You may need to go get a cup of coffee  (or in my case, a Diet Coke) while this loads!   Thanks to all my followers for not leaving me behind - I truly appreciate  you sticking with me. 

I had to get out the paint and tools and fix up the ol' blog for the holidays.  Sometimes Blogger is so slow it gets very tedious trying to get everything the way you want it.   My job  has been incredibly busy for me the last 8 weeks - my boss took another position in the company and I've had to take a lot of her work so I've been scrambling with that and lots of yearend activities.   Hoping things start to slow down once they hire someone. (and no I don't want the job)  I've been on a few trips since I last posted at the beginning of September...and even as busy as I've been, I took any spare moments I could to finish up some UFO's and keep on chugging along on my stitching projects.  Here's what I've been up to since I last posted...........

First....I finished my oldest quilting UFO - hurray for me!!

I started this applique project probably 12 years or so ago --- yes it's true.  It's all hand-applique using the needleturn method and believe me I regretted that decision more than once as there are so many teeny tiny pieces especially the window frames!  I finished up the quilt top probably 5 or 6 years ago but then I put it away for a long time before I finally got around to do the quilting . I hand-quilted it all which took me another year working on it off and on between other projects.  Then it got shoved in the closet again until I could face sewing on all the buttons and things. I hate sewing buttons on and this really had a lot!   I was hating the whole quilt by the time I got done but I persevered and I'm SO happy to finally have it off my list!  May I present "Welcome to the North Pole"..........

 Here is Santa and his reindeer riding across the sky....

Santa welcomes you......

 

     Shopping at the North Pole..

 

North Pole calories...

 

Bunking with the reindeer......

 

More of Santa's village....

 

The moon is big at the North Pole.........

 

 



Then we visited "the King" in Las Vegas.....at the Graceland Wedding Chapel

 

My husband and I had a renewal of our vows service at this same place 15 years ago...so much fun.  Our friends were at our service back then and wanted to have a fun marriage ceremony there as well when they finally decided to tie the knot after 18 years together!   The service is done by an Elvis impersonator  - only in Vegas baby!  Here's a shot of my husband and I in front of the building reminiscing about our ceremony there 15 years ago........we definitely look a bit older!

 

 

I was able to finish off another applique quilt....

 

This is "Winter Memories" with pics of some of my favorite blocks.  I really loved making this quilt which I fell in love with after seeing a model of it at a quilt show a few years ago.

 

"Winter Memories" designed by Acorn Quilts

 

This quilt is supposed to look like old photos...see the old-fashioned photo corners

 

Did you have a sled like this one? 

 (I designed this block myself to replace one  I didn't like in the pattern)

Yummm.....hot chocolate!

What's winter without a snowman...

 

Remember those mittens attached to a string that went through your sleeves? 

 

...and then I stitched and finished two more ornaments...

 

LHN's "Be Merry" and "Hot Chocolate"

Love  when I have the perfect fabric in my stash......

 

The husband and I took a trip to New England - so beautiful!

 

I took over 400 digital photos on our "leaf peeping" trip to New England the first part of October....yikes!  For your benefit I'll only put a couple here LOL.  I've been to Boston before but never much outside of there.  I loved traveling through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.  We ate maple candy and cookies...we visited Ben & Jerry's headquarters....we saw a gazillion gorgeous trees...we visited Vermont's quaint general stores and villages and ate their famous cheeses...we sang The Sound of Music as we visited the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe....we walked the Freedom Trail all over Boston and went to historic Fenway Park...we visited some famous diners mentioned on "Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives".....we saw lighthouses and walked on the beaches...we ogled the awesome homes and the Bush compound at Kennebunkport and had our first lobster rolls - heavenly!  What's with the whoopie pies all over New England? I had no idea they were so popular there!

 

 

 

 

 

and I got another sampler framed.........

 

It took me forever to pick out the frame but I think I did good....it's a rustic frame that picks up the reddish/brown hues in this piece.  I am thrilled to finally have this one ready to hang.  I always get museum glass on my pieces which makes it hard to photograph but here's the best I could do.  This is "With My Needle" by The Goode Huswif - a beautiful sampler!

 

  

then I did something a little crazy........

 

Here's a photo of me and someone famous.....do some of you recognize who it is? 

 



 

This is Ralph Waite who played John Walton (the father) in the series "The Waltons". I always liked the series and I have all the seasons on DVD. Earlier this summer I was reading about them celebrating the series' 40th anniversary this year....and there was a cast and fan reunion weekend scheduled in September in Burbank, California. I thought it would be fun and since I'm close to there (Phoenix) I decided I would go.    I've never been to any sort of 'fan' event.   The cast and fan clubs have had reunions almost every year since 1997 but this was the biggest ever - and since it was held in the LA area this time they had a great turnout from the cast, writers, directors, and guest stars - most of whom live in California. There was a dinner, an autograph session, a visit to Warner Bros studio to see what's left of the house and outdoor sets used in the series, and a red carpet reunion show/event at a theatre in LA.   All of the cast came except for "John Boy" (Richard Thomas) and "Olivia" (Michael Learned) who were currently cast in plays and couldn't attend. Everyone was super friendly and down-to-earth and I got tons of autographs and photos.  The cast has stayed close over the years and all of them regard it as their second family.   The series creator Earl Hamner  was there (that's him standing in the back - the tall one).  What a treat it was to hear him speak in his famous voice and to hear all the actors talk about the series and what it meant to them.  I had a great time meeting other fans as well - and just so happy I went.

 

Some of the Waltons cast 40 years later.......

  

....and right now I'm frantically trying to finish some Christmas stockings... 

 

I always had plans to stitch stockings for our dogs that would match ours...but I'm doing the abbreviated versions instead of the full pictorial style or they would never get done!  Buster's is done and I'm working on Abby's below it now....stitching as fast as I can so I can get them "finished-finished"  for Christmas.   It's hard stitching with 3 strands of floss on 25-count....I feel like I'm stitching with a toothpick and string now after my normal 36 or 40-ct fabric and petite tapestry needles!    These patterns are from the old CS&CC magazines from the 80's-early 90's.  The wallpaper patterns were all in blue & mauve (as was EVERYthing in the 80's!) so I changed the colors a bit - using more teal so they won't look as dated. 

 

 

 

 

So there you have it folks.....if you've managed to make it through all the way to the end I thank you for visiting!  I have been cruising around your blogs as I can and everyone has lovely things posted.   I'm anxious to get these stockings done because I want to start a fun holiday project - there are so many to choose from!

 

P.S. I was notified yesterday I won a charts giveaway on Joanie's blog - yippee!!  I'll post pictures when I receive it.