HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing all of you a Happy New Year!! I hope everyone has a happy and blessed new year. Have a wonderful day spending it with family and friends! Hope everyone had a great holiday season! 

Colleen :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Just wanting to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Have a blessed day spending it with family and friends! I know I will!

Colleen 😃

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I have been busy with all my local Christmas craft fairs, but I did want to pop in here and wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving! Have a great day with family and friends and be sure to eat lots! :)

Colleen :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween! I have been busy trying to get ready for all of the local Christmas shows and spent a few weeks visiting family so I know I haven't been on here for awhile. Hope to be back soon. :)   Anyway...hope all of you have a good Halloween and if you and your little one's are out trick or treating be safe. 

Colleen :)

HAPPY LABOR DAY!

Wishing everyone a HAPPY LABOR DAY! Have a great day spending it with family and friends!

Colleen :)

Been Gone So Long

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.....I can't believe it has been so long since I have been on here. The summer was so busy and crazy as usual so I didn't get any time to post. Now that summer is over for us up here and the market season is done I have more time to do some more posting. Well at least I will try. LOL! 

It was a great summer selling season and the weather up here in the north country was unbelievably nice. We normally have two months of nice weather and then August gets raining, but this summer we had only a few real rainy times. And the temps.....man they we unbelievable also. On a normal year we get about 3 days in the 70's...this summer we had 34!!! Can't believe it. There were a couple of days that were actually HOT! And we had to turn the air conditioner on in the car. Thought I was going to die. :)

Been working on lots of stuff trying to get ready for the Christmas local shows and I have been stocking my Etsy shop back up. It gets pretty depleted during the summer as I don't have time to keep it stocked. 

Lots of new fabrics have been added for Fall and Halloween sewing. Here are a couple of them...

I also started adding patterns to the shop. I have offered my own stitchery designs for some time, but I thought I would add some other types of patterns. Here is one for Fall or Halloween sewing.....

So if you get time come on over and see all the new goodies I have in the shop now. 

My shop is here....

Have a great day and talk to you soon!!

Colleen :)

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

Just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a happy 4th of July!! Hope everyone's summer is going good. I am really busy doing the local markets and festivals. Having a great time. :) Enjoy the holiday and cherish the time with family and friends!

HAPPY 4TH!!

Colleen :)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Can't believe it has been so long since I have been on here. The summer months up here are a flurry of activity. I am really busy doing all the markets and festivals around here that I rarely have time to breathe. LOL! Just finished my first big festival last weekend and it was amazing! The local people are so generous with supporting the local artisans and then we have the summer visitor's that are starting to come in. Pretty soon the big fishing season starts and then it is so busy around here that you can hardly get through traffic! 

Anyway I just wanted to pop my head in here and wish all the dad's out there a very Happy Father's Day and I hope you all have a great day!

Colleen :)

SUMMER CELEBRATION!

It is time to get those fingers limbered up and join us with the Old Farmhouse Gathering Teams Summer Celebration! :)   Lot of goodies from some wonderful artisans and I am sure you can find some great home and gift ideas. So follow me here to see everything or if you prefer you can to Etsy and search CTSOFG. 

Let's go shopping!

Colleen :)

Love Americana!

I just love all the red, white and blue of Americana and Patriotic stuff! I think it all looks great! This is a treasury that I was in on Etsy that I thought I would share with you. :)

Colleen :)

'America the Beautiful' 

Uncle Sam Hat Table Sitter A... OldeAnniePrimi... $34.95	Primitive Pair (2) Patriotic... Hilltophomeste... $8
Chicken, Rooster, Hen, primi... countrylanefol... $15	Patriotic, 4th of July, bloc... loisling $13.5
Primitives, Primitive Dolls,... annieshandmade... $38	The Pledge of Allegiance, Am... BoggyCreekPrim... $40
Handmade Primitive Raggedy A... HeartstringsNS... $24.95	Primitive Folk Art Painting ... RavensBendFolk... $48
Uncle Sam Hat Centerpiece IttyBittyCotta... $28.5	Americana Flowers in Basket,... barbsheartstro... $34
Patriotic Americana Fabric B... NeedlesnPinsSt... $7	Patriotic Cat Doll 6" ... CharlotteStyle $17.5
Hand painted rustic barn qui... TwoCraftyLadyb... $75	Primitive Patriotic Decor, A... Dazzlement $39
Americana Wreath, Patriotic ... CrookedTreeCre... $139.99	Flag Large Americana 4' ... GrammyandGramp... $50

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NEW FABRICS!

Went on a shopping trip again last week! I just love to buy all this fabric! It really makes me feel good...HA!HA! :)  Anyway I thought I would show you some of the fabrics I bought. Beings 4th of July is coming soon I also stocked up on Americana fabrics. You can see all my new fabrics here from my Etsy shop. :)

I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee this fabric!! Of course you know it has to do with SEWING!! I use to have an old treadle machine that had an old machine like these. And I do love all antiques. :)

These vintage bicycles are so neat. Takes you back to the "olden" days. :)

Country is great for decorating. I wonder if there are very many people that still decorate with a country decor....hmmmmmmmmmmm? Anyway....I really liked this country sign fabric with all the animals on it. I thought this fabric would be great for placemats. I may actually take some of that fabric and make some. :)

And like I said......4th of July is coming so I stocked up on Americana fabrics. Here are two of the one's that I picked out. Get busy with those patriotic sewing projects. :)

Thanks for visiting and happy sewing! 

Colleen :)

Wonderful Visitor's!!

So I was talking my walk the other day which I take out on my road and when I was walking back down the road towards my front yard I saw I had visitor's. :) We get this herd of caribou in the spring and fall. In the spring they are migrating through to their birthing grounds to have their babies. They always like to stop by our house and eat the grass out front. 

So I was walking really, really slow so I wouldn't spook them and so I could get pictures of them. They kept looking at me, but they didn't seem bothered at all. 

I got to the end of the driveway and they were still there eating. I couldn't believe they didn't move off. Soooooo.....I am thinking.....now.....how am I going to get to my house. My driveway runs right by where they were feeding. 

After I stood out on the road for about 20 minutes telling them that they really needed to move off so I can get to my house, what do they do..............they lay down!!!

I thought great.....now how do it get back. So I sneaked around the garage and slithered in by the house and when I went up the stairs on the deck they were still just laying there looking at me. Normally they just move off when they see people. Guess they really liked my new grass. They laid there for over an hour and finally moved off. They returned a few time during the next few days, but I think now they have move back into the fields. We will see them again in the fall when they are moving to their winter ground. :)

Just thought you might like to see them. Have a great day!

Colleen :)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Just wanted to wish all the mother's out there a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! Enjoy your day with family and friends!

Colleen :)

My Oh My!

Holy smokes I can't believe it is already May!! Where did April go!! Well I did take a week and went down to visit family so that took up a little time and I have been frantically getting everything made for the summer season and had some custom orders I needed to get done too. Oh....maybe that is where the time went. LOL! :)

So Happy May to everyone!! 

In all my sewing and making items for my local summer shows I use a lot of fabric. And the one question I always have is to pre-wash or not. I was just think about this again and I know there are definitely people who say yes... and people who say no. I am a "no" person or better yet most of the time no, but with reds I always pre-wash. I received this article in my in box the other day from  Accuquilt and thought again about washing or not. This article says to wash most of the time, but I don't know for sure. My local fabric store says you don't have to pre-wash anymore because the fabric manufactures know that most of the people don't want too, so they have changed the dyes in the fabrics. Hmmmm......so what do you say...yes....or....no? Anyway I thought I would pass this along to all of you.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Colleen :)

Cleaning Your Sewing Machine

Well along with spring cleaning the house (ya right...and how many of you are going to do this....I might think about it. LOL!) we need to spring clean our sewing machine. Now....if you are like me this is something I continually think about, but do not get to it very often. With that said, I had this posted on my FB page the other day from TheSewingLoftBlog and thought that I would share it with you. Mine can get pretty bad with all the lint and this tutorial showed me that I am not the only one! HA!HA! How bad does yours get? So get those machines torn down and get to cleaning them. :)

Have a great day!

Colleen :)

HAPPY APRIL!

Yeah!! April is finally here. Time for the tulips and daffodils to come out and show off their pretty colors. Iris's will be coming out soon.....well at some people's houses at least. LOL! Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy April....love all the pastel colors. :)

HAPPY APRIL!!

Colleen :)

HAPPY EASTER!

Wishing everyone a blessed and happy Easter! Enjoy the day with family and friends. 

Colleen :)

More Did You Know

Boy time just flies by doesn't it. Can't believe it is almost April. I have been busy getting merchandise made for the summer markets and festivals. What have all of you guys been up to lately?

Hubby and I have been busy on making these candles and mats. The tourist love to take these home with them. :)

So I thought it might be time for some more..........did you know......:)

• Bee stings - meat tenderizer
• Chigger bite - Preparation H
• Puffy eyes - Preparation H
• Paper cut - crazy glue or chap stick (glue is used instead of sutures at most hospitals)
• Stinky feet - Jello !
• Athletes feet - cornstarch
• Fungus on toenails or fingernails - Vicks vapor rub
• Kool aid to clean dishwasher pipes. Just put in the detergent section and run a cycle, it will also clean a toilet. (Wow, and we drink this stuff)
• Kool Aid can be used as a dye in paint also Kool Aid in Dannon plain yogurt as a finger paint, your kids will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it!
• Peanut butter - will get scratches out of CD's! Wipe off with a coffee filter paper

Always amazes me on the everyday things we have around, how they can have more uses than what they are intended for. :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great rest of your week!

Colleen :)

Let's Make Carrots!

Ok...Easter is coming soon and I just can't handle it when it is in March! LOL! Just messes up my internal calendar something terrible. :)  I like to visit Pinterest for ideas and recipes and all the good stuff that is on there and I found this video the other day from Missouri Star Quilt Company on how to make carrots for your Easter baskets out of your fabric scraps! Now I know we all have lotsssssssssssssssssssssss of fabric all over the place so this is a way to use up some of them. They looks very easy to make and what a great idea for a project with the kids and grandkids!

Happy Sewing!

Colleen :)

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!

Wishing everyone a happy St. Patrick's Day! Make sure you wear your green so you don't get pinched, unless you want to be. Wonder where that pinched stuff came from...hmmm.....may have to Google that. Anyway have a great day!

Colleen :)

More Fabrics

I am so happy that I decided to add fabrics to my Etsy Shop. I just love all the new fabrics that are coming out and the wonderful designs. The best thing about it is that I get to buy all this great fabric and pass it on to all of you. I also get to increase my stash by telling myself....one for me....one for the shop. Ha!Ha! :)

I have been busy adding more fabrics to the store and I thought you might like to see some of them. 

I absolutely LOVE Susan Winget fabrics with all her gorgeous designs. Her designs have such an old fashion feel to me. I just can't get enough of her fabric. I buy it every time I see a new design. Here are a couple of the new one's I found for you.

I have mostly novelty fabrics in my shop and lots of fat quarters. I love owls and we have a resident Great Grey Owl around our house. I think these owl fabrics are so cute.

Then of course you know I live up north and we call us "northers" so I decided to carry a few designs of wildlife. 

So you can see what I have been up too. Still working on getting my product supply ready for the summer markets up here, but I always have time to get new fabrics!! :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Colleen :)

Hmmmm......What To Do With My Stash

I am always trying to find new projects to make with all my stash. I was always a person that only bought fabric when I needed it for a project. Welllllllll...........now that has changed. I see a fabric I really like and I think...I am sure I can find something to make with this fabric. :)  :)  :)

So now I have a stash. I am always getting neat tidbits and information from allpeoplequilt.com and I saw this the other day so I thought I would share it with you. She has some good ideas that you might like to try. I especially like the one that tells me what the dots on the selvage of the fabric are for!! Here is the link or you can click the picture below. :)  

Thanks for stopping by and happy sewing!

Colleen :)

Hello March!!

Hello to March!! Got the two hardest months of the year out of the way for me. January and February are hard to get through for us. I guess it is because it is cold and dark up here. When March comes along we begin to feel like we have made it through another winter. :)

Speaking of March.......March is National Craft Month!! Yeah!! All you crafting people have your own month so enjoy!! 

Have fun with your crafts!!

Colleen :)