Special Delivery!!!!!!

On September 12 we had a special delivery.  Not a box from UPS, or a package from FedEx, but something even better.  

We have been waiting such a long time for this very special delivery to arrive.


This package was tiny,  19 -1/2 inches long, and didn't weigh much, 7 pounds 10 ounces to be exact.  It was soft and pink and smelled oh so nice. There was a big fuss upon it's arrival, people hovering over to make sure it arrived in good condition, and everyone trying to get a little peek to see what it looked like. 

It was very fragile, although the packaging didn't specifically say so. We already knew we must handle this package with care!

We thought it would never arrive. We waited and waited, and of all the crazy things - the stork is the one who finally came through!

Yes, she has arrived.  My 4th grandchild. Our little Ellianna.  Most of us will probably call her Ellie.  They were considering the name Julianna, and of course I was going to call her Julie, but after meeting her, my son and daughter-in-law decided that Ellianna suited her.  And I believe it does.  

As I held her in my arms and gently kissed her soft little chubby cheek, I wondered . . .  Who will you look like?  She already looks so much like her brother when he was born so I  have a pretty good idea. Will you be a happy child or a fussy baby?  Will you be as stubborn as your daddy and drive your parents crazy? (Trust me, that would be well-deserved payback.)  Will you be quiet, serious, studious, and cautious?  Or will you be bubbly, chatty, happy, and carefree?  Will you love math and science, or will you love to create and draw and spend hours crafting?  (I'm crossing my fingers and already planning her little spot in my sewing room.)

My sweet little Ellie, I love you already. Actually, I loved you before you even got here. . . someday you will understand that.  Your grandma wishes you joy, happiness, health, and a lifetime filled with wonderful moments, people, and memories.  I thank you, Mr. Stork, for bringing us this very special delivery. 


Special thanks to Meri for the wonderful vintage images.

Get your sweet corn here!!

It is almost time for the county fair!  Woohoo!   I close my eyes and picture myself walking into the fairgrounds.  I can almost smell that tantalizing  combination of corndogs, popcorn, corn on the cob, and ohmygosh don't even get me started about the funnel cakes.  And manure.  Giggle. Well let's face it, you do get the aroma from the animal stalls when the wind is just right!  But that's ok, it's all a part of the charm of the fair.  

After I married my husband, I began working with him at the corn booth, run by the men's group from our church.  It was always a lot of fun, and I felt like part of the fair being a worker as opposed to an attendee.  Kinda felt important. Pretty sad right, that selling corn makes me feel special!!!  
                                  This is a picture the day before the fair started, looking out from the booth.  
                                             My husband had to repair the roof and I had to drop off my entries.  

I really enjoyed watching the people come and go from the safety of my little wooden structure. 
I'm not really a crowd person, so this was perfect!  


While slip-sliding on the butter drippings on the floor, I could look out and see the excited fairgoers, the animals coming and going, the tractors moving to and fro. I listened to the music and watched the colorful ferris wheel spin around and around - in the almost always perfectly blue sky. At night the glistening lights of the ferris wheel sparkled against the starry, black night sky, creating a beautiful kaleidoscope of color, like never-ending fireworks. It was almost magical.  When things got slow I would sneak off to the back of the building to enjoy a yummy, salty, double-dipped in butter ear of corn.  Mmmmmm.  Ok, I'll confess, actually by the time the night was over two or three.  One character from our group, Jon, always wears this crazy yellow rubber hat - shaped like an ear of corn of course - on his head and calls out to the people "Sweet corn, get your delicious sweet corn" for hours.  This isn't him, obviously, but I just had to include a picture so you could get the idea. I loved watching the people's reactions to his hat! 

I wished that time would slow down so the day would last longer.  You could almost feel the excitement in the air. Seeing the joy on the faces of the children just warmed my heart.  I always wished I was raised in the country rather than in a small town. I do know for certain that I am a country girl at heart.  Our grandparents took us "downhome" every summer to spend time with all the relatives in the little southern farm towns, and I think this had a huge effect on me.

After about five years of working in the corn booth I decided to venture out to see the sights.  I would spend hours visiting all the wonderful cows and horses and sheep and chickens. I took so many pictures of the animals, I just love them.  My grandchildren loved the animals too.  

I managed to find my way to the Open Class Building, the one with the jams and baked goods and quilts and knitting, and . . . sigh, I felt like I was stepping into Heaven, country style.  Over the next few years I began spending more time marveling at the magnificent handwork than I did selling corn.  I dared to dream that someday I would enter something.  I was sure my stuff would never be good enough, but it was really fun to just imagine and dream about it.  I will enter something . . . someday. 


Four years ago, I did it.  I don't know what came over me, but I marched into the fair office, requested a fair book, asked a bunch of dumb questions on how to enter, figured out the different  categories, and turned in ten items.  I was certain nothing would get a ribbon, but just being a part of it all made me so happy and excited.  On judging day I showed up with my notebook and camera (and nervous stomach) and watched the judging, listening to the comments. 

 I prayed that God would let me live long enough to win just one blue ribbon.  Well, I didn't win one blue ribbon. At the end of the day I had 6, yes 6 blue ribbons, as well as three red, and one white.  OHMYGOSH!  Then I thought about my prayer and said "oh oh", I should have phrased that prayer differently!!!   The next year I won three blue ribbons, and last year I won 10, as well as a few red and white ribbons.  Gosh, I had a lot of things entered last year, didn't I? I even worked a shift last year in the open class building, and now you will  find me at the fair pretty much every day, God willing. I have already purchased my season pass!  What is really funny is that my daughter, a city girl for sure, absolutely LOVES the fair and was with me almost every day last year. She is buying supplies for the grandkids to make their projects, and is planning on taking the week off this year. Even though she didn't have the exposure to the true "downhome living on a farm lifestyle" I did as a child, she still loves it all.  I guess it is true that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! I can't tell you how happy that makes me.


So here we are again.  I am so busy with mom and everything that I really don't have much time to make things to enter.  I'm so sad that this year I didn't even get to make jam, but as I looked around the house I was finding projects here and there that I have made over the last year that  just might have a chance.  I filled out my paperwork yesterday, and my husband and I took a ride out to the County Fair Office to turn it in.

 

I also entered two of my grandchildren.  Two years ago my granddaughter entered for the first time and won a blue ribbon and a red ribbon!!  I can honestly say I was more excited about her ribbons than I was my own.  As I tell her, it really doesn't matter if we win a ribbon or not, it's just so much fun being a part of it . . . but I would be lying if I said I wasn't praying for at least one blue ribbon.


Many thanks again to Meri for sharing all her wonderful images. Do visit her blog, you'll love it!

Extra, Extra, read all about it! I've been published!!!

Wow, it has been a very long time since I've posted!  Life has been crazy. Just when I think things are going to settle down -  WHAM!!!!! along comes the next crisis.  Well, life happens.   

I know I'm not the only one, so I'll just keep on plugging along! I'll even try to put a smile on my face as I do, to trick myself into thinking things are just ducky!

I have some exciting news to share. I am in the newest issue of Stuffed Magazine.  I created a little doll named Roxie and her little dog named Doxie.  Actually, it started out when I saw this bright teal fabric with red polka dots, and I just knew I had to make a little dog out of it.  And the little dog must be wearing a red tutu. (Yes, I realize I may not be right in the head).  I also knew the dog had to be a wiener dog.  Ever since I met Andrea from The Cottage Market with that darling little dog on her graphics, I have wanted to create a little wiener dog. Then I needed to create a little girl to love her and take her to her dance lessons.  Thus Roxie and Doxie were created.

I'm so excited to be creating patterns once again.  I designed and sold patterns many years ago and really enjoyed it.  I feel blessed to be able to do something I love and hopefully bring in a little extra income. I needed the flexibility of working for myself because I care for my mom, who is homebound, as well as keeping the home fires burning.    

Nowadays, instead of having to print them up and send them snail mail, patterns are created as PDF documents and they can be ordered online and downloaded instantly. Amazing.  I love it. Not that I don't appreciate my mailman, but I love not having to wait! My friend Donna, from Donna's Lavender Nest also just published her first quilt pattern.  It is so cute - check it out!


I'm must admit that the only part I don't absolutely LOVE is trying to write up the patterns.  For me the hardest part is putting them into words.  I am really determined to make these patterns fun to look at, user friendly, beginner friendly, and the absolute best patterns out there. It has been a bit challenging, with so many things to do and learn, like the publishing software, and it has taken tons of time. That's me, running around going crazy!  

I was told the magazine would be out July 1, but yesterday I spotted it in Barnes and Noble.  As usual, I am running late.  But it's okay, I am almost done with Doxie's pattern, and Roxie's pattern will follow shortly.  I will be selling them on Etsy, Craftsy, and my own web page, ricracandpolkadots.com. They should be ready to purchase very soon, hopefully within the week.  Then I can relax and catch my breath before I start turning more of my designs into patterns. 
I hope God will bless my efforts.  Any of you who would like to throw out a little prayer for me, please do.  I would appreciate it.  My husband will be retiring very soon due to health issues and I need to step up and try to earn some income for our family.  

I already know many of you out there are going to be so happy for me and excited right along with me, and I want you to know that makes me feel like a very lucky girl!  See, there you are in the picture up above, ready to celebrate! A special thanks to my friend Meri from Imagimeris for her generosity in sharing all these wonderful vintage images.   
 I also would like to thank my sweet friend Keren from Free Pretty Things For You who designed my new graphics.  She has  taken so much time and care to design the perfect images for me and has once again exceeded my expectations. Thank you Keren, you're the best!  

Quilt table - Serendipity Studio

I'm so glad to see you!! Come on in! We're just finishing up the Serendipity Studio.  I want to tell you all about the quilt table we made.  My dream was to have a huge table that I could lay out an entire quilt on. No more pinning and basting on the floor - my knees will no longer allow it, plain and simple.  In the center of the room I had a big enough space for a large table. My bed is a queen, but I usually make my quilt a bit longer all around, so I needed this table to be somewhere around 7 x 8 feet total work surface.  My husband said we could build it so it had storage underneath, and I got to thinking. I wanted all four sides to be open for easy access.  I even decided ahead of time what I wanted to store under there so we could custom build it.  Ya just gotta love being married to a carpenter, right!!!   I explained what I wanted in great detail to my husband.  He smiled and shook his head, as he always does when he hears my great ideas, and then took my wish list and sat down with a pencil and paper and a tape measurer.  After a few different ideas we came up with the perfect solution.  We would build a base and put a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood as the table.  Then we would cut another 4 x 8 in half lengthwise to be two 2 x 8 foot pieces.  We would hinge those to each side and support the extra pieces with a leg of some sorts, like a gate leg table.  I could open up the extra sides when I needed them and put them back down when I didn't, so the room didn't feel so crowded.
So we built the base . . . .

Note the little cubby holes.  I have tons of yarn I have collected over the years for my crochet and knitting projects and needed a place for it all, instead of in a huge plastic garbage bag. We custom built the little cubbies to store the yarns.  I should have enough space to organize the yarns by color!

This side is where the bolts of fabric can fit, tucked safely out of the way. Usually my bolts are for backing fabrics or fabrics I loved so much I had to buy it all.  I will probably keep my quilt battings in there too, although I might keep my large pieces of Warm and Natural batting right on the long cardboard tube it comes on and set that in a corner somewhere. 

This side is where I am storing my interfacings and stabilizers and Wonder-Under, as well as stuffing for my dolls.
                       
I made some fabric skirts to cover the open areas.  I think it looks so cute and I like being able to hide supplies out of sight!  
For the table top, I not only wanted to be able to lay out my quilts and baste, but I wanted to be able to iron on them.  I HATE trying to maneuver a quilt top over my ironing board. So, I cut two layers of warm and natural batting and one layer of a thermal batting, and we stapled them to the board, wrapping the raw edges under.  
Then I picked out a fabric I LOVE that I have been saving for I can't remember how long.  I hated to cut into it because once it was gone it would be gone, so this is a perfect way to be able to enjoy it every day!  The fabric is "Nicole" from Mod Girls by Jennifer Paganelli.  Love it.  Thank you Jennifer!!  I stitched a canvas twill tape to all the edges for reinforcement. I figured it would be much stronger and better to staple into than the actual fabric. 


We layed the fabric out and gave it a final pressing to make sure all the wrinkles were out.  We wrapped it around the edges and stapled it down over the three layers of batting.  Perfect.  Now I can iron and lay out my quilt pieces without having to drag it over the ironing board.  This will be really helpful with my quilts because I do a lot of applique, which I usually fuse down.

Uh oh.  One problem.  If I had the drop-down sides it would be harder to get into the storage in the base.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to have to go through putting the sides up just to reach for something. Also, I thought this would be a perfect place to showcase more of my vintage pillowcases, but the drop-down sides would cover them. I had to put on my thinking cap.  The light bulb went off and I figured out an alternative solution.  I decided we could just make a 2nd identical top.  When I needed a larger work area, I could turn the first 4 x 8  sideways, and put up the second one right next to it on the base. Either way it would work out to be the same amount of surface area.  I figured it would take as much time to turn the boards around as it would lifting up the drop-down side and pulling out the legs to support it.  The only problem was where to store the second top when I wasn't using it.  Duh, light bulb went off again. Just put one on top of the other.  We made the second piece and covered it with the identical fabric and placed it on top of the first one. The only thing I did differently was to also cover the underside of the top board so the raw wood wouldn't possibly catch or splinter into my beautiful fabric when they are being moved. I am thinking of crocheting a cute little edge to go around it. I'm not sure I'll ever have time - maybe someday in an alternate universe where I have nothing else I need to do I'll get around to it!  :)
Here it is with both sections up.  Plenty of room to work!!

Since I had my heart set on using this fabric, I did have to modify a bit.  My fabric was around 43 inches wide, which wasn't wide enough for the 48" board. If I wanted to use one long piece with no seams I would have to cut each board to 42 inches wide instead of 48.  I decided I would rather lose the inches than have to piece the fabric because it would ruin the overall design.  I also didn't want to be ironing over a seam.   It was a tradeoff, but I don't regret it because it looks so pretty!  Goodness, I can see that I will need to pick up some more vintage pillowcases. Darn.  More antiquing!!  

A while back I made a smaller ironing board to sit on my cutting table in my sewing room. It was  made in the exact same way, just a bit smaller. This one measures around 50 x 32.  I saw the scrap of plywood in my husband's trailer one day a few months ago and asked him if I could have it, and that is how this little ironing board came about.  I love having it.  I would highly recommend making one, it is so helpful. You'll love it!!


Hopefully you enjoyed seeing this project and were inspired to make yourself an ironing table, or table topper.  Well it is almost Mother's Day, you deserve it!  Thanks so much for visiting!!! 

A place of her own - Serendipity Studio

A magical place to create and play and learn for my sweet Haileybelle. We started with a nice, deep countertop with plenty of storage underneath.

A fabric skirt with chenille ball trim

         and some vintage pillowcases

 keep clutter hidden and add a touch of charm!


We surrounded the counter with floor to ceiling shelving on both sides.  A piece of scalloped wood trim painted white encloses her space and gives it that special touch.  

I happily realized that I have found the perfect place - across the top - to showcase my vintage children's books.  More serendipity!

She has her own bulletin board which she can decorate however she chooses. Check out the blue and red ribbons from county fair two years ago.  I'm so proud.  She was only 7 when she got those! 


She has already raided my sewing room and completely filled her shelves underneath with fabric and trims.  


I think the crowning touch is the Hello Kitty sewing machine.  So sweet.  She has her beginner sewing and quilt books and is ready to learn.  She already grabbed a doll body from my basket and used her scraps to dress her.  

She found a box of scrapbooking items and was off to make something to hang on her bulletin board.  With her and her brother running around both talking to me at the same time and trying to  visit with my daughter and son-in-law I never got a chance to look at it.  After they left I came down to shut off all the lights and read what it said.  I love it.  I love her.  I am so blessed.  

OVER THE MOON!!!

Yes, I am over the moon.  You will see why in a minute.  I was going to post next on Hailey's sewing area, but last night we put the finishing touches on the side of my new Serendipity Studio dedicated to painting and paper mache and glitter, and I am so excited about it I had to share.  
Originally I painted all 4 walls pink, but then decided it was just too much pink and kinda boring.  I thought about how I would love to have this studio on the first floor with windows and a beautiful view, so I decided to make my own.  

I painted the wall blue with a cheery sun and dreamy clouds. . . 

                    Added some flowers . . .

               some sweet little bluebirds . . . 

  a clothesline with vintage aprons hanging . . . and yes, of course, I will be painting those clothespins and adding polka dots . . . 

We added a countertop  with tons of storage underneath, which by the way I have COMPLETELY filled with just art supplies. . .

I made a fabric skirt to cover all the supplies, and we put up a sweet little picket fence to give it more dimension . . . 

 I wanted it to look like I had a window view of a pretty yard in the country with a picket fence and aprons drying on the clothesline. . . my version of Heaven.


Now that I have a space dedicated to painting, there will be no more of this . . .

paint and brushes and body parts all over the kitchen table for days at a time.  My family will be so happy.


Now I have this!!!

Like I said, I am over the moon.  I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!!  Thanks for visiting.  I still have lots more to share with you.  I'll see you then!