Merry Christmas

Thank you to.........................continued

First photo is from Fiona from Chookyblue's Santa Swap. Thank you so much Fiona for the wonderful ornaments that are adorning the tree now and the small table runner and Santa wall hanging and the calendar and dishcloth. You do lovely work.

Second photo is from Cherry from Pat Sloan's Secret Elf swap. She made the most wonderful Snowman wall hanging. Since I love and collect snowmen it fits me so well. She included the best tasting chocolates and winter fqs and snowman ornament. Thank you Cherry so much!

What we woke up to this morning in NJ .......

These is what we had this morning in NJ. The first photo is from the front door and the other photo is the backyard. I still have to go shovel and clear off the car.

Thank you to...................

Thank you to Alison from Australia for the wonderful calendar, fqs, the Christmas portfolio hand embroidered by her and the handmade bear. I love them all and can't wait to use the fqs. This is from Fionamaries Great Global Christmas Swap.

Giving thanks.............and moving on.............

I was so grateful to be able to go home for this week since it has been over 90 days since I was home. It was nice to see my family and take care of closing a life up. I put down Jingle Bells on November 27th. She was 17 years old and lived a good long life. She was the last tie to my dad who died in 1995 of cancer. Rest in peace Jingle Bells and run and play over the rainbow bridge my friend...................

Got to get the mojo back.............

It has been over a month since I have been around here. Last weekend I joined Weight Watchers and at my first weight in I lost 7 lbs. Y*I*P*E*E!!! I am off to a good start and it wasn't a hard week just some minor annoyance at work.

Swaps.....

Here are two swap projects that I completed recently.

Slow mo this summer.....

My where has the summer gone?? I have been sick and very lax this summer but I have to get it in gear since it is back to work in a little over two weeks. So here are some photos from this summer so far. The shots are from the Missouri Botanical Garden and the famous ketchup bottle in the town I live in in Illinois. The day lillies are from my back yard.

good byes and new beginnings..............

So sad to loseFarrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson this week. I grew up on Charlie's Angels and Michael Jackson's music. School is done and I am heading off for my summer vacation and new adventures. In the fall, I am moving to another school and will be an inclusion teacher in a general ed classroom. Looking forward to new adventures.

Cheers,

Ruth

Dolls ......

Just had to show pics of the dolls I have received in the Annie Swap #2 and the round-headed dolly swap. Cyndi made the first fairy doll for the round-headed doll swap. She did a fabulous job thanks Cyndi. Carlotta made the second doll for the Annie #2 swap and she even had a little quilt too. Thank you Carlotta! Both are fab!

19 days and counting....................

Only 19 more days of school and I am homeward bound. I am so ready for this school year to be over with................will June 26th ever come?????

Workshops by..........................

On Saturday May 16th, I spend the day at two workshops given by Lisa Shepard Stewart of Cultured Expressions. On class was a bead making workshop using fabric and the other class was a bangle purse. I had such fun and got to create two new items and work with different fabric from Ghana.

Rant...........

I have been doing a lot of swapping lately, but what really gets me is the swap partner that does not even acknowledge getting the package. I spend time making items and paying postage mailing the packages. Is it so much to ask that you acknowledge the package and the contents. Even if you do not like the items that I have made or spend time picking out could you at least email saying you received the package. I am so disappointed in swap partners lately that do not have the common courtesy to acknowledge the swap package. This is just my rant and the sole expression of my opinion.

With that said once I complete the last two blog swaps I'm in, I am done swapping for a long while.

Easter Swap................

Thanks Jeanette for a wonderful basket & wall hanging. The wall hanging is so precious.

Orchids.

I was at Home Depot looking for cork tiles for a bullentin board for my classroom and they had fabulous looking orchids. So I couldn't resist this deep purple one.

A little bee in the garden

Here is a photo of a quilt I made for one of the swaps I was in.

Orchids.............

Here are some photos of the Orchid Show that was at the Missouri Botanical Garden earlier in March. Enjoy

Swapping...........

I love to swap and have done these two projects for swaps on Swap-bot. But I have been greatly disappointed in getting stiffed on two swaps especially the one for March birthdays. So here is what I made for my partners:

Happy Birthday to me!!!!!!!

Today is my birthday and I had a wonderful day spending time with friends and quilting.

Quilt Show Photos

Here are some photos from the NJ Quilt Show on March 5th that I took. The seals quilt looked like a real photo and was great.

Lime green.....

Here is the purse I received in the Amy Butler Bag Swap. Judy S did a fabulous job on it and got it in my two favorite colors.

Happy Days.........

Happy Valentines Day everyone..........I'm headed back to Illinois for a quick four days. Can wait to see my family and friends again. Hearts, Hugs and love!!!

Pay it forward!

I have decided to join the "Pay It Forward" fun with Julie at Julies' Blog, so if any of you would like to join me, the first three leaving a comment on my blog wanting to join are in. Below are the rules and the button to copy and put on your blog is above. Come and join the fun!! Here are the "Pay It Forward" rules. The first three people will be chosen to participate if they leave a comment on this post asking to join. They are agreeing to post a similar announcement on their blog, and Pay It Forward to three more people, who will in turn agree to Pay It Forward etc. What does it mean? Julie is going to send me and her other participants one handmade item sometime in the next 12 months. I, in turn, will send one handmade item to each of the three participants who signed up with me, withing the next 12 months. You, in turn, will send one handmade item to each of your participants, and so on.

Whose your inner rock chick?

Who's Your Inner Rock Chick? - http://tinyurl.com/2qjn3p - You Are Sheryl Crow! #blogthings

First Project 2009

I just completed this bag over the weekend. I have to work on the pattern since I wasn't quite happy with the way this one turned out.

Gardenland Show at Shaw's Garden in St. Louis

Photos from holiday show at Shaw's Garden in St. Louis.

Graceland

Did a little side trip to Memphis over Christmas and went to Graceland on the 26th. It was alright because I grew up on the music of Elvis. My aunt was a hugh Elvis fan in the 60's so we would play records on the back porch and dance to the music.