Off for an adventure

Well my hubby is taking me out of this house for several days.  We plan to wander the backroads of PA, visit our fave "junk" places and eateries.  We'll loll around in Lancaster county for a day or two and who knows..........I love these trips with no itinerary.  Our life seems so routine sometimes and stressful, gotta stop and smell the roses.
I'll be back to report and hopefully with a pic or two or three to share with you.

Fall Stuff!

I know, it's been too slow coming.  I deal with health issues on a daily basis anymore it seems.
Today's was a migraine.  Trying to get things done and caught up but I have decided to accept the fact that I am not super human.  Yep, sorry to disappoint....LOL
Summer's been hot (yay!) but dry (BOO).  The garden is trying it's best but we are having to water to keep it alive.  There is some promise in there, however. 
I've enjoyed some time outdoors with my grandies, just sitting in the swing while they play is good enough for me.
Here's the first of my fall offerings so far,  I simply call this one, "Fall Stuff".  That just about covers it.
In this pattern you will see a variety of items.  First we have this banner, I measured it at 39" long not including the tie strings.

 Each of those cats and pumpkins would make good bowl fillers or ornies as well.

Then we have the trio.

These are easy to make.  The candy corn and the pumpkin are 10" tall,  the cats are 7" tall and the widest point, their heads, are about 5" across.  They will stand freely when you

attach the cat to the front.  You can also just make a bunch of

cats, or just a bunch of the big pumpkins or candy corns

At any rate, you should be able to have ALOT of fun with this pattern.  It is $10.00 plus shipping but mention you saw it on my blog and I will ship for free!
As always, hope your day is filled with God's blessings!!!
Maureen

. 

The great zucchini debacle

Zucchini, Oh Zucchini,
Wherefore art thou zucchini.

First year we had a real garden we were gung-ho about everything and knew nothing.
No fence (another story for another day)
When buying our plants (pre-greenhouse era!) we had a little conversation, it went something like this:

Hubby: "I want some zucchini"
Me: "Okay, I like zucchini a bit....."
Hubby: "Well, let's make sure we get enough plants"
Me: Okay, 9 plants should be enough, don't ya think?"
Hubby: "Uh-huh"


If you've ever grown zucchini, you know what happened next. The plants got hugh, we were pleased. Then they started spitting out zucchini by the truckload. We picked and picked and I swear they just grew more overnight. We were giving them away to everyone we knew, cooking and eating as fast as we could, even went as far as to put boxes on the side of the road with a “FREE” sign. We brought them to church, hubby took them the work, we fed them to our chickens. We composted them.
We learned a lesson.

This year we planted 2 zucchini plants. We KNEW that was sufficient. We didn’t know there would be heat with no rain, NO rain. And pests, never had these pests but they destroyed one of the plants. We now have one plant left.

Next year we will go back to 9 plants. I want my zucchini and we have the land so we shall plant in excess. If there are too many, we will simply donate them to the food bank in town!

I'm back

I didn't really go anywhere.
Yesterday I made this post on facebook, so I will share it with you in case you didn't see it.  BTW, if you are on facebook, look me up!


Yesterday I had a cleansing of the soul AND the craft room. My (mental) life has been in such disarray latel, I've been praying for peace. It's affected my work and most importantly my family, my life. Just ask my family but they better NOT tell! My creativity had come to a standstill. In the morning in my craft room I felt as if God was saying, "If you clean it, it will come"......!


So, yesterday I literally attacked my craft room, pulled stuff out of everywhere, there were piles on piles and I even spilled it out into my hall and kitchen. But, I actually parted with things. I organized, reorganized and gained so much space and even burned boxes of junk I'd been hanging on to for years. Late last night I stood back and admired my room. I had the most peaceful sleep. Today I could not wait to get to work.

Thank God, Maureen is back!

All dressed up and ready to go.

I finally got this pattern all done.  Not only did I have to have all those bodies, etc. in 10 sizes but then there were bloomers and dresses and aprons for 10 as well...WHEW!
I'm loving them.  You can pair the different sizes up and they sure look cute.
They range in size from a wee 4" dolly to the largest that is 16-1/2 inches.  I measured her today.
This is a big pattern and I don't have an epattern yet, just the mailed version.  It is $11.50 and shipping is free in the U.S. and Canada if you order via email or Patternmart ony.  I will discount the shipping for international.  If you order from ebay, you will pay shipping, those ebay fees eat me alive!
For now here are the pictures, all of these dollies are in this pattern.

And then there were TEN.

I little recap first on my life.  We've been busy trying to get our gardens in line, our shop in line and well, I've just plain old had the migraines again.
BUT, I'm feeling better now, thank the Lord!

So I started working on these dolls.  Originally they were going to be just 3 dolls in 3 sizes and I was going to offer the finished dolls for sale.  Then I added a 4th.......and a 5th.  So then I thought, well let's make 8 and offer it as a pattern and call it Eight is Enough.  But then I wanted a tiny one for the end of the row.    That little doll is only 4" tall!!!
But, that made it an odd amount.  So I made a larger one and it became 10.  I considered 2 more to make it a dozen but ran out of hair.....and patience!
  So they are what they are!
This is just a sneak peek, they are awaiting their dresses which I am working on and then a couple other things to make it interesting and then they will be my newest pattern.  Which I did not plan on as I am currently trying to do up fall patterns.....alas, my mind does wander a bit.........!
So, enjoy this photo, comments are appreciated as I do like to know what you all think! 
Enjoy your day, ours is warm but breezy, actually very nice!

My shop.

Well, in case you haven't figured it out yet, we have a small seasonal prim shop, here in northeast PA.  Tomorrow I will take some pics of the outside of it as I have been working on it....or should I say hubby....well, both of us!   We have been collecting old wooden ladders in our junk travels, much to Mr. SweetMeadows dismay.  I love junk, I want every piece I see as I can see a future plan for most of it.  Mr. SweetMeadows - not so much. 
With dismay he often asks, "Maureen, WHAT are you going to do with that and do we really need to bring home more stuff?"  Well.....yes.  Afterall, isn't that why we bought a truck?!  And isn't that why we still have "some" space in our little barn?!  Not much mind you.  For a time I had an obsession with old shutters.  I had to have them all, and if they were cheap there was no way we were passing them up.
AND, for over 2 years we have driven by this BIG old rusty mailbox, just lying in a ditch on the side of the road thru all seasons.  It would be lost in the summer grasses and weeds but come spring, I could see it.....calling out to me.  When I would mention it to the Mr. as we drove down the road, he would hit the gas!  FINALLY, one day the car was stopped and someone pulled that big ol' rusty thing out of the ditch and it now resides on the little deck in front of my shop.  This thing is huge.  It also has a wooden bottom, a true antique.  I cannot imagine how old it is but I could receive packages in this thing if it were useable. It  the The Mr.looks at it and shakes his head.He was not a part of the ditch rescue.
Back to the ladders.  I had the Mr. make an arbor of sorts for the bottom of the steps to the shop.  It sure is the coolest thing ever....you will see and surely agree!
I  promise, photos tomorrow of my ugly old junk, much of which is adorned with flowers!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder afterall.