The Sewing Mom

We will be leaving on Sunday to fly to California and will be spending the Thanksgiving holiday with my daughter-in-law, her husband and their beautiful little girl. This will be my first time to see their home and only my second to see the little one and we are all so thrilled that we got the opportunity to go spend time with them. It seems like Thanksgiving would never get here when you consider these plans have been in the works since this past June!

As excited as I am for the Thanksgiving trip, I can’t help but think about what we might like to do over the Christmas break. It looks like my husband may have a company enforced vacation the week of Christmas and I’m thinking that it might be nice to go someplace. I’d like it to be some place relatively close that we could drive and not have to deal with the airlines since we’re doing that for Thanksgiving.

My husband was born and raised in Kansas City, but we’ve never really had the chance to explore that state. In fact, we’ve only ever visited the city of Kansas City as a family. One of his favorite memories growing up is the annual trips his family would take to The Ozarks. This is an area that has changed quite a bit since his childhood, but it’s still a destination worth traveling too, probably better now than years ago with even more things to do and see. We’ve always talked about going there, just haven’t done it. Let’s see, besides Silver Dollar City, which my husband remembers, there are two other amusement parks. There is also the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans museum which I’m sure also shows Trigger, the horse. My favorite thing would probably be Old Time Christmas that runs between now and the end of December. Everything is lit up and twinkling for the holidays and there are shops, food and crafts all over town.

There are plenty of accommodations in Branson too. One choice would be the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel, but for us, I think I’d have to choose the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing. One reason is that Santa will be there! My daughter never wants to go anywhere at Christmas because she’s afraid Santa won’t be able to find her. Well, Hilton has taken care of that for me!There are several packages being offered at all of the Hilton hotels, but at the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing there is, of course, the Santa in Branson Package, but also the “It’s a Wonderful Life” package and a very special New Year’s Eve package.

I think I’ll have a family meeting tonight and see if we can make some plans to go to Branson.

Tags: Branson, Hilton, Missouri

I was busily dropping Entrecards this afternoon when I stopped by one of my favorite sites, The Art Zoo and found one of my very own purse creations showcased. I was thrilled! The Art Zoo showcases hand crafted items from a variety of hand crafters and it is always a joy for me to stop by to check out the latest find.

This particular post showcases a purse I made with geometric patterned Moda fabric. The bag measured about 12?h x 15?w, is fully lined with 2 interior pockets, and a spring tension rod closure which keeps it “snapped” shut until it is pulled open.This particular bag has been SOLD, but I will be sure to post similar bags that are currently for sale.In the mean time, please visit The Art Zoo!

Tags: art, crafts, fabric, purse, sewing, tote

I spent a couple of hours yesterday with Verizon Wireless checking out cell phones and adding my mother-in-law to our family share plan. You see, she has had a cell phone for a number of years, originally purchased by one sister-in-law and, most recently, paid monthly by another sister-in-law. Well, due to unforseen circumstances, my mother-in-law’s cell phone service was placed on hold and, for the past couple of months, she’s been without service. This wouldn’t be a big deal, but she uses her cell phone to make long distance calls to save on her landline bill. So, we decided to add her to our plan.

I actually started this process a couple of weeks ago and checked out several different phones including the Verizonwireless Storm . I had recently purchased my own new cell phone, so I did have some idea of what was available. I just knew I was needing a very simple phone for a woman that doesn’t do well with too many buttons or too much technology. In other words, the ATT Blackberry Bold which offers all kinds of fantastic features would have been great for me, but too difficult for my MIL to handle. She really just needed the most basic of phones and didn’t need any extra features. My own phone that I recently purchased is very similar to the Sprint Instinct phone which has been being advertised quite heavily lately. But, I knew the touch screen would not be such a good thing for my MIL.

To make sure that not only was I getting her the right phone, but that it was at the right price, and because this is a long term commitment for us, I needed to compare cell phone deals . In the end, I think I got her the perfect phone. It does have a camera in it, but we’re not going to tell her that, it would just intimidate her! It’s a simple flip phone that looks very similar to the one she’s had for years and I think she’ll be happy with it. We’ll be giving it to her next week when we see her for Thanksgiving, it will be her Christmas present and she can begin using it right away.

Tags: Blackberry, bold, cell phone deals, cell phones, instinct, storm, verizon wireless

I really have no idea why this project is taking me so dang long, but it is. I had planned on finishing this last week, but just didn’t get it done. This is my Countdown to Christmas project, designed by Nancy Halverson. I have been working on it for several weeks and hope to finish it this week, for sure! I must admit, I did create 4 tote bags during the last few weeks as well and had to set this project aside while I was doing that.

Last week I managed to get all but one of the hanging loops sewn onto each individual block, I was one short and need to make that loop. I also have the backs sewn on all but 5 of the 13 blocks. So, once I make the last loop, I can get it sewn on and finish sewing the backs on the remaining blocks. Finally, I’ll be able to quilt around all of the applique and these will be done, just in time to begin counting down the days until Christmas.

So, if you don’t see me here, you’ll know I’m at my sewing machine.

Tags: Nancy Halverson, quilting, sewing, tackle it Tuesday