How the days fly by.....

Here it is the end of February and my husband and I are both sick as dogs.  He has acute bronchitis and I've just have a head cold with body aches.  It stinks because it's spring time down here and the weather has been very nice.  Cool breezy days......great days for Vallie and I to take walks but no go.  I think Vallie would end up having to carry me home.

I purchased a new xs pattern....Rabbit House by Death by Thread hoping it would get me into the stitching mood.  Well it didn't.  I have been making shawls and neck warmers like crazy.  I send most of the finished ones up to my sister-in-law in Pa and she takes them to her church.  There's a group there that does shawls for nursing homes and she adds mine to them.  I don't know why I've been on such a binge of knitting and crocheting but it seems to be the only thing I want to do.  I have no idea why because there's so many beautiful xs patterns coming out.

Here are some of the shawls and neckwarmers I finished.....

I can't close without showing you an update on Little John.  I am so mad......I was suppose to babysit him tomorrow and I'm sick so I can't do it.  Peyton sent me this picture just the other day to show how Little John sleeps just like his father....one arm behind his head.

He's getting so big and he's beginning to get the dimples on his elbows and knees.  I just love them!

He also likes to show he's a big boy by sitting up and watching cartoons.  He's such a cutie pie I could just eat him up..

That's all for now except to wish everyone a fantastic weekend and that you have nice spring weather wherever you are.  Soon it will be summer down here and too hot to do anything.  If you've never been to Florida in the summer time.....don't.....you'll burn up with the rest of us.

Blessings Abound, Barbara

This and That....

Well here it is Thursday and dh has been back to work for 4 days and I'm beginning to get back to my old self and schedule.  Today was suppose to be laundry day but Peyton showed up with Little John and Chloe so we decided just to go for a walk and watch the movie "Cinderella" (more about that later).

 Peyton was sitting holding Little John and that's Chloe looking over her shoulder from the back of the chair.  Where the baby is....Chloe is.

Then when we went for our walk Vallie got tired because she's use to my "Old Lady Walk" and Peyton and Chloe walk much faster so she hitched a ride on Little John's stroller.  She's so funny and it's like Chloe's making fun of her in the picture.

I don't know how many of you ladies have seen the movie "Cinderella" but the blue gown she wears in the movie fascinated me so I did some checking.  Being a person who sews and stitches I wanted to know more about the dress.  After some research this is what I found.

Behind the many layers, the gown is a feat of structural engineering. We started with the underwear: the corset and the crinoline (skirt cage), which was made of steel.

Each of the eight versions of the gown is also slightly different. One was 2in shorter and a couple were 4in for the times when Lily had to run; another had holes cut in the sides of the skirt for harness work.

The hems got incredibly dirty as the shoot went on. That proved a headache – these dresses aren’t something you can just throw in the wash.

And it also wasn’t the most practical design. During filming, Lily and Helena Bonham Carter, who plays her fairy godmother and wears an equally huge gown, had to get used to it taking an age to be dressed. In the end, we got it down to a 20 minutes.

THAT DRESS... BY NUMBERS

3 Miles of thread in the hems

250 Metres of fabric in each dress

4,000 Hours it took to make eight different versions of the gown

10,000 Swarovski crystals hand-applied to the dresses

20 Minutes it took to get the dress on

4 Inches one dress was shortened by to help Lily flee the ball at midnight

The trickiest thing Lily had to do in the gown was dance with her prince, played by Richard Madden. They practised endlessly, but poor Richard kept treading on her hems. Of course, when it came to actually shooting, they were faultless.

While I was delighted with the dress’s reception, I was surprised by the obsession with Lily’s tiny waist. People seemed to think it was setting a bad example to young girls. Some even accused the studio of digitally altering it. Ridiculous.

The reason her waist looks tiny is because the skirt is so huge – it’s an optical illusion – and she’s wearing a corset. The film is set in the 19th Century and every woman in the film is wearing one, even the maids.

I understand people get upset when incredibly skinny models appear on the catwalk or in photos. But Lily is not a super-skinny girl – there’s nothing wrong with her body. Cinderella is a girl known for kindness and courage, so it’s sad people just kept talking about her waist size.
The top layer of the gown is silk crepeline, a very lightweight, fine silk. The layers underneath are made up of a synthetic called yumissima, an incredibly light (and very expensive, about £150 a metre) material which floats when thrown in the air. 

All of this just amazed me and I would love to be able to wear a dress of that type.  Today's clothes are so boring to what people use to wear.  But then I usually hang out in my pj's.  LOL

Blessings to All,
Barbara

Updates and an apology.....

I can't believe that I haven't posted since the 4th of January.  This month is just zooming along   We found out what is wrong with my husband's voice and they are not sure it will ever come back.  It happened either when they were putting him on the ventilator or during the surgery itself that they damaged a nerve and paralyzed half of his larynx.  He goes next week for what they call a swallow test to make sure that no fluids are going into his lungs or he could develop pneumonia.  The ENT doctor said there's no way of knowing when it happened so it's just something we have to deal with....as if he doesn't have enough to deal with.

I was up at Needle Orts and picked up the first 3 of BBD's newest designs.  I'm not sure if I want to do them separately or longwise as they did.  I still don't stitch as much as I'd like to because of the shakes and one of these days I'm going to clean out the sewing room and get rid of everything I know I'll never use again.  It's just taking up space.

I did finish two shawls and they both were made of yarn that is yummy.  The first one is still in the process of being blocked and the yarn was Aslan Trends King Baby Llama & Mulberry Silk and feels like a dream.  It's a dk weight yarn and it works up really fast.

The second one was made with a lace weight merino wool that I purchased on Etsy.  I had the light color and when I started the shawl I thought it would look really nice with a darker color added.  I contacted Julie who I purchased it from and she dyed the red and it's perfect.  I love this one because it's really light weight and perfect for Florida even though it's wool.  

I can't close without sharing the newest picture of Little John.  Peyton and him came down today and it's chilly here....high's in the 50's so he's all bundled up....but you can still see his grin.

Well that's it for now.  I want to apologize for not responding to posts.  I have been so busy and worried that most of the time I just want to sit and vegetate.  Maybe after DH goes back to work on the first of February I can get back to my old routine.  Between you and I.....he's driving me nuts!!!!

Blessings, Barbara

The beginning of a New Year

Well here it is 2016 .... makes the mind boggle.  

Hubby is doing better everyday.  This afternoon we went to Outback Steakhouse for lunch with a gift card we received.  It was quite tasty and because we ate so much there, I didn't have to cook dinner and that's always a good thing.  I hate cooking!  He goes to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor this Wednesday.  He hasn't been able to talk above a whisper since the surgery and they think that when he was placed on the ventilator, they damaged nerves in the back of his throat.  So now I have a very quiet husband.......bad or not bad?  Can't decide.  LOL  So now we'll wait and see what comes of that.  He will be returning to work on Feb. 1st and as much as I love him, it can't get here soon enough.  Although the sleeping late in bed every morning is nice!

Remember me talking about a CAL I joined that had to do with Downtown Abbey?  Well it started yesterday and here is my finished first clue:

I'm using a Cascade Heritage Silk yarn that's called Strawberry Cream.  I think I'll add some crystal beads to it for just a little twinkle.

I haven't done any stitching at all since before Christmas.  I want to get back to working on my Stacy Nash sampler but I fear that won't be till dh goes back to work.  He's thrown my schedule all out of wack.

That's all for now mostly because I have nothing else to report.....except Little John is getting cuter every day.  They were here on Saturday and I got to rock him to sleep in my Grandmother's rocker.  It's not the smoothest rock so I told my hubby I must get a new one just to rock Little John in.  He actually looked at me as if I was nuts.  Why don't men understand these things?  Geesh

Blessings Upon You, Barbara

Is This A Happy Baby Or What.....

Peyton sent us this photo this morning and we just love it and him.  What an adorable face to wake up to.  He's such a happy baby.

Blessings, Barbara

Baby It's Cold Outside....

....and as you can tell, Vallie has her pink longjohns on to battle the cold.  Here in Florida if the temps go down into the 40's or 50's, it's cold.  My northern family calls us wimps.....could be.

Blessings for a Merry Christmas

Barbara

I've been very busy lately and not had time to post much but I want to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a much Happy New Year!

The picture is of our beautiful great grandson, Little John, and with that smile of his, he's going to capture quite a few girls hearts.  

Blessings From Our Family To Yours,

Barbara

Things are getting better....

Today was the last day for the visiting nurse and I can only say that I felt alot better when I knew she was coming to check on DH.  The one we had was such a sweetheart but I had to hide Vallie from her because she wanted to take her along.  I never saw Vallie take to someone like she did Nordeen....maybe she realized she was there to help Daddy.

We went to the cardiologist this past Monday and he was a little concerned about DH breathing so he started him on Xoponex which has made quite a difference.  DH is actually going to sleep in bed tonight laying down instead of in his lazyboy.  Should be interesting to see how the night goes and how he feels in the morning.  This has been quite a learning experience for me.  One of the major things I learned is that I have more patience than I thought I had.   :o)  Also, how much difference our tastes in tv watching is.  When he is working I either have on the History, Discovery or DIY channels.  He hates all of them and likes to watch movies.  Patience.....and learn to smile a lot.

I have done a few stitches  in a sampler I'm working on but nothing to extreme. 

 I've also joined a CAL on Ravelry.  It's a shawl and if you are interested in it, here's where it's located on Ravelry.http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/downton-abbey-mcal-2016

Also, has anybody else have trouble loading pictures onto their blog.  Mine keeps asking me to log in to Google and after I do it comes up with a error message.  This really has me upset to say the least.

That's all for now.  Just want to wish everyone a great week and to say thank you for stopping by.  

Blessings, Barbara

A Most Blessed Thanksgiving To All

This year we have a lot to be Thankful for.  A brand new Great Grandbaby, John Elijah....my DH heart surgery that went well....and all my dear sweet friends.  The flowers were sent to us from my sweet friend, Rhonda and it's hard for me to express just how thankful I am that she came into my life.  I want to wish all my followers a Blessed Thanksgiving and please give each and every one of your loved ones hugs and kisses and don't forget to say I Love You.  

Many Blessings Upon Thee,

Barbara

I hope it's as beautiful where you are as it is here.  Not a cloud in the sky that's a brilliant blue and the temperature in the 70's.  A perfect Florida winter day.

Vallie still is not allowed on Daddy's lap but she checks on him very regularly....as you can see.

Sorry for the bad picture but my phone doesn't take that great of a picture when I zoom in but you get the general idea.

Several of you were asking about Little John.  Here's a new picture of the little sweetheart.

When Peyton was a baby, she had a favorite blanket called "blankie".  That is what Little John is wrapped in....she is allowing him to share it.  LOL  

I must catch up on my reading of all the blogs I follow.  Time seems to move very fast these days.  I will try to answer each and every comment but please bear with me.  I love all of my followers and I want to stay in touch with you all.  The nurse is coming this afternoon so I must go and get ready for her.

Blessings for a Wonderful Thanksgiving this year.  We certainly have alot to be thankful for.

Barbara