Happy Monday!

Here's my version of Florida Fall:

Wishin' for cooler temps,
Debbie

It's Fall, Y'all

While it may not feel quite like Fall here in sunny Florida, the calendar tells me that it's Fall somewhere further north.   As I was packing for the move into the rental I put UFO's (unfinished objects) into bins so I would have sewing projects to work on while we were living here.   One of those projects was a couple of table runners.    Years ago I had purchased "blanks" of tapestry.....unfinished tapestry pieces just waiting for their edges to be sewn.   Pretty basic, easy stuff.

So, I dug out the 2 pieces I had left and called my sister-in-law in Penna. to ask her if she'd like one of them for her huge dining room table.   Yup, she pretty much jumped on the chance to have a new runner as the last one I sewed for her was probably 10 years old.   I just love doing these quick projects......probably took me half an hour to sew one for her and one for myself.  And I was able to use up some fabric from my stash in the cupboard for the reverse side of both runners.

Hers has the grapes and she requested deep red for the reverse so she could use it for Christmas and Valentine's Day.

Mine has the harvest pattern on it and a deep red for the reverse as well.   Easy peasy!

Since I was on a roll, I also finished a runner for Susan Marie who had asked me to sew something to go with the decor in her  room at work as an Esthetician.   I do so many large projects that when I sew these quickies, I get such a feeling of accomplishment......FAST! 

Gotta love it,
Deb

Sugar Daddy

Most of you know about our place up on the St. John's River.   It's a lovely area....very reminiscent of Old Florida.   Over the years we have become friends with several of the residents of the park where we had our trailer.   There is one sweet couple that I have always tried to visit whenever we go to the river.   Eb is the husband, kind and gentle with a ready smile.   Softie is his wife, always joking and baking something yummy to share.

It seems that most folks up there have a nickname and they wear those nicknames like a badge of honor.  A nickname seems to say, you're special, special to someone because they chose to give you a name that endears you to them.

Several years ago, a small group of us were having breakfast at the local restaurant hangout.   For some reason I was there without Joel that morning and I sat down to join the group.   When it came time to pay, Eb offered to buy my breakfast.  Cousin Steve jumped right on that opportunity and said that Eb was my Sugar Daddy because he was buying breakfast for me.   It was then explained to me that everyone had to have a nickname at the river, and now Eb's was Sugar Daddy.   And that made me Sugar Babe!   Well, the names stuck.

From that day forward, every time I saw Eb I called out to him, "Hey, Sugar Daddy!" and he would grin and retort with, "Hello, Sugar Babe!"   And then we'd hug and laugh, like it was the first time we had ever done that.  Softie would just laugh and hug me, too.   I have to say that I have never met a sweeter man.  He never had an unkind word to say about anyone and  generously shared his vast supply of tools with us during our many renovation projects.

One day I told Eb about some shacks I saw falling into the river when Steve and I were out on the boat.   There was one particular shack that had an original 1950's slamming screen door and I wondered out loud if it would be possible to snag that door for the renovation of our back porch.   Much to my amazement, the next time we went up to the river, Eb produced the very same screen door........in all it's dirty state.   It had such a great patina which can only come from years of being bleached by the sun.  One side was still green because it was facing away from the sun, while the other side had faded out to a great tealy-green.

It turned out that Eb took a ride down the road and found out who the caretaker was for those shacks and somehow convinced someone to remove the screen door and he hauled it back to the park for me!    I was so touched that he went out of his way to retrieve a dirty old door that no one else would ever look at.....but he knew I loved all things with a history and that door brought back memories of my summers as a kid.   Wasn't that just the most thoughtful gift?    For once I was speechless when he presented the door to me.  Here it is on our newly finished screen porch.

And so it was with great sorrow that I learned 4 days ago that Eb was terminally ill and under the care of Hospice.  We had no idea that he was so sick, he never once said a thing to anyone.  He just rode around the park in his golf cart with that ready smile.   And tonight I got the call that he went home to be with the Lord.   Heaven is most certainly a sweeter place with the addition of this lovely man and he will be sorely missed here on earth.

Good bye, Sugar Daddy.  You will always have a special space in my heart.
Sugar Babe

Wedding Gown to Christmas Tree Skirt

Here's a peek at the beautiful wedding gown I had the honor of "playing" with this past week.   To see the whole story go to my other blog.    www.pinkfloridathreads.blogspot.com

It was an adventure, to say the least.
Debbie

Indian Summer

For those of us in Florida, it still feels like mid summer as the temps hover around 90, more or less.   But for my northern family and friends, they are enjoying the last warm days before winter sets in.   Most every where "up North" the leaves are beginning to change.  I thought I'd share some last pics of summer with you before we embark on the fast approaching holidays.

I took this at sunset in our front yard at our rental house.   The sky was just so rich in color I had to run inside and grab my camera to capture the scene.

Here's another sunset taken near our home.   Love the cloud formations and the palm tree silhouetted against the closing light.

How about this night blooming cactus?    It's on the side fence of our yard and I needed to take the pic in early morning before the white blooms close up again until night time.    I'm not a big fan of cactus, but this is really pretty.

And I had to include at least one pic from the beach.   The water in the Gulf is still in the 80's and high 70's....just right for a barefoot walk along the water's edge.

Hope you enjoyed my pics from the end of summer.   Now, bring on the cool fronts!
Debbie

Idle Hands, NOT!

My dear husband loves to sit and watch movies.   I mean, it's absolutely his favorite thing to do.    As for me, a movie here and there is just fine, but I'd rather be doing something instead of watching other people doing something.   See the conflict I'm setting up here?

Well, after almost 3 decades of married life together, we have found our happy medium.   He watches all the movies he wants, I join him on the couch or my favorite overstuffed chair............and I knit, or needlepoint, or hand sew, or crochet, or quilt.   Get the idea?   We're still together, we can still have a conversation and share a cup of coffee, but I don't get "antsy" sitting there for hours.   Obviously, we have opposing levels of energy, but it works for us!

Last year I got back into needlepoint and here are two of the finished projects.

I just love this little Key West house and the palm trees.   Notice the little black kitty hanging over the porch rail?    It is still unframed and I may decide not to frame it after all and just hang the raw canvas "as is" in my studio.

This coastal bird was a lot of fun to stitch out, but there were times when I thought I'd go cross eyed trying to determine the varying shades of tan for his body.   All in all, though, stitching these pieces was very enjoyable.  It's just fun to see how fast the picture comes alive as you stitch the different gorgeous yarns onto the canvas.   Stitching one of these is kinda like paint by number, as the canvas is painted in the corresponding color to the yarn, so you know where to put each strand of yarn.

As for the bird canvas, I sewed him into a pillow for our bedroom.   Don't you think he blends all of our colors really well?   Here he is in his new home, sitting on the rocking chair whose fabric is a wild tropical leaf pattern in tans, soft coastal blues and browns. 

So, the next time you're bored, why don't you try your hand at some needlepoint?    It's pretty cool!
On to the time project,
Debbie

Another One Bites the Dust

Another month, that is, bites the dust.   Can you believe it?  Today is the last day of September.  Time to change my dish towels.  Even though we are in a rental, I still enjoy marking the change of seasons with just a small token of seasonal decorating.....and when we moved, I made certain to pack my monthly dish towels to use while we are living here.   It's just nice to see something hand made in my kitchen....it cheers me up.  

On to October.............

How do you celebrate the change of seasons?
Debbie