Morning Has Broken...

Thursday, January 17, 2008

You know the hymn Morning Has Broken? It is one of my all time favorites. This morning, I thought about that song as I shuffled to the kitchen in my big fuzzy warm slippers to pour myself a cup of coffee. A verse in the beginning of the song says...blackbird has spoken, like the first bird. Well, OMG, blackbirds were definitely speaking to us this morning! You could hear them everywhere in the trees and gathering in the pastures. Lots of chatter to get the day started....it was fun to watch and listen as I casually sipped my coffee.




Of course, Buffy, our duck was very curious about all this blackbird commotion.

I have been on the run the past two days. Tuesday was Bee day and yesterday we (my sewing group) took a small road trip to Houston to show a new friend all our favorite shops. We have also scheduled a sewing retreat for our group the second week of February so we are busy planning our projects and food for that. It is a wonder I get any sewing done at all isn't it? Well, I am certainly not as productive as many of my friends, but I am a happy little camper so I just do my thing.

Here is a shot of the inside page of the fabric card I am working on for my Valentine exchange. So, I have done a little bit. I am getting close to finishing this project. Some beading and then putting it all together and that should do it.

On Bee day Tuesday, the weather was perfect for sewing, very winter dreary. The group; however, decided it was a great day to go to lunch at our local airport. Yes, we have the cutest little airport. You can see by the photo that it really was dreary outside! We did; however, have a wonderful lunch at the Windsock Cafe. Here we are from left to right, Jan, our new friend Chris, Barbara, Lynn, and Linda.







We then moseyed back to sew for a few more hours. Linda brought her new chihuahua puppy, Chiquita, to sewing Bee that afternoon. It was Chiquita's first Bee, but I hope she returns, we really enjoyed her. She was very well behaved. She played for a while, watched us stitch and then settled in for a nice nap. What a cutie!

Yesterday, we went to Houston on a little road trip as we like to call it. Chris recently has joined our group to learn crazy quilting and all that that entails. Well, you know the drill! We just had to show her all our favorite spots for "stash" and it is almost impossible to get away without bringing home just a smidge for yourself. Here are Jan and Linda getting a bit of fabric cut. The store we go to has some pricey, but gorgeous fabric. They will cut down to an eighth of a yard for us and we often get a half yard and then have them cut it up for us to share so we can get some of those special fabrics without it costing us an arm and a leg. They import fabrics from all over the world. I had actually never seen a fabric for over $200 a yard before I came to this store.

Here is picture of Barbara at another shop perusing some beautiful trims.

We like to go to our favorite cafeteria when in Houston - Cleburns. It has been there for many years and is family owned and operated. They don't know the meaning of the words "small portion"! I just had to take a shot of the desserts...don't they look scrumptious? Just look at the meringue on those pie slices! I am not going to say who did and who didn't partake.

Here is a shot of the, ahem, "few" items I just had to have. I got some small portions of pretty fabrics. Don't you just love the embroidered green dupioni with the apricot flowers on it. We definitely split this among ourselves because it was a bit pricey. I got a little hanah ribbon, some lace collars (that were on sale 50% off), a little bit of trim, a little bit of silk Threadgatherer's thread, some waste canvas and a little wooden box. I have never tried the waste canvas, but my CQ friend, Allie, uses it quite a bit on her crazy quilt work for seam treatments and lettering and her work is absolutely stunning. I think it may help me with some uniformity and design. The little wooden box is one for inserting needlework in the top. I like to keep a stash of these on hand. They make nice gifts for special friends by just filling in the top with silk ribbon embroidery.

The last item to show you is something I ordered over New Year's and it has just arrived. This is called ladder yarn. I got this from Yarn Forward, Inc. I am going to try and make some scarves with this adorable fiber. I got a Christmas present of a scarf made with this and I just love it. I think I can sandwich the yarn between water soluble stabilizer, stitch with invisible thread, then melt away the water soluble stabilizer leaving a fun and unique textile. I'll keep you posted on this one!

Now I am off to begin a good old southern Louisiana dish for dinner - red beans and rice. It needs to simmer for a few hours. My DH just loves it and he still has the "Texas Crud" so I really should be extra nice to him, the poor dear.

As you can see, even on dreary winter days, I am truly blessed by God. I have His nature all around me and the beautiful smiling faces of friends to fill in for the the sunshine. Have a wonderful and blessed day enjoying all the things that surround you.