There is a Black Cat and Spiders on my blog!!

With a half hour to spare, I was able to finish up on my monthly commitments for stitching. I worked on the Halloween Double flips from Lizzie Kate. Sunday night I stitched on the border, as I was too lazy to look for the previous chart to line up the next design.

Monday was spent stitching on 'Black Cat'.. all I had left to stitch was the "lack" in the black cat design. Tonight, I finished up on the "lack". Then I moved on to 'Spiders'. Was a super fast stitch! Of course you cant see the web, but you cant always see the webs either in real.

Thanks, and a Quaker Seasons Update

Almost 7 days ago, I got the inspiration to work on the picture tribute, and according to YouTube.com, the For Dad... video has been viewed 492 times! Amazing! Thanks to all that took the time to watch the video, and share your kind words with me. They have meant so much to our family. Its great to have friends such as you!

Since my Dad passed, my Mom has been wanting to get another dog. It surprised me that she was ready for another Pug to join the house. It was something she has wanted to do for awhile. And Thursday I got the call that she was going to go and pick up a Pug puppy. Friday she came home with P.J. - (Prince James) He was born on Feb 1st. He joins Princess (also a Pug) at home. He is adjusting well with Prinny. And Mom is adjusting to having a puppy in the house. Here is a picture of PJ taken last night, while visiting at my brother's house. Isn't he adorable!!

Well, I had to take Quaker Seasons off the Qsnaps, so I thought I would snap a picture. I'm totally loving stitching on this design. I actually ran out of floss on the bottom middle motif. And wouldn't you believe it.. I didn't have another skein to use to stitch.

Can't wait - in three weeks, we will be making our way home from Branson, MO. It will be a sad time, as this was a trip that my Dad was excitedly looking forward too. But we will share our great memories with him.

For Dad.... A Picture Tribute

The YouTube direct link to the video is - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrurozaSFFI

I have been wanting to make a picture tribute with pictures of my Dad. Well last night I was wide awake, and suddenly had the inspirations to do it.

Please sit back and I hope you enjoy the pictures. As much as this video has brought comfort, it shed tears along the way.

So, this is dedicated in the memory of my Dad. Miss you Dad, love you!

Quaker Seasons WIP

Here is Quaker Seasons - I absolutely enjoy stitching on this! Hate having the frog visiting so much! And its my own fault, always is..he he.

But here is my progress up till this afternoon.

Been thinking of taking this with me to Branson, my luck I will have it done by then. Leave April 16th.

My Round Robin is visiting

I just got my Round Robin back home. So far its been to Texas, South Carolina, Florida, Arkansas, and a trip down state in Wisconsin. It needs to fly off again, as I have put out a request to two more friends to stitch on it.. and then I will finish up on the last block that wasn't stitched.

So here is my Round Robin - its the Dear Diary inspirational words from the Dear Diary series from Little House Needleworks. I love how its turning out! And I hope to have it totally completed within the next few months.

A WIP Happy Dance!

So.. the half square triangles (HST) and 2 1/4" squares were cut. And I had a day off, and I wanted to make it productive. And I think I accomplished that!

Here is the finished quilt top of the Braided Starburst that I had mentioned in the post below. I had a BLAST making it, and once I figured out the arrangements of the blocks, it went super fast to put it together.

The pattern calls for 4 sections, but I figured out early that I wouldn't be able to make it work with the fabric I had. (Still cant figure out how you can get as many requested squares and HST out of a 1/2 yd of fabric.) So I'm making this into a wall hanging. I'm going to bind it in the same black fabric.

I'm very HAPPY I did go with the brown for this quilt top. LOVE the colors!

Psst - please excuse the trimmed threads, should have trimmed them again.. he he

How much can I ...

How much can I get done this weekend!?!

As I await the washing machine to finish washing my new fabrics I got this morning. I thought I would post an update.

Fabrics + washing machine = NEW QUILT -- well I got the idea from another quilting blogger, and I thought, oh man! I had seen her blog post, and I immediately fell in love! She was talking about using Triangle Paper for a new project, so I did alittle research and I read that it was a great product to use. And she shared a freebie quilt pattern that she fell in love with.. and SO DID I!! Braided Stardust And I thought OH MAN!! I knew the exact fabric I wanted to use!

I purchased the Brown (Spice) variation from the Shade Cascade fabrics from Blank Quilting. ( I had made the Shade Cascade quilt top last year.) I had to go and purchase more of the fabric as it only has 11" of each color across the bolt. I purchased 2 1/2 yards, so fingers crossed it will work. And I also purchased Black - Moda Marble for the black.

And of course, timing couldn't be wonderful - the Triangle Paper -1 3/4" was waiting in the mail box when we arrived home. This will be my first time using this paper, but from the looks of it.. it looks so easy! I have done paper piecing in the past, so I know how it goes.

And, on the cross stitching front - I also started a new design - its called Quaker Seasons from My Big Toe Designs. I had seen it on a WIP and Finish post on 123, and I just had to stitch it. So my pattern arrived in the mail on Wednesday - Thursday, I put my first stitch in to the fabric (I'm using Sassy's Creamy Cocoa - 28ct as the fabric with DMC floss). LOVE how its turning out so far.

Well I'm off to see if the fabric is done yet.

Ain't that the TRUTH!

It sure is... this cutey finish from Lizzie Kate is so true!

Here is "It's Expensive to be ME!" I finished it on a piece of 25 ct Potato lugana fabric, with the DMC floss. I stitched it over 1 with 1 thread.

Not sure how Im going to finish it.. just needed a small carry along project, just in case.

It all started...

It all started when I was waiting for something to be printed off the printer, and I happen to glance at the lonely sewing machine. Feeling sorry for the sewing machine (and myself, for neglect of use). I just happen to run my finger across the top to see how much dust had collected.

Then I saw the pile to the left... humm, scraps! The light bulb came on!

I took those scraps on the left, and made a sewing machine cover! It was so much fun, and with just a little changing of the directions... it came out GREAT!

I used the following directions for the sewing machine cover, which I Google and found online for free. I loved the fact that I had all the fabrics on hand. I just used the remaining strips from the Spools quilt I had finished earlier this year, and I just had to sew it up till I got the right amount of fabric that was requested for the pattern, and went from there.

I love doing projects like this.. and now my sewing machine better feel the love!! There now I have something I've always wanted to make, finished!

A Great day spent ...

Stitching of course!! Didn't spend much time on the computer today, but spent most of it with a needle in hand. After the housework was finished, and I felt the need to stitch, I dove right in!

Here is the progress of My Sewing Sampler -

Was able to get a few more blocks finished up.

Also, I finished up on Santa on the Christmas Double Flips WIP, from Lizzie Kate.

Humm another day off tomorrow, how shall I spend it?!

Proof!

Well, I can say I have been stitching - but it doesn't seem to show that much.

Tonight I finished up on Cookies, from the Christmas Double Flips from Lizzie Kate. I had brought it with me this past weekend when I went down state to visit my Mom. I had forgotten the previous Stocking chart to match it up, so I just worked on the border till I had Prinny (aka Princess the Pug {my Mom's dog}) wanting my attention.

I also have been working on "It's Expensive to be ME!" also from Lizzie Kate. As you can see, I only have the ME! left to stitch, and it will be finished.

My stitching slaking can be blamed on the two new tv's we got in the past few days. I bought a new one for the bedroom (which we had planned to), and then Brian liked it so much, we got a new one for the bedroom living room (sorry Debra!.. he he). Gosh, those new tv's are scary! I was watching Jay Leno, and I could see the glitter that was on the ladies chest..LOL

Getting back to normal...

As I start this post, I want to first THANK everyone for stopping by and leaving a comment, sending emails, sympathy cards, and just being there for me. THANK YOU! Today will be two weeks since we lost him, and Valentines Day will never be the same.

It finally hit me Saturday night that Dad was gone. I was still in shock, and then around 2am Sunday morning, I just came to realization that he was gone. I woke up Brian just crying, and we sat up for awhile after and just talked. Then Sunday night I was kinda putting off going to bed, as I didn't want to lay there and think about Dad. But I started to think about Dad being gone, and what I was missing, and all of a sudden in my thoughts I had the message - "I'm with God" That brought me so much comfort and I fell right to sleep.

We came home last Wednesday - we buried Dad that afternoon. We had to wait for him to have his autopsy on Tuesday, and then we could do the burial. Even at the grave side, we still had several people join us to see Dad off.

The funeral - Oh wow, was it AMAZING! It was one of those where you cried and laughed. It was so great to have every member of the Clayton/Winchester Fire Dept and First Responders there, as they were Dad's second family. From the bagpiper taking Dad out of the church, playing Amazing Grace, to the Honor Guard that stood, to the fire trucks, to the HUGE American flag hung from the two ladder trucks, to the people that attended the funeral (they estimate there were close to 5,000 people between both days), the food, the memories shared, and to the American flag draped over Dad's casket. I'm so glad to have been apart of the funeral of my dad - I'm sure that he would have had a blast at his own funeral - cause you sure heard all the comments about Dad. He was well loved!

A family friend set up a memorial site for Dad on Facebook - you can check it out - Rememberance of Chief Dean Mathison CWFD You can see pictures from the day - Pictures There are 146 pictures at this point.

Oh course, shaking everyones hand it was bound to happen - early Thursday morning I came down with the flu. I actually called into to work, and of course (I heard from a coworker) my boss didn't believe I was sick, but just tired from being gone so long. So she made me come in to work, as she couldnt get anyone else to cover my area I work in. Well - I went into work at 1pm, to be sent home at 3pm by the nurse. Friday - I went into work, to be sent home after an hour and half, and then again on Saturday - I was sent home again - after 2 1/2 hrs. Saturday night I was starting to feel better, and I was able to work the next 2 days.

So I'm finally enjoying a nice day off. Did alittle cleaning up around the house, catching up on emails, and I have about 2 week of laundry to catch up on.

I haven't stitched since the night Dad died.. so I think later today I'm going to put in my first stitch.

Pictures from a sad day

I just want to post some pictures...

Thanks to all that left a comment or emailed me, your thoughts and prayers have been doing their job. Our family is still in shock, but we are coping. The funeral was a great send off for our Dad, and one that I'm sure will be talked about for a long time to come. We were amazed at the amount of people, especially firefighters that attended. There were 28 trucks from around the area and state that joined us for the last inspection of the fire stations.

Dean W. Mathison

Mathison, Dean W.

Winchester, Wisconsin (Larsen, WI)

The final page was put out for Fire Chief Dean W. Mathison, God called him home on Tuesday, February 10, 2009, he was 63 years old.

Dean was born on November 18, 1945, to the late Russell & Leona (Breaker) Mathison. He graduated from Winneconne High School with the class of 1963.

Dean married Sharon (Whitney) on December 3, 1966, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Neenah.

Dean worked for 17 years for the Gelhar Sand Company, formerly of Larsen, and for 22 years at the Larsen Cooperative, as a fuel truck driver.

Dean has been deeply involved in the communities of Larsen and Winchester, and Winnebago County. His passion was serving as a member of the Clayton/ Winchester Fire Dept. for 42 years, 40 of the years as an officer, and 20 years as the Fire Chief. The Fire Department served as his extended family, and the Fire Station often served as his second home. He has served as Chairman of the Winnebago Area Firefighters Association for many years. He also is Chairman of the Winnebago County Fire Chief's Association, member of the Quality Assurance for the Winnebago 911 Dispatch Center, served on the Winnebago County E911 fire sub committee, member of the Northeast Wisconsin Safety League, and member of the Winnebago County Fire Investigative Unit. Dean was also a faithful member of Grace Lutheran Church in Winchester, where he served as an usher for many years.

Dean is survived by his wife of 43 years, Sharon, of Winchester; children, Kim & Brian Ritchie, of Long Lake; Glen & Lisa Mathison, of Winchester; Scott & Jenny Mathison, of Winchester; and Amy & Gregg Wilke, of Winneconne; six grandchildren: Alyssa Williams & Conway Mathison, of Winchester; Natalie & Kaylee Wilke, of Winneconne, Katie & Lindsey Mathison, of Winchester.
He is also survived by a brother and sister-in-law, Wayne & Mary Ann Mathison, of Readfield; Father-in-law and Mother-in-law, Jim & Joyce Whitney, of Neenah; Brother-in-law & Sister-in-law, Dean & Ann Whitney, of Winchester; nieces and nephews, and will be sadly missed by Princess, his pug. He is further survived by his extended family of the Clayton/ Winchester Fire Department and First Responders.

Along with his parents, Dean was also preceded in death by a sister-in-law, Shirley Mathison.

A Funeral Service for Dean will be held on Saturday, February 14, 2009, at 11 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church of Winchester, Larsen, Wisconsin, with Pastor Dan Luett officiating. Burial will be in the Grace Lutheran Cemetery, Winchester. A Visitation for family and friends will be on Friday, February 13 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the CHURCH and will continue on Saturday from 9 a.m. until the time of the service at 11. In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established.

Dean's dedication and uncanny sense of humor will be remembered forever.

Mueller Funeral Home
904 E. Main St.
P.O. Box 250
Winneconne, WI 54986
920-582-4242

Online obituary at Northwestern, PostCrescent

If you would like to send a sympathy card, you may do so by sending to

The Mathison Family

5255 Cty Rd II

Larsen, WI 54947

Dad is sure missed around here...

Article in the local paper of Dad's passing - Long Fire Chief Dean Mathison Dies

Please Keep My Family in your Prayers

We lost our Dad tonight.

Update @ 5:30am 02/11/09-
I just wanted to let you know that my Dad passed away last night. He died of a massive heart attack, shortly after attending a fire training meeting, at an area fire station. My brother, who was with my dad at the meeting, had found him on the bathroom floor at the fire station. He was transported to St Mary's in Green Bay. They tried for an hour to bring him back.

We are down by my family. Of course I cant sleep. We go tomorrow to make funeral arrangements, and I have to say its going to be huge funeral.

Kim

Spent alittle time at the Cabin today...

While it was raining out side, and there was no way I was going outside to deal with the mud and slush - I stayed inside and stitched some snow. Crazy huh?! This is Cabin in the Woods from HAED - there is a picture of the finished design on the sidebar on the right.

Well, if you remember I'm stitching a HAED. Yes, one of those pattern that are huge, and every square is stitched. Well I'm in the process of stitching snow, I'm talking like DMC #s 822, 3024, 753, and 415. So I'm talking greys.

Here is a progress pictures from way back in August. This is the last time I had a updated picture, and its great to compare to.

And here is my progress up till this post. Slowly making progress, in the past 2 days I have put in 1500 stitches alone.


So back in the bag it will go till it starts to scream for me again.

Started another one...

The other day I was looking for some fabric for a new project.. and I couldn't find the right size piece, and I kept looking. And then I came across the perfect size fabric for something else. I continued to look for the original piece I was looking for. Found it.

Guess what the first fabric was for?!?! ... It was long and narrow and fit one of the designs that I wish to start soon. As you can tell by the picture - its the Christmas Double Flips from Lizzie*Kate! I love how its turning out so far! And it stitching up fast!! I haven't decided how I'm going to stitch the outer border, its calls for Whitewash (712), but I'm thinking of going with the same color as the bow on the bottom, but I'm not sure yet.

I had started this on Friday - made some good progress, then I worked this weekend. Came home and I was too tired to stitch on it. So I finished up Stocking today, and had Holly stitched up on Saturday night, before I fell asleep.

The other piece of fabric is for "Its a Girl Thing", also from L*K - I'm going to stitch "Its Expensive to Be ME!"

I'm going to put this start down for a bit, and work on a HAED. Cabin is actually calling to be stitched on.. LOL So off I go..

Customer Service @ WDW.... ROCKS!!

You may remember me saying that I was having a hard time with a recent WIP. The skein of Mascara from Weeks Dye Works was giving me fits. I couldn't stitch more than 6 stitches before it would break. It was so hard to stitch with it. I had purchased it from an eBay auction, and rather than going back to the seller (even though I did give them a heads up on the problem), I went to WDW.

So I contacted WDW last week about my problem. I was emailed back the next day with a response that I would have a replacement skein sent to me. That I need also to send them my defective skein back to them.

The other day I received another email from WDW stating that the skein was in the mail, and not to worry about sending my skein of Mascara back, as they had heard from a shop, that they had a bad batch of Mascara also.

Today I open the mail box to find my skein of floss from WDW. To my surprise, I found THREE skeins! WOW! I only wanted one, just to replace the one that was bad.

I just want to thank Weeks Dye Work for their wonderful customer service, and the quickness (and generosity) of getting the new skein out to me. THANK YOU!

My Sewing Sampler WIP

I started on this design on Monday night - got some of the "squares" started. And the next night I continued with the motifs in the blocks. Yesterday I sat down and stitched till my eyes couldn't take it anymore..

Tonight I added a few more motifs. I had to move the fabric on the QSnap, so I thought I would snap a picture. So, its stitching up quite fast. I'm going to put it down for a bit (will see), and work on something else.

My Sewing Sampler, from Blue Ribbon Designs, stitching it in part of the SAL on SIQ - the BRD SAL. The SAL started on Feb 1st, but since I had to work the weekend, I started on the 2nd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For those keeping track of the Mother inlaw, broken ankle saga - it continues. Today - the pink cast was taken off, xrays were taken. DR said that for MIL's condition, she has healed up very well (to the point where he couldn't even see the break in the bones on the xray).

Next step - a walking splint, which she will have to wear for a month - but she can take it off as need be. She can walk on her own as soon as she is able - 2 -3 days - but I will say she will be doing it tomorrow when I go over tomorrow. The only therapy she needs to do is, spell the alphabet with her big toe from A to Z, and that's all the therapy she will need. Next appt is March 5, one month from today.