What a Beautiful Week!

I ended up with a summer cold last week and I was out of the loop for a few days. Fortunately, it didn't last long and didn't require much medication. The weather is still hot here but cooler days are coming next week, and oh, I'm so excited for fall weather to finally come to Missouri. I've been watching the news on the hurricane damage in New England and just feel heart sick about everyone who lost homes to the flooding. Those covered bridges, how sad to lose such national treasures. I'm equally worried about my best friend who lives up there. I haven't been able to talk to her since last Saturday.

We got an 8 week old Yorkie puppy last week and you can probably guess routine around here these days. My son and I are taking turns training her all day and all night. She's definitely ruling the house but such a joy to have around! That little tail wagging- well, her whole 3 pound body wiggles when she wags her sweet tail. It just makes my heart sing! I get up about 6 times a night now. Sometimes I don't get back to sleep for along time and she's up again! I've taken a bunch of pictures but the little thing just moves like lightening. I finally got her to hold still.

Waiting patiently for the fabric to show up, well truthfully, I'm really starting to pace the floor. I'm anxious to get the quilts done. Quilt Market is coming very quickly and I want to be ready. I am not staying for Festival this year. It will be the first time in 20 years that I'm not there. I'm really sad about that because not only do I love to be a vendor, but I love to shop the show also.
It's huge and has everything you could ever want in the way of crafts and sewing. Have any of you ever gone to Quilt Festival in Houston?

I can't stay this year because of my college classes. I don't want to miss any of them. I'm almost done with my Ethics class and going to start Economics soon. Lots of homework going on these days but learning is so fun and interesting.

I can't wait to share the new fabrics. Stay tuned, it seems to be a continuing story.

The Website is Done!

I am so excited to say that the new improved website is ready. ~~whew~~ it took forever.
see it here:
www.prairiegrovepeddler.com

I know it should have been an easy thing but I had problem after problem. It didn't help that I wasn't here each day to work on it and it was done in bits and pieces. I spent some time at the hospital last week with my son and he is home and doing well now. There's always something, huh?

Well, the website is up and running. Please, if you encounter any problems, email me. I'm sure there's a link in there somewhere that's broken. I added a few patterns, had a great time making new graphics, and tried to smooth down the look a bit. My new fabric is due any day so I got the website up just in time. I'll add a Fabric link when the fabric is available. Please scroll through and let me know how you like the new look.

Sunday Post

I don't think I've even been so aggravated in my life. I have been working on my website for weeks. It's done- it looks good, I'm happy with it. In order to keep things simple, I tried to transfer my domain name from the old company to another and it failed. I tried again and it failed again. I've spent all weekend trying to get the new site up and running. NOT. I called the new server who is open 24/7 and talked to 8 different people over 2 days time. There were only 2 that I could actually understand. More frustrating. Each one told me different things to try. I did them. NOT.

I tried to publish the new website through the old server and it failed. The old server is closed on weekends so I can' t deal with that. At this point, I'm just ready to scream. LOUDLY. Can you hear me yet? I will have to wait until tomorrow, Monday to do anything now. OK, I've vented.

I am one of those people that hate to leave things undone. I can't concentrate on anything new if I don't finish what I have started. It's going to be a long day. BUT- if I can get it up and running tomorrow, do check in and tell me what you think. I'm sure there are plenty of errors to fix so if you find one, please let me know. Until it's posted online, I can't really check everything so I'm anxious to do that.

I'm running a fever today so I didn't go to church this morning. It's probably from the stress of the weekend but I'll keep the germs at home, just in case. I'll post on Twitter, the Facebook pages and here when (and if) I ever get it up and running.

Still waiting on fabric to show up. School starts soon. Looking for a puppy- preferably Yorkie or Chihuahua but open to options. Checked the Humane Society and 2nd Chance Shelters yesterday but nothing for us.
Still searching.

Winners & Websites

Been a busy day so sorry for the delay in posting. We had a lot of entries this week so I decided to pick 2 winners for the punchneedles and patterns. I just emailed them both so check your email. Winners are Sheila from TN and Cindy fro TX. Congratulations ladies.

I have been finishing up the website changes and it is almost done. I'm really happy with the way things are going and can't wait to be done. Hopefully I'll be ready to publish it early this week. I'd love some feedback on it so I'll post here when it's up and running. Once it's ready, I'll post some special things so stay tuned.

Thanks for the Birthday Wishes!

OK, it's true, I'm a year older today. Thanks to everyone who remembered and emailed me. It was great and I appreciate the kind words. I was lazy all day, thanks to an earache and swollen glands, but I enjoyed it so much. I seldom just hang out all day so I did have a good time.

I am back to working the website this evening and hope to finish and publish it this weekend or early next week. It's looking pretty good to me. I'll post everywhere, Facebook, blog and Twitter, when it's ready for some feedback in case there are faulty items I don't see. I've added patterns that were somehow omitted through the years and added sizes to a lot of the listings. All of the pictures have been redone and they are so much clearer than before. I'm going to do away with the mailing list with the new website since I have this Blog and it's easy to post anything new here. I will send out one more mailing to the list to announce that when I'm up and running.

My daughter just found out she's moving back to mid-MO so we're all celebrating with her family. Her baby is due this winter and I'm so happy they'll be fairly close to us. Life is good.

Don't forget the drawing this weekend for a Punchneedle and pattern of your choice. It's a good time to start a new hobby, right?

We have a Winner!

Thanks for all of the comments you all sent in the emails . I thoroughly enjoy reading them . Another hot week here in Missouri and most of you mentioned having hotter than normal weather . I've spent the week updating pictures and graphics in my files . I'm not near done yet , I'm only about 1/3 way through. It's takes a lot of time to change it all . I'll probably change a lot of my website when I'm done . The new pictures a re so much better . It's something I've been putting off way too long .

I only had one punchneedle winner this week but had a lot of entries and a lot of comments . Most of you mentioned never having tried punchneedle . I think we'll extend the drawing one more week because I think everyone needs to try punchneedle . It's really relaxing and fun . To enter for a free punchneedle plus punch pattern of your choice :

Email me this week at PGPeddler@aol.com before Saturday midnight 8/13 ,
and put PUNCH AGAIN in the subject line .
Put your name and mailing address in the email and I'll choose a name next Sunday .

My daughter is expecting her second child now and busy writing a book . It will be my 4th grandchild . Meanwhile, my 2 little grandsons got their hair buzzed this week and my heart was broken when their beautiful white hair disappeared. I know it will grow back but their daddy , my son Kirk , had the most beautiful white curly hair as a child (see the picture on the right when he was under 2 yrs old) . I just love curly hair! Here's a picture of the bald trio on the left !

Riding the Waves!

Have you ever seen anything so cute? I had a Praying Mantis on my antenna for about 10 minutes the other day. He was riding the waves for sure. He danced, he flew, he hung on with one foot, he prayed with his hands together, he spread his wings. He eventually made his way to the top and flew off. I was going really slow once I saw him so I didn't hurt him. It was quite the circus act though. I didn't know they grew so big, he was huge. He thoroughly entertained me during the ride.

Our 100 degree heat wave continues for another week. Hopefully fall is just around the corner. It's my favorite time of the year.

I'm up early this Sunday piddling in the office. I haven't cleaned off my desk for a week and it's getting scary in here. I know there's probably a bill under here somewhere that's getting close to the due date. Sarah and Grace are coming this afternoon to stay the night and we plan to do some designing together. She is pregnant with her 2nd child now and we are all excited about that.

The corn is in Ziploc bags the freezer thanks to my husband Keith. The tomatoes are growing but it's not the best year. We've had some but not nearly as many or as big as years past. Zuchini and cucumbers are producing profusely. Today seems like a BLT kind of day. We're trying not to use the stove or oven much these days with the heat index about 110. We had a little rain last night and the humidity level just spiked.

I've been working on graphics for my website for the last couple of weeks, you know, changing pictures and drawing up some new stuff. It's been fun and I can spend 8 hrs easy on graphics without even stopping for food. I'll let you know when I get it all on the site for viewing. I have a few quilt designs ready, just waiting for my fabric line to come in. Should be in the next couple of weeks. As soon as they let me, I'll post pictures on the Blog.

I think it's time for a drawing. This week, I'll offer a 3 needle Punchneedle and Punchneedle pattern of your choice (you can pick from my website). If you have never tried to punch, now's the time to learn for free! There will be one winner.

To enter, email me at PGPeddler@aol.com by midnight next Saturday, 8/6/11.
Put "PUNCH" in the subject line.
Include your name and mailing address in the email (for faster delivery of the winnings).

I'll post the winner next Sunday.

Good luck-

We're Having a Heat Wave, a Tropical Heat Wave.....

Just singing around the house these days, "we're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave". Remember that really old song? Today it's supposed to be another 100 degree day for the Midwest. (Ugh). I'm having company this weekend so I'm up early getting laundry done and the house cleaning finished. It was too hot to do it yesterday. Got my pot of coffee and creamer so I'm good for a few hours. I'll have to take a nap later.

I've had trouble getting motivated to do much all summer. I don't know if it's the heat, old age, or whatever. I can't seem to Blog, Tweet, or sew. I hope it passes soon. Anybody else having motivation troubles?

I spent the week semi-working on a new quilt, I have the quick fuse applique pieces ironed and cut out, background colors chosen and everything laid out and ready to iron. All I need now is a day to put it all together. There's like 200 pieces in the quilt, 30 blocks in all, so it was no small fete. I like it so far. I love designing, playing with fabric and choosing colors.

My little 20 month old grandson broke his collar bone last week jumping off the couch. He's pretty active and fearless. He has a little brace on him to hold one arm to his chest right now. The trouble is, it leaves him off balanced and now he falls more than ever without a hand to catch himself. The other day while I was over there, he fell on the floor in front of me, and while gently crying and trying to catch his breath, he said "I'm OK". He's just so cute. I love my babies.

I got an email this week that I got another block included in the next QuiltMaker's 100 Blocks Magazine. So, this fall, we'll have another Blog Tour to be included in along with more giveaways. Still waiting on my new fabric line to show up for the new designs I have for Quilt market. Won't be long now.

Another Week Closer to Christmas

It is a scorcher today. I'm talkin' 96 degrees out there. Tomorrow is supposed to be worse. I am so looking forward to Fall. I have been fine tuning my new designs, expecting my new fabric most anytime. I will post it here just as soon as they allow. I have also been tinkering with my website. I think it's time for a change. I am always planning some change or another but this time I'm going to redo it quite a bit. I'll keep you posted but I think I'll start on it this week. I want it to be ready for the unveiling of my newest fabric line. Won't be long now.

I have been taking some evening classes, trying to finish my Bachelors of Science degree. I stopped school when I got married. I can tell you it's not the same going to college now as it was in the 70's when I went before. It is so much easier now. You have the internet, email, Word- which corrects everything, and even does your citations for you. I am really loving it so even if it is a bit of work.

What is everyone doing this summer?