Day 3 of What is your SUPERPOWER - My Turn....

Welcome to Day 3

of

If you have been following this 'stitching hop' then you know what's about to happen.

I'm about to reveal MY Superpower....

or at the very least...

what I THINK my Superpower  to be!

I will confess (and I know I'm not alone)....

this has been the one of the hardest, most frustrating,

most thought provoking themes

I've encountered to date.

Every time I was sure I had the perfect "power".....

I would ponder it for a couple days...

then toss it out the window.

I even went so far as to ask my Facebook friends

what they thought  my Superpower should be.

Their generous and oh so kind answers just

floored me....

Yikes....they made me blush!

But with their help I thought  I'd nailed it.....

and then a new  worry took hold....

Should I be:

 Witty?

Serious?

Seriously Witty?

*sigh*

In the end....I came up with a whole other idea...

and it stuck!

I think it's....

a little

fun

a little

serious

but really and truly...

I think it's...

(a little)

Me!

Because you see....

First some serious....

Really and truly...

this was me a few years ago....

(taking a really HUGE breath...holding it....

Maybe I'll close my eyes while you look....

denial is bliss sometimes....

I've never shown this picture before....)

I've NEVER been a little girl....

even when I WAS a little girl....

Less than two months after the above picture was taken....

I made up my mind....

There was really truly TOO MUCH of me!

Time for a lifestyle change!

Back "on program" I went...and dear Spouse along with me!

(I'm a "Lifer"...yes...somewhere buried is my "Lifetime Key"

that thing was HUGE! You wouldn't think I could lose it)

Nine months later....

40 lbs lighter.....

(and no...no baby involved...LOL)

Getting there......
Slowly but surely....
I was determined...
I had the POWER afterall!

Now it's 2014...
Here's my favorite pic from Valentines Day....

First time in a dress since...well...I can't remember when!

To quote a very wise Madame....
"....everything is possible"

Yes sirree boys and girls....
I've got the POWER!

And I even have this.....

That's right....
It's an official employee Name Tag!

Not to worry....
I'm still a Quilter & Shopkeep...first and foremost....
but now and then I'm a
WW Receptionist.
And someday I hope to become a WW Leader!

It's still one day at a time....
this isn't my first rodeo....

But for now....

My little mouse feet do their
Happy Dance
all the way to the scale....

Super Thanks to:
Pauline
Her Cheerleading Queenly Superpowers really kept me going!
and
Madame Samm....She is truly the Superpower here!

Three Cheers for DMC our sponsor!

What other Superpowers will you encounter today?
Click the links below...
You have the Power!

TUESDAY APRIL 15

A Geeky Crafty Life

Thimblemouse and Spouse (here you be)

How ART you?

Sew Golden A Chance

Just Because Quilts

DMC-Threads

.............

Remember....
"...EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE!"
                                             -Mdm Samm

PS....I hope you'll join me for "Skinny Sunday"...which happens...
well....on Sundays.
I'll be blogging about my favorite recipes...foodie tips...my WW journey....
I keep it simple, short and sweet!
(at least I try...LOL)
I'm not selling... not being paid to promote any product or plan....
just sharing some of what worked and works for me!

It's an Open & Shut Case.....

Yikes!

Two posts in the same week!

Could it be?

Is my mee-oww-jo coming back?

I had so much fun creating our new shop flag for the recent

Flags on a Stick Blog Hop

(click above if you missed it)

I decided to strike while the iron was hot

My wonderful friend and quiltin' sista' Joyce,

had the most awesome quilt shop,

first in St. Augustine, Florida....later moved to Jacksonville....

(yes - I have oooodles of Q-sista's I've adopted over the years)

In her shop "Material Things"...she had the BEST "open and closed" sign!

It's been on my "to-do" list for a very loooooong time to make up a sign like she had....

so I gathered the 'leftover letters' that were lurking about...

and here we are!

Lookie look...even the cat's eyes are OPEN

(coincidence? maybe....maybe not)

When we go home....we flip it over to see.....

I just love that....so much better than 'Closed'....

Joyce was (and still is) a Genius!

Did you notice the cat's eyes on this side?

Hmmmm?

SHUT

Am I good or what?

Truth be told....

Totally Unplanned....Totally!!!!

*wink*

PS....I almost forgot to tell ya....

Joyce closed her shop sometimes back and we really miss it!

But you can find her on Facebook....

along with two more of my 'Q-Sista's'.

Just give a click below...you can "follow" them anywhere!

We Make Quilts

Day 7 - Flags on a Stick Blog Hop - Here's Waving at You Kids....

Welcome to Day 7 of 

Flags on a Stick Blog Hop!

This time around, I decided to "get on the stick" and create something for our shop.

We have a really cute fabric panel with letters and numbers

from "In the Beginning Fabrics"
The line is called "Hoopla & Everyday Fun" by Jennifer Heynen.

We are never opposed to enjoying a little
"HOOPLA"

This fabric would be the perfect start of some
FUN !

If you've been following the hop, these letters should look familiar.

My good friend and quiltin' sista'
Mary Pat from Quilting Quietly 
was so "Hoppy" to find them during one of her visits to the shop.

(if you missed her 'toad'-ally awesome flag - click on her name above - ribbit!)

It's so much fun to have a blog hoppin' friend close by...
..Even sweeter that we can bounce ideas off one another...
or in this case...
use some of the same fabrics with completely different results!
I'm so glad we're

I had a little "saying" in mind....
I began with some fusible web...
(iron, iron)
cut out the letters and appliqued them in place...
hmmmm....

still needed something else....

I pulled out a couple handfuls of 'scraps' from ye ole scrap bag...

(and I DO mean "scraps" ~ I shouldn't save 'everything' but I do...it's a curse!)

OooEee....FUN time in progress...
making a few wonky blocks....

Oh lookie look...see the yellow arrow?
See it pointing?

"Thumbs Up"...
Yes, I was pretty pleased with how things were shaping up!

hmmm...still lacking....what else do I need?

But of course...
there must be buttons!

When all was sewn and done...
it was time to wave the flag....


As much as I wanted to hang our flag outside the door of our shop...

well...darn...cement! 

How does one stick a "stick" in cement?

Very simple....
One does Not!

Instead...
our flag hangs right inside the front door....

We LOVE it!

Another cutie button...and we must have a cat!

I used velcro on the straps for easy hanging on the door.

Had it been hanging outside, I might not have worried about the 'back'...

but it's not outside...
and for a few days I pondered what it should say.

(ponder, ponder)

"Thanks for Stopping In and Have a Great Day"
would have been nice....

but way too many 'letters'...
way too little 'space'....

Then it came to me....

After leaving the nest to make a life with my Spouse...

whenever we would visit dear Mom & Dad...

as we made ready to leave...
( Hugs hugs, Kisses kisses )

my sweet parents would always say the same thing....
Every Time!

What a great way to remember them...
a great way to let everyone know that walks thru our door...
we are truly glad they came!

I can hear my Mom now questioning about the way I spelled "Thanks"...

but ya do what ya do when space runs out.

Besides....

how many times do we ever get to use the

"X"

Thank you Thearica and Mdm Samm for another amazing adventure!

Special thanks as well to our sponsors: 

"Flags On A Stick"

and

"Flag Outlet"

Visit them all...give 'em a 'wave' and tell them how much you've enjoyed the hop!

Thanks for visiting...but remember, I'm not waving alone today...

Click the links below for more fun on a stick...

Which one will be your favorite?

I'm so glad I don't have to pick!

April 2nd

Thimblemouse & Spouse 
(wavin' b'bye - Thanx for the Visit -*wink*)

Stitchin' By The Lake

Just One More Stitch

The Quilting Queen Online

Selina quilts

Whims And Fancies

What Rhymes with Ruffle?

 Welcome to the last day of the

"Think Ruffles"

bloghop!

Have you been following this from Day 1?

I don't think I've ever seen soooo many things Ruffled,

and every offering has been amazing!

Thank you 

Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt

and

Amy from Sew Incredibly Crazy!

I've played with ruffles in the past. I've made curtains, and doll clothes....

and sweet Maggie patiently sat and posed for one of my pattern covers

many dog years ago....

That was probably the first ruffled collar I'd ever made...

and the last, come to think of it....

My dear Mom inspired so many of the projects I've done since I began blogging,

and even tho she's been gone 6 months...

She is always with me in my heart.

Little did I know the pink ruffled scarf I made for her last Christmas with us,

would be just what I needed today.

Heavens no...that's not all I've got...

those were two special memories I wanted to share.

But now for today...

I thought about a quilt...nope

a doll...uh, no

curtains....nada

Mr.Bob in an Apron....sorry no pin-up of the Spouse...

(tho he volunteered to model again..lol)

I thought about the word

Ruffle...

And words that Rhyme with Ruffle...

My first thought was

Truffle...

And then that made me think of pigs...

Ahh!!!

Pigs in Ruffles looking for Truffles?

Surely I'm not that crazy...

Or Am I?

Hmmm?

So I looked up images of Truffles...ya know...the kind pigs hunt for...

And I never realized how uninspiring...and unattractive they look....

Did you know...pigs in France hunt for black truffles,

while dogs in England hunt for white truffles.

If you live in France or England and this isn't true...

well...

I'll just blame this info on Wikipedia...LOL.

But I digress.....

So.....

Instead of hunting for truffles....

I bring you.....

Simone....

and

Sylvia....

THE SISTERS SNUFFLE......

With their ruffles....

Waiting for their Tea and Truffles....

at....

with their waiter....

Ricky T

(he moonlights as a waiter...but by day...he's a pretty big time quilter...lol)

All together now.....

Lookie look...there's even one little piggy "inside" behind the window...

I'm also into 'little' quilts lately...this one is 9"x10"...NOT that little is faster...

I stopped keeping track of hours after 25....

Yes....

Just maybe I went a little crazy....

But right now...

there's no place I'd rather be!

"Oink"

Thanks for stopping by...and don't forget...

there are

MORE RUFFLERS TODAY

be sure to visit them all!

Today - March 14^th

Thimblemouse and Spouse (tres bien, you are here)

Jane's Quilting

Bear Creek Quilting Company

Ipiece to Mary

The Quilting Queen Online

Miss Priss Quilts

Sew We Quilt

Sunday Share ...."Squeak"

Home again, Home again....

Squeakity-Squeak!

Lookie Look 

at what greeted us

when we arrived Wednesday night

at the Jacksonville Honeybee Retreat!

MEECES!

I think the whole state of Florida must have heard my "squeaks" of delight!

My friend Connie Kight made this to hang outside our vendor room.

Recycled plastic bottle flowers....hand crocheted little 'meeces'...

SO CUTE!

She did the most AMAZING decorations for the retreats'

"Garden Party" theme.

Quilters ARE the BEST!

Thank You Connie!

Me and the Spouse?

squeak squeak

More retreat 'stuff' down the road....

stay tuned!

Happy Valentines Day Mes Amis

Wishing you All a Beautiful Day!

First and foremost...sending everyone here in blogland

HUGS & KISSES...

but especially to

Sweet Madame Samm

She surprised  me with this

New Wonderful Blog LOOK!

Isn't it spectacular?

Didn't she just nail 'tail' us?

I'm still so overwhelmed and absolutely

in LOVE with our Mice!

And she made us both names tags....

mine's at the bottom...

here's.....

Isn't he just the cutest?

I just want to poke his cute little round tummy!

*wink*

My heartfelt thanks Dear Madame

I feel so grown up now!

You are the best!

(Gush Gush Gush)

Valentines Day started early....

My dearest darling "Spouse" arranged for a special visitor to the shop yesterday.

That's "Jaxson DeVille"

mascot supreme with the Jacksonville Jaguars

(our very own NFL Football team - as in here in "Florida"...

lordy no, "we the mice" do not own a team...lol)

It's always a delight to see Jaxson...

of course the 'treats' he brings to share are pretty awesome too!

yummmmm....

can you say 'weight watchers worse nightmare?"

oh...but what a way to go!!!!!

Jaxson gave us both the most beautiful Roses...

I quick found a vase...

but then I needed I pretty 'something' to put the vase on.

Can you believe I hadn't made anything Valentine-y?

I thought about a quick 10 minute table runner because

right now I'm in 'crunch mode' at the shop

(inventory, retreat prep, classroom remodeling once we FIND the classroom again...lol)

..........and I really have no business starting a new project....

Did that STOP me?

What do you think?

(of course if you noticed the opening picture for todays post...

you already know my answer...ha)

Just a partial view up close.

I'll be back with a tutorial and clearer pictures...

when I locate my 'real' camera.

Earlier this week I mugged some rugs....

and posted this on our Facebook Page

Yikes...I did it again.

Started writing this 'quickie' post

at 10am this morning...

it is now almost 4pm.....

I guess it's time to wrap it up before Valentines Day is no more.

But before I go....

Be sure to click over to Madame Samms...

She has oodles of

HUGS & KISSES

you don't want to miss.

Dear Madame and my sweet friend

Soma from Whims and Fancies

are hosting this oh so sweet blog hop.

Be sure to visit...and tell them I sent you!

The Thimblemouse >"<