Summer is about gone!!!

August 19, 2017

Boy it's hard to believe but summer is almost done...it goes way too fast for me!!!!
We've had a fun summer working in our garden, coving out with family and friends, fishing, working and just hanging out!!!  Red recovered from his knee surgery, Grandma is doing quite well with her new hip and I love my new knees they work great!!!

 We have had some absolutely beautiful sunsets, this pic does no justice but they have been so red and fun to watch.  Dave cut down a bunch of trees so our view is much better.

I have been working on repurposing here a samples of the latest items, table runner from old doilies and an apron from vintage fabric, dresser scarf and some sort of crocheted deal!!!  I think they are very fun behind the runner is a wool hat covered with a doilie and flower it is quite fun.  will have more of these for our Fiber Fest October 14.

 Here I am with my gift from my good friend Linda Howes from Middleton, she found this awesome repurposed wine bottle and glass handpainted yard decor, I just love it!!!!

And here is the planter Dave made me for Mothers Day filled in nicely we do need a few more holes ,  next year!!!  Our garden and flowers have done great this year.. we had a long dry spell and now we've had some serious rain so things are really growing!!!  This font size is puzzling.. I am not good at this!!!

As usual I can't move these around...one highlight of the summer was meeting Marilyn Ridge in Bentonville, AR. and going to the Chihuly glass show, wow was that wonderful,e did the inside during the day and went back in the evening to the outdoor show after dark with a guide.  Unbelievable, he is a fabulous artist and from Tacoma WA. I was so glad to see this show.  On our way to the Lake we stopped in Eureka Springs, AR. a darling old hippie town full of cute shops and last stop Branson to see the most over done Victorian style shop I have ever see.  It's so out there I still just stare at all the stuff ....more lace and beads and fu fu and shake my head.

Well, that's all for this time...Happy Fall!!!

May 3, 2017

Rain rain and more rain...the lake is rising more flooding on the way!!!  Glad we are top of a ridge but it is so soggy and dreary.  It started raining last night and came all night long now we are into thunder and lightening..

Monday we had to put down our dog Cami, she was a senior when we got her but the time had come, the day before our dog Red was chasing a ground hog and fell in a hole and tore his ACL now requiring surgery.  RIP Cami


And 2 weeks ago Mom fell in the garage and broke her hip requiring a partial hip replacement she is home after 12 days and doing nicely, she's a real trooper!!!!

April has been really busy with lots going on our friends Jim, and Linda came thru for a week plus on their way from Texas to Wisconsin.  We met them in Branson for a few days and had a blast hooting around Branson and the surrounding area, beautiful country.  we stayed in their 5th wheel at a very nice campground right downtown on the river, walked to the Landing etc.  Glad we went then as it's underwater as I write!!!!

We had a wonderful Easter dinner with smoked leg of lamb and chicken, flowers from our garden and good friends and family, beautiful day.  Then Jim and Linda went fishing on Brandons docks and caught 28 blue gill and we had a fabulous fish fry, they also brought some great whiting back from Texas.  Yum.

Well as usual I can;t get the pics in the right places.  We also had a fun day hiking at Ha Ha Tonka Park..what a beautiful park I hadn't been able to walk this much in several years and it was great!!!  What a fun time and now back to reality Prom dresses and taking care of Mom.  Thankfully we have friends helping out...well hope all is well with all our friends and family back to stabbin n rags

the landing light showAdd caption

February 2017

I can't believe how fast the time goes.  I haven't done a blog in over 6 months and I was going to do this weekly, ha ha ha!!!  Well, it's been nearly 6 years since we moved to the Lake of the Ozarks..we really like it here, weather is great, area is beautiful, we have found some great groups to join and our jobs have been good, not much to complain about!!!

I am still sewing my upcycled items from wool, sweaters and ties..ties are really fun to work with I have made alot of fun things over the years.  The neck pieces are like an ascot, nice to wear easier than a scarf, no moving around etc.  And the hats are really cute...  I will be doing a class on these neckpieces at our MOFO retreat this March.

MOFO is the Missouri Fiber Art group for the state.  I belong to our local group of Fiber Artists also and it's a fabulous group of talented women.

As you can tell I still haven't figured out how to place the pictures.  Maybe if I did this more often I would figure it out!!

Well, it looks like we'll be making a Hot Springs run soon, Marilyn has found me a 1939 Singer Sewing machine with case and all attachments and instruction book plus it works for a very good deal. Can't wait to see it!!!

My Mom is doing well she will be 96 this summer.. sight, hearing and feeling in her hands are going but she gets around just fine and we manage to eat out most lunches and some dinners.  Below is a pillow from Devins birthday party Melissa had made it is so cute and they both look great!!!

Devin turned 5 last year, the kids have moved to North Carolina for their full time residence and come back and forth for their business.  Devin is in kindergarten and loves it!!!    I missed the party this year as I had both of my knees replaced, tailors knees, funny how that works!!!  Guess 50 years of up and down takes it toll.  So glad I had that done finally no pain!!!

Dave is working in a grocery store again and likes it alot better than the slaughter house...it's hard to be the cutter when he sees all the things that could be done easier and faster and better but....he doesn't want that responsibility again!!!!

Brandon is still wrenching on boats and still loves it...with all this warm weather they will be on the water very soon!!!  Brandon has got his basement cleaned up and looking like a prof workshop, lots easier to work in all organized etc.

And of course our dogs are hanging in there.. Roxy and Cami are elderly both have walking issues and Red will be 11, he's the only one we know is real age...and he's still very active.  Red and I are walking about 2 miles each day, feels great!!!

Well,more later Happy Spring to all!















The neck piece below will be the one we will make in the class.

HAPPY SUMMER 2016

I can't believe fourth of July has come and gone, that means summer is half over!!!!!  

I don't think I have made an entry for six months what with the smart phone I seldom get on my regular computer and of course I can't figure out how to do this on the phone so there you have it!!

 Well, here's the latest, I bought these really cool planters fool proof etc. and I have blossom end rot had it in the summer squash and now the tomatoes.  Thanks for all my friends giving me advice I can see where this can happen so now to fix it!!!  The planters are very nice but I'm not sure they are the worlds greatest, we'll see....

 On the Fourth I went with Brandon and Aubrey to see the fireworks, we joined up with a few other boats very nice evening.  Water is cooler from all the rain but it's hot and humid so it will warm up quickly.  we had the pleasure of going on Brandon's friend boat he purchased at auction..1987 34 Sea Ray, big roomy boat and in not bad shape.  Boy that would have been the boat to have all the years we were on the Mississippi river, wouldn't have gone as far but sure would have been comfy!!!!

 I finally went kayaking with some gals and what fun.  I borrowed a friends kayak nice ride.. we put in below Tunnel Dam on the Big Niangua River and went to the Whistle, which is a bridge crossing, it was only 3 miles and went fast but a great introduction to the sport.  Since then Ben has loaned me his kayak so I can use his!!!  This is really fun and I can see why so many are doing this.  The Lake is a challenge unless you are in a no wake cove but the river is beautiful and easy to navigate.  I haven't been in a canoe in 30 years so it was a blast!!!

And here is Miss Devin playing in the play dough again, she really like this stuff.  We sure miss her since they live most of the time in North Carolina, they still have their roofing biz and are going back and forth,but Devin starts school in a year so she's got to be in preschool.....and here is their newest dog Sky she is really over a year but is an Italian Mastif...she is a doll and so very sweet...I guess she doesn't like all men which is fine with me!!!  She's a real treat.

On June 24 we hosted the Scandinavian Club's midsummer party, we had over 30 people attend.  I made a no bake pickled herring cake, which is really an appetizer...sour cream, cream cheese, pickled herring and red onion some gelatin and put in fridge had a rye bread crumb bottom and chopped chives for frosting, it was delish, big hit will make it again!!!!!

And my latest hat wool coats and ties.  This turned out very nicely but will do the brim a bit larger...I love hats and think I will go in this direction for awhile, wearing out on scarves and purses.

Have a great rest of summer!!!!!

 January 24, 2016

Today we took a hike after a cold week, ha ha, here in Mid Missouri, up to mid 50's today.  Our dog Red loves to run so he had a good run today!!!!!  After all the flooding there is some water trickling down the hill.

I've been wanting to paint some shoes, I purchased  these and made them into sheep for the fiber festival, they were pretty cute....now I thought I'd paint them in my Happy Patchwork design.  They turned out really  nice and I sealed them etc. and of course the paint cracked right away...so back to square one, peel off the paint and sand them down and start over!!!!  Hopefully that will work!!!!

Still can't figure out this picture placement, what a pain!!!  So, the coat of many colors...all upholstery samples...sewn together to make up this coat, I just love it and it is warm to boot!!!  It is trimmed in silk underlined and lined, front pockets.

And the last photo is my latest idea of repurposed wool felted onto pelon fiber interfacing, felted with the felting machine, covered in art yarns and stitched with the sewing machine and trimmed out with a few beads and ribbon and bound with a tie.  The next one is more organized with strips coming soon!!!

I hope the new year is going well for everyone, we are always busy what with clubs, groups, friends, exercise, and going out for lunch, gad all we do is eat!!!!  Today Dave and Brandon are trying to get this shelving done for my sewing area, ha ha this should be good.  As everyone knows I am a fabric hoarder and it's a problem, so 30 bins should help, labeling and purging, again ha ha ha!!!!  We shall see, it seems Brandon hurt his back while splitting wood and he's not quite upright!!!  

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Wow!!  it's hard to believe a year has gone by and no blogging..Facebook Stabbinragswithjackie is my new way to share what I'm making and doing.  

We had a great spring and summer..did some boating, gardening, lots of sewing and designing more upcycled stuff!!!  Our three old dogs are doing well.  Red the aussie shepard loves to go boating.  He longs for some cattle to herd but no luck here!!!

Mom turned 94 in august so we had a few parties for her and her friends,  she loves to go out!!!!

And here the 4 generations.


This year has been a whirlwind with lots of fun activities going on.  we had another successful Fiber Festival for our Fiber Arts group, lots of vendors, attendees, great items to purchase and it was a wonderful day!!!  I would love to show some pics but in switching phones things has disappeared..similar to last years anyway.  

Also this fall we took a spin up to Minneapolis to visit friends, I dropped mom off at her friends and I stayed with mine so we had a fun time doing our own things, Dave stayed home to work and care for the dogs!!!.. another bright spot in our lives Dave quit the slaughter house and went to work for a local grocery chain, Woods markets, and he loves being back in the grocery business cutting meat and not having any big responsibility!!!  So happy for him!!!

We just had a fun Thanksgiving with all the kids and some friends, great food and company!!!

Of course I can't get the rest of the photos....can't wait till Marilyn comes and can lead me thru this photo process!!!

And Patty and I have been making upcycled dog Xmas stockings and they are cute, my friend patty also makes the upcycled firehose dog toys and the knotted t-shirt toys.

We will have all these items and a ton more at the School of the Osage craft fair Sat. Dec. 5.

More later I wish everyone a very happy Holiday Season and I will say Merry Christmas!!!

Wonderful Fall Days

What a lovely fall we have had here in Mid Missouri.  The trees have turned and the leaves are falling  and the acorns, gad bumper crop of acorns, falling like rain!!!!  The dogs really love this weather to run and play, ha ha who am I kidding they lay around all day everyday!!!!! mostly in bed. what a life!!!!

This fall our Lake Area Fiber Artists had the Fiber Fest in October instead of the springtime.  We worked very hard and we had a very successful event with lots of great vendors, demos, Fiber display and our consignment table.  We also had a very fun workshop doing art quilting.  It was a great weekend.

After using a felting machine at the art quilt workshop Linda found them on sale so by Saturday noon I was the proud owner of a felting machine.  They are way too much fun!!!  Made four pair of upcycled mittens, I just think this is the most fun since I don't know what.

Here is the way I do the mittens, I have used an old wool coat, washed and dried, old wool sweaters again washed and dried and new fleece for lining.  My friend Corie gave me some of her art yarn and as you know I am no knitter so art yarn is what????  First I made bowls with it , Mom calls that fiber mache and they are great!!!  Then I started felting the yarn onto the wool.  I have purchased some roving, another new word, and will try that next.  I did break a needle but there are 12 of the little devils so will wait for one more to break before doing that replacement job!!!!

 So to make these fun arty bowls you mix up some flour and water, 1/2 cup flour meixed with 2 cups cold water and add 2 more cups of water bring to boil for a minute or so and add 3T. sugar let cool and the fun begins.  Take a bowl and spray with Pam cover with saran or plastic and start winding your yarn around and round, make ribs, or free form  Let air dry and remove carefully and you have the perfect gift!!!  This is a super project for kids and the best use of left over yarn.





Here is the Upcycled Christmas Tree we raffled off at the Fiber Fest, all the ornaments were handcrafted by our members, many were made from old wool sweaters and embroidered and embellished.


Time to get back to stabbin rags, life is good here in MO. we still miss our up north friends and family.  We have the Mulherns coming for Thanksgiving and Marilyn for Christmas so that makes us happy.  Mom is doing well for 93 she is a trooper and ready to run at the drop of a hat!!!  All three dogs are doing well.  Devin turns 3 next week and is just a doll, so much fun to visit with now.  Ben and Melissa are working away busy as usual and Brandon is winterizing hundreds of boats, Dave is gearing up for the deer season, busy time for all!!!

Happy Fall to All!!!!!!!

What??? Summer is half over!!!???!!!

We wait so long for summer and it goes by too fast.  Every year the same thing happens!!!!  Guess we should be used to it but after last winter I was hopeful summer would be never ending,  ha ha!!!

We have had a nice summer with a host of guests and more coming, fun events, days on the lake and river really can't beat it...as the saying goes Livin' the dream!!!!

I had nice surprise this summer, I had sent in a few of my upcycled creations to a magazine called  Belle Armoire.  It is a neat publication out of California with many sister magazines, I felt very fortunate to be selected with 3 of my items for 3 different articles.  One was on the tie necklaces, tie purses and jean beads.

The photos are great, they do a very nice presentation of the items.

This year we got a little fishing boat, Brandon named it Lil' Skiffy since it's a Carolina Skiff, it has been so much fun running around on the Osage River.  And now the challenge of placing the pics, last group did well but this one!!!  so we have miss Devin and Grandpa posing on the bow,  Lil' Skiffy in the driveway and Brandon taking Miss Devin for her first jet ski ride.

We are staying busy with various groups and clubs, Mom is going to be 93 next month and doing great!!!  We are off to Hot Springs for a few days for a much needed visit with friends.

I hope this finds everyone enjoying their summer!!1

More upcycling projects in the works, lots of alterations and a few new scarves coming along.