Finally!

Coming soon! Not sure of the exact date yet, but by the 2nd weekend of November I'll have some new handmade items ready to list. It's been a while since I've made anything and I can't make up my mind... so it will be a little of this and a little of that.

Stop back by soon!
Take care and God bless,
Lana

Getting Ready for the Lavender Festival

I've been working on new block print designs for this year's Lavender Festival. There will be barns and old churches with lavender, as well as a few other plants such as Solomon's seal, Queen Anne's lace, and beebalm. This year I'm selling small sets of cards and you may mix and match your own sets!

I will also have a few dozen new paintings, all 6x6 in size and all priced $45 each.

The lavender sachets are always a hit and there will be new designs printed on those, as well.

And last but not least, I will have a large section designated as the Customer Appreciation area. I have been a vendor at the Lavender Festival for nearly 20 years. I've missed only one year since I began. As more time is devoted to family and home, I find myself spending less time on handcrafted art. So, I am setting aside a large quantity of my inventory and discounting the items by 50% and even more in some instances. I don't know if I will continue with a dedicated online shop (which has been neglected for some time) and I would rather let it go to you at a great deal rather than collect dust in storage because I am not actively selling.

If you are in the Oak Ridge, TN area on June 15th, come to historic Jackson Square. You will find me set up on the sidewalk in front of The Ferrell Shop.

Take care and God bless,

Lana

Antique Pincushions, Anyone?

Update: Pincushions are now listed on my little shop blog: Honeysuckle Lane Shop.


I am looking through my collections and have decided to pare down my pincushions. Gasp! I never thought I'd ever, ever, ever do that again! I'm not sure which ones will make the cut, but I'll have them ready by next weekend, possibly sooner. 

If you want to start a collection or add to one you already have, check back in a few days. I'll let you know when I have them listed.

If you'd like to look back through my blog posts about pincushions, I've linked to them here.

Take care and God bless,
Lana

Comfort Quilts

In December and January, I made a few dozen baby / toddler quilts and blankets in my spare time. During visits for treatment, Jolee and her mama and daddy took them to Vanderbilt University Children's Hospital to be given to children on 6A, where Jolee spent 5 months last year. When Jolee was in the hospital, she clung to her own blanket, along with her Lambie, so we wanted to do something to bring comfort to the kids. I hope these quilts help those little ones, even though it's such a small thing in the scheme of things. By the way, you can read the latest update about Jolee here.

As for the actual quiltmaking, I went with a simple whole cloth quilt. It was quicker and I could get more made in a short time. My Juki sewing machine is super fast, although I don't go as fast as its capabilities... I'd like to keep my fingers free of needle holes!

My sewing area is in the corner of my workroom, and sometimes I work late at night, so I definitely need plenty of lighting. I have two OttLite lamps for sewing. These make a huge difference!

I prefer to hand stitch the binding, but again, it was quicker to machine stitch it. I'm not that great at keeping it perfectly in line, but it looked ok and once the quilts are washed and dried, little imperfections weren't as obvious. These quilts were the first time I tried attaching the binding completely by machine.

The labels were made from fabric I had printed at Spoonflower. Care instructions are on the other side of the label.

I did straight line quilting using a walking foot. This type of foot is also good when attaching the binding.

I tried masking tape for marking quilting lines. I found that I couldn't sew right next to the tape because the tape interfered with the walking foot moving across the quilt. It worked ok staying a walking foot width away from the tape.

Then I remembered I had a Clover Hera Marker, and that's all I've been using to mark my quilting lines... well, the marker and my Omnigrid acrylic ruler.

I very seldom use pre-made binding and instead, make my own. Polka dot fabric is my favorite for binding!

After making several quilts, I found some fleece fabric at Walmart for $1.50 per yard! I bought several yards of My Little Pony, Disney Princesses, Mickey Mouse, and Olaf. These were "no sew" blankets! Trim the selvedges, cut a square out of each corner, cut 1" strips for fringe, tie knots at the top of each strip, and it's done!

I will probably make more, but I'll pace myself. Maybe do a few a month or try to send several quarterly.

If you'd like to donate quilts and blankets to children and teens in hospitals, I'm sure you could contact a hospital and get details of how to go about it. Maybe this will inspire someone else to help out.

Take care and God bless,
Lana

The Best Job I've Ever Had is Being a Nana

The title of this post is on a coffee mug that was given to me a while after Jolee was born. I never knew a grandchild could bring so much joy, love, and happiness until she was born three years ago on a snowy January day. This child is the love of my life.

If you have followed me on Instagram or Facebook, you know that our sweet Jojo was diagnosed with brain cancer last June. Since then she has had surgery, chemo, countless tests, transfusions, dealt with severe infections, and spent five months in the hospital. She still has physical limitations, but she is getting stronger every day.

Despite all she has endured, Jolee's spirit has not been broken. She is a happy, spunky, determined little girl who makes the best of her situation. We all could learn from her and be so much better for it.

Jolee's MRI earlier this month didn't have the results we'd hoped for. Jolee will begin proton radiation therapy soon and her mama and daddy are both staying at home with her while her treatments continue. I have never heard Jolee's parents (my son and daughter-in-law) ask for anything except prayers for Jolee. But we all know that financial responsibilities still continue, even when our lives are put on hold. They still have travel expenses, medical expenses, health insurance premiums, household bills, etc. If you feel led to bless them financially, there is a GoFundMe account set up in Jolee's name.

Here is a recent GoFundMe update: "Jolee has remained so strong throughout her journey but she doesn't do anything simple. During her third round of chemo in August 2018, she developed a severe infection that left her unable to get chemo for 3 months. In November, she was started on an outpatient regimen of chemo. It was so nice to be able to go home after treatment and not stay overnight. Unfortunately, her MRI on Feb 6th revealed that the chemo was not working as well as hoped. She has new enhancements in her brain and two new places in her cervical spine. All of her doctors agreed that radiation would be the best course of action. She is so young and radiation was avoided as long as possible. She will be receiving proton therapy at a location fairly close to home. She will get 31 treatments and going 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Radiation is set start by the first of March. Mom and Dad are both off work to be able to be with her and help her get through this next phase to get this thing beat! Help is appreciated but most of all, we desire prayers! God bless!!"

As her parents mentioned, we do ask for your prayers, always.

Take care and God bless,
Lana (Jolee's Nana)


https://www.gofundme.com/JoleeManis

Catching Up

I thought I had posted this on my blog at Christmas, but evidently forgot. It made it to Instagram and Facebook, but some of you that have been with me for years still read blog posts.

So, here it is, a little late, but just in time for Jolee's birthday tomorrow... she will be 3 years old!!! :)

From December 25, 2018
"Merry Christmas!!! This little girl is the best Christmas present ever! Thank you, everyone, for you prayers for Jolee, and for always asking about her through messages, phone calls, or when you see me in town (which isn't often... I avoid stores as much as possible nowadays). After a total of five months in the hospital, sweet Jolee came home in November. God has brought her through so much and it's such a blessing to have her home now. Chemo treatments continue, but as outpatient. We look forward to 2019 as a year of healing and getting stronger every day. Please continue to keep Jojo and her mama and daddy in your prayers."

Take care and God bless,
Lana, blessed and proud Nana of sweet Jojo