From Muddling to Magnificent >> Hand Quilting Has Started Back Ya’ll!

Happy Sunday Y’all!  Magnificent is sew much nicer than muddling!!!

These birds are photos from facebook eastern North American bird types Jannessa sent me… we thought they would make a cute opener for my post today and cheer you each up!!!

I have spent the last month muddling through… sewing masks…

Til I am soooo tired of them… I think this is a breaking time for me as all my friends family and locals have a mask … I think! lol

This Corona virus – Covid19 is a wicked virus for sure!  But it is maddening … esp here in the US opening early or refusing to wear masks in public places and refusing to adhere to 6′ distance in shops… is sad really!!!!  There are some folks even rushing the state government buildings with no masks as a method of protest for the governors not opening their state quite yet… Just Sad!!!

After listening to a quilting related fiction book as an escape from all this.. I decided I wanted to see a Garden Maze setting ….

 Above is a setting like that… I bought a Marcus Brothers panel on eBay and it came in this week…

 I will be hand stitching in dark red all the 20 blocks… then using this pattern here to do the most traditional type of garden maze setting…

I have a photo of these blocks put together but it is VERY busy… so I will make mine look more like the first photo I showed you with this pattern for how to piece it most historically with the switchover squares in place.  I can be more precise with this NEXT Sunday once the fabric I ordered arrives.

Molly wanted to pose for a photo here… on a quilt she loves that I hand quilted …

 My honey and I celebrated 9 years together with filet minion, baked potato, and broccoli …..

It was completely yummy…. then the next day my honey talked to our neighbor who had mentioned selling a John Deere mower almost new… so he dove in and offered him a cash price he couldn’t refuse… we got stimulated this week as well so that is what our $$$$ went to 🙂  We are passing along the good deal by selling our older mower to a friends kids for less than it is worth 😀

What comes around goes around … the motto we live by… we got a deal so we are passing one on!

Do you have a motto you & yours live by?

Here is a great family idea… let each person in your family choose a different color paper and trace their hand… you might have to get a bit creative to have this outcome but isn’t this a great way to remember this “time together” as a family unit???!!

Here I am … multiple times in the month of April I sat in my chair and looked out the windows at the view and viewed my hand quilting progress but just didn’t have any desire to pick up my needle and thread and make stitches….
Well thanks to a challenge from a very nice friend I am hand quilting!!!

I had 3 different sewing sessions to hand quilt this area of the quilt I am on…. I also finished that right sashing but the light isn’t out to get a nice photo for you all…. more next week!!!!

Jannessa started on the Miss Jane’s Best miniature quilt pattern that is embroidery heavy this week …

She got these 3 blocks all done… she is going to trace some for me on this same thick doll making muslin when she has hers made (for me to use to stitch with)!!! 

It is a group project I guess… I let her use my pattern that had been a gift to me (I will make it when she is done),  Connie is sending her 30’s repro fabric from her stash, and Jannessa is using DMC floss from her stash and mine to do the embroidery…  How FUN for Pandemic Relief Efforts!!!!

Linking all this hand stitching and my renewed hand quilting to Kathy’s Quilts Linky HERE <<<  Come see all Kathy is up to and all the rest of the linkers too ❤

Even when I haven’t felt like it I have blogged every Sunday morning…. I appreciate your kindness for leaving a comment when you visit my blog too 🙂

So continue being Kind and Wearing Masks when in public places please!

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Sew much to share this week y’all!

Welcome All!  Hope you have had as fun a week as we have had here at Daisy Meadows!!!

I saw this wood sticker with this saying on it and isn’t life just like this I thought!!!  I feel like this is me … wandering around life and finally finding the right direction to go in.  Finally!

 Last week a sweet lady sent me the complete and uncut pattern for several sizes of raggedy Ann & Andy!  I was thrilled to receive such a sweet offering from one sewist to another !!!
I purchased raggedy fabrics then too!!!  We have some rick rack but needed some inspiration… We is me and Jannessa.. she is a doll maker already and making Raggedy’s is something we think we can rock for our grands to enjoy!!! YAY 😀

I found the PERFECT no bleed pen at my local Dollar General for under $2!  I was so stoked 🙂

 So here is all I have gathered from stash and buying for this little bullet journal experiment and can it keep me more organized that I already am and will I use it ???

 Remember this sweet pair of stork scissors I shared last week??? 

Well I commissioned my scissor dangle friend on Etsy to make me a new dangle or fob for these little scissors…

 I could not be MORE pleased!!!!  she did an awesome job… Amethysts are special to me anyway and the smooth purple beads are charoite she said & then she threw in some swarovski crystals… delightful!!!!  😀

I saw this panel for sale on a facebook sales page… someone was offering it for sale.  I did research but it was gone by the time I decided it would have been a good deal with the coordinating fabrics added in…

 After doing further research this panel is 24 x 36… that is big for a wall hanging… my honey is pure and true a John Deere fan but he doesn’t use blankets and quilts except at bedtime… so I couldn’t make it into anything I can think of besides a wall hanging… we have no real estate in his outdoor spaces for this fabric type item… any ideas ??? 

Then I saw this cute idea… a large picture frame with chicken wire in it…

 How awesome!!!!!

That got me in a decorating mood…

 I updated this photo of me and Connie to the one we took last month… and put it on my collage wall my honey fixed me 🙂

 As for the Beads Table Runner placemat …

WE LOVE IT!!!!  Taking almost a week to sew that binding on was ridiculous but worth every minute of work … this one is now OUR FAVORITE!!!

Since I was on sabbatical from hand quilting over the last couple weeks… I decided Ellie needed to get her a Play Quilt… Her parents had asked for one feeling the baby quilt I made her was too precious to be a play quilt I asked last week for some ideas with this fabric bundle…
 Here the fat quarter bundle laid out to see…

 And here is the lattice quilt design that stole my heart as I was searching for something fun and fast…

 I made my squares 8 1/2″ and made my sashings 2″ wide and about 14″ long to be long enough…

 I pinned judiciously middle and each end to keep the bias from stretching as I sewed the blocks…

 And look how nice!  This technique was seen on the blog I photoed above but I went to the MSQC tutorial for key points on construction of the quilt…

 I made mine 6 across and 6 down and bordered with a bit thinner white floater border…

 Then I pin basted it to some white polar fleece… it ended up about 53″ square for me before washing!

Then I left Julius my 301 and went to Cleopatra my 319W for machine quilting…

 Cleopatra has a nice big harp and made this job fun once the pattern was decided on… thanks Connie!

 In just over a day of machine quilting (fast for me!!!) I was making the victory lap of basting around the edges… I wanted to add the binding to the back and wrap to the front and zig zag it onto the front…

 And I did it!!!! YAY 😀

 Here is Elliana’s Play Quilt in under a week to complete!  It is now boxed up to ship to her parents this week!!!

 Here is the label I wrote with a Pentel Gel Fabric Pen I got from Amazon.

Along with my label too ❤

All the while I was quilting we have had quite the weather here in sw North Carolina!  SNOW…

 And look at this pic my honey got!!!!

 I started the week entering a pic in my journal…

And ended the week with a page in my journal outlining the steps of this quilt project… not all are the same though!  I hope to streamline this process through bullet journaling 🙂

 Finally, yesterday afternoon my sabbatical completed and I returned to the quilt frame!!!!

Here is a close up of my stitching in the ditch around each half square triagle down there…

 And here is a backed off view.. I plan to finish this block today and move to the last block bottom in this row…. Linking this slow stitching return to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching Link Up HERE <<<  she has some interesting conversation going on over there today!

 Are you all my kind of crazy I wonder??? lol 

I bet you are if you made it this far in this post 😀

Until next Sunday…

Welcoming 2020 and Filling up the Empty Quilt Frame!

Finally got to see my bestie on January 1, 2020!!!!

But before I get into that… let’s back up to Sunday the 29th….

I spent all day Sunday Slow stitching and early Monday morning finished it all up!!!

Leaving my frame empty!

 I made Connie and her daughters and grands these cute little mug rugs too!  She liked them 😀

 I used Messenger photo app to take this cute photo on New Years Eve….

And snapped one last photo of our Christmas tree from this year…

and fell asleep long before midnight… excited for the trip the next day!!!

I think we are both equally excited!!!

 My honey got the “fish vendor cart” we had bid on in a silent auction in the town where Connie lives… but the auction wasn’t over until the Friday after we left last fall… so she has been taking good care of this cute item my honey and I were totally enamored with 🙂

Above are photos of it in our kitchen with and without the canopy… which do you like???

Below is a close up of it with a puzzle we use as framed art behind it 🙂  It has rubber tires and a real chain and moving the pedals moves the wheels.. very unique and exquisite we think!!!

Now back from the trip it was time to make the BIG DECISION!!!!

Do I try to load a quilt I have started from the center (for followers this is the Garden Bouquet Wholecloth Quilt) that could well take 6 months to finish or do I load a quilt I finished this past summer that has been waiting in line with everything in the house I needed to load said quilt…

 The above quilt I donned the name Appalachian Delight quilt… using blocks called Bear in the Cabin that I did a tutorial on last year if you are interested in those bear claw variation blocks…

 Above is a close up of the stencils I plan to use throughout this quilt… and below is a wide shot showing how wide the outer border is and those beautiful mitered corners too!

 This is the pattern that goes on that wide boder… fits perfect and that was NOT planned 🙂

 The backing is shown here and is wideback I purchased from an online company that went with the vibe of the front…

 Here is my first corner to finish up close…

 And here is all I have gotten stitched as I have enjoyed getting into a routine with this one…

 My initials and the date are done in navy perle cotton in chain stitching… the rest is in burgundy hand quilting on the taupe and white fabric.

Linking this exciting chain of slow stitching events to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching HERE <<<
She is not feeling great today so come give her a visit and leave a healing comment for her!  No fun being sick.  She is also sharing some cool stories on her post plus there are other linkers sharing their stories too!!!

Then yesterday as I stitched… IT SNOWED here!!!!

 We got a couple inches … covering all that grass in the end… and a mud slide occurred too on the road not far from our home… salt trucks were out last night and this morning the grass was visible through the snow so no issues should be found… just joy with the snow!!!

I started sewing on some curtains for our bedroom and my good bloggy friend Jill has lent her help to aid me  along the way!  The excitement of a new quilt on the frame leaves me not much to show but that they are ready to sew together 😀 lol!

 I have been using my 2 week organizer almost every day since I started and am really loving the accountability of it… are you organizing your days for 2020???

 Check out my new blog header and closing … and have a blessed 2020!

Giddy with Progress this Week!

Ya’ll I couldn’t come up with a better label for this week’s post… I am simply GIDDY with the progress I have made around here since last Sunday’s post!

And I have also continued to give thanks for all the good in my life at this moment…

How about you?

Last week I had sooo much happening I didn’t share that I got 2 new little cutting mats.  But I did share this project I was interested in…

 Made possible by my friend Jannessa who gifted me this Winterlude fabric and pattern… but if you recall I shared how my bar in the kitchen needed a longer and skinnier table runner so I used their blocks and made up a different plan…

 First…
I decided the center would be the blue blocks with vanilla polkadotted center spots…

Now on the left or right you can see the ruby Olfa rotary cutter I won along with the pink floss and true blue Olfa cutting mats!  What better way to give them a test run but with this project!!!!

I used Julius for the piecing of the 3″ finished blocks…

 And soon I had the 12 center blocks done…

 Low time to add the outer triangles for the square in a square like the pattern called for 😀

 Soon that was done and sewn into a long strip and I cut red and green from this same Winterlude line to make all the little squares around the outside of the blue ones…

 Like this…

 Soon it was ready to get the float border done and then add these 42 squares… all have the cream portions for centers.

 Finally I got it ALL pieced this morning …

 And here is a close up of the right side of the table runner….

I love it!  Jannessa is going to fmq the center and I will add organic straight lines and a flange binding I will try to manage on my own by machine 100%!!!!!  Oh my!!! I have never done this binding… Jannessa has shared her favorite tutorial on this topic…

DO YOU HAVE A FAVE PIPED / Flange BINDING????  

Please tell me how to find it in the comments below so I can be ready!  

I have also been making stellar progress on my Swoon hand quilting…

Here I had finished the first swoon block and was working on the sashing where we had marked a medallion but it was so light it needed a re-marking… so I did!

 Soon that was done and I outlined each segment of the top of the second swoon and prepared it for the big stitch filling in…

 Finally … with all this cold weather that is way colder than usual… by Thursday morning as it was teens outside when I woke to quilt… I turned on the fireplace and enjoyed a bit of a fire to keep me warm… mmmmm

 And I made it to halfway that morning filling in the second swoon block top…

 Soon I was to the second sashing … after the second swoon and before the 3rd…

 I love how we decided to quilt these medallions … they are really gonna show off the negative space on this quilt when Connie has it displayed on her bed!!!

Finally to the 3rd Swoon top block…

 Morning… nooon… and night I hand quilt on this frame…. I really enjoy it too.. it IS my sanity…

 After going around each section with regular hand quilting thread…

 I fill in the lines about 1″ apart with big 12 wt thread… looks sew nice on these busy blocks!

 And this is where I am this morning… working on these 2 pinwheels and the outer border as well as edge basting to be done!!!

 I am linking this wonderful progress to Kathy’s Quilts HERE <<<< Go see what others are linking and check out Kathy's finish this week… ALL by hand instead of machine pieced like mine are!!!

And our Christmas cactus started to bloom this week… sew many blooms!!! ❤

 I was lamenting to Connie about being stuck on a secret project I am working on for a special Christmas something for someone …
I sent her the fabrics on the left along with some other fun things I had collected for her since our last meeting… and she is now sending me the gorgeous Hexi Flowers on the right!!!!  SCORE!!!!

Then yesterday Jannessa came over and remembered her wall hanging… so my honey snapped this shot for us…

 I am definitely Thankful, Grateful & Blessed to have her and Connie in my life.. as well as my honey of course! lol

We are almost done with our backpack purses we have been working on .  I think she is using hers herself and I am sending the one on the left ot my daughter….  it has been an arduous but interesting bag to make! lol

I let sweet Cleopatra (Singer 319w) do this heavy duty job… Jannessa used a Singer 301 for hers 🙂

How has your week been?  

My honey has mulched and vacuumed the yard again this week…The cold encouraged leaf dropping from several of our trees…along with new growth!  Hoping they hibernate well and re-bloom next year okay!!!  We also experienced difficulties with the inflow and outflow with the freezes affecting the pond … so my honey worked on that too.

Our car is running as it should and drives great since getting new front tie rods put in.  So with 2 trips to Asheville under our belt this month.. I sure hope nothing else happens 😀

Have a blessed week!

Sew Happy Fall is Here!!

Welcome Y’all!

Grab a coke or a coffee and come see what all has been going on with me and mine 😀

We took a long planned on trip the first part of October… it was meant to be 3 days and 2 nights and a quick visit with my 3 of my kids during the visit too!  Well I got to see 2 of my kids in the end… but that isn’t all!!!

My honey worked on making a shed into a she shed… the conversion started!!!  Yippee!!!

My bestie Connie had relocated and added electricity and stabilization to the building… now it was time for my honey to work his magic.

This visit he changed the shed doors into a regular door that seals the building and locks 🙂

And he is able to accomplish all that during our 4 days and 3 nights…

Yep that is right we had to stay and extra day and Rick and I were completely drained and exhausted from the trip and all that was involved in our first trip of many to come for this job  🙂

What was the first thing that greeted me the following day when we finally made it to the post office to retrieve our mail…   I WAS A WINNER!!!

check out Virginia on Youtube HERE  ~ or Etsy HERE <<<

I follow her on Youtube and the above link will take you to the episode where I won these hand made pattern weights for bag making!!!  Both links will open in a new tab too btw 😀

I love these pattern weights though and had planned to make some… when I found some extra time 😀  I love her choices of fabrics too!!!

As I suggested above … we don’t travel much since we moved… in fact since we moved into Daisy Meadows (the name of our little slice of heaven) the only 2 nights out were when my honey had his hip replaced in Asheville and that was exhausting and overwhelming also!!!

The hotel my friend found for us was AMAZING!  Only the size of the refrigerator in room was a disappointment… my name was even on the television when we would first turn it on!!!

During our stay in the hotel Connie presented us with this basket she had fashioned from tshirt made yarn… into a canister to hold snacks for our room .

We love that she chose our colors too…

It has the sole purpose now at home of sitting on the bar and holding our daily med boxes and bottles of vitamins that we take! lol  We truly love it… from the bits she has left over she plans to make us a trivet too… I must make sure this is cotton tshirts though!!! lol

While thrift shopping one day in Tennessee …we came across this wreath !!!  I fell in love and my honey found the perfect place to hang it when we got home too 😀

 While we were with Connie she shared the finished EPP rooster she finished for me (this is what she did for me quilting her quilt… she offered to applique it to the black background… but I kinda want to do this part…

Do you know of a video tutorial for adding a dark fabric behind a light fabric without a lot of shadowing???  

 >> Ideas anyone?? <<

I plan to add a thinner black border to stabilize the piece then add a brown mitered corner border like a picture frame around that to look like wood!

I got some fabric here… the burgandy and tan plaid woven.. to make napkins out of!  Now to find time for something that simple!!!

 I haven’t touched the quilting of the boy turkey yet either…

 But if you noticed… I did do some decorating around my 319 where I will be sitting to do this drasted machine quilting part… soon I will be to the hand quilting in the border!!!

I even bought a small 14″ PVC square frame to put together for the border…

 That inexpensive put together frame… will be the answer to getting to the outer borders instead of my round hoop I think… Connie has one and it works well for her too!

Jannessa finished her wall hanging to a flimsy…
and she has done all the machine quilting and is working on her hand quilting of fall leaves down each side!!!  She is quick and smart ❤

Finally, I was commissioned to make a bunting or 2 for a good friend… well  you don’t necessarily take $$ for things.. instead my good friend decided to gift me with 2 charm packs that match my kitchen… I fell in love with this 1/2 yard of fabric and it came in this week too…

 Doesn’t it look great together… I need a 60 x 20 table topper and a fairly large coordinating wall hanging .. Ideas are brewing for this… more on those buntings in another post!

Finally… while in Lebanon me and my honey went to a DIFFERENT thrift shop than where I found the wreath… and they were having a silent auction on this cool piece… and this shot does NOT do this fish wagon justice… We will get to have it during the next passing (probably January when Rick will do the electrical sockets and pre wire for lighting and add ceiling joists etc….)

 We added our silent auction bid… and then Connie went back and bid on it for us again … then Connie missed sleep after a long night at work to win this for us and gifted it to Rick for all the hard work he accomplished giving her a new front and door to her evolving She Shed!!!!  WOWEEE!!!!!

Seeing 2 of my 4 children (all are grown and have special people in their lives now)  I am blessed for sure!!!

So here is a cool collage I made to share with you all!

Finally, I got lessons on how to crochet around these little blocks I have been sewing and blanket stitching by hand!!!!

 and I am finally on the last round of my FIRST BLOCK! hahahahahaha  …

But I am enjoying it… and life is about enjoying the journey for sure!!!!

Speaking of enjoyment… during all this craziness… I finished the bottom of the 3rd row of swoons….

 And rolled the quilt down….

  Now I am happily making great progress on the middle of the 3rd row of swoons 😀

 If you listen to Virginia Lindsay’s video she mentions Skill Share… it is a Bluprint Like service for beginning teachers as well as accomplished teachers of all kinds of arts and crafts… they encourage newbies and have “classes” you can watch to learn how to become an online teacher of your fave craft!  Check out the link in Virginia’s youtube video … 2 months free I think too to try it out ❤

 That is what I am doing 😀

Got any old wool sweaters with holes in them you want to donate to me??? lol!

Brandi sent me this photo of her graduation quilt on her bed with the pillows and shams too… They LOVE them 😀

 I saw this on facebook this week…  Wouldn’t this be cool in a bedroom or library to display extra quilts 😀

 Here is a bag I will be making for my daughter for her Christmas …

 I will be using purple and gold though!!!  Ordered the hardware this week too 😀

Molly is 16 months old now!  And while we were in Tennessee…

 She stayed with my great friend Jannessa… I am blessed in the great friend department y’all!

 And Jannessa has Max (below)…

 and they love to play together !!!  Molly learned how to play like a dog with a dog during our 4 days away!!! YAY 😀

She and Max are great buddies… it is nice to have a quilty friend who has a playmate to share too!!!

Jannessa gave me an early Christmas present… the 2019 Hallmark sewing related ornament is a treadle!!!

 Can you see that little treadle on the shelf left of our old sewing machine and Raggedy Ann ??

 The 3 of us are planning a get together in April hopefully (when Connie gets a break from working ) to make barn quilts together!!!!  Here is one I find enticing …

 Here is your Bonnie-ism.. first one in a while too I guess…

She is getting revved up for a visit to Kenya, Africa with a travel company and others who enjoy exotic traveling!!!

So I hope you have enjoyed the catch up post.  I will add a link the Slow Stitching Sunday with Kathy and getting the low down on her retreat HERE <<<<

Have a blessed week y’all… be happy or be busy seeking it!!! ❤

Out of town this Sunday …. missing y’all!

But I didn’t miss seeing 2 of my kids while we visited Tennessee!

 Including their loves 😀

Can’t leave out important time I got with my bestie too!

It was fun and productive and exhausting too!  Soo will catch up next Sunday 😀

From not much to share to a Birthday Post FULL<<< Come see !!

Sorry to have missed last Sunday posting as Sunday’s are my regular day to post.  I did have one regular reader inquire to me if all was fine and it was… just didn’t have much to share in my humble opinion… I will leave a short post in the future if I plan to not post anything of substance though 🙂  Thanks !!!

But today I have LOTs to share to make up for missing last Sunday !!!!  First of all my blog just got an update… do you like it???

AND >>>> It was a Birthday Celebration week here and my bestie came for a much needed visit!!!!  So grab a cuppa something yummy and come join me for a bit please 😀

In prep for company… and part of the reason I didn’t write to you all last week… our home got a DEEP clean.. with it just being me and my honey and Molly our Poo Shih… we keep a clean house.  But every now and again it is nice to do things like get the shelf above screwed into studs so it can hold our favorite old new sewing machine I shared in my last post.  It sure is nice around here though… my sewing room even got touched in the may lay of cleaning!!!  From this…To this to even more cleaning I didn’t capture by photo!!!  




Molly got a deep cleaning too AFTER a good grooming right here at home 😀

Above is Molly… showing off for the camera and hoping we would let her drive the golf cart… she loves going around on the cart with my honey too ❤

Not sure if they show much as we had some rain that brought them down but look at this cool hydrangea …

Loving all the colors available in this one at the bottom of a mountain where our water comes from.. varying pH levels in the water that gets the roots??? lol

With the sewing room cleaned up… I decided to try my hand at a mini art quilt for Connie as an extra birthday present for her… Her birthday comes first on the July 3… then mine on July 4… then my honey on July 20… so we enjoy celebrating together every year 🙂

These little snippets of fabrics were leftover bits she sent me with a square of white background as a teaser of what I would be quilting soon (referring to what it in my frame NOW)… I have held on to these bits looking for way to repurpose them back to her…. Confetti quilting won out!

 With some Steam a Seam 2, tweezers, sharp scissors, a pattern I made myself from a line drawing, and some patience and imagination… I soon had this ready to mount on white “grout” fabric….

I had a scant long piece of the backing fabric so watched a couple videos and chatted with Connie and soon had this art piece quilted and single layer bound as I didn’t have the width for the regular double layer binding…

Here is the back of this 6 1/4″ finished square of love!!!  I did the quilting on Cleopatra my Singer 319w using white Aurifil 50 in the top and bobbin..  I did hand sew down the label diagonal edge and the back of the binding but I had prethought that part and pressed it into shape before applying it so sewing it down went easy with clips 🙂

And here are the birthday girls…  Connie on the left and me holding our birthday cake on the right…

The pink roses Connie brought to add to the ambiance.  The little vase of flowers is what we picked in our yard prior to Connie’s arrival …

 Here is my birthday pose on the 4th…

 And me and my honey got fun goodies from my bestie and bestowed great goodies on her too!!!

 Let me share my lot of goodies as that was the main lot of photos I got! lol

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Birthday time… Maybe not my age sharing specifically but just celebrating being alive!!!!

My honey got me a wonderful daisy card with a deep meaning and private message inside…

 My bestie topped off her gifts to me with this cool fronted card and a nice message inside 😀

 Among other things I got this great pin cushion bought from a seller on Etsy named “SeaPinks” – her name is Jenny and I sent her a special thank you for this beautiful craftsmanship… it is only 3 ” or 4″ around and 2 1/2″ or 3″ tall… perfect to hold my needle and pins for binding at my computer area 😀

 Then a magnet that my bestie has a pink version of… to commemorate our mostly daily chats on her way to or from work….

 It found a place in the bottom corner of a little quilt pattern I hope to start soon 🙂  It is on the wall hanging by my things to do list! lol

 She also included some of these cute bobbin minders that hold the thread in place on  your bobbins so they don’t become a mess…  LOVELY!

Once birthday celebrations were completed… we slept and then started on sugar cookie making!!!

Connie stayed up past my bedtime to make dough on the 3rd… then on the 4th we made cookies all afternoon…

She had previously taken a “cookie class” with a sugar cookie decorating expert of sorts… it was great fun for me too !!!!

Here is Connie having fun as we prep to start the decorating!!!

 And showing off a doggie bone with a chevron design ….

This flower was my idea taken from watching her play in the sugar frosting….  Then using that yellow pointy ended tool I drug the color out and in to make my own kind of flower design…

 I also decorated a couple of thimble cookies (part of our gift to Connie had been cookie cutters in sewing theme shapes ).

And a flower that looks more like a pink ball with green chicken pox! lol

All in all… although I couldn’t hold up to her expertise in decorating… I had lots of fun and my honey enjoyed being a taste tester too !!!

So previously Connie has been sending me photos of her finished fabric squares with crochet edging she is making…

 To say I am smitten pales to my actual feelings of “I want to make one too!!! ”  So in cleaning up my sewing room I cut 80 sets of squares just the right size she shared with me to make this cool block.

Above… I measured and marked with blue water soluble marker where the the center motif quilting will occur and where the blanket stitch legs would be to make the perfect amount down each side for a square finished quilt…  and below is how the back side looks…

 I have 2 rows of stitching on that block as I didn’t understand the instructions Connie gave me fully… so once I saw that block … I made 2 more blocks that she took with her to work out the crochet pattern for later on when she can spend time teaching me to crochet the edging on each block.

Below is my marking guide and the first 2 blocks I made and hand stitched closed with batting in the middle for cozy finish…

 And this is where I am this morning on that project… it will hang out as I finish each of the 75 remaining blocks as a side line project for me to hand stitch… this hand stitched blanket stitching is being linked to Wendy’s Peacock Party HERE <<<<  Go check out the other linkers and the cool mystery quilt she is making from the Quiltmania mag…

 Here is one more shell stitch finished block finished quilt…  You can find that quilt on a blog and someone else has made a YouTube series on it as well.  We are not actually following the video instructions … we just got our basic ideas from the blog HERE <<<<

 This was another quilt I found in the same vein while searching Pinterest and Google for crochet fabric quilt… It is when I decided I wasn’t the shell stitch kind of girl but more the crochet style Connie added to mine with the squares 🙂

Connie is pondering making a pillow from her finished blocks now too then jumping over to my quilt block design as it crochets a bit faster and may be more durable with use instead of being a toe catcher design like the lacey bits of the photo before this one 😀  It is all personal preference. 😀

But my fave project is Connie Swoon Quilt hand quilting in my frame… This has been a nearly daily worked on project and what I am linking to Kathy’s Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday linky HERE.  Go link up as Kathy has been under the weather using her hands for reading and puzzle working this week so she could use some inspiring posts to link up!!

Here I am almost near the end on the middle row which is where I was with my last post I think…

 And a close up of the final border before rolling to the last run of the 1st row of 4 rows of these big 24″ swoon blocks…

 And rolled and set up on the far left to move to the right for this row of stitching…

 I love this shot I got in a dark room with the morning sunrise ambient light coming in the blinds…

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another.  If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Emma, Tracy, Deb, Susan,  Nanette,  Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Gretchen and Kathi (that is ME!)

 that is the center swoon block above… the beginning of the final swoon of this row is below 🙂

 I am loving the water soluble pens I got in a pack of 10 from Amazon too… they write clear and crisp and disappear with a sprints of water… below is that area all clean after stitching and spritzing and leaving to dry overnight…

 Look at this sweet cotton yarn cloth Connie crocheted me just for my quilting marking removal ❤

 It hangs out on my lamp beside my chair… here I am close to the end of this row.. soon… very soon I will be rolling on to the next row of swoons!!!  While I am stitching I have started listening to a new audio book on Audible.com… it is my fave audio book club.  This is a story of the royal gown makers and their stories… very interesting to listen to as I stitch!!!

Do you need to make Double Fold Bias Tape and don’t have the handy gadgets they sell online and at big box stores… measure and make your own… look at this made from card stock and easy to iron on without burning anything!!!!!

I hope you have found this long post entertaining and glad you got your cuppa before you started reading and enjoying… please take a minute to leave me a note… I would love to know what your fave part of this long birthday celebrating post was 😀

Have a blessed week and stay warm/cool depending on where you are while reading this!

A Finish and a Beginning… and lots in the Middle too!

I finished and washed the throw quilt last week… and it became a wall hanging!!!

My honey loved it soo much he wants Stars Among Us hanging on the quilt hanger in the kitchen 🙂  So here it is!!!  The colored chalk was completely gone after my traditional first TWO washings… when I took it out after the first there was a bit of pink chalk still in it… but I had used pink pounce AND pink cartridge chalk on marking the center… so back in the washer it for 1 more wash and all looked great… dried it and look how wonderful the texture turned out… we are soo pleased ❤

One day is all I could handle having empty nest syndrome…..

This is my Spiral Log Cabin quilt flimsy that has been fixed (the outer border was waving too much!) and is now became one with the frame and a flimsy no more on the Tuesday!!!

The rest of that day was spent at doctor appointments for my honey’s upcoming surgery for his hip replacement.  It is our first joint replacement in this house so we are starting the prep work in earnest now!  Keep reading you will see 🙂

Then Wednesday errands for prep and more doctor appointments for both of us locally… then it was Thursday!!!  Happy Valentine’s to me from my honey…

This expensive chocolate is our tradition for him to get me… I got him a bit of chocolate this year too and he loved the new tradition of getting some himself 😀

Here is hoping you had a great Valentine’s Day… if you celebrate where you live!

We also put this cool little Singer sewing machine up for sale on Valentine’s.. it sold out quick too!!

It is special because most of the metal parts are black.. this is called a “blackside” finish on those parts made around the 40’s in wartime to preserve the best metal for war time needs.  This machine was actually produced according to our information… in the mid 1950’s… but with parts in the 1940’s primarily on it … and sketchy records kept during this time on these machines anyway… it makes it more valuable… but it is on it’s way to a great home where it will be loved and appreciated ❤

Finally Friday rolled around and we were rested and I took a few photos and made some progress on this project…

 After assembling the tools I would use I did some stitching… this was the initial look… I knew it needed more depth though…

 So I phoned my bestie Connie and she had some perle 8 in a light brown… PERFECT  for this quilt… she said she would pitch it in the mail for me… well Saturday I got it to my surprise!!!

 And I made headway with it earlier…

 I have the bottom border mainly marked now… you can see the blue lines of what will be a natural YLI thread stitching…

 And I took a photo to include the new ball of perle in this beautiful color ..

 And here is a photo I shot this morning 🙂

I don’t have any plans for stencils on this quilt… but the center is yet to be decided… do you have ideas that strike you when you look at this photo for quilting the center inside the black border???

Linking the quilting in this post to:

Kathy’s Quilts… Slow Stitching Sunday HERE

& Wendy’s Quilts and More … Peacock Party HERE

Along with the 2 spools of thread was a surprise….

 Connie made us this most BEAUTIFUL doily to go on our wood shelf… you can see this wall in our kitchen below houses lots of vintage stuff and a while back I had asked her if she could crochet us something for this long shelf…

 I think it turned out perfect too ❤ 

I mentioned last week that a friend asked me to make something for her sewing room on her farm.  The girl in the photo below on the far left is Holli… she is standing with her hubby who is a Chief in the Navy…

 Holli is such a joyful friend… that is rare these days too!  So when she sent me a charm pack of her theme fabric I was thrilled to play with it and make her a banner bunting personalized for her…

 Here I am sewing on my Singer 319w… boy did this baby handle all that thickness like a dream!!!

I got to use this special applique foot too… and I see why people love it now… and I love it too for applique to look more professional… I think I could use this on bags too!!!

So that bunting is about 2/3 done or a bit more… and we have a “mock up ” area in our kitchen set up so I can hang it when finished and custom fit it to her windows where this will be hanging 😀  YAY!!!

Finally … what I am most excited about!!!!

Yesterday this happened!!!  My honey was out in his man cave building and came in to tell me he found a drawer that matched our kitchen.

And the day ended with the floor removed on this part of the kitchen proper… 

 And another view…

 And here is the bar top marked for removal…

The sample just to the left of the demolition line is a 12 foot by 8 foot piece of vinyl thick flooring we have had about a year… waiting for the opportunity to move the bar out and change about the kitchen… well that is happening NOW! lol

This prep for surgery is taking on lots of angles for sure… Rick understands as the day for surgery gets closer that he will be recuperating for A WHILE and unable to get down and up so much and learning new ways of doing things so he doesn’t make his new joint pop out … oh my!

Meanwhile the weather here has been mainly rainy but that took a hiatus yesterday and we did a ride about on the golf cart… things are starting to bud out a bit… I am getting excited that during Rick’s recuperation we may have the windows open at night again… I sure miss that about winter… I am not wishing away the seasons .. I love each one.. but this has been a very cold winter and we haven’t gotten the worst of it for sure!

I hope this post has brought you thoughtfulness about what you could do to shake up your own life .. or at least brought YOU some joy in reading about our escapades this week! lol  Take time to evaluate and be in love with your life my friends <3… every minute of it too.. if not make changes so you are!!!  No time like the present 🙂

Saying Goodbye to 2018… And looking forward too!

2018 had been a year when I finally took charge of my life I feel. 

My kids are all out on their own and the end of this year is seeing them each settling in to their chosen paths well.  Me and my honey sold a house and bought our dream home moving from the ocean to the mountains. 

Leaving a little water feature on a back porch and gaining a pond with a built in grist mill in our back yard!

This home is becoming everything we thought it could be!!!  We even got to meet the people that fashioned it into the house we bought from a little building near the pond that didn’t exist anything like it does today!  We have watched many of our dreams come true and I finally have not only a guest room for friends and family… but a sewing room and a place for my 10 foot hand quilting frame. 

Likewise, my honey has space in our well insulated attached garage for some of his storage needs as well as an out building he can enjoy the rain hitting the metal roof and have room for all his guy tools and things!

We are certainly feeling blessed as we reflect on every place 2018 has brought us.  We have lots of hopes and dreams for 2019 but let’s stay focused on 2018 for this post 🙂

I did finish my stocking with no time to spare!!!

I even cleaned my desk up and caught it on digital media for a sweet memory! lol

 I took a photo for fun that I really like too …

And one of my honey with his new hat!

It was made in Australia and is a top grade brand too… Akubra my honey says is originally an aboriginal word for head covering!  🙂  How cool is that!!!    It is made of a 6 week process beginning with rabbit fur and varnish and ending with a cool hat with a leather braid trim and this cool feather and button 🙂

 

We even decorated for Christmas … a surprise to both of us really… but we found some economical lighted display items at a local big box store and had fun decorating with what we found 🙂  Our flag pole turned into a 20 foot Christmas tree… those light s are blue.  And the snowman is lighted as well and is 9 foot tall !!!

Rick got a steroid shot in his hip to avoid surgery for a bit and is finding enough relief from the shot that he was able to do the decorating… unfortunately… it isn’t lasting as he had hoped.  Also he got the nasty cold that is going around so we are fighting it from all angles with herbs and cold medications too… Please pray that he feels better or send up happy thoughts if prayer isn’t your thing! Thanks 🙂

I found lots of different chocolates in my new stocking Christmas morning… I must have been a good girl this year to get so much yummy stuff… I still haven’t eaten it all! lol  Next year I must ask Santa personally to leave a bit of fun stuff for my honey too… but he doesn’t care for chocolate really… think Santa would leave other stuff instead???

We had to send Daisy this past August to live with my best friend Connie… it was very sad for us but a good thing for Daisy and for Connie and her family too…

 but the dander of a doxie is not good for me with COPD or my honey with allergies in general and newly diagnosed Asthma as well…

Not wanting to be dogless … we adopted our little Molly who is a more hypoallergenic mixed breed of shih tzu and poodle called a shih poo…

I started an Etsy shop and have sold a few things there…

And this winter… I am learning how to safely start a fire with gas logs… maybe this is easy for some but I am very shy about doing this on my own…

I LOVE LOVE LOVE having a fireplace though that I can start without real logs to have to shovel and mess with the after affects from… the gas the fuels the logs also gives us heat via furnace so it is nice have propane handy for both purposes.

So I shared my honey got a cool hat and an amazing deal on some tools for his Christmas… here is what my daydreaming was all about…

I named her Cleopatra… she is from the 1954 era and is a Singer 319w.  My best friend Connie has a multi shade green version of her… they also make a rarely found tan version.  When I saw they made a black with gold Egyptian decals though… it was just pure unadulterated desire to have one myself… after hearing Connie chat endlessly about hers! lol

Cleo has 5 built in cams and a cam holder for more designs to add to the front of her using those old typewriter style levels.  I also got a full set of these fashion disc for Christmas and have some scissors that more match her than the scissors in the photo above. 
She is a 3/4 size machine but is HEAVY DUTY in how she preforms… so I have been using her exclusively in December for all my utility and crafty sewing completions.  I will use Gloria (my Singer 301a) for quilt piecing as she handles that great!  Gloria also has a wonderful working seam guide that Cleo doesn’t care for! lol

 Here is a view of my sewing room from Gloria’s side of the room…

 Here is my current work in progress on her… and my next to be hand quilted for our bed… maybe mid year 2019 this quilt will see the frame though!

 Here is the plan on how this quilt center will look… I have all the pieces cut … just need to web the center and start on the borders I have planned… but crafty sewing and Christmas and nesting in our new home got in the way! lol

Molly celebrated 6 months old with a haircut… we were trimming her but this was after her first professional grooming.  My honey is still shook up about how she changed just with a haircut but I like it 😀  He will get used to it over time I hope!!!

 Slow stitching progress for this year… I finished this one for my daughter… but she has to get her diploma before she receives it… so it is on our guest bed at the moment where I can enjoy it and be excited to send it to her or gift it to her when I see her next 🙂

 I pieced and hand quilted this quilt… the pillow shams coordinate but I machine quilted them for speed and durability over time… my honey is very oily skinned… these get washed weekly to keep them clean too!

 This is a big view of the quilt on my hand quilting frame at this moment… I am on the 4th row up of stars now….

 Here is a photo I took before rolling the frame…

 And here is a photo of the 4th row getting started in earnest…

Here is the next quilt I will hand quilt when I am done with the Stars Among Us quilting…

 That log cabin has been waiting a couple years from when it was pieced to get quilted … but it will go in the kitchen where the snowcouple is now 😀

Then I have the whole cloth quilt I have worked on over 3 years time… and it is still going and not yet halfway done.  I have added quilting to it every now and then but have been so busy with other stuff… it hasn’t gotten much playtime… I hope to make progress on it too in 2019.
This photo on the left was taken in Florida.. it is remounted in that PVC frame my honey fashioned for me before I got the Hinterberg wood frame.  I like them both really!  I had to take it out of the frame for the move to the mountains in January though… it only got mounted back in the frame over the summer and waits for me now!

I will say to you though… I am VERY excited about my next project after the log cabin (or before if Connie gets it finished to a flimsy before ) … I will be hand quilting a swoon patterned 1930’s era fabric quilt she is piecing now to add ambiance to her room… and because hand quilting a large queen (105 square quilt top) without my big frame isn’t near as much fun… so I am going to gift her that for this year 🙂  SEW EXCITED TO QUILT HER EXQUISITE PIECING!!!!

I have quilted a quilt for Connie early in my quilting history… it was fun but it was a hoopless quilting and not the work I do today… I much prefer the artistry of my quilting today to my learning stitches that brought me here.  I am linking this hand quilting info to my friend Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching post… come check out what other bloggers are sharing with things they have completed this year or worked on if not finished HERE!

I am very proud of my machine quilting on these two projects ( the wall hanging snow people and the tree skirt I fashioned from Christmas fabric scraps I had on hand)!

 I love how it looks early in the morning when I wake!

And I love the Santa blown glass ornament we added this year to commemorate the year we met… 2011!

 In closing I have some VERY SPECIAL news to share….
I will officially be called “Grandma” by someone I can’t wait to meet…
I visions of quilts and bibs and spit up rags all ready to make!!!  Just waiting for colors and other decisions to be made… and for her to have her friends hosted baby shower so I can make what else she may need… this baby is growing in my daughter in love Heather and along with my son James they are very excited to have this welcomed addition to their family.  They are making lots of changes to prepare for their new baby and I am very excited !!!

You may remember Amethyst Stars that I completed by hand over new years 2017/2018. 

It left my frame empty over new years too !!! lol

As I commemorated their quilt with this label and my own label… and spend new years day sewing on binding and mailed it off to them to enjoy!

I also have this little wall hanging waiting to get hand stitching finished…

 And these blocks I started making and have worked on with Gloria here and there…

Maybe I can look back on this post and between my finger skills and Gloria’s skills and now Cleo’s skills I can finish some fun things I started already before starting MORE! lol

I do hope to make me a wristlet clutch soon though… hmmm! hahaha

For now I bid you Happy 2019… May it bring you all you hope and wish for my bloggy friends!  And I close with this wish as you enter a new year wherever you live …

And don’t forget to make your life….a life you love!!!

Playing Catch up ~ A New Quilt is in the Frame!!

I missed blogging last week because my best girlfriend came for a quick visit…

Connie lives about 4 hours from me and because her life is so busy.. she had not yet been to our home!!  She visited at least once a year when we lived near the beach but not since we moved to the mountains… so she left us with this souvenir shot of her visit on an old oak tree 🙂

While she was here she worked on some hand quilting… while I finished up the stitching on this purse for our friend Debbie!

 Molly is watching out for me as I stitched it all together too! lol

And here is the finish…

 It was Priority mailed this past week and already received and put into use!!

Also Connie brought gifts when she came including this cool quilt hanger that my honey installed in our kitchen…

 She also left us some apple juice bottles that are glass and she uses the leftover glass bottles for flower vases… well we loved that idea!!!  So my honey went into our yard and made me a vase for the computer area…

And once I got my quilt loaded in the frame … He also filled another vase with more flowers when I napped one day!!! 🙂

Here he is suprising me with flowers on a day I didn’t feel so good…

 And here they are posed from the opposite side of the jar on the quilt I am working on intermittently 😀

And last night it was to freeze here… so this was the last of the flowers from our yard … so I wanted to share their delightfulness with you all!!!

Molly is now officially 4 months old !!!

 And after celebrating her birthday with a nice bath!!!  We prepped our guest room for Connie’s soon arrival… I love this quilt but soon I think it will be time to wash it one last time and send it to it’s destiny… to be with my darling daughter (dd) Brandi ….

She chose this quilt top and the quilting plan and colors … I just did the work! lol

Once I finished the bag for Debbie… while Connie was here I started prepping the Rooster EPP project …

 And even got out the organizer I had bought for this project too…

Pulled fabrics from my stash… and that pin cushion on the neutral fabric on the left… a gift from Connie too!

 Glued the templates to the fabric as the directions called for using scrapbooking adhesive I had in my stash 😀

 Soon my pattern had MY colors in place of the makers colors… so it will match the vibe in our home…

 Here is a close up of that sweet hexi pin cushion Connie gifted me too …

 And long after Connie was gone back to her home and her crazy busy life… I finally got it all organized!!!

Now to find the time to work on it some more… time to glue baste down all the edges with my Fons and Porter fabric glue sticks.

I removed the doggy themed border fabric and not jiving cornerstones and made this more civil war looking with remaining fabric left from Roberta’s quilt finish….

 Daisy’s Stars is now “Stars Among Us”  Tutorial to the scrappy star blocks is on my blog HERE.  It is truly more of a memory quilt we will use on the foot of our bed in honor of her… as none of this coordinates with Connie’s decor! lol

I chose these stencils … both I have never used before… for this quilt…

The left for the border and the right for the body of the quilt where the stars are 🙂

With batting and backing already pulled long ago for this quilt loading went quick…  First was the backing to put on the 2nd rail and the bottom rail… winding it twice to make sure all was straight…

Then the top and batting were added first to the top rail and rolled on (twice as well) …

 Until they were going on straight and even…

 Then pinned to the backing at the bottom rail and tighted all up….

 Now I am ready to mark and begin quilting once I baste the bottom edge!!!

 Molly is my steady companion when I quilt… she tries to squeeze her growing body in this little box… so I traded it out for a larger box but she teethes on everything right now.. so don’t know how long that will last !!! lol

 Soon the bottom border was all stitched in place…

 And I am now making great headway on the slow stitching of this crazy triangle pattern from my stencil!!!

 Here is my set up.. early each morning I bring in the day slow stitching…

 And here is how I am marking these designs.. with pounce chalk and with a piece of pink chalk in a marking tool…

I am linking this fun slow stitching … where I will be today and every day… with Kathy’s Slow Stitching Squad of hand work specialists HERE!  Come see what others are doing following the link and if you blog come join the party too ❤

This week Bonnie Hunter posted this Bonnie-ism…

 And I received all this wonderful fabric in fat quarter form…

 Then I organized it with some in my stash like this…

 And checked value like this (Batman is for sale and was just a quiet space to rest your eyes between the colors at the top and those same fabrics in value only in black and white at the bottom! lol

 All in hopes of making 16 big 14″ blocks of log cabin bear paw blocks like this…

 So this weekend I cut out the log cabin blocks in medium and light with red centers to keep the home warm 🙂

 And here is a close up of my piecing plan per bear paw block… with the first 4 log cabins pieced on Gloria the Glorious 301a!

 Here was my inspiration block found on Pinterest and shared there by the Stashing Sisters…

 If you are into log cabins…mine are not quite as intense as theirs… but I think it will work!!! lol

In closing this long post… I want to reward you with a glimpse of the Valley Eagle!!!  A bald eagle that lives in this area but we had never seen him… until the day before we got these photos and this day too…

 Here is my dd… now in Kentucky with some of her tribe.  We have a growing friendship now that she is grown up…she is in the center with Jasper the 6  year old sitting on her back! lol

So until my next post … NEXT SUNDAY!!!!  Have a blessed week and…