Hello Summer and Father’s Day 2020

As of yesterday evening… it is officially summer here in the USA!!

Today is Father’s Day… a day that brings me angst.  My dad & I don’t speak … there are a host of reasons for this… He and my mom are very different from me.  So on Father’s Days for the last decade or so… I focus on the positive role models in my life that are dads….

My grandfather here… I called Papa

 The husband of my children…. Here he is with our oldest child James…

 And the last photo we have of him smiling over 12 years ago now…

 So I felt this meme… really reflected how I felt about these powerful men in my life … as both my husband from the past and my grandfather are in Heaven today…. looking down and celebrating…

 This picture came up on my facebook feed recently…

Remember me working on hand quilting this quilt for Connie by bestie???!!!

Well here it is bound and washed and on her bed!!!!

Look at the binding she chose to put on this quilt… all the colors of the fabric are in it!!!!

 We are BOTH in love with the big stitch quilting you can see in these photos too!!!

                                      

Linking this awesome finish to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching HERE <<<<  Follow the link (it will open in a new tab so you don't lose your place here) !!
 Alex Andersen of “The Quilt Show” … I spied this cool art piece on her wall in a video I watched…

 Don’t we all need a Crazy Quilter art piece to explain us 🙂

Speaking of Crazy.. a couple weeks ago I showed you my crazy sewing room… well it is getting cleaner!!!!

 So I got to start cutting out my youngest son’s wedding commemorative wall hanging I am hand quilting after I machine piece the flimsy…

 Here is some laid out… this may be the last you see of this project though… as I don’t want them to see!!!!

 And look at that gorgeous engagement ring my son got his bride to be Kristen. 

Mike now also goes by Michael in his peer groups so I am trying to change a 25 year habit to not call him the shortened version any longer.

Hand quilting has been a daily thing this week… I am sew glad too ❤

 Above is the base picture for my new header for my blog.   Below is when I finished block #3 on this row I am on…

 And here is block 4… heading to the border!!!

 This morning I worked on the swag designs in the border a bit … I will go back to that when I get done with this blog as my honey sleeps in on Sundays!!!

 So with all the Corona Covid-19 stuff going on… do you worry more??? I know I sure do!!!!

 So this Bonnie-ism is in the forefront for me 🙂  Maybe we could all remember… like a rocking chair or a rocking horse… you can go and go but you stay right where you are… so throw your worries aside and stay safe and ….

 While I was digging through my scrapbooks looking for the pics I wanted to share with you all today… I came across this… Me as a preschooler….and me today!  I have my Papa’s silvery gray hair now too that replaced my reddish blonde locks!  I love that 😀

So as I hang on…

 I have found lots of ideas online this week that inspire me… Like this double wedding ring with a star block where the joins go….

 A flower quilt that comes together row by row by Lisa Capen Quilts on Youtube…

 And this quilt… after I finish the quilts in some sort of progress I would love to get this pattern … It is an older Fons and Porter pattern called “Pinwheel Star” but I have been unable to find it online yet as a pattern to buy so I may have to draft it… hmmmm!

 Amaryllis Watch!!!!

 These photos were taken Tuesday or Wednesday

 Then Thursday the bloom opened but only half heartedly in the late afternoon….

 But Friday it was wide open… with 5 more to come from this stalk…

 And look at the second stalk… it will have more blooms as it grows and matures taller…

 Now the second bloom is opening on that first stalk… and the other 4 are looking bigger!!!!

 Molly got her groom on yesterday and she is feeling so refreshed from her groom and wash!

Speaking of Molly… she is snoozing in with her dad right now!  Happy Father’s Day to my Honey too ❤  Here is a photo I took the other day of the 2 of them ❤  They have my heart for sure!!!!

Thanks for stopping in… please leave a comment if you have a minute… I love to reply to all the comments left for me💖  Thanks 😀

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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!

Getting close to a Finish Here on Swoon!

This Christmas week has been one of my favorites as an adult y’all!!

And I have been an adult a LOOONG time!lol

Last Sunday I showed you this pic… just rolling to the last row of this Swoon Quilt…

 And I showed you this beginning that I had gotten to before I wrote my blog… I love to hand quilt!!

 I  have been focused this week on just a few things… mainly this Swoon though…

Above the first swoon is complete as is the sashing to the right…. 

I did the same with Swoon # 2 this week… leaving only Swoon #3 and the right hand border …

THIS is where I can be found today… If not there… I will be visiting one of you from Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching Linky Party… you can visit too RIGHT HERE <<<<  

Or playing with my newly discovered bracelet…

 Here is the table my honey made for my best friend Jannessa!!!  This weekend while her grand that loves to be crafty was visiting and they were sewing together at this table…

This gift from my honey to her will last a lifetime I think!

I try to keep a couple different projects going to give my hands and body and mind a rest from time to time…  This past week it was making the shirt I had cut out for my honey a couple weeks ago…

 First get everything pressed and ready to go… THIS TIME I made a collar piece out of cardstock to hold my place there for pressing without getting steam burns on my fingers… this works like Clover’s Hot Ruler made of a non burnable plastic 🙂

And I finished it… and by the time Christmas came around all the fabric I had ordered with my $100 Christmas Cash from my honey had come in… look at all this loot I have to use for next year!!!

 My Daughter In Law – Heather – sent me these beautiful photos of my grand Elliana …

These photos of her make me smile…I 

I made a new tree topper star for our little table top tree…

Molly got caught looking pretty!!!! 

Christmas Day Dinner for us… 

Molly’s Christmas present from Max… 

 Is a squirrel with a squeaker in it… she loves it’s sueded texture too!!!

 Here is a pretty cool piece we recently found and improved it and made it into an art piece and sold it…

 I have been using something like this that I changed a bit for my needs… to organize my time!!!

 Here is mine in action… I like writing with a different color each day 🙂

Are you doing anything different for 2020 or trying a new organizational system like I am to track progress or find some lost time in there???  Do you make new years resolutions??? I do NOT! lol

Finally… I am next working on some curtains for our bedroom… do you have a pattern or understanding of cutting out the top swag curtain valance — pictured above to the right?  If you do please leave your contact info in your response below!  I would appreciate someone to chat with before I cut the fabric 🙂

Swooning about the final row AND a Surprise!!!

Happy Christmas Week Y’all!

It has been a busy week around here… how about you?  Stay focused on my post today… at the end there is a SURPRISE!!!

First I must tell ya I have spent all week hoping this present would get there and it finally did yesterday!!!  I shared this pic last week…

 Now I can share these photos too!!!

And inside I added a specially bought label for this bag for my darling daughter… and as you can see in the photo to the left… I put feet on the bottom.. she loved it ALL!!!

I finally finished the machine quilting with a walking foot on the wall hanging…

 I sewed the binding to the front and spent a good bit of the week hand stitching it down to the back using a ladder stitch.  Then washed it and dried it and….  Tah Dah!!!!

 Here is a view of what you can’t see because of the tree…

 And a look at the sentiment on the bottom …

I really enjoyed making this and this is probably what I look forward to most in next years indoor decorations 😀  It makes me think of the generosity of my friend Jannessa who gifted this fabric to me then supported me as I did my least favorite quilting … that by machine and guided me in learning some patience with that way of quilting too ❤

My son sent me this photo of him and his girlfriend at a family event they went to…

Here are some mug rugs I made… 1 for Jannessa and 1 for her granddaughter Addi 🙂

 Our new business cards came in…

 I picked up a couple books I had ordered through the library system…

 I got a nice sized baby quilt for future use…

 And a layer cake I plan to use for a quilt for me and my honey in 2020…

The actual layer cake is on the left… I ordered from Hancock’s Paducah off eBay and they mailed it flat… LOVE THAT!  To the right is all the fabrics in this layer cake… LOOKS LIKE hardly NO REPEATS!!!

Here are the 2 blocks I will make into a quilt for us I think…

 Here is a Christmas funny for ya…

I also worked hard all week at making progress on the Swoon quilt and finally got this to show!  The final row is all that is showing now!!!!

 I finished the left border and made my way into the first swoon top…

 Y’all this is SEW EXCITING for me… unfortunately my bestie who this is for is working a crazy schedule at the moment… so she is unsure when we can meet!  So I will finish but the above photo is the last one that will be taken until we meet for her to get it!  Saving the best row for last too !!!

I am linking this hand quilting glory to Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday HERE <<

And to my HQAL sisters too this week !!
Hand Quilt Along Links

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, Kathi,  Bella, Daisy and Connie

Finally for the Christmas SURPRISE!!!  I am offering a giveaway!!!!  

A great book of quilt patterns “Romantic Quilts”… a pattern by Poor House Designs that is complete… a fat quarter of polka dots fabric by Tula Pink and Free Spirit fabrics…. and a blue water soluble marker (my favorite kind) for marking your quilt ~ useful for machine or hand quilting !!!

Leave a comment…
Share your favorite topic of all my December posts… I have been busy this month so there is LOTS to choose from!!!  Leave your response in the comments below INCLUDING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!!!!  I need a way to contact the winner!!!  This has been a problem for me in the past so that is a requirement of this giveaway… no email address in your reply then no entry.  I will draw the winner Wednesday morning for my Christmas day delight!!!

So scan my December posts and leave me a comment on this post for an entry to WIN 🙂
This giveaway closes on Christmas Day, December 25, 2019 at noon EST – 
USA only for this giveaway due to weight of the giveaway items all together 🙂

 ~ Merry Christmas!!! 

Last minute stitching continues along with a whole lotta FUN!

Happy Sunday Y’all!  Did everyone make it through Friday the 13th with no issues?  Are you superstitious???  I had a great Friday getting lots of things finished up here … also did a bit of perusing online!!!

 Aurifil shared this sentiment… and this has been a lot of my week!  While perusing online though I also found some free patterns to take into the new year with me…

 This Idaho Lily I think is also similar to a Carolina Lily… the directions seem very straight forward!!!  I am excited about this.

Here is the quilt that grabbed my attention…

 and

So I will make this and Jannessa may make it too..  we are hoping to use our stashes…and I already see hand quilting ideas !!!

2020 is also going to be a time I focus on a embroidery panel that will make into a little quilt once the embroidery is complete… more on my Miss Jane Doll Quilt I plan to make in the new year 🙂

Molly got a much needed trim.. she doesn’t like to be long haired she enjoys getting groomed too!  Funny girl that she is Jannessa and her daughter Whitney do a GREAT job with her though 😀

My daughter Brandi… wanted a backpack purse for Christmas so me and Jannessa each made a Savannah Backpack Purse from a pattern I found online… I can’t say it was the easiest to follow but it did come together in about 5 2 hour visits together!!!

I am accustomed to Sew Sweetness patterns with an accompanying video I think…  It is definitely not a pattern for a new bag maker in my humble opinion though… but they are made and are very sturdy… Jannessa is showing hers on on the right… I will share the front when it has been received … probably by next weekend!

I added a book to my hand quilting library of ideas for hand quilting….
I plan to make a snowball block quilt alternating with a second block to give an overall secondary design to a quilt and use this book for ideas for the snowball blocks and the alternate blocks to show off my hand quilting flourishes 😀  I am sew excited about this project… but I can’t go further until Swoon is done…

We found this cute little machine in complete and appearing able to sew chain stitches condition at a cute new shop to us this week….

I love vintage pink sewing machines… even just the color is delightful!  It sold quickly! lol

I finished putting together a wall hanging for the kitchen behind the Christmas tree… we still have our turkey wall hanging up! hahaha 

 This beautiful panel and coordinating fabric was given to me by Jannessa… she loved it when she bought it but has too much Christmas stuff now and wanted to know if I wanted it … well YES!!!!  So now I am working into making it a machine quilted and hand quilted finish 🙂

I had to add a bit to the back because it was only 1″ wider than the front … so I pieced in a diamond and added some green fabric for a festive look!

 Soon I was layering, marking and pinning the quilt …

 Organic lines using registration lines to keep me mostly straight happened across the panel…

 I use garden gloves from Dollar General that come 3 pair for some small amount of $.  They fit loose and make me sit back every 10 minutes or so to readjust everything but that is good!  Those organic lines went quick and look great I think for this wall hanging…

 Being silly I sent a shout out to some of my fellow vintage quilters in a couple facebook groups… they liked the trio of photos 😀

 I took the quilt out of the machine and worked on finishing those bag straps … I also used this time to chat in depth with Jannessa who loves to machine quilt… on how my path should go to quilt this and it look it’s best.

With her words echoing in my head… this morning I got us and took a shower and hit the sewing… I am making great progress but I am going slow and steady this time so as not to overshoot where I want to be….

Here you can see my morning spot as I enjoyed a cup of coffee and walking foot quilting….

The other place I was prior to this quilting time was enjoying a slow quiet wake up stitching on the swoon quilt… let’s see what I have to share this week with you!!!

Last Sunday after blogging I came here and worked….

 Soon I was into the border…

 Before I knew it… It was time to ROLL!!!!!

 Y’all … I started this Swoon Quilt in June of this year and have worked on it fairly steady most every week….  Now it is about to be complete… it will take a bit of my heart with it!!!

 Here is my start on the left side border on the middle row of swoon blocks…

 Now here is the center of the swoon itself getting quilted….

 And when I complete this blog writing and visiting time… I will go back to the center flower and finish stitching it and mark the lines in the right side of the swoon block and finish it next 🙂  I love this quilt and quilting it for Connie!

 This is all that is left now… surreal!

I got 3 different homespun type plaid fabric lots in 1 sale on eBay!  Giddy to get it I washed it and pressed it then prepared it for cutting my honey out a new scrub shirt…

 I made a fresh pattern… the other was out of size now and was crumply… it needed replacing… to do this I iron roll type of Freezer paper wrong side to right side and it sticks… not a hard hold but good enough 🙂  Cut out your pattern then add tape if needed…

 I was blessed to win these handmade pattern weights from Virginia Lindsey of Gingercake Designs on Youtube… you can see the video where she makes these exact ones HERE <<<

 In early October … Jannessa found an all wood table on Marketplace and her daughter and sil went and picked it up for her because it was large and hard to carry….

You can see in these photos the top is a yellow color wood and the sides and legs are wood painted white … a farmhouse look.

Jannessa wanted it to house her 2 most used big sewing machines though… she asked Rick to do this for her… it took him a bit but it is just waiting on varnish now… several coats but the design and construction is complete!!!

Here is the table now… new legs… beefed up table top with 2 drop downs for her machines and it is all 1 color now!!!!

 She brought her machines over for a “final fitting”  and all passed with flying colors…

 That is Jannessa and her grand that came over with her.

And down below is a beauty shot she took of her machines in their new homes…

 I saw this meme early one morning and grabbed it… do you have a time of day you call “your own”???

Mornings is that for me… my honey goes to bed late and sleeps in late because of that.   I enjoy flitting from one project to another watching progress happen on house chores or sewing or organizing… whatever I am doing so this spoke volumes to me… and I do love sunrises!!!

I don’t talk outside crafting  and creating much… but I wanted you to know that I do believe… do you?

Thanks for visiting my blog today… for more hand stitched things and for all the random hand stitching I have done and shared from this week I link to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitchers crew HERE <<<>>>

Meanwhile come back next week.. there is bound to be a surprise on Sunday!!!!

Dreamy December Goings On Here – 2019 Edition

As Christmas nears across the world … we are preparing here too!

 With Stockings hung by the fireplace with care…

 Notice Raggedy Ann has moved to the fireplace… well the shelf in the kitchen corridor has been reorganized while dusting occurred as well 🙂

 All our Christmas faves ended up on this shelf… the Angel is from Connie as it is the Mountain Christmas sign from last year 🙂  The little Hallmark treadle sewing machine is from Jannessa… and the little boat vehicle is an ornament we didn’t want lost in the tree… it is named the Jolly Roger and has much significance in memories to my honey.

Then below… is baby Jesus in the manger scene… I love this simple nativity better than our big one.

 So you can see now that it has a place of honor too…

Here is our tree this year.  It is new to us and it needed LOTS of additions to fill it in … but I think the fabric looped garland… silver sparkly garland and some extra lights and ornaments we love to open each year… was quite fun to decorate this 4 1/2 foot little tree. 

Then there is our 20 foot tree outside!

 And you can see our snowman looking at the tree…

 The view from the post office is quite awesome too!

 And looking from farther away… you can see our up on the hill neighbors lights around their home too!!!

So Monday we had snow here in North Carolina… we got about 1″ all together and I took a short video for ya…

It was quite enchanting to have an early snow though!

Our bathroom was a easter egg green color – quite startling and not relaxing at all!  Now a nice creamy color!

Jannessa and her hubby Alan came over last Sunday afternoon… and it was Monday morning early when I happily finished this table runner … aka placemat for our bar…

 Here it is ready for me and my honey to enjoy too!

 Also Jannessa not only free motion quilted the table runner but this table topper for Connie too!!!

 She did such a nice job!!! Connie received it Friday and LOVES IT ❤

Also received in the mail this week was Holli Jo’s wall hangings I made.  She posted this on facebook to share what I had made her and she is giddy to finish her quilting schedule she is on to hang them…

her sewing room is rearranged atm… hanging both are out of the question for now 😀

I love the collage she made and the friendship sentiment… made all the work that happened on these wall hangings worth it!!!

Yesterday Jannessa came over and we made snow flake ornaments that are of Scandinavian descent from THIS tutorial.

Here is Jannessa’s on her tree…

 And here is mine ❤ …

 Finally… I can share that I am at the end of the row on the Swoon Quilt 🙂

 I am working on outline of the third swoon then on to the border so I can roll once again!!!

 Here is a look from afar too…

Today I plan to work on that third Swoon bottom… and also to work on my daughter’s bag I am making her for Christmas… so no pics here of that!!!  Linking my hand quilting and making stuff by hand progress to Kathy’s Quilts – Slow Sunday Stitching linky… come see what everyone is up to this holiday season … RIGHT HERE!

I also have a wall hanging for the kitchen that will be a mix of hand and machine quilting to finish it post haste but nicely… Jannessa has given me some GREAT ideas on straight line and organic line stitching I can manage I think!

While I have been writing this I have been chatting too with my 2 best friends… and listening to THIS SONG 😀  How about you … are you drinking something yummy or listening to some seasonal tunes??? 

Leave me a comment and…

Swooning into December 2019!!

Wow… December 2019 Y’all!!!

Keep looking up Snoopy says!!!  Here in the mountains of North Carolina USA we are due some snow tonite or tomorrow!!!  Let’s see if that happens as it is 50 degrees F at this moment… that is the high for today though! lol

Jannessa sent me this photo the other day….

 She loves the placemats I surprised her with and decided to hang her new winter cardinal wall hanging over the table that coordinates so well… maybe I should look for some cardinal salt and pepper shakers too! lol  I love how her table finished up!

Molly our Poodle / shih tzu mix has been in rare form lately…

 Above… not wanting to miss any of our conversation she fell asleep in her travel crate while me and my honey were in a deep discussion about painting the bathroom…. Then a couple days later she found herself in the mirror from the bathroom as it was being painted.

 She can’t decide if she knows that reflection in the mirror!  She is very curious though!!!  And below in her fave relaxing spot between her daddy’s legs….

 In a group I am on with facebook creators… they asked us to share a selfie of ourselves… well here is mine!!!

This is one of my fave with the sun coming in just the right angle and 3 weeks post hair cut so all looks good…lol!

But Swoon quilting took the main of my week… along with a secret project I should be able to share next week in my post as it should be received by then…

 Above I finished the row of medallions….
Below I made deviled eggs… a delicacy we rarely have and both thought would be fun to enjoy for Thanksgiving…

 I didn’t take a photo of the food we decided to have but I can tell you it was delicious… a T Bone steak and baked potato and broccoli.  YUMMY!!!!!  Then back to Swoon time and time to roll the quilt on the frame…

 These are the final 3 swoon blocks to quilt!!!!  Look below you can see more clearly the top of the quilt!!!

 I send progress reports to Connie… and this was one…

 Soon I was outlining the bottom 1/3 of the swoon block first in the line …

 And today I will finish filling in those blue lines to fill in the outlined swoon block… do a mini medallion and make my way to swoon #2 for the same areas…

I am linking this Swoon-tastic progress to Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday linky post HERE <<<  Come see what everyone else is up to ❤

Also linking with all my HQAL friends…
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, Kathi,  Bella, Daisy and Connie

It has been a GREAT week all together with much accomplished… but much left to do 🙂  So off I go to accomplish… Keep your head looking up and ahead… not down and looking back though… Snoopy Says So!!! lol

Lots of hand quilting progress to share this week!

 November in the USA is a time to recall all that we have to be grateful for…. even my calendar this month reminds me this is a month of Thanksgiving!

Our Christmas Cactus is busting out with gratitude and showing off these awesome bright pink double blooms all over!!!

 And I am a step closer to finishing the bag for my daughter by adding a hidden message for her to see….

 It is hard to read but in cursive it says “You look really pretty today” … I just had to buy the tags for this project 🙂

Mainly this week I have been hand quilting… beginning with a new row Monday morning.. I did slow stitch quite a bit last Sunday so I could let the area I was quilting dry from being spritzed then roll down….

 This was my first area to see…

 and by mid week I was here…

 Now today I am working on the mini medallions beside the big medallion shown here…

Linking this lovely hand quilting I am sharing with Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitchers HERE <<<  Come see what else my friends are stitching up!!!

 I did make a couple of surprise finished place mats for Jannessa…

She loved them… I washed and dried them too but forgot to get a photo of them both… each features two loving cardinal couples 🙂  These are to use at Christmas and since that is next week for decorating up the house after Thanksgiving I though I may as well gift them now.

Then after a long rainy few days… my honey got out in the rain on our back deck at sunset & got these photos!!!!

 And this one too… both from our back deck looking over our pond…

 So a shorter visit for you all for this time as I have several secret sewing projects I worked on too! ❤

For now enjoy my new closing and share what you are up to too in the comments!  See ya next Sunday!!!

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!

Busy November….

Wow this month is non stop so far y’all!

My honey made some yummy spaghetti this past week… and last night I heated up some leftovers… even BETTER!!!!

Today is our Molly’s birthday day 17 months ago…

I made this collage… she spent Friday getting groomed while we ran errands around Asheville!  She had more fun though 😀

My great friend Jannessa keeps her when she is groomed and Jannessa has a white poodle named Max that is Molly’s good friend too… they love to play and nap together 😀  We are definitely blessed!

As we were leaving… her husband blessed us by sharing some home laid eggs from his chickens too!

I snapped this shot of our back yard…

 From “across the pond”! lol

And here is just a small portion of all the limbs we picked up using our golf cart to haul them away!  It has been VERY windy and cool here in the mountains of North Carolina!!!  But I am loving it and so is my honey 😀

Last Sunday I asked you all for pattern suggestions for a table runner / placemat we will use in our kitchen from these fabrics Jannessa gifted to me…

 Many of you liked the pattern that came with the fabric… a honey bun and some yardage enough for this pattern.  So I designed something similar that would meet our longer length and skinnier width requirements…

I had fun designing it… and have the colors already picked out in my head 🙂  This will be fun… I hope to start on the piecing this week!

I will also be making Jannessa some place mats that are a bit smaller than the traditional placemat and more the size of some I made when we lived in Florida… you will enjoy seeing those come about too I bet…

But for my HQAL friends and for my Slow Sunday Stitching friends… I finally have lots to show this week!

There are 4 rows of swoon blocks on this quilt and I am on the top of the 3rd row!!!

Here I am just starting the outline stitching with regular 28wt Aurifil thread outlining each swoon section that will then get big stitch quilt with Aurifil 12 wt…

 Here is a photo showing the stabilizing stitching and the big stitching all done…

 Now I am on to the medallion bottom part as I move later on to the 2nd swoon top in this row 😀

 While in Asheville Friday… and again last night…

I worked on blanket stitching by hand the crochet thread around a block for my crochet quilt in the slow making progress.  This is my long term handie project… all by hand once the squares are closed and the fabric is the same on both sides 😀

Above you can see we were listening to some music, enjoying a soda and stitching as we chatted 😀

Earlier this week I was watching one of my faves on a facebook live chat and she posted this question….

 So my challenge this week … as we enter the busy holiday time is to take a breath and a few minutes…
 Ponder this question… what are your answers to 5 things you are most thankful for?

Write them down and keep them on the mirror or by your work station… remember what keeps you grounded 😀

I want to shout out to Kathy’s Quilts for the Sunday Slow Stitching link up HERE <<<  Come see what all the chatting is about this week including all of Kathy's finished and starting Gail Pan designs!

I also definitely wanna say hello to my slow stitching sisters in the HQAL group too >>>>

Hand Quilt Along Links

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, Bella, Daisy and Connie

Come play along with a link up every 3 weeks … contact Kathy if you are interested … she is the first linker in the list of names 😀

Our colors in the mountains aren’t as brilliant as they were last year because we lacked rain at the end of the summer and into the fall… we are caught up on rain now I think… but that lack of rain made us miss out of leaf looking as we drove to run errands and such.

I hope you each have a great week… I am thinking of 2 of my sons’ having birthdays this weekend <<<  One is 29 and one is 25… both are settled and happy so sew am I for them !!!