Happy Last Day of March 2019!!

Get a cuppa something yummy and sit for a visit today… I have a fun share today!

Look at this cute bag I saw on Facebook today… that fabric is by Gail Pan for Henry Glass fabrics (she is an Australian designer) and I LOVE it 🙂  How fun is that!

It has been a busy and productive week here at Daisy Meadows and the weather has been totally fabulous!!!  Today we are ending March with a bit of snow though! lol  The snow didn’t stick around but it was quite interesting for sure 😀 

This week I was at this point Monday… I spent all day Sunday slow stitching last week to get to this point 🙂

And on Wednesday I was ecstatic to find myself here…

 Yep… off the frame and hand quilting complete!!  Then time to sew on the binding 😀

 I used Cleo (short for Cleopatra) my trusty Singer 319w for the job.  And added a label to it as well…

And this binding I decided to try the “ladder stitch” I had seen and used on the quilt front for a mending moment where the seam didn’t get sewn well if you recall a couple weeks back me sharing that.  Look how invisible the stitches are though…

 Here is the rhythm of a ladder stitch… it is really a running stitch where you go 1/4″ in the batting layer then pull through then 1/4″ in the fold of the binding and pull through then back down through the backing to the batting… then back up to the batting fold.. until you are done!!

 It made me giddy to make a binding finish I was proud of!!!
 Here is where I was this morning early…. with about 2/3 completed on the binding…
now I am DONE!  Spent most of my Sunday slow stitching it on with that ladder stitch and I LOVE the results of it… Hope you try this method on  your next binding finish…  Linking this to my favorite Sunday stop .. Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday linky party HERE. 

But before I share the reveal lets talk about the life this quilt top has had before getting this far along…

It got “finished” in May 2016… yes… 3 years ago almost… then it was layered with it’s same backing it has today and same batting it has today and put on the frame for quilting… this was the 1st quilt to ever be loaded on my frame too!!!

This was when I realized how wavy the outer border was… never knew it could happen as it never had for me… so somehow it then became a UFO as I moved forward with other quilts and other projects… I remained unsure how this happened and how to fix it. 

Fast forward to our move to North Carolina when it got unearthed in the unpacking and I realized why it had become a UFO… and investigated on Bluprint how to fix the problem… take off the border was the obvious fix and put it back on… consulting my bestie who is my quilting mentor too told me the same thing!

Well I took 3/4″ off the top and bottom borders in length last month when this quilt finally got a seat back on the frame and WOW!!!  I am so glad I did that… the sides were a bit ruffly in spots still but not like the top and bottom… now for the reveal.. now that you can appreciate how this quilt came to be 🙂

 And to see it in context in the kitchen… PERFECTION!!!

I am linking this finish for the month to Julie ~ The Crafty Quilter link up for March HERE .  You can link up 2 finishes to her linky … my second link up will be another most proud moment…

Wrangling my fabric storage got completed this month… this was on my things to do list she gave out in January as a blank and I finished it this month!!!

There is just a bit of my colored fabric scrap separations… and all of my bolts of fabrics (fat quarters and larger separated by color and some by type as well.  I am really proud of utilizing my fabrics for projects like the applique and quilt making I have done since finishing this organization… and putting everything back away… I even organized my cutting table to only have currently used fabrics on it !!!

I haven’t touched the Rooster EPP this week but I bet I do next week 😀

Daisy… our doxie we rehomed to my bestie in the Nashville area… is very happy with her new home situation… it is a great fit for her 🙂  Her granddaughter took this photo and I just fell in love with it!!!

Our Molly keeps me company as I stitch and loves to hang with Rick as he work in his building or relaxes in his recliner… she is full of energy but getting easier to tame these days… she is now 9 months old so still very much a puppy… lol!  But settling in to life in NC 🙂

Now that I have the wall hanging done… I had my honey fold up the quilting frame and I brought back in the PVC frame that holds the wholecloth quilt…

 this quilt has history too… it is now 4 years old in the making of it since I took the first stitches… it is a large queen sized quilt and will grace our guest bed whenever I finish it… it is about 1/3 or a bit more done at this moment.

Here is my current position on the quilting and all the threads I am using! lol ….

This will be a momentary quilting period as I love to hand quilt each day most of the time… This quilt I am working on will be next up on my frame but I am waiting to get it into a proper flimsy finish… almost there (just some machine applique and a couple seams to add the appliqued strip to the quilt body and I am done with it!!!)  … and waiting on batting to come that I ordered last week.  So no rush atm… but I want it done by end of the April or so…

No quilting plan decided yet on this one… ideas anyone???

Linking this near flimsy finish that will be my goal for the rest of this Sunday with Wendy and her Peacock Party HERE… I am surely happy to crow about all the work that has happened between this becoming a flimsy and the quilt getting hung in the kitchen too ❤

Look at this cool artwork decor piece my honey made with his awesome crafty skills…

This actually came from some treadle irons we have been carrying around with no center parts available to make it into a usable treadle base.  We never had the centers only rescued the side irons.  We reckon they are from about 1900 or so. 

Rick came up with this idea from an inspiration online he saw and made it come into being… we sold this one and have another sold when he gets it made up… gives all new life to the cast iron too while maintaining the original patina of the center part 🙂

Here is a great thought I found online this week…  you know the internet can be food for thought in a positive light if you choose it to be…

 We sure are.. and I am glad we are!!!

Thanks for stopping in this week… I hope you leave a comment if you made it to this point of my post… I would love to hear from each of you and thank you personally for the visit time!

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Surgery a success & LOTS more to share!

Hello to March 2019!!!  Here is a snapshot of my calendar this month….

“Journey through life happily and full of joy”

I turned the calendar soon after we returned home from my honey’s right hip replacement surgery.  Before I get to that though… look what I completed before we left to go to Asheville for his surgery!!!

 Not only are the colored bins below all organized and put away neatly as possible but almost all my wrapped fabrics are organized too..

It took some finagling to get the fabric and the scraps all organized in the closet of my sewing room but I did!

All that is left is to address the elephant in the room now… my cutting table with all my civil war fabrics from the last 2 quilts on it… not ready to organize them yet because I have pillow shams to fashion for Appalachian Delight that I am adding borders to this morning! 🙂

I put this quilt up for sale this week… 

 The fall wall hanging quilt sold last week….  this is the only one I still want to destash.. it is a lovely quilt but just doesn’t fit our mountain decor here … so hopefully it will fit someone else’s decor and find a fitting home.  The fall wall hanging got glowing feedback when the person received it.

Also before we left for our journey to surgery… I started cutting out and assembling the Diamond Clutch Wallet that I planned to make into a wristlet!

So Sunday and Monday were busy days… I doubt I touched the hand quilting on the wall hanging but the sorting did take a front seat and that is hand work of sorts… so I feel I accomplished a lot getting my sewing room in order before we left Tuesday to drop Molly at the groomers for a trim and boarding too… and then on the Asheville as the VA was putting us up in a motel before surgery to be close by for a 6 am arrival time.

 We found the motel and spent a sleepless night awaiting a 4 am wake up call from the automated motel system.  The VA was only 15 or less from our motel though so that was a definite blessing.  We also found parking close to the front doors to go to the pre op waiting room and Rick was changed and ready for surgery by 6 am as scheduled!!! yay 😀

Here is a photo I took the morning after surgery… for our best friend Connie.  He was so happy to be able to be out of the bed and up in the chair under his own steam with leadership from a great occupational therapist and physical therapist too… the day of surgery was rough all around but the next day was GREAT… and soon he was actually being discharged!

While he was running laps around the surgical unit I spent the night at a great place called the Rathbun Center… think Ronald McDonald house for adults.  It was a beautiful hideaway behind a subdivision of Asheville and is monitored 24 hours a day… your stay is free or they accept donations and they provide some basic food stuffs but you can cook and store food in their kitchen… watch tv in public spots… use a computer in the library or relax in your private room with bathroom.. very nice… here is a photo of this sweet spot…

It was ramp accessible which made it a perfect fit for me… so when Rick has to have his left hip replaced (near future we think) I may try to get an appointment to stay there again as I only stayed 1 night and thought it would be 2 or 3!!!  My honey just did GREAT though 😀

We got home Thursday evening and within 1 hour of getting home we had the car unloaded and Rick had switched walkers to one more keen for outdoors and walked along the flat path to his man cave outside… he loves that spot… and he enjoyed the fact he could walk there by himself too!  This was unexpected for us pre operatively!

Thursday night… as it turns out was his best sleeping night of all our nights home yet.  We each slept in shifts as he couldn’t settle and I was exhausted… so I slept first and deep and good… then woke to catch up on missed hand quilting time… He took a round of medicine for pain and I got him cozy in the bed and he slept with me just checking in on him until 4 hours passed and it was time for more medications… we used the bathroom and we re-positioned him and off to sleep he was again!  lol  He slept another 4 hours and woke to get up and work on little projects around the house he had on his mind… moving around and adding pull bars in the bathrooms… packing something we sold while he was in the hospital… and going to run errands with me in the afternoon  🙂

Saturday I decided it was time to finish the wallet I had started before his surgery…

 Working on the zipper… had to remove metal teeth to shorten it and move the stops to where the teeth were removed required some tools my honey donated to my bag making stash from his tool stash 🙂  I love that we share passions in some ways too!

Tah dah….

 Here is a betting photo of the whole Diamond Clutch Wristlet Wallet I made from a pattern that was very well written with photos and a video for a few parts too…

In the light peach change pocket I added a swivel clasp to hold car keys so they don’t run off on me 🙂  I also put one of my Handcrafted label sin this wallet you will see 😀  I learned a lot making it and think there will be another in the far future for me to make for myself but all together I don’t think the pattern directions could be improved upon !

This weekend has gone so well… last night I sat down and figured and measured and CUT the borders for Appalachian Delight!  This morning I attached the freshly pressed borders and am now planning to lay them out on our kitchen bar to figure the mitering that needs to happen…

 Isn’t this lovely!!!  The center I pieced measures 80″ square and the outer border is an additional 13″ of top quality quilt shop quality fabric I bought for a song in bulk from a quilt shop closing and advertising their remaining things on eBay over a month ago.

Yesterday I also rolled the quilt and will now be going right across the center of the quilt and that top border is noticeable!!!

This morning I have already put in some baptist fan stitches and have 2 of the 8 needed fans complete… I am pointing to my current spot where I will spend this day stitching below with my finger…

Linking this progress to Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday Party HERE << see her applique!!

and 

The Peacock Party at Wendy’s Quilt and More HERE << where Wendy is showing a Giraffe stitchery by Kim McLean that is very cool!

Here is a photo of Molly.. freshly groomed and looking cute and our freshly pre-op organized living room… you can see Fiona behind the sofa now and my quilt frame beyond that…

 Here is a close up of my Fiona… she is a straight stitching Morse and she began this drive to own only vintage machines… we bought here without the beautiful case my honey bestowed on her … for $15 as found on Craigslist… she took a bit of work but she is a fave of mine and will always hold a special place in my heart 🙂

Someone posted this on facebook this week… so I will leave you with this thought… if you Rise … why not Shine too 🙂

Well … off to be busy hand quilting and pressing Appalachian Delight and figure out those miters for the 4 corners… this quilt will be neatly folded once finished as I focus on finishing the wall hanging on the frame and wait for Connie to find time to finish a quilt she wanted me to hand quilt for her bed 🙂  I also am planning a couple toddler quilts for my daughter’s best friends kids…  No rest for the weary… sleep will happen eventually! lol  For now I am just glad we are in love with our life here in NC… every minute of it!!!