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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Lots of Fun Ideas Bubbling Up!

First I want to open with a Happy Father’s Day to any Dad’s or Dad’s to be or Step Dad’s in the reading today!!!

I have lots of fun things to share in this post… first let me start with a great announcement!!!

I am 33% done with the quilting on my current hand quilting project… This will be linked over at Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday post too right HERE 😀

Here are a couple close up views showing all the different thread types I am using… 

 Yes, my thread stash is quite fun!!!

 And a view of my view and the quilt frame in full… I am working on the red row just up from the bottom of the frame presently …. ROW 5!!!

My progress slowed a bit this week as I watched vids and stitched learning how to make a divided caddy for my honey for his Father’s Day celebration 😀

He was a wonderful support for me in looking at things from a guy’s perspective as I raised my kids… and he is also the father of a son himself who is also grown… now that we are enjoying empty nesting though… I thought I should make him a bit of a Father’s Day something and this fabric yelled to be included….

 Train fabric… like the tracks we have running right beside our home… and like the trains he loves!!!

 The inside fabric I covered in vinyl to make it water resistant watching a video by Sara Lawson HERE…  I used Pellon MATTE vinyl I ordered via Walmart and picked up there for less 😀

 This divided caddy has ribbon I had in my stash for handles but otherwise the instructions came from a youtube video by SewSpire… HERE 😀

I will say that Sara’s vid is quite comprehensive and if you follow her channel you will be blessed to find out she has Sunday night and Tuesday evening live shows where she shares some of her bag making knowledge….

Andrea’s videa for the divided caddy was easy to watch  but harder to put into reality of sewing… I was happy to have boxy knowledge and sewing background to figure out some of the finer points she didn’t explain… I had watched A LOT of videos on different pouches and totes before I found this perfect one…. and as you see my honey ❤ loved it and put it to use right away in our bathroom holding his man stuff for shaving and whatnot!  SCORE!!!!

Still waiting to be done is his pillow top….

And layering that charity quilt and starting the machine quiting on it.  But my honey… who is still suffering with his sciatic nerve flare on the right side…  (thanks for those of you who have been inquiring and sending up happy thoughts and prayers for healing)… decided to do a bit of painting yesterday to finish the kitchen… he got most of it done but still has some cutting in to do before he had to quit for the day and rest his body.  So the counter I would layer on is full of painting and household stuff he took off the walls… lol!  So…. I have an excuse not to iron all that stuff and layer it up today anyway!!!

Have you heard of Jacquelynne Steves ???  She is a home decor and quilting super star and she is starting a 4 block BOM in August but you must sign up soon …

It will finish like this… however I plan to make the 4 blocks in the center (Only 1 block made per month with her FREE pattern if you join the BOM group) 

And instead of finishing her way … I will do the applique and embroidery and piecing with her guidelines… and finish with one of these kind of ideas maybe…
These ideas are for finishing a panel creatively… but this should be about the same size… we will see… I just don’t need a large wall hanging but a medium one 🙂

So wanna give it a go??? Come ask to join my closed group facebook group where we share all things quilty … hand or machine quilting / piecing / home decore… and general chat like this! 

Patchwork Friends 

We have the links there too to sign up for Jacquelynne’s QAL and will be sharing our progress there as well as there is a facebook group Jacquelynn runs and she shares her link when you sign up for the QAL 😀

Here is Shakespeare in the Park by Judy Martin … I have a book this is in and am planning this as the second quilt for our bed… I plan to do something more like the quilt on the left but the directions are for the quilt on the right… hmmm… will take a bit of mind bending to cut it out right !lol  We shall see how it turns out once I start with the leftover of my current quilting project 😉

And here is a swoon block renovation I LOVE <3!!!  I think this would be fun in our kitchen supersized a bit … and in cream and reds… lol with the blue sky still… I have some fun fabric for that!

I got my official hard copy of my Drivers License for North Carolina this week too… goood until 2026 😀  Yipee!!!!

 So until my next post … make time to Live a Life you Love!!!

And if you aren’t already a member… I hope to see your invitation come through Patchwork Friends facebook group by clicking that name above ❤