Flag Day 2020 & LOTS to share :)

Come on in and grab a cuppa something yummy y’all 🙂  Please leave the virus at the door and come celebrate the American Flag today !!!

My Bitmoji

This flag photo was proudly taken this week as we enjoyed some rainy days and some blue sky warm days!  Summer is only next Saturday y’all!  This week is the end of Spring !!! 

In the USA  we are celebrating Flag Day today too… remembering the history of our country and our flag as it has evolved to 50 wonderful states and more territories besides those too 💖  

Though we have unrest at the moment along with a long lasting pandemic continuing… 

I am proud to be an American  & I do pledge my allegiance to this flag 🙂  I am also happy to have friends from other countries that visit my blog too!  I am sure you are proud of your country’s heritage too!

After I snapped the shot of the flag… (not knowing how cool a shot it was in the sunshine outside)… I snapped this shot… I love the flag shadow showing on the ground… it is close to noon that day…

 Here is a close up of our thriving marigolds… Rick definitely babies these new plants and now they aren’t needing much extra water 🙂

 While I showed you my new rolling chairs I got last week ( my birthday is July 4.. they were my present )… my honey decided he wanted AND needed this brush guard or bumper for the front end of his new mower… so here it is all looking like it should… wonder why John Deere doesn’t include this in the initial sale??!!

 That front piece without the bumper there… should it get damaged is several hundred $$ to replace when you find one!!!  The bumper cost us under $100 and will protect that fiberglass body ..  and it looks smart too !!! lol

We are on bloom watch with our Amaryllis we planted last week I shared with you…  LOOK!!!!

 And yesterday ….

Look a second bloom is coming up too… Rick is talking about staking it too once he knows what that second stalk will do.. it may balance itself ya know. 😉

This plant growing is my delight in these turbulent staying home times too!!!

Another major happening this week is that I got a haircut!!!  

LOOK how much I needed it… sooo much hair!!!!!

And now…. MUCH cooler and more comfortable ….

But Lest we Forget the biggest EVENT this week ,,,,,,,,

Our sweet Molly – Poo Shih pup – turned 2 years old this week as well ❤  

She got this cool new collar and had extra play time and a stick to chew on too!  She loves to play outside and inside playing keep away… she entertains herself well too… Very well mannered overall 😀  And notice in the top photo… she is sleeping on a hand quilted wall hanging my honey doesn’t like but it coordinates with our kitchen and Molly loves having her own quilts 🙂  I love that our pup loves my quilts!

Our kitchen got a spring cleaning and decor update for summer time…

Rick did not like the log cabin wall hanging I had made… it was not his style he said and he likes this blue red and cream quilt…. so he hung that up after I removed the spiral log cabin quilt that had been there… it lightens up the room vibe quite a bit I agree!!!

Once I finished with the table runner binding and labeling… and it got washed and dried… 

 Even our previous napkins look fine!  YAY 😀

Here is the label I made…

 And some of the great quilting done on this… here are some texture shots I took for myself to share with you and for Jannessa to share with her friends too to show off her work!!!  WE loove it ❤

Jannessa donated the cool backing fabric and the batting as well as the fmq… boy I gotta think up something AWESOME to thank her now!!!

Once that handwork was complete and kitchen was spruced up clean… I was back to focusing on hand quilting Appalachian Delight… working on completing that 1st square…

 then another…

 Now I sit just past the halfway point of this row …. working on the 3rd block over from the right 🙂

Still loving the sturdiness and reliability of these new chairs I got… YAY !!!  Check out that photo above for the swag detail I am quilting into that right hand border… You can click any photo I have shared by simply clicking the picture to enlarge it 🙂

Here is some hand stitching I found particularly thrilling on Pinterest this week…

Linking all this hand stitching of binding, quilting, and embroidering to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching HERE <<<<< Come see what everyone is linking up today!!!

There was a bit of a tragedy this week when we went to clean the hummingbird feeder that was made of a hard plastic… it melted!  It wasn’t that hot a water we cleaned it with we didn’t think but it was mis-shapen for sure!!!  So we bought a glass one at our local hardware store…

 The hummingbirds were hovering to drink from our last feeder… and this one they stand on the perches and rest and take long sips in the heat of the day!!!  We love this new feeder better 😀 

So sad time becomes a happy accident in our quarantine! lol

My middle child and youngest son is getting married next spring… I want to get him and his bride a book to start them off right with relationship information to build a strong foundation so I thought I would get them this book…

Do you have another you would recommend to go with this??

In my bird group on facebook I found this quite cute… 2 birds… male and female mates are eating out of this guys hand.. isn’t that amazing what wildlife will do?!  I love this 🙂 

And as I close this posting… I hope if you are walking around with your mask on .. and you see sad eyes in another… give them a smile.. it will radiate from your insides out your eyes to them!!!

Ellie says share a smile too!

Have a blessed week my friends and thanks for spending time with me!

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Sew Much Hand Quilting Fun ~ Ellie’s Quilt Reveal and Connie’s Swoon too!

Happy Sunday Y’all!  And Happy Father’s Day to you that have a Father in the House too ❤

Here is sweet Molly, who just turned 1 year old!!!, modeling my new fave spot to be in when I am NOT hand quilting at my frame 🙂  We also found this fun fern when shopping for just $5!!!  what a deal !!

In my view has been this most interesting flowering bush… it is a hydrangea in pink, blue and purple with a bit a white even all in one bush!!!!

 How does that happen when the color of the flowers is due to the acid in the soil… or so I thought… maybe a hybrid??  But it didn’t come up last year …. hmmmm!

Then next to the front door we have this mammoth hosta plant that dies back each winter and comes back stronger and more brilliant the following year!!!

 This year our neighbor (who harvested the strawberries from our garden space) says we will have some Muscadine Grapes to make jam with… he says he will teach me 😀

 We have 3 or 4 peach trees all FULL of peaches…

 And a GRAND old Willow that needs a good trim down low but has been here longer than we have been inhabiting this land I think… or so we are told that !

 We celebrated Flag Day this past Friday here in the US…  in keeping with that we had found this cool heart shaped flag theme wall hanging that found a home under a flag that adorns our wall….

 I haven’t been spending too much time at the sewing machine this week but Thursday was …

And here is a photo I sent to my bestie … she works full time plus some… I have all day to stitch by hand or machine… she doesn’t…

So where have I been spending my time???  Well Ellie and her parents got her quilt… waiting patiently for a picture of her with her quilt and afghan…

These are both hand done… the quilt I designed just for little Elliana… it is machine applique for durability… but all hand quilted including the binding 😀

The afghan was a gift to little Ellie from my bestie Connie!  See she included a label she had made too ❤

I enjoyed making that collage… but lets take a closer look at the quilt I spent so much time on in recent times…

I started working on this quilt March 15, 2019… I completed and mailed it on June 8, 2019… just shy of 3 months of work!  🙂  It finished at about 50″ x 60″.  It is all cotton and soft and snuggly after washing and drying as seen in these photos 🙂

To the left you can see how I added the label and framed it in the corner of the quilt… right bottom is my fave spot for a label … 

Here is the fabric marker I used for the label…

 I got this in a 2 pack on Amazon.

Here you can see all the cool texture the hand quilting created on the back side.

It was loved upon receiving it and they called to gush over how happy they were with not just the quilt but also the afghan too… the afghan is about 36″ square and perfect for discreet breastfeeding or bundling up in the car seat too ❤

With that mailed off I spent a few days catching up on housework and doing a bit of piecing with Julius my new to me 301 vintage Singer.  Soon this empty frame was calling me back though 🙂

 Here is the backing fabric I pressed completely … it is a wideback fabric designed by Lori Holt and it divine for stitching.. not as heavy as some widebacks I have used !!!  She got this at Fabric . com I think and it was definitely worth it… I will ponder my next quilt backing purchase better after feeling this AND quilting it too!!!

Soon I had my Hinterberg quilt frame loaded with the backing in the front 2 rollers…

 And after a nice overnight break from frustration during loading the top and batting… I remember what I had forgotten to do … and woke up and loaded it all by myself 🙂

I made this spammed photo for sharing on facebook 🙂  And to help me remember when I started this project.

 The pattern is called “Swoon” and these are the original 24″ finished size… they now have other sizes available… my bestie pieces so perfectly it is such a pleasure to stitch on her piecing.

When she came early in the spring to drop off the quilt top and backing and batting… we premarked most of it using the blue water soluble markers we had on hand… but since that time I have found a different brand that I get quickly from Amazon… a link to Amazon USA site is HERE!

They are quite affordable at $15 for 10 markers and each one lasts a good amount of time… even if they are small in size they hold a good bit of very water soluble ink!

Soon… after several on phone consultations and several photos exchanged … I had this photo that we both liked…

 Then this much…

 And finally made it to the sashing 😀

 Today I am working on finishing the second swoon block quilting…

 And here is a view from above for you all to enjoy 🙂

I am linking this hand quilting extravaganza post to:
Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday group HERE
and to Wendy’s Peacock Party HERE

But most excited for my latest group to join that only requires hand quilting progress to post every 3 weeks!

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

I did a quiz on facebook this week and got this result… I found it fun and humorous 🙂

I am complex, quirky, imaginative and experimental… all very true about me 🙂

 Here is a photo I took in my front yard of me… and a black and white of my darling daughter and her man…

Here is a cool old Singer we sold this week too…

I hope you enjoyed this long winded post and I hope you will visit all the links… and enjoy the hand done creativity each shares!!! 

Have a blessed week ahead… it is just 2 more weekends before it is JULY !!!
CRAZY HOW TIME FLIES!!!!  So don’t waste a MINUTE of it ….

Crazy Busy Week Y’all ~ Come Read All About It!

June is being crazy busy for us !!!

Sunday evening I finished up the hand quilting on Elliana’s quilt!!!  YAY 🙂  I was promptly exhausted and Molly was promptly excited to see I was cutting it off the frame 🙂  She is soooo cute I had to snap a photo of her on the quilt as I cut it loose! lol

Monday I sewed on the binding , made the label and sewed it on … and Tuesday I got a new do for summer time 😀

Y’all it is SHORT back there… but I totally love that she left the front long enough to do something with still 😀  I am not due to have it trimmed again until September but I am already contemplating late July to keep it up a bit better! lol

And look how beautiful the daisies are looking this week with the rain on them … we started getting rain mid week !!!  YAY  (Our pond is back to getting water to it again.. our river was very low from lack of rain here in the mountains!)

 I took a better photo of the table runner showing the machine quilting on it… I really like this piece in our kitchen decor now too 😀

 Look at this heart shaped flag piece we found when thrift shopping Monday… found a home real quick in our decor!

 And we got a 5′ x 7′ rug that Molly has promptly decided is her play area 😀

 I wish you could see her… she brings all her toys and treats here now to enjoy them and rolls around on the carpet to rub her back and play for her toys… she loves it!  Sew funny to watch!!

She turns 1 year old Monday the 10th !! YIPPEE 🙂

And look at this quote I found this week…

Then look how proud my darling daughter looks with her GED certificate in hand here…

Here is her official diploma she shared with me …

I am so proud and excited for her!!!!

She also starts a job now next week at the school where she took her GED classes… she passed above the expectations of the course too… and had fun teaching some of her classmates math … her favorite subject 😀

 I won Julie Cefalu’s giveaway for May y’all!  I am MEGA EXCITED about this ❤

 The Crafty Quilter… aka Julie…(HERE is the blog post she posted after contacting me<<<) contacted me early in the week and by yesterday I was looking at all these goodies 😀  I am stoked !!!  I never win anything I enter but my hard work and perseverance paid off here… look at my winning lot!

 Julie has her own stationary and she wrote me a very personalized not for winning… she did substitute for the Moda  2019 hand towel this cool label fabric and a spool of 50 wt Aurifil (my fave thread ya know) … I love this substitution… the other fabrics are 1/2 yard but mostly I am excited for the Ruby red Olfa 45 mm rotary cutter!!!!

 I am a July born baby and ruby is my birthstone and me and my honey’s fave color together too ❤

So to celebrate winning we finally bit the bullet and ordered a “bistro set” … a couple of cozy oversized chairs that swivel and a table that is glass top but not see through and larger than we expected…

 Here you can see our front yard a bit better and how it sits near our flag pole on a concrete slab that was there when we bought the house… we used it for a burn pit for paper trash… now that is moved to near the river for burning purposes where it is more safe anyway and we have claimed this space to enjoy sitting (when it stops raining )…

No complaints about the rain but I will be glad to enjoy this newly claimed spot!

I am not showing any more of the quilt but little snippets until next weeks post when they have received the quilt… but look at the cute label I made here…

 And here is the 3rd corner as I rounded each one during the week and busy stuff was happening…

 Finally Friday nite I placed the last pins and stitched all the binding down using my favorite new stitch the ladder stitch I shared a while back in a picture tutorial here…

Linking my slow stitching finish that mailed out yesterday to it’s new home to: 

Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday HERE <<< where she is sharing some hand embroidery and other linkers are busy sharing hand stitching of all kinds too!!!

& to

Wendy’s Peacock Party HERE <<< where she is sharing all sorts of goodness and close ups of a Lucy Boston quilt I LOVE!!!

 This week I ordered fabrics and made a proper pattern for the basket themed pillow shams to coordinate with my daughter’s graduation quilt she will be coming to get sometime end of July around her birthday she says 😀

To the left is the pattern I fleshed out when I wasn’t able to sleep one night…

To the right is the fabric that I didn’t let myself near until the quilt for Elliana was done 😀  I love torturing myself but I loved more playing with the new fabrics!!!

Going through my stash I knew I had a bit of nice white fabric for the flying geese … and some more grey in the steel color I bought… but the colors are a tad off on the grey… so I may make the grey fabric I had be part of the back of the pillow shame and keep the new grey fabric to be the pieced front part of the pillow sham 🙂  

I am enjoying this project more now that I have started it too!!!  Playing with my latest gift from my honey, Julius, is amazing too !!!

 And before I knew it my other new rotary (Clover green 45 mm rotary) along with the 28 mm with a fresh blade (great for trimming to size all those hst’s)… had this top part of the basket laid out 🙂

 Molly got a new toy this week… she got filthy dirty in the dirt and rain by the river that runs through our yard… so she got a bath and brush out… she looked so good I had to grab a photo of her and her new ball toy too on the rug 😀

 And here is Ellie at 2 weeks old… they will call Elliana that I think 🙂 

Isn’t this the cutest photo of a baby!!!!  LOL I am sew in love with her… I think we will be going there first part of July for my birthday!!!

In closing, I want to share that my honey went to the hospital with low oxygen levels this week too… We loved the EMS crew that took him on oxygen to the hospital but our local small hospital pales in comparison to his regular VA experience 2 hours drive away when he had his hip replaced and where he sees his regular doctors…  His oxygen levels are still NOT stellar but not as low as they were either… please keep him in your thoughts and prayers this week that the doctors can figure out what is going on with him and provide him with medication/technology to help it get better… for now he has increased his oxygen level he receives when he sleeps.  We are hoping he doesn’t need oxygen during the day though!!!  Take care and remember…

In LOVE with the Lazy Daisy !!

I can’t believe this paradise of a home is ours forever !!!  It is just so exciting 😀

I have NEVER felt as I do about a place as I do about this place… in the valley of the mountains in rural North Carolina is the place for me!  Now I am soo happy I left my retreat in Fla for THIS!!!

Rick got a RC boat that I snuck and ordered for him… watch the video here if you are interested…

It zooms around our pond for sure and was a fun kind of thing to get amidst all the work we have to do still! lol

Meanwhile I have been unloading boxes and enjoying the view from here as well…

I never tire of the grist mill running… we do have to divert the water to it when it gets below freezing outside but hopefully those nights are now behind us for the year!

I shared last week how Rick got my shelves in the closet for my fabrics… and how I filled them UP!!!

Well this week I have focused a lot on those Kaleidoscope Krazy blocks I have worked on for a while now!

Above you can see me working on them… and below you can see me counting my progress…

 Those little purple circular things are Dove eggs… dark chocolate… yummm!

 Organized my 60 finished blocks above

 And further organized the 72 blocks to go on top of those in a styrofoam tray I harvested for this project… works great 😀

Then I focused on my leaders and enders I had been building …

they look like they need a border and binding to be a baby quilt! lol  We will see if I make it bigger or finish it and call it done!  This was my 1st time to stick with a leader/ender project long enough to do anything with it!

I also put up some memorabilia decor in the sewing room…

And decided instead of buying valances for the sewing room I would somehow rework a vintage improved 9 patch I have been hoarding for A WHILE… to make a set of 2 valances 😀  So stay tuned for that feat!  I do appreciate having my ruler holder back up though!

In the living room area I have been working slowly on slow stitching on the wholecloth with no pic to share as it is BORING yawn… I need to focus and get something worth sharing ready for next week… and on the other side of the living room….

I have the relaxing rocker and the big frame ready for new leaders to be put on… meanwhile a flimsy I finished a couple years ago is waiting for borders to be reworked… then it will be ready for hand quilting… I already have the binding cut for this one but the outer border turned out ruffley for some reason so after examining it again I realized letting it vegetate for a while did NOT change it’s situation… so hopefully this week it will get a seam ripper to it. and get ready for the new leaders to be attached 😀

My honey … is a veteran… and we are both quite patriotic as well… so a flag was a must for our new home….

 He got it flying high… 20 feet high to be exact…

 You can see it from the post office and road above… very cool!

He also got the lawn mower back in working order and the deck painted… it was very chipped up!  It looks sooo nice now 😀

Also I was able to snag a full shot of our golf cart… the rear of it makes a seat for 2 passengers or as it is a flat area to carry stuff… that is our primary way to transport heavy things from the house/garage to the out building. 

Do any of you have these little but heavy pattern weights?  They have felt on the bottom but are plastic on the top and go inside a rectangle shaped box when stored… I saw these on a friends blog and she shared this pic with me… I want some!!!  lol

 Here is a little wall hanging I fell in love with… hoping to use my applique skills soon to make something like this for our home 😀

Here is a fun photo I choreographed for my latest guilty pleasure too! lol

Pretty fun that April 1… aka April Fool’s day is also Easter… so hope you are having a blessed Easter!

Thanks for stopping in … hope you enjoyed your visit… please share what makes you happy as this wonderful month of April begins !!!