Hand Quilting Has Started Again and There is some Exciting NEWS!!!

The air is starting to feel a bit autumn-ish with a cool undercurrent noticed from time to time here in the mountains of North Carolina!

While you are staying at home if you know these 2 things and how they work together … what phone are you using to call all your friends???!!!

Me and My friends use mainly Verizon Wireless for our phone service 🙂

  But finding a facebook friend shared this Ad … I had to pass it along to you all!  I grew up using Bell South phones… who woulda thought we really would have video chatting in 2020 to get us all by!Me and my besties got new shirts.

Connie got one too but she has been working so much you just get to see me and Jannessa in ours!!!  We all love these new shirts I picked up for us from MSQC 🙂

While I am sharing Jannessa above… I wanted you to take notice of her new grandchild Grayson in her arms… he had a stricture in his small bowel that typically doesn’t show itself enough for fixing til babies are about 1 month… well he is and he is having that stricture removed and is currently recovering in the hospital being watched as he eats and digests the food!  Keep him in your thoughts.. his parents are worn out and so is his Nana Jannessa!

Being her first set of nail polish strips.. she didn’t like how 1 was put on … so the following week she sparkled it up a bit!

Jannessa did make time to put on a French Manicure from Color Street Y’all!

I love that sparkly nail mixed with the french manicure too ❤  And she shared some extra Color Street she had with her oldest grandgirl Addison! She is 10 and has such sweet hands ❤ All these hands were bathed in good quality products too!  This Mineral Fusion brand from Amazon! At the beginning of the week I really found this quote spoke to me and motivated me to focus on stitching… As I finished stitching “Kristen”s name… I remembered a video I had on different embroidery types on Bluprint … *now changing back to Craftsy* Jessica Marquez is a great teacher… See how she did back stitches along the top and bottom line she wants to make a satin stitch around.      So left is my progress finished with names and starting on the year they are to marry… and the left is even closer up 🙂  Very pleased with this … And once all the embroidery was complete I remembered I had this stuff…and a soft toothbrush to scrub off any showing pencil markings!  IT WORKS!!!!  Look for it HERE Now it was time to sew that last seam together I had left it apart for the embroidery 🙂 This is my 301 Julius… He is amazing at closing up this seam! I gave the quilt top (flimsy) a good press and then checked out How Far apart do I need to plan my quilting for this batting??? 8″ apart is GREAT!  I won’t hand quilt that far apart but good to know it is a sturdy batting! I am blessed to have several hand quilting friends who are wiser than me…  1st advice… treat the stripes on this quilt top like it is one piece of fabric… 2nd advice… treat the faceted heart like a faceted diamond with V shapes all around showing it’s brilliance 🙂  I loved this idea!!!!  And here is a close up of how that looks>>> I have a eye shadow applicator & I fill a bottle lid up with water and dip that spongy end in it to remove marks when I am marking with my blue water soluble marking pen 🙂  Works GREAT!

Finally … I have the quilt top all layered up now… it measures about 40″ x 60″ wide.. remember this a wedding surprise for my son and his bride to be… so no showing the flimsy in full here but you will get snippets as I work on it ❤

And in this shot you can see my focus today.. I will probably still be working on the faceted heart part of this quilt… but you never know!  It was sure nice to get thimbles back on my fingers!!!!  

Linking this progress of getting back to slow stitching my favorite way to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching >>>> HERE 

and with the gals too at HQAL

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, Tracy, Deb, Susan,  Nanette,  Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Gretchen, Kathi, Daisy, Connie, Monica and Sherrie

And the BIG EXCITING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!

My Darling Daughter Brandi… that just visited me … got ENGAGED!!!  Timmy totally surprised her and ME!  He also had a family member video tape the event for those of us not in KY at the moment!

That is what their ride in life is like… you have read about me and my friend’s ride… how about you?  

Share in the comments what your ride is like now… after all the changes we are all experiencing!!!

Have a blessed day Y’all!  Thanks for visiting and have a safe ride!  

P. S.  It took 2 hours to write this post due to new blogger interface… I hope this gets easier!

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How about some FACE time during the continuing Pandemic!

Little Ellie’s sweet mama (my daughter in law ~ Heather) sent me photos this weekend y’all!  I am tickled pink!!!

 And Ellie appears to be too…

I had a good hair day this week and snapped a shot… now I am wondering if it isn’t the color of the shirt that pinked me up instead… maybe BOTH! lol
The new shirt will get a better reveal in a future episode when it will be apparent why I am not showing it yet… it is quilty!

My friend Jannessa had a new grandson named Greyson born not too long ago… he is a little football player already we think! lol

Even Molly got a photo taken after succumbing to a much needed bath and brush out this week!

This weekend we are also expecting our first visitors since the pandemic started…
 It is my daughter Brandi’s 22nd birthday today and she and I will be celebrating all day… this post is being written Saturday afternoon… too excited to nap so I am writing to you all 😀
Her boyfriend Timmy is bringing her and they will stay for a few days!!!

And they did arrive last night and we are gonna be fine ❤

I did sew 4 masks this week for a good friend who requested them….

 But mainly we have been cleaning house and mowing grass… all the chores are getting outta the way… I have been slow stitching some…

 Split stitch with 12 wt perle cotton in Marine.  I also got in the color for the year of the wedding…

 and my daughter found the back of my work to be neat and tidy so I thought I would share… I have some WOVEN fusible interfacing on the white fabric I pressed into place before stitching…

… the interfacing is white too…. the batting I purchased for this project is white and not cream as well!  It does matter on this kind of thing I think 🙂

and this is where I am at now…

Linking this progress this week at Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday linky HERE <<<  

I am sure no one there is stitching slower than me!  But let’s see what happens THIS WEEK!! lol

Also Kathy is asking for YOUR feedback on a couple vintage quilt tops this week… I don’t have any 2 cents to help with this but if this is your area… please go take a look at her post above at the link 😀

I am loving wearing Color Street nail polish strips… I have never enjoyed polishes but always felt pretty when I did do my nails… my nails are healthy, strong, and growing!!! Not chipping or flaking like usual… I will continue to share this journey…

Wish us well as we try socially distancing in our home during a family visit… please stay safe yourselves everyone…

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!

Come on in and see all I have been up to this month! Happy June 2020 :)

Hope YOU are Having a Happy

Last Sunday I made lots of progress on Appalachian Delight on my frame…

 So this week … I marked and quilted the right border and working into the right side of the quilt into the first square top to finish ….

I didn’t quilt as much as I thought because…

I got a new chair for my quilting frame and loved it soooo much I ordered another and am sitting in it as I type to you 🙂  It is from Staples in the USA and is named Sonada… this is their brand of chair and very sturdy and a 7 year warranty !!

This week I did make a bit of progress on the red work piece I am stitching…

I love this rooster and there is one on this panel that faces the other way… 🙂

I had to use Cleo and a walking foot to add the binding to the front…

 I found a perfect piece of white fabric … to make a label on the back of this table runner…

 I used a Pentel Fabric Marking Pen in black to do the writing and set it with a hot iron no steam.

Then it was time to start working on sewing down the back side of the table runner with the binding…

 You can see I use a few wonder clips when I sew bind on a quilted item…

 Here is a closer look… between the picture above and the one below I hope you can see the cool quilting that Jannessa did for us to enjoy!!!

 Oh I hope I can get this finished and washed and in use before next weekend 🙂

I am linking this handy progress to 2 different places this week as it is HQAL time HERE….

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, Tracy, Deb, Susan,  Nanette,  Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Gretchen, Kathi,  Bella, Daisy, Connie, Monica and Sherrie

Secondly I would like you to take a minute and visit Kathy’s Quilts for more fun Hand-y Ideas right HERE <<<<

This week has been a tough one in US History for sure 😪

I am happy to chat with you each privately about your thoughts on the topic… And because Mr. Floyd was originally born in North Carolina… we celebrated his life and reminded ourselves it could have been us too… with a half raised flag for the day Saturday during his Memorial in NC, USA …

 We did this because we believe Black Lives Matter… as do ALL LIVES <<<<  But this meme says it best… feel free to copy and paste it for your own use if you like!

But I hope to wish you all well this week.  Our Covid 19 numbers continue to rise here in the USA.. this is also a topic I won’t bring deep into my blog post today but can chat offline all you care about this…  

We did plant our Amaryllis that is starting to sprout in it’s container in the dark on Saturday… right here.. 

 So here to the left is the front of our home… and tothe right in the center of the picture you will see a sprite of green in the center… that is an amaryllis trying to sprout but it was root bound in it’s container so we are experimenting with this…. planting it in the ground where we can watch it 🙂

I now belong to a bird group on facebook… we have some bluebird families living in our bird houses but this is a great shot by someone in that group… caught as the blue bird parent is coming to feed the blue bird baby.  Sew sweet!

Here are some flowers from our yard to end this post…

I hope they bring a smile to your face 🙂

Stay healthy my friends ~

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!

Making it through the Pandemic of 2020 with Crochet!

Happy Sunday Y’all!

I found this cool saying for us to think of as we are trudging though this Pandemic 🙂

What story are you living … can you find joy there somehow some way???

I know sooo many had plans for this spring… vacation. weddings.. etc and now it seems we are stuck in this long lasting Pandemic across the world.

I have been crocheting on my crochet quilt this week…

 I did finish up all the machine quilting in the center of each of the 39 squares… I now have 4 crocheted around and am working on number 5!

 1st round….

 Second Round…

This is the point I stopped at last evening… I will be linking this very slow stitching progress to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching Linky Post HERE <<<  Come see what other amazing slow stitching others are sharing too 🙂

I have also been making more masks this week… with some spilling into the coming week that I just didn’t get finished yet….

I did trim my hair this week.. it was so long on top… so I just did the front… I cut my honey’s hair (I always have cut his hair so this wasn’t as crazy as me trimming off my own! lol

While sewing masks I won 2 different colors of thread on bobbin chicken when changing bobbin colors…

 Last week I shared the binding I was working on for Jannessa… it got done last Sunday and is ready to deliver back to her for her wash and gift her daughter when the time is near for the baby to come.

 Sweet Elliana enjoyed Easter festivities at her home… her mom sent me these photos…

So as we continue to trudge though this pandemic called Covid-19 the Corona virus… Stay safe… Stay Home… and follow this Prescription I found online also …

Have a blessed week and thanks for visiting!

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 🙂

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!!!!

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 !!!