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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More than sewing… but that was the funnest part! lol

Hi Friends 🙂  I saw this on facebook somewhere this week and saved it… 

Sewing is the blissful part of our days isn’t it!!!  Well in the spirit of FULL DISCLOSURE… I wrote to y’all last Sunday morning and this was in our river…

But by Sunday night we had it up in the right hand photo of the collage and by Monday night my honey was driving and mowing again!!  Just running out the gas he couldn’t get to empty from the tank! lol

Well.. when something happens to shift your perspective.. like your only lawn tractor taking a 15 foot drop with your honey on board and both eventually walking away … simply AMAZING and energizing too!!!  So what is a girl to do that loves to sew???  Well… SEW!!!

Early in the week when we were on edge I finished 2 swoons in my sleeplessness during the night…

 But by the time I reached the 3rd swoon I was ready for a break and life was slowing down… our mower could be fixed by my honey we realized at this point!!!

 I took a photo of 4 of the 7 primed blocks to share with you this week too…  While he was practicing on the mower and working out the kinks in the mower I stitched these outside… VERY PORTABLE!

 And while I slow stitched I enjoyed a month of free Netflix…  I have most enjoyed Mary Poppins returns… Emily Blunt did not disappoint!!!

Linking my slow stitching progress to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching gang HERE <<<<  Come see what is happening over there today 😀

While I didn’t make a ton of progress slow stitching I am not disappointed in my week as a whole in the stitching department because I got some major items off or active again on the UFO list…

 These lovely boy quilts are for a couple boys who are close to my dd Brandi… she had requested these several months ago and I pieced them then.
What is fun about each of these flimsies is that they were each made from extra fabrics I uncovered from my deep and donated stash items…. I uncovered this group and didn’t buy a thing for either quilt, backing or binding!!!

First I took them from being stored off to the side to layout out on the design wall where I measured and determined how much batting each needed and  used the rest of the batting I had in a basket waiting for these quilts 😀

 then I layered up Simon’s first…

 And quickly (about 1 full day of stitching) machine quilted the top into a quilt…

 Here it is ready for the binding to be sewn down…

 And the label my daughter and her beau helped me figure out …

 Binding in process …

 And  a view from the back 🙂  I sew the binding down by hand… this is what I am linking to HQAL group I belong too….

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

Soon I was itching to mark and layer and start the stitching on the other quilt… as these do get shipped together !!!

I printed off my picture of the flimsy (quilt top) and drew on it…

 Then I took my white chalk pencil lead and a ruler and marked the quilt top 🙂

 Soon it too was layered up with pins and I was cross hatching the center panel 😀

Cleopatra and Julius… my 2 vintage lovelies … have handled all these jobs quite nicely!!!

Linking Simon’s quilt progress with Wendy’s Peacock Party <<HERE… I didn’t think these quilts were even on the horizon to find a place in my line up at the beginning of the week.. now they are both almost done!!!  AMAZING!!!

Also today I linked this project…

And this project ….

As finished for the month of July with Julie ~ The Crafty Quilter at her link up HERE <<<

Here is a great meme a friend shared on facebook this week… this should be EVERY DAY!!!

 Here is sweet Ellie… just passing 2 months old … I am a proud Gram for sure 😀

 Jannessa … my new friend … is making great progress on her wall hanging…

 She got the center medallion stitched and is making wonderful first stitches 🙂  We have a play date scheduled for later this week and we are both looking forward to it…

While doing yard work and playing catch up we noticed butterflies around our butterfly bush and took a bit of a break…

 Here is a black and white lovely butterfly …

 and light yellow and block…

 And a rose for you each…

 Connie’s progress on the Rooster project… I am LOVING it ❤

 My latest read in the bedroom is a quilt instruction book but it is written like a Quilt Folk mag really… quite enjoyable!

 Here is a great Bonnie-ism from last week…

We know we had a close call last weekend… we are extremely grateful to still be here for each other also… maybe that is where all this energy came from! lol

Or maybe from the update rx my doctor gave me for my arthritis pain when I saw him this week 😀

Have a blessed week y’all and don’t take any of it for granted… you are here for a reason!!!

The Lazy Daisy and Sewing Adventures too !

While Spring on the calendar started a while ago… it is just now springing up here in the mountains of North Carolina! 

So Happy Spring Y’all!

Here is a view of our pond and the back of our home on a panoramic shot…

The building on the far left is our pump house… then those big trees across the pond are Bradford Pears that have bloomed and now turned green 😀 … the grist mill or water wheel with house is next then my honey has his “mancave”… a 500 sq ft building for all his woodworking and home reno stuff to be stored… plus stuff for the garden and plantings all over this property… finally is a greenhouse and outdoor storage from the mancave.. and the Valley River is viewed on the far right… it is a busy stream that never dries up… we are thinking that is the difference between a creek and river! lol

In our pond (about 1/4 acre large) we have rainbow trout, bass and crappie in there… we realized this week when feeding the fish… there is a nursery where the active grown fish don’t go and it is overseen by a grandma fish who is quite large (over 2 feet long!!!)  The fish we feed are from 1 foot to 20″ long themselves… and they all look quite healthy.. we have yet to find one floating!!!  But it is all a learning experience…

Above is a video of feeding time on the hascienda!  Enjoy 🙂

Onto sewing adventures… first are the curtains I made for the bedroom…

 they are 2 layered and have raw edged covered with binding….

I copied them from the curtains left in the sun room portion of our living room…

But using fabrics from my stash that would coordinate with quilts we have and that I will be making… my goal is to have a quilt to change to for each season 😀  We shall see how long that takes!!! lol

Now that you have seen the sunroom curtains… look at the new leaders I have for my quilt frame…

They are olive green and off white stripes running the length of the poles… I have directions on how much to cut them for proper use… I had a wider fabric than typical quilting cotton so I got to adjust these a bit which I like… makes it easier to load and unload when done!

Someone had asked about my quilt frame on Facebook… it is a Hinterberg wood frame with 3 metal poles.. a 3 pole frame is the easiest and most user friendly to use for hand quilting.  The front pole holds backing  layer of your quilt sandwich… then the top and batting layers get attached to the 3rd pole and pulled taute once the bottom of these 2 layers is attached with heavy straight pins to the backing… This picture may make more sense than my explanation

So if have a 3 pole frame of any brand… try this way of loading … I get great tension with no issues 😀  And there is no pin basting with this hand quilting frame… BUT I have used this frame to load a quilt for machine quilting too to pin baste for that… it is so much nicer than crawling on the floor… small quilts can be taped to a countertop to pin baste… but large quilts twin or bigger… you need a way to baste or a frame like this to not need to pin baste.

Now to my sewing room reno… I have a few craft boxes to unload still but all the sewing room boxes are unloaded and my room is full of fun!!!!  Here is a peek in the door just off the living room now…

 And here is a panoramic view showing 3 sides of my sewing room…

My cutting table is waiting for a large cutting mat… my cutting mats are all gouged up… I had replaced my Olfa cutting mats with Fiskars only to realize the quality was NOT the same… so I have an Olfa 24 x 36 on order now to fit my cutting table and get it in order…

Above the cutting table is my ruler holder my honey made me several years ago from plywood… it works sooo good!  Next to the right is the closet I will show you in depth below in pictures… it holds all my fabric and notions and batting and stores my scraps and books… LOVE THIS CLOSET!!!

next is the window with a great view of the river and my honey’s man cave… with pics of all my friends with friendships to span a lifetime! 🙂  To the right of the window is a chest I want replaced in the near future that holds my hand quilting marking pens/pencils/chalks… and threads specific to hand quilting as well… plus a few patterns and some glue baste I may use in the never future! lol.

Around from that is Zena my Singer 401a and the Quilt frame my honey made… it has a vintage chair for it now where in the old place it had a stool I couldn’t stand so we left it behind for someone else to enjoy… then my one and only Ott light that I simply move to my sewing spot of the moment… right now I am working on Gloria my Singer 301a… making apple core table topper!!!

Now don’t miss my “k” thread and bobbin holder and the organizer shelf below it… to the right will be my design wall… more on that when we make it but Zena has the flannel for it on her cabinet!!! lol

Above is my closet in snipet shots for you to enjoy… the top right is the next big quilt to go in the frame… for our bed!  My sewing room sign that hangs over the door to this room… and sooo much other fun stuff… we spent under $200 on all the wood and screws for this closet reno … and boy was it worth it.. ALL my stuff is in one room now!!!  Except my hand quilting frames of course! 😀

And now to my darling new project… a string of apple cores !!!

These are about 4″ finished size…

 These are waiting to be joined up… I do a few at a time as it is fun but a bit tedious too!

 I am using THIS tutorial for machine piecing my apple cores… she is a bit hard to listen to BUT WORTH THE LISTEN!!!  If you are interested in trying this project grab a charm pack or some 5″ blocks and a template and lay it out first 😀

Have you seen a corkscrew willow?  Or have you seen a conehead evergreen like the one to the right???  I love this home!!! ❤

 And of course my honey is enjoying the first mow on his completely renovated John Deere… had a deck painting, new blades, spindles, oil, spark plugs, air filter, seat, and leveled… it is now mowing so nice and making a sweet fresh cut grass smell in our home 😀

Now that it is raining he is focusing on painting…

the bottom half of the wall was a pastel green that belongs in a baby room or something… that was the color of our walls all over.. now we have a nice linen color covering them.  A little yellow a little peach and a very light color called Malted Milk and totally elegant with the white chair rail… here is a photo of the wall with the white touched up and all the wall painted and cut in 😀

Well I think this is quite long enough for now… if you would like pointers on making a apple core by machine just ask and I will post more on this next week when HOPEFULLY I will have a finish to share with you all as well!

Have a happy Sunday all and remember….

Another 3d BOO and more!!!

Good morning my blogging friends… Today I have some upcoming projects for you to take a sneak peak at… and this cute door hanger I finally finished around all the showings of our home!  11 in 10 days!!!  Hopefully it sells soon with this kind of traffic 😉

The cute “Spooky” stamp came in a pack with the jewels from Studio G.  The paper is Doodlebug on the pumpkin and some cs I had in my stash for the hanger itself.  When I did my other door hanger here I made 2 out of one sheet… so I just had to put this one together!

I used the Create a Critter 2 cart for the pumpkin like the pic below

but hid countour the piece of candy for this one!  I didn’t cut out the back shadow only the pumpkin face and his backing… then I added stickles to the eyes and inked a Boo I had cut out of the same paper as the hanger with Slate CTMH ink to give it a little pop!

Isn’t he cute!  He is safely holding M & M’s for the receiver of this booing item!

Next up are Christmas cards!  Here is where I am at… it is all cut

And what are the rest of my family doing while I am busy crafting???
Seeing who has the best John Deere attitude of course!  My dd and my honey are in competition!

It is cool and rainy today but it was breezy and warm the day I got this pic 🙂

Have a blessed crafting Friday!

Kathi