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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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 ~

May is a Marvelous Month!

Happy Sunday!  Today – May 17, 2020 – marks 3 years now we have owned our Cassie (Nissan Rogue)… and later this week I will celebrate 9 years as a blogger here too!!!

So smile and grab a cuppa and see what all has been going on around here this week 💖

Last weekend after blogging and reflecting I quilted on Appalachian Delight… I will share that in just a bit 🙂

First I wanna share photos I got last Sunday from a couple of my kids…

Brandi – My Darling Daughter

Mike (my youngest son) with his fiance Kristen

I am soooo happy to have heard from these 2 precious people!!!

And I finished this version of a table runner that day… but I couldn’t leave it as such … while still in flimsy form..

 So I used my new seam ripper from Holli Jo and…

Removed the top piano key border and repinned each intersection and sewed it back on….

Ta dah!!!!  Now it is off to Jannessa’s to be quilted with her talent. 🙂  I will bind it in the dark red I used for the diamonds… all this was an old kit Jannessa was destashing… so I took … SCORE!!!

I managed to get the right outer border done after rolling the quilt last weekend…

 Here is another sashing picture…

 And a cool view I caught for all of us to enjoy…

 Time to Roll!!!!

 And progress is being made from the left side of the quilt to the right side now!!

 Left outer border and inner border are done… and a sashing is done too!

 And this is what waits for me today to work on….

I am linking this great progress on slow stitching this week to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching Linky Party HERE… come see what I am talking about if you haven’t visited Kathy before!!!!

I am also linking with my HQAL group that has some new members since my last posting with them 3 weeks ago…

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

One thing I enjoy doing while slow stitching all those stitches is listen to audio books and boy did I just finish a GREAT book that kept me on the edge of my seat… And it has a twist at the end… giving it a unexpected happy ending too ❤  I love that!

Look into a audio book service called Chirp… it is an app for your phone, pad, or tablet..  They run sales all the time on audio books so you can get great books for inexpensive then … and you OWN them!

I did buy a paperback book on embroidery stitches… to expand my use on the red work I am working on … while I was perusing my purchase my honey brought in some fresh roses from our yard and presented them to me with water and a sweet vase my bestie gifted me in the past…

Here is a pic I took of Julius … my handsome 301!

 Flanked by my magnetic pin dish… my newest addition a felt and wool pin cushion Jannessa made me… my snip scissors with fob I love… and that awesome sharp and easy to use seam ripper!!!!

Thanks to my super sweet friend Holli Jo… I got an infusion of fabric this week…

Yes there are a couple fabrics in here as shirts for my honey and some for my stash… some for upcoming projects and some I am turning into reusable cloth napkins for our new table runner 🙂

I spent most of the day yesterday figuring out how to cut out the fabric to make this rag animal…

 It is for my grand on her upcoming 1st birthday so I need figure this out 🙂  Have you ever made a rag animal like this?? I can’t find any help online for the process and patterns like this are much different from quilting patterns for sure!!!

During our separation from others we have….

Loved on Molly…

Took a fun selfie…

Planted flowers at the base of our flag pole…

 And repotted the daisy we bought… with 4 or  blooms showing…

 Look how pretty they look post planting…

 Above you can see that rock building… that is our local post office! 🙂  Between us and the post office is a river and a railroad tracks too!!!

Here is a photo of that Gerber Daisy showing 7 or 8 blooms now… I took this yesterday using portait mode on my camera and love the colors better I think! 🙂

How are you spending your days as we isolate more to let the virus die down??  I would love to hear… in the mean time try this in the mornings…

And remember… life is what you choose to make of it ❤  Make it GREAT! 

And I hope you enjoy the blog header and colors I went with for this coming blog writing year 🙂

Mother’s Day 2020 – Lots of Progress to Share!

I hope if you are a mom of human or pet… you are celebrating!!!

If you are a dude I hope you make the mom in your life feel special!

It has been a crazy week full here at Daisy Meadows!!!  Come on in and relax and read and see what I have been up to 🙂

Four years ago this week my honey finished building, staining and sealing my Hinterberg quilt frame (built from a kit we got at Hinterberg dot com… you can call them too… based in the USA).

This picture is at our home in Florida 4 years ago!!!

Now this week in our North Carolina home…

 I rolled the quilt in the frame and started working my way from the right side over to the left side now in the wide sashing ….

That frame is probably even better than when it was brand new as it still had to be broken in a bit then 🙂  I love this frame and all the love that went into making it for me… like we enjoy seeing quilts we have made wrapping our loved ones too!

Here is a photo that came across my vision this week so I saved it to share with y’all!
My first quilt… machine pieces and hand quilted with the guidance only my bestie Connie could give!!!

 We no longer have that bed … or mattress set! lol  But we do sleep under a hand quilted quilt always.  This quilt I use on my feet now.. and I have used some of it for pillows too 🙂

Last week I got this cool red work panel in the mail… I found it on eBay … it is made by Marcus Brothers…

 I am planning to cut each square I use in this wall hanging for our kitchen … but first I will redwork them all!  Starting with this percolating coffee pot here…

 I found some vanilla fabric in my stash with no selvage but 100% cotton and a nice weave for stitching through… to use as a stabilizer and to hide any dark red that may show through each block…

 See now how opaque the background is and how nice the coffee pot shows off…

 The thread was a welcomed gift from my BFF Jannessa… I am sew blessed with 2 of the bestest friends a girl can imagine!!!!  This is DMC 498 …

(you can see that I didn’t have that stabilizing fabric in the photo above!)

 And here is how far I got this week since just starting mid week or so…

Linking this post to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching Linky HERE <<<<

Speaking of great friends… I have yet another great friend who remembered me for Mother’s Day….

 Yes… Holli Jo sent me a seam ripper made by her cousin’s family and picked out to be similar to hers with the North Carolina flower… dogwood… on the handle.  Isn’t this amazing artwork to make a seam ripper from such?  HERE IS A LINK to her Etsy shop too if you are interested in adding something like this to your sewing notions… it is SHARP too!  The link will open in a new window too so you don’t lose your place here 😀

When I saw it come out of the package I knew it was from Holli Jo… I am sew blessed Y’all!  Her cousin included a sweet note in the well packed gift and a sweet little bag to hold them both 😀  I felt so special to receive this item!!!

Then I have been doing some piecing on some flying geese for a future quilt and also turning a quilt kit that was just started to cut and not finished… into a 62″ x 18″ table runner for my kitchen….

Above is my ideas … I have gotten farther but you’ll have to come back next week to see the flimsy I will hand off to Jannessa for fmq… my honey loves her fmq-ing on our bar table runner because drinks don’t tip easily and it stays nice and flat because she is GREAT with her fmq!!!!

Look at this quilt that inspired my friend Connie… I love it so thought I would share it here…

And here inspiring me… is a Gerber Daisy we picked up when we lucked out and found a little place open selling flowers… we got some cheddary orange colored flowers for around our flag pole… we got a pot for the Daisy and when the freezes are over and they are planted I will share a photo with you >>> Yes it froze the last 2 nights below 30 degrees here!!! CRAZINESS!!!!  And our sweet Molly … freshly brushed … she loves looking pretty!!!

Here is a meme I found… PLEASE when you can’t social distance… WEAR A MASK!!!

 So what is the joy in the story you are now living??? What is a new normal thing you have learned to love that you didn’t initially…

I have learned to love being alone with my honey and our pooch… she is a joy and he is a hoot… I am definitely more blessed than I realized to be quarantined with the crew I am with!!!

I have had to learn to balance time that I listen to news though.. my honey needs more news info than I can deal with so headphones are a blessing at times!

Hope to hear from you below in the comments…