the basket doth overfloweth . . .

And I do mean *literally*!

We finished up with VBS on Friday night (well, except for the VBS commencement service on Sunday morning and the VBS visitation and decorating take-down on Sunday evening) and so you'd think that Saturday would be the day I'd do absolutely NOTHING, right?

Wrong.

Saturday was our guild's big Quilt-In!  And since I not only paid to participate, but I was a working member of the committee, you'd better believe I was there, bright and early on Saturday morning!  Unfortunately, I wasn't very prepared to do much quilting during the Quilt-In (I didn't even bring my sewing machine) but I did have some handwork to work on . . .

Yes, I do think I'll have this finished up for a November debut in my mini quilt stand. I wish there was some emoticon I could insert here for *wry grin*.

Hearts--cut from a charm pack of Moda's Chantilly that I purchased--for Miss Olivia's baby quilt . . . 

Which I hope to have finished before she's one.  *grin*

And I also had the presence of mind to bring a couple of notions for the Notions Drawing we had, as well as six fat quarters for the Fat Quarter Drawing (I thought 1.5 yards used would look good on today's stash report).  For each fat quarter brought, you got a chance to win *all* the fat quarters brought.  Same with the notions. And that's where I worked . . . taking peoples notions, fat quarters, and blocks (we also had a block drawing).

And once that slacked off, I sat in front of my laptop and created and produced VBS certificates to hand out on Sunday!  LOL!  Once I finished that up, I put in a movie (a version of Wuthering Heights I'd never seen) and cut and embroidered to my heart's content.  Then it was snack time . . .

Oh yeah, we were treated well in the Quilt-In!  And not just with tasty treats (not to mention breakfast and dinner), but we also came away with some very fun goodies . . .

A treat bag filled with chocolates and some other door prizes (a $5 LQS gift certificate and a seam ripper), a seam marker, and a thank you from the organizer - a pretty luggage tag!

After dinner we got down to the business of drawing names for the notions, blocks and fat quarters. I had our guild president pick the four winning names.  I think we had the most participation in the fat quarter drawing . . .

That basket was full!

The basket went home with ME -- my name was the one drawn!! I was so shocked . . . and so much for depleting my stash a little and making my stash report look good!! Baaahahaha!!!!

There were SEVENTY-THREE fat quarters in the basket, for a total yardage of 18.25 yards.  A return of 12 to 1 on the fat quarters I put in.  Aye yi yi!!

Our evening class was a guild nametag class.  I'd signed up for that and was prepared to go up and listen. My old nametag was looking a little dated . . .

My darling affirmation sister, Sarah, taught the class and gifted me with one of her sample nametags . . . I finished it up this morning by stitching down the binding, adding the ribbon, and stitching my name:

And then transferred all my fun pins to it!

Now it's ready to wear!

We had a blast Saturday, and a blast Sunday, finishing up with VBS.  And today I'm spent!  So one last thing here . . .

The used/donated number reflects the two little projects I had made earlier this month and the six fat quarters I'd turned in . . . which actually netted me quite the intake!  Aaaah well, we'll find some uses for the pretties! Gonna go ahead and link this up to the Stash Report at Patchwork Times!

:)

happy bastille day . . .

How does one make excuses when one has faltered at the blogging wheel, so to speak?  One doesn't (at least this one doesn't) . . . one just marches blithely on and picks up where she left off.  Haha!

Why I feel compelled to post *today* . . . with the first night of VBS just hours away . . . I have NO idea! Haha!  It's how I roll.  I'm so excited about our VBS (Vacation Bible School), though.  We've got a great week of fun and songs and food and good teaching ahead! We spent yesterday evening decorating up the church for this year's theme:

AgencyD3:  Discover! Decide! Defend!

We'll be picking up Sawyer each night to go with us -- and even Ellie will stop by on Thursday night -- which will all make for an even funner week!

I've had a little time to get my quilting on, too.  Got this festive little banner finished just in time for the 4th:

And whipped this cheery little mug rug up for a dear one:

Sawyer's been over to go creekin'.  We had a marvelous day and made some fabulous memories.  Let me share one:

We had brought the minnow net and a bucket, but Sawyer was having no luck "fishing", so he passed the net to me and asked if I'd catch some fish for him. It just so happened that I had spied some tiny minnows, so I swooped the net down, brought it back up, and lo, there were about three 1-1/2" long 'fish' in the net. I exclaimed to Sawyer that I'd caught some, and he was so excited! "I love fish!" he kept saying. So I brought the net over to him and pushed it up from the bottom so he could get a good look. He again exclaimed how much he 'loved' fish and reached down into the net. I was really pleased to see he wasn't squeamish about touching them or handling them as he picked one up. Then, before I could say a word, he popped the little minnow into his mouth! AAaaaAAhh!! No Sawyer, we only eat *cooked* fish!!!!! I think he spit it out then, but I'm not quite positive. Oh well.  Boys will be boys and Sawyer will be Sawyer!

Just so you know, in the top left pic he's eating blackberries we picked . . . NOT fish.

I spent several days with Ellie, as well, while her mommy and daddy celebrated their fifth anniversary in Mexico! We had a fun time, as always!

She's such a dear little dolly!

And we've been tooling around the camp, working on the sanctuary and playing with turtles (I call Todd the 'turtle whisperer' now -- see the turtle coming up to inspect the cricket cage?!).

The bottom left are pumpkin plants -- volunteers from last year's pumpkins! 

And of course the Panter family makes frequent trips up here to visit and play!

Bringing with them the newest Panter ... Olivia Mae!

Isn't she precious?! Already going on six weeks old! 

Better get off here and get busy making "wanted" posters. For VBS, of course!

:)

i'm still around . . .

Ummmmm . . . it's been a while.  But I have NOT fallen off a cliff, been swept away by a flood, or been the victim of turtle anarchy.

Just busy!

Ellie came over and had her first RV sleepover!  She did a great job and was the perfect little overnight guest.  She even helped me make meringue cookies . . .

By being the royal taste-tester!  Haha!

Then I spent a lovely long weekend with Sawyer and June . . .

While their mommy and daddy were in the hospital, having Olivia Mae!

Isn't she just darling?!  I'm completely enamored all over again and so is Sawyer. Can you blame us?! June, on the other hand, is still not quite sure. She's not happy with the fact that her spot in mommy's lap has been usurped!

I've done absolutely nothing quilty/stitchy in forever (unless you include purchasing patterns -- I got two -- more later). In fact, last week I told Todd I really felt the need to get some crafting on, or I'd burst!  We had a ladies' event at church and the theme was flip flops, so I made a little wreath.  

It was fun, fast, and relatively inexpensive . . . only $15 and all my materials came from Dollar General!  I was very tickled with the way it turned out and the winner (we used it as both decoration and door prize) was very pleased!

We had all the kids and grandkids up at the camp for Father's Day.  It was a wonderful afternoon/evening of celebrating and eating and listening to the grands laugh and play!  I'd wanted to get a photo of Todd and I with all of them, but forgot to mention it until *after* we'd eaten dinner, ice cream cake, and played in the hot, humid, buggy camp!  Oh well, this is REAL life!

I wouldn't trade it for all the bug spray in the world!!

:)

stash enhancement time . . .

Overall,  I've added far less stash to my fabrics this year than I have by this point in the year for the past THREE years!  And honestly, most of what I've added I haven't purchased, either, I've been gifted ... the best kind of stash enhancements!  Still, at some point I need to get busy and USE some fabric...

This week's report reflects that best kind of enhancing . . . a double bonus, actually.  Not only was it gifted, but it was FAIRY FROST!!!  My sweet friend, Jean (Jean Creates), thought of me when she saw this packet of fabric, helping a friend get ready for a stash sale . . .

I do adore Michael Miller's Fairy Frost fabric line! And look at the lovely, wide assortment of colors!

The original owner must have purchased the material with a specific quilt/BOM in mind.  These five finished blocks came in the bag with the rest of the FF. I'd love to know what she was working on -- the first blocks are so pretty and I can totally see wrapping up in a frosted quilt!  These look like a familiar BOM to anyone?!

Jean knows me so well . . . she also tossed in a sweet yard of this darling tea fabric . . .

Isn't it pretty? And an Art to Heart book that I didn't have!  I adore these books -- they're always filled with such sweet, do-able projects!  And this one is filled with month-themed projects that can be appliqued, stitched, or done in wool -- and will fit perfectly on my mini-stand!

I like having *options*! Thank you again, Jean ... mmmmwaaaaah!

Todd and I spent yesterday moving stuff from the old RV, putting it away in the new RV and making improvements (hanging paper towel rack, drilling cable holes in cabinets, installing the DVD player in the bedroom, getting the ice maker working, etc.), feeding the turtles and critters (and catching a huge black and yellow centipede which I *didn't* touch), and watching the antics of the Cub Scout pack we have visiting the camp this weekend. It was a good day!

Linking up to the Stash Report at Patchwork Times.  Happy Sunday!

:)

controlled chaos . . .

Or, as my sister happily encourages, "Embrace the chaos!"

This is what I've been doing for several months! LOL! We still don't have quite *everything* moved over from the old RV, but we've been making progress (in between rain drops).  I would imagine by next week, we'll have gotten everything we are keeping, moved.  And everything we are letting go of, boxed up and either given away or donated. At first I was dreading the decisions of what to keep/what to let go, but it went very easily (thank You, Lord!) and there hasn't been any 'stuff' heartache!

My little sewing area is looking good . . .

Todd got the pegboard up for me and I moved over my 'Nina! The 'garage' space (the front storage under the hitch) was deeper than I thought and I was able to get a good bit in it.  Yay!  We also got the happy light strung.  Happy lights are very important.  ;)

I've really enjoyed putting out our homey touches . . .

There really wasn't the space to do this in the old RV, so seasonal decorating takes a whole new meaning!

And the views -- with more and *bigger* windows throughout -- make me smile, too. I love opening the shade to this bedroom window first thing in the morning! :)

I wasn't able to get to Paducah this year, but one of my darling quilting buddies (we're in guild and a stitcher's group together) saw this precious little pattern . . .

. . . thought of me and brought it back as a gift!  Isn't it darling?  I can't wait to make it -- in the fifth wheel version, of course (center bottom)!

We've been busy, busy with the turtle sanctuary, too!  Todd and I go out and feed them every morning.  Our tiniest little turtle is no bigger than a silver dollar! I captured some video of him eating a worm (that's nearly as big as he is) to share:

And then there's one-eyed Joe.  He is quite the character and actually comes running when I call (and when he can see I'm holding a worm).  Todd caught him on video, too:

We're really enjoying the sanctuary and also really enjoy sharing it with camp visitors (and the grands, who are as in love with turtles as I am)!

And since this *is* Feline Friday, I suppose it wouldn't be out of order to share a capture of Leia . . .

Leia, fish-slayer, that is. I have my worries for poor little Herman! (Ellie picked out the fish, his name, AND the purple rocks! Girl's got style.) Linking up to Feline Friday at sarah did it!

:)

designing the space . . .

Still playing around with my space.  Todd and I decided that since we had such a great living room space, we'd give up the dining area to quilting/stitching/sewing. Here's what I've come up with so far . . .

 My fat quarter tubs, by color.

Room for my tea service of the season!

You can't beat the view!!

Still some work to be done and some things (like my sewing machine) to come over from the other RV.  Plus my big storage containers of yardage will go in the 'garage' (the front storage space under the RV) along with some other crafty things.  Once I actually get back to quilting/sewing, I'll see what works and what doesn't. 

Todd's going to re-hang my peg board so my tools are handy again.  And the ironing board will fit nicely in the corner on the left.  I'll make it mine!

:)

ch-ch-changes . . .

Ummm.  Yeah.  So it's been a while since I reported on my stash.  Of course, it's been a while since there were any changes to it, so I don't feel too badly about keeping quiet.  And really, my change this week was trivial . . . just a fat quarter donated to the guild for our raffle quilt:

See?  Tiny change for a span of six weeks!  I won't even both with my fifteen minute report, because it would be non-existent too!  Linking on up to the stash report at Patchwork Times.

That's not to say that there haven't been some BIG changes going on around here.  Oh yeah, there's been change.  Big HUGE change!  Just over two years ago, I posted about a new RV layout that we'd seen and fallen in love with.  And just under two weeks ago, we made the move into it!

Whoa!  Yeah, it's so big I couldn't get it all in the picture.  LOL!

But it means I've been in transition for two weeks and I've still not got my sewing area totally figured out. Or actually, what of my quilting stuff I'll keep! While our living space is marvelous . . . our storage space was reduced quite a bit.  

But the trade off . . . being able to have both our kids' families over for Mother's Day and have comfortable seating in the living room for everyone and be able to have dinner and watch a movie together (though some preferred to stand directly in front of the television to watch) . . . was *totally* worth it!  So we're downsizing everything. Should be an interesting transition!  I'll report back as we settle in!

:)