bits and pieces . . .

Another quickie . . . my 15 Minutes report looks rather repetitive . . .

Getting my stitching in where I can, like in the car on the way to church!  

My stash report is unchanged from last week . . .

Nothing in, nothing out.  Huh.  I'm not getting out enough!  Hahaha!

Still working on the first egg (but the third side) . . .

Considering Easter Sunday is exactly two weeks away and I still have four additional eggs I'd *like* to make, I really should step up my game!  Or perhaps just take it slow and steady and have five gorgeous eggs to display next year? Yeah, probably. This is where you'll find me this afternoon. Well, either working that or reading this . . .

Either way, I'm a happy camper! (Quite literally.)

Linking up today with the Stash Report at Patchwork Times and the Slow Sunday Stitching link-up at Kathy's Quilts.  Have a happy Sunday!

:)

positive progress . . .

Short and sweet today.  I did get in my (at least) 15 minutes of sewing each day this past week, I'm happy to report!

I'm pretty sure it really was just 15 minutes on a couple of those days!  But hey, it all adds up, right??

My stash report took a small step in the right direction, too . . .

Still a ways to go.  If I can ever get this pineapple quilt finished up, that will be a lovely chunk!

I have a couple of different projects lined up for my Sunday afternoon. I remember now why I put the pineapple quilt up.  I'd made a mistake in construction the last time I had it out.  I dealt with the front side, but now I'm having to deal with the back side:

Hand stitching up *both* sides of the strips that cover my zig zagged seams, where the blocks are connected.

If I get tired of that, I've got a new little project I'm working on that I can switch over to:

One side finished!  When they're all stitched, I'll whip them together up the sides and fill with stuffing. Voila, a pretty Easter egg!

Linking up today with the stash report at Patchwork Times and slow Sunday stitching at Kathy's Quilts! Happy Sunday!!  (Edited to add:  Also linking up with the design wall post at Patchwork Times, seeing as how these projects are my proverbial design wall!)

:)

cardinals, cats, and daffodils . . .

Ugh.  Last week wasn't a total loss, but I ended it feeling rather poorly, so my 15 Minutes report isn't looking so good . . .

*sigh*  On a positive note, I tidied up my sewing bunk room on Saturday.  It was in desperate need.  I'd come home from retreat (at the end of February) sick and things never really got put away.  I have a *really* tough time creating when things aren't in order . . . 

Everything's in its proper place now -- I'm just running out of space in which to put it.  Aye yi yi!  RV living.  :)

Fortunately, I didn't add to my stash this past week:

Unfortunately, I didn't use any of it, either!  Ha!

I did make it to our guild meeting last Thursday.  Our speaker was Kathy McNeil (of Audubon's Christmas fame) and I was SO looking forward to hearing her!  Once I got there, though, I just felt so worn and blah, I couldn't stay.  But I didn't leave before picking up a couple of things from her table . . .

The cardinals are my *favorite* part of her Audubon quilt!  And the DVD was a fun listen, plus it's got patterns for the entire quilt shown on the cover. Schweeeeet!

After church yesterday, we headed over to our old house to make sure all was well.  I got a little bonus . . .

The daffodils are thriving over there, so I brought home some so I didn't have to cut any of the ones here at the Camp.  Haha!  I do dearly adore daffodils -- they're just SPRING!

On the design wall this week is still the pineapple quilt (now that I have a solid supply of the Kona black) and the carrot table runners:

Not sure which I'll get to first, though . . . I've got some transcribing to get finished, first!

And finally, since I pretty much fell off the face of my blog since *last* Monday, Leia told me she needed to make an appearance . . . 

She doesn't want you to think that she's always growly/cranky. She sometimes (very rarely) can be quite docile and sweet.  Can't you see that?!?

Linking up to the stash report and design wall posts on Patchwork Times and Feline Friday on sarah did it!. Happy Monday!

:)

bunnies and wattles . . .

This past week was rather topsy-turvy.  Todd's dad had heart surgery on Friday and there were a lot of pre-surgery appointments leading up to that and of course, Friday was spent in the cardiac waiting room.  His surgery went well but he's still in ICU for the time being.  Needless to say, there was a LOT of waiting time during which I stitched.  And stitched and stitched and stitched!  (Except for the fifteen minutes I spent on my knees, picking up tiny yellow seed beads off the floor of my car. UGH!)

So, the two projects I started on Monday, filled my entire week . . .

And the nice thing about that is, I have two finishes!

"Wattle" stitchery.

Bunny Candle Mat. I'm not sure which I like most!  But I do know I will probably (most certainly) make two more Bunny Mats before Easter, if you get my drift!

I got the loveliest package in the mail yesterday, too . . . 

Is that fun, or what??!  It was the perfect *happy* on National Quilting Day!  It's a 'follow-up' to Jean's first package!  Does she know me?!  Haha!!

That fabric made me SMILE!  And it also -- along with two yards of Kona black I purchased for the Pineapple Quilt -- increased my stash!

It's starting to creep out of control!  I need to have a big finish here soon!

I printed out my Irish Blessing last night and will do some stitching on that, between church and the hospital. Linking up to Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts: Slow Sunday Stitching.  Have a happy Sunday!

:)

spring forward . . .

Looking for the current book review and giveaway?  It is HERE!

Did you (in the U.S.) remember to

I strongly dislike losing the hour of sleep, but I love the daylight added to the end of the day!  :)

My 15 Minutes report is nothing special this week . . .

I got the mug rug finished off (and sent), worked on something new, and then fizzled out for the rest of the week.  I had some sort of 48-hour virus Thursday and Friday and Saturday was so beautiful, we spent most of the morning outdoors with Sawyer and June and their mommy and daddy.  Then we celebrated all our March birthdays last night.  It was such fun -- I'm again so grateful that our children and their families live close by!

My stash report isn't anything to speak of this week either:

I added that FQ bundle of Kona solids and that's (enough) it!

And then finally, for today's stitching, I'm looking at my March Hex Lab.  We were given three options--all of which are flowers from Down Under.  I love the look of the "wattle", which I'd never heard of before:

Isn't that beautiful? There's some fly stitching, stem stitching, fishbone stitching, and a feather stitch -- so a nice variety.  And most are stitches I've worked before. Mind you, that's the sample piece, definitely not mine!

Here's the template we're given to work with . . .

I love the difference between the template and the finished product!  Sure is room for a whole lot of stitching.

Linking up today's post to the Stash Report at Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts Slow Sunday Stitching linky party.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing!

:)

wrapping it up . . .

I spent my fifteen (plus) minutes of stitching time on the mug rug project, Monday and Tuesday.  Today it hits the mail, so it's new owner should have it in the next week or so.  Once last 'back side' teaser . . .

Haha!  At least it's not just muslin this time, right?? Since it is a crazy quilted piece, I strongly debated on whether or not to do any quilting on it.  Crazy quilts generally do not have quilting, or have very little.  

But if you look closely, you can see I went ahead and spiral quilted the hexi center, where the 'mug' sits.  I used clear thread just because I didn't want the quilting to distract from the print in the front, which is the focal point!

Ellie *requested* that I bring buttons with me yesterday, so of course, I obliged. She happily played with them for quite some time, dumping them out and then picking them up.

She seems to have an appreciation for their individuality and enjoyed inspecting each one. 

Next time I'll bring them in a tea tin and add to the experience. Yesterday evening Joc texted me a conversation she and Ellie had after I'd left . . . 

     Ellie:  Where Neesey go?

     Jocelyn:  Neesey had to go bye-bye.

     Ellie:  And the buttons?

Ha!  Always leave 'em wanting more, right??!

:)

short and sweet . . .

That's what today's post will be . . . mainly because I've not had the energy to do much of anything this past week, as is evidenced by my 15 Minutes report . . . 

Nothing but hand work on the Celtic Garden, which I'm very happy to report is finished (at least the stitchery part):

Yay!  I'm so pleased with how this turned out and really enjoyed the process as well as the final product.  I know I'll make another of these.

My stash report is unchanged from last week . . . 

Although I will admit that I was wandering around on Craftsy and found a HUGE deal on a 20 FQ bundle of Kona solids and so next week's report will not be so dull.  [insert cheesy grin here]

My slow Sunday stitching is back to the secret mug rug project . . . just a bit more stitching on this before I'm ready to turn it into an actual mug rug.  Wanna little sneaky-peek again?

I've had a lot of fun playing with this piece, too!  Can't wait til it's safely in the hands of its new owner and I can share it in total!

Linking up today with the stash report at Patchwork Times and the Kathy's Quilts Slow Sunday Stitching linky party!

This is the day that the LORD has made ... we shall rejoice and be glad in it!!

:)

packing it in . . .

Yup.  That's what I'm doing this morning.  Packing it up and getting things situated so I can work, work, work right up until retreat ends and load up the car!  The goodbye sunrise this morning was *spectacular*!

Just gorgeous, right?  It's really nice to have this very incredible reminder of God's goodness on this particular day -- Everett would have been three.  It's amazing how fast the time has gone by.

I had no trouble getting in my 15 minutes this week, even while I was with Ellie!

I'll share more about what I've worked on these last five days later on in the week!

My stash took a bit of a hit . . . in the wrong direction! I got a lovely package from Jean (Jean Creates) and we hit Hammer's yesterday.  Here's what I grabbed from Hammers:

It's so funny ... it's almost a repeat of what I got last year at Hammer's!  What I received from Jean deserves a post of its own (which I'll do later).  Anyway, I packed away some yardage, without enough to go out . . .

But it's still running on a pretty even keel, so I won't sweat it!

There will be some last minute frantic work going on this morning, but I will eventually settle into my slow Sunday stitching.  Still plugging along on my Celtic Garden:

The hedge outlines are really starting to take shape!  One they're finished, the French knots to fill it in will go relatively quickly.  I'll be happy to be finished with the colonial knots!

Linking up today with the stash report at Patchwork Times and also with Kathy's Quilts!

Oh yeah--the current book review and giveaway is HERE.

Be *blessed* today!

:)

with a stitch-stash paddywhack . . .

I've quickly come to see that one of the major benefits of committing to reporting on my daily 15 minutes of sewing is that I'm compelled to do *something* each day so my little sticky notes aren't blank!

Of course what you see here is honestly a lot more than 15 minutes (except for the Celtic knot days ... where I did time 15 minutes worth of knots just *so* I had something to report).  But finishing up the piecing and then quilting/binding Midnight Snow consumed hours!

Midnight Snow also had a positive effect on my stash report . . .

Sure, it's not a TON of stash, but it's all positive steps!  I spent a hour or so yesterday pulling together the projects I'll take with me on retreat.  I'm taking a lot of little things that are just shy of finishing, so hopefully I'll have even more positive steps to report next week -- provided I don't get carried away in the fabric shops!

Today, after morning worship, I'll head on over to spend the next couple of days with Ellie!  Should be lots of fun.  I'm taking hand work with me . . . the Celtic Knot, of course:

It doesn't look like I've made hardly any progress on it -- those knots are so time consuming!  And I'm also bringing a new project I'm working on:

This is my pattern (which I had to make pencil adjustments to, once I'd printed it out).  I spent Saturday stitching the fabric pieces together and now it's ready for some crazy quilting seam treatments!  I'll probably work on this while Ellie naps today.

Linking up to the stash report at Patchwork Times and to the Slow Sunday Stitching linky party at Kathy's Quilts.  

And don't forget -- there's a new book review and giveaway posted HERE!

Enjoy your Sunday!

:)

another week . . .

With the exception of Tuesday, it looks like *most* of my minutes this week went towards my StitchMAP assignment . . .

And it really doesn't look like I've made a whole lot of progress with it, does it?

I finished the monogram and am now working on the outside border.  This is also a new stitch to me, called "palestrina". 

It's a lovely little knot and there's more work on top of the cloth than there is on the back side.  But it's a little time consuming to make sure that your needle always ends up in the right place and you don't pluck fabric or your previously lain floss in the passing.  Of course, I suppose by the time I'm finished with this (I have to finish the outside border and then stitch it again in the opposite direction in the inner border), maybe I'll be better at it and it will go more quickly.  It probably goes without saying that this will be my Slow Sunday Stitching project!

My stash took a lovely little hit in the wrong direction this week:

I gained those two yards at my Sassy Sewers meeting on Thursday.  One of the gals has recently retired and has had the opportunity to go to Hawaii with her husband (who goes on business) several times.  She brought back with her some of the most gorgeous fabrics . . .

Aren't they beautiful?  Just rich with color and they feel so lovely, too!  I'll take those two yards willingly!  I'll also be linking up the good ol' stash report to Patchwork Times.

I also got some time in "on the needle" this week -- Ellie mentioned that she needed a scarf like Sawyer's.

Well, not just like Sawyer's ... I made hers a little skinnier and a tad longer and fringed it.  We'll see if she'll actually wear it!

And finally, in the midst of all this grey and cold, cold, cold, there are the first indications that Spring really IS on its way!

If that doesn't bring a smile to your winter-weary face, I don't know what will!

Don't forget to check out my book review of Shades of Mercy and the book giveaway, HERE. Happy Sunday!

:)