let's make it . . .

. . . a wonderful Wednesday!!  (Did you think I was going to say something quilty-cutesy? Psyche!)

I'm just going to be straight out honest and say that I got in more napping than stitching on Sunday afternoon. (insert cheesy grin here) But I have done a smidge of stitching on Evey's quilt . . . 

"G", to be exact.

I found a cute pattern for bubble britches for Evey (to go with her turtle smock). I was prepared to buy a pattern when I remembered I've got a pretty decent arsenal of patterns for little girls' clothes saved on my laptop. Sure enough . . .

Just the bloomers. For now! Pdf patterns are interesting, because you've got to print them and then put them together . . .

Tah-dah! That was quick...luckily for me, these little cuties only needed five pages. But I still had to find some appropriate fabric! Luckily for me, there's a little shop *two*doors*down* from my place of work -- Barb's Sewing. I think I've got the perfect little print to hide a diaper and go with the smocked turtles . . .

Isn't that cute stuff??? Add that half-yard to my stash and out again.

I found a *GREAT* video tutorial for baby bloomers from Vintage to New.  

This tutorial is definitely worth checking out if sewing a pair of baby bloomers is in your future. LOL!  (insert another cheesy grin here)

So that's where I stand on Wednesday -- hoping to have bloomers finished on Friday and powering through letters "I" and "J"! Linking up today with Esther's Quilt Blog WOW (WIPs On Wednesday) post. Have a GREAT day!!

:)

words aren't made, they grow . . .

I weep so forlornly when I consider the number of days that have passed since I've taken to my keyboard and "waxed eloquently" on the pages of my electronic journal . . .

Can you tell I'm (re)reading Anne of Green Gables right now??!  LOL! The post title is an Anne Shirley quote, too. I do love that cheeky little wordsmith! And since I'm reporting for Bibliophile Files, I thought it only fitting to kick it off that way. The sentiment is true, just a little more "fluffed" than I'd typically write it!

So, I'd downloaded the Anne of Green Gables Stories, which includes all but two of the series (Anne of Windy Poplars and  Anne of Ingleside, which are still under copyright, so I downloaded them separately) and have never got around to them. With a week of vacation stretching out ahead of me (that includes some long flying time), I decided the time was now!

I also downloaded Laura Child's Agony of the Leaves 'tea shop mystery' for a little diversity!  Her reads are such fun -- and I always glean such great recipes! Haha!

And I'll just admit it, I'm a big fan of ereaderiq.com, and visit it weekly to check out their kindle freebies.  This is what my email looked like yesterday afternoon:

They're free and I store them on icloud, so no harm done, right?  Talk about cheeky . . . !

I did finish my crazy patchwork pumpkin . . .

Isn't it darling?  I will enjoy putting it out in the proper timing.  In the meantime, I continue to coax our volunteer pumpkin plant to put forth a pumpkin (yes, I'd settle for ONE)!

I read that a pumpkin plants flowers first with male flowers, and then flowers out with female flowers.  And you can tell the difference because female flowers have a tiny pumpkin at the base! I'm still waiting for a female flower.

The grands are all doing well and enjoying summer fun!  I love my Monday evenings with the Panter crew . . .

(Shown here minus the youngest, who was already in bed.) They are such loves! Ellie had the opportunity to be a flower girl at her Aunt Jenna's wedding, and June came along for the ride (and the wedding cake). 

They both had such a blast on the dance floor -- and were definitely a joy to watch!

Still puttering away on my Tea for One pieces.  I've finished outlining the letters and am working on the cup and saucer.  

Not sure yet what I'm going to do with the flowers yet.  I want to do something with a little 'bling' to it.  Whether that will end up being metallic floss or beading, I haven't decided!

Caught a great shot of some of my favorite yellow wildflowers and a winged friend in the upper meadow of the camp . . . 

I shared it on instagram and facebook, but it's such a pretty photo, I wanted to share it here, too!  I also caught this really pretty sunrise photo, coming down the road outside the camp, heading to work one morning . . .

Originally there was a cell phone tower and a car in the picture, but I photo-shopped them out. Turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself!

Linking up today to the Bibliophile Files on sarah did it! and WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays on Esther's Blog.  Happy Wednesday!!

:)

out of hiding . . .

Have mercy . . . for the first time in our nineteen years of marriage, Todd and I were both sick at the same time.  And not just "have a sniffle" sick, but miserable, can't get out of bed sick!  BLAH!  Poor Todd, just when he should have been getting over whatever that virus was (that pretty much made its way though all three of our families), he came down with strep.  My fellow was not a happy camper.

Needless to say, we've neither of us been doing a whole lot!  I missed going on our ladies' retreat to Pigeon Forge.  Boooo!!  But I got better in time to attend a guild committee meeting at the home of one of the members -- on Lake Guntersville.  The meeting day was beautiful and we had lunch out on the back deck.  What a view!!

I can't be too jealous, though, not when this is in my back yard!!

I can't wait until the weather is right for toe dipping and splashing!

I haven't been in the Nook . . . but I have been doing some stitching on a dear little dolly's dress:

Last night I finished the center petal.  Now all I need to do is a little stitching on the petals on either side of the center monogram.  

They're marked and ready to go.  That's my WOW!!  Linking on up to Esther Aliu's blog.

Turtles have been coming out of hibernation, but we had yet to see any of the baby turtles.

That is, until yesterday!  Isn't he teeny-tiny and precious??! I hope we see more!

And finally, I treated myself to an early Mother's Day gift . . .

I couldn't pass this little book up and I'm so glad I didn't . . . it's filled with wonderful recipes.  Can't wait to try some!

Hope the rest of your week is filled with happy things that make you smile!

:)

today's wow . . .

Let me just say that I'm totally and completely in love with these faux ruched flowers.  Head-over-heels in love -- I see SO much potential for future projects. And I'm one step closer to finishing up this mini Chevron with a Twist piece!

Linking up to Ester Aliu's blog for WOW = WIPs On Wednesdays!

wip's . . .

It's a WOW day!  (And trust me, this rainy, grey Wednesday needs a little WOW! in it.)  Believe it or not, I snuck in a little Nook time and actually have something to share!  Ages ago I cut out the pieces for this charmer . . .

Now I've got all my half square triangles together and ready to trim (and they definitely need trimming).

And I got all four of the pink blocks put together!

That's pretty good progress, don't you think?! Of course, I won't have dedicated time in the Nook again until . . . who knows when. The next two weeks are super busy, especially since starting next Monday, I'm working full time at least through the end of March. Yikes!

Today is Kim's birthday and tomorrow is Sawyer's. I'll be headed directly to Chuck E. Cheese's after work tomorrow to celebrate! It brings back *such* memories.  James's 6th birthday was celebrated - and videoed - at Chuck E. Cheese's, and father and son are so much alike. We watch and relive that one every so often and it never fails to give us the giggles. I can't wait to enjoy it again through Sawyer's eyes!!

Linking up to Esther Aliu's blog today!

:)

wow . . .

aka, Works in progress On Wednesday!

I've gotten a bit more finished on Mr. Owlie . . . specifically, the red flowers at the top left.  LOL!

I think I may have spent more time trying to make sense of my flosses than actually stitching.  C'est la guerre.

I got a whim and headed out to the Nook yesterday morning to work on my book block. I was so pleased to find I had *all* the fabrics I'd originally used -- and in fact, it looked like that block was the only use for the red print and the shirting. So here it is now . . .

To back it, I thought it would be fun to give a nod to the whole reason I'm doing this to begin with -- it's in a book -- LOL! So I snapped a shot of the the block in the book, with the book's and author's name, along with Barbara's personal inscription to me.  I'll print this on white fabric and block it in the blue floral -- here's my mockup in EQ:

How fun is that??!  I'm really so excited about this project -- is that silly? All that's left to do now is to decide how to quilt it . . .

 

 

Those are my original top four templates. Still playing it out.  Hmmmmm.  Todd likes the fleur de lis (top right).  I'm not sold on any particular design. Regardless of which of these I'll use, I'll still have to find something to do in the setting and borders.

So that's my works in progress for this week! Linking up to Esther Aliu's blog today . . . head on over and take a peek!

:)

stuff and junk and things . . .

The weather this week has been absolutely gorgeous, so far.  I captured this beautiful sunrise on Monday . . . 

I already shared it on facebook, but I like to cover all my bases.  LOL!  Today's forecast is pretty lovely, too:

Hard to believe we had snow flurries and ice, this time last week!

I did get to spend a tidy amount of time in the Nook yesterday . . . aaaaaaaah! I finished up the last few stitches on the POTC block I was working on. And then promptly forgot to take a picture of it. So I guess you really didn't need to see a picture of it!

I then pulled out the pineapple quilt and got busy on it. There were aspects of it strewn all over the room . . .

But the most important thing was getting it here:

So now the entire center is stitched together and what I have to work on now is stitching down the covering sashes. While I was at it yesterday, I did go ahead and cut, stitch and press all of those, so they'll be ready to go when it's time to attach the borders.  It's already a pretty substantial quilt and the borders will add 10" to all four sides!

It was a quiet day, spent in the company of me, myself and I.  Oh, and this darling little gal . . .

Isn't she sweet??!  She's my Nook "companion".  She never argues or disagrees with me and is a terrific listener! She quiet listens and smiles at everything I say. Very affirming. My Stitcher's Etc. pal, Sarah, made her for me, so I wouldn't be without companionship whilst stitching the day away! She needs a name. Any thoughts??

Did you know that today is Squirrel Appreciation Day?! It is! And to celebrate I found a darling royalty-free drawing that would make a very cute stitchery . . .

credit

Perfect for my neck of the woods (quite literally)! Just right click and save. It beats trying to 'hug a squirrel'!

Linking up today to Esther Aliu's WOW (Wips On Wednesdays) post!

:)

last wow . . .

Or rather, Works in progress On Wednesday = WOW!

This is not just the last Wednesday of the year, but the last DAY of the year! Where did 2014 fly away to?! Todd and I will probably spend the evening relatively quietly, depending on what Bowl Games are on when we get home from church, and a pot of pinto beans and ham, which is already in the crock pot. Tomorrow morning, though, is our Stitcher's annual get together for a meal (breakfast at Cracker Barrel this year) and shopping the sale at Patches & Stitches, one of our LQSs. For me it will be more about the fellowship than the shopping, and that's fun stuff!

With the thought of fleeting time in mind, I've been plugging away on the Pineapple Quilt this week (remember, I've determined that I will have it finished before the end of January). I managed to assemble the middle three sections so far:

I'm working on stitching up the last seam 'cover' out of the four required.  You zigzag stitch the pieces together like so:

And then the strip (which you've machine stitched on like binding, on both sides--one on the front and the other on the back) flips over and hides where you've connected them:

Voila!

And that's what I'm doing right now. I'll probably finish this and prep the strips to attach the long row of blocks across the top and bottom, too.  Who knows, maybe I'll have those attached and finished by the week's end?!  Maybe not. LOL! One thing I do know and that's that this quilt will be pretty decent-sized. It's square, and I still have 8" borders to add to the sides. This one is going on the bed. For sure!

And the other quilty thing being worked on is my cabin!

Pegboard walls all the way around . . . and it's being painted white (by my very darling husband) as I type! Isn't that awesome?!  I'll can hang every tool and ruler and template I have on its own hook!  LOL!

So that's what I'm working on, what about you?  Linking up with Esther's Blog today!

:)

progress . . .

Finished up the little box, first . . .

Put it to use last night as a candy dish, at the Sunday School table we manned at our MBA's annual meeting!

Finished up my little candle mat, next:

It's the perfect size for the Yankee candle I've been burning for autumn . . .

(Thank you, Cyn!!)

And I mapped out in EQ my plan for my embroidery:

I've been busy!  LOL! Linking up to Esther Aliu's WOW post!

Today I've got lunch, then a hospital visit, shopping for our Lunches of Love, then Todd and I are scheduled to make a ministry presentation this evening. Whew.

It's Wednesday, y'all -- happy "over-the-hump" day!

:)

acorns, acorns everywhere . . .

Luckily, I'm not talking about the ones that will soon be dropping like machine gun fire onto the roof of the RV!  No, no . . . I'm talking about *felt* acorns!  I finished up the little leaf and pumpkin wool mat:

And decided I wanted to work on another one!

I had to use tissue paper to transfer the embroidery design on this one.  I've got one more leg of stitching to do . . .

And then the acorns can be stitched on!

I think when I'm finished with the acorns, I start on this cute little thing:

It's a Michelle May design/kit.  Isn't it darling??!  Linking up to Esther Aliu's WOW post!

Fall is here ... October is here ... we're officially in my favorite time of year!

And I'm ready for it with my new earrings . . .

:)