october's here . . .

Got an update on June this week; she saw her shadow . . .

. . . four more weeks in the cast. But this time she got a pretty bright blue one!  And a side trip to the San Diego zoo!  Sweet girl.  She's handling it all very well.  She is getting a little antsy.  She misses her gymnastics!

Also got an update on this sweet kiddo . . . 

Pictured here celebrating getting two parts in The Nutcracker! One is a solo dance (one of the gift toys in the early scene of the Christmas party) and the second is a group dance as one of the 'children'!  She's absolutely thrilled!  We're waiting to hear where the venue will be so a date can be pegged down!

Joc sent me a couple of happy photos, too . . .

The girls are enjoying their morning story time snuggled in with mama and brother.  Speaking of brother, he's growing so well!  

In just over two weeks, he's gained almost two pounds!  

Grow baby, grow! (And seriously.  I could just gaze at this picture for hours.)

Friday, we were able to get out on the lake.  The spring and summer were so rainy, we were hardly able to get consecutive Fridays out.  This fall is shaping out to be a weather joy!

Todd's fishing pole was haaaawt . . .

He got quite a few like this one. They'll eat well!  I can marinate and grill 'em when they're that big.

I ended up finishing my acorn piece on the boat, so Saturday seemed like the perfect time to swap out decor.

I've been so busy these last few years crafting my seasonal decor, there's very little I get out of the tub of my fall things.  On the one hand, it makes me a little sad ... on the other, I really enjoy seeing my handiwork all over the RV living room! Mind you, this isn't all that's out ... I didn't even show hardly any of my wall hangings!

So, speaking of autumn-themed quiltiness . . .

Let's hear about it!

:)

one, two, three . . .

What a splendid weekend! Friday, Jason had to go to work to handle an emergency, so I told Jocelyn I'd fill the gap.  (I mean ... three active girls and a four-day-old!)  With Joc's permission blessing gratitude, I loaded up the three girls in Joc's mini-van and headed off to the Botanical Gardens!

We packed a picnic, grabbed the Picnic Quilt for its first real test, and scouted the grounds for the perfect picnicking spot. What do you think . . . 

I think it's a perfect fit!  Did you know there's actually a formula to determine the best size for a picnic quilt (or blanket)?  I think I definitely got it right with this one.  

We had such a blast walking the Scarecrow Trail ... it's truly one of my favorite fall things to do!

The girls enjoyed the day and the sunshine, running the paths and climbing and exploring.  It was a nice treat for all of us!

And of course, I got a little *extra* reward from it myself . . .

Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!

Saturday was game day.  I really enjoy doing handwork during games.  It keeps me from getting (dare I admit this?) too agitated during the play.  Well, mostly.

I saw this great tutorial for making embroidery acorns and giving them a little depth/dimension, by satin stitching the little caps, and split stitching the bodies. So I drew a handful out on my favorite Crackle, linen, and went to work in an assortment of colors (and notably, some Cosmos variegated) flosses.

I'm really pleased with how this is turning out.  And it'll be time to rotate my decor into fall (which definitely includes acorns) very soon!  I will say, if I ever do this again, I'll satin stitch the bodies and split stitch the caps. Hind sight is 20/20.

James sent me a dozen fabulous action shots of Sawyer playing soccer.  I'll limit what I share to these two . . .

Check out that steal! I'm not sure whether I'm more wowed by Sawyer's athleticism, or James's photography skills!

And since I gifted my Friday to Joc and the gang, Todd and I took advantage of a lovely Sunday afternoon and spent as much of it on the lake as was possible . . . 

A very good weekend.

:)

pumpkins and acorns . . .

So far, so good!  I headed out Thursday, along with some of the other Essential staff wives, for a retreat/conference in Dallas, Georgia; Cultivate 2020.

It was a LOT of fun!  I love road trips in and of themselves, but this retreat was really intended to pamper and encourage the participants and a great job was done of it!

I mean, wow!  Our lunch Friday was served in high—tea time—style! Each of us got our own tiered tray, that then went home with us. We went home with a ton of swag, including the gorgeous (and yummy smelling) soy candles.  We did a little coaster craft project, and even the tables were just set so prettily.  I'm very serious when I say that I would give this retreat a 9.5 out of 10.  From presentation to program and all the little details in between, it was the best!

It's always nice to get back home and sleep in your own bed, though! Saturday I woke up feeling refreshed in body, mind, and spirit. We've been enjoying the sounds of young (and not so young) boys in the camp all weekend, and the smells of campfires. Yay!  After unpacking and house work chores were done, I knew I needed to find something to stitch.  After a short search, I found this simple design:

Yep, used my trusty printer to do the hard work.  Picked my floss palette . . .

Then took a break to make a treat!

Angela over at Tea with Friends had shared a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Shortbread cookies earlier this month, and I wanted to give them a try. I used my pumpkin and acorn cookie cutters, though when (not if) I make these again, I'll go all acorn (and probably a smaller sized cutter).  For the pumpkins I dusted a little edible orange glitter on the creases. With the acorns, though, I went straight up crystal sprinkles on the caps.  Too cute!  And very delicious (especially with a cup of chai)!

As Todd and I sat and talked about the upcoming week and relaxed into the evening, I did manage to get a little work done on my pumpkin . . .

So maybe I'll finish it up this evening when I sit down for some quiet time! 

Linking up with the slow Sunday stitching post on Kathy's Quilts.  Y'all enjoy a lovely day!

:)

weekend busy happies . . .

I'm going to tell you a true story . . .

I read a quote that caught my attention: "The secret to having everything, is believing you already do." 

Immediately I thought of my current fabric stash and felt a little convicted. Then this verse of scripture popped into my head:  "Lord I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

Then I ordered this . . .

To go with this . . .

Which it does, and very nicely, I might add.  The end.  No names were changed to protect the not-so-innocent.  

Where do I go from that? It's been a very busy weekend! Of course, mine starts when the workday ends on Thursday, so maybe that's part of it! Thursday evening we celebrated Evey Jade . . .

She's just the kindest, sweetest, most energetic little girl! I still can hardly believe she's already six!

Friday morning, Todd and I headed back to the lake. It really was another beautiful day.

The lake was so smooth!  Todd was determined that we would take the boat through the lock at Guntersville Dam and fish down the other side of the river.  We've never locked through the dam before, and I admit, I was both excited and anxious!  But the lock operator was very kind and when I told him it was our first time, he walked us through the whole thing.

Top left: first started at top-the gate has just finished closing; top right:  the water is draining out of the lock; bottom left: the bottom gates opening up to the river; bottom right: looking back as we exited the lock at the bottom.

It really was fascinating!  We locked down, so we started at fifty-four feet of water and came down to sixteen feet of water.  That's a BIG difference!  It's eerie, too.  Especially listening to the water, which is going or coming from somewhere! 

Last week I told you that this week I'd have one of my own, didn't I??

I DO!!  It was so fun to make!  I bought a $4 doily from Hobby Lobby, and I didn't feel the least bit bad about widening the hole in the center! By the way, On Sutton Place has some cute, vintage pumpkin printables today if you're into that kinda thing.  Like me.  ;)

My fancy pumpkin friend was crying for a companion, so I set her up with Sadie the Spider.  While I was at it, I put out some of last years acorns.  

They're still so cute!  If you're interested, you can check out my tutorial here.  I also got to hang my new wool pumpkin piece for the first time . . . 

I finished it in February.  LOL!  

Just a few little decorations to make me smile and maybe, just maybe, usher in some cooler, fall-like temperatures!!  

I do have a new little stitchery I'm working on.  I printed it off using my "tape a 12-1/2" fabric square to cardstock" method.  I'm still amazed at how nicely it works!  I did learn from the last time, to do a little picture correcting/editing, to make the design a little fainter when it printed.  It printed out very nicely . . .

So this is what I'll be stitching on this slow Sunday afternoon!  

Looking forward to brewing a cup of tea, putting my feet up, and stitching the afternoon away!

Linking up to Kathy's Quilts and the slow Sunday stitching post.  Y'all enjoy a happy day!

:)

a good deal . . .

. . . of fun.  A good deal of weekend fun!

It was a lovely, busy weekend with lots of stitchy-crafy things going on.  On Thursday I was inspired at work to turn our 3D Popcorn Box die cut into these darling little favor boxes . . .

I used Christmas images (I printed seamless background images onto the cardstock), but these could be done for *any* holiday or themed event. They were fast and easy to put together, too -- a happy bonus.  I love it when I find a fun something!

I found just the thing I needed in my floss stash to finish up a secret project I've taken over (by request). I worked on this project steadily on Friday and finished it up on Saturday.

I should be able to share it after Thanksgiving. Fingers crossed!  Don't you love it when you have exactly what you need? 

On Saturday we had our semi-regular 'stitch-in' for our Stitcher's Etc. group.  We had a huge gathering of ladies show up!

Lots of giggling and lots of fun.  Of course, you can probably guess that this is my work station:

No machine, set for handwork, some show and tell, with a tea cup on a mug rug!  LOL! I am who I am.  :)

One of the gals gave me a hands on tutorial/demo on making bowl cozies.  Of course I had to go home and make one for myself!

I'm so pleased with how my first one turned out!  It's not difficult, but it does take precision and patience (one of the reasons I'm SO pleased with my finish!).  I can see several of these in my gift-making future!  They'd be cute paired with one of the fabric trivets I've been making! 

I am in the last stage of finishing the stitching on my pumpkin.

Only the outline to finish!  I meant to bring it along to work to play with at lunch.  C'est la vie. This is going to be a very busy week ... I've got something after work every day this week.  Whew!  I don't know how much evening slow stitching I'll be able to get in ... have to take it when I can get it!

The huge SQUIRREL! in my life right now are these wool acorns . . . 

I had additional caps, so I had to make acorns.  I had extra wool circles cut so I had to get more caps and make more acorns.  There were caps leftover so I had to cut more wool circles and make acorns.  And so on and so on.  I'll be overflowing with them, soon!  They're such a happy distraction!

Linking up (just under the wire) with Kathy's Quilts.  Have a lovely week!

:)