found treasures . . .

One of the issues with RV living is that I can't collect a lot of things without cluttering our space.  I have a really difficult time functioning in clutter -- it doesn't just affect my productivity, but it truly affects my mood. So I admit that a lot of time I find myself using the Nook as a "temporary" drop off space for things in the RV I'm not quite ready to deal with (or don't know what to do with).

So you can imagine, when I went out and did some cleaning in the Nook last Saturday, that there was a fair amount of "stuff" with which I needed to sort and deal! My mom had given me some things (from the big move) from her mom, my Grandma Wadleigh, that she thought I might appreciate. I loved my grandma dearly, but I didn't know her as a quilter, though evidently she was quite talented. 

Grandma, Mom, Me and Baby Jocelyn (1986)

I wish I'd been able to sit and stitch with her!  As it is, this little gem will now be in the Nook . . .

Isn't it darling?  Her button tin! Isn't that scrumptious?  She used a tea tin -- in cheddar, no less -- for her precious button collection. We were kindred spirits, to be sure.  A lift of the lid reveals more fun . . .

Look at all these buttons!  Lots of dainty little button sets -- perfect for little girls (and doll) clothes! But that wasn't all. Evidently she wasn't just a quilter, but an embroiderer as well . . .

All that gorgeous floss! Hmmmm, how to put it to use?! There were bits of trim and lace pieces too. And evidently she cut out and saved pieces she liked, like this pretty brown piece:

Isn't that lovely? I also found this pretty little piece:

A darling linen handkerchief.  It looks like pulled thread work. I don't know but that she didn't work that herself, too. She was incredibly talented and accomplished in so many things. One last surprise was an envelope . . .

Her templates for her quilt blocks.  Hexies and dresden plate petals and diamonds, flowers, and bells. All with her handwritten notes for what they were for (and how many she needed).  Even a magazine clipping of a quilt she wanted to replicate. The sweetest was the butterfly block sketched out with color suggestions and how she planned to use it. Unburied treasures, indeed! Or perhaps the proverbial "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow?! Definitely made the 'cleanup' very worth my while!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

:)

blasting through the weekend . . .

First things first . . .

Whether your babies are little or grown and have babies of their own or are fur babies, Happy Mother's Day to you!  I pray your day is filled with laughter and love!

I got a little stitching done this week.  I finished a second quadrant of Evey's quilt and realized I'd better find something to put in all of those white squares!  After a quick search online, I found this darling alphabet by Sublime Stitching . . . 

Aren't they fun??  The letters were way too small for the 5" blocks, so I enlarged them (by about 250%) and made them singles (and laminated them to keep them safe - haha!)--

I'll start sketching tracing these out in the next week or so and get busy stitching, stitching!

I stitched up my two ornaments for May at my Tuesday evening Stitcher's Group. One was a yo-yo wreath, that still needs a bow and a cord for hanging.

The second was a mini-poinsettia.

I've never thought about using the poinsettias as ornaments, but I think this will work nicely! I still need to find an appropriate sized button (the one pictured is a tad too big) and stitch it together and add the cord. I've got twenty-three days! LOL!

I've got a sweet little stitching project to work on this afternoon.  Joc had some blank tabs for one of the girls' dresses that she wanted to pizzazz up with something patriotic/4th of July-ish. So I worked up a couple of designs . . .

And she picked one . . .

And I'll stitch it up!  I'll use metallic red and blue floss for the firework and silver floss for the stars (which I'll satin stitch).  They should be very cute!

My fabric use has (again) been nil.

But it won't be long before I'm ready to quilt the quadrants of Evey's quilt and I'll need more fabric for the backing. Of course, the goal is to have it go in and right back out again!

It's been a very busy weekend!  Ellie came home with me on Thursday evening and we had a marvelous time doing all the things she wanted to do. Watch movies, color, play with buttons and drink tea.

She has very simple, specific desires which totally match my own! Thursday evening was very cool and we bundled up to take a golf cart ride:

On Friday morning we had a "Neesey and Ellie" date and went to Jacks for breakfast.  Evidently they make good pancakes.

And evidently, Ellie's quite the model. She had a little 'ham' with her pancakes! Silly, fun girl!

Friday evening and Saturday I spent in ESL (English as a Second Language) Teacher Training. It was fascinating and I hope to be able to put it to good use!

Saturday afternoon, I raced from ESL TT and put my hat on and headed to Emma's Tea Room, for afternoon tea with the Wears Chapel ladies!

We had a lovely time with lots of yummy goodies!!

Don't laugh, but from there, I raced back to the camp to join Todd for a fish fry he did for the Campers on Mission! The Campers on Mission have been very busy bees this week!  Check out the progress on the new back deck . . . 

We're so excited to see it come together!! I can totally see a group of rockers on this deck, facing out, filled with ladies doing handwork! This group has been such a HUGE blessing to the camp -- they are incredibly hard workers and love the Lord. Todd and I are hoping that the Camp can be added to their annual calendar. What fun!

I'm headed to church this morning -- I have both my preschool Sunday school class *and* preschool church this morning, so I've loaded up with double the Mother's Day crafting to do!  From there, I think I'll do my slow stitching on the front porch this afternoon.  Aaaaaah!  Linking up to Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts. Y'all have a blessing-filled day, and HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

:)