weekend goings . . .

Todd and I got on the road yesterday afternoon and headed to Tuscaloosa for a missions conference.  We stayed overnight at the Bama B&B!

It's a really pretty place and I'll share more about that later.

I finished up granddaughter Olivia's patchwork doll quilt . . .

Just a simple finish.  It's sweet! I'll get this out in the mail to her on Monday.

I also finished block 20 of my Grandmother's Choice BOM.

I had trouble with the points on this one.  I may (*may*) go back and fiddle with it. I also may not. 

This is a better representation of what's done and what's actually left.  LOL! The holes in the first three rows are where I skipped a block that looked too tough.  Haha!

I prepped a little stitchery to take on the road and have to work on in our down time today:

Just a little heart. I had the pattern saved on my computer from somewhere. Quick work.

I've gotten a little done.  May finish it up on our way home today ... slow stitching and all!

Linking up with Kathy's Quilts.  Enjoy a slow stitching Sunday!

:)

fun-filled . . .

* * disclaimer:  I spilled tea on my keyboard and now my "a" key doesn't work; I have to use the Alt-97 sequence to get an "a" (or Alt-65 for an A).  So if I miss one, you'll please pardon my error.  I hd no ide how mny 's I used in the course of typing until this hppened!!  LOL!! * * 

Our Labor Day celebration was a good one.  Ellie spent the night on Sunday and we enjoyed a slow start to the day.  We enjoyed peanut butter bear toast for breakfast . . . she thought that was quite fun.

So fun, in fact she felt the need to have a second piece, and create her 'own' design.

She was quite proud of the final affect!

Both girls really enjoy time on the boat and in the water.  Ellie makes a terrific first mate . . . 

But I think Evey has higher aspirations!  

The evening was beautiful, and we took our time heading back to the docks after dinner and a swim, to enjoy creation.

I did get in some good stitching time on my hexie pumpkin mat . . .

I love the final look! It stitched up pretty quickly, so perhaps I'll consider doing another. I definitely strayed from the original design a bit, but I figure that's my prerogative! ;)

Finishing that up prompted me to do a little fall decorating on the outside, too . . .

It's always fun when Mr. Scarecrow makes an appearance!

Saturday (yesterday) was Evey's second birthday!  I knew she was getting a baby doll and Todd and I had ordered a cradle for said baby, but its shipping was delayed.  I felt strongly that baby needed some sort of bedding, at the least, so I whipped up a simple little baby doll quilt and pillow . . .

And I know I'm getting a little ahead of my chronology here, but I will go ahead and share that both baby and quilt were well received!!  

Joc did a great job (as usual) of setting up Evey's "Busy as a Bee!" birthday party. Between the decorations . . .

The food . . . 

And the beautiful cake . . .

It was a huge success!!

The birthday girl certainly thought so (and really, her opinion is the most important)!

Sawyer had his very first soccer game . . . gosh I wish I could have been there for it! But James sent lots of fun pictures.  Sawyer looks like a natural!

And I got to facetime with the whole crew later in the day, which is always a treat!

The pumpkin mat and the doll baby quilt afforded me the ability to change up some numbers on this week's stash report:

Whoohoo for me! It's not a lot, but it's progress!

My slow stitching today will involve wool and this coloring page from Dover:

I edited the picture just a tad by making it shorter and squatter.  I'm thinking multi layers of wool and maybe some beading or sparkling floss to embellish.  Hopefully I'll have something concrete to show next week.

Linking up with Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts.  Y'all have a great week!

:)

the final math of stash . . .

Stash (n): a secret store of valuables or money [or fabric].

It's finally occurred to me that December's stash report is also the last of the year. I can't believe how little fabric I've added to the stores in the last two months, but there you have it. I have gotten a little usage in, though, and that makes me happy, happy, happy!

Used/donated this month: 2.5 yards

Used/donated year-to-date: 38.75 yards

Purchased/added this month: 0.25 yards

Purchased/added year-to-date: 86.75 yards

Net used/donated for 2013: -48.0 yards

Truly (and especially when compared to the end-of-year numbers of 2012) a remarkable feat, if you ask me. Well shoot ... see for yourself! Here are 2012's final cumulative numbers:

Used/donated year-to-date: 50.5 yards

Purchased/added year-to-date: 194.75 yards

Net used/donated for 2012: -144.25 yards

Believe it or not, I'm a numbers kind of gal.  They fascinate me and I enjoy extrapolating what they have to say.  For example, while at first glance it may appear that I created/used more in 2012, if you actually break out that 50.5 yards used against the 194.75 yards purchased, you'll find that I only created with about twenty-five percent of what I took in.  Whereas this year, I created with better than forty-four percent of my fabric booty!  That feels like metro-major accomplishment to me!

Some of the projects that counted towards this last report's usage were Christmas presents for the grandbabies. Both June and Ellie were getting baby dolls for Christmas, so I felt they needed quilts for their dear little dollies. And then I couldn't leave Sawyer 'without', so "Snow Buddies" (which I shared earlier) was for him.

In this instance, I don't care what the numbers have to say . . . those precious little babies say it all so much better!

Linking up with Patchwork Times.

:)