all the things . . .

What a great weekend! Thursday evening kicked it off (I am so grateful that our office is closed on Fridays) with our monthly guild meeting.  We had a good turnout.

Our program featured our Comfy Quilts Committee, along with one of the services that receives our quilts.  There was also a nicely stocked free to a good home table.  I dropped off a stack of magazines and grabbed some pretty fabrics that caught my eye!

Speaking of fabric, Diann of Little Penguin Quilts had shared a cute stitchery she was working on, and it was framed with the cutest pumpkin print!  She shared with me the info on the selvage, so I could hunt it down.  Consequently, look what was in my mailbox on Friday . . .

I mean, it's so cute, right??  Pumpkins *and* acorns.  It doesn't get more me. <grin>

We had several different groups visiting the camp.  They had beautiful, crisp weather for it!  I took some foliage shots . . .

I'm so thankful I am able to live out here!

I prepped another (finally ... I've been so lazy with any kind of stitching this week) Thanksgiving bowl filler.  This one is the turkey:

He's so cute!  I've got three of the five done (or will have done before the end of the day). 

The turkey will be my slow Sunday stitching!  Linking up with Kathy's Quilts!

Saturday was game day!  Snacks were all about sausage today.

Sausage balls and Rotel dip!  And when I say snacks ... I mean our meal!  LOL! Roll Tide for the win and for a guarantee in the SEC Championship game!

And I'm just going to leave this here . . .

You're welcome.  Happy Sunday! 

:)

celebrate on . . .

I may have shared that I give as much time as my birthday wants to be celebrated. A week where you only work two days and have the next five free is as good a time to continue celebrating as any! I gave a whole post to the Tate Farms fun, but I'll condense the remainder of the long weekend here. Mostly.  I think. 

Thursday, the weather continued to be beautiful, and since a wet, cool front was moving in on Friday, our regular boat day, Todd and I decided to go ahead and get our lake action in a day early.  It was another of those days where Todd was really catching them, so I fished, too.  Another fabulous day -- he caught two to my one, but that's pretty exciting to me, especially since our total was 45! And what do you know, algebra does pay off!  2x + x = 36; solve for x.  Hahaha...I caught 12!

What really captured my attention, though, was the late afternoon sun, and the clouds that were starting to pile up in anticipation of the next day's front . . .

I couldn't stop taking pictures! I think partly because my photo never looks quite as spectacular as what I'm seeing, and I want desperately to capture it that way.

I'd never seen a sun dog before ... it was just beautiful! I had to confirm with the meteorologist of Alabama, James Spann, to make sure it was what I thought it was.  If James says so, it is so!

The combination of the sun setting and the clouds amassing made for fabulous effect. My camera roll has no end of these photos.  Just saying. 

The City of Guntersville finally has a developer working on a spot of land on the lake aimed at boaters/tourists.  It's called City Harbor, and it's supposed to be a great spot for dining and entertainment, once they get it all built.

Not the best pic (this was actually taken 10/8).  We were moving at a pretty good clip!

It's really close to the marina ... it's a pretty spot now; just imagine what it will look like when it's all finished!

Friday I did a couple of things.  I visited Patches & Stitches and picked up some pumpkin oranges and greens (and used my birthday discount) . . .

Quite a nice little haul there, don't you think??

And then I traveled on to a new old shop.  It's an old shop that's been bought and is now being run by a new owner.  Southern Charm Quilting!  The new owner is in my stitch group.  She was having a terrific sale, trying to clear out some old inventory and make room for new fabric lines and wool.

I did very well here, too.  Seven yards of fabric for $36!  You can't beat that!!

From there I headed home and spent a little time in the Nook.  Worked on a mock-up of some pumpkin/jack-o-lantern placemats I wanted to make.  I messed up on the width of my strips, so I ended up with this little cutie instead . . .

I'll keep it for me ... at 12" wide it's too small for a placemat and a little too big for a mug rug ... but perfect as a small topper.  So be it.  I big stitched around the edges and down the lines.  It makes me smile!

Saturday was game day.  I made a double crust pizza and prepped the other two trick or treat bags for stitching . . .

I also finished up (finally) the pineapple block for Hospital Sketches in wool.

I've got two more blocks to finish.  The two most involved.  Go figure!  LOL!

As the evening (and the football) went by, I finished up my stitching . . .

I can't wait to gift these to the girls! 

One final photo.  Joc actually took and sent me this one.  In case you're wondering what Edith thinks about her baby brother . . . 

Baaahaaahaaa!!  As is usual, her face clearly says it all.

:)

all the things . . .

Remember that cute Halloween fabric I got a couple of weeks ago??

Really cute, right??  Guess what I found out on accident . . .

It GLOWS IN THE DARK!!!  Is that not the best?  You know what that means?

It means I went back and got MORE!  Haha!  And as per usual, I found something else I *needed* while I was there.  

Joc sent me this photo during the week . . . 

Ezra's little bed, all ready for little Ezra!  The pillow sham turned out so sweetly! 

I've been so puzzled trying to figure out why, of my two hanging pots of impatiens, the one on the right does so much better than the one on the left.  I think I may have figured it out.  What do you think?

I guess I need to switch them up every once in a while!

Friday we hit the lake again.  Sometimes, since I read or stitch most every time, it feels like all my lake pictures are the same, week after week.  But I will share this sunset . . . 

The sliver of a moon was shining so brightly!  And though you can't make it out in the photo, Venus was also very prominent in the sky. 

Sawyer had his first soccer game of the season yesterday!

I still cannot get over how grown up (and handsome!) he is!  James tells me Sawyer is a good player and tireless ... just like his daddy was.  I hate that I'm not able to go to a game.  

And can I tell you just how GLAD I am that college football season is back??  Roll Tide ROLL!

Todd and I have been enjoying Game Day parties for two.  LOL!  It's a good life!

:)

wrapping it up . . .

The month, that is . . . wrapping up August!  It was a good week.  The Merkel girls went back to school this week!

I love Edith's face in this one . . .

They won't be able to call it the 'School for Girls' in a couple of years!  

Thursday I left work for a moment and skipped next door to Barb's Sewing.  Social media really does work for advertising.  They had posted some cute new fabrics on the Instagram, and don't you know I came back with yardage from several of those they advertised and some from those they didn't!

But check out those Halloween prints!  Aren't they darling??  Those two and the three on the bottom, right, were advertised.  It obviously, in my case, pays off. ;)

Friday we hit the lake.  Again, the forecast held rain, but it's so hit or miss in the summer, we hate to scrap a whole day because of it.

This time we did run into a little shower.  You know, just enough to make everything wet and have it feel more humid and stickier!  LOL!

But afternoon storms often bring . . .

Rainbows!  First we could only see half of it.  But then the clouds shifted and we got to see the whole glorious thing!

I mean — there's no other word for it — just glorious!!  Plus the stormy clouds heading out made for a most fantastic sunset:

I can't ever get enough of that sight, even though it's bittersweet (because it means we're headed back to the marina).  Todd and I talk about getting a houseboat some day.  Not sure what I'd do with my fabric stash, but otherwise, I can imagine it!

Saturday was a stitch-in with my stitcher's group.  We had a good turn out.  

I brought my machine (I brought it to retreat and to a stitch-in ... the gals thought the world was ending) and worked on the top-stitching of Ezra's pillow sham.

Today is our last day of service at Essential Church.  We've been there for a while; nearly three years.  I will miss worshiping and serving with this group.  We will take a furlough through the end of the year.  With Ezra on the way and both Todd's dad and my folks struggling health-wise, we need to have a little more flexibility.  It's all in God's perfect timing!

:)

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!

:)