is it the thought that counts . . .

So I know it was just last week when I stated that Mondays were good for blogging days. I was doing so well with two Mondays in a row . . . and then this past Monday hit.  I had every intention of posting.  I even knew what pics I'd share and what I'd say . . . but life.  You feel me, right?  And then Tuesday was a chemo day.

Look at Todd smiling for the camera! Tuesday night was tough and Wednesday I stayed home with him, so here it is on Thursday and I'm playing catch-up. Harrumph. Thursdays just feel like a good time for a new post.  LOL!  :)

Last week started out fun. The Merkel crew came by work on Tuesday (during the week of National Afternoon Tea), and so we had a tea party!

It was baby brother's first tea party (with all the trimmings) with Neesey.  He did a great job of holding that tea cup, sitting in the chair, and was very polite at the table!

I'd stopped at Peggy Ann's Bakery on the way in, and picked up some suitable tea treats. Their petit fours are unarguably the best around! Everyone at our tea table agreed with me.

Thursday was the annual MBA Clerk's Conference. I host this event annually for all the church clerks in our association. The MBA provides lunch and I always spend (too much) time picking out goodies for favor bags for them. This year I decided to do a "My Favorites" favor bag, and had a lot of fun collecting my favorite things to share . . .

So if you've known me for any length of time, you aren't surprised to find that there's a pumpkin front and center.  HA! These cute little pumpkins were a $1 at Dollar General!  I'm going to go back and get one for each grandchild and fill it will treats-no-tricks! In case you're wondering, those Moser Roth wrapped bars are chocolate. It's made exclusively for Aldi grocery stores, and it's marvelous.  The dark chocolate with orange and almond bits is heavenly! And you'll notice the leopard print pen.  It's a TŪL pen, and they are my very favorite writing utensils, whether it's pens, pencils, highlighters, markers, whatever.  And y'all ... my love language is paper and pens, so my opinion is strong! 

Friday, Joc had a babysitting emergency, so I headed over there for the afternoon/evening. We had a fun time. I love it when I get there, and all four kids spill out the door hollering, Neesey! Neesey! Such love! Joc had made arrangements for pizza to be delivered and we did pizza and a movie.  I was so tickled to see the girls pull out the picnic quilt!

This is *exactly* what this quilt was created for! 

After dinner we went upstairs and got baby brother into bed (and I did it, first try!), and played and talked and giggled until it was time for the girls to go to bed.  

Love these kiddos and so thankful they're close by so I can run over there when there's a need!

Saturday morning I had a church brunch with our ladies . . .

Isn't that a beautiful spread??  It was lovely.  From there I spent time with my mom, then on to my part-time bookkeeping job, then home for some down time and slow stitching. Phew. I'd completed the stitching part of my Mason jar sunflowers, but it still needed to be *finished*.

I'd wanted a mug rug, but didn't want the sunflowers to compete with a print. I had the brilliant idea to blanket stitch the Aida to wool!

Y'all ... I'm so pleased with how this turned out!  Aida is perfect for stitching, because you can be SO precise with the height and width of your blanket stitches!  And the wool I used is just delicious.  If you can enlarge the photo and look at it closely, you'll see what I mean.  It was the perfect pairing!

So, now I'm mostly caught up and will try again on Monday to get my blogging on. We're hoping, even though Todd had chemo on Tuesday (and will just get his pump out today), that he'll feel up to fishing tomorrow.  We've had a break in the high heat/humidity, and the weather is supposed to be glorious!  Then Ellie is coming over on Saturday to spend the rest of the weekend with us, so I should have things to share!

Toodles!

:)

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.

:)

all the grands . . .

The Panter crew headed back to school this week . . .

I cannot believe how quickly they're growing!  And I absolutely canNOT believe that my Sawyer is in middle school.  Say it ain't so!! It's just been a month since we saw them last ... and it still feels like way too long.  

I took the Merkel girls the picnic quilt.  We wanted to take it out for a test run, but settled for a living room test run . . .

I'd say it was a hit!  We'll look forward to picnicking on it sometime soon (maybe when the weather cools a little and it's not so RAINY!

Burrito quilt!

Peek-a-boo!!

We also played upstairs in the playroom.  The girls insisted on pulling out their princess tent and decorating it lights . . .

They were pretty proud of their setting up.

Everyone in their crowns!  They have the sweetest smiles!

These girls ... they also know how to make a face!

Leia joined in ... well, she hung out on the outskirts and made it look like she wanted to be sociable.  She didn't, trust me.  ;)

And now, finally, we've got a NAME!! And I was entrusted to do some special stitching on a special little cap . . .

Ezra Paul, we can't wait to meet you!!

:)

finishes and a retreat . . .

Back in April I shared a photo and story of a flimsy I'd completed, but it came from blocks I hadn't pieced.  I purchased the blocks (along with all the leftover coordinating fabrics) from an estate sale.  The original quilter, Janet Noever, had made the 9" blocks, but left no indication of how she planned to use them. So I put them together the way I wanted and even used (gasp) borders!  (If you knew how much I dislike using borders, this would make you laugh.)

ANYway, my sweet friend Lois, who is a long arm quilter, was the person I asked to quilt this special piece (because it deserved a little more than my straight line machine quilting).  She knew the backstory, and she said she had "ideas" for quilting.  I was really happy to hear that, since it's not my strong suit!  Anyway, I got it back and got the binding on it zippity quick (because binding *is* my strong suit) and, TAHDAH  . . .

Isn't it beautiful?  She did such a great job! Her quilting couldn't have been any more perfect for the piece!  And, as promised, I also did a couple of fun pieces to coordinate with the quilt, for out on our screened room:

So fun! 

I also zipped on the binding of my mom's quilt (Lois quilted it, too):

Yay!  We had such a fun time taking the class together.  She needed a finished quilt for all her efforts!  Not bad for a first quilt, huh??!

Another important finish is a little less quilty.

The construction of the bathhouse exterior is finished!!  As Todd continues to tell me, the bathhouse is about 75% complete; all it lacks is finishing up.  Ahem.

Our stitcher's group had a fun little retreat up in Bell Buckle, Tennessee! It was a great group of woman (and a really cute house) . . .

Okay, here's a photo where you can actually see our faces . . .

I'm peeking through on the back row, left side!  We had a great common room for quilting.  

I went in with three goals.  Number one was to finish the binding on the Picnic Quilt:

I didn't have anywhere to lay it out there ... I had to come home for that!

Number two was to finish the flimsy for the new baby's quilt:

And number three was to cut all the sashing and cornerstones for my Hospital Sketches in wool, and continue stitching on the wool blocks:

I nailed it!  I'm learning to be more focused at retreats.  I'm really pleased with everything that got accomplished!

:)

summertime shenanigans . . .

It has been a whirlwind of a month! June is a month when thoughts turn to . . . 

Pumpkins.  I mean, right?!  Doesn't everyone's mind work this way?! Haha! You know, I rarely buy wool kits because I enjoy picking my own wool for a project. When I found this darling pattern, I knew I'd definitely want to kit it from my own stash!

I had just the perfect combinations to work with!  Does anyone else work out colors/fabrics this way? I do love the end game . . .

Of course it still needs to be blanket stitched down, but there is plenty of time for that! (Famous last words.)

Todd got a new sign (with a new motto) for the camp:

I love this so much!  I feel it, every time I walk a trail!

We had reasons to celebrate.  Olivia Mae turned SEVEN this month!  I can't believe how grown up all the grands are getting!  

She's pictured here at her first piano recital.  She's so beautiful!

We also celebrated Evey's graduation from Kindergarten!

That's a big deal, y'all!  She had just gotten her ears pierced, so she's not able to switch out earrings yet.  Instead of buying her some, we gifted her with an 'Andrew Jackson', so she could go on a little shopping spree when the time came!  She's so cute!

I did finally get the PQ under the sewing machine and do a little stitch in the ditch quilting. It wasn't too terrible.  I had one spot where it's puckered a bit ... but I made this quilt to go on the ground, be eaten over, and rolled around on, so I'm not going to sweat it.

Now it just needs to be bound!!

That's me not sweating it. In my RV pajamas and blue light glasses.  (Aren't I cool??!)

We had our FIRST in person guild meeting at our own location for the first time in FOREVER! 

It was a fun evening and it was terrific hanging out with all my quilting buddies again!

But the end of the month brought visitors . . . 

SQUEEEE!!!!!!! This will need its own post. ♥

:)