retirement prep . . .

Mind you ... I'm still farther away than I care to be from that actual date, but still, I'm all about advance preparation.  In this case, it's about stocking up now, so when I retire and my indiscretionary funds are limited, I still have plenty of fabric, notions, and patterns to create to my heart's content. 

I made great strides towards that end this past weekend.  I visited (well, I had an appointment for) a quilter's estate sale.  And this quilter was very prolific, had a wide range of tastes, and was a most excellent piecer! Girl.  I made out. Check out my loot . . .

Yeah.  There was so much, I couldn't unload it into the RV (or the Nook--yet)!!  LOL! I unloaded it at the pavilion so I could spread it out and see exactly what I'd brought home.

This case had the beginnings of a 30's double wedding ring quilt with some gorgeous Dresden plates, too. And tons of 30's prints!

This one just had tons of yardage.  Look at those owls!!

This was two Christmas table runners.  Pieced, with batting and backing.  They just need to be quilted and bound.  WOW!

This one was filled with yardage of blues!!  *Swoon!*

This tote had tons of oriental prints.  Gorgeous stuff.  And a bunch of lantern and T blocks! 

This little tote had a TON of acrylic paper piecing templates!  And books.  And papers!

And this sweet case was filled with Lucy blocks!  Most of them are basted, waiting to be whipped together. Some are cut,  waiting to be basted.  And then there's tons of fabric, waiting to be cut, along with papers and patterns and notions.

And this case was filled with these beautiful blocks (22) and yardage (and some cut and partially pieced pieces) of the fabrics to make more!  I don't know that I'll make more of them, but I can put together a topper or something with what's there and use that fabric for something else.

There was also a tub of assorted DMC flosses, one of pretty beads and embellishments, embroidery hoops, and a stunning—STUNNING—finished quilt top in blue and white that measured 104" square.  I don't have a picture of it yet, because I have no space in which to lay it completely out! In that tote was even more yardage of the prints she'd used in the top.  

All that to say...I'm a good prepper.  Heh.  ;)

Ellie is already asking for a new project to stitch.  I was searching for a cute monkey for her (she loves monkeys), and stumbled across this precious pattern from an Etsy shop called Naive Needle:

Isn't this the most darling raccoon stitchery EVER??!  (Yes, I feel that the extra emphasis is warranted.)  But once I'd downloaded it, I decided that there was too much to transfer.  That's the only part about embroidery I don't particularly care for.  Mind you, I did attempt it.  And quit.  I decided to enlarge the design just a tad and print it on my fabric.  

Oh. Yes. I cut my material about 12.5" square and taped it to a piece of letter sized cardstock and just ran it through my printer.  It handled it just fine! I do love technology (most of the time).

Here's my finish.  SO pleased with this darling little piece ... meet Rascal & Raquel! I will probably finish it out with some simple patchwork above and below, quilt it, and display it in my mini stand.  Stay tuned on that one.

Not sure what this weekend holds . . . but I do hope to spend some time in the Nook!  (Oh yeah, and remind me sometime to tell you about the embroidery kits I've been engaged to create!)

:)

kickin' off the month . . .

Just thought I'd check in and touch base!!  I've been doing a lot of reading, so I'll have several book reviews to post in the next week or so, but I've also been able to satisfy my creative side, too.

We started off the month of May with a retirement party . . . 

Yup.  It's a done deal with no turning back!  Luckily, retired life is suiting Todd very nicely.  Later in the month we're traveling to Maryland for some NAMB training.  Isn't it a happy coincidence that the training takes place thirty minutes from my parent's home??!!  

I've continued to work on the wedding quilt.  I'm *bound* (har har har) and determined to have it finished before Joc's anniversary (her fourth!) at the end of June.  But I can't work on that cumbersome thing *all* the time, so I got out my new apple core English paper pieces and started playing around with those...

In no time at all, I had a nice sized little Christmas topper.  All that's left to do is to whip them together!

I've also been dabbling in granddaughter clothes, which is very rewarding!!  Kim had given me some material (waaaay back in THIS post) and finally I got things together.  First was this outfit:

Isn't it cute??  Ellie was kind enough to model it for us before June got there.

Of course, that it was so perfectly darling on Ellie should have been my clue that it would be just a tad (seriously, just a tad) big on June.  A few modifications and it's good to go!

And next was a beach outfit for June!

She decided to do her own modeling for this outfit - and as you can see, I worked out the sizing! She was jumping up and down when I tried to take a picture of the ruffled rump (my favorite) so I'll substitute a still life pic:

Isn't it darling?  Can't wait for the next "order"!

I also had a couple of wins ... but only one has come in, so that's what I'll share. I won not one . . .

But THREE sweet little patterns from Snuggles Quilts during the most recent 100 Blocks blog tour.  

I really love the table runner patterns in particular (the pattern in the middle).  Deanne has lots of really cute things on her site and it's very much worth clicking over!

And finally, the whole 100 Blocks tour got me thinking about what I'd create if *I* were making a block.  So I twisted my own arm and sat down at EQ (yeah ... it was a real tough sell).  Stars have really been speaking to me lately, so that's what I dabbled in.  I settled on this one . . .

I've got the templates cut out and I'll put it together and see how it works!!

Heading back out for now ... the wedding quilt is calling my name ... as is all the pre-coursework I've got to get finished before our class!

:)

the undiscovered country . . .

Did the title of my post cause you to scratch your head or raise your eyebrow? Let me just say that my darling hubby is a bit of a Trekkie.  'Nuff said.

I have to admit ... it's not been terribly hard to stay away from blog writing.  Is that a shameful secret I should have kept to myself?!  But when something that doesn't pay the bills starts to feel like a burden or a "have to" or starts to impede upon other areas of life, it's definitely time to step back.  And we've been so busy! Todd now has just THREE more shifts.  He's only working the full twenty-four hours on TWO of them and taking off the full twenty-four hours of the last one! That means he has two more days to work and then we're DONE! It's a very happy, exciting time!  We're charting off into our own undiscovered country!  :)

Well.  It's been happy and exciting EXCEPT for the time I've been down with strep throat and a sinus infection. That hasn't been happy time.  LOL!  Luckily, though, it's only been since Thursday.  I felt so bad I missed a guild meeting. That should tell you something! I'm feeling better -- about sixty percent -- today. And since I hope to take Sawyer to dinner at the fire station tomorrow -- it'll be his last time to see Paw-paw in action as a fireman -- I hope to be at least up to eighty-five percent tomorrow!

We've been busy, especially in the Camp.  Spring and fall are our biggest camp usage seasons and we've had visitors most every weekend.  I love it!  And of course, I've also had fun doing some quilty, sewy, crafty things, too.  I continue to work on Joc's Wedding Quilt.  And I finished up the little Cardinals in Clover piece I'd EQ'd:

And of course I've been reading (though not doing a lot of commenting) my favorite blogs!

Speaking of which, I'd won a little giveaway over at A Little of This and a Little of Pat.  

It was this darling "Gobble Till You Wobble" pattern.  That is so totally me! Darling that she is, she also tucked in a little children's fabric she'd found that she thought I could put to good use . . .

Wasn't that sweet?  The space rockets are totally Buzz "Sawyer" Lightyear!  And I loved the cars and fire trucks and planes, too.  But the paper dollies made me *swoon*!  Totally darling!  And believe it or not, it's the ONLY fabric I've acquired over the past twenty-one days.  Of course, since I'm headed to Paducah, KY and the AQS show next weekend, that's all subject to change!  But, because I do want to keep up with this (for my own sake) I'm going to go ahead and report:

Used/donated this month: 0.75 yards

Used/donated year-to-date: 12.75 yards

Purchased/added this month: 3.75 yards

Purchased/added year-to-date: 42.50 yards

Net used/donated for 2013: -29.75 yards

I also participated in a fun thread swap with my StitchMAP group. (Good thing I'm not doing a thread/floss stash report!) We were to exchange two skeins of specialty threads/floss in colors that represented Spring to us.  I opted to swap with three folks, so I send off six skeins and got six in return.

The two I sent off were the green and sparkly purple on the left (yes, I bought two for me, also!).  Then in my swap package were the sparkly skeins of DMC metallics, the two skeins of Italian silk floss in a very earthy pink and a pretty blue, and finally some gorgeous silk floss in a very earthy green and a cream.  It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I participated!  

I also managed to score a couple of samples of tea from Royal Tea of Kenya. There was a terrific write-up about this company in the January/February issue of Tea Time Magazine, so I was thrilled when I was offered the opportunity to try it.  

The company is based out of Nashville and run by Joy (who I had a lovely chat with on Friday).  Joy's grandfather is the oldest living (at 109+) tea producer in the world.  Pretty cool, huh?  

I haven't tried it yet, but do believe that brewing a pot is on the agenda for this afternoon, along with enjoying some appropriate reading material!

The arrival of Spring also brings with it the arrival of birds and critters we don't see during the winter.  For example, the grosbeaks have put in an appearance this week (aren't these striking birds???) . . . 

As have the indigo buntings (which I adore) . . .

And the goldfinches, which do winter here, have returned to their summer yellow (instead of the drab olive they wear in the winter) . . . 

We've also seen our first salamander (Todd captured this picture):

And our first skink of the season (he did NOT want his picture taken!):

And of course, since it's flip-flop (or Yellowbox, as I prefer) weather again, the toes have to be painted!

My SS girls were particularly impressed with my 'rainbow toes' this morning.  I aim to please.  Haha!

And look at this:

My little kitchen herb garden is sprouting up!!  I'm still having to bring it inside (we had frost warnings for the past two nights) but I think after this weekend, we'll be good to go!  I can't wait until I've got my fresh sweet basil and chives and parsley!

Okay, enough of this; I could probably write on and on and blah blah blah.  I'm headed to get that tea brewing!  But before I go ... is anyone taking a trip to Paducah this coming week -- particularly on Saturday??  I'm headed there with my guild and will be there from 10 until 6. I cannot wait!!  If anyone else is going to be there, let me know!!!! 

Auf Wiedersehn!

:)

timing is everything . . .

Right?  I hesitated about posting this post this morning because it *is* April Fool's Day.  But it is what it is, and I'm forging ahead!

Today I'll be sending an e-mailout from our ministry (which, if you've got any interest in being on that mailing list, just let me know) sharing that Todd has officially put in his paperwork with the City of Huntsville and will be retired as of May 1, 2013!  We're so excited!  

Todd's Rookie Class - 1988

With the crew at Station #6 - 2011
Interestingly enough, four of the guys pictured here are also in the 1988 picture--considering the City's fire department has 18 stations, 3 shifts and over 300 men and women manning those stations, that's quite a feat!

My sweet husband, who has faithfully served the residents and business owners of Huntsville for twenty-five years, is ecstatic -- he's so anxious to move into full time ministry!  Not that it doesn't come with a little anxiety . . . but we're stepping out in faith, truly believing this is the direction God's placed before us.

All that to say, I'm putting the blog on hiatus. For a bit.  Probably not forever ... maybe not longer than a week or two.  But I'm shifting priorities and the blog falls low on the list for now. While it saddens me ... because I dearly love the true friends I've made in the blogosphere, I also know it's the right move, because it's a relief.  Of course, I'll still be around -- I'll read and keep up with y'all and your antics -- just mostly as a dreaded *lurker*.  LOL!  And when I do get back to blogging, it will be more sporadically and a blog less about quilting (hahaha -- I don't know that this particular blog can get less about quilting!) and more about life and mostly aimed at those who care about my life (and kids and grandkids especially).  

Speaking of which, we had a marvelous weekend coloring Easter eggs, hunting them, and celebrating Resurrection Day with family.  I made the mistake of not taking my camera (and not having my phone handy) for pics yesterday, so I'll have to wait on the son and son-in-law to see those pictures.  But I can share these:

Ellie with Mommy and Neesey at Dublin Park.

Sawyer took his egg dyeing responsibilities very seriously.

He had fun finding eggs, too!

But really, why look for eggs when there are perfectly good sticks just lying around??!

Enjoying the spoils of the hunt!
Sawyer won second place for most eggs found in the pre-school division!

Ellie enjoyed her first Easter egg hunt!

She's very serious about her finds.

She was a little less serious about her first Jello Easter egg!

Kudos to Todd and Kim for snapping shots of June yesterday!  Isn't she darling in her little Easter dress?  She desperately wanted to be a part of all the action!  (She's a feisty little thing!)

Had to toss this in -- a New York style cheesecake -- baked in a water bath and everything.  The recipe was a winner -- you can find it at Food For A Hungry Soul.

And if you're were seriously looking for a clever April Fool's Day joke, may I make a suggestion?  Try THIS one--compliments of The Quilt Show--on for size!

:)

tons of tidbits . . .

I have so *much* to share ... but so little to show. Hmmm . . . that's a conundrum, isn't it? I'll try to keep it kind of brief -- but that may be tough -- especially since I totally missed my Monday post!

Things are getting busy. We are seriously considering/praying about an April 28th retirement date, so Todd can apply himself full-time to the ministry. Wow. I mean, WOW! It would mean a huge leap of faith, but we both truly believe this is the direction that the Lord is leading us. 'Nuff said, right? Whew!

We've also signed up for some specialty training for Mission Service Corps (MSC) missionaries. The training is about a week long and will take place in the Baltimore/Washington DC area in the coming months. More on that later ... but it's a course on self-funding. The preparatory work for the course is pretty thick, so that will occupy a good bit of time in the coming months!

We celebrated Sawyer's birthday this past Saturday ... no surprise that the theme was Buzz Lightyear!

Sawyer had a blast and was totally enchanted by the life-size Buzz balloon!

I finally F-I-N-I-S-H-E-D June's pennant quilt . . .

I'm so pleased with it!! My friend Melissa (I Am Beautiful Bee) did the quilting on it and I love it! I delivered it to Baby June yesterday and she was totally thrilled with it! Yay!

Kim exchanged me some fabric for the quilt . . .

Haha! Happy me -- it's not mine! It's for June clothes! So I get to play with it and don't have to add it to my stash report! LOL! Speaking of which, I do have a little to report for last week:

Used/donated this week: 0.0 yards

Used/donated year-to-date: 12.0 yards

Purchased/added this week: 1.75 yards

Purchased/added year-to-date: 38.75 yards

Net used/donated for 2013: -26.75 yards

This was from the fabric I picked up at the guild meeting last week. I'd already reported the use of the pennant quilt, so no 'used' yardage this week! I was kind of curious as to how I was doing compared to last year, so I pulled up Stash Report #11 from 2012:

Used/donated this week: 0.0 yards

Used/donated year-to-date: 4.75 yards

Purchased/added this week: 0.0 yards

Purchased/added year-to-date: 31.75 yards

Net used/donated for 2012: -27.25 yards

Yeah. So not a lot has changed, huh? This totally made me laugh!!! I guess old habits really DO die hard! However, I can say that if retirement and full-time ministry is truly ahead, we'll be really living like missionaries in more ways than one -- I'll take that "purchased" right off the added line!

I've accomplished three out of five of my "get 'er done" for this month . . . and one is almost finished. I still need to get that pineapple quilt center finished up. Mostly what I've been working on is the Wedding Quilt . . .

I've put a nice dent in it. It's so funny ... we've had the perfect weather to snuggle under a quilt to do some hand stitching -- it's been cold and grey and snowy. Our high today *may* hit 45.  Average temps are in the 70's.  Who cares that we're a week into spring??!!  I think we're experiencing an April Fool's joke a little early. Hahaha!

I received my DQS in the mail on Saturday, too . . .

Isn't this darling? Check out the hand-stitching:

Aren't they sweet? She did a marvelous job - I'm thrilled with it! I'll get hers off by the end of the month and then I'll be taking a little hiatus from the doll quilt swaps for a bit.

Okay, enough for now, I've got to run! I'm having lunch with a friend and then I'm spending the evening with June and Sawyer. So much to do and not nearly enough hours in the day to accomplish it all, right? Linking up today's post with the Stash Report #11 and Design Wall Monday posts at Patchwork Times and the Slow Sunday Stitching post at Kathy's Quilts.

Ciao, baby!

:)