road trippin . . .

Backposted (because how ever many years from now I'd regret not having posted these pictures along with their stories)!

This past weekend was the second annual retreat for our Sassy Sisterhood!  We hit the road on Wednesday morning and shopped and ate along the way . . .

We stayed in the same cabin (that suits us so, so well) as last year, tucked in the Smokey Mountains in Sevierville, TN.  It's really sweet and cozy, and just the right size for three gals stitching away.  (And I just realized I never did a post just on our reteat last year.  This is why I'm going ahead and backposting!  It makes me so sad when I look back on the blog for something and I didn't post about it!)

My intent this year was to finish the teacup stitchery and to finish appliqueing all of the wool blocks from the Hospital Sketches BOM.  I succeeded . . .

Yay!  I love it when a plan comes together!  Finishing my BOM blocks is my goal for January's UFO challenge (in our Stitcher's Etc. group).  I'm glad to have this off my plate!

We also had a group project that we worked on.  Last year it was "Ewenice" (which I did blog about).  This year it was . . .

TAHDAH! Pompom sheep! Aren't they darling?  We used the tempplates from Betz White. Mine is the bottom one.  Lavender.  ♥  She's hanging from my rear view mirror in my car.  She's so CUTE!

We had a light dusting of snow while we were there . . .

Idyllic! We decided that was the perfect day to stay put and have a fire in the fireplace:

And Downton Abbey on the screen. Ha! It was such a sweet, laid back time.  Perfect get-away.  We booked for 2023 before we left!

;)

finally caught up . . .

What a weekend! Friday afternoon we headed out to make things ready for the 5th annual Pastor & Wife Appreciation banquet and retreat.We had about 36 pastors and their wives.  It was a great evening with fabulous food, worship and fellowship—not to mention a terrific speaker who spoke great words of encouragement.  We had about nine couples who were able to spend the night.  There was a fabulous breakfast that morning, and then we broke out into groups, for some more encouragement.  I think it was a success!

But I was itching to get home, because I knew what I wanted to get done . . .

Jack-o-lantern placemats! Yay! They aren't quilted and the faces are just arranged, not permanent, so there's still work to be done. But they're so cute ... I'll finish them up this week so the girls can enjoy them over Halloween weekend!

I also got my little pumpkin & sheep piece finished.  I think I forgot to share.  I also forgot to put it on display!  I rectified that . . .

It makes me feel all happy and fallish.  Todd doesn't think sheep and pumpkins go together.  I'm not listening.

And of course it's a football Saturday!  Todd challenged me to up my football snacking game, so here's what we enjoyed . . .

I adore this cool charcuterie/cheese board! Isn't it so fancy?! James gave it to me for Mother's Day, and this is the first time I've used it! ♥ Needless to say, I think I rose to the challenge.  Alabama also rose to the challenge and beat Tennessee.  Roll Tide!

The weather was looking fine for Sunday, so Todd and I decided to go ahead and go from church to the lake.  As we drove to church, I noted that the future quilt fabric was looking good!

They're harvesting it now ... so I was happy to get a nice shot of a field ready to be picked!

It was a tad windy, but still a beautiful day on the water.

We're stylin! In the live version of this photo, Todd's beard is just a'blowing in the wind!  There was enough of a breeze that a number of sailboats were on the water.

I counted seven that I could see (though they wouldn't all fit in one photo).  I've never seen that many out at one time!

We fished a couple of coves and around the boathouses.  Fall is *finally* starting to make an appearance in the trees.  

The seasonal color has really come in a lot later than is typical!

We stayed out until after sunset (and it was a glorious sunset . . .

. . . don't you think?) and then headed in.  It was a cool ride back!  But it was totally worth it!

Have a happy week ... this might help get it off to a good start!!

:)

quilts, kids, and critters . . .

Still slogging away in the new un-normal.  I don't know about anyone else, but it all still feels so surreal. Work is normal (hours), so there's that, but nothing else feels the same.  Strange.

I've been working off and on in the Nook.  Our stitcher's group collaborated on a quilt for one of our ladies who's been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Everyone contributed blocks (á la Lori Holt), one of our very talented ladies (and one of my affirmation group besties -- Sarah) did the layout and made it into a marvelous flimsy, and another of our talented ladies quilted it. Then I got to do the binding on it!  I love doing binding!  The entire process is soothing.

Doesn't everyone stow their 'to be stitched down' binding like this?!  LOL! The quilt itself was scrappy, so I did a scrappy pink binding for it, which I'd never done before. I was really pleased with how it turned out!

And the quilt itself is a stunner.  I just adore this layout . . . 

My SASSY! group (Sweet Affirmation SisterS Yay! -- there are three of us; Sarah, Gail and me) is currently into sheep and lambs.  We share photos and videos of sheep (and all things Welsh & tea) and we're planning a field trip to local 1818 Farms to meet this pretty little thing . . .

Her name is Baby Girl and she was born this year.  So cute!! Anyway, one of us found a quilt advertised with sheep on it . . .

which (along with the heart quilt) prompted me to be inspired to create . . .

Bleating Hearts (EQ concept).  Coming soon to a Nook near me.  ♥

I'm missing my California crew.  They're able to get out and about a little bit.  Kim sent me this sweet shot of the kids berry picking . . .

I think they grow faster because I don't get to see them often enough.  Liv had her first tap recital this week . . .

Holy cow -- when did she turn 16?!?  She's a natural performer and I was able to see video from the show.  She stole it!! ♥

My local crew paid me a visit at work this week.  Since I knew they were coming, I was able to provide a little surprise . . .

Everyone loves petit fours, right?

Right!

Things have stayed very slow at the camp.  The majority of our summer bookings have cancelled, so it's been quiet.  On the human front, at least.  On the critter front, it's been pretty busy--probably because of the lack of humans?!  We've made friends with a grey fox couple (they mate for life), who visit regularly . . .

Aren't they beautiful? I want to pet them so badly.  They're my 'puppies'.  They have a den (or two) nearby, and I've seen kits, but they haven't brought them to the 'feeding station' yet.

We also see the raccoons pretty frequently, but this juvenile has decided to make himself very much at home.

LOL!  Brazen thing.  He spent three hours one afternoon hoovering up all the bird seed. In between rest stops.  Ha!

When he was finished, Mr. Squirrel came in as the clean-up crew.

I don't believe a single bird ate seed I put out that day.  #truth

Lastly, still working on my Peppermint Purple blackwork SAL.  I'm behind about twelve weeks, but still plugging along. 

I love the way the colors move through the designs; it's so pretty!

Keep on stitching!

:)