what i dragged in last night . . .

I never seem to come home from our guild meetings empty-handed.  That was *especially* true last night!  I came home with stuff.  Lots of stuff.  Piles and piles of stuff.  Okay, well maybe that last bit is an exaggeration, but I had a lot.  I had this little piece delivered . . . 

I was so excited that I came home and got the binding all ready to be hand-stitched (which I love, love to do).  YAY!  Can you guess what I'll be doing this afternoon and evening? June will have her quilt very soon!

I got this beautiful thing . . .

Not sure what it is?  Truthfully, I'd have had no clue if I wasn't told beforehand--I'd never seen one before.  Todd said he'd have had NO idea what it was if it he hadn't read the label on the metal tag.

My darling friend Sarah (who was my tablemate at our Stitcher's retreat) had it from her mother.  It's at least twenty years old, but looks brand new.  Neither Sarah nor any of her sisters have a desire to do any smocking, so Sarah decided to sell it and buy something for her youngest sister's soon-to-arrive baby.  Then it would be like getting a gift from her mom.  Isn't that sweet?  It rather makes me tear up.  Sarah also gave me the notebook her mom had saved with all the templates for different smocking patterns!  FUN!!!

First thing I did was post a picture on Instagram.  As you can see, Jocelyn was pretty excited about the whole thing . . . 

Hahaha!!!  Sarah also gave me some fabric that her mom had saved.  

The orange check is darling -- a cute little smocked dress, right?  If nothing else I can use it for practice pieces, too.  And the great thing is, since it's not quilt stash, I'm not counting it there.  That's not cheating, is it?!  LOL!

I also won this tidy little pile last night . . .

I love blues and yellows! And yes, I *will* be counting that in my next stash report! And there were some fun patterns in the book ... but I may be turning that around. Anyone interested?

And ... I snagged this off the "freebie" table (there was a LOT on the freebie table last night):

The little quilt in the top right corner, above the fireplace, caught my eye!  I'll probably offer this one up free to a good home, if anyone's interested in it.  So ... quite the haul from a guild meeting, don't ya' think?!?

On the other hand, I did NOT bring home this box:

Box o' cat! Anyone who knows Leia would understand the irony of her paws showing up in that particular statement. Especially at feeding time. If that's not *paws for thought* ... [insert rim shot here].

Joc and her hubby have put their house up on the market ... in fact, they have their first showing this morning.  WOW!  Anyway, Joc had bought a new trash can (with a lid) and Leia got the box.  Silly cat!  Linking her up with the Feline Friday linky party over at Sarah Did It!

And then, strictly for my viewing pleasure . . .

Little Miss has figured out that she can escape.

And she's quite pleased with herself!

And Little Man has figured out that cucumber ... well, I'll let you see for yourself:

He was pretty pleased with himself, too!

Happy Friday and happy weekend!

:)

furrrrrightened felines . . .

All the time I've spent with grands at Joc's house this past week has been *great* for me -- and great for the kiddlies, too.  One who has not really enjoyed the heightened level of toddler/baby activity in her home was this one:

Leia quickly realized that while this spot put her at a relatively safe distance from Ellie and June, Sawyer has a bit bigger reach (and climbing capacity).  At one point she backed into this space:

Yes ... she's cowering in the corner.  A self-proclaimed time-out.  Unfortunately, Sawyer didn't understand that she was in time out.  I think she made a run for the steps after that.  Still not safe.  The funny thing is, she could totally leave and hide . . . but she likes to be where the people are!  Silly cat.

Speaking of silly cats, I came across this clip on facebook yesterday and it's such a HOOT!  

I love how the music plays *perfectly* the funky kitten movements!!  Linking up to Sarah Did It! and Feline Friday!!  

Wrapping up the week, I am still adding things to my CQ block.  My monogram was looking a little lost in its space, so, with the ingenious advice of my darling man, I added the white stitching in the patch.  Now it looks rather like it's sitting on a trellis, which perfectly fits the 'garden theme' of the block!  It also really helps the "D" stand out a little better.

I also added a lace flower motif down there in the bottom (it's transparent and sparkly, so it's a little hard to see in the photo).  Three butterfly charms will go on this afternoon and then it's just waiting for the ribbon to come in. I've tried to crop it to where the seams will be for the rollup.  I think I could just frame this and hang it!  LOL!

I also got word that my doll quilt swap partner for February received her little piece in the mail, so I can share pics of that . . .

It was such fun to do!  And I totally adore that fabric.  It was from my trip to Hammer's during the retreat.  Can you believe it?  Less than $5 a yard?!?  I may go back and get more.  The theme for February was "Something I Love" -- I think this little piece perfectly says chocolate raspberry Dove bar.  LOL! 

Anyone out there do any smocking?  I've got a friend who's willing to sell me her mother's pleater for a very reasonable price.  Joc and Kim are both hot for me to learn and pump out the smocked dresses for the girls!  To be honest, I'm rather hot to learn it as well!! 

I'm off for the weekend ... we're catching up with MSC (mission service corps) missionaries from all over the state of Alabama this week.  Should be fun!  

Yay for Fridays!!!

:)