tah dah . . .

Monday mornings just feel like a good time for a new post. I've accumulated a week's worth of doings, the weekend is fresh behind me, and the coming week stretches out like a blank canvas before me. 

Well, not entirely blank, but you know what I mean. :)

Our trip to Vandy went well.  The prognosis didn't change, but we left feeling lighter-hearted and better educated about what exactly we're dealing with.  

Todd was supposed to have chemo this week (the part of the canvas that isn't blank), but when he went in for labs this morning, his counts were too low.  He was armed with some questions to ask from the doc at Vandy, and got an appointment for a CT scan next week. We're hoping we can consult with Vanderbilt and be treated in Huntsville; that the two entities will be willing to work together.  

While we were in Vandy, we had lunch at the Pancake Palace, Est. 1961.  We both had breakfast for lunch, but I think I actually had dessert . . .

Right? Ganache-filled crepes topped with raspberry compote and whipped cream. Whew! I ate about half.  I was super glad we'd walked from the hospital to the restaurant and back! (Especially since I was driving the two hours home!)

I haven't been able to get out into the Nook as much as I would like recently.  For one thing, it's a hot mess and I need at LEAST a day to finagle it into shape.  The thing is, I can definitely tell when I've not spent time *creating*.  This week I poured it into our die-cut tree at work.  Since area kids went back to school last week, I felt like this was themed appropriately!

Pencils, crayons, backpacks, ABCs, buses, and apples, ready to gift to the teacher!  And I even 'tossed' in a few footballs (because, glory, glory, college football starts in nineteen days)! Hahaha!

And speaking of work, I had a few of my favorite visitors on Thursday . . . 

These three played under the table (secret fort), but Ellie pretty much stayed put in the chair for most of the visit; she's definitely a pre-teen!  

I love it when they come and visit me ... it makes my heart so happy.  ♥

We finally were able to go out on the water for a bit, early Saturday morning—first time since July 5 that Todd's felt up to it and the weather cooperated. We've found that Todd starts tiring in the afternoon, and combine that with the high heat we've had, it's too much.  So we got up at 3AM and were on the lake by daybreak.  

It was beautiful.  It was also a bit foggy in places . . .

It's very disorienting to be on the water when the fog is thick.  Luckily, this was just a patch that cleared up quickly.  And as the sun came up, it burned through that, making another pretty capture.

Gosh, I just haven't found a bad time to capture photos on the water! The landscape, the creatures, the sky, the water . . . it's all so beautiful in every situation.  Even storms are fascinating to watch!  God's creation never ceases to thrill me.  :)  We were back in our slip by about 10AM, but before we got there, we found a patch covered up in water lilies.

I snagged two . . . they're so sweet!  And I never realized this until Saturday -- they smell wonderful!

Sometimes cooking/baking satisfies my creative urges, too.  This weekend I tried a recipe from The Reluctant Entertainer:  Baked Cheesy Zucchini Bites. 

These were super yummy and very easy to make.  And packed with zucchini—which if your garden is anything like mine, anything new that can be done with zucchini is a good thing!  Browse around her recipes if you click over . . . she's got several interesting zucchini recipes!  The Air-Fryer Zucchini Parmesan bites look really good, too!

I rearranged things on my wood tray:

This little vignette just makes me so happy! Shiny pretties, lit candles, and the reminder that God is good.  And do you see the "heal" hanging there in the background?  That was a piece I did after taking a quilted word workshop with Meg Cox ... I did it right before my first shoulder surgery.  It feels appropriate to have it hanging now.  I pray that word over Todd a lot. 

Finally, I have been doing some stitching . . . 

I've got everything done on this cute little Mason Jar Sunflower piece, except the flowers themselves.  I'll probably wrap it up this week and finish it the way I'd planned (mug rug). I've been able to cut back on the majority of commitments that I had (guild, church, work, etc.), so I can spend as much time in the evenings after work, with Todd.  Even if it's just me stitching and him dozing.  :)

Okay ... let's get ready to face this blank canvas of a week and paint it with all the colors!  

Slán go fóill!

:)

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.

:)

getting stitchy . . .

Last week was a lovely, stitchy week!  On Sunday I remembered the sets of embroidery stencils I got while my shoulder was out of service for National Quilting Day (see that post here).  I pulled them all out and picked one that looked like fun to stitch . . .

I worked on it Sunday and finished it up on Tuesday. Todd and I drove six hours, round trip, for a work conference.  Well, he drove and I stitched!

I adore how this turned out!  I will finish it up this week and gift it later.  :)

I didn't skip Monday ... I road-tripped!  With a couple of my quilty friends up to Chattanooga for a tea and quilt shop hop.

We visited Polly Claire's (a first for all of us) and had a lovely time!

I spent more than I should have, probably, but the fabric ... it calls to me!  What I'm really glad of is that I'm not keeping up with my stash this year.  I'm considering it all slush fund for retirement. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

Wednesday evening I worked in EQ, laying out the design for our mystery quilt, with my chosen fabrics plugged in.  This is what I settled on for the final design for my prints:

Thursday evening I prepped and ironed a roll of binding to get ready to stitch it on Friday morning.

This is a "keep it secret, keep it safe" project.  So this is the only picture I can share . . .

My fabulous clover clips on where I've already hand-stitched the binding down on the boat on Friday!

Saturday I spent some time restoring order (again) to my work space in the Nook, and also started working the components for the blocks that will make up the mystery quilt (which, by the way, is no longer a mystery).  

And Sunday afternoon I continued to work on that and get bits and pieces plotted out to construct the blocks.  I put the two together . . . 

It's due August 15, so I should have no problem getting it together!

Last night I also finished up a Holly Jolly Topper (it was my Friday/boat project a week ago) by stitching the elements together . . .

If that's not the image of Christmas in July, I don't know what is! I love this topper....it's the favorite of my own designs.  But stitching for Christmas now has me itching to stitch up a pumpkin or two (or twenty-three)!!!

I worked really hard to make sure I spent at *least* fifteen minutes each day working on something quilting related. Mission accomplished!  I wonder what this week will hold?!  

:)

midweek mindset . . .

I started this blog in September, 2003 . . . nearly FIFTEEN years ago!  I got to looking at the posts in that first year (late in the year), and realized there were only three; and two of those were in the same day.  LOL!  I was determined to do at least that many posts in 2018 (hence *this* post).  But I really do enjoy blogging.  I enjoy writing.  Early on my blog was a place to journal.  What I was studying for Sunday School or in my quiet time, what was going on in my life, and even diet and exercise.  One of my favorites, though, is my second ever post, on the first day of the blog . . . this one.  I go back and re-read that one frequently, just because I miss my grandpa and I when we moved to the RV, I gifted the particular gadget I refer to, to Jocelyn.  Wish I'd put pics on the blog back then -- but it may have been before we had a digital camera!

Here's a pic from Etsy -- this is exactly what it looked like.  Cool, huh?

Anyway, the blog evolved.  I started using it for quilting and chronicling my quilting journey.  It really stepped up in 2010 . . . especially after the accident. I was non-weight bearing for a lot of the next two years, and blogging was how I spent a good portion of my time (that's when I found other quilting blogs; a whole new community).  My second ankle surgery was in 2012 (which was also the year I set my record number of posts per year).  And then in 2015, I went back to work full-time . . . and it seems it's all gone downhill from there.  :)

Still . . . here I am, tenaciously hanging in there.  Because, like I've already said, I enjoy writing. And I like being able to look back and not have to do so in book (journals) and to be able to use labels and the search function! Ha!  

I've been working on a guild challenge project -- which I can't really share or talk about, because one of the rules is that it has to be SECRET.

Which drives me crazy, because I've had SUCH fun with this project and I can't wait to unveil it!  The theme is "Stitchin' the Blues"  We can only use blue and/or white fabrics, the finished project must be square/rectangular (no odd shapes), with a minimum size of 18" by 18" and a maximum size of 36" by 36". The show isn't until our July 19 guild meeting, but I'm having a bit of shoulder surgery on June 26, so I've got to be finished well ahead of that. I'm nearly there!

In the meantime, I've continued to work on my hexie flower quilt (initially introduced in theory, here).  

I only have 99 more hexies to baste before I can start whipping them together!

I also was gifted a sweet little pattern, and some fun prints, at our last Stitcher's meeting.  

Put 'em together and what have you got?

A fun little happy for a happy little butterfly-loving girl.  :)

And a new book . . .

Loving the sweet designs in these pages and making plans for some late summer stitching!

Still hanging in there?  I appreciate it!  Have a great rest of the week -- I'll post another "A Quilter's Journey" later on this week.

:)