leaving, on a jet plane . . .

But unlike the song, I *do* know when I'll be back again!

I'm heading to visit Sister #3 in her new home in New Jersey and spending a couple of days exploring the new hometown with her, then together, we're flying down to Texas to visit Sister #4 and her family (who has also just recently moved into a new home) for a couple of days.  I'm *so* excited!!  Both sisters have already scouted out quilt shops to visit.  In New Jersey we'll be looking in on Olde City Quilts and in Texas we'll be stopping by The Quilt Cottage!  Whoohoo!  Do I have the best sisters, or what???!

I've finished piecing *and* setting my rainbow-star-burst-thingie-piece.  I think I may call it "Luminous"!  

I'm so very pleased with how this turned out!  I learned a lot EPP'ing this, too. I'd like to make it again. Actually, I think a whole quilt made from this block would be awesome! But this first one will definitely be just a table topper.  Perhaps I should name it Prototype instead.  Ha!

Again, printed out the design in EQ to doodle around with quilting ideas.  I like the idea of lots of straight lines, I think.  Keeping it geometric.  

I also pulled out an oldie-but-a-pretty UFO project from last year.  I got stuck trying to figure out what to quilt next.  When I pulled it out last week, it practically screamed at me to put the fans in the four corners! Although, now that I look at it, I wonder if I should turn them around and have the flowers facing each other? Ugh!

I'm also debating on the border to use between the fans in the corners.  I was originally thinking the twist would work best, but seeing it through the picture makes me thing the swirls would be more complimentary.

Ugh, ugh!  Perhaps I haven't gotten any further than I was last July?!

I took my youth girls Sunday school class to the Lincoln County Fair yesterday afternoon!  It was *such* fun and we had such a blast, strolling around and riding rides and people-watching and petting animals.  I really do love all my girls--they keep me young!

Seriously! I love the ears in the first one, but pink is most definitely my color, don't you think?! 

They were even willing to take a look at the Sewing/Crafts exhibition and winners (I think perhaps because the building had A/C!).  The quilts immediately caught my eye, and lo and behold, I saw this sweet quilt:

With a third place ribbon, to boot!  It belongs to Ellen, a friend of mine in our Sassy Sewers group.  And I helped quilt it!  (That's me on the very end, left -- hiding behind Tamara!)  

Ellen quilted it for her autistic grandson, who loves, loves, loves all things fire fighting. There are patches from fire companies all over the *world*!  Pretty cool, huh?

And why this guy was just hanging around on the side of the road, and not entered in the fair, I have no idea:

This is one of our neighbor's pets.  He rather reminds me of "Uncle" from Charlotte's Web!  Sometimes they just let him loose and he wanders across the street.  When I called him, to take his picture, he came running, his tail just a waggin'!  I love living rural.  :)

Finally, just finished stitching up this piece for a StitchMAP class.  I have one more lesson to finish to be done with it.  I had to use at least four different stitches and I think I more than succeeded!  In fact, I used seven . . . chain, running, back, outline, padded, split, and a couple of French knots for good measure.  We had to submit front and back pics of our work . . . 

The point is to make the back as neat and near presentable as the front.  Not too shabby, I'm thinking!

I'm linking up to Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times (Design Wall Monday), and Kathy's Quilts (Slow Stitching Sunday).

Okay ... now off I go to pack and get ready for my trip into the wild blue yonder.  I'll catch ya' on the flip side!

:)

design wall on the road . . .

There's not much to display on my makeshift design wall (which happens to double as my mom's kitchen table) today.  

I finished the round of hearts.  I really like, like, like how this looks.  I am especially in love with the little flower which finishes (or starts?!) the circle.  I love how that just *worked out*.

I didn't compress the pics so you can click and see them full size (if you choose).  It's hard to see the detail when they're small/compressed.  It's hard to see the detail no matter what!

I think I've decided to use the fan (which is same stencil I used for the interior circle) And pull it in reverse into the corners.  

Maybe pull it out and elongate the fan lines and add a segment or two, to really *fill* the corners.  I'll have to get it home and play with it.  It would be nice to have this finished and to its recipient before she's walking!  LOL!

Be sure to head over to Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times and check out all the marvelous creativity being shared on design walls over there!  And if you want to check out my giveaway, be sure to stop HERE!  :)

Mom let us know yesterday afternoon that they are holding on to her at the rehab center until Thursday, now.  I think she's still a bit anxious about her full flight of stairs, and since there's no bedroom or full bathroom on the first floor of her house, it's a definite concern.  But they had her up and walking with the cane, yesterday, instead of the walker, so that's a tremendous advance!  She's such a trooper with a terrific attitude ... I know when she comes home, she's going to conquer all obstacles. 

Julia, Cynthia and I had a lovely brunch at Miss Shirley's yesterday morning.  Oh my goodness.  I had the pumpkin (what else?) cheese cake stuffed French toast.  With maple syrup. 

It was humongous!  I'm having the other half for breakfast this morning.  We also shared a side of bacon and some hash browns (which were *very* good with a sprinkle of Old Bay on them).  Needless to say *I* was the one that was stuffed when we left!  None of us thought to get a picture...good gravy!  The closest I got was catching Cynthia's hands in the food shot!  

It's Monday -- the first day of a new week and an opportunity all over to do it right!  Have a great day!

:)

saturday morning . . .

My Leafs Me - Happy - Birthday to Me giveaway

is still active ... you can check it out HERE!

My sister Julia arrived mid-morning and she came bearing birthday gifts . . .

Aren't these lovely??  She got them at their local fall festival.  The necklace and the earrings are crocheted!  Isn't that marvelous?  And I love the colors!

She also made and toted with her this marvelous looking birthday pumpkin pie . . . 

My first pumpkin pie of the season -- whoohooo!!  She and dad lit the candle and sung my a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday.  I was serious when I said I celebrated the month long! 

Yup . . . 

With a nice dollop of whipped cream, it just doesn't get much better!  Thanks, Julia!!  (Oh, and before I forget, photo credit for the cat on a cold wood stove does go to Julia.) (Long story.)

And lest you think I've not been getting any quilting/stitching work done . . . 

I finished the first pass of the ring of hearts!  I love this stencil/pattern.  It's a continuous pattern which means I don't ever have to make a pass between the sandwich to hide thread and start the quilting in a new location.  It's *awesome* when you're stitching!  Of course, when I laid it out, I ended up with a space between my first heart and last heart that wouldn't fit another heart -- but it was the perfect size for one of the roses from the center.  So I pulled that into the space and used the swirls from the circles (beside the hearts) to pull it together.  I love how it turned out. 

I hope to finish up the second pass today -- of course, that means that I'm done with this piece for the rest of the trip.  I didn't bring any stencils with me to mark the top, so . . . c'est finit.

To be honest, this thing has rather given me its direction as we've gone along . . . I'm thinking something intricate and detailed in the four corners, with a simple woven line down the four sides.  But I won't know until I get home and can audition some stencils.

Baby Jane has decided that "I'll do."  

She jumped up and sat next to me for a good thirty minutes this morning! I feel cat-loved!

Julia and I traveled back to quilt shop (after all, it *is* right on the way to the rehab center) . . . more on that with tomorrow's stash report.  Aye yi yi!  (Todd ... please don't read tomorrow's post.  LOL!  Just kidding, honey!)

I'm getting woefully behind on the Grandmother's Choice blocks!  Today's block is Alice's Flag.  I'll have my work cut out for me when I get home.  But I won't worry about that now, for as Miss Scarlet would say, "After all... tomorrow is another day."

:)

it's a good thing i married a firefighter . . .

Cuz y'all . . . yesterday I was HOT!!!!  I mean my sewing machine was SMOKIN'!!!!  My fingers were just a'BLAZING!!!!  I was setting fabric on FIRE!!!  

Okay, okay, enough with the imagery.  But I do have a reasonable right to be a little excited.  I got in four finishes yesterday!  Whoohooo!!  

First finish was my little Leaves and Acorns topper . . . 

Next I quilted the cute little hexie topper . . . 

I haven't named it yet.  I quilted around the outside, the stitched in the ditch around in the six, then offset stitched in the center hexie.  I'm very pleased with this sweet little project!!  :)

Then, on a whim, I rummaged through my sewing basket, found some very thin, black binding, and finished up my Winter's Shimmer topper.  

I was just a teeny, tiny bit concerned about how the black would look on the reverse side, but I shouldn't have worried:

I'm really pleased to have this one finished!

And then finally I quilted and bound my Theoretically piece.  

I'm really pleased with how this one turned out and it will serve as a great reminder for all the work I put into my Color Theory course!!  The button in the center is a nod to the last exercise of the last lesson ... where I had to "make do with what I had".  I quilted it with a metallic thread.  That's a nod to me.  LOL!

In addition to all that, I made breakfast, lunch, *and* dinner, did three loads of laundry, and got dressed -- which, before you laugh, is a pretty big deal in the scope of things!

And my final act of the day was to mark the next segment on my wholecloth quilt.  I know it's hard to see, but it's a circle of hearts.

I'm really excited about quilting this design, because it's one of those that's a continuous pattern.  You never have to move your needle.

Y'all ... this "finishing" is just so freeing!!  I feel caught-up . . . I feel complete . . . I feel accomplished . . .

I feel justified in starting a new project today!!

:)

in the pink . . .

I didn't end up doing anything with my autumn leaves yesterday ... my wholecloth project was sitting there looking at me woefully, wondering when I was going to give it my attention.  So that's what I took to Joc's.  I'm *so* glad I did!  Last night I finished the last stitch in the center section, took off the hoop and the sprayed off my guide marks (uh, most of them, anyway) and . . . 

Ta-dah!  I didn't compress this first picture so you can click on it and really get a look at the quilting on it.  (I mean, if you want to!)  Here's the back:

And here's a closeup of the floral design -- you can see a little better in this picture that I used a variegated pink on the flowers and variegated green on the leaves (I didn't compress this one, either):

Now to decide what going next!  The center design takes up 18" - that leaves me 9" on every side to still fill!

Ellie and I had fun yesterday ... she was in a particularly good and happy mood yesterday.  When I first came in, she not only *grinned* when she saw me, she even reached her arms out for me!  Haha -- but then I took advantage and scooped her up ... and she wasn't quite sure she was ready to be parted from her mommy!  

We played in the exersaucer again yesterday.  Good times -- so many fun things to touch and that make noise!

And when all else fails, Neesey's finger always makes for an interesting diversion:

Ellie and I also went for a walk yesterday afternoon.  We looked at the different trees and their leaves and touched their trunks.  We came upon a tree that had some interesting "fruits" . . .

I have *never* seen anything like this before.  Here's a closer look:

I wasn't sure what it was, even when I turned them around.

Not until I found a couple separated.  Well . . . acorns!!  I'll be.  Truly I've never seen this variety before.  But I grabbed a whole BAG full!  I can definitely see craft potential with these guys!

I'm linking up with Katherine's Corner and Thursday's Favorite Things blog hop.  Have a sewingly beautiful day!

:)

felines and marines . . .

I so enjoy my days with grandbabies.  Yesterday, of course, was no exception!  And of course, I had the added benefit of some Leia time, on top of the Ellie time!

Leia is definitely a "I want to be where the people are" kind of cat.  When Joc was heading up the stairs, Leia was there (as a trip hazard) . . . 

When we were all sitting around the table, Leia was there . . . 

And when I pulled out my quilting to do a little handwork . . . 

(it's easier to see from the back ... just three more flowers and some leaves and the center is done!)

Leia was there . . .

Such a cat!

Of course, I'll be linking up with Feline Friday over at Sarah Did It!

Captured some special moments of Ellie enjoying her plum and banana at lunch time . . .

Such a serious, focused eater ... it's really WORK to get her to smile while she's eating!  And I want you to know, that even with just two little toothies, she ate every bit of that banana and mostly all of the plum half, too!!

Today should be fun ... we've got a Semper Fi archery shoot tournament up at the camp today, tomorrow and Sunday -- it's a Toy's for Tots benefit.  Oorah!!

Happy Friday!  

:)

stitching and summer fun . . .

Friday Night Sew-In.  Right.  Well . . . I didn't get a whole lot done on my quilting last night.

I solidified my thread color choices, I finished outlining the fan and one blade, and that's about it.  But this morning I'm heading off to our Stitcher's sew-in, and this is all I'm taking, so hopefully I'll get a bit more finished this morning!

I won't be staying the whole day . . . just until lunchtime, probably.  Tomorrow is our day to provide breakfast for our church fellowship and I've got to do some shopping and some baking!  I'm making sausage balls, mini pigs-in-a-blanket, fruit salad, monkey bread, and no-bake cookies.  Plus we're having a potluck lunch after service -- so I'll probably make my Strawberry Delight for that!  Whew!

Today's Foto Finish theme, sponsored by Cat Patches, is "Summer's Here".  I couldn't share just one photo ... I have *three*!

To me, summer means family trips and trips to visit family.  These first two are from our summer trip to visit my sister in 2005.  Of course we got some beach time in:

And then the cousins all played 'capture', which of course requires cammies and camouflage makeup:

I love the reversed role play between the two photos!  They are such clowns.  And I have *no* idea where they get it from!

And from just yesterday . . . 

Daddies and their sweet little babies!  Although I was a little shocked by how *grown* both Ellie and Sawyer look here!  And I love how Ellie's got her little hand on Sawyer's shoulder.  Kim said it looked like she was saying, "Hey! Be still for one second!"  LOL!

Have a great Saturday!!

:)

fe-lion and fnsi . . .

Leia was pretty laid back when I visited Joc and Ellie this week.  

It was a grey and rainy day, and she was content to just kick back at the window.  She didn't even come help me with the quilty project I'd laid out on the table.  Lazy girl.

I tried to get a close-up of her.  Leia, look at me!

No.

Please look at me!

I said no!

Leia, Leia, Leai . . .

FINE!

Yikes!  Uhhhh, nevermind.  Not your finest smile there, girlfriend!

Grey and rainy days are nice days for rolling over and taking a nap.  Ya' know?
Going . . . 

Going . . . 

Gone!

Isn't that sweet?!  But don't be deceived.  Joc has a saying for this stretch.  It looks like an invitation (to pet that soft, furry belly), but it's really a TRAP! Because the minute your hand gets close, you're bound to feel the Leia fury! Still, I give into it pretty much every time ... it does look incredibly inviting!

And of course, I'm linking up with Sarah, over at Sarah Did It! for Feline Friday!!  

Ah, and speaking of Friday, tonight is also a Friday Night Sew-In!  

It's not too late to join in on the fun.  Just hightail it over to Handmade by Heidi and sign up.

I'll be working on my wholecloth project.  I'd love to finish this first quarter of the center.  I'm really excited to get this project underway, and I can't think of a more-fun thing to do on the evening of a Friday the 13th ... up in a secluded campground ... surrounded by acres and acres of woods and creatures.  Oh yeah!  Bahaha!  (Or should that read, Mmwaaahahaha?!?)

:)