heavy laden . . .

This post, that is . . . with pictures.  :)  This past weekend was our guild's biannual quilt show!  I spent the afternoon there on Saturday and have the quilty photos to prove it!

I didn't enter a quilt in this year's show, though I did place my Blue Melody in one of the exhibitions that had been set up . . .

So it was fun to have that around!

We had over 250 quilts on display this year -- the show was amazing.  We have SO many talented quilters in our guild . . . it's very humbling to sit among them! Here are a few of my faves . . . 

I *adore* this one . . .the faces of Santa and the reindeer in the progressive photo frames just CRACK me up!!

I'm a sucker for a patriotic/red, white & blue quilt! 

Yup.

This was my sweet friend's quilt!  Sarah is a Sassy Affirmation Sister (as is Gail)!  ♥ Really, as a trio we are enablers of one another -- of the best kind! *wink*

And these two quilts belong to my darling friend, Kari!  The first was a work of collaboration with Sarah's quilt, above.  And the second? Roll Tide!

This quilt was a beauty up close, but from a distance, the appeal is obvious!!

This was my favorite of the Christmas pieces ... I really felt like it deserved a ribbon.  All hand applique!  It was very beautiful!

This sweet redwork lighthouse quilt, with the reverse applique, was made by the same maker.  Her handwork is just amazing!

This beauty won the Best of Show!  This was pieced by none other than Barbara Black who blogs at My Joyful Journey.  The quilt (and Barbara) even got a nod from The Quilt Show!  That's pretty cool, huh?!?

This is my sweet friend Lois (and me)!  She's a talented long arm quilter and in fact, she's the one who quilted the show winning quilt that Barbara made!  Amazing!

This quilt was another amazing winner.  Pictured here with its creator, Linda (right), and quilter, Robin (left).  It won first place in its category (two makers, extra large, pieced), best machine quilting - track machine, and won the viewer's choice award!  The quilting in this piece really made it, in my opinion . . .

I wish I could have taken a close up of all the blocks!  It was exquisite!

Joc, Ellie and Evey joined me later in the afternoon . . .

The girls felt that since they were going to a Quilt Show, they needed to bring their quilts!  Aren't they cute?!

They also visited our selfie station.  Quick side note, I did a lot of the props for the station! 

One of the reasons they waited so late to come by was because they wanted to attend a demonstration on English Paper Piecing I did that afternoon . . .

My table all set up!  It was a fun 45 minutes; I really love doing things like that.  I've found that I really enjoy teaching adults.

The birthday weekend wrapped up with a celebration at Joc's!  

It was a lot of fun -- she's such a terrific cook and hostess!

Okay.  I'm done ... except for one thing!  I did pick a random winner for the blog hop ... first let me say what a lovely bunch of happy birthday wishes ... thank you!  The winner of the book was:

And it's on its way to her!  Congratulations!

Have a great rest of the week!

:)

day five . . .

I'm melting . . .

Can you believe it's the final day of the Witchy Stitchy Blog Hop?!  Be sure to stop by and visit all of today's participants:

Just Let Me Quilt

Quilt Fabrication

Melva Loves Scraps
Patchouli Moon Studio

Ms P Designs USA

Karrin’s Crazy World

Patchwork Breeze

Words & Stitches

And in case you missed it, my day was yesterday -- and there's a giveaway that's open through today!  

Bewitchingly stitchingly yours,

:)

day four . . .

It's MY turn for sharing on the Witchy Stitchy Blog Hop!  Annnnd . . . it also MY BIRTHDAY! 

♥  Local grandgirls visited for a birthday eve visit yesterday!  ♥

Hexie Pumpkin Mug Rug
(this is the fourth or fifth I've made...but this one is for ME!)

A birthday means there's a giveaway in here somewhere. ;)

So when I signed on for this hop in July, I gave myself a couple of hours  several days  weeks  until five days ago to figure out what I wanted to make/share.  I love autumn and the less ghoulish elements of Halloween and I didn't want to do anything too creepy or ghoulish.  

I adore ... no seriously ... I ADORE pumpkins in all their glorious colors, shapes, and sizes, but pumpkins didn't quite seem to fit the Witchy Stitchy theme, so I could start there, but I couldn't end there.  With a little inspiration from where I live (Camp MACOBA) as a year-round camp host and from one of my favorite quilting books, I got an idea.

Spiders . . .

Oh yeah, no lack of live, creepy, crawly inspiration there!  *shudder*

I mean, c'mon...what respectable witch brews a cauldron of brew without a pinch of spider or a dash of web?!  Or at the very least, keeps a spider on a leash as a pet??!

Exactly.

So being that I'm a small project person and adore a darling mug rug (or two or ten) for *every* season, here's my offering:

A spiderweb mug rug and a couple of yo-yo spiders.  These yo-yo spiders are so super cute and easy to make!  

I found them in Simple Fabric Folding for Halloween, along with a lot of other spooky fun projects!

The pumpkin is also super easy ... one roll of toilet paper, one fat quarter, and a nice sized twig for the stem.  

They're a GREAT way to decorate when you have little, curious hands around, as are the yo-yo spiders!!

Okay, so I know I mentioned it was my birthday and a giveaway.  That's the kind of birthday girl I am!  I want *everyone* to have a happy day on my birthday!  So here's the deal.  Leave a kind birthday greeting in the comments and follow me in some shape, form or fashion (and let me know you do), and I'll draw a winner for a copy of Simple Fabric Folding for Halloween for your very own! I'll accept entries through the 11th and announce a winner sometime on Sunday the 13th.  :)

Many thanks to Carol of Just Let Me Quilt for coordinating another super blog hop! These are a lot of work to put together and she does a beautiful job of  it!  Be sure, also, to visit the rest of the blogs that are hopping today:

Beaquilter

Homespun Hannah's Blog

MooseStashQuilting

Cynthia's Creating Ark

It’s A T-Sweet Day!

this is me!  ---->Count it *all* JOY!

Bethni L. – Hosted at Just Let Me Quilt

Thank you for stopping by . . . and I'll have the final list of participants posted if you come by tomorrow!

Bewitchingly stitchingly yours,

:)

day three

It's just a bunch of hocus pocus . . .

It's already day three of the Witchy Stitchy blog hop; the halfway point! Aren't you having a magically good time?! Be sure to stop by and visit all of today's participants:

Home Sewn By Us

Kathleen - Hosted at Just Let Me Quilt

Quilts Fabric and Thread Tales

Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting

Websterquilt

Seams To Be Sew

Sew Many Yarns

Don't forget to come back by tomorrow ... for the new listing (of course) ... and because it's MY day in the hop!

Bewitchingly stitchingly yours,

:)

day two . . .

Bippity boppity BOO!

It's day two of the Witchy Stitchy blog hop! Be sure to stop by and visit all of today's participants:

Selina Quilts

Vroomans Quilts

Days Filled With Joy

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Life in the Scrapatch

Just Because Quilts

Brenda's Quilt Blog

Don't forget to come back by tomorrow ... for the new listing ... and Thursday (10/10) for my day in the hop!

Bewitchingly stitchingly yours,

:)

day one . . .

Something Witchy Stitchy this way comes . . . !

Make sure you visit all of today's Witchy Stitchy participants:  

Creatin' in the Sticks

Songbird Designs

For The Love Of Geese

Quilted Delights

Kathleen McMusing

Quilts By Joanne

Whims And Fancies

Janie G. – Hosted at Just Let Me Quilt

Oh, and you'll definitely want to come back by here on Thursday (10/10) for MY day of the hop *and* a giveaway!

Bewitchingly stitchingly yours,

:)

hauntingly slow . . .

Slow Sunday stitching, that is!

In anticipation of my day of the Witchy Stitchy blog hop, which is Thursday, October 10th . . .

The hop starts TOMORROW!  There's a great lineup of participating blogs (which I'll share tomorrow's post). Today, however, I’m spending a serendipitous Sunday afternoon doing some mummy (aka ‘wrap-up’) hand-stitching:

Just tiny peeks at what I’m doing, of course. To see the entirety of my Witchy Stitchy offering, you’ll just have to stop back by on Thursday!

Ah....and did I mention there will be a giveaway? No tricks...just a treat!

So that's it for now.  Linking up with Kathy's Quilts (for the first time in FOREVER)!

:)

doing life . . .

I feel like my stitching has slowed down a little.  Okay, okay, I *know* it's slowed down!  The Nook is a total mess right now, and I have no desire to do anything about it.  I do have handwork on hand ... the big hexie project is still in the works and I'm still working on the Hospital Sketches BOM in wool and some fall monogram work for the girls!

I had a couple of my stitching buddies over one day and we watching movies, drank tea and did handwork.  That was so fun--so fun I forgot to snap any pics! Todd went fishing that day! ;)

I also went through my quilting books and patterns and weeded out a significant number of both.  I gifted 'weeds' to pals who wanted them and put the rest on the "free to a good home" table at guild. I feel lighter now!  I also made a spreadsheet of the books I had, to make it easier to find them (and so I didn't purchase duplicates...again)!

Spent an afternoon at Scott's Orchard picking apples with Joc and the girls: 

We had such a fun time! I got sweet potatoes (right?!), apples, apple cider (which is YUMMY and contains nothing but apples and if you freeze for 90 minutes, makes a great slushy) and apple cider vinegar.  

Jackpot, right?

And look at this . . .

My Liv lost her first tooth!  Such a sweet girl...I miss her--all of them--so much!

Also big in my world right now is diet.  Not a "diet" so much as elimination.  My autoimmune meds quit working and the next step was a (self-injecting) drug that I'm afraid to try.  So I decided to do at least thirty days of AIP (autoimmune protocol), which I started Monday.  I did some prep work over the weekend . . . I made applesauce from scratch, "nomato" sauce, bone broth (can I tell you how much I love my Instant Pot?!) and riced a lot of cauliflower. Most of those things I got pics of . . . 

And we're off to a good start with meals (which I also grabbed photos of) . . .

Orange Beef with Broccoli over Riced Cauliflower--it was yummy!

Lasagna Casserole--to which the nomato sauce was put to good use, along with zucchini noodles--it was also (surprisingly) yummy!

So AIP is where my focus is ... especially since Todd volunteered to do it with me. Wow! It takes a little more planning . . .

And to wrap it all up . . . it's finally autumn (both on the calendar and meteorological), so Happy Fall, Y'all!

We like to celebrate Fall in theory here in the South.

Sweaters, autumn colors, pumpkins, spiced lattes and teas, colored leaves and all the works.  Even though temps are still in the 90's.  Ah well.  

:)

pluggin' along . . .

I've tried, I've tried, I've tried.  And for the most part, I've been successful.  I've continued to work towards at least 15 minutes of something stitching/quilting/crafting related.  Between work and church and the camp and family, there have been a couple of days where I've slacked. Ah well.  I'll keep plugging away! :)

You'll notice the Witchy Stitchy Blog Hop button on my sidebar!  I'm participating in the hop--I'm SO excited!  

My day will be October 10th ... if you know me well, you might understand why that day is significant for me.  There will probably (definitely) be a ♥ giveaway ♥ involved! Stay tuned!

We celebrated Labor Day weekend in high style. Todd and I took the boat out on Friday and fished our way up and down the river. On Saturday and Sunday, we put the 'labor' into Labor Day weekend and worked on finishing up the remodeling on our church's new building (Saturday) and then moved into said building (Sunday) after our morning services.  Whew!  On Monday, we celebrated by taking the family out on the lake for sun and swimming and a picnic lunch.

What a fun afternoon!  Heading back, Gilligan shanghaied the Skipper's seat (or his lap, rather) and demonstrated she's the cutest first mate ever!

I've continued to work on the Hospital Sketches BOM in wool . . .

I've traced onto freezer paper all the pieces of the eight blocks that have been introduced to date, and prepped block for half of those. I'm really enjoying working on these!

We celebrated Evey Jade's FIFTH birthday earlier this month . . . 

I can't believe this beautiful, charming and precocious little sprite of a girl is already five years old!  She celebrated her actual birth date in style with her favorite Disney character . . .

PIGLET!  Please note that her piglet was also in tow (because he goes EVERYWHERE Evey goes).  Yep, they're in Disney World, living the dream! She had her birthday breakfast with Piglet and later told me it was the best time, EVER!!!!  Live it up, sweet girl!

I also got a fun happy in the mail this past week . . . 

Yay!  I participated in Mary (Quiltin' Grandma's Designs) blog-o-versary early in August, and my name got selected for this treasure!  Mary is a very talented and prolific quilter.  You should give her blog a visit!

Finally, I took some time yesterday and pulled all the summer (and--shhhhhh!--a Valentine's thing and a snowman that still hadn't gotten put away) decor and put out some autumn things.  

I'm really pleased that this was all just things I'd made ... I didn't pull out any of my purchased squirrels or pumpkins.  Just quilted mug rugs, table toppers and wool. 

Since I handled, between putting away and putting out, all these crafted projects, does that count towards my fifteen daily minutes?!?

:)