November This and That

What a super fast year this has been for me.... My kids will be here in two weeks for our Christmas celebration..... eeeek.... still a few things to get done!

I did finally put down the crochet hook and I've been busy doing a few other things.

Have you heard about the 70273 quilt project?  I had not either, but I learned about it from this blog post from my friend Janet at Rogue Quilter.

From the person behind the project:  (Jeanne Hewell-Chambers):

A brief overview:

Between January 1940 and August 1941, Nazis murdered 70,273 physically and mentally disabled people – men, women, teens, boys, and girls. Though they never even laid eyes on the disabled person they were evaluating, the Nazi doctors read the medical files and, if from the words on the page, the person was deemed “unfit” or an “economic burden on society”, the doctor placed a red X at the bottom of the form. Three doctors were to read each medical file, and when two of them made a red X on the page, the disabled person’s fate was sealed.

I will commemorate these 70,273 voiceless, powerless people who were so callously and casually murdered by gathering 70,273 blocks of white fabric (representing the paper the doctors read), each bearing two red X’s (representing one person), and I will stitch them together into quilts. 

HOW POWERFUL IS THIS?  

Some of my favorite patients would have fit into this category, as well as many other people that I have known and loved throughout my life.  I made my XX block in memory of one of my favorite patients :  Gene Gene.... who will forever hold a dear place in my heart.  He's been gone for three years now, but I still thank God for bringing him into my life!

Click on the links above if you are interested in contributing to this powerful display of a sad history.

This sweet little girl came to visit Grandma and Papa by herself for the first time ever.  She stayed a week with us and it was pure joy!  We look forward to doing it again soon.

Maybe I should have cropped Papa out of this pic.... LOL

Our other sweet grandchildren were here for a couple days and these two girls danced their hearts out while they were here together.

Sadly, these are the only pic's I got of the boys.....LOL.  We enjoyed playing with some phone filters and had a few good laughs doing this.

Our friend sent me a picture of her newborn "Morgan" using her quilt that I made for her.  I love it when a quilt gets used.

We celebrated Thanksgiving early, so it was a beautiful quiet day at home for the actual Thanksgiving day.  Hubby and I fried shrimp and fish and it was so delicious.  It was cold here that day, which is unusual for an eastern NC Thanksgiving.  We had a nice little fire and I began stitching a vintage stitchery I won on eBay.

I have almost completed the lady at this point. I have enjoyed sitting and doing a little "mindless" stitching here and there.

My little Christmas trees are up and I have candles in the windows.  My nativity set is out and I hope to make my final list for Christmas plans today.   

See you again soon!

***Linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching for the quilt block and the cross stitch project.***

October Slow Stitching

I'm still on a crocheting frenzy and I really need to stop! Who even WANTS all these dish cloths???

I have found that crocheting these granny square cloths has become an addiction!  I ordered some pretty yarns and of course, now I feel obligated to keep crocheting.

I am accumulating quite a stack (this is not all of them).  When we have our family get togethers for the holidays, I'll pass the bag around.... "A rag for you, A rag for you..... Everyone gets a rag!"  lol

I'm linking up to Kathy's Quilts: Slow Stitching Sunday .  It's fun to go there to see what others are doing with their busy fingers.

In my defense, I have only been able to grab a few stitches here and there, as we have been busy painting.  (another good thing about crochet.... it's portable and easy to add a few stitches while waiting for something else to happen.  I keep it by my glider rocker for easy access)

We have painted our dining room  and we bought a "new to us" dinette set just in time for the holidays.

Paint Color: Valspar Nostalgia

I've never had a table that seats this many people and I can hardly wait to see it filled with family and friends.  I have another small table in the kitchen that seats four more.   Bring on the fun!


How about you?  Are you getting holiday ready??

Sunday Slow Stitching

It's been a slow stitching week, with very little time at the sewing machine. 

I made the tassels for a pop of Halloween color

This is an old stitchery that I had completed from a Kathy Schmitz pattern a few years ago.  I had never done anything with it, so this week I decided to make it into a little pillow.

I've had this vintage Halloween fabric for years and used it for the backing.  I think the fabric is so cute.

Here it sits with a few other Kathy Schmitz designs.  I have a container full of little pumpkins that I need to get out from the garage.  This display needs more color, for sure. 

I also taught myself to crochet this week, using a you tube video.  I did a blog post below on these dish cloths. 

I am linking to Kathy's Quilt: Slow Sunday Stitching to share what I've been working on this week.  If you enjoy slow stitching, go over to see what others are working on.... there are  lots of pretty things there!

I did this new thing!

I've been wanting to learn how to crochet, so decided to plunge in and try to teach myself.

I found this really great video on you tube;  CLICK HERE by Bonnie Barker.

It was very easy to follow and I ended up with two new dishcloths. 

Are they perfect?  NO  Did I have to pull the yarn out and restart several times?  YES  Was it fun?  YES   Are they usable?  YES  Will I make more?  YES 

I'm going to try a different cotton yarn next time, as this one feels pretty stiff.  I've done my research and I want to try one that is 85% cotton, 15% polyester.   Does anyone have a favorite yarn for making dishcloths?

I finished the baby quilt binding on Sunday.  Here are pictures, mainly for my own documentation. 

It has been laundered and survived the dryer.  Does anyone else hold their breath each and every time they wash and dry a quilt for the first time?  :-))

I truly enjoyed every single stitch while making this quilt.

This quilt will be gifted next week when I take Sweet Pea back for her follow up appointment.  Thank you for the kind words about her and I am happy to report she is back to her normal self.  I am praying her liver tests will be normal next week.

Slow Stitching

Our little corner of eastern NC survived Hurricane Florence, but our nearby neighbors did not fare so well.  We were without power for five days, but that was the extent of our discomfort.

I did some slow stitching through the hurricane, which I have thoroughly enjoyed doing for the past few weeks.

It had been awhile since I did any hand quilting with regular quilting thread.  I had to redevelop a callous on my underneath finger, (ouch) but I had forgotten just how relaxing hand quilting can be.

This was the first time I had tried out my Barnett's quilting hoop that I had recently purchased from eBay.  I can't even tell you how much I love this hoop; it is very lightweight and easy to maneuver.  I'm so  glad I bought it.

This quilt panel is also an eBay find that I had purchased sometime back.  I don't know for sure, but I think it may be a poly/cotton blend.  It "needled" so easily and was a pleasure to stitch.

Here it is, almost finished.  I have one corner and one side of  binding left to  hand sew  today.   I used the same  backing fabric for the binding and I just love the pop of blue in this quilt.  Of course, this quilt is going to a little girl baby, but I think the mom will appreciate it not being "too pink".

**I am linking up to Kathy's Quilts to share for slow stitching Sunday.  It is always fun to see what others are working on with their needle and threads.  Click on her link to see lots of pretty projects in progress.

This quilt is being made for my sweet veterinarian, who is also a family friend  My kids grew up playing with Dr. Natalie and her siblings, so it's extra special to now have her as doctor for my fur babies.

Speaking of which:

Sweet Pea (11 years old)

This has been one sick little girl for the past few days.  We don't know why, but she got extremely sick a few days after the hurricane.  The vet said she had seen lots of animals who had ingested bad water after the hurricane, but we don't think that is the case here.  We had a visiting toad frog on the back porch, whom I lwas allowing to live here, because I did not know they were toxic to animals and it had been so long since I had seen one.  We are wondering if she may have eaten it, as she is our little hunter.  Normal liver values (ALP) for dogs are less than 200.  My girl's was over 900.   Dr. Natalie gave her some fluids and medication and sent her home.

It was touch and go for about 24 hours and I really thought we might lose her.  She was breathing rapidly and puffing her cheeks with respirations.  She couldn't stand and would barely open her eyes.

She still isn't well, but this is her this morning.  She has eaten a little boiled chicken and is drinking water again, so we are hoping she has made a turn for the better.  I never knew having fur babies could be so heart breaking!  I do love them, so.

Leaving you with two photo's of my sweet granddaughters.  This is Annabelle.

This is Brinley Kate and her mommy, Ashley.  They have started dressing alike on Sunday's sometimes, which I find quite adorable!

I hope all is well in your world.  What are you working on?

Tumpy's Quilt

I've finished the quilt that I've been working on and am itching to start my next hand quilting project.

I probably should call this quilt something like "My evolution quilt".   

It all started many years ago, (think 25 years or so), when my kids were little ones.  I started hand piecing hexagons for a grandmother's flower garden quilt.  It was all planned out in my mind, with green hexies to separate the flowers, making it into a flower garden quilt.

Life happened; the kids grew up and the hexies ended up in the attic for several years, tucked away in a cardboard box. Fast forward quite a few years and I purchased the paper doll fabric, having no idea what I would do with it.   I believe they had a front and a back and could have been made into dolls. 

One day I pulled the hexies out and decided to applique them onto a solid fabric and would throw the dolls into the mix and make something pretty for a future granddaughter.

The next thing I knew, I had two granddaughters and the quilt wasn't even close to being done.

I had been wanting to try big stitch quilting with colorful threads and remembered this quilt top that I already had, ready to go.  I started on it a few months ago, with my faithful companion, Tumpy, lying beside me for almost every stitch that was put into the quilt.  He was sick, but I didn't realize how sick at the time. 

Tumpy (the black dog in the picture) died in July and I was still working on the quilt.  When I picked it back up to stitch, it just didn't feel right without him by my side.   I would see his little black dog hair on the quilt and wish so much that I could just bring him back.  I began to call it Tumpy's quilt.

I embroidered his name on one of the hearts, as a way to honor his memory.  It was then that I decided that this quilt would be mine.  He loved to snuggle on the couch with me and this quilt reminds me of our last few months together, we both got lots of snuggle time. 

This pic is kind of cheesy, but the quilt is draped across Tumpy's little grave that we made in the back yard.   I think he would have approved of the finish.

Even with its sadness,  it's been a good summer....

I had the pleasure of seeing all the grandkids at the SAME time and it stirred my heart  to see them together again.  I leave you with this completely spontaneous photo taken of them without any prompts... isn't cousin love grand???

July 2018

A lot has happened since my last post.  I think I'm ready to see Fall arrive this year... I need cool weather and a change of pace.

We had to say goodbye to this sweet angel last Wednesday night.  It was a very sad night and has been a very sad week for me.  This little guy taught me a lot about love.  I'll love you forever, Tumpy.

Yesterday I had a birthday:

It was a nice quiet day.  I received a few phone calls.  Hubby took me to a favorite seafood restaurant with a river view in Sneads Ferry, NC.   And I was able to take a nice nap with my other two doggies.

I did sneak away for a few days and see this little sweetie back in late June.  It was a good visit and I sure wished I could see that baby more often.  I miss her sweet mommy too.

I bought myself a quilt from an antique shop while in Tennessee.  I just loved the colors and the design.

Sweet Annabelle started preschool last month.  She LOVES getting up to "go play with her friends."

Grandma borrowed a vintage bike from their great granddaddy :-))

These two guys came to spend 9 days with Grandma and Papa  while their parents went on an anniversary trip to NY. We had a nice week.... Avery lost a tooth and Chandler learned to ride his bike without training wheels!!

We took the boys fishing one day; Avery had more luck than any of us.  It was his day.

I painted myself a new quilt block that we hung on the fence. I love the bright colors on this one.

color, color everywhere!

What I've been reading:

I read my first Jane Austen book and totally loved it.  I found an online FREE college lecture series to go along with the book, if anyone else is interested.  Hillsdale College  There are other free things to study there, too.   I also just finished reading another classic :  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn that I highly recommend.  

Tumpy 2008-2018

Birthdays and deaths always make me turn inwards and examine a lot of things about my life.  (we also had two friends to pass away yesterday) It can certainly lead to depression, which seems to be easy for me to slip into... but I am trying so hard to make this into new ambition for myself.  I need to make some positive changes in my life , and I have a few ideas already.   I need to stop wasting time, as time is very precious, and it goes so quickly.  If you pray, I would love for you to add me to your list.... I sometimes wonder if anyone ever prays for me, since my Mom passed away.  :-((    If there is anyway I can help lift any of you up, please let me know.  Love to all!

beautiful hydrangea picked from my brother and sis in law's new house in Bath, NC

June 1

How is it even possible that June 1 is already here?

 I was sad that Christmas 2017 was over and it's almost time for another one!! .

It's hot in eastern NC, with lots of rain so far this year.  I've actually enjoyed the rain because we planted a new tree and some new perennials, which has meant less watering from me.  I think most people are getting tired of all the rain and I've seen some horrible flooding on the news, some in my own state at my beloved Biltmore Village. 

I am now wrapping my thimble disk with duct tape

I'm still big stitch quilting on my flower garden quilt.  It's been a fun process, as there isn't much pressure to be perfect with these type of stitches.  I've moved my project from chair to chair, hoop to hoop, and room to room.... trying to find the perfect spot to quilt.  I finally found it last night when my husband offered me his Lazy Boy recliner. Yep!  my new quilting chair....the sweet spot.... I guess I need to buy my own lazy boy. 

So my daddy found himself a new dog.  Doesn't she look sweet?  Well she is a puppy and wilder than any puppy we've ever had before.  She has been very challenging for him, so much so that he asked me to find her a new home.  I "advertised" her on facebook, but there were no takers.  LOL  She must have realized what was going on, because she actually calmed down a bit over the past few days.  I don't think he really wanted to rehome her anyway, so we are hoping things will work out with his new love.

This picture is too cute not to share.  Annabelle loves her chickens.  She pets them, holds them, feeds them, and keeps a good eye on them.  She is definitely her mama's child.  I hope to visit them soon... it's difficult for me only getting to see her a few times a year.  I haven't seen her "in person" since before Christmas.... sniff sniff.  Does anyone else let their dogs keep them from traveling?  I know it's crazy, but I worry about them so much if I'm not here with them, especially now that they are older and need daily medication.  The things we get ourselves into..... ha!

We attended the annual family reunion on my dad's side of the family.  This is me and my sister in laws.  We decided we had not had a picture made together in over 20 years.... shame on us!

Hubby and I have been low carbing since Easter.  I had lost 10 pounds and was never hungry, which was a great thing.  But I got sick of eating that way.... this week I've had pizza, cake, and bread.... all I wanted.  And I've been hungry hungry hungry!  I guess we get back on the low carb kick next week.

Joy joy.... Until next time!