battlecry: retreat . . .

LOL!  Sometimes you just need to retreat . . . on a retreat . . . to a retreat.  That's exactly what I did last weekend! But it was my favorite kind . . . the kind I don't have to drive to.  A Camp MACOBA retreat! This was my Sassy Affirmation Sisterhood Sister's (SASS's) third annual summer retreat at the camp.  It was originally scheduled for July, but Todd's surgery happened, so we pushed it to August.  GOOD thing those cabins have A/C!!

It was Gail's (center) birthday weekend, so of course the appropriate signage was put in place!

I didn't even bring my machine this year.  I worked on getting my two wool tubs and my tub of floss in order, finished up several handwork projects, made some acorns, kitted some wool applique projects for fall, and started *and* finished a delightful Christmas tree cross stitch.

Wool Candy Corn bowl filler (in front of my fabric bouquet)!

 

LOVE this finish!!!

Acorns!!  :)

 

We took a field trip into town on Friday and visited Patches & Stitches and had dinner at a fabulous pizzeria, Sam & Gregs.

Saturday we took a field trip down to the creek! We splashed for a bit and took the requisite "feet in the water" photo!

And we all took a ton of pics of the creek, too!  ;) My idyllic spot!

There are a TON of assorted varieties of mushrooms/fungus around the camp right now . . . it's been so hot and humid! There was one 'shroom that was way bigger than my hand!  But this was a fungi I'd not seen before . . . 

It's called a Wood Ear Fungi. Aptly named, right?  That's exactly what it looked like on the tree bark!  So cool! The woods have ears . . . they're listening all around . . .

Sunday we all felt relaxed and rejuvenated!  It was Gail's actual birthday, and since we'd done the 'feet' shot in the creek, we decided to do a party hat shot parting shot . . .

We're so silly!  I'm glad I have a circle of friends like this.  They're the BEST!  :)

 

I'm ready for another long weekend . . . yay for Labor Day!  We'll try and head out on the boat on Monday, with the Merkel crew.  So look for lake pics next week!

Arrivederci!!

:)

just desserts . . .

Aaaaah!!  Can you believe it?  Here it is, December 13, and there are TWELVE days until Christmas!  And I'm blogging (speaking of Christmas miracles)!  That can only mean on thing . . . it's my day for the Advent Blog Hop, hosted by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching!

One of my biggest projects and happiest finishes this year, was a UFO that I started in 2008 (I first blogged about it here).  Yes, you read that right ... 14 years ago.  It was a BOM by a local quilt shop. I finished all the blocks, but the setting was a feathered star, and it was overwhelming.  So it got wrapped up in a bag and set aside.  Until this year; I decided I wanted a Christmas quilt this year!  So I used our Stitcher's Group UFO Challenge project to get 'er done!  I'm pleased to say, I finished it!

The feathered stars look like snowflakes ... very appropriate for a winter Christmas quilt!

And also . . . I love this quilt!  It's so pretty!

Each year, Jo asks us to respond to a Christmas-related question.  Sometimes it's about ornaments, last year it was about our trees, and this year it's "What's for afters?" which was a new-to-me term! Of course, I quickly realized she was talking about DESSERTS!  What you eat *after* the meal!  That's a no brainer for me.  Here's our dessert for the last three years . . . 

2019

2020

2021

A traditional Buche de Noel!  It's such an easy make, but always looks so pretty!  It's like a huge Swiss cake roll.  LOL! The recipe I have consistently used is from Mon Petit Four, except I leave out the coffee granuales (from the batter and the frosting) and the kaluha. The girls love it too ... but just in case, there always a large assortment of Christmas cookies, too . . . 

Yummy!

So there you have it!  Make sure you "hop" over to Jo's blog and check out all the offerings from days 1-12 ... lots of lucsious-looking 'afters' to be found!  And continue visiting as we countdown to Christmas!  :)

Merry Christmas!!  

ps ... I'm thinking my word for 2023 should be "write" or "blog".  

;)

happy crazy busy . . .

The crazy busyness of the season continues ... and probably will right up until Christmas Eve evening! But it's happy crazy busy, which makes all the difference in the world, right?!  Wednesday evening Todd and I went to the staff Christmas party for Essential, the church where we're currently serving.

It was a very fun, laid back evening. Except for the 10 minutes we had in Target (where we went as a group to shop for our dirty Santa gifts).  That was hilarious!

Thursday lunch was the staff Christmas luncheon for my work (it was also my last day of work until January 6, 2020).  We met at a very nice restaurant and I forgot to get a picture. Silly me.  After lunch, I ran some errands, including running over to Patches and Stitches (our LQS) to check out metallic flosses for future snowflakes. I wanted some blues, purples, and iridescents. Here's what I came away with . . .

Aren't they yummy?!  They're Kreinik brand. And they make me anxious to finish the one so I can start another! LOL!  It's the story of my stitching life.

I had a couple of more things to take care of and then it was time for our guild meeting (where I did NOT forget to take photos). It was set up beautifully and we had a great crowd!

My mini stitcher's group (my affirmation sisters) were all there, so a trio selfie was in order!

It was a fun night with a fabulous spread of desserts, games, prizes, and camaraderie.  I ♥ guild.

Friday was Todd and my traditional Christmas vacation movie date day.  We went to see The Rise of Skywalker and it was excellent.  But kind of bittersweet, too, knowing it was the end of the franchise. We had lunch out and did a little Christmas shopping, then came home and I did some stitching and went through Christmas cookie recipes. I think these are what I'm going to make to take to Joc's house for Christmas Eve . . .

Chocolate Ganache-Filled Mint Thumbprint Cookies.  Only I'm going to color them pink and call them "Peppermint" Thumbprint cookies.  LOL! I've got some other baking to do as well, and I've got Monday and Tuesday set aside for that.

This afternoon I'll concentrate on some slow stitching. I've got a variety of things to choose from. I'm not quite finished my holly snowflake, but it's close . . .

So that's definitely an option.  I've also got labels to print, iron-on, and blanket stitch to each of the three Christmas quilts.  And then Saturday I got a wild notion to quilt this UFO from April, 2015.  

Good grief, right?!  LOL! I backed it with purple flannel, got it sandwiched and did some simple straight-in-the-ditch stitching in the center.  

And I'm hand-quilting unicorns and stars around the outside, in a very pretty rainbow thread. So I can work on that, too.  And I probably need to, because I hope to have it bound and ready to take with me to:

Yup, California, here I come!  And it looks like I'm bringing the sunshine with me.  Whoop, whoop! I can't wait to see my Panter crew! ♥

I'll leave you with this charming shot of my local girls, modeling for the Spring/Easter trunk show for Mary & Grace . . .

Aren't they beautiful?  They make my heart melt!

Linking up today with the Slow Sunday Stitching post at Kathy's Quilts.  Happy Sunday! 

And MERRY CHRISTMAS!

:)

a mixed bag . . .

I did some VERY BADLY needed organizing and deep cleaning in the Nook two weekends or so ago, so I've been able to spend snatches of time as they come along, working on an assortment of projects.  One of those is actually two of the same piece, mostly, which I created as a gift and then did another for a swap.  It hasn't been gifted yet, so I'll just show a little intriguing bit . . .

Ha!  In another week or so I'll share it in its entirety and by then I may have made a third one!

I've worked on a couple of UFOs that were (literally) hanging around . . .

I don't know why I let things like this sit around for so long, unfinished. This fun little Halloween piece was a flimsy -- now it just needs some hand quilting.

And I'm not even going to begin to make excuses for this one. I've pulled out the second quarter panel and have been working the alphabet embroidery on it.  It's only been a year and a half. The first panel is pictured in this post.

And this only qualifies as a UFO in that I can't submit it for our quilt show until this label is properly secured to The Pineapple Quilt. Oh yeah, and a sleeve, too.  Ugh. That's my LEAST favorite part.

I started and finished this campy little wool piece . . .

It's a skinny-mini project; isn't it cute? Can you smell the fire? Taste the s'mores??!

And who would I be if I wasn't--in the middle of it all--creating something new (on paper) to add to my project list?!

I got to thinking that each of the grandkids needs a Christmas lap quilt. This one would be easy enough to construct in a day (the four blocks measure at 15" X 18") and could be done in a variety of mix 'n match Christmas fabrics. It's an enlarged version of a Kathy Tracy small quilt.

I'm still planning out my hexi-flower-waterfall quilt. If I get the paper pieces and the acrylic template for my birthday, then it's meant to be!

Finally, another little wool finish, running across the 'mantle' in the living room:

I don't know why I've become so banner-crazy in the last year, but there it is.  And I adore this simple, easy, leafy banner!

Y'all . . . it's October . . . hurrah!!

:)

tsk, tsk, tsk . . .

Shame on me, right? Letting seven weeks pass since my last real post! A body shouldn't get that busy, should they?  Or should they?!

What kept me so busy? Well, I spent some one-on-two time with Evey and Ellie.

One-on-three if you count Leia.  Which I don't. I love these silly, happy girls dearly, but they will wear a 'Neesey' out! 

We celebrated Todd's birthday.  Even the California crew got in on the celebratory singing . . .

I can't believe how much they've grown in the last six months. Especially Liv.  I can't wait to get out there to see them!

Most of the crafting I've done in the past two months was in preparation for VBS training. I was privileged to be on our Association's VBS team, leading crafts!

That training was two weeks ago -- whew!  That was one busy week! I love the 'Submerged' theme this year. All the fish are such fun!

The following week we (Todd and I) headed out for a much needed escape to the lake.  Todd did a lot of fishing and I did a lot of reading (I'd had my fill of fishes with VBS)!

We both were successful! ;)

One thing I haven't done a lot of is use fabric . . .

This stash report is the same as the last one I posted which was #11.  Gah.

But I have been keeping up with my ornament goal of two per month . . .

I finished up the second yo-yo tree and whipped up another wool gingerbread man. I'll be working on a ninth ornament tomorrow . . . for some slow Sunday stitching.

I also finished up a UFO and turned it into a pretty.  But it's a gift, so all you get to see is this:

Cuz I like to tease!

And I finished up the first quadrant of Evey's quilt, too.

This is going to be a lot bigger than I imagined it would be. LOL! Which is probably good, seeing as how she'll be TWO in September. 

Things have been busy, busy, busy at the camp. We've had a LOT of visitors already this spring, And right now we've got a BIG group arriving . . . Campers on Mission.

They are going to be arriving over the next two days . . .

And will spend the next two weeks working on the pavilion and other camp projects. There are already six RVs up in the main campground -- more than we've ever seen at one time! We're really excited about them being here!

Okay, so that's about it. I'll be linking up to Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts. Have a great rest of the weekend!

:)