because it wasn't enough . . .

You know how creating begets creating? That's often how retreat is for me. I spend four or five days immersed in the craft, and when I come home, I just want to do MORE. So I got home, August was knocking on the door (and it's here now!) and I decide it's time to take out the patriotic decor of the RV and move to a more summery theme.  For me, that's sunflowers.  And I'd seen this really darling sunflower pillow done in wools.

So I did it.  And decorated around it.  Haha!  

Really, sunflowers are a thing for me . . . I didn't realize how much so until I took stock of how many sunflower themed pieces I'd created!  :)

Then on Saturday, I took a Boho Bag class.  It was a ton of fun ... and the class was filled with a lot of the gals I'd been on retreat with ... just seven days ago!

This was the second time I've taken a class at Sweet Home Quilting.  They've got great space. The instructor was teaching her own pattern, so that's always a plus!  It's a very out of the box project, so I struggled with it a little . . .

Front.

Back.

I have a better idea of the general idea of it now.  Free motion quilting is hard for me, so that didn't help! But it's a cute bag, and fun to make!

I also got the baby quilt quilted, so you know what that means . . .

Say what you want ... but that is the easiest way to keep control of that roll of binding!

The end is in sight!

And just because you need a little splash of Edith in your life . . . 

Of the four group pictures Joc took of me and the girls, one garnered a decent smile.  The rest? What can I say?  She's the youngest.  For now.  

:)

tried and true . . .

Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy binding?  I really do.  I love the rhythmic stitching motion.  It's soothing and settling. So I often volunteer to do the binding on group quilts.  (I dislike giving blocks for group quilts ... not because I don't want to give or participate, but because of comments someone once made about my blocks in a swap.  It hurt my feelings and I'm just afraid to stitch up bad blocks for a quilt someone else is having to piece. So I bind.)

I volunteered to do so for a quilt we were doing for a gal in our group that had breast cancer.  This is the third of these quilts I've bound in the last year for our Stitcher's group . . .

Binding is a great activity for the boat in the spring time, when the days can still be a little cool!

What I wasn't thinking about when I also volunteered to bind the guild's President's Quilt for this year, was the possibility that they might end up in my lap at the same time (figuratively speaking, of course)!

Whoops! But I made it work.  It really did provide some good boat projects this month.  Hahaha—win/win!

I got those two quilts finished and had the urge to do some things for me (or at least for my own) . . .

With a baby boy on the way, I needed something in blues!  I love this pretty pinwheel design (I reworked it up in EQ).

After getting Joc's approval, I pulled fabrics for it.  It was a super easy thing to do, now that most of my stash is in the storage room!  Whoop whoop!

I also pulled one of the UFOs I'd purchased last year from an estate sale, and got busy putting it together.

She had the individual 8" Flower Girl blocks pieced, and I put them together, stitched the sashing, and added borders.  I LOVE IT!  It finishes out at about 56" square.

There are enough leftover blocks to do a table mat, and maybe a smaller (single block) table mat.  Which would make this ensemble just perfect for our screened room . . . 

Right?!  The summer colors are just perfect!  I love it when a plans comes together all by itself!

I also pulled out this big boy . . . 

Now that I've got room to work, I went about adding borders.  I wanted it to be at least 72" square for the girls to use as a picnic blanket.  I think this will do it!

Then ... I did another thing.  April's been a really quilty month.  I took a longarm class, along with my friend, Gail!

One of our LQSs offers longarm rentals, but you've got to take an introduction class first.  It was a lot of fun!  I've got time scheduled soon to work on a quilt.  I need a LOT of practice!!  About the only thing I showed any promise with was quilting my name.  Baahaahaa!  So if I want a quilt quilted with my name in cursive, I'm in good shape. *insert eyeroll here*

I wrapped up the month with an evening with the girls.  I love our Thursdays together!  This night, mommy and daddy were the meeting hosts, so we all went upstairs for dinner.  The girls set a lovely table complete with a quilted table runner and a vase of flowers.  They called it a "peaceful and quiet" dinner!

How I love these sweet girls.  They are so precious ... I love spending as much time with them as possible.  I know how fast they grow up!  Memories. ♥

ebb and flow . . .

So do you ever get in a place where you've been sticking to a good blogging regiment, and it's time to blog and you think, "I just can't." Not because of some emotional duress or physical stress. It's just not there.  That was me this weekend. I've been trying to post at least once a week—because I enjoy going back and reading my posts and seeing what I was doing—and any posts beyond that are just a bonus.  The months (and the years) when blog post offerings are slim make me sad (in retrospect), so I try and be diligent about it. And I love Saturday/Sunday posting because of Kathy's "slow stitching" link-up posts. It gives me the extra push to get 'er done, you know?! Anyway, this weekend my "umphh" was lacking.  C'est la vie.

Last week we started a project on our deck . . .

Turning it into a screened room! We're grateful for the help of a dear friend.  Hoping to have it finished by the end of this week.  So exciting!! It'll be nice to be outside but preserved from the mosquitoes.  :)

On Friday the weather was so glorious, Todd and I got out on the boat for a day on the lake.  That's a rare treat in November! 

Really, it was a stunning day.  By late afternoon the clouds started to slowly creep in, which made for a fantastically beautiful sunset.

I couldn't take my eyes (or my camera) off of it . . . I didn't want to miss a single change of hue! 

My captivation paid off.  Check out this cloud formation . . .

Do you see the eagle, flying over the lake?  I was amazed at how long it stayed in that shape ... until it was dark and it couldn't be seen!

Saturday I got up and spent the majority of the day working on the binding of a special quilt . . .

I got to put my new magnifying floor lamp to the test.  I *love* this thing!  I can wear readers, but they bother my nose/sinuses and give me headaches, so I much prefer this new lamp!  It was a big happy!

Got the binding finished up late Sunday afternoon.  Now it's been delivered.  Whew! But I do enjoy stitching up a good length of binding!

After all that pink though, I was seeing pink spots!  It was time to change things up a bit . . .

That'll do it! 

I continue to prep for the season (winter) that I'll be working on my Hospital Sketches blocks in wool.  I'm really looking forward to it.  Even more so with this sweet bundle of wool that just arrived . . .

Aren't those soft, yummy colors?  Hand dyed wool is so pretty!  I got these from a shop called Quilting Acres. Her bundles are terrific!

And finally, who would I be if I didn't include the current Christmas countdown?!

But this time, I'm also going to share a link that came to me via email today.  Lots of fun, hand-crafted ornaments and easy-to-stitch-up things to be found. Now's the time I start thinking about hostess gifts and little things for stitching pals and granddears!  It's from All People Quilt.  Enjoy!

See you Sunday?  LOL!  Your guess is as good as mine.  

:)

quilts, kids, and critters . . .

Still slogging away in the new un-normal.  I don't know about anyone else, but it all still feels so surreal. Work is normal (hours), so there's that, but nothing else feels the same.  Strange.

I've been working off and on in the Nook.  Our stitcher's group collaborated on a quilt for one of our ladies who's been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Everyone contributed blocks (á la Lori Holt), one of our very talented ladies (and one of my affirmation group besties -- Sarah) did the layout and made it into a marvelous flimsy, and another of our talented ladies quilted it. Then I got to do the binding on it!  I love doing binding!  The entire process is soothing.

Doesn't everyone stow their 'to be stitched down' binding like this?!  LOL! The quilt itself was scrappy, so I did a scrappy pink binding for it, which I'd never done before. I was really pleased with how it turned out!

And the quilt itself is a stunner.  I just adore this layout . . . 

My SASSY! group (Sweet Affirmation SisterS Yay! -- there are three of us; Sarah, Gail and me) is currently into sheep and lambs.  We share photos and videos of sheep (and all things Welsh & tea) and we're planning a field trip to local 1818 Farms to meet this pretty little thing . . .

Her name is Baby Girl and she was born this year.  So cute!! Anyway, one of us found a quilt advertised with sheep on it . . .

which (along with the heart quilt) prompted me to be inspired to create . . .

Bleating Hearts (EQ concept).  Coming soon to a Nook near me.  ♥

I'm missing my California crew.  They're able to get out and about a little bit.  Kim sent me this sweet shot of the kids berry picking . . .

I think they grow faster because I don't get to see them often enough.  Liv had her first tap recital this week . . .

Holy cow -- when did she turn 16?!?  She's a natural performer and I was able to see video from the show.  She stole it!! ♥

My local crew paid me a visit at work this week.  Since I knew they were coming, I was able to provide a little surprise . . .

Everyone loves petit fours, right?

Right!

Things have stayed very slow at the camp.  The majority of our summer bookings have cancelled, so it's been quiet.  On the human front, at least.  On the critter front, it's been pretty busy--probably because of the lack of humans?!  We've made friends with a grey fox couple (they mate for life), who visit regularly . . .

Aren't they beautiful? I want to pet them so badly.  They're my 'puppies'.  They have a den (or two) nearby, and I've seen kits, but they haven't brought them to the 'feeding station' yet.

We also see the raccoons pretty frequently, but this juvenile has decided to make himself very much at home.

LOL!  Brazen thing.  He spent three hours one afternoon hoovering up all the bird seed. In between rest stops.  Ha!

When he was finished, Mr. Squirrel came in as the clean-up crew.

I don't believe a single bird ate seed I put out that day.  #truth

Lastly, still working on my Peppermint Purple blackwork SAL.  I'm behind about twelve weeks, but still plugging along. 

I love the way the colors move through the designs; it's so pretty!

Keep on stitching!

:)