celebrate on . . .

I may have shared that I give as much time as my birthday wants to be celebrated. A week where you only work two days and have the next five free is as good a time to continue celebrating as any! I gave a whole post to the Tate Farms fun, but I'll condense the remainder of the long weekend here. Mostly.  I think. 

Thursday, the weather continued to be beautiful, and since a wet, cool front was moving in on Friday, our regular boat day, Todd and I decided to go ahead and get our lake action in a day early.  It was another of those days where Todd was really catching them, so I fished, too.  Another fabulous day -- he caught two to my one, but that's pretty exciting to me, especially since our total was 45! And what do you know, algebra does pay off!  2x + x = 36; solve for x.  Hahaha...I caught 12!

What really captured my attention, though, was the late afternoon sun, and the clouds that were starting to pile up in anticipation of the next day's front . . .

I couldn't stop taking pictures! I think partly because my photo never looks quite as spectacular as what I'm seeing, and I want desperately to capture it that way.

I'd never seen a sun dog before ... it was just beautiful! I had to confirm with the meteorologist of Alabama, James Spann, to make sure it was what I thought it was.  If James says so, it is so!

The combination of the sun setting and the clouds amassing made for fabulous effect. My camera roll has no end of these photos.  Just saying. 

The City of Guntersville finally has a developer working on a spot of land on the lake aimed at boaters/tourists.  It's called City Harbor, and it's supposed to be a great spot for dining and entertainment, once they get it all built.

Not the best pic (this was actually taken 10/8).  We were moving at a pretty good clip!

It's really close to the marina ... it's a pretty spot now; just imagine what it will look like when it's all finished!

Friday I did a couple of things.  I visited Patches & Stitches and picked up some pumpkin oranges and greens (and used my birthday discount) . . .

Quite a nice little haul there, don't you think??

And then I traveled on to a new old shop.  It's an old shop that's been bought and is now being run by a new owner.  Southern Charm Quilting!  The new owner is in my stitch group.  She was having a terrific sale, trying to clear out some old inventory and make room for new fabric lines and wool.

I did very well here, too.  Seven yards of fabric for $36!  You can't beat that!!

From there I headed home and spent a little time in the Nook.  Worked on a mock-up of some pumpkin/jack-o-lantern placemats I wanted to make.  I messed up on the width of my strips, so I ended up with this little cutie instead . . .

I'll keep it for me ... at 12" wide it's too small for a placemat and a little too big for a mug rug ... but perfect as a small topper.  So be it.  I big stitched around the edges and down the lines.  It makes me smile!

Saturday was game day.  I made a double crust pizza and prepped the other two trick or treat bags for stitching . . .

I also finished up (finally) the pineapple block for Hospital Sketches in wool.

I've got two more blocks to finish.  The two most involved.  Go figure!  LOL!

As the evening (and the football) went by, I finished up my stitching . . .

I can't wait to gift these to the girls! 

One final photo.  Joc actually took and sent me this one.  In case you're wondering what Edith thinks about her baby brother . . . 

Baaahaaahaaa!!  As is usual, her face clearly says it all.

:)

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.  

:)

forwards and backwards . . .

Because this post covers a lot of time, current and past!  

I finally finished up Ellie's bicycle embroidery, which was a good thing ... her (8th) birthday was Friday and we celebrated last night! It's a simple finish because I didn't want the fabric or the quilting to take away from the piece it was showcasing.  Mission accomplished!  *smirk*  Ellie had her first slumber party on Friday night, so we did family dinner at a Japanese restaurant called Edo's.  Her choice!

I love the complexity of this sweet girl.  For all that she loves girlie things (check out her new sparkly, dangly earrings).

She's also rocking her "Star Wars" necklace (which is just out of the first picture) and wanted a red velvet Star Wars cake (featuring Darth Vader).  Go Ellie!

I had two fun prizes late in 2019 that I forgot to share.  The first was a giveaway from Jacquelynne Steves's Happy Little Things blog hop.  

The book is filled with all sorts of hidden message possibilities, and aren't those little pins darling??

The second was a birthday giveaway from Lyndsey at Sew Many Yarns!

The grunge (*swoon*) was the prize and the pretty Regent Street was a bonus!  Lyndsey had to ship it overseas, so she wasn't sure when it would get to the states.  Her Christmas card of the magi was perfect, because (though it came the day I left for California) I received it just in time for Epiphany!  Thanks, Lyndsey!

Coming a little farther forward, I did want to share my fun haul from the two iconic shops I got to visit whilst in California.  From Temecula Quilt Co. I went a little crazy . . .

Both of her books, a pattern, a kit, some lovely fabrics (including a little cheddar), and some notions.  The sweet little ruler box was gifted to me by Kim (my daughter-in-law)!

From Primitive Gatherings, I got a darling wool kit for ornaments, a wool pattern for a crazy stitched stocking (full sized), some (more) fabric and some more notions . . .

Scissors.  I have a thing for scissors.  And since I had the pussy-cat pair, I decided I needed the owl pair, too!

Tah-dah!  The Owl and the Pussy-Cat! Someday I need to do a post exclusively about that poem and why it's so personal to me! Back to scissors, though . . .

I really do love little scissors.  They are a *needful* thing to me.  *grin* 

Our last trip of that shop-hopping day was a visit to a little tea room called, The Liquid Leaf.  Sweet little place with a marvelous selection of teas *and* freshly baked goodies (in house).

It was Kim's first visit, too, so we ordered and ate/drank (and cheesed around) in the shop.

I came away with two lovely teas (both of which smell as heavenly as they taste).

Vanilla Coconut black tea and Elixir #2 which is a camomile tea.  Yummy!

Now going backwards a LOT (and yet looking to the future, too).  Barbara Brackman is re-introducing Grandmother's Choice BOM, which she did originally in 2012.  I hung with her through almost half the blocks, but then I had my second ankle surgery and it 'crippled' my sewing foot for a while.

So I'm excited to have the nudge to do something with these blocks and get the second half of them finished! I'd purchased Block Base (which has all the blocks in it) to do this BOM, so it's only right that I should complete it.  

Bringing it current . . . 

Slow progress, but progress *is* progress.  This is what I'll be stitching on today, getting in some slow stitching on a Sunday afternoon!  Linking it up with Kathy's Quilts--be sure to check out what the other stitchers are working on.

Happy Sunday!

:)

lakeside weekend . . .

I retreated this weekend.

Aaaaaaaaaaah. It was good. Cuz I mean I really retreated. Like, no cell service or WiFi. In a house on a lake. With quilt-minded friends. 

It was *real* good.

We arrived midday on Friday and set our stuff up and got straight down to business. Lunch. Wink, wink.

And then sewing. (Of course!)

We went out to dinner on Friday evening, but before we went to the restaurant, we stopped and met up with a local long-armer (who's also in our guild) and toured her beautiful quilting space.

I mean, wow, what a set-up.

And what a view! (Not us...sheesh...our lakeside backdrop!)  I'm almost afraid I'd be so distracted by the view, I'd have a hard time sewing!

Saturday we took a road trip and visited "Wilson's Fabric," which I'd never heard of, much less visited. Good GRIEF! I didn't get to spend NEAR enough time there.

It was really lovely.  Lots of bolts of pretties, gadgets, embellishments, and regular fabrics, too. Plus vinyl and notions . . . it was really a lot of fun.

And of course, I had to do my small part in helping the local small business.

We came across a heavily discounted 'row by row' they'd done...maybe last summer.  Lots of fun quilting friends blocks.

This was my favorite of the blocks . . .

We decided to recreate that block on Saturday afternoon.

Too funny!

Sunday morning we had breakfast and went out onto the lake for a ride.  Just a gorgeous morning!

The weekend was over way too soon, but I did manage to get some sewing accomplished.  I stitched up the stack of pink hexies for my hexie flower project.  I need a name for that thing. I've not been satisfied with anything I've called it to date.

And I also got most of the way thru stitching my starburst patriotic topper together . . .

I also read my book, ate, collaborated on quilting and guild matters, took a nap naps, browsed through magazines, walked by the water, contemplated life from the dock, watched hummingbirds play, and drank tea. A most excellent way to spend the weekend, I can assure you!

Plus I made this funky, adorable "handwork pillow" . . .

I didn't even know I NEEDED one of these!  Isn't it fun?  Took about 90 minutes. Crazy pattern at first glance, but super easy. If you're interested, check out Legacy Patterns. It helps alleviate stress on neck, hands and shoulders while you do stitching (or reading or knitting or whatever).  Awesome!

Five more sleeps and we wake up in the month of September.  Who's ready for that? I'm ready for another weekend like the one I just recounted!  Linking up with Small Quilts.

:)