A Finish, A UFO, and A Continuation

This week as I waited at Mom's podiatrist appointment, hair appointment, and PT appointments, I managed to sew a bit on Grandma's Jewels. I'm using pastels since that is the color(s) Angela chose for us in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for June. 

Jewels in the Works

One Pastel Jewel Completed

While Mom was at one of her PT appointments, I ran to my library to pick up a book they were holding for me. While there, I chatted with the librarian about the puzzle handouts they had at the counter. She explained that they were available for free. Since I noticed there were quite a few Word Search puzzles in the mix, I picked them up for Mom thinking they may be a welcomed distraction from her TV viewing.

Mom Hard at Work on a Word Search

We had some "big doin's" in the neighborhood this week. The neighbor had a tree taken out of their backyard since it was hanging over their pool and Florida room. It was fun to watch the machinery go up & over their 2-story house to do the job!

I finished this cross-stitch piece this week. All that had been left to do was complete my initials and date. Can you find them?

I belong to The Applique Society (TAS) local and national chapters. The local chapter has challenged us to finish up a few of our UFOs. You may remember I recently finished a Christmas table runner.

Finished!

Now to choose another project that needs to be finished. I decided to work on Eye of the Beholder by Margaret Willingham. She was a Zoom class instructor through the national chapter. I took the class in Oct 2022. I think I should get this one done.

The Pattern

Where I Currently Am

Her technique was different from anything I'd done previously -- sort of -- kind of a cross between back-basting and Hawaiian applique. I'm loving working on it again so I think I'll be making steady progress. I ran into a couple of problems in 2022 which I've mentally worked out. Hopefully my thought-process will be successful!

 

Our old deck and back shed are scheduled for demolition this week and a new deck installed. I'll be sticking around the  house as much as possible to watch the process. I hope to get a lot of sewing accomplished this week!

Please drop by SoScrappy to check in on my blogging friends' scrap progress. Thank you, Angela, for keeping us on track with our scrappy quilts!

RSC June Pastels and I Like Thurs Prompt

Let's start this post with an I Like Thursday prompt, shall we? LeeAnn asked ...

    "What would be your favorite insect and why? think about the good or pretty insects out there not just annoying ones... did you ever capture lightning bugs in a jar as a kid?"

Not being able to narrow it down to only one favorite, my answer would be dragonflies, butterflies, and bees with dragonflies narrowly being my favorite. I love the way they glide around and how shiny their wings look when the sun shines down on them. I wonder how the others are responding. I encourage you to check out their responses. It's always interesting to read their prompt replies and also to see what books, movies, garden flowers, and foods they're enjoying. Look right HERE.

Let me nail down the Rainbow Scrap Challenge next. Angela chose PASTELS for our June "color". She explained that using them would put a little sparkle in our scrappy quilts. Okay! I'm game. Yesterday being Friday and Mom's Hairdo Day, I took a pile of scraps that I thought would work. Here are three Grandma's Jewels that I managed to get prepped while there.

I think these will work, although the pink/orange "background fabric might not be a good choice. We'll just have to think about that. What do you think? Will it work?

So back to an I Like Thurs post. I am so bad at being a consistent responder but I like playing the game so I'll participate when I can. I've been enjoying the Ruth Galloway series of books by Elly Griffiths. Right now I'm finishing up The House at Sea's End which is the third in the series. Ruth Galloway is a forensic anthropologist so there's some sort of mystery to be solved. Right up my alley!

GoodReads synopsis

Thursday was a busy day around here. Being as it was the 1st Thursday of the month meant that we were off to the Troy Senior Center Luncheon. It was fantastic! We were served bratwurst, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, and a cookie with bite-sized chocolates. Too bad our table was called last and my sauerkraut serving was a tad skimpy for me -- even though Fred didn't even ask for some! Lol!

Afterward eating, the Waterloo German Band entertained us and entertain they did! We learned a little history on the Swiss/Austrian cow bells as well as the huge Alpine horn. The woman on the accordion played so well and the chosen songs had us all singing along with the band. So much fun and man! did it tire Mom out! Hahaha!

Waterloo German Band

Learning about the Cow Bells
He Played a Couple Songs Using Them

Teaching Us about the Alpine Horn
aka Alphorn

Alphorn Song
Takes a LOT of Wind!

What a great week we had! And I didn't even mention how much fun we've had watching Roland Garros this week either! The smiles around here never end, do they? Here's to another great week ahead and I'm wishing the same for all of you too.

Don't forget to check in with the other scrappy quilters at SoScrappy!

Finishing RSC Pink and So On ...

It's been a while (again) since my last post. Many things have gone in that have kept me away from the blog. My fingers have remained pretty busy though.

As April ended, Angela announced that May's Rainbow Scrap color would be orange. I quickly dug out my orange scraps, my English paper pieces, and my EPP caddy. I knew it would be just the thing to take on our upcoming trip to Wilmington NC. The last of my brother's kids was getting married on May 2.

So, working in the car along the way, working more in the hotel in between wedding events, and then working along the way home from my brother's house in Lexington NC, I cut, glued, and stitched. I ended up getting almost all of the Grandmother's Jewels completed by the time we got home and then I did finish them up.

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One week later .... Now where was I? Ah, Grandmother's Orange Jewels!

My Favorite Jewel

Five Orange Jewels

I also finished up the jewels for Pink Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Quite a Stack of Jewels

As I began earlier in this post, we went to Wilmington NC for my niece's wedding. We had a wonderful trip and I saw "long-lost" cousins, I enjoyed quiet one-on-one breakfasts with my daughter, and I loved spending time with friends & family.

We finally met face-to-face Mom's great-granddaughter Everleigh, my niece's daughter. She was born the end of November and is at the great age of 5 months -- aware of her surroundings, you don't have to be too careful holding her, full of life and personality!

Since we were here for a wedding, let's see a few pictures from the wedding weekend.

The Bride Preparing with
Her Twin Sister

Mom Seeing Her Granddaughter
Before the Ceremony

Exchange of Vows

My Brother's Three Girls!
His 2 Daughters and His 1st Grandbaby (Everleigh)

The Bride & Groom
Let's Party!!!

My Beautiful Cousin and Her Debonair Husband
Came in From New York

My Handsome Cousin and His Lovely Wife
Came in From Connecticut

So many old memories shared and new ones made. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to reconnect. Mom was beside herself!

After the wedding weekend, my son & his family joined us for an extra couple of days at my brother's house in Lexington NC. We had so much fun there too. We loved feeding the chickens!

Three of the Five Young Ones

Mom Feeding a Leghorn

Jacob, my Grandson, Feeding Chickens
Notice the Dog Keeping Watch!

Chicken Frenzy!

Both Grandsons Enjoying the Chickens

The Quilt Fred & I Slept Under
My Sister-in-Law's Great-Grandmother's Quilt

Close-Up of One of the Blocks
Hand-Pieced and Hand-Quilted

John & Karen recently bought a couple of jet skis to go with their house on High Rock Lake. My son & daughter-in-law learned how to run them and off they went!

Jared

Amanda

What about the boys? Want to go for a ride too?

Jared & Brody

Amanda & Jacob

When we got home, I managed to have a UFO finished just in time for the monthly TAS (The Applique Society) meeting. Meet Daphne, a table runner made in a class by Katrina Hadjimichael from Austrailia!

I think that pretty much catches us up on where I've been, things I've sewn, and happy to be home again. Our trip was full of memories to last a life-time!

If you've stayed with me this long, please join Angela at SoScrappy to see what others have shared with their orange scraps. I'm sure they've been more productive than me!

New Color Soon!

As April is coming to an end, it brings the anticipation of what color Angela will choose for June for our Rainbow Scrap Challenge. This month we've been using up pink scraps. I chose Grandmother's Jewels for my main scrap project. For now, I'm planning on making more jewels for a larger quilt than shown below.

My Inspiration
Picture from Paper Pieces

My pink jewels made progress this month. It helps when I remember to pack my thimble for Mom's PT appointments! New total = 4.5 of 5 per month as my goal.

4.5 Out of 5

Last One Going Together

In spite of still needing the fifth green jewel, my stack is growing!

In gardening news, I got both rain barrels out of the basement and set up. We had rain this week and they are both full!

The Purple Minkee columbines have started blooming ...

And the front clematis is starting to open. I love this one's color!

I Spy Gracie!

Have a great weekend, friends, and don't forget to look in on Angela's blog to see what scrappiness others have dug up!

A Little RSC Pink and a Little I Like Thurs

This week I finished the 2nd Grandmother's Jewels. Only three more to go for this month. I have plenty of pink scraps so there isn't a shortage in that bin!

Pretty Jewels!

Spring has sprung around here. I've been working whenever I get a small chance to get a handle on the weeds and pruning. I hope to get some weed killer down on the bits I couldn't get pulled up. Then I'll lay down my newspapers and then some mulch on top of that. Let's hope I can get at least some of the gardens done this upcoming week! In the meantime, I've got some blooms to share.

Clematis is Blooming

Late-Blooming Daffodil
Bulbs From Mom's Yard

One Lone Amaryllis This Year

We had a visitor the other day. She was there all day but was gone by the next morning. She's a Luna Moth. I read up on her and she only lives for one week because she has no mouth. She conserves energy by just hanging out, trying to interest a mate for her hundreds of eggs. So sad!

I can share a finished project which always earns an atta-girl!

This & That Pattern Called Pumpkin Spice

On to the I Like Thurs prompt now. LeeAnna gave us this to work with:

"April 16  2026

what is your favorite daily routine? describe it to us... for example

wake early when others are asleep for the peace? Make list?"

I actually have two favorite daily routines. I do cherish my quiet mornings. Mom & Fred sleep in later than I do. I enjoy my coffee and wake up with games on my phone. First games are in the New York Times app:   Wordle and then Connections followed by Strands. I save Pips for last because it has a timer involved and I really need to be awake! I move on to a game of Spider Solitaire, then Blockadoku, and then, last but not least, I do a Mahjong Solitaire. All that takes about 30 minutes and then I wait to talk to my best friend, who lives in Knoxville TN. We chat for about 45 minutes most Mondays through Fridays. Then it's off to get dressed and walk my Gracie by 7am. We return around 8 and I can usually hear stirring going on upstairs and I know the day will officially begin in about a half hour.

My next favorite routine starts between 5:00 and 5:30pm. WINE TIME!!! 'Nuff said, right? Hahaha!

Please join all my friends to see what they are sharing.

LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color for all the wonderful inspiration and happiness.

(Clearly I missed an update or something because LeeAnna's prompt apparently was favorite song to sing. No time to change my post now. Ugh! Sorry, LeeAnna!)

Also, Angela of SoScrappy for all things pink on the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.