Friday Night With Friends

Last night (and actually even yesterDAY) I made sure to spend some time with fabric. I'll try to catch you up with my fiddlings.

Thursday I woke up early -- as in 3:15am -- just needing to get into my sewing room. As I laid in bed I thought back and knew I was 3 blocks behind in my Tiny Tuesday blocks. I managed to put together this scrappy owl. Isn't he adorable??? Just 4-1/2" tall, there were lots of little pieces but I managed. He still needs his frame and I'll get to that in the next few days. Don't you think a whole quilt of owls would be cute? But I'd recommend doubling his size!

Tiny Tuesday Owl

As we all know, leaders & enders allow you to accomplish more quilting in between your current project. I got these two dresden plates sewn up while piecing my owl with the crazy eyes! Lol!

The red dresdens will join my green ones. The centers aren't sewn on yet but they are prepared. Going to be a pretty quilt as I sew along with Susan & friends HERE. As you can see, I'm very much behind but I'm assured that there is no pressure! Ha!

Yesterday afternoon I managed to squeeze in a little more time in the sewing room. Here is the last of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge green blocks for Tiny Tuesdays. This was a super easy block to piece after Mr. Owl and look! I even got this one framed! April's RSC color is AQUA. I'm not sure I have enough scraps of that color. May have to either dig deep or pick my own color this month.

Check out that third red dresden plate with the polka dots! Got it assembled while sewing together the Green Umbrella! Did I tell you how much I love the leaders & enders concept?

This brings me to last night, Friday Night With Friends. I happened to be reading Bonnie Hunter's blog and she reminded her readers about Quilt Cam at 8pm EDT (7pm here in the Midwest!). I thought how that was perfect timing -- I could sew with ALL my friends, including Bonnie Hunter! As the hubby was doing his thing, I plugged in the headset to my laptop and sewed with Bonnie too! You can watch last night's Quilt Cam HERE.

I don't know if you can see it, but I prepped the rest of the centers for the dresden plates for the Merry Christmas Sew-a-Long. Not a hard project but lots of tiny stitches in a circle means you can't just whip along! Eighteen centers done, which includes the five that were done earlier sitting on the green plates, and only eight plates ready. Must.keep.sewing.dresden.plates!

After Quilt Cam was over, I suggested we watch an episode of NCIS on-demand. With our travels we had missed the last one and hubby was in favor. I decided to work on Hospital Sketches. Again, it doesn't look like much but I'm satisfied.

My needle is sitting on a leaf that I was working on after finishing the three leaves above that pink flower. When my thread runs out, I'll go back and get that flower!

Hospital Sketches, of Barabara Brackman's Civil War Quilts blog, is coming right along and looks really pretty. I plan on following a little different plan. I think that is a wise decision since I'm having trouble even remotely keeping up. This 18" block will go in the middle and I'll applique the Bloom Blocks to surround it. They're smaller, less complicated versions of the intended blocks.

I'll leave you with one more picture from our vacation. This is Mom & me enjoying a little sunshine during Amanda's baby shower. We are sporting our special ribbons that Amanda got for us. Mom's says "Great Grandma-to-Be" and mine says "Grandma-to-Be". That daughter-in-law is so thoughtful!

Linking up with Scrap Happy HERE and Friday Night With Friends HERE.

I'm Baaa-aaack!

BE FOREWARNED: LENGTHY POST!

It's been forever since I last blogged but I had good reason. We went on a little trip - twelve days gone! And then there was the prep days ahead of it and the returning-to-normal days afterwards. On top of that, I got our taxes done just before we loaded up the car plus did a bunch of work for my guild's quilt show, including getting car signage ordered and picked up and my progress report written since I wouldn't be attending the quilt show meeting. Whew! Exhausted just remembering all of that!

I'd like to take a moment to tell you about our taxes. We, like a lot of folks, got a bigger return on our federal moolah. Maybe it was because my husband retired last year and started drawing his pension plus social security. I don't know but it made me happy. What didn't make me happy was ALL THE PAPERWORK this year. We rolled all of our 401k funds over, bought out his military retirement and transferred the time to civil service, and probably other stuff too. Anyway so much paperwork was involved this year. I hope 2019 filing is only half this bad!

On with our trip! I was surprised to see snow in eastern PA since it was the end of March.

First stop was Spring Lake Heights, NJ for my cousin's daughter's bridal shower & luncheon. It was quite the shindig! Can you say fancy??? There were approximately 75 of us to celebrate and it started out with an antipasto platter and make your own Bellinis with a champagne fountain. Next was spring salads and entree choice between Chicken Marsala, Crab-Stuffed Sole, and Penne Regatta. There were platters of Italian cookies (including cannolis!) and a pseudo wedding cake for dessert. There were also games and I came in 2nd on one of them. Here's my "Win-Win" picture.

Grapefruit Bellini with strawberry and my prize: Figi White Sands Hand Soap with Coconut Oil

One of the main reasons this was an important event to attend (besides it's all about family) was for my mother to see her older sister. It's been over a year since she saw her and my Aunt Jinny's health was in question. Here's a picture of the two of them with Katie, the soon-to-be bride.

Mom (85 YO), Aunt Jinny (90), and Katie (?)

Megan (Billy's Girlfriend), Billy (brother of the bride),
Shawn (bride's father), Katie (bride), & Theresa (mother of the bride) -
Bride's Family in the Back Row
Ellen in the front row
Ellen & Shawn (Brother & Sister) are my cousins

The next day we packed out and visited with another brother/sister duo of cousins. Spent a few hours visiting and catching up with them. Sadly I forgot to take any pictures! Loser!!!

We then drove from Spring Lake Hgts NJ to Aberdeen Proving Grounds MD. We checked in at the TLF (temporary lodging facilities) which is currently contracted out to Holiday Inn Express. The building has been there a while but the beds were comfy and we had a full kitchen. There was also a full breakfast served every morning. We stayed there three nights and thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Maybe we didn't get the cinnamon rolls that Holiday Inn Express is famous for but we also got a substantially reduced rate. Not a bad compromise!

The reason for the visit was to see where Aunt Jinny was now living -- Caraway II Assisted Living in Elkton MD. The staff seemed very nice and quite efficient and caring. Unfortunately as we were leaving Aberdeen heading south, we received notice that Aunt Jinny had been admitted into the hospital due to fever and possible pneumonia. Mom was very concerned. However, the next day we received word that my aunt was on the mend, no pneumonia but the fever was due to an UTI. (On our drive home, we received further word that Aunt Jinny was out of the hospital and back to Caraway.)

Next stop was Waldorf MD. I was very excited to see Sarah, Jared, and Amanda of course, but it was Brody Charles Hoover that I really wanted to meet.

Selfie with Brody! Lol!

We enjoyed four nights with the kids. First day I ran down to LaPlata to one of my all-time favorite quilt stores: Material Girls Fabric Boutique. I bought a couple background fabrics, a pair of matching Moda Candies, and these:

I loved the basket-weave colors and those plump chickens & polka dots just HAD to come home with me! Lol! That night Sarah joined Fred, Mom, and me for a seafood dinner at Captain Billy's. Crabs are not in season yet so we had to make due with scallops, tilapia, rockfish, and shrimp. Poor us! Hahaha!

The 2nd day there was Amanda's baby shower. It was quite a full house and she received a lot of gifts for the baby. Jared was up bright & early to start smoking two pork butts for pulled pork sandwiches. Later he grated two heads of cabbage for the accompanying cole slaw.

Let the shredding begin!

Jared working hard yet enjoying it!

Baby Shower Table of Goodies

My Cupcake - YUM!

Mommy-to-Be

Stuff, stuff, and MORE stuff!

Jared & Sadie enjoying the gift-opening

Family Portrait 2019
Amanda, Jared, Sarah, Me, Mom, & Fred

On our last day, the guys relaxed while Amanda put together the "family cradle" for Brody and washed & put away the clothes & blankets she received at the shower. Mom, Sarah, and I went to a winery located not even 15 minutes away from where Jared & Amanda live. We enjoyed getting out and tasting some local wines and just enjoying each other's company and conversation.

We left the next day, making sure we stopped in Lewisburg WV for lunch at Arby's. Jared & Amanda recommended it as one of the nicest Arby's they've eaten at and food is fresh, hot, and plentiful. We totally agreed!

After spending the night in Ashland KY. we were on the road again making time to stop at a Rest Area. I had made chicken salad before leaving MD and we ate the sandwiches that I made. It was chilly but nice to eat al fresco.

Sheep farm located behind the Rest Stop. Beautiful!

We made it home that afternoon around 3:00 with just enough time to get Gracie from the kennel, pick up milk and salad fixings at Aldi's, order pizza for delivery at 6:00, and grab a glass of wine to watch Jeopardy. My brother & sister-in-law arrived  at about 5:15 on their way through to MO so they could enjoy pizza & wine dinner with all of us! Cheers!

PS: I WARNED YOU THIS WAS LONG!!!! Sewing pictures will be posted tomorrow and I'll be linking up with Friday Night Sewing with Friends!

Bloomers, Tiny Tueday, & FNSI!!

Earlier this week I managed to finish up a couple more blocks for the Bloom SAL. I believe they're blocks 7 and 8. So far not doing too bad keeping up with the rest of the gals sewing with Cheryll at GoNe StItChInG.

Block 7

Block 8

As you can probably tell, block 7 stitched up WAY more quickly than block 8 but I think they both turned out cute. Notice I took the picture this time with all the beds in block 8 positioned correctly!

Friday Night Sew In worked out perfectly for me. I sat back in the recliner and listened in on sports since the MOTH (man-of-the-house) kept tight control of the remote last night. Lol! I had already made quite a bit of progress on my cross-stitch project earlier this week and I got even more done last night.

Before last night's FBSI

Right before shutting down

As you can see, I finished up the right hand side of the tree and also the rabbit hole. Might not look like much but that's a whole lot of Xs! Thank you, Wendy, for hosting this lovely, monthly party! Head on over to Sugarlane to see what the other 21 stitchers got done. We came from all over -- USA, Europe, and of course Australia!!

I'll also be linking up larter this morning with Em at So Scrappy to show off my Tiny Tuesday block from this week. Don't know what's wrong with me. Woke up at 1:44am, tossed and turned until pushing 4am, then decided enough was enough. Crept downstairs, put on a pot of coffee, and stitched up this little cutie.

Wonky Long Cabin

The colors don't show up so good but each and every fabric is green. Have I mentioned how much fun I've been having with these and how much I look forward to Tuesdays?

No pictures but I sewed dresden petals for the Merry Christmas SAL as leaders & enders to the Tiny Tuesday block so more progress was made on that front. The binding for the ABC quilt also got cut and stitched together.

My hands have been busy in so many pots lately. You think that might be why I can't sleep? Haha!! I'll probably snooze through the NC State softball game this afternoon. Game time is 1pm CDST. Have a great weekend!

String Class and FNSI

Tonight is FNSI -- Friday Night Sew In. So far there are 20 -- count 'em 20! -- of us that will be sitting back, cyber-stitching together. It's not too late to sign up, go HERE and add your name. Then, later this weekend, go back and check out everyone's progress through their posts. It's an amazingly talented group of quilters and so much fun.

Speaking of fun and talent, Tuesday night was our guild's monthly meeting and we had Teajuana Moore of Tea Quilts visit us with her lecture and trunk show. Oh boy! Was she fun!!! So many beautiful quilts with Tuesday night's show focused on string quilts.

On Wednesday I was able to attend Teajuana's class with a great group of ladies. We started sewing scrappy string blocks, added background corner squares, and then did a bit of partial seaming. Everyone EVENTUALLY got one block done and someone actually got four finished before packing up the sewing machines. Here's a "group" picture of the blocks. Pretty, huh?

This morning Gracie & I took our daily walk. It was so nice outside this morning -- 40 degrees, cloudy, & windy. Not too cold for me, not too hot for Gracie! We ended up going 2.8 miles which is quite the distance for the pooch. When we returned, we filled the bird feeders and took a check on the garden. Well, I'll be (say that in your best Gomer Pyle voice!). I knew I had greenery poking through but today I saw official buds!

Daffodils - Must be the minis since they bloom first every year

 

Hyacinths to the right of the front porch

Hyacinths to the left of the front porch.

Now back to the game at hand. Watching NC State vs Virginia Tech softball. Go, Wolf Pack!

Happy Monday!

The sun has finally peeked out this afternoon and makes me happy. I've been lazy due to the time change and I can't keep up with keeping meals on time. Dinner last night was at 7:15! Ugh!

I managed to finish my string-a-long block for this month. I tied it in with RSC's (Rainbow Scrap Challenge) color of the month - green! It's a beauty -- can you tell green is my favorite color? Haha!

I added it to January's & February's blocks here. Looking good ... except I just now noticed I need to spin the red block a quarter turn to make the nice hourglass block like between the yellow and green blocks.

This weekend I also managed to play catch-up with Tiny Tuesday. Somehow I fell behind a week and then a new block was introduced this past Tuesday. Here are the two completed blocks. I'm so ready for tomorrow when we get another one!

The yellow block was the last Tuesday in February. March's color was announced to be green and the 2nd block shown is for the first Tuesday in March. It's called Multiply. There's a tiny 4-patch in the bottom corner which measures 1-5/8". It became a square in the medium 4-patch which squared up to 2-1/2". It then also became a square in the large 4-patch which measures 4-1/2". Whew! Did you follow all that??!!??? Anyway just notice that there is more going on then a simple 4-patch, ok?

I've got a busy week coming up as Tuesday is guild meeting and I need to run off more publicity flyers for our upcoming quilt show. I also started trying to figure out which quilts I want to enter into the show. It's important to get my entries turned in to the registration committee. I also need to sew up five dresden plates for the Merry Christmas SAL. Wednesday will be here before I know it and there will be another assignment. I signed up for an all-day class on Wednesday so that day will be shot as far as "necessary" sewing is concerned. However, it ought to be a fun day so I'll be blowing off my commitments that day! We all need to do that every now and then, right?

For a change of pace, I think I'll advance my cross-stitch tonight. Enjoy your week!

Linking up with Em at Movin' It Forward
and Lori at Humble Quilts.

Frigid COLD!

This morning it was 4 degrees with a windchill of -11. Brrrrrr!!!! Yesterday we received about 3" of snow and have now surpassed 2 feet of snow total for the year. To keep it in perspective, our weather folks have told us last year's total was barely 7" and our normal is 18". As if that isn't enough to set your teeth to chattering, we're supposed to get more snow towards the end of the week! Of course, that's a "long-range forecast" so it will probably *hopefully* change. In the meantime, here are a couple of picture of the view from my deck this morning. Yes, pretty. Yes, cold!!!!

On to the sewing report, my Bloom SAL has picked up again. I must confess that it was largely due to the Bloomer Party on Saturday. I still had only 6 blocks completed so I set about to prep a few.

I actually traced all the pieces for the next 6 blocks and then managed to pick out fabrics for two  of them before my mother arrived for the weekend. Time to set aside again.

The next morning while everyone slept I sewed my pieces and later turned them right side out. Ironed them in place to the backgrounds and worked on them that afternoon into the evening. I finished this one while watching my niece play softball in Raleigh, NC at NC State University. Did I mention that I love that we can stream in her games???? Here's my girl iced up after one of her games.

At the end of last night, I finished this Bloomer .....

 and had a good start on this one.

I should have taken this picture with the green bed of the pink petal on the top. I fussy-cut the beds so they would all be positioned correctly in the finished quilt. I'll probably forget all about this when I assemble! Hahaha!

I managed to finish a few other things this week. First up was my string block with Rainbow Scrap Challenge. February was yellow.

Red meets yellow. I love both blocks and LOVE the gray hourglass formed between them!!

The Merry Christmas SAL is finishing up the embroidery blocks. Here's a picture of my finished block for week #4. Wonder if we'll be starting the piecing or the applique this week??!!

And last but not least, the cross stitch project has made a bit of progress. The bunny quilt is just about finished, the ladder to the right is finished and needs the tree next to it, and the bunnies at the bottom left have been started. I know they're hard to see because they're white but you might be able to see the pink in the ears and the cheeks!

It's the start of a new month and RSC is green. Prepare yourself for green blocks -- right after I finish the last of the yellow Tiny Tuesday blocks!

Have a great week!

Linking up with Movin' It Forward and Bloom SAL