Step By Step

  

Spring is arriving, step by step... I'm ready!  I wish I could say it was a steady and gradual shift into spring, but that's not the case. One day we'll have beautiful almost-summerlike days and the next we're plunged back into a day that's cold and blustery, winter still has a grip. 

I've dug out my wintered-over geraniums and potted them up to enjoy the warmer, sunnmy days and get a head start. This year I am also trying my hand at pre-sprouting the dahlia tubers. I hadn't ever done that before but after watching a few youtube videos, and feeling fairly confident that I can succeed, I'm giving that a go. Wish me luck. 

We gathered for the funeral of Phyllis, our dear DIL's mother, on Saturday. I believe that it was one of the most beautiful, music-filled, personal send-offs that I have ever attended. I  am truly blessed to have known her, she was a lovely and accomplished woman in every sense. The service was held at a Methodist church, this hung in the Fellowship Hall there. I am well-acquainted with this style of watercolor quilts and wallhangings. Remember when these were all the rage in the 1990's? I just know that Phyllis would have directed my attention to this when we entered the room, had she been there. She is deeply missed already.

I'm plugging away, on schedule with week #2 of the R,W & B Scrappy QAL through RedRainbootsHandmade and her Sparklers quilt constructed from the strips received in the recent scrappy swap. I am appreciating the relaxed pace of this quilt-along and enjoying the process fully; one step at a time. Stay tuned; this beauty lives up to its name!🎇

And so, after a sedentary winter I have decided to kick my walking regimen into full gear. Sunday's progress as shown above is pitiful, somehow I contracted a short term (thank goodness!) stomach bug. But, yesterday I was feeling great again and back to hiking the neighbohood hills. It's all good. 

Oh, and Augie has a new friend. 

Life is Good!

Happiness Squared

Working my way through bins of completed blocks-of-the-month, I ran across these nine blocks from 2023. The class was "Aspiring Stars" taught at my LQS. They were just begging to be set together~  "Circle of Nine" to the rescue!  This book contains plenty of inspiration for unique and attractive settings for those occasions when you might have less than twelve blocks (not to assume that I am a class drop-out or anything!). I added the outer border of Economy blocks from the leftover scraps. All of the setting fabrics came from the stash, nothing was purchased to complete this flimsy; which makes me very happy. The fabrics are bright and lively, too, all combining perfectly as the name for this one: "Happiness Squared". It just fit. 😊

Life is Good!

Lent

We are already in the second week of Lent. Right on cue, the Lenten Roses are blooming, time marches on and spring is appearing sporadically. One day it's here and the next we're plunged back into winter.

It's been a very sad time this past week, our dear daughter-in-law lost her precious mother to a horrible and aggressive brain tumor that appeared, so suddenly, just last summer. We will miss Phyllis terribly; she was a dear and accomplished woman, an always-cheerful friend to all and a wonderful, loving grandmother to our mutual grandchildren, Gregory and Lynnleigh. 💔 Thank you to all that have prayed for Phyllis. She is now in the loving arms of her creator. Gregory told me, just the night before she died, that he knew he would see her again and that she'd be well when that time came. Amen. I am strengthened by his faith. 

I have finished up the central portion of Sarah Barker and am moving on the border now. I have switched up the colors to my own liking and added a few elements. You can click on the hyperlink to see the original. 

I joined a fabric swap over at Red Rainboots Handmade and am currently participating in the Red, White and Blue "Sparklers" QAL. This one will be fun. Our daughter was a Bicentennial baby, born in July of 1976; this will be perfect for her, not only in celebration of her 50th but also in commemoration of America's Semiquincentennial.

As we continue through Lent and this in-between season of not winter anymore and not yet quite spring I wish you quiet times of prayer, peaceful reflection and sunshine to warm you. 

Life is Good!

Cream and Sugar? Yes, Please!

This is the Cream & Sugar quilt top, finally together! Hooray!! This was taught at my LQS back in 2023 and I did persevere through the first six months, concentrating on the largest blocks in the layout. I fell away from the project after that, always thinking that "I'd get back to it...". You know how that goes. It took a full retreat weekend for me to sew up the smaller, setting, blocks! 

This was my work area ↑

Yes, organized and neat. But, seriously, ALL WEEKEND!?!! (This was only stopping to eat, someone else fed us and cleaned up) and, still,  all that I accomplished was this 

↓

Groan. I must be slowing down... 😧

Those gathered made these heart pillows as a service project for the NICU at a local hospital, these will be presented to Moms who aren't able to take a baby home with them. Something to fill ther arms and clutch close to their chest. I get weepy just thinking about it.

All those assembled had beautiful projects to work on, I was inspired by each and every one.

This bag of leftover scraps from last year's projects has been weighing on me. I cut up what I could and wanted to keep but just couldn't ever seem to get to the bottom of this bag. I offered it to Lynnleigh, she immediately said "yes, PLEASE"! I was tickled. I'm not sure what she's going to do with it and I look forward to finding out; but, right now, for me, out of sight is out of mind! I can move forward with a clear conscience. 

Now that Cream and Sugar is a full-fledged flimsy I am looking at backing fabrics. 

I think it would make a lovely spread on our bed for the summer...onward and upwards! 

Life is Good!

Picking Strawberries

Yes, I am picking strawberries! You might think that's a stretch since the ground is snow covered and that wouldn't be physically possible; but, yes it is, I am picking strawberries in the sewing room!  First, I am readying this years-old project for retreat weekend. The pattern was one from Westwood Acres.  I have dusted off the bin on the shelf with all the necessary fabrics and, hopefully, will be setting these bright and plump pretties together before the weekend concludes. 

Strawberry Garden  is this year's BOM offering at my LQS. Naturally, I am front and center in the classroom for this one! I have already completed the assignment for the first month and am digging deep into my stash of hoarded strawberry prints for this one.

I'm going to have fun with these! 

When it comes to blocks, I am picking strawberries!

It's perpetually strawberry season around here.

🍓

Life is Good!

Land of Cotton?

Nope, look again, they're not cotton bolls; it's snow. Winter has arrived with a vengeance in the south. The weekend before last it was all ice, this past weekend it was all snow. Eight inches plus at Chez Goodneedle. That will teach me to make statements like "it's been so long since we've seen snow"! This snow was light and fluffy, due to the temperature being brutally cold, it is very pretty. (The tracks in this photo leading up from the lower right corner and traversing back and forth are from deer.)  We dodged the bullet again, power-wise; sadly, so many other southerners weren't as lucky. 

In anticipation of the storm, Augie got a coat. He was more than happy to stay cozy and warm! I'm content to stay in and work on projects, and as long as there's power I can do that for weeks on end!

Sarah Barker is coming right along...

...and I was able to get all the remaining blocks cut and kitted to complete the Cream and Sugar quilt. 

This magnificent Amaryllis continues to be a bright spot in the kitchen...

...and with plenty of time (and sourdough discard) on my hands I've even been baking crackers! I'm attaching the link here. I added a pinch of rosemary, these really are yummy. 

Most likely there will be more DIY clean up happening today. Our nighborhood is very low on the priority list, so far no state vehicles with a plow attached have ventured into our neighborhood at all. It's difficult for some to get in and out as we do have some significant hills in here which are heard to traverse with the remaining hard-packed ice underneath.  The public schools have been out for six days straight now and tomorrow isn't looking much better. I received and email this morning that our LQS is closed until further notice. The mail hasn't been delivered to our mailbox since a week ago last Friday, there's been no trash pick up and, for the second week in a row, church services have been canceled. Yesterday it was especially sad to miss worship as it was to be the celebration of the 500th service for our little mission congregation. Sigh. 

Snow... in the land of cotton, 

 days like these won't be forgotten!

Life is Good!

Measuring Up?

Apparently there’s a lot to learn about Pyrex. Specifically, PYREX (all caps) vs. pyrex (lower case). The former is vintage and made with borosilicate which makes it a lot sturdier as far as withstanding temperature variations, i.e., "freezer to oven". The latter, pyrex, is newer and now made with soda lime ash which has higher impact resistance (they no longer claim to have freezer to oven capability).  None of this mattered to me last week when all I wanted to buy was a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup. My "old trusty" had broken when I accidentally dropped something else on top of it.  I figured I could cruise into my local WalMart easy enough and grab one off the shelf. Nope. Think again. WalMart, Ace Hardware, Target... nope, nope, nope. I could find plastic measuring cups everywhere but that's not what I wanted. For fifty+ years I have kept 1 cup, 2 cup and 4 cup Pyrex measuring vessels in my kitchen cabinet; not sure I could prepare meals without them. The girl that I asked in Target said that they stocked Anchor brand to avoid the controversy. Huh? That's what sent me to the Internet to research what was up with Pyrex. A quick check of our baking dishes on hand here at the house revealed a pretty even split between PYREX and pyrex. ( I even have a few PYREX "Flameware" dishes which belonged to my in-laws, they can be used on the stovetop, but that's an entirely different matter.) Whatever. I like to use a Pyrex measuring cup for measuring liquids, reheating gravy, sauces or melting butter in the microwave and for cooking in general. I found one on Amazon. I'd better hang on to it. You know, with all that controversy and so forth. There might be a lot that I'm missing here, and that's okay with me; I found my measuring cup and that's all that I was looking for.  

    Life is Good!