...Miles To Go Before I Sleep...*

We've been on an adventure!  Back in April, on his 90th birthday, my Dad told us that one thing he had always wanted to do was cross the Chesapeake Bay via the Tunnel-Bridge. We decided then and there that this needed to happen!  Plans were made, routes were mapped out and the car was packed; it was time to make memories. We drove to New Hampshire to get my Mom and Dad and then we were off on a five-day adventure. We made many stops along the way, ate some great meals and spent a few nights before we got down to Virginia Beach. Bright and early the next day we headed for the Bridge-Tunnel!

My Dad's face says it all. I believe he enjoyed every minute of the experience!

Safe and sound on the opposite side of the bay! Just like that we were headed back up north again.

Once back at their home we celebrated Father's Day together; here Mr. Goodneedle and Hannes are enjoying some time together (along with the rest of us!) over a rip-roaring game of Cribbage. 

My mother celebrated a special birthday while we were back home with them too. 

Sadly, all good adventures must come to an end.  All too soon it was time to say good-bye and to leave for our return trip to NC.  Along the way we visited with Mr. Goodneedle's family in the Boston area for a few days and, this time, it was all about a bucket-list item for yours truly. I have always wanted to visit the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, we were lucky enough to squeeze that in.  

Located right on Boston Harbor the building has spectacular views.

We took the highlights tour which was informative and transportive (back to the 60's) at the same time. As anyone does, who lived through the events of those days, I remember exactly where I was when I heard the unbelievable report that our president had been assassinated. I was standing in the front driveway of our elementary school waiting for the afternoon bus to take me home. I was ten years old. I believe that this was the first time I had ever even heard the word "assassination" or even knew what it meant. Sadly, it became an all too familiar word from that moment on. 

A stop at the Ladies Room as we exited the Library held one more highlight. 

 I thought this was one of the coolest sinks ever! Have you ever seen one of these sinks before?

Lots of time as a passenger in the car allowed for the hand embroidery on these fifteen-year-old blocks to be completed. (Sarah Sporrer for Indygo Junction - "By Wisdom A House Is Built") I only lack two blocks now of having all twelve finished. I may be naming this one: "All In Good Time". 

That's all for now. Since we returned we've been busy running here and there; but that's another post for another day! Thanks for stopping by. I have two questions for you: what is something on your "must do" list; and where were you (when the world as we knew it changed forever) on November 22, 1963? 

Life is Good!

* Today's post title is excerpted from my favorite poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", 

by Robert Frost. It was written in 1922 and published in 1923 in his New Hampshire volume. 

Summer!

Happy Summer!

Life is Good!

Cart Before The Horse?

This is the first of twelve blocks-of-the-month that we will be doing at my LQS. Having just set all of those hexies together from the last BOM session it's all about moving forward. This time we're exploring blocks using Deb Tucker's Tucker Trimmer. If you've been a long-time reader you know that yours truly is a huge fan of everything Deb Tucker does and all of the Studio 180 tools. (The Tucker Trimmer is the original tool.)  I chose the turquoise print, on the outside of this block, as my control fabric. Each block will contain that print with low-volume backgrounds that will change, block to block. I am staying with a monochromatic color scheme and already went ahead and designed my setting in EQ8.  The Split-Rects borders on each block will alternate light/dark to add some interest and some movement. Is this a case of putting the cart before the horse? Maybe; after all, I have no idea what the blocks will be. But, I grabbed the reins anyway. We'll see where this goes, right now I am happy with the idea. (The pieced blocks inside the setting borders measure 12" square.)

Life is Good!

Quilting Day

Well, if the truth were told I would love for every day to be quilting day at my house; wouldn't you? But, as we all well know, life creeps in around the edges and the time we have to dedicate to our favorite passion is often squeezed in where we can fit it. I took a whole day a week or so ago and quilted up these two long-forgotten quilt tops for my Mom. She only recently found them in a box retrieved from their attic space where they had resided for decades. She barely even remembered piecing them! I brought them home with me and promised to quilt them up for her. It was my pleasure to bring them to life; especially after all this time!

This soft and sweet Rail Fence variation was quilted with a Pantograph by Timeless Quilting: "Hearts in Bloom".

This graphic strip pieced lap quilt was quilted with my newest Pantograph: "Diamonds are Forever" by Urban Elementz. I love the texture created by quilting this design on such a linear quilt. 

I finished up the binding for her too; I found the perfect complementary fabrics in a bin of scraps that she gave me recently, they were meant to be reunited!  I do believe that Mom will be pleased. I thought about how happy she will be to get them back with each stitch as I hand-stitched these bindings down to the back.  I hope that she will enjoy them for many years to come.  💗

Life is Good!

Sew Berry Sweet

I had amassed a nice collection of various hexagons following our last block-of-the-month series. I knew how I wanted to set them together, and yet, they languished on the design wall. I had a stretch of a few days last week with nothing else on the calendar and began the process. I was excited about the prospects of this becoming a flimsy. 
Row by row I worked, since each block had been cut precisely using the Hex n More and the Sidekick rulers they fit together perfectly. I was on a roll. All of a sudden my roll was slowed; no, stalled... no, stopped altogether! This was my roadblock:

Where every other block measured 8.5", unfinished, this one measured a full 9"! What? How did this happen? I considered leaving it out and substituting another block. No, I loved this one just too much! I was stymied, where did I go wrong? I was left with no alternative but to take it apart, each segment of eight pieces each, and try to pinpoint my error. It didn't take long. 

My seam ripper got a workout. My Mom had gifted me with this a couple of months ago, a Clover retractable seam ripper.  She was cleaning out her sewing room and I became the lucky beneficiary of some really excellent notions. This little seam ripper worked extremely well, I highly recommend it, it fits nicely in the hand and has a sharp blade and won't poke when stashed in my portable sewing kit. Score!

So, here was the problem. I had completed each of the six triangle units but had failed to trim them down to size before assembling them into the block! Groan. I had been in too much of a hurry. See that little pile of trimmings above... something so small and seemingly insignificant was standing in my way! Once I got the problem identified and rectified it was full steam ahead! So, lesson learned. I know better.

One more product recommendation: (also a gift from my Mom) the Gypsy Pin Pal. It is adjustable to fit any wrist, it contains magnets and hold pins securely as I remove them when I stitch. This saves me numerous trips back and forth to my pin cushions or, even better, from retrieving dropped pins off the floor around the sewing chair. I love this clever invention. (I only recommend what works for me and am not promoting or receiving compensation!) If you are like me and have piles of pins placed on the flat surface around your sewing area after every row that's sewn you might want to look into this notion. It has not only made my life easier but my sewing space tidier-- win, win!

Speaking of the sewing chair-- look who waits for me between each trip to the ironing board as I attached the rows. My furry little companion. I sit on the front part of the chair, there's room for both of us!

"Sew Berry Sweet" ~ 76" X 76"

And finally, at long last, a flimsy. I had two yards of Cherrywood in a dark navy blue for the six inch outer borders all around to complete. Once I got that strawberry block fixed it was smooth sailing the rest of the way. I won't ever look at this quilt again without remembering. That pretty little strawberry block makes this almost-finish that much sweeter now, and contributed to this beauty's name!

Life is Good!

Random Musings... From My Mind To Yours

Please bear with me, I have a few assorted topics to discuss, question and marvel over. First: these Hydrangeas. Aren't they pretty? We haven't had nary a bloom on these bushes for at least five years. We were beginning to think that they needed to be pulled out and planted somewhere else. We have not done one. thing. extra. to encourage or promote blooming. All of a sudden, last month, I noticed a profusion of buds forming! Hallelujah! Does anyone know why this may be? Knowing that the blossoms come on old wood we haven't cut them back; but then, we hadn't cut them back in at least five years. It's all mysterious and wonderful as far as we are concerned, but if anyone might know the reason, please share!

Our son has been sick: stomach distress, back pain and abdominal discomfort. This past Saturday he surprised everyone (he never gets sick and if he does, he never complains; so, the fact that he went to this extreme, both warned and worried us) and went to the Emergency Department, he feared he had appendicitis. A scan revealed a kidney stone. The stone was small so he was sent home with pain medications and other drugs; the waiting game began. He did not improve. Days dragged, he was miserable and suffering. He went back to the Dr. yesterday and was sent to the hospital for emergency surgery to remove the stone where a blockage had occurred. All went well and he was home last evening again with his family. He is "battle worn" from the ordeal but feeling much, much better and returned to work bright and early this morning. I woke up feeling like a weight had been lifted off of my mind and heart. As mothers they never get too old, do they? We worry the same way that we did when they were three and running a fever through the night or when they broke a bone; the same, exact, way as when they have ever suffered distress! They might be too big to scoop up in our laps and rock them to sleep in our arms anymore, but our hearts and minds revert to that behavior as we rejoice in their recovery; thanks be to God!

How often do you go bra shopping? If you're at all like me it is one of the most agonizing of all shopping excursions (second only to selecting a swimsuit). Whenever I find a style that fits well, and is comfortable, I buy as many as I can find in my size; because, don't you know, the next time you go shopping for one again that style is always discontinued! ALWAYS! Okay, yesterday was the day. I had put it off for as long as I possibly could. Yes, it was agonizingly painful an experience as I thought it would be; but, this time there was a new reality: the image of an old lady's body reflected back at me from the fitting room's mirror. Where did she come from? I found a few styles that met my basic criteria and skee-daddled out of there as fast as I could; far, far away from that old lady's scrutinizing eyes. I should be good for awhile; I bought four, (buy one get a second at 50% off!) maybe that old lady will be gone whenever I return-- a long time from now! Am I alone in this experience? Do any of you encounter "visitors" in those fitting room mirrors? 

These are last year's Easter lilies carried home from Easter Sunday service and plated in the ground. I really forgot about them until they emerged this spring and have, quite simply, burst forth! They have been holding onto these buds for weeks on end. We have had nothing but rain for the longest time but this week the sun has broken through once again and one bud has finally begun to loosen its tight grip. Will these burst forth in bloom today or tomorrow? What a glorious surprise these have been to witness their progress! I planted this year's lilies just behind these plants; next year we should have double the glory! What surprises are you experiencing in your life right now? Who knows, yours might be as close as a glance out the window; whatever it is, I hope that you are wrapped in the wonder of God's gift of glory all around you. Today I give thanks for all that He has so abundantly provided, revealed in blessings of every shape and form. 

Life is Good!