Are You Still There?

In my last post, well over a month ago(!) regarding breathing new life into these quilts I asked you to stay tuned... and then I, seemingly, evaporated! Nothing terrible has happened, we've been away for a bit but life gets busy and this blog has been back-burnered for weeks. Not that I hadn't thought about posting, I had written many drafts; but only in my mind.

Last week our DIL came over, we got all three of these tops (see full story here, in previous post) loaded and she quilted them all; in one day! The next day she made the bindings and attached them to each one. She’s determined and focused! 

I snapped this picture of one of the blocks, look at that center square... no piece was too small. Nothing, even the tiniest scrap, was overlooked; it was stitched together and used!

Our DIL worked tirelessly and all three of these quilts were presented on Sunday! 💗

Speaking of quilt presentations on Sunday...  we recognized our high school graduates at church, they were presented with gifts from the congregation and quilts representing the chosen schools where they will continue their education. These were finished just in time! 

It was an occasion to celebrate!

Life is Good!

Thanks for your patience with this absentee blogger.

I'm still here and if you're reading this, you are too!

I am grateful. 

...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. 

Birthday Boy... Again!

Six years and one day ago this precious little red-headed baby came into the world. 
He keeps on having birthdays, this one; I swear they are coming at a rate that seems to be twice, if not three times, a year now! He wanted Legos for his sixth birthday. Nana and PawPaw found some;  I "wrapped" them in a very special, just-for-the-occasion, pillowcase especially for the birthday boy!
He was a little bit disappointed, I believe, to not see a box wrapped in paper come through the door with us last evening; but, instead, another pillowcase! His disappointment, however, was short-lived! Gregory could scarcely eat his dinner fast enough to carry the big box back to his bedroom and start building.

The birthday boy and his family, just before bedtime for the little ones.

Sweet dreams, little boy! I hope your birthday was every bit as special for you as you have made our lives each and every day since your arrival! Now, stop growing up so FAST!!

Life is Good!

On this, the fourth day of November, I give thanks for happy, healthy grandchildren.

Faster Than A...

She's growing up... faster than a-- speeding bullet; the blink of an eye, the speed of light I don't know, you fill in the blank. Yesterday was Lynnleigh's third birthday! What joy she has brought to this family in the three short years since her arrival.
       This was just yesterday, wasn't it?

Lynnleigh celebrated with her cousins and a dinner in her honor last evening, she chose the menu; the offerings were, for the most part, monochromatic! (Simply Good Chicken Casserole, Mac and Cheese, Orange Jello and Orange Cupcakes!) Can you guess what her favorite color is?

Mason - 7, Lucy Ann - 5, Gregory - 5, and Lynnleigh - 3

Hannes (hiding in the background) -11

Happy Birthday, big girl... we love you~

Life is Good!

In The Blink Of An Eye...

...or so it seems, Lynnleigh celebrated her first birthday with a party on Saturday! She was definitely slowing down by the time it came to the cake; all of the family, friends, and presents were a little bit overwhelming. But, after a few preliminary tastes, she caught on quite well!

I just love this picture... my "baby" with his own sweet baby on her birthday.
Here's another favorite... Mr. Goodneedle and Lynnleigh
with her gift from her "PawPaw"; a handmade Maple bookcase.
And last, but certainly not least, the four cousins playing together in Gregory's
bedroom. There was not a single toy that didn't end up somewhere on the floor!
 "...and a good time was had by all..."

My daughter-in-law posted this clever side by side on Facebook last week, the caption read as follows:

One baby
One bird
One gown
One year.

Yes, it's true, one year. It still seems like the blink of an eye to Nana!
Happy Birthday, sweet girl~
Life is Good!

Around This Table...

The party was held in July, 1981; it was our daughter's fifth birthday and everyone gathered around this table. It was one of the first major furniture purchases that Mr. Goodneedle and I made as newlyweds, we bought this table and chairs along with a credenza base and hutch top in 1977. Through the years there were MANY celebrations that occurred around this table; many blessings asked over family feasts and prayers raised with hands joined together, many homework assignments were completed on its surface, gifts were wrapped and quilt blocks cut and laid out. This table marked our family's growth as it moved with us from place to place around the world before it settled, finally, as a work table in my sewing room at our current home. In 2008 Sundance moved into my sewing space and the table had to find a new home, there simply wasn't enough room for both. By this time the above-mentioned base unit had come to find a permanent home in our kitchen's breakfast nook and we had long since donated the hutch top to charity. A newer cherry table and upholstered chairs had taken up the place of honor in our current dining room. Right around this same time, five years ago, our daughter and son-in-law bought a home and needed furniture for their dining room. The timing was perfect and off went this table and chairs to live in the Capital City; I would visit it from time to time and couldn't resist lovingly running my fingers along the chair backs or the table edge, contours that were so familiar to me. The children were under no obligation to keep it forever, it was a gift to help them out at the time; it certainly wasn't the furniture they would have chosen but they used it, and enjoyed it, while it stayed at their home... until earlier this week when they donated it to the Helping Hand Mission. They have new furniture ordered and I couldn't be happier for them! We received a thank you note today from our sweet son-in-law, he wrote: "the guys that picked it up were appreciative and commented several times about how nice it was and how someone would have a very nice Thanksgiving around it". What a loving thing for him to do: write us a note and convey those words, I am so pleased to think that this table, our table, will reside in a new home with a new family! Many happy occasions have been marked around this table; but it's not the end...far from it, there are so many more yet to come!

Life is Good!

Boiling It Down...

"Light Of Day"

... to bullet points. I've been absent for awhile but only because the summer that stretched out ever-so-lazily before us a few weeks ago kicked into full gear and has left me chasing each day just to keep up!  I'll report a few highlights  from the last few weeks and will, hopefully, be back on track here as well as visiting around blogworld again too!

* You might remember the Centennial Quilts project for my DIL's Daddy's church. The quilts were completed and dedicated a week ago Sunday; one is hanging permanently in the sanctuary and the second one was auctioned off for a HUGE sum following a Homecoming picnic luncheon on the church grounds. I was thrilled for the church and buoyed by the happy realization that the quilt held such value!

* My embroidery machine has kicked into overtime stitching up personalized T-shirts, pillowcases and bibs for little ones. Here's just a small sampling.

* Mason joyfully celebrated his fifth birthday at his neighborhood pool, it was a VERY happy day! Our daughter did a wonderful job decorating for the party with adorable, personalized, buckets filled with pool-appropriate favors for the guests. The food was delicious and a good time was had by all!

* Last Wednesday we were invited to breakfast (at their mountain campsite) by our son and his wife. It was raining when we arrived but our spirits weren't the least bit dampened. Following breakfast we caravaned on down the road to visit Tweetsie Railroad. Gregory loved it; although, I believe, the Tweetsie train was a wee bit bigger (and louder) than he expected! We brought the little ones home with us for the remainder of the week, giving Mommy and Daddy some peaceful time together in the home-sweet-tent.

* The kitchen backsplash tiling project has been completed! Now, onto choosing less obtrusive outlet covers!

* And so it goes; busy days filled with everything good, some sewing related items thrown in for self-preservation!  Those seemingly endless summer days have definitely been numbered after all. The R.A.W. (Row A Week) "Light Of Day" quilt top is growing by leaps and bounds. It is being made purposely to cover our King-sized bed and will measure 115" square at completion; that's big,considering the blocks themselves finish at six inches! I will persevere on this one, begun back in 1997. Now that I have an Accuquilt cutter there are no excuses! Speaking of numering things, I can hardly believe I ever began this project cutting the HST's the old-fashioned way; after all there are 1800 pieces in just the blocks, that's NOT counting the sashing strips! 

*  This is how I begin each morning; stiching pinwheels and mentally planning a schedule for the day ahead as I sew.  This quilt top is growing... this photo shows what half of the quilt top looks like... that's a LOTTA pieces! 

Soon there will be much more to share too, 

Sundance is up to a great big surprise, it's all good!

Life is Good!