The Past Few Weeks...

Consider this a catch-up post. I really do always have the best intentions of keeping up with this blog but, as we all know, life has a way of taking over. We did have a wonderful time with my Dad visiting here for three weeks before we headed back north with him at the beginning of the month.

He especially enjoyed this copy of National Geographic from April 1928, his birth month and year; gifted to him by dear friends to commemorate his 97th birthday. He was able to happily experience spring returning to North Carolina and has definitely expanded the season this year by celebrating its return to New Hampshire currently. While he visited we all delighted in the abundant fresh strawberries appearing on stands from local farms, always a most welcome treat!

We dragged him around to local nurseries too, buying plants; as I was eager to pot up flowers and ready the porches for sitting outdoors. 

This is the side porch just outside of my sewing room. The perennial garden just beyond is filling in and producing lots of new, rich, color. I have transplanted some iris which was a huge success and set in more dahlias this year. I anchored one end of the garden with a Butterfly bush given to us in memory of my mother, it is already putting forth a huge amount of buds, can't wait for that one to burst into bloom!

This Kousa Dogwood in front of our house has never been prettier than it is this year... 

...and the Spirea (Bridal Wreath) hedge has certainly put on a show as well. 

(So does our canine model 😉, always photo-ready!)

I've managed to get this bitty little May Basket pin-keep stitched and finished in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of other stitching show-and-tell at the moment.  

This is a sneak-peek of a low-volume, strip-pieced, surprise in the making. 

What will it become? Any guesses? Expect a reveal soon! 

❓

In the meantime, we're receiving plenty of good soaking rain which will only benefit every single growing thing that I've spent the past few weeks tending to. I shall return, that's a promise; I need to report on what a wonderful Mother's Day weekend we had! 

Until then... 

Life is Good!

Feeling Fall-ish

I've got a million explanations for where I've been. None of them sound nearly as exciting as the truth-- we've been super busy and here, there and everywhere since I last posted; and, while we've been gone, the seasons have changed! I got this pumpkin wall hanging quilted and off the rails before we left. The binding was attached by machine but the handwork was left for the monotonous hours of passenger time in the car. If the truth be told, I finished two quilt bindings by hand in the last week! More than good use of my time, it also keeps my eyes and hands otherwise occupied. I can be a VERY nervous passenger- I blame that on TOO MANY trucks!

I got the pumpkin quilt hung on the porch wall after we arrived back home; that, combined with my low-volume fall-ish lap quilt, help to signal the season change. I still have more plans out here. 

One step at a time. It's all coming together.

This one; our second grandchild and oldest granddaughter, she turned ELEVEN while we were gone. We blinked! 

What a smart, kind, loving and happy addition she is to our family; we couldn't be any prouder. 

💗

I'm back... with lots (and lots) to share.

Life is Good!

Done and Done

"The All American" has been installed in its rightful place on the porch and the puzzle table, lovingly crafted from a cherry tree (removed from our property years ago), has been placed in front, as designed. The R,W & B wall quilt was just the pop of color that the plain, boring, brick expanse of wall needed.

The table measures 18" X 48" with the leaves down, as pictured (48" X 36" with leaves up). The plan is for many hours spent around this table constructing jigsaw puzzles from our vast collection. I hope to add two bar stools (possibly red) on either side to complete this work area. Mr. Goodneedle constructed this beauty without any hardware (except the hinges and leveling feet), it is solid wood throughout. I can't wait to break out that first puzzle, this is just the pastime I've dreamed of for this space! I Face-Timed my parents to show them our completed projects and my mother declared that Mr. G and I made a good team; yep, I assured her that was because we'd had years of practice! 😉

Life is Good!

Cut It Out!

I have my work cut out for me, literally. I've done research on the history of that phrase and have found the most prevalent explanation as one that comes from the sixteenth century: "This phrase is supposedly a metaphorical allusion to the preparation of fabric to be worked on: once the shapes have been cut out, the tailor still has a lot of sewing to do, by hand in the past, before the cloth becomes a garment." This is certainly appropriate for today's post. I wrote most recently about going through the full-to-overflowing scrap basket to collect the batiks in there that were serviceable enough, size-wise, for making more masks. The requests for more have been steady. Today, Wednesday, has been deemed as mask-making day. I rescued enough fabric from the scraps to make thirteen! In the meantime, the rest of the scraps needed to be dealt with. Slowly, working my way through the heap, I pressed them and diligently cut them up into usable sizes. 

These scraps, leftover from various and assorted projects, were eventually transformed into this:

... and these squares, triangles and rectangles were all used to feed these...

...the bins that reside beneath my cutting table, Bonnie Hunter's Scrap User's System which has worked for me for many years! These, in turn, will be used to make more scrap quilts, and SEW it goes! 

After days spent cutting, the trash can looked like this. Yes, there are scraps too small to save! 😉

Meanwhile, out on the porch, Mr. Goodneedle had his work cut out for him too. He began re-slinging the dining chairs that have literally fallen apart after years of being out in the weather. The before and after, above, is night and day. We are both very pleased with the new, lighter (and sturdier!) look.

All American

All American ~ 60" X 60"

I didn't quite succeed in getting this patriotic quilt top pieced by Flag Day this year, but almost! I saw this pattern a few months ago online and knew that this was the quilt that I wanted to make as a wallhanging for brick wall out on the new porch, it will hang over the drop-leaf game table that Mr. Goodneedle is building-- the colors are perfect and I believe that the visual impact of this design is reminiscent of a game board. I did something that I hardly ever do: I ordered the kit from Simple Stitches; everything about the fabrics, colors and design appealed to me. The customer service was great, receiving the fabrics and pattern in a matter of only a few days! I modified the pattern for my space by only constructing five rows instead of six and omitting the outer border entirely.

This was an easy pattern, the blocks are all 12" and the piecing was straight forward. I didn't use the cutting instructions as directed: in fact, I never even opened the pattern at all. I used my Studio 180 tools: the Tucker Trimmer for the blocks above and the Wing Clipper for the large star blocks. 

It's easy to be accurate when joining the blocks using these tools, as everything is just a smidgen over-sized and the trim down results in perfectly square units every time. 

Once the blocks were all laid out I "webbed" the entire quilt top together vertically and then stitched the horizontal rows together; this is a time saving technique for me. 

Here's a snapshot of the cutting table with the paper pattern (link is above, under the top photo). If anyone reading this post would like the pattern, please let me know. Its brand new and I'd be more than happy to send it to you (USA). If more than one person would like it, I'll simply draw a number. Now, I just need to get this new top loaded and quilted; as things stand right now I have two quilts in line ahead of this one.

Adapting in an upside-down 🙃world: because we can't visit my Mom and Dad in person right now we've taken to Face Timing. Our normal early morning phone calls are now video experiences. I'm extremely grateful to my brother-in-law who facilitated the I-pad set up so that this could happen. Originally we had planned to set-up this gift for Dad in person, when we went to their home back in March. That trip never happened. Finally, it became apparent that we wouldn't be traveling (and exposing them to heaven-knows-what we might encounter between here and there) for the foreseeable future, but the need to see each other was still great. So, we sent it off in a package!

This is a screen shot of our phone visit this morning; I couldn't be happier, he was willing and eager to learn and use technology. We hope to get up to New England to see them by late summer or early fall. Fingers crossed. 

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be" - Abraham Lincoln

What's making you happy today? 

I have switched off the TV and am listening to my favorite playlist of oldies while I sew.🙂🎵  

Next up on my cutting table: more face masks, assembly-line style. 

Life is Good!

Dinner Guests and Memories!

We had guests for dinner last evening, and very special ones at that! As one quarantined week has melted into the next for oh-so-many, it's easy to lose track of how lonely one is becoming and how repetitive each day-to-day has been. What perfect joy it was to welcome family from the Capital City, even for just a few hours. On an otherwise unseasonably cold and dismal, rainy, day we had our own personal injection of sunshine with the arrival of our daughter, son-in-law and oldest two grandchildren!  I do believe that feeling was mutual. 

Hannes enjoyed having an extra snuggle partner too!

Mason and I played Chinese Checkers, he won. I have wanted to have this game ready to play ever since we began building the porch, its a warm and fuzzy memory for me that goes back fifty-plus (+++!😉) years. When I was a little girl I remember summer afternoons spent playing this game on my grandparents screened in porch with my great-grandmother when she came to visit them. 

This is my great-grandmother (Grandma) and me a few years before those game-playing hours spent on the porch. She lived near Boston, in a home for "Aged Women" (!?!).  She would come to visit my grandparents, by train, for a week in the summer every year (and then again for Thanksgiving weekend). I can still recall riding along to pick her up at the depot. Boston really wasn't that far away at all (30-35 miles); but, in those days, this was the normal method of travel and it was Grandma's way. My grandparents' home was next door to ours and I would walk through the field every day after lunch while she was staying with them to spend time with Grandma over that Chinese Checkers board. She was always dressed up: dress, jewelry, stockings and tall, lace-up shoes with heels. I was in the seventh grade when she died; my grandfather, her son, passed away a year before she did. 

Mr. G. is currently making a custom sized drop-leaf table for our porch space, it's where the Chinese Checkers and other puzzles and pastimes will live. This table project has been side-lined, temporarily, while he's taking care of an injured shoulder. I don't know that my Grandma ever knew how fondly I remember spending time with her; it's one of my greatest hopes that our grandchildren will have warm memories of spending time at our home. 

Adapting in an upside-down🙃 world: Today I had my scheduled shopping appointment at our LQS. Believe it or not, I almost missed it! Wouldn't you know it, the only place I had to be (except for that dentist appointment) in the last two months and I had hastily scrawled the appointment time in two separate places, for two different times!?! My appointment was actually supposed to be at 11:00 AM. I had written that time down in the kitchen; in the studio, on my planner, I had written down 1:00 PM! Thank goodness I got a phone call at approximately 11:20 inquiring where I was. I grabbed my prepared list, hopped in the car, and got there in time to grab what I needed. Really. 🙄 Tomorrow we enter Phase 2 of reopening the state. Stay safe my friends, be patient with the process, and wash your hands 🧼. 

"And you will feel secure, because there is hope;

you will look around and take your rest in security." - Job 11:18

Life is Good!

Loafing Around?

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen last week, moving forward with my bread-making pursuit. At this time I have two, different, sourdough starters going. These loaves are a result of the second starter, it's a recipe from my life thirty years ago;  originally, I received a cup of starter as a gift from a neighbor. At that time, with children at home, I made two to four loaves each and every week! This starter that is fed with instant mashed potato flakes, sugar and water. 
Getting that going is all thanks to a good friend; how do you spell friend? I spell it: Y-E-A-S-T! This particular starter requires a boost of instant yeast and I got such a surprise when this baggie arrived. I got right to work. Now, to keep it going, I'll be feeding and baking once a week, I need to assign a bread-baking day.

So, that "wild" yeast starter is the trickier one of the two. I'm NOT giving up on it though. Last week I measured out a cup and set it aside for something less ambitious than loaves. Pictured in my mother's original, antique measuring cup. After doing much reading and research I decided to try my hand at English Muffins.

These turned out perfectly! They go through two risings; one before they're cut out and one after, then they're griddle baked on each side for ten minutes. They smelled wonderful during that baking phase. The great news is that they tasted every. single. bit. as good as they look! I may never go back to store bought. 

Buoyed up by the English Muffin success, I tried more rustic loaves with that same starter. They rose just fine, but I was underwhelmed with the outward, lumpy appearance. I would prefer a smoother, more elastic dough. I'll keep at it this week, I'm not about to quit yet. 

Sliced, these loaves did not disappoint. It's a denser, heartier bread- perfect for going beside soup or with olive oil for an appetizer. The flavor is quite good, it has a pronounced sourdough "tanginess". 

This one, the first bread that I mentioned (above), is sweeter and lighter, perfect for toast or sandwiches. Mr. Goodneedle couldn't wait to cut into it; even hot, right out of the oven! This received a thumbs-up.

YAGOF* was completed last week and in its rightful spot on the porch. As cool as it's been the last few days, it's nice to have it out there right now. Spring temperatures have retreated temporarily.

I backed this one with a wicker print. 

"Sweet Sixteen" is currently under the needle, just in case you thought I never left the kitchen-- I did!

And, once again, the Rose Breasted Grosbeaks have returned to the feeder. They've appeared every year for as long as I can remember, they don't stay long, a week at the most and then they're off.

This post is a recomposition of one created yesterday, I think that this is a reasonable duplicate of what I wanted to say. There's few things more frustrating (at least for me) than losing something in an instant while at the computer. Here's hoping that your week is a happy and productive one. 

Adapting in an upside-down 🙃world: We'll start to see a few things returning to the "new normal" here in North Carolina this week, we're in Phase #1 of re-opening. Fingers crossed that all goes well. I need to get back to my LQS, hopefully they'll reopen this week, I'm running out of supplies!! Wash your hands, my friends,🧼 stay safe!

"Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word." - Psalm 119:74

Life is Good!

*You're A Grand Old Flag