Stitching Kindness

I finally completed the quilting on the "Gratitude" quilt; the name seems appropriate for an almost-Thanksgiving finish! It's been on the rails since I broke my wrist at the end of August! Moving on...

This is my version of Susan Ache's "Stitching Kindness", a sew-along from last year. Incorporating a red/white strawberry print for the border and backing, it was a natural to choose a pantograph with strawberries and leaves for the quilting design, I love the result!

Isn't it sweet? 

The affirming words are all hand embroidered and the block fabrics were all from the stash!

I've moved on this week to quilting up this Mosaic quilt for a friend. The pattern is a free download here. I just love her rich, earthy batik selections; don't you? It's a great fall quilt.

Life is Good!

Late August Wrap-Up

I had a friend ask me the other day of I was ever going to post again; that's how long it's been since I've updated here! Sheesh. It's not that I haven't been doing anything, that would be the simplest explanation; actually, the exact opposite is the case. I'm going to bring the blog up to date, but it will take several posts to accomplish that. At last post, I was pulling blocks-of-the-month out of the stash closet (it just keeps giving... ) and setting them together. I'll pick back up there. This one was called The Chain Gang, it's been aging, like a fine wine, since 2010. Out of the bin and into the light: two blocks needed to bring it to a respectable size. I decided on a straight set and sashed it with a gray fabric that I had left over from another, different, (more recent) block-of-the-month. I found some bright grunge fabrics to use as the cornerstones so that the "chains" would remain unbroken. I had to order more Kona black to finish up the borders after the blocks were completed.

"The Chain Gang" ~ 56" X 72"

So, here we are, eleven years later~ finally at the flimsy stage. Another one to add to the ever-growing "to be quilted" queue! After all these years I've decided to not waste anymore time on this one, even to think of a clever name for it. It will simply be called The Chain Gang, as it was titled originally. 

One more late-August update, our baby turned 41 years old; he graciously hosted us at HIS house this year to celebrate! As the month wound down we've been treated to an absolute abundance of fresh tomatoes from the garden of friends. I needed to find a way to use them up quickly. I found this quick and easy recipe for homemade soup.

Fresh and colorful tomatoes before (l) and after (r) oven roasting. 

This tomato soup is smooth, flavorful and delicious. If you're looking for a use for extra tomatoes you might want to give this recipe a try!

I was able to get in some reading time in August; these two books held my attention for a few weeks. I'm already onto a new book for September which I'm loving, I'll report on that in a future post. I can't say that I particularly enjoyed Picoult's novel, it was a little over the top for me. Berg's "The Confession Club" was a fun and diversionary story which I liked very much; a friend had recommended it to me and I'm so glad that she did!

Elmer the elephant made his way down off the shelf and onto my cutting table while I was stitching up the  last blocks of The Chain Gang. He's good company, sewing is always more fun with friends! Stay tuned, I have lots more to show and tell. I can't believe that we're rocketing our way toward Labor Day already! 

Happy September!

Life is Good!

Leaving It On The Table

I mentioned this work table last week, it's exactly what I'd been hoping for when I'm doing ruler-work on the front side of the longarm. I had been improvising with a sheet of foam core (any port in a storm, right?), I needed something to hold my tools above the surface of the quilt while I worked my way along.
Mr. Goodneedle picked up the hints that I was dropping and created the work table that I'd been hoping for! 😁  Now you know what I've been working on all week; I'm sew blessed to have a handy and helpful husband. This can also double as a light table and be used with a stencil and the laser moved to the front of the machine! 

What else has been going on around here? This is NUTS: the acorns this year are more abundant than we can ever remember. This patio, with no exaggeration, is blown off every two days! I suppose this must be some sort of winter weather forecasting tool, I'm afraid to research that one. Yikes. When we're out on the porch it sounds like there's a jackhammer on the roof! 

And not just on the patio-- they're DEEP beneath the shrubs too; it's hard to walk back here. 

Those blasted squirrels and the chipmunks are having a hay day, I've never seen them busier-- nope, they're leaving nothing on the table, they're burying as many as their chubby cheeks can hold!

Happy fall, y'all!

Life is Good!

Cooler Days...

The days have turned cooler, fall is in the air, October has arrived. You know, I truly have lost track and sense of time and seasons with all the sameness of these past six months.  I know that it's autumn but I don't feel like it should be. It's more than just a sense of time flying it's more like a disorientation for me. It's hard to explain.  I told Mr. Goodneedle yesterday that if I woke up tomorrow and learned it was January I don't know that I would be surprised or feel any different than I do right now. He theorized that it's because we missed the "markers" this year: Easter, end-of-school activities and attending the swim meets of our grandchildren, summer vacation, etc., those events that place everything into a logical and linear timeline. Maybe that's it, I just don't know. Am I alone in this thinking?       ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Anyway, time marches on and so do I...

I found a new (to me) recipe for peanut butter cookies this week and I have to share it, it's my new, absolute, favorite! Having said that, you should know that peanut butter cookies have always been sort of "meh" for me; I suppose it's because I hadn't tried these before! Here's the link , these have a nice crunch on the outside but remain soft and chewy inside. I substituted extra crunchy peanut butter for smooth. If you even marginally like peanut butter cookies this is a must try!

I have two more tumbler quilts ready for binding and donating. Ordinarily our church supports an outreach program in West Virginia that gives aid to families in need at Christmastime. I have been stacking up these quilts all year for children in that program but, as of this past week, we're still unsure as to the plans for this year's distribution of needed items. I'll just keep stacking up needed items until we know more.

Yes, the calendar says it's October. I'll go with that. One step at a time...one day after another.

Go ahead, try the cookies! 

🍂

Life is Good! 

An Expression Of A Deeper Order

Since my last post here, life consisted of, what I thought to be, a long string of events (random or otherwise). I struggled to keep up, it seemed as though I was hopscotching on one foot from one square to the next and barely keeping myself upright as I was doing it. There were momentary respites, here and there, exceedingly brief and all too fleeting. "Breathe", I kept reminding myself, "just breathe". I have been wearing many hats: wife, mother, grandmother, daughter-- all at the same time. In the course of the last four weeks we sold my in-law's home, said good-bye to our son's precious canine companion: Diesel, hosted my parents for a two week visit, kept our two youngest grandchildren during our daughter-in-law's scheduled surgery and recuperation, transported little ones to and from their designated schools and activities, celebrated our next to youngest grandchild's seventh(!) birthday and through it all endeavored to keep up with laundry, get meals on the table, and maintain a house that was, somewhat, clean and tidy. All of a sudden, it seems, life has slowed back down and a quick glance out the window reveals that the seasons have changed during all of the hub-bub of activity. Yes, through it all God has been there; strengthening, supporting and  revealing Himself in the most glorious way. This, from a Bible Study I am preparing for today: "we have talked about marriage and family as a vocation or calling from God. This calling is lived out within the struggles and trials of life in this world as God gives us to others as people to count on and receive help from." Today, my husband is spending his time at home doing all of those long postponed projects now that we have only one house again, our son and his family have begun to heal the hole in their hearts by welcoming a new furry friend into their lives and home, family relationships have been strengthened and fortified while making memories through time spent together and, our daughter-in-law is resuming her normal activities once again and daily life is settling back into a familiar rhythm; all while bathed in the resplendent golden glow of autumn (lest I forget who's been in control all along)! 

Thanks be to God!

Life is Good!

photo credit: Bill Voigt 
quote credit: Mary Alice Monroe, from The Butterfly's Daughter

Wintering Over

I've done something different this year, a new challenge; I have attempted to 'winter over' my geraniums. I read quite a few articles about the process and set to work last fall. We'll see how it goes. I stored them in the basement dry-root style, in brown paper bags and cardboard boxes. Last week I sprung them from their seasonal shrouds and was delighted to see signs of life springing from the stalks! I followed the instructions for making up a potting mix: equal parts garden soil, vermiculite and sphagnum moss. After a thorough soaking I trimmed away any remaining dead leaves and shriveled stems. I made popsicle stick identifying tags and planted them near an east facing window in the basement where they'll now receive regular waterings and reside until the frost danger has passed. They don't look like much now but I have high hopes. What was the incentive for this years' wintering-over adventure?  It was really three-fold. 1. I like to try new things and test myself on what is and isn't possible. 2.  If this works it could prove to be financially beneficial (more money for fabric!? Ha!). 3. I wanted to KEEP the red geraniums that lived on our front steps last summer! This was, by far, my highest motivation! I cannot remember the specific variety I bought and they were spectacular; I really wanted to hang onto these plants, the best we've ever had! This photo, below, captures their beauty from last summer. With any luck they will come back to shine again in all their glory for months (dare I hope, years?) to come!

Life is Good!

Subtle Shifts

Things are changing... albeit slowly, the shifts are subtle ones. The changes take place one. day. at. a. time. Who notices such things as they occur? But then, all of a sudden, it has happened. The mornings grow just a degree or two cooler when I step outside to walk each day. One by one the darkening evenings happen a moment or two sooner. The green leaves of summer surrender their edges to nature's paintbrush for a makeover. The landscape is transformed. Summer releases her grip and slowly, silently, slips into fall. Babies become first graders.

Time marches on and waits for noone.

Hold on as tight as you can, enjoy each and every day; the shifts are subtle but changes will happen... celebrate them.

Life is Good!

 

In Due Time...

God's timimg is always perfect, sometimes that is hard for us to understand.   There's a field full of Iris near where I live, it is somewhat of a local landmark. Each year when the field is in full bloom the owner (now 92) and her daughters open the gates and invite the public in to walk the rows, enjoy the beauty, and buy a plant or two.  This year the gardens, and spring itself, seems to be a few weeks behind schedule by our calculations; of course, God has his own clock!  Yesterday Mr. Goodneedle and I stopped by to pick up some plants for our daughter's garden in the Capital City. We weren't disappointed by the color and variety we'd not so patiently waited for!

To every thing there is a season, 
and a time to every purpose under the heaven... Ecclesiates 3:1

The garden's owner still spends the day among her flowers, pulling weeds, taking her time and reveling in God's glory. She doesn't dig plants for customers anymore, she's left that task to her daughters; she uses a golfcart to get around now but she was there, in the Iris garden, enjoying every minute in her favorite place on earth! 

At long last all the pieces are together for the church quilts I have been working on, yesterday I was able to lay one out in its entirety  for inspection. There are two identical versions of this same quilt, one for them to keep and one for them to raffle. There's a workshop tomorrow at the church, I'll meet with their committee to facilitate assembly and pass off all the components, plus the batting and backing for hand quilting by them. It is my sincere hope that the good people of Bailey's Chapel feel that their wait (with my part of the project) has been worth it.

Everything in due time! 

Life is Good!

The Day That Spring Exploded

We experienced cooler than normal temperatures in March and into April of this year, I could feel that spring was trying to arrive; but, like anything else, it's hard to make headway with the one step forward, two steps backward approach. We would have a pleasant spring "teaser" day only to be plunged back into winter-like temperatures the next. On Thursday we had a gorgeous, almost summer-like day, only to be assaulted with heavy thunderstorms overnight, as is typical this time of year. Our Dogwoods and flowering trees have been budded for awhile, but they've been holding onto those buds tightly, even on Thursday. When we awakened on Friday morning, after the heavy rain, I could scarcely believe my eyes. This Dogwood tree on our side yard had burst into bloom overnight... literally! Those buds had released their grip, setting the blossoms free. I ran outside to snap this picture right before the sun came up; I wanted to remember April 12, 2013 ~ the day that spring exploded at my house.

Ecclesiates 3:1 

"To every thing there is a season, 

and a time to every purpose under heaven."

Life is Good!

Sunday's LOVE Potpourri

I know, I know... I left you all at sea in my last post. I will return to the Hawaiian Islands and give you a wrap up of the highlights of our trip last month in the coming days. However, in the meantime, life has been consumed by the here and now and the calendar page has turned to February already; the month of love. Let me share with you today a few random and unrelated LOVES that I have experienced over the past few weeks. Of course, you've been introduced to the latest love of my life, Lynnleigh, our newest grand baby and second granddaughter. This photograph was sent to me by my daughter, it is Lucy Ann(2) holding her new baby cousin. Look at their hands. Okay, I may be a bit biased, these are my own granddaughters; but, isn't it just the sweetest picture? I think so, I LOVE it.

Another new LOVE of mine: A Christmas gift from a dear friend, my very first quilt teacher! It is a book, a daily devotional guide: Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. I have added a link here so that you can read a bit about the book and even preview a few pages, check it out. It is a book that has really struck a chord with me and I highly recommend it.

Granny Smith Apple Slaw, have you ever eaten a slaw made from apples instead of cabbage? I hadn't until a few weeks ago and it was fabulous. I have researched a recipe and found this one, I believe it's pretty close to the one I had, served alongside a barbecued chicken breast; I hope you give it a try, you may just LOVE it too.

In between a few days helping my daughter in law out with child care as she gradually returns to full strength and good health I have managed to return to the sewing machine and knocked a few things off my "to do" list; gotta LOVE that!

The daffodils are completely and totally confused around these parts. Our weather fluctuates between balmy and spring-like to frigid. I have some daffs budded out and holding, but our neighbor's yard is full of flash-frozen blossoms! Although I find, what I believe to be an all-too-soon emergence sad, I LOVE the reassurance and comfort that goes along with the knowledge that God is in control, His timing is perfect and that He keeps his promises... season after season.

Life is Good!

One Word Wednesday

Preview~

Life is Good!

Going, Going, Gone!

It's been fading, my voice; from raspy to croaky and fading, to gone... completely. It's my annual seasonal affliction. My husband will have a quiet day. I have been forced to writing-only; hastily scribbled messages are my only form of communication. He is being sweet, drawing me little smiley faces in response. It gives me a whole new appreciation for health and the gift of voice. One benefit gained through my vocal exile, I am hearing better; well, certainly my sense of hearing hasn't improved, but my listening has. Imagine that. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). There is spirituality in silence. I am still, I am thankful and I am sipping hot tea.

Life is Good!

The Colors of Fall

There's more to the changing colors of fall than the leaves on the trees. I spent Saturday potting up mums and pansies. Out with the once-vibrant (now spent and leggy) annuals and in with the lush, cool weather bloomers. It was back breaking work. I potted up a total of one dozen planters between the front porch and the patio, plus I hauled countless wheelbarrow loads of debris (plants, foliage, nutrient-depleted soil) back to the woods. This time of year is energizing to me. I'm ready for the change of seasons now, as well as the changing colors... bring it on! But, seriously, what's up with ALL THE ACORNS this year? Anyone in need of an oak tree 'starter'? Send me your address, I have a few (million) to spare!

Life is Good!