Sleeping Away, Going Home

We had an overnight visitor on Friday night. Lynnleigh arrived in the afternoon and promptly removed the clothes that she was wearing and pulled on her new sundress which I had just finished. (the link to the pattern was in a previous post, but here it is again.) I can't say enough good things about the fit and the ease of wearing, no buttons or zippers. Once you figure out the method (not hard!) to sewing the pleats it's Easy Peazy! 

She wore it home on Saturday, too; I think she liked it!😉 We had a wonderful time together. She and Nana decided that it would be a good idea to clean out and take inventory of the Art Box, that is her favorite thing to explore when she's here. I had just replaced my decrepit label maker with a new one which arrived from Amazon that day, we put it right to work!

We labeled whatever we could attach a sticker to: the bins of crayons, markers, scissors, paper, smaller tablets and so on. Lynnleigh wrote me a list of things we need to replace or add to the box, she was very serious and thorough with her list-making. 

She even the numbered the entries: #1. wotir clors (water colors), #2. PomPoms #3. pip clenirs, #4. glue stik, #5. gitir glue (glitter glue) #6. paly-doh. She left her list in the kitchen beside my grocery list! 🥰

One more: from our D.E.A.R. (drop everything and read) time on the porch. Isn't this precious?

I am deeply grateful to one and all for your prayers on behalf of my mother. She spent Monday through Friday in the hospital with pneumonia in her right lung. She was discharged to a rehab facility nearby until yesterday, she's at home again with my Dad and sleeping in her own bed again. She's feeling much, much better; thanks be to God!

"Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; 

save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise."

 -Jeremiah 17:14

Life is Good!

Beauty Shots, Life Here at Home and a Prayer Request

I've got a new spot for quilt beauty shots, the porch; it's perfect, I can set up the stand without dealing with wind, weather and other outdoor hazards. If you've ever tried to set up a quilt for outside photography you know that even the slightest breeze will turn your quilt into a giant sail!

The location is perfect but the time of day wasn't-- I'll need to be careful in the future to make sure the sun is directly overhead and not back-lighting the subject (but, I have to admit that the stained-glass effect with the sun coming in from behind is pretty!). 

This might be one of my very favorite scrappy quilts of all time. The porch was a beehive of activity over the weekend. 

Not only was it the site for meals but for another another Chinese Checkers challenge (with yet another grandson!)...

...but it was also a bedroom for the night! Ever since the porch construction began, Gregory has been begging for a chance to sleep out there! Saturday night was his first chance, he told us that the birds were his alarm clock! So sweet. 

We watched this movie together on Friday night, I was unaware of the Brandon Burlsworth story until seeing this; what an inspiring story! I can recommend it, just know that you'll need Kleenex nearby. 

Sweet Sixteen ~ completely finished at last, measuring 65" X 80". 

Adapting in an upside-down🙃 world: I got my hair cut; (that was cause for celebration!) my dear stylist had advised me to wait in my car when I arrived, I sent her a text and she texted back when it was okay to enter. She met me at the salon door to take my temperature before I was granted entry! Life goes on~ one step at a time; and it's good, it's all good. I've seen plenty of blog posts and social media entries commenting on the state of the world, political and racial unrest, so many that I cannot even count them. You're not going to find that here; I do truly believe that there is good in the world, love and grace exist in abundance and that we have a faithful and loving God who's in control. This blog will continue to chronicle what goes on here, from our little corner of the world, a day at a time; without judgement, bias or political opinion from me-- not now, not ever. Now, a personal favor from me: would you please remember my mother in prayer as she recovers, in the hospital, from pneumonia? Her name is Harriett. She's doing well, praise God, but this is such a difficult time to be hospitalized and to be separated from loved ones, especially from my Dad. Thank you! In the meantime... 

...I'm working on a sundress for Lynnleigh from some super-cute Riley Blake Girl Scout fabric that her Mom  had sent to me; I'm using this pattern. I have made this for her before, this year I've had to go up a size, to a 7-- she's growing (they all are-- much too quickly!).

 I've found a wonderful chocolate chip cookie recipe! Here's the link, it's from Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Table cookbook; it meets my desire for a cookie that doesn't spread too much while baking. It just so happens to be delicious, too; pass the milk! 

  "...so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless." Titus 3:7-9

Life is Good!

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Twirl, Girl, Twirl!

I was challenged to figure out what to do with that leftover pom-pom trim from the Big Hex. I had an idea! Remembering this book on my shelf:


...and a particular dress in that book...

I decided to add it to the hem of a T-shirt dress for my favorite little 4-year-old twirling girl. She came over yesterday for a "fitting". Measurements were taken and I made this dress up for her in the size suggested. It appears to be quite roomy upon completion, she had to leave before Nana was done, I believe she'll have this dress to spin around in for several seasons. Since I finished it up after her departure and  I still had the dress here with more time to think about further embellishments I came up with a plan. Yes, it definitely could use a monogram! That's what happens when things languish in the vicinity of the embroidery machine.

Perfect!  Really, who wouldn't want to twirl around in a dress like this one? 

I made good use of that pom-pom trim, right down to those last few inches!

(The color in the photo below is much more representative of the actual hue than the above photos.)

Life is Good!

  

All DRESSED Up!

You might remember a few weeks ago my daughter-in-law was creating a onesie dress for little Lynnleigh. Well, making these dresses is not altogether different from eating potato chips... you can't stop at just one!

The model here is quite eager to show off her Mama's handiwork.
She is ten months old today, and yes... she is walking!

 On the recommendation of a friend I bought this book.  It is filled with easy-peasy (and CUTE) dresses for little girls and even for those little-bit-bigger girls. I can already tell this book will be referred to, and used, often over the next few years! What girl of any age wouldn't want to wear a dress with a hem like the one below? Isn't it fun?

Life is Good!

Pride Goeth...

...Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall... -Proverbs 16:18

For the last couple of weeks my daughter-in-law has been dropping by one evening a week to work on "onesie" dresses for little Lynnleigh. Here's a completed one with her monogram added for panache! They're really cute and clever dresses; using a minimal amount of fabric the onesie remains functional underneath, keeping the dress pulled down and the diaper covered at that same time. While sewing we were chatting about making little girl clothes and somehow the conversation turned back to a long ago memory of my own: I  had made a jumper and blouse for my own daughter thirty four years ago, when she was just three years old. I had been so proud of  this ensemble back then; a pinwale corduroy jumper with a set-in zipper and a strawberry print blouse with eyelet lace trimming the rounded collar and gathered cuffs. I remember how adorable she looked dressed in them! The premier wearing had been to Sunday School, the teacher commented on how cute she looked when I dropped her off. I was beaming, did I mention how proud I was? That was short-lived. When I  stopped back by her classroom to pick her up for "big" church, forty-five minutes later, her sleeves were flapping loose down around her hands; those little gathered cuffs had quickly become things of the past. "I had to cut that elastic" her Sunday school teacher reported "those little hands were turning purple because the cuffs were so tight!" I was crushed; and embarrassed. We laughed about it at the time but I learned a valuable lesson about pride right then and there. Over the next few days I replaced that elastic, adjusting the length, and my daughter wore that jumper and blouse until she outgrew it. Not another word was ever spoken about the "incident"  by the teacher, she and I have remained good friends all of these years; now in her 80's she is a dear and loyal member of our Quilt Ministry group. I wondered out loud to my daughter-in-law, in the recounting of the tale, if the teacher remembered cutting that elastic. The very next morning at church I found myself mentioning to my longtime friend about the little onesie dresses that Leigh Anna was working on at our house; without missing a beat she looked me in square in the eye and said "you're not putting any elastic in those sleeves are you?"

Christmas 1979, the jumper and blouse with sleeves "adjusted" to proper size.

With that she winked... and gave me a hug. I am blessed to have faith models like her in my life;
those who know me, who've walked beside me through the years, and love me anyway!
Life is Good!