Land of Cotton?

Nope, look again, they're not cotton bolls; it's snow. Winter has arrived with a vengeance in the south. The weekend before last it was all ice, this past weekend it was all snow. Eight inches plus at Chez Goodneedle. That will teach me to make statements like "it's been so long since we've seen snow"! This snow was light and fluffy, due to the temperature being brutally cold, it is very pretty. (The tracks in this photo leading up from the lower right corner and traversing back and forth are from deer.)  We dodged the bullet again, power-wise; sadly, so many other southerners weren't as lucky. 

In anticipation of the storm, Augie got a coat. He was more than happy to stay cozy and warm! I'm content to stay in and work on projects, and as long as there's power I can do that for weeks on end!

Sarah Barker is coming right along...

...and I was able to get all the remaining blocks cut and kitted to complete the Cream and Sugar quilt. 

This magnificent Amaryllis continues to be a bright spot in the kitchen...

...and with plenty of time (and sourdough discard) on my hands I've even been baking crackers! I'm attaching the link here. I added a pinch of rosemary, these really are yummy. 

Most likely there will be more DIY clean up happening today. Our nighborhood is very low on the priority list, so far no state vehicles with a plow attached have ventured into our neighborhood at all. It's difficult for some to get in and out as we do have some significant hills in here which are heard to traverse with the remaining hard-packed ice underneath.  The public schools have been out for six days straight now and tomorrow isn't looking much better. I received and email this morning that our LQS is closed until further notice. The mail hasn't been delivered to our mailbox since a week ago last Friday, there's been no trash pick up and, for the second week in a row, church services have been canceled. Yesterday it was especially sad to miss worship as it was to be the celebration of the 500th service for our little mission congregation. Sigh. 

Snow... in the land of cotton, 

 days like these won't be forgotten!

Life is Good!

Reflections on January

I don't know where this month has gone. It's been filled with activity, not the least of which is keeping up with breadmaking from two different sourdough starters! What have I gotten myself into? Loaves are being gifted continually. I've branched out into English muffins, cinnamon buns and multi-grain breads too.
Without a lot of words or explanation I'm going to catch up with a post  resembling a photo journal; a look back at this month and what's been finished, what I'm working on and what's been started (there's always something new). 

Driving Age has become a full-fledged flimsy...

...borders have been added...

...quilts have been quilted...

...bulbs have bloomed...

...new starts have made it to the design wall...

...someone has turned ELEVEN, we made our annual pilgrimage to the AG store... 

...sacred stitches have been sewn...

...new recipes have been tried (Pear Pie using Bosc pears)...

...and new perches have been explored!

It's been a snow-less January here, that's not a complaint; we've had some serious cold weather that, hopefully, helps to keep the bug population down come spring. Thank you to those friends who've reached out to check on me in light of my sparse blog posts; I'm  here, all is well... 

 Life is GOOD! 

💗

Snowy Sunday

To no one's surprise we awakened to snow on Sunday morning, right on schedule and as forecast! A few hearty souls braved the elements to attend worship; all told, we ended up with about 4 inches before it turned over to sleet. Today we have crusty, icy snow remaining, the roads and driveway are still a mess. We've been warm and dry at home, I finished a book yesterday (will report on this month's books read later on) while cozied up beside the fireplace. With nowhere to go, I'll try and find something to occupy my time at home again today!  😉

Life is Good!

Battening Down

This is what happens when snow is predicted in the south; naturally there's the insanity that occurs as everyone runs for bread and milk at the grocery stores but, then, the conversation turns to anticipated snowfall amounts and, ultimately, how long folks expect to be stranded. I'm not too worried: we have firewood enough to last and I have an adequate supply of books and stitching projects piled up to get me through at least several storms. Yes, finally the weather has cooled seasonably, and those of us lucky enough to live in the south are battening down the hatches in preparation for winter storm Izzy and whatever she brings! 

This tree ꜛ is a trial quilt block. Carrie Nelson is currently hosting a quilt-along for Moda called "Branching Out"; Quiltkeemosabe had tried the block and had difficulty with the directions given for the trunk. She asked me to try it out, as written. I did find it necessary to make an adjustment in the trimming of that pieced trunk unit. If any of you are doing this I might suggest dropping that diagonal cutting line to 1.25" instead of the 1". Once I changed that I had no difficulty at all in constructing this 8.5" block. The current weather forecast undoubtedly impacted my fabric choices for this one!

In other news: I managed to finish up the Wonder Flutters runner, learning to use the Wonder Curve ruler this week. 

I don't usually show customer quilts but I've fallen deeply in love with this scrappy beauty while it's been here under the needle this week. The pattern is Summer Wedding by Black Cat Creations. The quilting is Curls by Beany Girl Quilts. 

Something else that I'm enamored with is that Folded Corner Clipper by Creative Grids. I'm finishing up the outer borders on the Great Granny Squared quilt using it instead of the old stitch-cut-flip method. Those sweet little corner clippings could simply be discarded. Nope, I couldn't bear tossing them!

I trimmed these to 1.75" after stitching. I know, it's craziness; but aren't they adorable?

But, to top it all off: this happened today! We blinked!! Happy birthday, sweet girl. 💗

We can prepare for the onslaught of winter weather, 

but nothing's preparing me for time passing this swiftly!

Life is Good!

This, That, and Three Other Things...

While we were gone away this Moth Orchid which has lived as a foliage-only plant in our bathroom for the past few years sent up a flower stalk! I was shocked and amazed. Maybe we need to leave home more often! I don't do anything special except water it every week; once a month I sprinkle a few crystals of orchid food into the watering solution but that's it. I had NO  very little hope of it ever blooming again. This was a wonderful surprise. Do any of you have tips for growing orchids? I really don't know what I'm doing. This was a Christmas gift four years ago, it came in bloom and those original blossoms lasted for a long, long time. 

           

We recently upgraded our cell phones. Thankfully, everything transferred without a hiccup and the best part of the new device (other than the fact that the battery lasts tons longer than my old one) is the "portrait mode" on the camera. Isn't Hannes' little friend cute? I really don't get my 35mm out of its case much anymore, there's little need, these phone cameras only get better and better. 

We've repurposed this ketchup bottle. Can you guess for what purpose?

For honey! I use honey both in my tea and over my yogurt and have found this to be the best-ever dispenser for this purpose- NO DRIPS, NONE! Next time you toss an empty ketchup bottle remember this recycling tip. 

We woke up Sunday morning to a taste of winter. My kind of snow, too; it was long gone by noon.

Star Flowers is now a top, it measures 56" X 81". I haven't decided if I'll leave the points or not. I will quilt it this way and then decide if I want to tackle binding the peaks and valleys or not. I love the look. Quilting will take a back seat for a bit, though, I have a few other quilting commitments right now.

I was lucky enough to get my first COVID dose yesterday. The process was completely painless. 

The hospital group has allocated the old Sears store at the mall where they can process thousands of people through a day, as long as the vaccine supply is available. It is done by appointment and the process was fast, organized and incredibly efficient. I have my second dose scheduled in three weeks. 

Life is Good!

Snow, Outside and In!

Merry Christmas! Well, it's not like we didn't know it was coming. The snowmageddon event had been forecast for days. My daughter used this analogy earlier in the year as we awaited a hurricane: "it's like being stalked by a turtle".  Yes, we knew it was coming and we were as prepared as we could have been. The stores were depleted of milk, bread and toilet tissue last Friday. This was the scene outside our front door around 8 AM on Sunday morning. It snowed and snowed and then it snowed some more. Big, heavy, wet flakes driven by a biting wind. When it was all said and done; approximately twelve hours later, for us, we had a little over fourteen inches! That's a lot of snow for us here in the Piedmont area of North Carolina, and it's really unusual this early in December. The last snowfall nearing this accumulation, that I can remember, was on Christmas Day, 2010. It was, and still is, pretty. But it's a nuisance. Our city and surrounding area have pretty much shut down. The local county schools are still out, and will be tomorrow too. Luckily, our rural roads have been plowed and scraped and we're in pretty good shape if we need to get out. We did some shopping yesterday afternoon. The grocery stores have been hit hard and the shelves are still bare in spots, the delivery trucks aren't keeping up yet. Ah, winter in the south!

The one thing that I am exceedingly grateful for, above everything else, is the fact that we didn't lose power! Many weren't as lucky in that regard. On Monday I decided it was a good day to load Gregory's quilt and get it quilted up to give to him for Christmas. I trimmed up the backing and was left with this-- everywhere!

Hannes looks confused:  "what is this Mom, it's bad enough that everything is covered with snow outside!!"

"Oh, good, she got her snow shovel and cleaned it all up! Let's keep the flurries indoors to a minimum!"  You're probably wondering why a quilt backing would have produced snowdrifts of lint.

Here's why! A super-soft Minkee backing that is absolutely fur-like! This quilt is for the same grandson who requested a "Soft Quilt" (click for previous post) when he was four years old, he has very specific tactile requests when it comes to what he sleeps under. This one is so luxuriously soft that I cannot resist petting it with each advance onto the back roller. It is quilting up beautifully, too; with the quilting stitches sinking into the backing for an almost carved appearance. I do believe that he will be happy on Christmas morning. One more "snowy" trim after it comes off the rails and the binding will hold all of those flurries at bay forever. Thank goodness. Both Hannes and I have met our snow quota already-- both outside and in!

Life is Good!

Five?

Five? Really?? The passage of time seems to be measured in days rather than years to this Nana. How could time be passing so quickly? Yes, our youngest granddaughter is five years old.

January 2013

We had a fun day shopping for clothes and accessories for her newest doll, Kit, on Monday. Our trips together to the American Girl store have become a birthday tradition. My dad calls it the "Grandparents Store", there's a lot of truth in that. 😉

Tuesday was Lynneligh's actual birthday, we gathered with her and the family for dinner and for her to blow out the candle on her cupcake. It's a good thing, too. Because yesterday this was the scene in our parts; when this happens here no one goes anywhere! It was so pretty and peaceful, we had 6".

The children all had a snow day from school to play; I spent the snowy afternoon playing, too!

Today the sun is shining, the temperatures are rising and a clean-up is underway.

There's a clean-up underway inside too. As we s-l-o-w-l-y put our house back together after the floor refinishing I am dedicated to cleaning out junk and debris that has been accumulating in the closets.

This 1991 planner surfaced. I have no clue why I kept this. Back then I kept track of how many hours a day I quilted (hand quilting in those days) and the projects I hoped to complete each month. I had to squeeze in as much time as I could while the children were in school or at other activities. It would seem that I got much done, too. I barely remember these quilts now. There is a notation in there that is laughable to me today: "This month I plan to finish up all projects already started!" Alrighty then. 

Some things change dramatically and some don't. I still keep a planner, but I do not log in quilting hours. I wish that I finished every project already started; but today I pick and choose what I will devote time to. I remember when our children were growing up someone told me that "the days are long but the years are short". I can fully appreciate that today. I have always crammed my days full, I can't recall a time when I didn't; and, yes, the years have grown incredibly short. I measure them in a different way now-- through my grandchildren. How are you marking time today?

Life is Good!