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!

That Perfect Border

I'm sure you've had that same feeling that I experienced recently; it's that victorious sense of accomplishing something great when you stumble upon that one, perfect, solution to a problem. I'd finished piecing the center of this quilt completely from my stash. I kept thinking, the whole time, "I'll find something to border this with when I need it." But, truth be told, I wasn't fully convinced that what I had in my mind, and what was truly available, would necessarily ever come together.  

And then I found this!! I was trolling an online fabric shop, looking for something else and this popped up. "I wonder", I thought, "could this be that perfect border piece?".  I still hadn't seen this in person but, somehow I knew, I just knew! I quickly placed the order and crossed my fingers. When it arrived I held my breath and ripped open the padded envelope. All the various shades of red were contained in this piece, it was even better than I had hoped! I couldn't wait to border this one up and stand back to take it all in. And, as if all of this wasn't simply too good to believe, there are STRAWBERRIES too! Oh. My. 😍

Serendipity.

Life is Good!

Decisions, Decisions...

It won't come as any surprise to you reading this that Mr. Goodneedle and I are huge DIY'ers. If there's a way to do it ourselves, we'll check it out and much more likely than not, we'll go for it. There's a need to replace the sling backs/seats in out formerly outdoor (now porch) dining set. The current fabric on there has seen way too much weather over the past ten years or so, it had always been out in the elements until now. I found an online rehab company for this purpose and ordered some samples, they arrived last week. The hardest part for us is making decisions; I don't know why. We could see the pros and cons of each sample and went back and forth.

I was looking for something to blend with the cushioned furniture in the same space, ultimately, we chose this one and we're NOT looking back. 😉

Once replaced, these new chair slings will appear lighter, brighter, and hopefully will work to coordinate the entire space; that's our thinking. The whole truth, however, is that we're not replacing them only for aesthetic reasons. 

No, we're replacing them for safety reasons! 😲 Wish us luck, we've never tried this before.

I received the most glorious Mother's Day bouquet from my daughter in the Capital City, I forgot to share this photo earlier.

Equally pretty: fresh, local farm-picked strawberries are still abundant and incredibly sweet and delicious!

We're not the only one faced with decisions these days. We've begun eating dinner every evening on the screened porch. Hannes hangs out there with us for a short while and then, he gets up and sits in the doorway; he can't decide where he wants to be! I've brought his bed out so that he'll be comfortable but he barely even touches down in it before he's up, pacing, and ends up cak in the doorway, staring at us! Changes are hard, especially as we get older, I just know that he's thinking: "Mom, Dad- we never did this before, why don't you come inside and eat in the kitchen the way we always did before?!?"

Adapting in an upside-down🙃 world: Following along with the decision-making theme today, it's not easy for any of us to know what's right and what isn't as far as getting back out in the world, there's no manual for this, it's uncharted territory. The "new normal" for you might look completely different than it looks for me, there are simply too many variables depending on where you live, your age, your health and so on. Today I am going to the dentist to have stitches removed from my mouth that have been in place since the oral surgery that I had on March 12! Up until now I haven't felt comfortable submitting to this simple, 5-minute, procedure. Faith has to triumph over fear, and today I'm ready! I have faith in the dentist's office and all of their practices and procedures to keep me safe, it will be a relief to have these removed; they've seemingly grown disproportionately larger each and every day, lurking back in the recesses of my mouth! I will be supremely cautious, staying safe and vigilant about germs and surfaces; that's my new normal. I cannot, nor will I, become a prisoner to fear! And so, I've decided what's right for me, given all of the information that I have. Let's all keep each other in mind too, everyone is on their own sliding-scale for comfort. That's perfectly okay, we can't decide what's right for anyone other than ourselves; but, we can decide to be kind and understanding to each other, we're all walking this path together, figuring it out for ourselves one step at a time! 

How can you cultivate peace 

and put your own faith ahead of fear?

"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep,

that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope."  -1 Thessalonians 4:13

Life is Good!

'Tis the Season

With the month of May come big changes, seasonal ones!
Yep, the strawberries are ripe at our local U-pick farm, each and every berry is absolutely as delicious as it looks. The porch quilt has been updated to reflect this full-fledged launch into spring and sunny days ahead. Much more time has been spent lately out-of-doors than inside. It feels so good to get out and to get dirt under my fingernails!

Year two of my perennial garden has yielded great returns: plants coming in vigorous, hale and hearty! I'm encouraged by that. As time goes by these will fill in more, I'm working to ensure color throughout the seasons, early spring through fall, through the selection of plants. So far, so good.

These two False Indigo plants have been such a nice surprise, they did nothing last year! I honestly had almost forgotten about them until they emerged and began to bloom. They'll get better and better from here. 

Mr. Goodneedle finished the brick retaining/planter wall in the back behind the patio; we transplanted some Day Lilies and Liriope into this spot. I also planted a cabbage, it's circled. The cabbage was a school project of Gregory's that he left here after a stay in mid-March; before the quarantine. I told him that I would take good care of it. I'm hoping that it will grow to maturity in this spot and he might enjoy some coleslaw later on this summer. Fingers crossed on that one. 

Inside the house: I completed the quilting on "You're A Grand Old Flag" for the back of the sofa on the porch. I had already prepared the binding but, after considering the options, decided to pipe the binding with red to set off the navy edge. It took a bit more time-- but, hey, what else do we have right now?

Here is is, piped, bound and hand-basted into position for finishing in the evenings in front of TV.

Adapting in a upside-down 🙃 world: I went on a scavenger hunt yesterday, I used to call that grocery shopping! Three stores, multiple experiences of waiting in lines at properly distanced intervals, just to return home with basics (flour!). A few stores had restrictions in place for meat purchases. This reminds me of the ration tokens that my grandmother told me about during the Great Depression; she gave me some as "souvenirs": red for meat, blue for milk, cheese and eggs. I'll have to go looking for those. Our state will begin phasing in the new directives for openings and gatherings at the end of this week. Keep the faith! Be safe, my friends, 🧼 wash your hands!

"It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." - Lamentations 3:26

Life is Good!

Drafting the Apron Pattern

Think of this as part #2 from the previous post. The apron found among my mother's scrap bins has provided itself for drafting purposes. I drew up and cut out an apron to be what I thought was an exact replica. It all went together well. Before I added the buttonholes I decided to try it on. The fit seemed good, and I liked the length. Mr. Goodneedle thought it looked like a throw-back jumper to the 1970's! Ha, little does he remember, I never wore my skirts that long back then!

It looks good from the back too-- right? NO!! When I look over my shoulder all I can see are wings!

I really don't like that "flare" from the side. That's when I remembered the additional seam in the original apron that I chose to omit. I figured that Aunt Lizzie put a seam there to conserve on fabric. No, it is actually a shaping seam. I laid them both on the cutting table, side by side, and finger-folded in the seam; this should make all the difference!

And so, the apron drafting continues! In other news these past few days~

I have completed the quilting on two Quilts of Valor

and on a customer quilt.

My volunteer postion as church secretary sees me (us!) seated here on Mondays composing the church bulletin, the monthly newsletter and any other correspondence that the church needs accomplished. Hannes likes Mondays, helping Mom get her work done. 

Tomorrow I leave on a weekend quilting retreat with my friends. This year I decided to pre-cut everything I need to place those long-ago back-burnered projects up front. The Dogs in Sweaters quilt will be first. I have pre-cut everything that I need to simply sit and sew. That's a LOT of ziploc bags in that bin; all numbered, lettered and sorted. I hope to make excellent progress.

The second project that I have WANTED to do forever is the jelly roll rug. I have all the components ready including miles and miles of rotary cut batting!

But, for tonight, I have a few kitchen tasks to attend to. Should I wear my new apron for them?

Maybe I should! Oh, yes, my friends! It's strawberry season once again in North Carolina. 

Picked today, just down the road.

Life is Good!

Berry, berry good...

My Lucky Day!

Today is my lucky day; I feel like I've won the Strawberry Sweepstakes!  This particular china pattern, California Strawberry, has resided in the cabinets of all the homes we've lived in over the last 39 years. It was my chosen pattern for everyday dishes when we married in 1975 and we have been blessed by gifts of many pieces over time. We've done our share of replacing pieces, too, along the way. It is still used, loved, and treasured... every single day.  A few weeks ago a friend asked me if this was the china pattern I owned. "Yes", I replied. She went on to tell me that she had a set she was willing to let go; she has owned it for ten years longer than mine and hers was lightly used, if at all. We agreed upon a price for the entire lot and here it is! I am just as excited today as I was when I was a newlywed bride opening my wedding gifts of this very same pattern. There are pieces here that I've never owned: the pitcher, the shallow cereal bowls, the covered casseroles, larger serving bowl, small platter and the precious cream pitcher! There are other pieces that I am happily reunited with: the butter dish, the tea pot and the large platter! I am happy today; and ever so grateful that my friend and I crossed paths and somehow made this china connection. Thanks, Judi, I promise you... these dishes have found exactly the right home in which to live!

Life is Good!

Ripe For The Picking

My Mom and Dad are visiting from New England, they'll be with us through Mother's Day.  This morning Dad and I had a date at a local strawberry farm and picked a couple of buckets between us to bring back home, they are every bit as sweet and delicious as they look. I can't imagine any better way to start a day.  The berries won't last long but this memory will; take a look at my Dad's face, his smile says it all... priceless!

Life is Good!

Good, Better, BEST!

While a husband who brings home flowers is good, and one who brings home flowers and chocolate is even better, one who brings home a bucket of these is the BEST! 

Life is Good!