This Wasn't on the List....

No this is not on the list of things to do this week........... BUT........it was in a puddle under the ironing board after I had sewn the ends together and the easiest way to get it up was to stitch it up........... Now it is in the 'Lets Go to Greenville' bag so that I can find some fabric for the borders and backing...........



This was on the list...... I did get the second KAL for July finished. Now do I wait for July or forge ahead with the last one for May? Only time will tell.

That is supposed to be a bird in there somewhere.......... Kind of cute........ The yarn had some slubs in it and that made one side a bit wonky but it was made to wash dishes with.


For some time now I have been following Leah Day on Free Motion Quilting Project....(HERE)

Now that I have retired and have more time I thought it was reasonable for me to learn to turn some of my tops into quilts......... I have purchased many books and some DVD's on machine quilting. I finally realized that purchasing the instructions did not give you the ability. I read some of them and tried a few projects and I have even done some stippling on quilts but I was never satisfied that I was doing in RIGHT..........

Several weeks ago I ordered Leah's Basics for Beginners........... Today I plan to watch the DVD while I wait for the butter to soften for the cookies (forgot to take it out of the refrigerator last night).

This is the quilt that was chosen for the experiment......... Let's see what happens.

Rainy Monday

Yesterday I realized that I have been moving just a bit too slowly. Things don't get done on time as they should.

I am behind on so many things and it is time to buckle down and get the ball rolling......(how is that for mixing metaphors?)

I noticed that I had put a TO DO list on the side bar. They were things I was supposed to accomplish 3 weeks ago. Instead I forgot the list entirely...............

I also failed to keep up with some task at home and got caught Saturday with some dishes in the sink......... UGH........... I will be pleased to have a dishwasher again to hide that sort of thing.

Last weekend I cleared out some things from the studio and make my signs for the card holders of things I wanted to do............ They number 30...........

Hopefully this week I can show a bit more progress...........

I did finish the dishcloth for the first half of June.......... Now on to getting some more things in the finished column.

Another Day with a Life of Its Own.........

The plan was to drop off a book at the library, a loaf of bread to a friend, take a table template out to the house and spend the rest of the day sewing............

I did get to the library and the bread delivered. I came home and made the table template and we headed out to the house.......... But as we were getting into the car we had friends stop by.....

We all came into the house and wasn't I glad I had made those lemon crisp cookies yesterday to serve..........We had a grand time catching up..........

Then off once again............. Lemuel wanted to see a few old places on the way home and then it was time to get dinner ready.......... Oh well, maybe I can sew on Monday............



The original plan was to use Carbonized Bamboo.............. And then I saw this second grade Red Oak............. It was love at first sight.......... Knot holes and worm holes and just LOTS of character....... Well, here it is............. Ready to be installed.........Next week maybe?



This is looking from the breakfast nook........ Maybe one day there will be people on the other side........


Looking from the back of the family room toward the front door. The dining room is off to the right. That will all be open..............



Guestroom..................


Tub and shower in the guest bath..............



Studio..........

Yes, more house pictures........

We had a grand Father's Day. Both of the children were here and I fixed a rather good lunch.... Jason and his father watched the race together and Rebekah and I enjoyed just being together. Rebekah stayed with us till Monday afternoon and she had to go back to Lillington......

After that I seemed to get a slight hitch in my get-a-long and just laid around till Thursday. Just had no energy at all.........

All better now and back to taking house pictures........ When we went out to the house on Thursday they were finishing the roof......





Not much to see on the inside except plumbing and wiring.........


This is the attic............... It is supposed to be the second floor but we are not finishing it now because we really don't need the space. I am planning to put my stash up here and all of the other things that can be stored till I am ready to use them.








While Rebekah was here she helped me do a bit more sorting and organizing in the Studio....



Jason brought the second cabinet in from the garage for me to use in my room..........



It still looks rather over done but maybe I can get some more things out of there soon........


If I could only find time to sew...................

What a Day.....

Yesterday was quite an 'On the go' day.

I did take pictures of my boys to show to a few friends.............


And then off to Guild.

We are finishing up the quilts for Greene County tornado victims........ Everybody busy working on something.......












There was even a little one on one instruction going on.........





Then it was out to lunch with the girls and off to painting class.

I have no idea why I did not take any pictures after the Guild meeting. I will try to better next week.

I did get to the laundramat...UGHHHH and then picked up fried shrimp from The Sandpiper for dinner.

After that we headed off to check on the house progress.........

HURRAY............ It is dried in now and the plumber starts his work on Monday.... Maybe even the electrician too............









Now for a day of sewing and home making........... I think I will even add a list on the side bar of what needs to be done in the studio...........

This and That

Lem took me shopping. I needed another dress for church and there was a sale going on at my favorite store - J.C. Penny's..........Since I am actually losing weight now my clothes are too big. Actually two sizes too big...........


I saved enough on the dress to get some jewelery to go with it............


The plan yesterday was to finish the binding on this quilt for the Guild.........


But instead, Joyce stopped by and we went to thrift shops.......

I found this crock and it was free..........


A few glass dishes and a card holder........


A Bicentennial plate for Robert because he likes Eagles.......


And Joyce bought this bowl for me.........


Isn't it lovely...... I plan to put it on the table in the entry.........



The final item was this lovely little dish.......... I just could not resist............

Today we have errands to do again............They seem to never end.

Rebekah and Robert came from Lilllington yesterday and we did a bit of exploring...... Robert is such a good soul for looking for things and going from one store to another and stopping for a bite to eat anywhere you would like.........

Since we were going the New Joanne Fabrics in Greenville, I wanted to eat at Olive Garden. Lem wanted to stop at the Dixie Queen in Winterville so I agreed to the change.

Then we say the billboard for Cracker Barrel. Rebekah had a Audio Book to return to Cracker Barrel so we ended up stopping there.

This little tchotchke was 25% off so it came home with me........ It is in the African Violet that my sister Jean gave me until I get my coleus potted.......


At Joanne Fabrics I got the notions for two purses with matching inserts. One for me and one for Kim.......... If Kim does not like my selection I can give the purse to someone else or keep for myself.........


I got the pink fabric for me and the brown for Kim............ I seem to wear a lot of pink this time of year and Kim wanted something that went with lots of things......


I got the baking for the quilt I am making for the guild..........


And this was on sale for 1/2 price so some came home with me..........


This was also 1/2 price and I did need one.............



Then we stopped by the house to check on progress.

This is the front from the right hand side. I am now wondering if the garage is too prominent when looking at the front....... Maybe the landscaping can make it seem less obvious.


Front porch is looking nice. Lem is waving from the center window upstairs.....



This is the garage side........ The area over the garage will be perfect for the Long Arm Quilter is I should ever own one...........



And of course the back porch............. 98% of the time we are out there there is a lovely breeze..... It will be nice to sit out there in the evenings and watch the geese..........

What, Friday Already?

I sure am glad that I had that nice quiet day at home........ Things got real busy after that.........

Tuesday afternoon we went to check on the house progress.......

This is the back view with the porch where we can sit and stitch and enjoy looking at nature....


If it gets too hot we can go dip our toes in the lake and cool off................ It is not really as big as it appears in the picture..........



Wednesday is Guild Day........ We are making quilts for the tornado victims in Green County. They were hard hit by tornadoes in April so we are doing what we can.

Some people tacked quilts...........


Our Fearless Leader sewed on Labels............

Others stitched binding.............



Another group tying quilts...............


And we bought our next BOM to be completed in August..............


And here is Lem.......... The darling that keeps the home fires burning while I am out and about.


And not to forget.................... Our darling Wade Hamilton................


Yesterday should have been an easy one........... Dr's appointment at 9:40, hair cut at 12:30 and somewhere in there get a shingles shot for Lem............

The doctor's office was unusually busy and we did not leave there till almost noon. The Beauty Shop is 30 minutes from here so I took Lem home, grabbed 1/2 of a bagel and headed out again. I was running late............ I have this rule, if you are late DO NOT make up time by speeding. That puts others at risk (not to mention yourself ) and it is not their fault that you are late.

I did call to tell Jean that I would be a few minutes late............. It worked out fine. Her next appointment came in just as I was leaving so I did not interfere with her day......

We were supposed to be at Walgreens at 2:00 to get Lem's injection...... We were there but the pharmacist that did that was not........ After all things do happen so we agreed to come back at 3:00. Good thing we are living in town right now and were just a few blocks away. In fact we could have walked if the temperature had not been 100............

I am so glad that we planned to have dinner out last night....... Shrimp from The Sandpiper. Yum................