Where did the Week Go?

I can't believe it is Thursday already............... I can't imagine where the week disappeared to......

Monday morning I met with a group at church to knit ...... Monday afternoon we had first one guest and then another drop by to say hello. I so very much enjoy that and I know that when we move again it will not happen as often.

That meant that some tasks were left undone and not much sewing was done but there is so little time to be with family and friends that we need to enjoy the moments of fellowship when we can........

I did get the another tea towel for Jane and I ready to stitch...............


And I finished my applique BOM from Linen Closet Quilts..............


I also got a start on one of my tea towels..........................


On Monday at the knitting group there was a large box of yarn that had been donated. It looked a lot like this but was much bigger.....................



I have been working on it every evening this week and this is what I have so far.............



Yesterday was Dr. appts for Lem, errands and laundry....... Whew........... That sure was too much in one day............... Today I must do the house blessing and a few organizing task in the house.......... Maybe tomorrow I can devote to sewing and just relaxing.............

I have done a few blocks of Lucinda's gift but nothing big enough for a picture yet........ Lately I have forgotten to take my camera...........

I called Jane and Joyce to tell them that we are going out to the house at 7:00 this evening for about 30 minutes to sit on the porch and look at the geese on the lake and feel the breeze........ I invited them to join us......... We will see if anyone shows up. Maybe I should fix a tray of savories just in case some one shows up........... Hmmmmm.......... Any suggestions other than a few finger sandwiches?

I grabbed this to have something to stitch at the guild meeting. I bought the kit several years ago at a quilt show and I had already made 7 of 32 of the embroideries.......... I decided to work on this off and on for awhile with the goal of getting it completed. (No, it is not on the list but I am beginning to think that the list is just a suggestion....)


I have traced a few more and have it by my chair in the family room to stitch when I can.


Dawn Heese at Linen Closet Quilts is offering a BOM......... You can find the link HERE.....

She is also offering a 20% off sale till Tuesday....... You can find that link HERE....

I went through my big bag of scraps and got the first offering ready to stitch.... She has such lovely designs............ (Another thing that is not on the list...........)


I picked this kit up at the Morehead City Quilt Show..... Wanting a gift for a friend I got it stitched up right away.............









I even got two tea towels made, one for Jane and one for me....... Now we are already to stitch...



The cotton is looking good...... I can see lots of white flowers forming.........



The corn got rain in time to make so there is hope for the farmers in this area........
Some in neighboring counties were not lucky and their crop is gone.....



As always here is a picture of the house......... The insulation is in place and now we will wait for men with sheet rock to put in the walls..........


I did get a picture of the back from a distance........... I might get to unpack this year after all.

On a Rabbit Trail

I was making some (not very much) progress on my July list........ I had already acknowledged that part of it would roll over into August but that was fine with me......... Just as long as I am making some progress.............

Then Anne Ida at Quiltaholic announced a quilt a long....... You can find it HERE.....

It is the Lucinda's Gift quilt from an Elm Creek book...........




I went out the garage and finally located some fabric to use......... I brought it inside and pressed it carefully....... Just to let you know, this took several days....... Days right now are filled with meals and errands and dishes and such.......................


I began cutting my fabric till I had enough for a start and I have it all laid out ready to stitch.......



I did finish my June Thangles blocks........ July hasn't come yet so at least I am up to date for a few more hours.............

Wednesday I finally made it to the Guild meeting and this time I brought my camera... You can tell from this shot that I was concentrating on the quilt............Look at those lovely paper pieced blocks........


This is a quilt made for Greene County.....


This one was made from a panel and I sure do wish I could find some of those interesting panels....



This is a finished Turning Twenty Quilt.......


And a Quilt of Valor all done...........


And another lovely one........... I did not see the pattern completely till I looked at the picture...... I really need to remember to take more pictures of quilts before assembly to make sure there are no errors...........



And the ubiquitous house pictures............ The siding is complete and the insulation is up on the inside..............






But the best part of all is that Pat came for dinner last night.......... We haven't seen each other in over a decade.............. I am so glad to be close to Pat again..................


Now to get back to my sewing for a few hours.............

Whew.....

I finally finished the hand quilting on Andrew's quilt. I know you thought it would never happen and I was beginning to think so myself.................. Now for the binding and the label and I can give that darling boy his quilt hopefully before his first birthday...........

Due to a medical procedure Rebekah came down this for a few days this week to help her father while I was feeling woozy........(No Duplin County wine was involved)

She and I were in the studio talking yesterday when Kim stopped by......... It was wonderful to see her. She works full time and takes care of her home and family and as we know that leaves little time for visiting but yesterday she got off work early and came over..... It was grand with the three of us sitting and talking........ Just what I have missed for years and I am relishing every moment now...........

A short time later, Jason stopped by.......... He helped his father take the plastic off of the boat, wash it out and put the cover on to protect it.................

I jokingly said to Lem, "Let's all go to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner tonight." We were all surprised when he agreed. He isn't much for eating out and normally I agree but I was still feeling rather tired and did not want the good times of us being together to end.

The lighting was bad and Jason suggested using a cell phone to read the menu.......... Let me tell you girls, it works a treat...............


There is Jason and Rebekah........




And Kim sat beside me........... I should have taken another picture of her but as I said, it was really dark there and I did not realize that her eyes were closed..............



How wonderful it is to have family all around to be with.....................

Thank you Lord for so many blessings................

Siding At Last

A quick check yesterday and we found that they are adding the siding to the house......

Lem and I looked at house for days trying to find just the right color and this is the final choice......









Yesterday afternoon I finally got the blocks ready for the Guild Swap........... Now I have one more item to check off of my July list.............. After looking at it yesterday I decided that I will never get all of that done in one month. Perhaps it will run into August............

I Am Not a Shopper........

Let me be begin with that statement. I much prefer to go out, get what I need and come home. That is why I miss so many things that are on the market now.....

Since we are in NC now I am enjoying being with family as much as possible so when my sister-in-law, Jane called and asked if I wanted to go to Greenville with her Monday and shop I said yes. A few hours spent with her would be fun and I did need some solid fabrics to make tea towels so I said 'Of course'...............

We left at 10:00 yesterday morning and half way there I realized that I had not put my camera in my bag..........How foolish is that..........

We went to JoAnn Fabrics first and picked up some fabric.................. A couple of Christmas prints that were on sale and the needed solid fabrics.


We also selected yarn to make dish cloths to go with our tea towels. I wanted to get the yarn for Jane as a gift. After all she drove...........

We found some porch and garden items on sale for 70% off. That is the kind of thing you find when you shop often.........

While I was waiting to get my fabric cut she said that she was going to the front to pay for her purchases (a pack of pins and some knit markers)..........

Bless her heart........ She paid for my yarn..........


And the four plant ornaments I had selected.........


After that we went to Best Buy to look at MP3 players and appliances....... Jane is a great one to take shopping.... She ask all the right questions like, "if she buys several appliances what kind of discount can she expect?"............

We had a nice relaxed lunch at Olive Garden and even divided a desert and had coffee........

We wandered around Barnes and Noble for awhile..........

Then back to Kinston........... I could not believe that it was almost 5:00 PM..............

It was a glorious day.................

Thank you Jane...............

I Haven't Been Idle

I got three quilts ready for Lilly. She will come again on the third Wednesday of this month so I will have something for her to take back with her.............. I even know where to find the binding fabric for two of them............ No, I have not finished binding the only one of the three she quilted last time.......... Maybe I can get to it soon.



I also got the first dishcloth for July completed. I have also been pegging away at Andrews Quilt. I have one half of the last row to quilt and it will be ready for binding. When that project is complete perhaps I can work on some smaller ones that will finish more quickly.... I do want to start quilting my GFG............ Maybe three threads a day?


And I could not leave without one last picture of the house. It is hard to get good pictures inside because they always come out so dark.......... and there is no electricity inside yet. Just lots of boxes for it............. Anyway..... This was taken in the family room....... Looking out toward the lake.............. There was such a lovely breeze that day................ I would have liked to have stayed and had a picnic on the porch................

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

The hardwood floor is down now........... I chose #2 Red Oak............ When it was delivered Jason pulled a small piece off of the stack to take home to show Kim....... It happened to have some writing on the back......... In Spanish........... I gave it to Joyce and she took it to a friend for a translation........ it said..... "I Really Need a Raise".............. Imagine him getting that one small piece of flooring from that entire bundle that had writing on it.........

As I said, it is #2 flooring..... Has lots of worm holes and knots and other natural spots of character................. It is lovely and it is going to be even lovelier after it is finished........


I got this quilt out to press and get ready to be sent for quilting. There was backing fabric in the bag with it......... Then I found that I was 2 yards short of the needed backing...... I do have some of the white that I could add to the blue backing fabric but then I thought it would look even better to put some of the blocks in the back........ No, I don't know where the scraps are for this quilt. They are somewhere in those multitude of totes and boxes in the garage...........

I have made a decision to pack up the entire thing till after the move and the GREAT UNPACK.... then I will be able to find the scraps, make the additional blocks and I will be much happier with the quilt. Now to find another quilt to get ready.............

Reporting in

I finally finished the last stitch on my Streak of Sunshine quilt. The pattern is on Bonnie Hunter's site......HERE..

This shows why I should have cleared off the design board sooner and put this quilt on it... Did not even notice the problem till it was quilted............ Yes, I do know better but since we got to NC I seem to make one foolish error after another. Perhaps one day soon I will be in the groove again.

Jane came by one day last week with a new dishcloth pattern to share. We sat and knit and chatted and just enjoyed being together.......... This is the outcome........

Thanks Jane for such a pleasant day..........


And of course the ubiquitous House Pictures.

Jason has just walked from the dining room into the family room. That big opening should be an arch way.........


This is the master bedroom looking out to the back..........


The back porch is ready for the concrete to be poured. Probably tomorrow.........


The garage is poured and now I have sturdier steps leading into the house. Jason even nailed up a hand rail for me.......... He sure is a good son.


And the front porch is poured........


Lem's computer is in for repairs and we are sharing mine right now. That means I am able to be online less........ Maybe I will get something done on that LONG list for July.......

Now off to make a couple of batches of cookies. I am giving each crew a batch of cookies and tomorrow will be the Heat and Air workers and the the crew that Pours Concrete...........

Hope all are having a safe and happy holiday................