How is it that it is already August 7!!!

It has been a busy week around here!

I gave myself a fresh manicure… with Color Street’s “Coming in Hot”

I also finished the table runner and washed it too!!!! Here is a close up of the center that I did all the lazy Daisy fill in the butterflies…

My honey really loved this finish out of the dryer!!! It went in 16×90” and finished at 14×84” so that’s a lot of shrinking!!! But it’s done and I am working on coordinating placemats now!!! Once they are all gifted I will share them here!!! Lol

I also have been hand quilting intermittently….

I am linking all this hand quilting fun 🤩 to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching Crew > HERE!!! come see what everyone is stitching then come back here!!!

Been working in the front bathroom with a score on thrifted curtains for it ….

I love this bathroom now! And my honey is currently working on the back one!!! Yippee 🙌!!!!

We have been working a bit in the yard sprucing it up….

???? Anyone know about these yellow balls under the leaves of the milkweed ???? 👇👇👇👇

It is called a Big Boss it is a convection oven with halogen lights on steroids!!! I cooked this👇bacon in it…

I made is fresh oven mitts too this week from an online free pattern my Spruce Crafts…

The darker grey side has the heat resistant batting and a layer of regular batting behind that… excited to use them in a heated situation now!

During all my sewing this week I won bobbin chicken 2 times and otherwise never lost!!!

All the machine quilting and massive making this week occurred on my vintage 1956 Singer 319w…

I also made a coordinating hand towel to match the hand oven mitts :). I used the last of the toweling in my stash for that make 😢

I don’t know the weight of it only that I bought it online… 2 years ago or so… and it is flimsy til washed then it puffs up and becomes very absorbent!!!! Anyone have a source for toweling???

I sold this kit this week… the quilt I shared last week is still available though 🙂

Closet was totally gutted and redone too but my honey says some things are too personal and that includes our closet! Ha ha!!!

Well that’s about it for this week… if you have made it this far…. Leave me a message so I can respond privately!!! I love hearing what you are up to also!!!

Have a good August week!

July has been fun and very, very busy! Has it been for you?

I had a productive week of puzzle making, hand quilting AND sewing too! Then ended the week with a good clean and reorganizing of our bedroom and closet! Yippee 🙌!!!

First… I got all finished with the row I was quilting on the Purple Heart quilt & the puzzle separating started! Soon I was able to roll the quilt too… as my spritzing had dried!!!

I had a bit more done than You see above when Rick woke and started working on it last Monday….

By dinner time we had a completed puzzle!!!

And the next morning rick filled our thrifted frame with the quilty puzzle!!!

I love how this looks in our living room and how we could incorporate 2 of his hand crafted barn quilts to the left of the framed barn quilt puzzle!

Speaking of good fabric … my hand quilting journey on the Purple Heart quilt gifted to us by my bestie Connie is the best fabric!!!

Today I’ll work on this center section…

Loving this fabric and this quilt!! Linking all this hand-ie stuff to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching friends!!! <<< HERE. Kathy was under the weather last week… come wish her well!

I also did the necessary machine quilting on the loooong table runner and am working on hand quilting now too!

Once I finish all the hand quilting I will add a dark chocolate binding :). Then fashion 4 coordinating placemats to make it a nice fall set for my parents!

No pics to share because my honey said no pics of the closet… but our bedroom closet got a MAJOR OVERHAUL including turning the door around that enters the closet!!!

It did enter INTO the closet cutting off space… now you open the door and step into lots of space!!!

We also reorganized and cleaned our bedroom and my desk area and now all cords are virtually non existent to the eye and there were plenty!!!! Lol. I’ll try to get photos for next weeks post!

So until next week… I hope you each have a blessed week and enjoy all August has to offer in our coming week!

This week I focused on my honey and his birthday with a delicious T-bone steak on sale… and one for next week too thanks to our bestie Connie!!! As well as butterfly stitching 😊

Below you see a weather station on the buffet as you enter our cabin 🤩. And we love it!

He also got an Uber cool video of Dolly Parton singing a birthday song to him with his name & all included from blue mountain cards and some very cozy cotton ankle socks… the gold toe brand 😍. I got him a sappy card and replaced our 12 + year old hairbrush with a nice new one! We also invested in a nicer rug for the kitchen sink area…

My daughter got a new doo as her birthday is coming up this coming week on the 26th…

She likes it and loves bed head look with this new haircut too! Lol

Her brothers are throwing her a birthday party today! Wish I could be there!!!🎉🥳

Meanwhile, I saw the nurse practitioner at the pain consultants of the Carolina’s office near my home…. I have a deep muscle off kilter in my right buttock and sacro-iliitis and bursitis in my right hip! She said this is a result of my pelvis realigned awkwardly after my knee replacements… so she prescribed lidocaine patches and continued pt exercises like I’ve been doing to strengthen my pelvic floor . This coming week I see a doctor there to give me a injection in this sacro iliac space of steroids to help numb that pain … please pray this works as the lidocaine patches just aren’t doing the job AND they are pricey too!

Meanwhile.. between exercises and extra steps I have been stitching!

And some panoramic shots of the top pinned and ready for quilting…

And the pieced back … as this table runner is 90” long right now!!!

I am so pleased with this thus far and have ideas for the placemats I’ll make too with the remaining jelly roll pieces!!! First to get this quilted and binding attached though!!! Plan is for machine and hand quilting on this table runner! Linking this fun project to Kathy’s July challenge at Sewing Etc HERE <<<

I’ll start today between hand quilting the Purple Heart quilt too! I’ve made some progress on that to share too!!!

My set up with a new lamp shade for my floor lamp…

And that last area finished this morning before linking this progress to Kathy at Kathy quilts linky party today <<< come see!

Now I’m ready for the right border and then can roll!!! Yahoo!!!!

Finally I wanna share what I wanna fit in Timmy busy schedule…

Puzzles!

We found this frame at a thrift shop for $6 that is just the right size for this puzzle…

Then also this puzzle…

with this frame gifted to us by our fave neighbors!!! It is a tad big but we can work with it using the Matt on the other larger frame we think…

Both frames are wood and will make excellent decor for our cabin too!

We found this beautiful glass and plastic bottomed hummingbird feeder at our local free trade building at the trash dump! Exciting find!

I found this meme that though I don’t struggle with depression I struggle with getting more steps in and molly helps me get out and walk!!!

My friend Gretchen posted this quilt with pattern on her blog this week here! I plan to use my plethora of 2” blocks for this quilt as a lap quilt for me… I 💕it!!!

Enjoy all the links in this weeks post!

Have a blessed week ahead and have a great day!!

Did you see the first image shared from the James Webb telescope launched into outer space recently???

The weather here this week has been so delightful I decided to finish sewing a wallet then let me mom choose my wallet with some issues fixed….

Or this new one I made over the weekend last weekend and finished Monday morning…

She chose the second one that I made new and I mailed it out to her… she LOVED it 🙂 She has used all the different parts of it happily too 😀 I sewed this entire wallet from a pattern by the author in my stash I bought and have made several wallets from this pattern! I have made my own personal revisions in the last 2 versions and enjoy being able to make it in just a couple days 🙂

Outside… even though we aren’t experiencing the heat wave much of the USA is … we are having to water regularly to keep everything happy on the front porch…

Aside from enjoying our outdoors and building a bag I have made some progress on the Purple Heart Quilt having rolled the quilt and moved to past the midpoint….

And built a table runner for my parents’ dining room table formal area called a French Braid pattern… but I have also heard it referred to as a Friendship Braid.. either way that part is done….

I trimmed off the jagged borders and it measured only 14″ then so I added a border to the sides then marked my desired stitching design on this and started embroidering by hand that center block…

I plan to do some machine AND hand quilting on this but today I will continue working on the hand embroidery with this as my inspiration on how to fill in the butterflies with some cool variegated perle cotton… Linking this hand embroidery that will consume my day…. to Kathy’s Quilts Linky Party <<<< HERE to open a new tab to her blog post so you can enjoy what everyone is doing by hand!

I am very happy my friend Denise found this pic to inspire me on how to fill the butterflies with this cool perle 12 cotton!

Also… I did play along with last weeks organize along I talked about last week….

This weeks focus is organizing fabric… I will ponder how to show my organization of my fabric in a closet on shelving my honey built and share that with you next weekend 🙂

Finally… masked or not… do you smile when out and about with other people????

Thanks for stopping by… I appreciate you taking time to come see all I’m up to and i REALLY appreciate you leaving a message below so I know you were here 😀

This month so far has been hot and humid!! This is NOT normal for sw North Carolina but you take what you get I guess… though I have been waking early to enjoy the day before it gets too h & h! Lol

As I write this to you all this morning I am listening to Jim Brickman radio on Pandora with gentle raindrops in the background on the screened back porch… lovely!,

Still going to therapy for sciatic nerve pain but also have an upcoming pain consultation with a following appointment for a steroid shot in my back to relieve the nerve pain going into my right hip. Truth be told that is what has been waking me!

Did you check out my 56th birthday celebration with my Bestie and parents?? Check HERE for that blog post!

I have been a busy bee straightening my sewing room and making fresh messes… are you interested in joining a organize-along on YouTube instagram & Facebook ??? Check out this chick….

It started this past week with a theme of “ Getting untangled” and organizing all the threads and yarns only! Not insurmountable for sure! Take THIS LINK to her intro YouTube video to get started

Though I will maintain I won’t be Uber organized at the end of August I do hope to have a better handle on all my sewing stuff and where to find it in my sewing spaceS!!

As for hand quilting…. Linking to Kathy’s Quilt Crew this week >>> HERE!!!!! Go visit her and give her your 2 cents on her quandary this week.

I rolled the frame after finishing this….

And moved all my hand quilting stuff necessary to this larger rolling table too!

Today as I sit near my heating pad… I’ll be working on this area….

Here’s a great shot of my son and sweet dil who also just celebrated a birthday 🥳 recently on a cruise!!

I hope you each have a lovely Sunday and thanks for visiting, your comment below is appreciated and will be personally replied to privately via email

We took an incognito trip to visit my parents about 3 1/2 hours away in Tennessee for my birthday! Grab a cuppa something yummy and enjoy this photo heavy post!

My parents and I hadn’t chatted much until recently and this visit was tenuous when planned but went stellar when all was said and done!

Here I am with them… my honey took this shot!

And here’s one of me, Rick and Molly taken by my dad…

Soon my bestie made an appearance and it was birthday party time for both of us at my parent’s home!!!

And that’s about it folks! Hope you enjoyed the pics and guided tour of highlights from my 56th birthday 🥳 thanks for visiting me! I should have some fun NEW stuff to share this coming week too so come on back on Sunday AM as usual July 10, 2022 for new things I am sharing 🙂

I will leave you with a few photos of what I have been up to and wish you all well!

As I post this I have rolled the quilt on the frame. Linking all the hand quilting on this quilt to Kathy’s Slow Sunday stitchers. I also machine quilted the pillow cover fronts this week… I plan to work on both projects this coming week as well as enjoy a planned visit with my parents that is loooong overdue.

I pray you each have a wonderful week ahead and I do plan to be more chatty next Sunday with a special post for July and my birthday !

I hope if this is your country’s time to celebrate Dad’s that you make time to do so.. and even if not… if yours is still around… give him a call or visit if he is near enough to you … as for me… I will be calling but a visit is in the works 😀

I have had a busy week this week making progress on the Purple Heart Quilt and making napkins for a neighbor who recently finished a big new house built in North GA about 20 minutes away!

She chose and bought the “Sunshine” Essex Linen/cotton blend for her napkin lot….

I made 12 of the 14″ square napkins and 4 – 10″ napkins… I rotary cut them to size then zigzag stitched on my vintage Singer 319 the narrow zig zag stitch you can see most clearly above in a slightly lighter color thread as a I had bright yellow thread and it worked perfectly I think. I am excited for them to make a trip here to visit and gift them with this finish.

I also sewed a couple new bandana’s for Molly… Here is one!

And here she is wearing it …. fits more like a scarf on her and I like that better plus she loves to smell the ground so it won’t touch the ground and get dirty easily now! YAY !!

Most of my week outside ironing and sewing has been hand stitching, however. And THAT is what I am linking to Slow Sunday Stitchers HERE <<<<<

Let’s look at some close ups of all I have accomplished this week!

And my focus for this Slow Sunday Stitching is the right side of the photo below ….

See that green thimble… it is my thumb thimble… it breaks down over time….

So I found a deal on Amazon in the USA for $17 US for 12 of them!!!! or $7 for 1… hmmm no brainer for me!

Below is a photo of me sporting my great fitting thimbles Clover metal Medium is on my middle finger and my pointer finger is left uncovered to help pull the needle when a needle puller (hemostat) isn’t necessary which is most of the time on this quilt….

Notice I am wearing my Fit Bit still… I LOVE IT! Hard to see it at all in the daylight however so for christmas or next mother’s day I plan an upgrade of an iWatch to coordinate better with my iPhone and it has a clear screen and is easier to update and interact with for me… however this is the PERFECT intro model and came with a cloth band which I LOVE over the rubbery ones…. or metal ones. I am in no rush to update just enjoying the step counting and gps this one has to track my length of walking.

I am still going to rehab for my sciatic nerve pain and it doesn’t seem to be improving… going from sitting to standing is still a chore due to my low back. I am doing the stretches once a day and pondering getting a steroid injection if this doesn’t help.

I am doing full keto still and drinking 80 to 120 ounces of water daily… I am not losing any more weight besides the 10 pounds I took off that first week but feeling definitely more energized with intermittent fasting and a better protein and higher fat minimal sugar diet now that keto offers… we are keeping our carbs at under 20 daily and occasionally tricking our bodies by eating an egg for breakfast or something which helps 🙂 Last night I had a big salad for dinner… romaine, cottage cheese, a bit of ranch, cheese and cut up savory pork loin too. It was sooo yummy!

A few pics I took this week from our yard….

And above is where I greet guests on my front porch… waxy red lilies are about at the end of their flowering life but the begonia is just coming out! The rocking chairs have cushions and are sooo cozy to enjoy visiting time with 🙂

Thanks for visiting… if ever in SW North Carolina send me an email and let’s get together here in the mountains! It is so peaceful and wonderful… for now I bid you adieu.

Last Sunday I spent the morning trimming and machine sewing the binding and label on “The Baseball Quilt” for my dad…

I just had about 30” of bias binding remaining too… I’m so happy!!!

The label was handwritten by me with a permanent fabric marker then heat set…

I then spend Sunday afternoon and all day Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday morning finishing hand stitching it down. It measured about 59” x 73”. Then I washed it on power wash to get it smelling fresh and snuggly after drying as well…. Took a couple photos … popped it in a bag & box … and sent it off with a cool card I got my mom as well 👌

They loved both gifts! The quilt was handmade with help from my best friend and the card I didn’t write it but gave it to my mom sealed with its envie in cellophane wrapping to keep it pristine as the artisan sent it to me ✌️

My mom and dad have loved monarch butterflies for many many years and grown and kept weeded the milkweed they use to reproduce each year… with their help we are growing milkweed from seeds now! I’m so excited to see if we can draw them here as we have a great butterfly bush too.

So now I am back to the Purple Heart Quilt that I am halfway on in total and now moving back forward…. Also catching up on family time and housekeeping too as well as doing rehab for an enflamed sciatic nerve!!

Now as my birthday approaches in just under a month…. I wanna share this meme in closing.

Also… keep my dad in your prayers as he has knee replacement surgery on Monday. June 13! He is 78 and suddenly that doesn’t seem so far away anymore!

Have a wonderful week and head over to Kathy’s Quilts linky party to see all the fun everyone is up to this week too!

Can y’all believe it is June now???

Before I share my awesome hand quilting progress this week let me share our outdoors here in North Carolina!!!

This bush survived a year with no care so we thought to plant it in our yard and it is thriving!! So when our friend gifted up some unknown bulbs… we encircled the little bush with the bulbs and they are beautiful Cala lilies…

Look at this close up too…

Around our yard here are some pics I took this week… we replaced the center verbena with a begonia… it did so well last year … this year we couldn’t find the cream but we did find salmon colored ones!!! Nice set between the ferns…

These 2 waxy lilies were each one stalk last year!! They tripped under ground over winter and are really showing off with more blooms to come! We may be staking them soon to help hold them upright!!!

Orange lilies below a gift from my walking neighbor who has an awesome green thumb as does my honey!

And bushes and crepe myrtles on the right side of our driveway…

Last year none of the crepe myrtles bloomed but we have high hopes this summer for these trees that line our yard! All those planes underneath it are hostas!!!

Then look how good my hens and chicks are doing!!!

And the quickly growing milkweed… to feed monarchs and give them a place to lay eggs for future monarchs…

These seeds were a special gift from my mom who is a master gardener and prolific milkweed grower.. she sent them too me and they are taking off! We hope to attract some beautiful monarchs with these !!!

Last weekend our neighbors and my walking buddy Theresa moved into their new house. Rick helped a lot with the 4 day escapade and I dog sat!

We went to visit their new home yesterday and we all had a grand time! Including our pups!

Recently my honey upgraded to a new iPad Pro we found on Mercari with a pencil and cover! I got his … has to be charged frequently iPad Pro 1st edition from him and found this new cover to protect it and enhance it on eBay… it came fast!

Finally… last night I took the final stitches in the hand quilting of my dad’s baseball quilt!!!

Linking this happy feat of accomplishment to Kathy’s Slow Stitching Linky Crew!!

Once the binding is sewn down and label attached I will send it to my dad for Father’s Day!!! Yippee 🙌!!!

Thanks for stopping in… please take time to leave a comment:). I know this is late getting posted but I love hearing from each of you! And don’t forget the present is right here… soak it up cold or warm!!!