Author Archives: designoriginalsbykc

About designoriginalsbykc

A 50-something honey, Mom, Grammy, & lover of all things vintage living in the North Carolina mountain tops :)

Wow! What a Busy Week to Share!

Happy Sunday , August 23rd y’all! Such a busy week here… how about y’all ?

This “Bonnie Hunter-ism” philosophy really spoke to me this week… and because of it I got LOTS accomplished too ❤

I will share quilting in just a bit… but first I wanted to try a different kind of mask design… a 3D mask using THIS VIDEO and designing a pattern for my honey…

I made this while he was still sleeping… it came together really quick though!

So I pulled some quilt related fabric and made myself a mask I liked his big one so well and made mine smaller….

I used 3 twist ties for the nose bridge area.. and I just got in some soft round black cotton elastic this week so I was READY! Once cut and sewed… I turned and sewed in the nose metal…

Then following that youtube video I linked above… I played fabric origami and sewed everything in place for MY MASK!!!

See how 3D it sits when not in use! I love how it stays away from touching my face too 🙂

This method of mask making is much more fun and it is FAST too ❤

***And if you prefer the official template you can order from that YouTube video I shared above***

Throughout the week I continued to focus each day on some quilting… I am looking forward to next month when I can hopefully get in for a eye doctor appointment… because I found out my insurance covers a large part of new glasses like these

for about $100 to include the lenses with beefed up UV and blue light protection for my eyes too!!!! This is an online glasses shop where I use my current good fitting frame to find another frame using the numbers inside the legs on my current frame 🙂

Nails got a clean slate and some extra conditioning to my cuticles too with Mineral Fusion … then prepped with alcohol wipes for a nice dry surface to put the new nail polish strips on …

Here are the nail strips and the packaging… with all that comes with them for around $15 from Color Street…

That $ spent … gave me this mani and enough for a future mani or pedi too!!! What a great deal 🙂

I wasn’t due to change my nail color (Seattle Royale had only been on for a week) but it looked rough and I needed the pick me up… Jannessa had just done hers too with some investigation involved in her new set…

She played with the question of “What would she like Color Streets Clear As Day top coat strips or liquid top coat on the new nail strips… She is trying them out this week to see which way wears best 🙂

Then this weekend Connie put on a set of Oslo and Steady nail strips…

Doesn’t she have awesome nails!!!! Wanna try a FREE SAMPLE mailed to your home of these nail strips??? I can make this happen if you leave me a message you are interested … we can message each other to get and give info for you to get a few to compare to traditional polish wearing 🙂 <<<

Now I need YOUR HELP!

Anyone know about printing??? Pondering Save The Date cards similar to these found on Etsy for my daughter … not buying them yet but pondering if I should print them myself with my Photosmart HP Printer that does great photos or saving my ink and having them professionally done with a color laser printer…

If you use Blogger and are experiencing problems… PLEASE TAKE TIME TO

SEND FEEDBACK <<<<<

From inside your own blogger account *if you use blogger that is* you will notice a ? with a circle around it .. when you click on it you get the option to leave feedback… they can’t hear us belly ache over the issues new blogger formatting has if we don’t tell them!!!

For instance I am still having MAJOR issues with photo uploading.. so I am doing this in batches depending on time and topic this week… going a bit easier but slow for sure!!! So tell those that can help is my advice.

In July when my daughter came to visit we started making a wallet for her fiance’s cousin… He loves anything to do with aliens so Brandi drew out the alien head and I appliqued it on the wallet front.

Here is a better view…

Well y’all he finally got the package yesterday and LOVED IT!!!! Yippee

So yesterday I decided Brandi needed a holder for her sewing machine manual, bobbins, and attachments… I found this pattern HERE by Sew Can She… this link includes a Youtube video link too 🙂

This outside fabric Brandi had fallen in love with while she was here and it fit perfectly for this make!

And see how nice it holds all her stuff… it can go in that case that holds her Singer 401a vintage 1956 sewing machine too 😀

Digging around SewCanShe’s website I found this cool BOM for about $8/month for 12 months…

I will ponder it a while longer until I get paid next month at least.. but we will see 🙂

What do you think??? THIS finishes at about 60″ square the pattern says 💟

Finally here is my stitching progress this week on the Wedding Wall Hanging ….

Moving down a bit now…

And a right handed shot too … moving even lower on the heart center…

I should be done with the heart next week… so hopefully my daily slow stitching will show more NEXT WEEKEND 🙂 My goal was to be done with the heart by the end of the LOOOONG month of August leaves… we shall see!

Sharing my “heart-y” progress with Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching HERE <<< Go check out what every slow stitcher is stitching… Kathy is trying something new with some knitting of dishcloths this week even 😀

Here is my new Facebook profile picture…

And here is the meme that helped me kick it up a notch this week to get so many different things completed this week…

I will be making an appointment for a shape up trim… so this made me laugh! Do you have Covid induced lack of hair trimming … or are you in shape??? I am curious !!!

I am so excited you decided to stop by my blog… Now leave me a note so I know you were here! 🙂

Blessings to you and yours and have a blessed Sunday too 💖

Quilts in Progress make the BEST Backdrops Y’all!

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Happy Sunday from North Carolina Y’all!

Last Sunday I got this cute triptych of photos from my daughter in law… that my son James had taken!

Didn’t he do a great job of catching her first bit of watermelon for the day!!!!

Ellie is growing big and strong isn’t she??!!! 🙂

Mike, my middle child, is doing great working from home at the moment and he has picked up a side hustle … reading books for Audible!!!!

I am not recommending this book with this big picture… I just wanted you to see his name at the bottom of the screen on my phone though… His voice sounds excellent reading these authors’ words!

I took off the lavender iridescent nail polish this week… using the clips and polish remover that is good but works without acetone to dry out my nail beds…

I get that at Amazon… with all my Mineral Fusion nail products 🙂

And here is my new mani on the right hand! Took me less than an hour to remove the old polish … clean my nails well, and put fresh strips on them all 🙂 I 💖 this product! So mess free!!!!

And sharing all these quilted squares in a photo for my Facebook cover…

Then last night was the end of Shark Week in Holli Jo’s nail group (AND today on TV it wraps up)… so her and her husband had shark hats on for their whole LIVE event on facebook! They are so loving & funny & endearing too 🙂

If you wanna join a fun and uplifting group let me know… I am happy to invite you 🙂

Each week starts on Monday and finishes with a big party on Saturday nights!!! I won a very nice foot massager in a live event just like this.. it has jets and heat and is awesome!!!! AND I have won free nail sets too! She hosts Bingo, Show & Sell, and Random Grand Prize Drawing names from the week of game playing in the group too for the big winner!

Or if you just wanna try this dry nail strip product by Colorstreet

Let me know and I will get her to snail mail you some … and you won’t be disappointed!

I want to share how my new tattoo has healed as well!!!

At 3 weeks old all the scabbing and flaking is done… mine was small and detailed.. Ricks ying yang was bigger and finished healing before mine… however we are BOTH happy with our new tattoos 🙂

Linking this quilty backdropped post to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching HERE <<<

I am ALMOST halfway through the heart of this quilted wall hanging now… Here is hoping next Sunday I have more of the heart center to share with you all ❤

Hand Quilting Has Started Again and There is some Exciting NEWS!!!

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The air is starting to feel a bit autumn-ish with a cool undercurrent noticed from time to time here in the mountains of North Carolina!

While you are staying at home if you know these 2 things and how they work together … what phone are you using to call all your friends???!!!

Me and My friends use mainly Verizon Wireless for our phone service 🙂

But finding a facebook friend shared this Ad … I had to pass it along to you all! I grew up using Bell South phones… who woulda thought we really would have video chatting in 2020 to get us all by!Me and my besties got new shirts.

Connie got one too but she has been working so much you just get to see me and Jannessa in ours!!! We all love these new shirts I picked up for us from MSQC 🙂

While I am sharing Jannessa above… I wanted you to take notice of her new grandchild Grayson in her arms… he had a stricture in his small bowel that typically doesn’t show itself enough for fixing til babies are about 1 month… well he is and he is having that stricture removed and is currently recovering in the hospital being watched as he eats and digests the food! Keep him in your thoughts.. his parents are worn out and so is his Nana Jannessa!

Being her first set of nail polish strips.. she didn’t like how 1 was put on … so the following week she sparkled it up a bit!

Jannessa did make time to put on a French Manicure from Color Street Y’all!

I love that sparkly nail mixed with the french manicure too ❤ And she shared some extra Color Street she had with her oldest grandgirl Addison!

She is 10 and has such sweet hands ❤

All these hands were bathed in good quality products too! This Mineral Fusion brand from Amazon!

At the beginning of the week I really found this quote spoke to me and motivated me to focus on stitching…

As I finished stitching “Kristen”s name…

I remembered a video I had on different embroidery types on Bluprint …

*now changing back to Craftsy*

Jessica Marquez is a great teacher…
See how she did back stitches along the top and bottom line
she wants to make a satin stitch around.

So left is my progress finished with names and starting on the year they are to marry… and the left is even closer up 🙂 Very pleased with this …

And once all the embroidery was complete I remembered I had this stuff…and a soft toothbrush to scrub off any showing pencil markings! IT WORKS!!!! Look for it HERE

Now it was time to sew that last seam together I had left it apart for the embroidery 🙂

This is my 301 Julius… He is amazing at closing up this seam!

I gave the quilt top (flimsy) a good press and then checked out
How Far apart do I need to plan my quilting for this batting???
8″ apart is GREAT! I won’t hand quilt that far apart but good to know it is a sturdy batting!

I am blessed to have several hand quilting friends who are wiser than me…
1st advice… treat the stripes on this quilt top like it is one piece of fabric…
2nd advice… treat the faceted heart like a faceted diamond with V shapes all around showing it’s brilliance 🙂 I loved this idea!!!! And here is a close up of how that looks>>>
I have a eye shadow applicator & I fill a bottle lid up with water and dip that spongy end in it to remove marks when I am marking with my blue water soluble marking pen 🙂 Works GREAT!

Finally … I have the quilt top all layered up now… it measures about 40″ x 60″ wide.. remember this a wedding surprise for my son and his bride to be… so no showing the flimsy in full here but you will get snippets as I work on it ❤

And in this shot you can see my focus today.. I will probably still be working on the faceted heart part of this quilt… but you never know! It was sure nice to get thimbles back on my fingers!!!!

Linking this progress of getting back to slow stitching my favorite way to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching >>>> HERE

and with the gals too at HQAL

Hand Quilt Along Links

This Hand Quilt Along is an opportunity for hand quilters and piecers to share and motivate one another. We post every three weeks, to show our progress and encourage one another. If you have a hand quilting project and would like to join our group contact Kathy at the link below.

Kathy, Margaret, Tracy, Deb, Susan, Nanette, Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Gretchen, Kathi, Daisy, Connie, Monica and Sherrie

And the BIG EXCITING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!

My Darling Daughter Brandi… that just visited me … got ENGAGED!!! Timmy totally surprised her and ME! He also had a family member video tape the event for those of us not in KY at the moment!

That is what their ride in life is like… you have read about me and my friend’s ride… how about you?

Share in the comments what your ride is like now… after all the changes we are all experiencing!!!

Have a blessed day Y’all! Thanks for visiting and have a safe ride!

P. S. It took 2 hours to write this post due to new blogger interface… I hope this gets easier!

Enjoying a family visit & Welcoming August 2020!

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The month of birthday’s in our home has passed now that it is August!

But let’s take a look at the grand final birthday of this past month!

Here is a quick shot a took of our guest room … prepped for my daughter and her beau Timmy…

Upon their masked arrival we checked temperatures and they had quarantined as a baseline but were more rigid with it the last 2 weeks… following the lead of Bonnie Hunter and others that are trying to keep close quarters during a pandemic we tried to stay out of each other’s air space and keep socially distancing… but we were close from time to time…

Happy Birthday Brandi!!! I caught this photo as she enjoyed a cup of coffee with her beau.

I have Singer 401a waiting to gift to her … but we just didn’t get to sewing this visit… She enjoyed seeing her 401a when we pulled it out of the carrying case it fits in donated by Jannessa (sorry no photo this week of that)… but I do have a photo of the birthday present made by Connie!!!

She made a pin cushion duo… the larger one has a peanut butter lid for the base… while the smaller bee pincushion has a milk jug cap for a lid she said… they are both adorable… Brandi is using the small one to park her cross stitch needle in as she is an avid cross stitcher…

But the biggest friendship formed was probably Molly with Brandi!!!!

Molly cried if Brandi left to go anywhere without her even the restroom!!! lol She became very attached during the 6 days they were here! She even slept with them and she usually sleeps in her kennel!

Brandi also wanted a manicure while here. Here was the beginning…

I have been sharing about the Color Street nail polish strips and had her some here to put on Brandi… but when she saw the colors of the actual nails in person she thought they were not the same as she imagined them to be so I ordered a different brand of glow in the dark skull nails… Here is how they came… in the mail via a stamp… glad they got here in time!

And once on… and when applying them… the difference WAS REAL Y’all!!!!

These nails said they were also 100% nail polish but there was no nail polish aroma to evidence this by. I found them to be very difficult to apply requiring precise cutting to get them to break at the tips of the nails… this was NOT Color Street made for sure!!!

This photo was taken right before she left and you can see that they are chipping and flaking due to brittleness I have never experienced brittleness with quality nail polishes before … hmm… not straying again!

Once I had that experience with the other brand of nails… I soaked off the old polish and it was time for some new polish strips … this time Color Street was already determined…

And this set took about 20 minutes to put on completely and then I was called to the kitchen to help finish dinner… Now that is one thing about having a house full… lots of cooking and cleaning is going on! lol

I helped with dinner and cleaned up the dirty dishes in the sink… finally falling into bed about 9 pm. The next morning I woke and stitched making the only progress in hand stitching this week that I did make! And snapped THIS shot…

Linking this minute progress with my fellow hand stitchers of all kinds over at Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday HERE <<<

And here is my other hand posted on the given nail file by Color Street…

This color is an iridescent lavender that has lots of color and sparkle to it…

It is called “Glamsterdam” and I put it on on 7/29/2020 🙂

I really enjoy the sparkly fingertips but they have solids like my bestie Connie is wearing here…

The blue polish is traditional polish and the pink is Color Street 100% polish nail strips…

Connie really enjoyed the process of applying the Color Street like I do … as well as how nice it was that when they are on you are done fussing with them. Unlike regular polish when you have to let it dry! I have the most awesome Color Street Stylist… her card is in my hand above… but if you want a link to click to find Holli Jo’s facebook page you can go HERE… or to look at what they have in stock at the US factory in New Jersey you can look HERE. These are made in the USA and because of the Covid stuff they are releasing their inventory to stylists like Holli Jo more than making available to the public… Holli Jo has a party each Friday and Saturday nights via Facebook live where she sells her available inventory 🙂 She is a fast shipper too!!! Check it out 😀

Thursday Brandi got her hair cut and colored…

Molly just can’t get enough of her though… she was gone 3 hours! lol

Then finally it was time to pack up for them to leave and see ya later snap shots were taken…

Besides the photos and memories… the kids took home a cool rock they found in our river bed… they helped restore a nice flow of water to our pond while they were here!!!

Then as they made their way home through Gatlinburg to see the sites they picked up a license plate for their truck!

Meanwhile… once Molly realized they were gone she fell sound asleep on the chair cushions! lol

I certainly hope this less than quilty post hasn’t bored you … it was an exciting week for sure! Especially in light of the Covid 19 pandemic… but we think we got by without infection and now we will hunker back down and be safe… Hope you will be too!

How about some FACE time during the continuing Pandemic!

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Little Ellie’s sweet mama (my daughter in law ~ Heather) sent me photos this weekend y’all! I am tickled pink!!!

And Ellie appears to be too…

I had a good hair day this week and snapped a shot… now I am wondering if it isn’t the color of the shirt that pinked me up instead… maybe BOTH! lol
The new shirt will get a better reveal in a future episode when it will be apparent why I am not showing it yet… it is quilty!

My friend Jannessa had a new grandson named Greyson born not too long ago… he is a little football player already we think! lol

Even Molly got a photo taken after succumbing to a much needed bath and brush out this week!

This weekend we are also expecting our first visitors since the pandemic started…
It is my daughter Brandi’s 22nd birthday today and she and I will be celebrating all day… this post is being written Saturday afternoon… too excited to nap so I am writing to you all 😀
Her boyfriend Timmy is bringing her and they will stay for a few days!!!

And they did arrive last night and we are gonna be fine ❤

I did sew 4 masks this week for a good friend who requested them….

But mainly we have been cleaning house and mowing grass… all the chores are getting outta the way… I have been slow stitching some…

Split stitch with 12 wt perle cotton in Marine. I also got in the color for the year of the wedding…

and my daughter found the back of my work to be neat and tidy so I thought I would share… I have some WOVEN fusible interfacing on the white fabric I pressed into place before stitching…

… the interfacing is white too…. the batting I purchased for this project is white and not cream as well! It does matter on this kind of thing I think 🙂

and this is where I am at now…

Linking this progress this week at Kathy’s Slow Stitching Sunday linky HERE <<<

I am sure no one there is stitching slower than me! But let’s see what happens THIS WEEK!! lol

Also Kathy is asking for YOUR feedback on a couple vintage quilt tops this week… I don’t have any 2 cents to help with this but if this is your area… please go take a look at her post above at the link 😀

I am loving wearing Color Street nail polish strips… I have never enjoyed polishes but always felt pretty when I did do my nails… my nails are healthy, strong, and growing!!! Not chipping or flaking like usual… I will continue to share this journey…

Wish us well as we try socially distancing in our home during a family visit… please stay safe yourselves everyone…

Slow Stitching Sunday Reflections …

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Welcome Y’all!

Molly and I are greeting you from our front yard today!

I am grinning so big because I splurged and got myself a good pair of sandals for the summer…

They are from a company called OrthoFeet! You can find them online just googling that name if you are in the market for some orthopedic shoes in a wide selection!!!! I can tell a BIG difference in my fatigue levels… from when I wear any other shoes I own! YAY 😀

I finished up the last name on the wall hanging panel this week that I was working on …

and pondered the steely grey perle cotton in the photo below…

But it just clashed with the navy I used on the last name… so I am using a different stitch ~the split stitch ~ on the first names like this in the same 12 perle cotton navy color I used on the last name …

Linking this slow stitching progress to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching HERE <<<< Kathy shares her own embroidery and many link during the day to share their slow stitching of varied types.

Also… I am linking with my friends in the HQAL group too!

Hand Quilt Along Links

Kathy, Margaret, Tracy, Deb, Susan, Nanette, Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Gretchen, Kathi, Daisy, Connie, Monica and Sherrie

My daughter and her boyfriend are planning a visit this coming week…
Here is my dd (darling daughter) Brandi and some of her cross stitching too!

The above cross stitch is complete and we will frame it while she is here visiting… while the wolves on black cloth are in progress… she works on it most every day and LOVES IT ❤

I reworked the guest room quilt that Connie and I are working on this fall…

And my honey graced me with a vase full of flowers… vase was a gift from Jannessa!!!

I reworked the “message board” I was gifted last week in prep for my honey’s birthday!!!!

The message board and the letters to go on it came from Amazon with a gift note from the sender 🙂

I ❤ Love It!!!

And here is our fave pic of my honey taken earlier this year on a snowy day outside…

I am so excited to celebrate the day he entered this world… as he is definitely a keeper & he keeps me laughing each and every day! It is good to be loved so much by another human 💕

While my nails still looked ok… I was anxious to change colors and try a new one… and I got these in this week from Holli Jo… so I had lots of options!!!!

I finally decided on the Seattle Royale I had purchased 😀 And easily removed the “At the Plaza” you see on my here…

So this gave me 3 checks on my frequent buyer card …

And in just a few minutes of quiet time and I am done! You can see my right hand finished on the photo of my hand embroidery above! 🙂

Now I am pondering a new tattoo… I only have a permanent ink and it is on my right foot… it rarely gets seen as I wear these great new shoes I shared that cover it up.. that is ok.. but I am thinking inner wrist for this tattoo… hmmm… what do you think?

Are you a tattoo wearer or lover?

I really like the needle and thread detail in THIS one below… but want a different design like above with the infinity or heart detail with the thread as below… hmmm THOUGHTS PLEASE!

And a meme I caught on facebook this week… WEAR A MASK WHEN IN PUBLIC or around other people… also Socially Distance when possible too… especially to those unmasked souls!!!

Listen to the scientists and doctors y’all! This can be stopped for all of us in the world and the USA specifically where this virus is gaining ground instead of losing ground!!! Masks stop the spread they say and have proven as in the above meme. We wear seat belts in cars to be safe… why not a mask in public??!!

Thanks for stopping in and if you decide you would like to be invited to Holli Jo’s Color Street nail strips Facebook group let me know! Happy to invite you to it 🙂 You can see without purchase … what others think too 💖

While we are celebrating birthdays and welcoming our first visitors into our home since the pandemic started keep us in your thoughts and prayers.. makes me nervous even though we are being careful!

Slow but Steady Progress to Share …

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Thanks for all the birthday wishes last week y’all!

I just love how the Bitmoji app makes me look most like me of all the meme apps. Here is a photo I took for comparison to the photo it analyzed to make my memoji in the first place.

Here I am earlier this week… with the amazing foot massager I won & a lot of birthday sentiments received too.

Watch out because next week I will share more about this little message board you see above! It is probably the coolest birthday gift I have received in a long time! It was completely unexpected and not something I thought I needed but SO DID!!!!

Above you see it in action a bit as a shout out to the giver… it came from Amazon but I will get all the info and share next week because you can ADD to it!!!!

Molly was not as impressed but she did get a new toy this week… so it has been keeping her a bit entertained…

She likes to push over the cushions we use on the outdoor furniture… we bring them in as it rains frequently where we live and then you can’t have a dry seat if you don’t bring them in every single time. Well once she realized she liked this stack of cushions….

She finally fell sound asleep…. LOL!

I gave myself a healthy manicure this week including Orly Nail Defense Conditioning Treatment for my nails ….

And then finally yesterday this cuticle treatment came in and I LOVE IT !!! If you have ANY kind of weird cuticle issues this is the key to your ailments! I thought my cuticles were good above but after 1 treatment with this… no polish is on yet…

I plan on putting on my first set of dry nail strips this week… so we will see how that goes.

As for slow stitching time.. I have spent a LOT of time doing chain stitch letters for our family last name for this wall hanging… I love this W and how it is made…

I hope the happy couple enjoys this for time to come! I sure am having fun making it.. I did order a different colored perle cotton for the year ~ a rosy peach color by Valdani from RustyCrow.com. This little online shop has all Valdani colors and great photos on her website… no link and I am not an affiliate … just a lover of the Valdani perle cotton 12 weight is my fave but 8 weight is not bad either…. I have a steely grey for their names from Jannessa.

I have done NO stitching on the quilt in the frame….

Linking my slow stitching embroidery progress to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching HERE<<< Come see what all my Sunday friends are doing slowly as time passes by 🙂 Sew Much Fun!

Which 1 would you Choose .. Just for Fun 😀

I hope you share in a comment below!!!

I would choose B… I hate cleaning house but it is a necessary evil in my life! lol

Cheers to another week of pandemic living under our belts… I have seen our state less on the news this week but still there from time to time… but America is not doing well overall in eradicating this virus.

I continue to wear a mask when in public to be a good role model and because our governor mandated it as well… I agree with him though from a medical standpoint. Unfortunately not everyone in my state feels the need to wear a mask and several here have mentioned not wearing a mask in public for myriad of reasons… but as this grows in the USA we need to ALL mask up.. even our President did when in close quarters at Walter Reed Medical Center yesterday afternoon.

Research shows a typical cloth handmade mask will keep a majority of YOUR germs to YOURself… if covering mouth and nose. If you are a asymptomatic carrier this could be amazing to STOP THE SPREAD of the CORONA VIRUS!!!!!

Off my soapbox now… thanks for listening to my rant today from a frustrated American & Retired RN 💖

July is a time for Winning!!!

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As July comes into the mountains… and I turned 54 yesterday too! We are enjoying summertime in our own yard!

I took some selfies of an app on my phone that features me on my birthday…

And I took some selfies of me too and made a collage… all early in the morning on the 4th… the house was MINE!

I spent my birthday hearing from ALL my kids… including watching sweet little Ellie play and be sooo cute on video chat time!

Some of my birthday wishes included:

Can you guess what the last trait I have is inside this card??? <<<

NOW IT IS YOUR TIME TO GET SOMETHING!!!!

Tell me in a comment below if you are interested in having a MINI QUILT PATTERN

I HAVE 2 to give away 😀

>>> Thanks to my bestie Connie for this birthday month giveaway! <<<

Giveaway limited to USA at this moment >>>

MAKE SURE I HAVE YOUR EMAIL TO CONTACT YOU IF YOU WON TO GET MAILING INFO 🙂

Amaryllis watch is coming to an end…

On the left was the beginning of the week and by the end of the week the one on the left was fully bloomed and earlier blooms were already fading a bit!

We will cover it well in winter and see if it blooms again in the future after such a beautiful show this season!!!!

I have NOT spent any time at the frame this week… But next week that will change 😀

Instead I was sewing on Julius my black 301… a wall hanging for my son and his bride-to-be.

My son Michael and his bride to be ~ Kristen… called me early yesterday morning before celebrating HER birthday with her visiting family.. Her birthday is actually July 5 and I sent her a sweet card and sewing kit for their new home (my son gave me the green light for this home sweet home gift).

Michael & Kristen
Due to marry April 11, 2021

I did take time to press these seams open as I sewed together all these little pieces…

Until soon I had the bottom half together…

I also sewed the top half strips all together making sure to stagger the seams so they weren’t all in one spot. I woke up early on my birthday to figure out the writing I will HAND EMBROIDER on the white stripe of the picture above… you can see below close up …

Here I am deciding exactly how I will be hand embroidering in different threads I have and have on order…. and writing on the quilt area with a pencil my intentions…

Here is a sneak peek of my quilting plan too…

only single vertical lines are in the final as they seemed more modern.. My goal is to make them a keepsake wall hanging they will always enjoy over the years.

As July was ringing into being… I found I was a winner in a facebook group I am in for Color Street nails….

Have you ever done your own manicure and used dry nail polish products like this??? Let me know if you are interested in knowing more… I can hook you with my nail stylist!!!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner for me…

I won a foot massager & should get it this week!!!

Here is a darling idea for dressing up a house plant for the patriotic holiday… make your country’s flag…

Here is a quilt pattern I am currently lusting over and got my honey’s agreement that he likes it too…

I can only find it on an Etsy shop atm… my LQS doesn’t own it.

Will you be a winner this week ??!!Did you miss the pattern giveaway I offered above???

I am excited to get back to hand work this week and getting things done 🙂 How about you???
Linking this post to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching HERE… I will be embroidering today on the wedding wall hanging!!!!

And soon June will be done… WOW!

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How has this month come to an end so quickly y’all!

The awesome Sunrise I viewed Monday morning this week…. from our front porch 🙂

Followed by freshly prepared strawberries and cream cheese danish (just a small piece ) 😀

Finished the row I was on with Appalachian Delight….

Rolled the quilt and started back to the right side of the quilt. This marks the halfway point of this quilt project!!! 🙌 YAY 🙂

Linking my hand quilting progress to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching Linky party HERE <<<

Also Linking to my HQAL group that I link with every 3 weeks…

Hand Quilt Along Links

Kathy, Margaret, Tracy, Deb, Susan, Nanette, Edith, Sharon, Karrin, Gretchen, Kathi, Daisy, Connie, Monica and Sherrie

As you can see not much progress on this side of this secret project… just that top row done…

But look at this hand quilted aspects of the hand applique added to the front of these bags!!! WOW

But this week has otherwise been a quiet week….

And the Amaryllis blooms has been my DAILY dose of sunshine!!!

As the second stalk continued to grow taller and sprout blooms to be…

and the first stalk continued to fill out all 6 blooms…

They fell over together … so we added stakes to hold them up unsure if they would continue to grow now…

But they have 🙂

And this hosta shoots up amazing blooms… here it was on Monday….

And again on Friday…

I found this little meme online… Why can’t we ALL be like a raccoon….

And another meme that I posted on my Facebook page…

North Carolina USA has a mandatory public mask wearing policy now…

Do you wear a mask when in public??

Feel free to right click on any of those meme’s to add them to your own photo stash and share on social media … we are all in this all over the world TOGETHER!!!!

I am excited to look ahead to JULY!!!!

of JULY!!! <<<<

3rd – My bestie… Connie 20th – My Honey’s … Rick

4th – Me 26th – My Darling Daughter … Brandi

5th – My DIL to be… Kristen In Memory… I will remember my grandmother’s birthday on the 6th… She is watching over us from heaven

So here is the first fun birthday cake I found… doesn’t that teal icing look yummy! with the moist chocolate cake… mmmmm!!! Much less the precious unicorn full of cake!

So while this post had not much hand work to share… my mind is moving along solving roadblocks to get more handwork to show for next week!

Take care my friends 💖 And if you leave a comment today… please tell me…

What do you enjoy doing to celebrate YOUR birthday ???

I love that I am a Firecracker Baby and born the morning of the 4th of July!!! My daughter may come for a visit on her birthday end of the month … THAT will be my present this year… along with the 2 new chairs we just bought for me 😀

Come back next week… you won’t be sad to celebrate Birthday Month each Sunday of July!!!!

Hello Summer and Father’s Day 2020

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As of yesterday evening… it is officially summer here in the USA!!

Today is Father’s Day… a day that brings me angst. My dad & I don’t speak … there are a host of reasons for this… He and my mom are very different from me. So on Father’s Days for the last decade or so… I focus on the positive role models in my life that are dads….

My grandfather here… I called Papa

The husband of my children…. Here he is with our oldest child James…

And the last photo we have of him smiling over 12 years ago now…

So I felt this meme… really reflected how I felt about these powerful men in my life … as both my husband from the past and my grandfather are in Heaven today…. looking down and celebrating…

This picture came up on my facebook feed recently…

Remember me working on hand quilting this quilt for Connie by bestie???!!!

Well here it is bound and washed and on her bed!!!!

Look at the binding she chose to put on this quilt… all the colors of the fabric are in it!!!!

We are BOTH in love with the big stitch quilting you can see in these photos too!!!

Linking this awesome finish to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching HERE <<<< Follow the link (it will open in a new tab so you don't lose your place here) !!
Alex Andersen of “The Quilt Show” … I spied this cool art piece on her wall in a video I watched…

Don’t we all need a Crazy Quilter art piece to explain us 🙂

Speaking of Crazy.. a couple weeks ago I showed you my crazy sewing room… well it is getting cleaner!!!!

So I got to start cutting out my youngest son’s wedding commemorative wall hanging I am hand quilting after I machine piece the flimsy…

Here is some laid out… this may be the last you see of this project though… as I don’t want them to see!!!!

And look at that gorgeous engagement ring my son got his bride to be Kristen.

Mike now also goes by Michael in his peer groups so I am trying to change a 25 year habit to not call him the shortened version any longer.

Hand quilting has been a daily thing this week… I am sew glad too ❤

Above is the base picture for my new header for my blog. Below is when I finished block #3 on this row I am on…

And here is block 4… heading to the border!!!

This morning I worked on the swag designs in the border a bit … I will go back to that when I get done with this blog as my honey sleeps in on Sundays!!!

So with all the Corona Covid-19 stuff going on… do you worry more??? I know I sure do!!!!

So this Bonnie-ism is in the forefront for me 🙂 Maybe we could all remember… like a rocking chair or a rocking horse… you can go and go but you stay right where you are… so throw your worries aside and stay safe and ….

While I was digging through my scrapbooks looking for the pics I wanted to share with you all today… I came across this… Me as a preschooler….and me today! I have my Papa’s silvery gray hair now too that replaced my reddish blonde locks! I love that 😀

So as I hang on…

I have found lots of ideas online this week that inspire me… Like this double wedding ring with a star block where the joins go….

A flower quilt that comes together row by row by Lisa Capen Quilts on Youtube…

And this quilt… after I finish the quilts in some sort of progress I would love to get this pattern … It is an older Fons and Porter pattern called “Pinwheel Star” but I have been unable to find it online yet as a pattern to buy so I may have to draft it… hmmmm!

Amaryllis Watch!!!!

These photos were taken Tuesday or Wednesday

Then Thursday the bloom opened but only half heartedly in the late afternoon….

But Friday it was wide open… with 5 more to come from this stalk…

And look at the second stalk… it will have more blooms as it grows and matures taller…

Now the second bloom is opening on that first stalk… and the other 4 are looking bigger!!!!

Molly got her groom on yesterday and she is feeling so refreshed from her groom and wash!

Speaking of Molly… she is snoozing in with her dad right now! Happy Father’s Day to my Honey too ❤ Here is a photo I took the other day of the 2 of them ❤ They have my heart for sure!!!!

Thanks for stopping in… please leave a comment if you have a minute… I love to reply to all the comments left for me💖 Thanks 😀

Designoriginalsbykc Blog

Quilting, Creating, Crafting & Remodeling… one step at a time :)