Announcing:

arrival of the doll quilt from the swap!
Jill, from Pennsylvania, 
made the little quilt for me and I'm in love with it!
Thank you, thank you, thank you Jill!!!!

Isn't it adorable?!?
The amount of fabrics Jill used in this little quilt is astounding - 
truly like a vintage doll quilt, 
made for a little girly from the family's clothing scraps.

With our yucky weather again today,
it was hard to get a good picture of the true colors, 
but the setting squares fabric is a salmon-y pink, 
and the outside, half-triangles are a deep, chocolate brown;
the four patches are made with shirtings and fabrics of every design:   
there are keys, itsy-bitsy flowers, pins, tacks, berries, baskets, hearts, sprigs, stems, dots, and flourishes.  Also circles, squares, diamonds, stars, horseshoes and jockeys.  There are even roosters with little tossed feathers!  
(In her note, Jill said she doesn't know why, but she always puts a piece of fabric with a chicken in each quilt she makes - isn't that great?)  

The backing fabric she used
 
is a beautiful vintage-looking, golden stripe with salmon flowers.
 And to top off all of that?  It's hand quilted with what looks to be a variegated pink thread (you may be able to see the excellent hand-quilting if you enlarge the photo).

Just beautiful.  I already have it on my old Singer sewing machine used as a stand, that sits beside my stitching chair, and it's perfect there - like it was made specifically for that space.

Jill packaged the little quilt in a fat quarter of beautiful green fabric, tied with a flourish-printed selvedge, and in the package was a sweet card, a PA-made chocolate bar 
(: of which I've already eaten at least half :) 
and a little 2 1/2 inch charm pack of Jelly Bean - 
a fabric line by Laundry Basket Quilts. 

I am so thankful to Jill for all of her time and love she put into making this quilt, and for all of the extras she stuffed into the envelope to send to me.

It was another wonderful 'swap' to participate in and I thank Lori (of Humble Quilts ) for hosting again!  I think there will be a link-y party on Lori's blog soon, to let all 70 people who participated share their little quilts from the swap.  I'll share it when it's available.

Happy Thursday, and thanks for visiting!

Decoration Day

Here in the U.S. today, the last Monday of May, 
we celebrate what is now known as Memorial Day.
First known as Decoration Day after the 
American Civil War in 1868, 
when the organization of Union veterans of the 
Grand Army of the Republic
established it as a time for the nation 
to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.

After that century,
competing Union and Confederate holiday traditions
celebrated on different days, but merged, 
with Memorial Day eventually extended 
to honor all Americans who died while in the military service. 
 

Thank you to all who have sacrificed their life for this great country in which we live.



I hope everyone has a safe and wonderfully relaxing day spent doing something you enjoy with those you love.

Sunny days

Folks have noticed that I've not been as productive in
quilting and blogging over the last few months.
And, I missed my semi-annual quilt retreat this week.
Which is unheard of, right? :)
A quilter missing her retreat only happens if something is not right.

Well, I've not been 'right' for a while now...
I seem to be on the mend, but it's been a long time coming.
The short story is this:
Evidently, my body doesn't like antibiotics anymore,
Antibiotics I've taken over the last year for a root canal infection and a couple of sinus infections killed the bad bacteria in my body, which is good.
Antibiotics also can, and did, disrupt the beneficial bacteria in my gut, which is bad.
Good news?  No cancer or other bad things discovered.
More good news, 
there are medications today that will help me heal.

I just have to find the RIGHT medication...

• Med#1 worked great but was not covered by my insurance and would have been $900 a month.  But I only purchased 5 days worth to get me through the long holiday weekend and until I could get something covered by my insurance

• Med #2 was insurance covered, but, whoa, bad side effects

• #3 med was a sample, so I didn't have to purchase, but it was not being digested

• #4 med caused massive headache and knocked me out

Hopefully 5th time's a charm on the medication front...
(Sorry if that's too much info... but I'm a tell-it-like-it-is-and-have-it-out-there kind of person.)

SO... my thanks to everyone who's checked in on me -
I so appreciate your continued prayers and good wishes.
I have so many good people in my life, and so appreciate all of your concern.
And, sunny days, 
I'm already planning on attending 
the next retreat in just over 200 days!
Lord willing and the creek doesn't rise. 
And I find a med that my body doesn't veto. :) 

Here's my next hand-embroidery block ready to stitch:

Those sharply creased fold lines indicate that 
I've had it traced, hand-tinted with crayons and all prepped 
then stored for a while - like a few years, 
so it's definitely time to do some healing stitching!!!
The pattern is from Crabapple Hill, A Gardner's alphabet with Cosmo/Lecien threads off to the side.  
I LOVE stitching with Valdani threads!!!  If you've not stitched with them, they are worth the little extra cost in their color variations alone!

Thank you again, for checking in on me!
Happy Stitching
and sunny days, good friends!

the sweetest little quilt arrived

There is folklore that Spring has arrived 
three snows after the forsythia blooms. 
Well, the forsythia hasn't bloomed here in central Ohio yet, but I say Spring HAS ARRIVED!

Here's the reason why:
I shared last week or so about joining in 
a Spring mini-quilt swap with an online group that I'm in.
I also shared about all my fun in making the little 'Spring Argyle' quilt that I sent off...
Well, I can barely contain myself, 
because THIS:

came in the mail yesterday!!!
All the way from Deb in Toronto, Canada!
Deb named it "Spring Bulbs".  Isn't that so perfect?!
I love the colors & fabrics & it's a BASKET block!, which I also love.
I so love the pinks, 
and that she hand-quilted little butterflies in the corners,
and she also put hanging-corner-pockets on the back!
Can you tell that I like it? A lot?

And if that's not enough quilty-love (and exclamation points),
Deb was so sweet to send a little something extra:

Can you see the quilted butterflies
to the left of the mini charm pack?

I don't know how she knew that I loved that Lexington line... maybe I've shared that also? :)

A great big thank you, Deb, for your very beautiful, kind and generous gift.
This swap was SO MUCH FUN!, and a big Thanks goes out to Karen for facilitating!

So, have you participated in swaps of finished items before?
I was leery of joining in because of my time constraints, but it worked out well.
And such Spring beauty arrived at my door!

Happy Tuesday!
I may go looking for some forsythia to force into bloom 
to sit beside my new little quilt. :)

little pieces from a block of the month

I've put together the top from last year's 
Sew-Along with Quilt Doodle Doodles Block Of the month!
It's a cutie, for sure!

My sincere thanks to Cindy for the free pattern each month.
It was such a fun project!

My finish is a little different 
than the QDD2014 sew-along though, as
I made my blocks smaller than half-sized...
[Cindy's original pattern (quilt finishing 70 by 84 inches) 
had each fabric square cut at 2 1/2 inches, finishing at 2 inches.]
I cut my squares at 1 1/4 inches, 
which then finished at 3/4 of an inch,
and my little quilt finished at 22 by 26 inches.

I'm a little goofy, though.
I have the quilt top pin-basted from the back for hand quilting.
And as I was pin-basting, I'm thinking:
hand-quilting is really NOT a good idea for this little piece...

with each square only being 3/4 of an inch, 

that means that the seam allowances 

cover most of the back of each little block.

So, on to the new quilting plan.

Which I've not really decided on yet. :)

I'll start by removing the basting pins from the back.

Oh, and MORE GOOFY me - 
that bottom row of little 3/4 inch pinwheel blocks 

were not part of the original pattern.

Those are waste corners 
from the snowball Snowmen blocks from the top row.
Also, I opted not to add Cindy's row of really cute Christmas bulbs... (which I made and I'll share later; they will be turned into a little wall hanging banner).
By the way - Cindy of Quilt Doodle Doodles has a new  
Block Of the Month for 2015 -
and the first block is available right now and FREE! 
I've added links, above, in pink, 
if you'd like to jump over and visit Cindy or to join in her next fun BOM! 
(Tell her Debra said HI! :)

Hopefully I'll have the quilting done and ready to share in about a week, with the other BOM participants.

wonderful Monday

I love my stash of fabrics and wools and threads and bits of this and that...
but, I've decided that I have too much stuff. 
Stuff that I will n.e.v.e.r., e.v.e.r. possibly use in my lifetime 
even if I did nothing other than stitch and create non-stop. 
So, with that in mind, when a friend recently said she was looking for some wool scraps to try her hand at wool applique, I shared my abundance of wool scraps with her.
It felt liberating , cutting chunks of wool off and bundling them off to Norway.

Now, today, I open an envelope from that friend from Norway...
and there is a beautiful thank you gift for me!
Some chocolates, a pincushion, and the most beautiful little hand-work bag!!!

The fabrics are yummy (the lining fabric I searched all over for and never found it available!) and the bag is so professionally made.  Even the little sentiments that she stitched on the other side of the bag (below) are just wonderful! 

The little sentiments - 'Make Life Fun' and 'Make Life Beautiful' are from the fabric that May Britt used for the lining.  I looked all over for this 'wordy' fabric and found none.  And she used it unknowingly that it was one of my favorites!! 
I love, love, love these very unnecessary thank you gifts!  So very thoughtful, and I will treasure them.  Except for the chocolate - which has since been nibbled down to half :)
I will think of my friend every time I use the bag and pincushion.
So very nice and SO unexpected.

Near and far, I have wonderful friends. 
I am so thankful for my friends!

Happy Monday to all!!

Thanksgiving greetings

from me and my family 
to you and yours!!

I hope your holiday is a safe, happy, and healthy one with lots of love, and pie :).
And if you are reading this in a country other than the U. S. of A., I wish you the same for your day.  ('Cause pie is always a good way to start your day.)

I am thankful for all of my abundances and blessings, 
which includes all of you: my family, friends, and neighbors near and far! 
Thank you for being a part of my life!
Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Thursday!!

precursory sunset?

It's Tuesday - Veterans' Day.  I want to thank the Veterans for helping make this another beautiful day.
May we never forget the price paid for our freedom here in the United States.

The last couple of early evenings I've been stitching away, 
busy finishing a quilt for a customer,
the evening news on in the background.
Last night, I glanced out toward the back forty - westward,
and this is what I saw:

I snapped the picture, as the weather forecast came on in the background.
The weatherman said the "V" word!!!: "VORTEX". 
Then he backed it up by saying:  
"There's a big snow/cold event coming this way".
Guess that beautiful view was the calm before the storm. 

I'm glad I'll have the customer's quilt 
to bind (and snuggle under) when said storm arrives!

Happy Tuesday and
Happy Stitching to you,
Debra

another friend and surprise...

Another great friend - and another great surprise!!!!

A friend that I quilt for stopped by 
and surprised me with a very generous gift!

THE cutest turkey fabric!  
A matching orange-y/red fabric! 
THE BEST MUG with quilt-y slogans all over it!!
And a PINK project box!!!! 

See? The CUTEST turkeys!  
And that mug!! I'm almost afraid to use it, it's so cute!

As you can see, my newly received pink project box
has my newest project fabrics and blocks -
my tiny Shipshewana houses!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you dear friend!!!
Christmas has arrived early!

Quilty friends are THE BEST!
You know what I'm talking about, right?

doll quilt swap!

When I saw Lori's idea (Humble Quilts) for a doll quilt swap
about a month ago, I was in!!

Because I don't already have enough going on, you know?

Ha!

Really, with enough going on for two people,
I still thought it was a great idea for me to join in...
I could use up some scrap fabric, and
it was a small, under 24" project
so that made it attainable in my eyes.
Also, the little quilt was to be mailed before Easter,
so there was a month to get it done.

I mailed my finished little doll quilt
the Thursday before Easter,
so I made the deadline.  Yay.
But it will take 7-10 business days to get there,
as it has to take an airplane ride!
(I'll share a picture when I know my swap partner has received it.)

So, guess what came to my mailbox today??
A squishy envelope... from Texas!!
It was my swap quilt!!!!
Can you tell I was just a little excited?

I couldn't wait to tear into it!
Check out the contents...
a beautiful little doll quilt!:

Indigos and shirtings!!!

And the gorgeous toile back!:

The most adorable little quilt is from Ruth!!
Ruth of Country Log Cabin blog!!
Isn't it just the sweetest?
And in the colors that I love!
Thank you so much, Ruth from Texas!
I'm going to add this beauty to my wall of small quilts!

Ruth also added a little purse-sized tissue-pack cover:

It's already in my purse!

Thanks again Ruth. 
I really do love, love, love both the quilt and the tissue pack!

Also, many thanks to Lori for all the planning and organization!
Can't wait to see the linky party of all the swap doll quilts
that Lori is going to have in early May.

Happy Stitching!!

giving thanks

I am so thankful...

for family, and friends,

and all of the bounty we have.

 

Speaking of family,

I had a little help in the kitchen this morning

starting my Thanksgiving cooking.

We started with dessert ...

and

we made some great plates of cookies!

Turkeys!  
Turkey cookies not turkey kids! :)

I have just a partial gang coming in tomorrow.
The large group will be here Saturday.
That means I get to make two dinners! 
So excited!
Here's part of the gang:)

Happy Thanksgiving from us to you!

Hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful and bountiful!

The kitchen is open...

Whew!

Boy, did we have some VIOLENT storms come through last Friday night!

Personally, we had power most of the time,

but neighbors and friends did not.  

Our personal hardship is

no Internet/telephone/cable

during this SCORCHING HEAT...

(I stopped at a wifi hot-spot today on the way to town to check email and blog.

The last news that I heard was it could be expected back by the weekend.)

Many neighbors still do not have power,

and have not had it since last Friday p.m.

Our house lights were like

beacons in the storm,

as we became the

neighborhood B&B/laundromat/air conditioned stop-in place.

And if roles were reversed,

I know they would have done the same.

I love my neighbors!!!

But, truth be told,

I was glad to go back to work at

the LQS on Tuesday

where my work was not cook, laundress, or bed changer :).

Can you tell from this pic

what Sweetie got to do for his b-day (and for the next 4 days straight)?

Yep, he was wood cutter, extraordinaire!

This was the place on the front porch

where he paused to take off his work boots

after clearing storm-downed trees.

I love this pic!

Oxymoronic -

as it looks serene

with the boots on the deck beside a rocking chair,

but the little wood chips all around

tell the NOT serene story of hard labor and sweat

in the aftermath of the violent storm

of downed trees and wind damage.

So,

back to the heat and humidity -

and the removal of storm debris.

We are getting ready to host

the Paternal Family Reunion this weekend,

and I have stuff to do

that wasn't included in the original plan of getting ready!

But I wanted to make sure I checked in on my Blog Friends,

and to say

a big THANKS to all of those

workers from all around the U.S.

that have come to our aid...

THANKS Power and Utility workers!!!

We appreciate your help and long hours.

And if you need,

stop in for a cold glass of water,

some air conditioning

and a hot meal

at a table with a chair,

not on the blacktop in a grocery parking lot,

sitting against your work truck!

Thankful, St. Patrick's Day greetings

Luck of the Irish.....

I am sooooooo lucky! 

Check out the beautiful birthday violet in a little nest-basket. 

Lucky to receive this gift from a friend a.k.a. co-worker.

She didn't know the story behind me and violets, but intuitively gave me this on a day that I needed it.  (long story-maybe for another time, but involves my father's funeral).

And in the background, a cute, shiny-new, flowery, quilted looking soap dispenser that I really needed for my kitchen (now I can put away the snowman one that sits out all year and that I usually just turn around backwards during all the seasons other than winter!).

That is another lucky, lucky me...I recieved the soap dispenser from a friend/co-worker at the retreat this past weekend - just 'cause...

Then, here's the newest Mary Janes Farm magazine.
  This gift was also for my birthday and was given to me by my friend a.k.a. boss.  I love to peruse this magazine over and over.  And finally,

all of those beautiful flosses...to go with a Crabapple Hill pattern - Snowmen A to Z.  I chose this pattern for my birthday and Sweetie helped me find all of the correct flosses in the mega/fabric/super store (which he HATES to go into, so that tells you the love behind this gift).

Am I not just one of the luckiest people you've happened to come across in blogland? 

Lucky to have recieved all of these wonderful, thoughtful gifts;

Luckier still, to have the best of the best friends!!!

Just so very lucky to have such wonderful people in my life!!!

I'm telling you,

Luck of the Irish!!!

And me, not even Irish!!!