Sunday, January 29, 2023

Getting it DONE!

 Good morning and thanks for stopping by my little spot on the world wide web :)

Sew excited to share with you all .... all I have accomplished this week :)  Grab a cuppa and come on in for a bit!

First let me share about a special overnight delivery we received yesterday from my mom and dad!  They made and mailed us something very special then sent it via Fed Ex.... this caused us to receive the parcel the NEXT DAY!  What is this that has me sooo excited???!  

It arrived quietly in this beauiful box...
And when we opened the box very carefully to preserve the exterior and interior... we found my dad's original and secret recipe for chocolate chip cookies... 3 rounds of them in the oven too!  WOWEE!!!
This parcel of a box and layers of cookies weighed in over 2.5 pounds y'all!  me and my honey have been enjoying and we will in return send money to cover the shipping too!  They don't know that part but they live on a limited retirement income so we will make sure they feel thanked fully and renewed financially too!  We are soooo happy to have a bit of my mom and dad as we continue to pack up boxes and prep the house to sell.

Speaking of this... selling the cabin that is.... we probably will take our time and get everything just right until by early March doctor appointments are out of the way (I have 3) and the blooms are starting to pop in the yard to actually list this little cabin.... as all those interested in buying may be taking vacations to this area we will be ready!

Meanwhile this week I finished this...
Above is a finished Turtle Dove ornament waiting to be finished.... Below is the finished ornamental wall hanging (what I will use it for) or ornament...
I want to pack this so it doesn't get lost or bent ... this will be a last thing so I have it with my desk stuff for now and look at this accomplishment frequently and am sew excited to have cross stitch back in my bag of tricks :)

Also I have been working on blocks I shared last week for the Fusion Quilt I am making along with my friend Connie who is helping with the crochet!

Here are 4 that are done and dusted ready for Connie to do her thing to the outside edges...
Here is what the crocheted finish will look like...
Here is the crochet thread and needles I am using to complete this stitching of the applique or button hole stitching...
These chenille needles I found in my deep stash when I couldn't find the John James Chenille needles but these work as the shaft is as big or bigger than the thread it is carrying...
I am using a size 18 or the middle one in the packet above.  And a close up look at the chenille and the crochet thread below :)
And here is all the layers of this onion of a quilt I am making.... 80 blocks needed ... 40  done already and 15 to button hole stitch remain ... 
THEN I will have 1 more batch of nearly 20 to do this to again!  So stick with me as I keep other stuff mixed in too! :)

I have also started an undercover project that eventually will be hand quilted... I am cutting squares out for this pattern for my honey a birthday or just after that surprise quilt!  He requested one and doubt he will use it until next winter so no rush actually but can you tell I am excited about this????  Connie sent me this pattern this week...
Here is a close up of their quilt made with plaids.... this quilt will be made with tan fabric and 1800 reproduction fabrics!  Those are his fave and I have a stash that needs straightening up so I will hit both areas with cutting out this quilt ....
It will measure up to 60 x 72 with 80 blocks made....
That is a rough draft of my plan in my head... I do not plan on doing the hst outer border but instead this will give me room to add my own stitching on a tan plain border :)

Linking this fun Handy projects to my Sunday Stopover at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Stitching Sunday group HERE <<<<< Come on over and see what everyone is up to hand work wise.... or join in the fun with your own accomplishments this week or even this month... this is just 2 days after today left in the month!  Wow that was fast!!!!

Rick and Molly 
A beautiful quilt Connie just finished binding for a client... she had this one long armed beautifully too!
Above was fresh outta the dryer... don't you wanna just snuggle up in it???

Have a wonderful Sunday and week ahead my friends.... See ya Joyfully in February!








Sunday, January 22, 2023

Feeling Joyful and Productive in January 2023!

 Happy Sunday my friends!  Hope your week has been a great one and full of accomplishments and joyful events as well!

We have had a busy week here at the cabin...  my honey filled the dumpster in a 2 week time frame !!!  All by himself too !!!  He wouldn't let me help as he was afraid I'd get hurt or fall on the steep hill in our side yard... so I entertained myself keeping track of Molly and keeping the coffee flowing and the food available and ready at a moments notice for protein and energy for my honey :)
The dumpster folks were excellent if you live in the North Georgia or sw North Carolina area... they were prompt with drop off and pick up and clear about what was ok to use this dumpster for and what was not allowed.  So we have 1 load to go to our main dump of small appliances and things that didn't fit their requirements to still get rid of but we can do that anytime! lol

Since the pick up of the dumpster Rick and I have enjoyed catching up on rest and relaxation... nice not having to be at his beck and call right now for sure!!!!  Rick also started deep cleaning the back porch in prep for pressure washing it!  The man is a machine for prepping this cabin for sale.... just look at this....
As for me... I wasn't sitting on my laurels even though my first priority was the needs of my honey and our pup! lol

Last Sunday between slow stitching I finished the wallet and have given it a good test run this week running errands and such and I love it!!!!

The wallet was a fun make even though I forget parts and have to remind myself from the directions and vids how to do certain parts...  The corduroy and the fun quilting cotton I used on the outside of the wallet is awesome... This is my 5th time make this wallet wristlet... and this my be my fave... if not the butterfly one I made my mom is :)  At any rate... the last one has been retired and the purse/wallet factory has been packed up for any more purse making in this cabin.... Hurrah!

So what have I really spent my time on this week???  Trying to get a handle on finishing my portion of the fusion blocks while Connie is still in a generous mood to finish the outer rings of crochet on each one of the 40 left.

Here are 20 squares I am sewing together with batting centers.... I have turned the ones in the bottom left and they are waiting to be stitched shut....
Like this one I am sharing on the right!  Next I go back and make water soluble marks on the top side of each block and will machine quilt them...
So now the 20 look like this....
Next I mark 20 little lines on each side to mark where the buttonhole stitch will go in the crochet cotton using a chenille #18-#22 needles to hand stitch those.... These butthole stitches or applique stitches will give Connie EXACTLY the right number of base stitches to do the crochet as in the first picture of these blocks in this post :)
I am very happy to the 20 to this point.  This and my cross stitch work will be my focus on this Slow Stitching Sunday... Here is the progress on the corrugated paper cross stitch project. 
So whatever your cute hands are working on today come on over to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitchers and share what you are up to in 1 photo or from your blog or Instagram :)

Above is Colorstreet's Morganite Delight!  I really enjoy the strength Colorstreet nail polish strips give my fingernails and it lasts 2 weeks or longer unless I get tired of the color!  Do you wear nail polish... have you ever tried the strips instead of the traditional polish???

Have a stellar week ahead!





Sunday, January 15, 2023

New project / Old project .... Done Projects coming Soon!

Hi There & Welcome to my blog....

Today I have TONs of stuff to share but I want you to know first.... YOU MATTER!

Around here it has been a busy week!
My honey has finished the side porch on the cabin....
The outbuilding is all set too...
Now to finish cleaning out both and getting ready to sell!

In the meantime I got a passel of fun stuff from a quilty friend who wanted to downsize some of Jenny Doan's MSQC Christmas box and she refused to let me pay ... even for shipping to NC from VA!!!!
Then my friend Crystal stopped in to pick up the things I made from her late husbands' shirts.. she left all this behind!
She said I was her Christmas angel and all this gifts I made from her husbands clothes made her feel joy... the card had a personal thanks in it and the Walmart gift card was a real blessing too 💕

By the end of this week the joy sign found a way to be decor in our home...
On the fireplace mantle!

And the angel will be a part of my décor in the new home God is preparing for us in Kentucky!

Meanwhile I have been building my wristlet wallet that I cut out and prepped in autumn... now in January...
I am a little further than this and should finish it today between runs of careful cross stitching on this perforated paper cross stitch project!  Here is my progress :)
For Slow Stitching Sunday THIS will be my focus and what I share over at Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching Linky Party HERE <<<<   It will open in another window when you click to go to Kathy's blog and linky party too!  

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that my scissor dangle broke whilst using them doing my cross stitch...
Well the maker fixed me right up!  She had my dangle fixed and back to me in record time!  I am sew glad to have met such a talented bead and jewel handler on Etsy... |
I am glad to have my dangle back on my embroidery scissors now too... also makes them harder to lose!  Do you have scissors for each job ???  I certainly do!

We got some snow starting on Friday and ending Saturday leaving us with about 1" of snow!

That put the outdoor work of cleaning out the outbuilding into our rented dumpster to a stop!  It will start back up before they come pick it up by Friday :)

Kathy talks about arthritis in hands and pain when stitching on her post.... my mom got me these at Walmart... they work great too leaving my fingers out for stitching and thimble wearing while supporting my joints :)
I hope you have a wonderful week... thanks for visiting and make sure you leave room for JOY every day!











Sunday, January 8, 2023

Preparing to sell our cabin & sewing away the days too!

 Are you are resolution maker???!

Or a word maker???? Did you do either for 2023... would love to hear your conclusion on which or neither or something different in the comments below.... I love my word... Joyful... and ponder on it while I am sewing.

Speaking of sewing... I won some sharp shears by LDH on Sewsweetness.com Sunday night show give away a couple weeks back...
They trimmed this bed runner I machine quilted with wavy organic lines too!  It was so smooth and easy to use these new shears too!
After I was done with machine quilting....
I sewed the binding to the front.... very little remained of the 5 strips I cut!
And took a photo of the front...
And the back side...
Then sat down to sew down the binding to the back side after trimmed and ready to roll!
80" x 20 " takes a minute to hand sew the binding down....
So it took me a few days and washing and drying occurred above and it is ready to gift... I just have a pillow insert to add to my friends cache of gifts I made her from her husbands clothing items she could spare!

Around this hand-ee project I have been cross stitching on corrugated paper!

I had a few questions last week and thought y'all may have questions too... feel free to ask them :D

Here is the corrugated paper up close...
It has flex but not tons of it like fabric does... it feels a little thicker than cardstock and comes with all the holes punched in it!
Here is the little needle that comes with this kit and others by Satsuma Street company...
You can easily do the cross stitching and the future beading to come with this one needle... though it is tough to get two threads of DMC floss into the eye at the same time! lol
Above you see all the layout that came in the bag.... Now look what happened to my scissor fob! 😢
But no worries... the fob has been sent back to the maker to be fixed... praise God she is still making them as this was made special for me by her!!!

I am linking all the hand stitches I have taken this week to Kathy's Quilts... Slow Sunday Stitchers HERE <<<<  It WILL open in a new window too :)

My honey has been kicking butt and taking names prepping our home and yard for a new family to use...

Decluttering and packing up the living room... AKA staging has started!!!

After the side porch was mostly complete we called for a dumpster for the pressure treated lumber to go into among other trash items that were left from when we bought this cabin over 2 years ago.... we want it to be ready to move in and enjoy for future owners :)
The porch lumber remains alone filled half the dumpster!
Here is the AAAALmost finished side porch...
My honey still wants to add some extra support to the back of the walkway to make sure it is stable and it already is but he has his own goals! lol

Abd here is our plan for the outbuilding (I got this shot standing on the highest corner of that side porch :)
I also found a new pair of shoes that fit well!  On Mercari!!!!
I have bunions and arthritis in my feet joints from so many years being a nurse and heredity too...
They are sooo cozy though :)  They are suede with comfy non skid soles!!!!

Did you get anything for yourself with Christmas cash or as a New Years bonus for you ???
Planning my blog giveaway as we pack up everything we can this week.... can you think of something you would love to win???  Would love to hear your ideas!!!!!





2 week Update... Sew much to share!

I apologize for taking off last Sunday blogging with y'all but after a very busy week ... I was relaxing and remaining SEIZURE FREE sinc...