Garden Tour

Today a fellow veteran Master Gardener couple invited us to tour their garden while their rhododendron were in full bloom. What a treat. Thank you Ron and Carol Stephens!!!

In addition to the rhododendron, there were so many other spectacular blooms to admire.

Did I say inspiring????

Mattie is now our largest dog....at a little over 5 months. She, Buddy and Daisy are loving their yard time.

Have a beautiful weekend....and

Take care,

Jennie

On a Mission

The events of life since the first of the year have thrown me far behind on my stitching and hooking goals. That being said, I wouldn't change a thing, but now it is time to attempt to play catch up.

In between gardening and family events, I had been able to squeeze a little prep work in. Allietaire is cut and ready to finish. I have cut quite a few Quilty 365 circles, though I am behind on stitching them.

Last night I decided to take advantage of what I had prepped and work on the Sarah Fielke BOM. First, though, I had to make the second month's 12" block. This required me making templates for some of the pieces.....something I hadn't done in many years. It was a bit time consuming, but the block was done before I went to bed last night. Not perfect, but pretty good, and measured out perfectly.

Here it is with month 1's Churn Dash.

Today I decided to make the 22 remaining six inch stars. Sarah said that you could spread the construction of these out over several months, but I had them all cut and just decided to go for it.

Not the greatest photo, but you get the idea. These colors are so out of the box for me, but I am having fun with them. Like playing with crayons.

I have the applique setting blocks prepped and ready to stitch, so will try to work on them this week, too. Month 3 consists of two fairly simple 12" applique blocks, so maybe I will catch up before Month 4 arrives at the end of this month.

On Thursday I started working towards my 50 Intern hours for Master Gardener by helping prepare for the annual plant sale. 

We moved 6000 plants from the greenhouse to the sale site and set them up. It was fun, and I learned a lot, but have to admit, these old bones were weary at the end of the day.

I have been meaning to post this photo of the kids with Denise Jackson at the Can't Never Could Grey Matters Fundraiser.

The event was a huge success, selling out at 430 seats. Lots of hard work, but it really paid off. We will be able to help a lot of people with the money that was raised.

The way I am greeted when I come home smelling like someone else's dog.

Take care,

Jennie

Crazies and Such

Today was our first Sew Crazy day in quite awhile. Life seems to get in the way at times.

It is always fun to have show and tell. Debi never disappoints with her amazing finishes.

This patriotic quilt is gorgeous and the fabrics are soft and sweet. Love it!

And Debi's favorite subject matter...beehives. So, so cute.

Sandra shared her first quilt, made many years ago for her son who recently passed away.

Her new embroidery machine has been keeping her busy with this incredible Christmas wallhanging....

And this amazing little basket..

I am still not getting a lot done on the stitching front.  I did finish all of the Quilty 365 March blocks and have prepped most of the April blocks....even stitched four. Trying really hard not to get too far behind.

Choosing the fabrics is such fun!

Got the stems appliqued onto the 8 1/2 Sarah Fielke connector blocks....

And the leaves are prepped and ready to stitch.

Rob took Robert and three friends to the G Day game on Saturday. Each of these young men are HS Juniors and are considering GA in their college prospects. No one better to show them around than Rob, who loves his alma mater.

A message from your dog...

So difficult, but so right.

Take Care,

Jennie

Tennessee Rug Retreat Throwdown

Another great Tennessee Rug Retreat has come and gone. It was such fun and everyone accomplished so much. There is just something about being with a group of hooking friends that is not only fun, but so inspiring. Great camaraderie.

Without further ado, here is our throwdown...

Becky's bunny....designed by our very own Vicky Dickerson.  She started this and finished it at retreat!

Also Becky's....it would have been finished, but she ran out of wool.  This runner is so cushy to step on with its 1" hand torn strips.

All of the above pieces are Vicky's....her own designs, started and finished at retreat. She plans to use the one on the bottom left as a box topper and the other two on stools. She actually finished the bunny before retreat was over.

Katie continues to work on her birdhouse s....original design. She has limited hooking time, but has set a goal of 2017 as a finish date.

Rhonda started and completed this original sheep mat while at retreat...In a #3 cut!!

Rhonda also brought her completed panther to share with us. She worked for a long time on this beauty.

Nancy came close to completing her pineapple. She used some gorgeous Sari ribbon in this.

Despite feeling bad, Kathie made great progress on her beautiful rug.

Sheri's Boney is ready for binding, and she moved onto these wonderfully primitive penny rugs designed by Cee Rafuse of Diary of a Rugmaker...

Deste finished off all of those tongues and worked on a rich gold-brown background.

Nancy only lacks a few more berries completing this beautiful rug. I love how each border is different.

I am so glad to finally have the binding done on Bible Friends.

Then I moved on to Nancy's Baskets and made pretty good progress with it. The original was a 1930s rug, and I am attempting to replicate the feel of the original...outlining in white, using flat black for the background and those 30s pinks, blues, greens and yellows. Although I enjoyed working on it, I will pack it away again for awhile. I have a goal...to finish another rug before Caraway Rug School in June. I will show you when I pull it out, which had better be soon.

Happy 17th birthday to dear Roxie!!! She is loving her new birthday bed.

Take care,

Jennie