Where to Begin

It has been almost two months since I blogged.........for countless reasons, none of them bad. So much life happening......memories being made, business, and some plain old lethargy. The longer I have waited, the harder it has been to restart. Where do I begin, how can I possibly catch up?? Sunday night as I was waiting to fall asleep I pondered this. The answer was pretty simple.  You just start again. You don't worry about what you missed.....you can add it whenever....but you just need to start. So here I am.

A few weeks ago we (actually it was me who decided, but don't tell Blake) that Buddy seemed depressed. He wasn't  playing and spent most of his time in his bed. He was accustomed to being around other foster pups, and our old ladies wouldn't play with him. I bet you know where this is going. Three weeks ago someone offered us a seven week old cocker spaniel puppy and the rest is history.  Buddy is a great big brother, and he and little sister Daisy play until they are completely worn out everyday.  These are early pictures.....newer ones later, of course, if I can get her still.

In February Christi and Rob renewed their wedding vows with Robert and Sara Ashley as their attendants.   They had their service in the same church where they were married and still attend today, followed by a great dessert reception.  It was beautiful, sweet and full of love. The bride was gorgeous and her groom handsome.....perhaps even more so than the first time.  Afterwards they invited extended family to spend time with them in the North GA mountains.

In March "Can't Never Could" had their first fundraiser. It was both successful and inspirational. A lot of work, but worth it.  Visit CNC here ( http://www.cantnevercouldinc.com/ )and be sure to click on the top video. It was produced for the Marketing Department of Piedmont Hospital and tells the story of their cancer journey and the beginning of CNC.  

Rob's March MRI was the best yet, praise God! This photo is of Rob and UGA's football coach, Mark Richt, made last week when the NHS tennis team visited UGA.

Robert made the Varsity tennis team as a freshman and has really been enjoying it.

Christopher and Dillon celebrated April birthdays on Sunday at Chili's. Dillon got his Learner's Driving Permit.....Yikes ;-)

Matt, Ashley and kids are spending Spring Break at the beach.

As for Blake and me, we are good.  Happily busy, enjoying our retirement and being able to choose the things we do for the most part. Yesterday was my birthday. I will spend most of the week celebrating with various dear friends and family. I am blessed beyond measure.

Will follow sometime soon with some stitching "catch up".

GRATITUDES
Spring Rain
Dogwoods blooming
Family and Friends
Doggies


Take care,
Jennie

Comfort & Joy

Block 2 of Comfort & Joy is done except for button eyes for the snowman, which will come after quilting.  I love this quilt.  It is so warm, inviting and fun.  I can hardly wait for the next block set!

The embroidery for Mr. Bluebird is done for February, and I hope to get the block constructed and ready for embellishment to day.

Sara Ashley and Dillon had their Winter Middle School Dance last weekend.  It is hard for me to believe how they are growing up!!!

We are anticipating an ice storm here in Georgia.  So far we are good with minimal ice on some trees and power intact.  We pray this continues.  Our children all live in other parts of the county and they have been without power for several hours.  Hopefully this is only temporary.  We are staying put here.....we have food, flashlights, lots of quilts and our doggies.  We are set :-)

GRATITUDES:

A warm house.

Watching Buddyboo get braver each day.

Talking to my friends worldwide with the mere tap of fingers.

Take care,

Jennie

Country Threads BOM 2014

Recently I was gifted with a lovely set of blocks from last year's Country Threads BOM by quilting friend Debi.  This year I thought that it would be fun to participate.  Lots of wonderful, scrappy blocks; free patterns; great stash busters.  In this particular BOM you make two blocks each month.  They are the same block, but in different sizes and with different scrappy fabrics of your choice.  At first I had intended to be totally scrappy, but in the end I went with planned scrappy.  I have been wanting to make a brown and red quilt for awhile, so this quilt offered the perfect opportunity.......and it is scrappy and all from stash.

January BOM; sizes 20" & 10":

February's blocks; 12" & 6":

The background fabrics range from lights to golds.  Most of the fabrics are from my reproduction fabrics stash.  They were both fun and challenging to construct.

GRATITUDES:

Living close enough to be able to spend time with our children and grandchildren.

Doggie snores.

Lip balm.

Take care,

Jennie

Quilt Doodle's 2014 BOM

I always say that I AM NOT going to do more than one Block of the Month a year.  This year started with good intentions.  I would make Comfort & Joy with Debi.  She is a great enabler.....um, encourager :-)) and I would surely be able to finish it.  Then I saw the CQ Journal BOM and it just called my name.  And then Quilt Doodle and Country Threads were offering free BOMs, what better way to use up stash with free patterns.  Need I say more????

At the beginning of February I had done nary a stitch on the Quilt Doodle blocks.  And they are so darned cute, so I had to get busy, I just couldn't pass them by.

January's Row of Snowmen......with no eyes.  Buttons to be added after quilting.

 Close up of fabrics.

 And February's Cozy Cabin.

So, now I am up to date on two (I will show you the other one tomorrow) of the five BOMs I have committed to.  Where is my brain?  And all of those UFOs##*!!  Oh, my.

GRATITUDES:

Optimism.

Sunshine.

A tidy sewing room after a whirlwind weekend of stitching.

Take care,

Jennie

Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2014

I have always had a passion for Crazy Quilting and many years ago I pursued it avidly.  Somehow, though, I had moved on to other things and left those projects behind.  At the first of the year I saw a CQ challenge, the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2014 (see the button on my sidebar), and decided that this was the perfect opportunity to get back into the swing of CQing.........with little thought as to what that project might be.  I knew that it needed to be something that would hold my attention for a year.  And I have always wanted to make a CQ using quilting cottons with washable embellishments (my friend, Sandy, was the inspiration for this).  But, somehow, I just couldn't narrow it down.  So, I busied myself with other projects and let the deadline for January slip up on me.  I finally came up with this.....

Embroidered bluebirds (one of my favorite things, as you can see on my Pinterest folder Mr. Bluebird on My Shoulder) will be my theme.

Using these fabrics that I had stashed away for another project that no longer interests me......

Resulting in my January block.

It took longer to stitch the block than I had remembered, but I enjoyed it.  Maybe I was just out of practice.  And I had to dig deep into an upstairs closet to find the embellishments I wanted to use.  My requirement is that the whole thing will be washable, so I am going for simpler embellishments and buttons.

GRATITUDES:

A new vacuum cleaner that actually picks up the Buddyboo hair.

Sweet doggie bellyrubs.

The fresh smell of a clean house.

Take care,

Jennie

Nines & Vines, 2014 Progress

Way back in this post of January 2013 (several posts down this page) I talked about giving Nines & Vines, a project from a 2004 AP&Q Magazine, another chance.  At that time I did get all of the blocks pieced......period, end of story.  So this January I drug it back out, still liked it, and got busy.  Blocks assembled, borders added, backing and binding done and ready to go to be quilted.  Woohoo.  Not a finish yet, but on the way.

I am a little disappointed in what I have completed for January....really, I had hoped to get more done (meaning to finished stage).

Here is a summary:

1.  Binding for Holiday Inn (UFO finished)

2.  Binding for Amish Stars (UFO finished)

3.  By Thy Hands January Mat (finished)

4.  Nines & Vines to flimsy stage with backing and binding made

5.  CQP2014 Block completed

6.  Comfort & Joy BOM January completed

7.  Pattern Play Baby Quilt to flimsy stage with backing and binding made

8.  Churn Dash top to flimsy stage with backing and binding made

9. 60 Leaders & Enders 9 patch blocks (see below)

I had planned to machine quilt the baby quilt by now.  And since Heartstrings and QOV didn't meet this month, I failed to make any charity blocks.  I have two quilts at the quilters and three ready to go, which will end up being finishes at some point this year, no hurry.

I am participating in Pat Sloan's (see sidebar) and Country Threads UFO finishing challenges. Last month at Country Threads, it was number 10, which was my Amish Stars binding and it is done.  This month it was number 1.....which was Nines & Vines to flimsy stage.....but since I have already gotten that done, I am going to add trimming up half of my scrap bin Bonnie Hunter style.  Here is where it stands as of today despite my considerable efforts over the past month or so.

Another reason I am feeling a little discouraged is because I actually counted my quilting UFOs.  Good golly, Miss Molly!!!!  I am not saying how many, but it is a lot.  And that does not include any other craft UFOs, nor does it include PIGs or kits.  So, I think I should close down the computer for now and get busy!!!  I really plan to make a dent in these, even though I know I can't finish them all (and may not want to, but I will decide that as I go).

GRATITUDES:

Projects to work on.

Goals.

Time.

Take care,

Jennie

Winter in the South

I know that everyone has read about the Southern snow storm......all two inches of it, which successfully shut down the city of Atlanta.  Well, we live in the country, have a four wheel drive truck and Gator, are retired and don't have to go anywhere we don't want to as a rule.  All of that being said, we thoroughly enjoyed our snow since the last one was three or more years ago.  We stayed home, played with the dogs, I stitched and we just took it easy.  Today the temperature was 70 degrees and I sat on the back porch.  Such is winter in the South.

In keeping with the snow, here is one of my finishes for January.  It is By Thy Hands January BOM by Buttermilk Basin.  Pretty cute and pretty appropriate.  It is a nice combination of piecing and wool appliqué.  By the way, I did this wool appliqué by machine and I was good with the way it turned out.

Here are three of the grands playing in the snow.  A rare treat for them!

Macy, Sara Ashley and Jackson

(above and below)

And around the house.

GRATITUDES:

The beautiful, but blessedly rare Southern snow storm.

Quiet time at home.

Warm clothes.

Take care,

Jennie

A Winner!!

I am so excited.  I have entered an occasional Blog Giveaway over the years, but have never won a thing.  Last week I had an email from Becky(Civil War Quilter) of the Etsy Shop, Orphans of War.  I had won her pattern, Civil War Images, and a set of precut images from CW prints to go in the center of each block on the quilt.

Thank you Becky!!!  I am thrilled.

Last week Pinewood Studios opened their first studio in the United States just a few miles away in Fayette County.  If you aren't familiar with them, they are the producers of James Bond and Harry Potter movies, located in the UK.  SIL Rob's company, Estes Landscape, was responsible for all of the landscape on the property…..a great honor.  

He and Christi attended the Grand Opening, and if I do say so, they were looking sharp.

I realized as I was scrolling through family photos that I had never posted SIL Matt's birthday photo from back in November.  Not sure how that happened, but here are he and Ashley on his birthday.

GRATITUDES:

Sunshine and blue skies.

Blogland.

Kids with good work ethics.

Take care,

Jennie

After all these years…...

Got the binding on Amish Stars, circa 1990.  Fabric came from a quilt shop, but is obviously poly/cotton blend.  I remember searching everywhere for solids.  Some of them are drapery sateens.  It languished in a box for a long, long time.  Funny, some things from years ago are so dated, but I still love this quilt.

After Christmas I was in the mood to do something really simple…..and I wanted it to be from stash.

I had bought this older Kim Diehl stripe at Red Hen Quilt Shop a few months ago and decided to use it as a border and to draw the other fabrics from.  I also decided to do a simple 8" Churn Dash block with plain setting squares.  Here is the result.  Tonight I will make binding and backing and it is ready for the quilter!

On Sunday we celebrated Christi's 43rd birthday.  I cannot believe that I have a child that age.  She chose Chicken Enchiladas, black beans, rice and Mexicorn for dinner with my six layer white cake with chocolate frosting and ice cream for dessert.  We were stuffed!!

GRATITUDES:

Birthday celebrations.

Oldies but goodies.

Loving from our silly new doggie.

Take care,

Jennie

Blessings

We are so blessed today. Rob had his second MRI following his second cycle of chemotherapy. The results were "Great, clear, clean". We are so thankful. You can read about it on their Caring Bridge if you would like. The link is to the right on my blog.

This is a photo of their family on their recent trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

We have also been blessed with a new family member. Buddy was picked up by the local animal shelter over a year ago, extremely frightened and timid, with a healed fractured and deformed left front leg for which he had never received treatment. He spent the next year in foster are with a wonderful family who loved him dearly. But he never found the right Forever Home, perhaps because of his fear or his disability. When I started thinking of adding a younger dog to our mix, I went online to the local rescue groups, and there was his sweet face. The rest is history. His foster mom thought we were the right family for him, at last, and we knew we wanted him. Despite his old injury, he is totally mobile and can run like the wind. Still quite timid, but boy does he love some loving.

Take care,

Jennie

Comfort & Joy

Because of the positive influence of friend Debi, Block 1 of Comfort & Joy is done!

I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out. The appliqué is fusible (my favorite Soft Fuse by Stacy Michell) with black machine buttonhole stitch. With Debi's encouragement, I learned to use the Flying Geese ruler that has been in my possession for a very long time......what a difference that made.

It will be nice to have a night in my own bed tonight, then back to babysitting the grands for a couple more nights. DD1 and DSIL say that the weather in the Dominican Republic is lovely, accompanied by photos of them lounging by the pool......really?????  And we are freezing here in the Deep South.  Honestly, though, I am happy they could make this trip and more wonderful memories.

GRATITUDES:

Warm gloves.

Seat Warner's in our car.

No frozen pipes.

Take care,
Jennie

On my way....

To getting my monthly list under control....despite the fact that I will lose most of this week on the stitching front while I babysit Robert & Sara Ashley so that their parents can enjoy a relaxing week in the Dominican Republic.

The baby quilt is ready to layer and quilt.  I think it is pretty cute.  The pattern is called "Pattern Play", but I can't recall who the designer is.

What makes this quilt so cute is this darling Michael Miller focal fabric.

On Friday quilty friend Debi came over and we started working on our BOM, Comfort and Joy by Silver Thimble.  We both had this pattern, both loved it, so it was a perfect choice for us to work on together.  We pulled fabrics, cut the backgrounds for all of the appliqué blocks and fabrics for Block 1, the cabin in the upper left corner.  All of the piecing is done on mine and I am ready to start the appliqué.  Debi, on the other hand, had hers completely done yesterday.  She is incredible!!!

 Fabrics for Block 1

Last year Debi participated in the Country Threads 2013 BOM.  The plan was to make a 6" and 12" block of each pattern.  Debi thought you were supposed to make two of each.  Guess who she gave the extra set to???? Am I a lucky girl, or what? 

This is Debi's completed top:

I have made the setting pinwheel and 123 half square triangles to set my blocks.  Hope to get that done next week.


Country Threads is starting a new BOM for 2014 if you would like to join in.

GRATITUDES:

Warm clothes.

Sleeping late.

Clear blue skies.

Take care,

Jennie

Welcome 2014

2103 was a year of blessings and challenges for our family.  We learned a great deal about the value of life, loving one another and living each day, one at a time, treasuring each irregardless of what that day brought.  Some days were very difficult, some quite rewarding.  I can't say that I am not ready to see the New Year roll in.  I am more prepared for whatever God has in store for us.  I pray that you are looking forward to a year of grace and love, also.

On the quilting front........I have a 2014 Finish!!!  Woohoo!!!  Granted, it is only a binding, but is nice to have a UFO finish at the top of my 2014 list.

This is Holiday Inn, which was part of Jo's (Morton) Little Women Club back in 2009 (see this post).
I always liked it and I don't know why I didn't finish it.  Now I don't have to wonder.

I always thought that the wools in the center of this quilt actually glow.

In the spirit of the New Year, I reviewed my "Finishes" list from 2013.  There was a surprising total of 65 finishes of various types of needlework....some large, some small.  And there were actually 13 UFO finishes, along with lots of charity items.....both of which make me feel pleased.  My 2012 total was less that half of that, 31 projects.  I hope to keep up the momentum for this year.

The monthly TO DO list seemed to work well for me, so I will use it again this year, but with a somewhat different approach.  Last year it seemed that I had so many varying items on it at the beginning of the month that it was overwhelming.  This year I will start with just a few things, and add more as I accomplish the ones on the list.  And that doesn't mean that others might not get worked on without finishing what was on the list.  You know how that goes!

January's list:

I do hope to focus on using up stash and finishing more UFOs, though not exclusively. Going through my stash reminded me of the many great projects that I have on hand.  Things I really want to do.  I guess that cleaning the sewing room accomplished more than revamping my sewing space!

GRATITUDES:

A new year with a clean slate.

Traditional NY's dinner of pork, collards, black eyed peas and cornbread.

A 3# weight loss when I went to the doctor on Tuesday....how did that happen during the holiday season?

Take care,

Jennie