A TRIP

Yesterday, we were loaded up and headed north-goodbye for a bit to our Florida!

And hello to north east Georgia to see my daughter and family!  It's been just over 2 years since we made the 8 hour drive!

It is exciting to see the first glimpses of Atlanta,

but the winding traffic lanes full of vehicles becomes a lot more nerve-grinding instead of fun very quickly!

We made it safely and are now settled in the the renovated basement/addition to daughter's home which now includes an apartment for guests!  

And yes, Lena made her first    L   O   N   G  trip with us!  

She did great!  

And there are birds outside the window for her to enjoy and flowers for me to learn--she has hellebores!

 

WELCOME JUNE!

When the rains come in their season, the rain lilies bring forth their blooms!

They are a cluster of tangled long leaves most of the year until the rains come and wake up the bulbs.  They are a tall plant and bloom for a month.  They even have a lovely smell!

 

PLACEMATS

The new Fat Quarter fabrics came from my local quilt store

 and I sat right down and stitched the project immediately! 

 A cottage look for red/white and blue table settings!

I like the look for a good summer celebration 

for our country's 250th birthday!

 

AN IDEA

I'm not thrilled with the boring patio door covering in my studio.  Once I saw the gorgeous pieced curtains that Kate of The Last Homely House made, I knew what I would love to see in my studio!

There is a gridded stabilizer that I thought could help me in the ambitious piecing project.

I have been collecting 2 1/2" squares for a long time and decided to play with the pieces.  I  can press them to the interfacing so that I can keep them in place for actual piecing.  This panel is 48" x 72" which will  mean I will need two to cover the patio doors.  This won't be a quick project but it is nice to have one that I can savor for a long time!

 

PLEASING COLORS

One of the lilies have bloomed.  I was hoping it was one of the tiger lilies I brought from NY but it didn't come up this year. 

I loaded and quilted a small lap quilt, another one to add to the donation pile.  It was fun to see it turn out so nicely!

I took a few tries but got a photo to show all of the crinkly after it was washed and dried!  I have another two quilts like this to do.  Maybe I will get another one done today and tomorrow!

 

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

The boy's quilt is finished and even washed and dried!

I quilted it with a puzzle piece and some loops to echo the edge fabric.  I will send the two quilts off in the mail today!

 

TO THE REPAIR SHOP

My sewing machine shows this message every few seconds which makes it very hard to do any stitching so I took it to my repairman.  It was an hour drive there and then another one to home so the trip was tiring.  The good news is he is pretty sure it is only a mechanical problem and not a hard drive one

which is encouraging!

I finished this C2C (corner to corner) blanket using a DK yarn

 using a G hook;  it is 40" x 48".

The Granny Square blanket is almost out of yarn but more is on its way!  I am going to start stitching this by turning it after every round because I read it will help to keep it from going wonky.  

We will see!

Just a few blocks from the sewing machine store is a WalMart so I stopped in to buy some more Mandala yarn in DK but the only cake they had was the one I already used for a blanket so I opted for this kind which is a worsted weight one.

I used a much bigger hook, an I hook (5.5mm) , which gives

a nice drape to this new C2C blanket!

 

AFTERMATH

The quilting is completed on the Quilt for Kids girl's quilt--

I used the Ginger Snap E2E pantograph from Urban Elementz.

The quilt is even washed and dried and ready to ship out 

as soon as the boy's quilt is ready, too.

I did load it on the frame so it will soon join the return package.

The rest of the day I spent doing laundry and remaking beds after seeing my West Coast family members off.  

 

MEMORIAL DAY

The panel wall hanging was finished in time to hang outside our door to give a patriotic greeting to all guests!

 

My oldest son, Jared.

We had to say goodbyes yesterday; 

 it was wonderful to be with them.

It's hard to see them go especially when I know it will be a long time before another visit happens!  

Seattle (Tacoma) is a long way away!  

FAMILY GATHERING EVENT

We swam, ate and laughed and told stories...

a wonderful family gathering day.

The Patriarch and his sons!  

 

SPENDING THE WEEKEND WITH A VETERAN!

This grandma is very happy--I'm spending the day with several of my grands--a great gathering with burgers and all the fixings befitting the weekend.

And my Seattle sweeties are here and it is wonderful!!!!

 

STUDIO RESULTS

The big winner is the completed panel. 

 See why I fell in love with this border?!

I finished the quilting on the small for-me panel 

and just need to get the binding on it!

I added a few more string blocks.

And loaded the girl's Quilt for Kids onto the frame!

 

MAKING IT MINE

Paint by number ship- BEFORE 

and AFTER!  

WOOD ON WEDNESDAY

A Bradford Pear 1/2 log was loaded onto the lathe.

I had drawn a 6" circle to guide with with how much wood to turn away.

It didn't lake long to get the outside of the bowl turned, 

sanded and the finish applied!

The next day, I turned away the center of the piece of wood 

to shape a sweet little bowl!

You will note that between the picture above and this one,

 there is now a new design element added to the shape of the bowl!  The knot on the side blew out.

 I sanded the 'hole' and moved on.

Soon, the sanding and finish were completed and there is a new bowl in the world!  6" x 4"

 

A BIT OF CARPENTER WORK

We started yesterday out with a bang!  

Bill hefted the large sectional up and out of the way so I could finish the baseboards!  Remember I did the rest of the house several years ago (2021) but couldn't move the big stuff at the time and did what I could reach but the time finally happened to get the whole job done!  

I worked behind one section and when I had finished, 

Bill moved the other half out of the way-

and I finished that side!  I will note, the nail gun was a huge time saver and I wish I had one when I did the other 8 rooms and 2 halls but hey, now this room is really done and

 It was also good to get to clean under the sectional 

and find all kinds of kid toys and cat toys! lol

As long as I was in the sprucing up mode, I spray painted this old table that had lost its coloring.

I even cleaned both sides of the heavy glass top and set it back in place!  Overall, it felt good to get the room put back in order and know that it is done deal!

Now the only place in the house that needs finishing, is the wall behind my huge and heavy king-size bed/frame

 but that will be saved for another day!