A Special Christmas Gift

Hubby and I decided that this little one would be the perfect gift for us..............

This photo was taken the day we picked him up.........

His name is Dakota, we picked him up the week before Christmas, here he is on Christmas at almost 11 weeks.

















Wishing all my blog friends a blessed New Year!

Saying goodbye.........

This week our sweet shepherd died, he has been a part of our lives for the past 9 1/2 years and will leave a large hole in our family............he was always guarding the yard, alerting us when someone or something was nearby, thank you sweet boy for being our loving companion. ❥

A Dog for Jesus

I wish someone had given Jesus a dog.

As loyal and loving as mine.

To sleep by His manger and gaze in His eyes

And adore Him for being divine.

As our Lord grew to manhood His faithful dog,

Would have followed Him all through the day.

While He preached to the crowds and made the sick well

And knelt in the garden to pray.

It is sad to remember that Christ went away.

To face death alone and apart.

With no tender dog following close behind,

To comfort its Master’s Heart.

And when Jesus rose on that Easter morn,

How happy He would have been,

As His dog kissed His hand and barked it’s delight,

For The One who died for all men.

Well, the Lord has a dog now, I just sent Him mine,

The old pal so dear to me.

And I smile through my tears on this first day alone,

Knowing they’re in eternity.

Day after day, the whole day through,

Wherever my road inclined,

Four feet said, “Wait, I’m coming with you!”

And trotted along behind.

– Rudyard Kipling

A Little Stitching

I spent a few hours stitching at Footprints Quilt Shoppe yesterday morning, I am getting closer to my goal to get the last panel of my Over the River.  Of course one cannot go into a quilt shop without looking at all the beautiful fabrics and completed projects, here's what came home with me...........


Twelve fat quarters of  'Aged Muslin' from Marcus Fabrics.

From the sale rack 1 yard each of some fun fabric for donation pillowcases.   I also found a "free" copy of Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel, this is a book that I have been searching for since a fellow blogger, Debbie,  mentioned it on her blog, I enjoy reading older books, interesting what you can learn.







Thankfully, we are having a rainy day here one of at least two, wish it would be a whole week, we desperately need rain in my area of the state.

Making Progress

Making progress with winter yard prep, crossed off several items today.  Tomorrow is going to be another great day here in Maine so I should be able to cross off more of the items on my "to do" list.  Needless to say the only quilt related thing I have done today is to sneak a peak at the latest edition of Primitive Quilts and Projects while enjoying a little sip...........

 I hope to share some quilt related posts soon..............

Sewing Soon

Walked past my sewing room this morning, love the warm glow from the sun and leaves............

Today the temperatures are going to be perfect for working on more outside winter prep, then soon I will be hibernating in my sewing room.  Even during the winter months it is a bright, sunny and very pleasant place to spend the day!  Off to get some chores done...........

Busy, busy, busy

I know it has been 10 days since my last post, but I didn't think you would be interested in more painting and staining photos as well as a few cleaning photos.........so after next Monday things should be back to normal around here, if not before then......I am looking forward to getting back in my sewing room and just doing the usual puttering around my house, not the crazy extra stuff.

Until then.............I will leave you with a photo of a mum that I threw over the hill last fall.........it has decided to make another curtain call this year!

Painting and Quilting

A quick post to let you know what I am up to........

After 31 years of "contractor white" in the basement stairway I got a sample of a new color and rolled as far as I could with the roller extension........loved it so that is the color it is now, with the help of my son and his wife.....he was the "ladder man" and she did a great job cutting in.......

I haven't painted the ceiling in the basement stairway in many years, you can see is was time!

My daughter-in-law was brave enough to get on the ladder and do all the "cutting in" for me.....we painted the ceiling first, then did the walls.  My son was making sure his wife was safe, thankful for their help.


















What I didn't get pictures of was all the dust that I made the day before when I was sanding all the spackle, I had a few "blemishes that needed to be fixed, needless to say the kitchen and living room are covered with a fine coat of white dust!  Fall cleaning will be in my future, not looking forward to spending time with that chore, but first I am going to sand the steps and refinish them, hoping to get another 31 years out of them.

Finished quilting this the other night, I have added the binding and have been turning it while watching football............

Hoping that once things slow down this Fall I will finally be able to spend more time with my quilting machine, I have had it for a few years now and have not used it much......I have many quilts tops that I can use for practice just need to "do it'!









That's just a few of the things I have been busy working on since my last post.

Over the River........

Progress on a UFO that was started several years ago.......I pieced the two rows of blocks, made the binding and cut all the pieces for the flying geese borders.  Still need to finish stitching the last panel, but when the stitching is complete it will go together very quickly.  Hoping this one will be a flimsy before he end of the year!!

I have also been fitting in working on pillowcases that I will be donating to a local organization that gives them to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital..........

Hoping to get lots of yard clean up done this weekend so I will be able to enjoy my favorite season.  Also looking forward to spending more time in my sewing room as the days get cooler!

A Better View

A quick post to show the Sturbridge Christmas fabric unrolled..........

I've been busy in my sewing room, will post photos of the two projects that I am currently working on in a few days............

Sewing Time

Yesterday morning my sewing room looked like this............

The pile in the foreground next to the cutting table are the fabrics for a rag quilt and on the cutting table you can see some of the shirts I was cutting for a memory quilt.

A little later in the day I had put together a few of the blocks for the memory quilt to get a feel for how it would look, the pattern is Yellow Brick Road.  I was also pressing and cutting the fabrics for the rag quilt, gotta love multi tasking!









By the end of the day, I had all the blocks for the memory quilt done, made with shirts from my friend's son, I feel honored that she asked me to make it for her.   I also got all the blocks cut for the rag quilt that I am making for another friend.......

The blocks all put together on the design wall, except for the three rows that are on the table......

 

The blocks for the rag quilt, all cut and some are marked for sewing together.












All this prep will give me choices for Saturday when my friend and I spend the day catching up and of course quilting...........

Forgot to mention the little trip to Primitive Quarters Quilt Shop with some quilt friends on Wednesday afternoon, here are the goodies I just couldn't leave without. The roll is Sturbridge Christmas fabric, I think I need to take another with it unrolled so you can really appreciate why I "needed" to bring it home!  The other two pieces are from the Little House line of fabric, there were more pieces but I managed a little self control.

Warmth

I was supposed to go out kayaking on Friday..........but my cousin's daughter was sick so that got cancelled, instead I decided that it was time to start bringing in the wood for winter.  There was still some left from last winter but not nearly enough to keep the house warm for the entire 2016-17 burning season!   For the past 4 days this was my favorite piece of equipment.......

 When I started on Friday this is what the right side of my winter fuel stash looked like, after picture will have to wait for another day........

Yesterday morning in anticipation of some rain.......I reseed the area in front of my house, this area has been such a difficult area to grow grass, I am hoping it will be thick and happy before winter!

Yesterday afternoon I went out kayaking with my neighbors,  a great little treat after spending the past few days stacking wood.  My neighbor snapped this shot of me, still learning how to paddle without getting myself wet!

Late in the day the sun was shining on these yellow flowers making it so bright and beautiful, I just had to snap a photo........

Family and An Early Christmas Gift

Family and friend filled weekend that spilled into Monday.........this past Saturday I hosted a family gathering, a chance for cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, husbands and wives to gather and have a fun day!  Some hadn't seen each other in  many years, grilled burgers, hot dogs, shared dishes, lemonade and games!  The oldest was 93 and the youngest was 9!

The bean bag toss got a little out of hand.........

Everyone getting a chance to catch up.........















 Sunday some friends that are summering in Maine spent the afternoon.......and we started the week with a visit from my husband's cousin, she and her husband were up for a visit from Florida.

Earlier this summer I finally got a chance to try kayaking and on Saturday I made plans with one of my cousins to go out later in the week, so this morning I got an early Christmas gift............

Making Progress

I haven't been in my sewing room the past few days instead I have been busy outside..........

The first coat of stain on the front porch, the second coat will go on next week, I have no time to get it done before a family gathering this weekend........

I  finished laying the bricks in front of the garden gate, it's not perfect but it fits with the rest of the garden.

 Found the strawberry plants, most have made it through this very dry summer.

Took the weed wacker and cleaned up around the hives, love it when my apiary looks neat and tidy,  next week I need to spend a little time looking in the hives........

 The cutting garden, had to take a moment to enjoy the beautiful zinnias.........

........and the garden along the fence with all the honey and bumble bees buzzing in the anise hyssop.

Hope I have the energy tomorrow to find my carrots.........I thought a before photo would help you appreciate the after photo!

After the family gathering on Saturday I will be able to get back to some sewing, especially since my yard and garden are in good shape.  

Time to Get to Work

The past few days have been spent loafing............

Took these ingredients and made some baklava for a friend...........

All the while, the house smelled of lemon, cinnamon, cloves and honey, then later, when the pastry was baking, it smelled of butter and walnuts.                                        

Thursday, after letting the baklava sit overnight, hubby and I delivered it to our friends and spent the afternoon visiting with them and then out to dinner for a treat........whole bellied fried clams, YUM!                                              









On Friday I picked up the wedding quilt from the quilter, put the binding on and then I spent the afternoon visiting with my quilting friends while I started turning the binding on this very large quilt!  

I hope to finish binding this by next weekend, I have finished one long side (115") and one short side (104") so I am well on my way.........

Today a friend and I went to a cute little quilt shop about 20 minutes from my house.  Grace you would love this place she carries only reproductions, I got a chance to see the precuts of Jo Morton's new line, Gratitude, and thought of you.  I picked up some muslin, and managed to talk myself out of purchasing a beautiful log cabin quilt kit. Planning on challenging myself to get UFOs completed in 2017..........

When I returned I started playing with the label for the wedding quilt, not sure if I like this one yet, but I am making notes and will get it done by the end of the week...........

After 3 days of loafing I need to get outside tomorrow, the grass needs cutting, winter wood needs to be brought inside (winter will be here before we know it), the garden needs weeding and the list goes on..........but I do not regret one moment of the past 3 days, the work will always be there, time spent with family and friends is much more important!

More Catching Up.........

More updating.........

Some of the blocks from a BOM program at a local quilt shop using Lori Holt's book 'Farm Girl Vintage', I have finished the blocks now I have to put them together into a quilt.

Earlier this year I was one of the winners of Riley Blake Designs' ~ 60 Days of Giveaways.

I also won the drawing for this fun bundle on National Quilt Day............both of my winnings have been added to my stash.

I also went out for the first time in a kayak, certainly not going to be my
last time, I really enjoyed myself.

I made a little more progress today on my wool project, this one will go on my table when it is complete, still lots of little details as well as two more bees to add to this one.

Catching Up

I haven't been the best blogger, no new posts in almost a year...........instead of trying to "catch up" in one post I will share a little at a time.

 Recently finished the wedding quilt for my youngest son and his new wife, it is at the quilter's right now, the binding is all made and waiting for it's return.  The quilt is called River Rock by Marcus Brothers using Primo Batiks.

A walk through the sewing room to see a few things I am working on during the hot humid days this summer and when we are blessed to have rain!

The bundle of fabric in the bottom right hand corner is going to be a rag quilt for a friend, it should make up quickly.  At the machine is a wool applique project that I am currently working on and to the left on the table are the shirts that are for a memory quilt.

A close up of the wool project, "Just A Buzz'n" by Crane Design.

.........in case those projects aren't enough to keep me busy I can work on one of these hiding under the cutting table
 

Time to work on a bit more of the wool project, hoping to add one of the bees soon.........