Saturday, March 31, 2012

Family Reunion

We had a wonderful time at out Johnson/Wetherington Family Reunion today...almost everyone was able to attend and we took the first group picture in years!!


Here is the reunion quilt I made several years ago where we all signed. I made  the Irish Chain pattern since we are of Scoth Irish descent and it is had appliqued, hand quilted and embellished with y0-yos made by my mama and aunt. We use it to display pictures of our relatives.


Here is the church that my grandmother attended and where we all went as children for homecomings 


and ate dinner on the grounds under these pine trees with wire strung between and table cloths spread for our feast...




memories.


Thank you Lord for the blessing of family.

Kathy

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Garden ...growing...

I have had fun working in my new little garden this year. The lasagna idea has been a success and very easy, so I plan to continue it for years to come.
My onions, radishes, lettuces, spinach and turnips have all come up in varying degrees and I am looking forward to tasting the lettuce real soon!!



To the side of it I will plant my newspaper potted seedlings...squash and cucumbers. They can run with all the freedom they wish and I can also plant some zinnias in the middle of them. But, I do not want to rush the season for concern of frost. I will plant them on Good Friday.


I got all of my bamboo stakes out and have to make more tripods and decide where the tomatoes will go and maybe a few beans.





The weather here in eastern NC is wonderful and is suppose to stay this way so it is really fun getting outside now and planning...you know the hot summer is another thing!!



lettuce...


lambs ears...



hostas...
with my pretty blue bulb me sweet niece gave me a few years back...



love birds...


cilantro...



candy tuff...reminds me of my mama!!




and here is my first and last look as I go and come from the yard...



How is your garden growing?

Blessings
for a fruitful season.
Kathy

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Old fabric...New fabric....

My blog friend, Debbie, over at Angel Scraps Quilting
showed me how she cut up men's shirts to make fabric for quilting.
So I told my husband and my daddy NOT to throw away any of their shirts...and daddy handed me one of his yesterday!!

And here it is all cut up and ready to re-purpose...


I am thinking of using it in a purse..??? but not sure...
I may just save it up until I get more shirts...
"thanks Debbie J" !!

Another blog friend that has kept challenging me with her embroidered quilts from 
Crabapple Hill patterns is 
with her March 11, 2012 post
and others too, as she has worked on and complete several of these patterns now!!

Here is the pattern for
"Over the River and Through the Woods".



I have been waiting to use this lovely fabric from
Marcus Brothers
called Aged Muslin
in cream.


It is difficult to show how wonderful this fabric is in a picture...
but it has wrinkles in the fabric and faded areas in it with dark and light spots
so it actually looks old/aged!!

sells it and I can not wait to begin working on it!!
She has been using it on another Crabapple Hill pattern and is using JP Coats blue # 7051.
I am also thinking of using it as our house is decorated with blue
(you know...my Blue Willow influence since childhood).

Well let me get started...
Have a blessed weekend.

Kathy

Thursday, March 22, 2012

NQG...Show & Tell !!!

Our guild members have had such a a wonderful time here at the Clam Digger Inn at Atlantic Beach. This is our 3rd annual beach retreat where we have quilted most hours of the day and night!!

Here are some of the fun things we have made
from quilts to pillowcases to table runners to knitted scarves to crocheted hats, afghans to pocketbook covers to  recycled quilts to children's games.










We hope you have enjoyed seeing our many items
because we have sure had alot of fun making them!!

See you again nest year...
from Neuse Quilters Guild
Kinston, North Carolina

Monday, March 19, 2012

Neuse Quilters ...beach retreat!!

The Neuse Quilters are having a wonderful time quilting by the sea!!!



Here is our group sewing, eating, talking and more eating...

Here is our food table where everything is homemade!!

We will keep you posted day by day...



Blessings all,
Kathy

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Wintergreen...isn't that a lovely name for a community!!

I have been gathering family information for our annual Johnson Family Reunion
which is on Saturday, March 31, 2012
at Core Creek FWB Church in Cove City, North Carolina.
None of my close relatives seem to know much about my grandmother's paternal family.
So, today I visited with a distant relative that had the history that  goes back to England !!!


Clem Franklin Wetherington

He lives in a small farming community called "Wintergreen". He is my mother's 3rd cousin.
My mother  (who would be 89) grew up there and had wonderful childhood memories of playing in this sand driveway and building sand castles with her cousins, Helen and Julia. Clem's father, also by the same name, was older than the girls and he would hurry out the drive with his truck and run over their sand castles!!!
Well, I parked in that same dirt drive way today while we shared memories.


My maternal grandmother is Estelle Wetherington Johnson.
Her father is Thomas Jefferson Wetherington.
Tom's father is Nathaniel Franklin Wetherington.
Nathaniel's father is Clement Lyons Wetherington.
Clement's father is Jesse Wetherington.
Jesse's father is Solomon, who was one of five brothers 
all of whom served in the Revolutionary War.
The Wetherington family came to the Greene/Lenoir/Craven County area since 1700.
He was called "King Solomon" because he had 17 children!!


The original spelling of Wetherington is Wyddereendum which means
the family comes from land among the Willows or Willow Trees.
Isn't that lovely!!


Well I have a lot of written information to read through and pictures to look at so it may just take me a while to complete the family history...
but this is a good start!!


Thanks Clem
for a wonderful afternoon!!


Blessings all,
Kathy

Monday, March 12, 2012

Newspaper planting pots...

I decided to make my newspaper pots today to plant my seeds in.
I got the idea from a magazine article I read years ago and make them most planting seasons. They are so easy to make and of course economical and earth friendly  so I encourage you to try them.

Select a can from  your pantry. I seem to like  the smaller can best...
Fold one sheet of newspaper in half...
place the folded edge at the top of the can... 
and begin to wrap towards the end.

I kinda fold and tuck the end up as I roll
ending with a piece of tape to secure the side and the bottom all in one.







TOO EASY !!!


Put some in potting soil, seeds, and water!!

You can see what a multi tasker I am...
making the muffins at the same time!!
I forget that I am retired and do not have to rush so now...

Oh, and I have a wonderful potting table that my daddy made for me in my garden house that I could us too...and would not have that dirt to clean up in my kitchen..

Blessings 
for a wonderful week!!
Kathy

May the joy of the Lord be our strength....

Monday, March 5, 2012

Spring gardening 2012

I know we have several days until Spring, but I am getting ready!!
Our yard is on slant and thus our nutrients drain down hill with the water.
I have had a garden in the back of the yard and the side up near the house. I have tried gardening in pots and all attempts have been mediocre at best.
So this year I am making a lasagna garden which is kinda like raised beds.
Of course I should have started back in the Fall with the layering process of leaves, compost,
grass clippings, twigs etc. but what the heck...it has to be a better garden than the past.



Because I am making it in the same area as last year, I really did not need to put newspaper down to keep the weeds out. I started with the leaves from our four oak trees that were already in the space, then I cut up some of the old stems and put some top soil down next.
Then I added compost, manure, and garden soil. I mixed this all on top of the leaf mixture and squared it up or rounded it up!

I mixed peat on top of that and racked it all together and back and forth...last ending with more garden soil...kinda organic and kinda NOT.


I had old bricks that I decided to place at the end where it might drain to help secure it a bit
, not lasagna at all...and I like them so much that I continued around two other sides. That left the side near the yard open and it looked odd. I place a old landscape beam there and I think I like it ok...at least enough until the plants start to grow and cover it up!!


Here's my buddy trying to dig up a rose bush that grew into an old crepe myrtle...he had to give up and try another day!!


And here it is all finished...well, we do need to lay the papers down to make the walking path and then layer with pine or straw...but it is ready to begin planting!
And paint the fence too.


...to be continued.

Blessings, 
Kathy

Sunday, March 4, 2012

And the winners are...

The winners of the 100th post give away are...






Debby
 at Nanny's Place


Jennifer Gail 
at Hoodies and Flip flops

LuAnn
 at Loose Threads


Congratulations to each of you ladies!!


Thank you to each of you who entered and also to those who joined for the first time. I look forward to blogging and sharing my life with you and learning about your lives as well...
Now, I am off to work on our taxes...ewwwww !!

Blessings,
Kathy