Sour Dough Quilt progress.....slow !!!.

While working on the twin baby quilts, I had to stop to shop for more fabric.

So, I pulled out my Sour Dough quilt blocks to count them and decided to 

work on a few more.

Here is my progress

and I am really liking the layout that I think I will use.

You can really see the layout design from a distance.

Here it is a bit closer...

Don't you just love the daisies????

and here is a single 8" block...

Blessings 

for a great week

full of "opportunities"

to share our Lord's

precious love!!
Kathy

Quilting and gardening...

I have been busy the past week with many things...

Cliff has had a stomach bug that hit him twice, so we have been staying in and 

taking care of him, eating lightly and listening to a lot of needed rain!!

My high school girlfriend brought over some fabric for me to make TWO quilts for her

new grand daughters..yes, two...her only daughter is expecting twin girls!!

Here is her lovely fabric...

pictures of the quilts later.

While watching/listening to the rain, I have been working on my sunflower quilt.

I decided to machine quilt the sashing to hold all in place

machine embellish the border

and hand quilt each sunflower

and tack the center of each...

What do you think?

A few garden pics too...

Blessings,

Kathy

Learning Something New....

Isn't it just grand how we can learn so much from one another.

One of the things I most enjoy is seeing WHAT you are doing

that may be different from what or how I do it.

Examples

Egg Salad making...

Lisa at Shady Grove Journal

uses mustard and pickles

and I only use mayo!

Hand Quilting...

Trish at notes of sincerity 

does not use a thimble OR a hoop

and I use both!

OR

Knitting socks...

Susan, my guild buddy, at The thread and I 

well, she knits socks

and I don't !!!

What blogs do you enjoy that encourage you to 

think INDEPENDENTLY

or

 "outside of your box?"

Blessings for a happy

Independence Day Week!!
Kathy

Having fun on Etsy...

I am really enjoying selling on Etsy!!

I made a post a while back about getting started in May

and have already sold 6 items and am working on a special order for a 

new bride in San Francisco..

Here are some of my recent listings.

Daffy Duck & Chick Buttons

Ceramic Sewing/Quilting Theme Buttons

I will post later when I get the wedding gift bags completed...

Take a look and I also encourage you to begin selling too.

I have made friends just like on my Needles and Pins blog.

Blessings,

my friends!!

Kathy

New Door Color....

What do you think?

I have wanted to change our door color for some time but have just gotten around to actually  selecting  the paint and changing it.

before...

during

                                                                      

Red, more of the same OR lime green...

We think we like it but if not

then we will try red.

But, I think I really like it!!!

.

Blessings all,

Kathy
our first day trip to the beach...Harkers Island

Blue flowers...

These lovely lace cap hydrangeas

remind me to

be still

and

remember

who is in control...

Blessings,

Kathy

Thanking the Lord...

We had a series of scares this week when my husband, Cliff, got double vision in one eye. We started out with an ear, nose and throat doctor because we thought it may have come from an ear ache and infection. Next we visited his heart doctor who is also an internal medicine doctor also and discovered his triglycerides were very high. Then we went to his eye doctor who referred him to a neuro opthamologist. She thinks that he had a stoke in his eye that has damaged the eye muscle and that the double vision will repair itself in several months!!!

We go back to her for a MRI this Thursday to be sure...

He is resting well and eating with better nutrition in mind.

Needless to say, I am exhausted...these doctors are located in two towns about 45 miles and 90 miles from Kinston.

We are thankful 

that it is not worse than it is

that it will repair itself

that Cliff can learn from this experience

and

that the Lord is in him healing him as I write...

Remember us as you pray

and as always,

blessings my blog friends!!

Kathy

My Garden surprises...

My little backyard garden continues to surprise me with good things!!

Some how I thought I remembered putting last year's pumpkin in the border near our garden for this year...but when the beautiful large green heart shaped leaves emerged, I thought some of the squash seeds had dropped there and I was growing yellow squash.

 Then the green fruit looked like a watermelon....

so, today when I went out to clip the now yellowing, small, I thought watermelon off and did...I discovered that it WAS A PUMPKIN!!

Just not the large one I remembered but the smaller, decorative one...

Will it finish turning orange since I have cut it off the vine???

You gardening experts will have to let me know .

Thanks 

Blessings,

Kathy

FInally...back to some hand quilting

I am finishing up my two year term as president of our Neuse Quilters Guild and my personal quilting has suffered to say the least...

So this summer, at our guild meetings, I am preparing to do some hand quilting.

You may remember my post  on my sunflower quilt from May 10, 2011

where I showed you my inspiration and progress on it.

Well, here it is all pinned and machine grid quilted and I am preparing to hand quilt around each sunflower

and the sashing and borders.

Which color thread to use...white, cream, or green?????

Packed all up in my hippie bag 

and ready for Wednesday's meeting...I will show you my work

along the way...

Give away time 

 over at 

Notes of Sincerity

take a look at Trish's lovely blog!!

Blessings all,

Kathy

Butterflies...something old...something new...

Out the steps... 

a package with my name.... ? ? ? 

Oh, I forgot. My package from Debbie J.

My new clothes pin bag !!

Gosh I love it !!!

We have been cleaning out my daddy's house and garden house

trying to get him ready to move.

In the garden house was my mama's clothes pin basket so of course, I took it home with me...

I remembered that Debbie sold these pretty clothes pin bags on her 

Etsy site

and I just had to have one.

She made me a pretty pink one with butterflies and mailed it right to me.

Mama loved pink and was quite a nature/garden lover

so the pink butterfly fabric is perfect.

Now here is the empty basket...what to do..

hmmmmmmm

maybe just keep it.

You know, some of my favorite times were spent in the back yard while mama hung clothes on the line and I stood there , in my bare feet, just talking while she listened and hung clothes and took them down...

Probably THE most important thing we give to children

is our time....

Blessings,

Kathy