40

Today my oldest son, Rob ( we call him Johnson) turns 40! In this picture he was 7. He is such a wonderful son and we are very proud of him, happy birthday!

Here he is now, a bit bigger and a lot stronger!

I finished this up today, it's been languishing in my sewing room for a while now. It's amazing how quickly something can come together when you put your mind to it!

Once again I did some straight line quilting only this time I did not make them straight and they are  more organic. Doesn't it feel like you can use that word for just about anything and it sounds so hip???

I faced the back instead of using a regular binding which I feel is more appropriate for a wallhanging like this one. I like the clean line on the front not interrupted by a binding.

It's that time again! I love fall and feel I have been cheated out of September, it's almost over. Oh no!!!!

We finished up the last season of Outlander last night . Oh my gosh this series has exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a series to watch.

My Netflix recommendations are Stranger Things, think Stand By Me meets Stephen King. The other one we are watching now is Bloodline, it's very good with lots of twists and turns. The ultimate dysfunctional family in a beautiful Florida setting.

How about you? Any recommendations? I am always on the look out.

Kelly

Giveaway Winners!

Before I announce the winners I thought I would share with you a good thought. Every day we have choices to make, some good and some bad. Sometimes I can let those thoughts get the best of me, even though I try to put them out of my mind. Just a little note like this can be a game changer and I for one need to remember that.......it really is the little things that make life the best ever!

For inquiring minds Madison wrote it on the post-it like pad. It folds up like a little letter, I found them at Walmart. Of course I bought her some of her own.......

So the winner of this pincushion is Sarah who said.........
 "Favorite chore is canning! If it has to be cleaning, I would say decluttering. I love getting rid of excess and seeing how pretty a room is without the extra stuff. Least favorite is scrubbing the showers and the stove"
I LOVE decluttering and getting rid of old junk that is taking up space. Now that my houseguests are gone that is the plan, to get cleaning and purge my house of clutter. I am with her on cleaning showers, not a favorite but definitely feels like an accomplishment when it's done.

I decided to go ahead and make another one. For the second winner I will come clean and tell you I kind of cheated and chose her ......the winner is Jess Braskey.
Jess said........
"Wow, six years! Congratulations, Kelly! I thoroughly enjoy following your blog and social media postings; you have inspired me in many ways! 

My favorite fall chore is decorating. And call me weird, but I don't have a least favorite chore! I don't mind any of them!"

Jess is a brand new quilter and the DIL of a friend of mine. I think we all can remember how exciting it was in the beginning and a little overwhelming. I hope this encourages her to keep on going. You have got to love a woman who loves to decorate and apparently loves to clean too!

The deer have been the bane of my existence this summer. Not only did they eat everything around the mailbox but they are smart enough to know that the leaves of the morning glories are ok to eat but the flowers are poisonous.

They have also eaten all my tomatoes. I think we maybe got 5 the entire summer. Just when we thought maybe we would get some late season tomatoes we found a horrible site this morning. They completely pulled it out of the ground, roots and all! There is a doe with triplets and 3 large bucks roaming around, we don't stand a chance.

There are a few things they don't like, my beauty bushes are doing wonderful. One of the only purple things I like.

The last of my waning summer flowers, zinnias, vinca (the bush kind) coleus, butterfly bush and the orange ones are a type of sunflower. The colors are so pretty they stop me in my tracks every time I walk downstairs
Congratulations to the winners! Thank you to everyone who reads my blog I love reading your comments, thoughts and suggestions. You inspire me all the time.
My mouse all of a sudden started working again, I am not sure why but thanks for all the suggestions!

Kelly

Don't Forget!

Tomorrow is the drawing for the pincushions. This is one and the other is not finished yet. Go back and look at the last post to enter. Please make sure you leave me an email if you want to win!

My sewing room is messy and loney.  I have only been in there to dump stuff while I had company for the past couple of weeks.

At the last meeting of the Lancaster Modern Quilt guild we received our round robin quilts back. This one is mine. Cherie did such a good job matching my hand dyed fabrics with non-hand dyed. I love it and am looking forward to finishing it.

I did make it to the quilt show in Oaks. I can never remember the official name........ Pennsylvania Quilt Extravaganza maybe?

I did not buy a lot but I found some new vendors which was nice.

I really like this Japanese panel, they have lots of different sections to cut apart and use in all kinds of ways.

I thought these chenille squares were such a great idea! Wouldn't they make a nice soft, snuggly, vintagey, baby quilt?

I would love some advice from you technical people out there......does a wireless mouse ever die? Yes I changed the battery and it still doesn't work. I haven't done anything to change any settings and can't figure out what to do. It is a royal pain and I stink at doing it manually. any comments are much appreciated! Thank you in advance for any advice!

I will be back with the winners tomorrow!

Kelly

6 Years + A Giveaway

I was surprised when I realized today I have been blogging for 6 years! It was one of the best things I ever decided to do. I have met so many people in real life and in virtual life and that is always a good thing! When I go back and read those beginning posts......let's just say I think they have gotten a little better.

I am sure you have seen this stitching/sketching technique all over the internet of late. I tried it a while back and fell in love with it. I put the patterns away after I made a couple of things and forgot about them.

I was so excited when I heard she wrote a book (actually there are 2 authors). I love that all the information is in one place and there are some patterns in there I don't have.

These remind me of a child's scissors......

A sewing machine is too cute to pass up......the last 2 are going to my guild and will be given away.

I am in a block swap with Barb of Fun with Barb. Because of my crazy schedule coming up I needed to get them done. Thirty pairs done and done! Last year we did bowties and I am thinking of combining both blocks, what do you think?

Cob webs gone, dusted and vacuumed

I really need to paint over that yellow!

I have been busy being Suzy homemaker. Cleaning and cleaning and cleaning......it is good motivation to get some fall cleaning out of the way.....I have 3 people coming to stay with me for a wedding.

So for the giveaway........I will make you a pincushion or 2 (maybe) like the ones above. It may be those patterns or another of my choosing, it will all depend on how I feel the day I do them. In order to win, leave me a comment of your FAVORITE fall cleaning chore and your LEAST FAVORITE cleaning chore. Please be sure to leave an email if you are a no commenter, you cannot win if I don't have your email. You could even sway me to make a certain pattern but I won't promise! I will draw the name on Wednesday September 21. I will be monitoring the comments but will not be able to answer them, remember I will have houseguests! Good Luck!

Giveaway is now closed!

Kelly

End of Summer

Colin, Cam, Jenny and Jax

Summer is winding down and I am looking forward to Fall!  While I was gone a lot has happened. Jaxon and Cameron turned 1!!!! How did that happen so fast?

They are the sweetest babies, mom and dad are enjoying them very much. I give them so much credit for getting through the first year. Jenny is amazing especially when you  hear that she had them sleeping through the night at 3 months old, at the same time! It's fun to see that Jax looks like Jenny's side of the family and Cam is the spitting image of Colin. Don't you love those chubby legs?

We bought them these little cars and they love them! They are so cute zooming around the house.

Once again our family is growing! This will be grandchild number 8.

Maddy and Finn

Maddy and Finn will be getting a baby brother or sister this winter. Maddy is hoping for a girl, I think Finn has no idea what is going on!
This is part of the reason for my break. My daughter Cait was not feeling well the first trimester so I helped out whenever she needed me.

They have decided not to find out if it is a boy or a girl.....so I found this wonderful flannel baby fabric at the Quilt Block in Exton and may have to make 2 quilts.

Elliot, Griffin Fallon
Cameron, Maddy, Finn and Jaxon

So what are you guessing, boy or girl?//? We have 5 boys and 2 girls. I am so excited it will be a surprise.

Ok now for some sewing......I made these adorable pincushions that I will be giving away! If you are a Penn Oaks member they could be yours.

They are from a book called Sew Illustrated. They are fun and fast.....

and addictive! I love the scissors the best, so far.

I will leave you with these little colorful business cards that I had made using my quilts. I have been doing some speaking and these are a nice way to give out information.
Now that summer is slowing down my fall is not. Another family wedding, house guests and my son's 40th, yes 40th!!!! birthday will keep us busy in September. I promise to get back to my regular blogging as I have missed it and you keep me motivated to get things finished!
Enjoy these beautiful summery days that are almost over. Can you hear the crickets slowing down?

Kelly

Summer Break

A Flowering Snowball in the middle of this hot summer to cool you off! I am taking a break and will be back soon.

Kelly

Spools of Thread Mini Quilt

Technically it's not a mini but that is what we call them at our guild. Next year we have our Penn Oaks Quilt show and one of the main events is our small/mini quilt raffle. Almost every member makes one (some make more). We do this instead of a large raffle quilt which can be very specific and not to everyone's taste.

The quilt is 16" x 24" and they are all the same size. Every pattern or theme is welcome! The thread in my spools is about 3/8" wide to give you a perspective.

I like all the cheerful colors and hope I get some takers! Imagine this in your sewing room....

I really like the fabric for the binding, it makes it feel playful to me.

If you have the opportunity to attend any small local show please do so. For our guild it is the major fundraiser and helps us to pay for our programs. It is getting harder and harder for guilds, especially small ones to put on shows. For the price of a yard of fabric, you can see some awesome quilts and vendors! I promise you will not be disappointed!

Kelly