Another Vacation and Another Quilt

Hi Folks!

You read the blog title right! I took another vacation this summer because I'm all about "me" time. 

Last month I went to visit a friend in the Aloha state of Hawaii and it was amazing! I'd never been before and I'm so glad I went and was very happy that I got to visit my longtime friend, who I hadn't seen for several years. 

Note to self - next time I'll pay extra for a direct flight! Yes, it is a very long flight from Texas and it took several days to recover when I returned. Whew!

There was a small tropical storm when I was in Hawaii, but all was well and it turned out not to be too bad. It gave my friend and I a chance to stay inside and talk and drink wine...of course. 

I shopped and shopped but unfortunately didn't make it to any of the fabric stores that I had planned on visiting. Next time! I did pay a visit to the Pearl Factory where I got to pick out oysters and see what pearls were inside. Of course, several pieces of jewelry later, I had to stop myself! It was a lot of fun and I would definitely do it again.

I went on a dinner cruise on the Star of Honolulu by myself (it was wonderful) and on a tour of Kualoa Ranch where they film a lot of movies (Jurassic World, Jurassic Park, 50 First Dates) and shows (Lost, Magnum PI). Both were affordable excursions and well worth it!  I also treated myself to a massage. If you've never been to the islands, just go!

Below are a few photos of the many that I took.

Waikiki Beach

Me on my dinner cruise

Where they filmed Jurassic World!

Kualoa Ranch

The views were stunning!

I also finished a quilted wall hanging just in time to gift it to my friend in Hawaii and she absolutely loved it! It is based on a quilted wall hanging from Karen Eckmeier's book "Accidental Landscapes", which is one of my favorites. Somehow I wound up with 2 copies of it!

And now, I'm back at work just dreaming about returning back to Hawaii one day. I still need to download the photos from my camera, which hopefully I'll get to this weekend. 

I started a little embroidery project while I was traveling and am hoping to get that done soon to share with you. Meanwhile, I haven't finished the bigger embroidery project that I was working fast and furious on, but I'll get to it.

The current quilt project that I'm working on is a lap quilt with a beach theme that my friend in Hawaii requested. Since she loved the wall hanging so much, she wanted a quilt she could cuddle under while watching TV in the evenings. Photos to come soon!

All my grandkids started school today and it's still 106 degrees here! I'm so looking forward to Fall and cooler weather. I think all of my trees and plants are too! 

I had both granddaughters over last weekend and let me tell you, they are growing like weeds. Leylia is almost 14 now and Mia is 9! Hard to believe.

Well, that's it for today.

Aloha and Happy Quilting, Embroidering, and Sewing!

Foamy Mai Tai at Monkey Pod restaurant. I highly recommend!

Vacation and a Quilt Show

Hi Everyone!

It's been a busy couple of months for me! Whew! And next week I'm going on vacation for the first time since before COVID! 

I'm so excited because: 1) I'll be off work 2) I'm going to the AQS Quilt Show in Paducah, Kentucky!!! (Can you hear me screaming!) 

I've never been to this quilt show before and I'm thrilled that I will be going. I've wanted to go for many, many years but haven't had the opportunity. So, a friend of mine, who is actually building a house in Kentucky, and I are driving out for a fun-filled week of beautiful quilts and scenery. I have traveled to Kentucky before and I know it's beautiful out there. I also found out that another quilting friend of mine and her sister will be there. I always look forward to seeing her at quilt shows and missed her at the Dallas Quilt Show this year.

After losing my mom in February, and renovating my kitchen (yes, it's done!) I need this break to get away from my life for a minute. I don't know what my kitty, Miss Tilly, will think of me being gone and ignoring her for a week, but I'm sure she'll get over it. Don't worry, my daughter will be giving her plenty of treats while I'm away!

Speaking of my kitchen, here are some before and after photos. You can see why it needed redoing! Also, the corner banquette is my favorite new spot in the house now. I absolutely love it! My kitchen even feels bigger now (I mean...it's not, but it sure does feel like it!).

Before

After

My favorite spot!

Well, I'm off to do laundry to get ready for my travels! If you see me in Paducah, please say Hi! 

Me (not the best picture, I know! But you get the idea). If you see me, say Hi!

I'm thinking about taking my actual camera (not just my phone!) on my vacation to take good photos of all the beautiful quilts. I know AQS will post the winning photos on their website, but I'll be taking photos of as many quilts (winning and non-winning, but winners in my book) as I can.

Oh...one more thing, I've been working hard on my sewing room and it's almost ready! Photos after vacation!

Oh...and another thing, I finished the spring embroidery (photo coming soon...I promise!) I was working on and have another embroidery in the works!

Happy Sewing, Quilting, and Embroidery, and Happy Vacation to me!

Farewell February and Hello Spring!

Hi All,

It's been a bit since my last post but with good reason. February is not a great month for me to begin with, since it's the month my dear husband passed away. Then sadly my mom passed away a few weeks ago in February, so doubly hard for me. 

I miss my mom. She was 98, almost 99, years old. But it doesn't matter how old your mom is, she's always your mom. I miss her dry sense of humor! Mom had Alzheimer's but always kept her very dry sense of humor, which I loved...and I may or may not have the same sense of humor (okay, I do)! She lived her last 10 years in a nursing home nearby and was well taken care of (which is saying something). I visited her often and whenever I attended quilt shows would take lots of photos and show them to her. She really enjoyed looking at all the pretty quilt photos. My love of quilting and embroidery came from her mother, my grandmother, who was a talented quilter and embroiderer. I'm a bit lost without my mom.

My sweet mom. Love you, Mom!

I arranged her celebration of life and we had that last weekend. I'm grieving but moving forward with a lot of things, like my kitchen renovation, which is nearly done! I've been without a kitchen for a month now and I will be excited to get my kitchen back next week! So, to say February was a difficult month is an understatement! Good riddance to February and hello spring! I need some flowers and light in my life right now.

Speaking of flowers...I'm still (yes, still) working on my spring embroidery piece. Because of the things in my life that happened last month, I didn't work on it as much. And I'm a little afraid of doing the bunny on this piece, mainly because I haven't quite decided on which stitch to use. The pattern indicates thread painting, which I have discovered I love the look of, but really hate doing, so switching it up a bit. I'm considering the turkey work stitch...but not sure yet.

I'm also excited that today my oldest granddaughter Lilly (how is she 13 already?)is getting her first sewing machine! I talked with her mom the other day about which one to get for her and she is getting a Brother sewing machine! Personally, I'm on a Janome kick now but used Brother machines for many years. Lilly loves to piece together outfits and wants to sew her own. I can't wait to give her sewing lessons!

My sewing room organization got put on hold because of...well, life... but it's getting back on track now. I have a storage unit put together and in the room and just have to take all the fabric out of bins and load up the storage unit (WHEW!). More to come! Once it's done, I'm back to quilting with embroidery in the evenings. I ordered some new fabric (like I need more!) from Keepsake Quilting and it should be here tomorrow. I call it my motivation for finishing my sewing room! HA!

Well, that's it for now! I hope Spring is kinder than February was!

Happy Quilting, Sewing, and Embroidering!

Christmas is a Wrap and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is enjoying 2023. I mean, I know it's only day 3 of the new year, but here's to a great year!

We had a nice family Christmas on Christmas Eve and then I had Christmas Day dinner at a dear friend's house. I had a quiet week off work and now it's back to the daily grind.

I am making progress in organizing my sewing room! Not quite finished yet...but I'll get there! Christmas decorations are all put away and I'm working on purging some stuff (more stuff)out of the house.

I did finally finish the embroidery piece I was working on (yay!) and have started a new one with a spring theme (I'll keep you posted). Photos are below. I used some metallic threads for some extra shine in the piece but I'm not quite sure you can see the shiny bits in the photos. Metallic threads are not easy to work with, however, I do love the effect they provide.

Latest embroidery piece!

The kit is from The French Needle and below is a photo of the kit. As you can see, I added my own flair to the piece, which I am prone to do with most pieces. I actually bought 2 of these kits, so maybe for the next one I'll stick to the color scheme in the kit...or not!

Embroidery kit from The French Needle

That's it for now. I'll be back later with more updates.

Happy Sewing, Quilting, and Embroidering!

Cheers to the New Year!

Ten Days to Christmas! I'm Not Ready!

Hey everyone!

I literally just realized today that we are ten days (10 days!) out from Christmas! I'm so not ready! Yeah, I've bought a few gifts, but they aren't wrapped and I'm pretty sure I'm not finished shopping yet. I just thought about Christmas cards yesterday and still haven't done anything about writing them or getting them out. To say that I am behind is an understatement! Are you ready for Christmas?

If you, like me, are not in fact, ready for Christmas, here is a link and another link, and just one more link (you're welcome) to some quick and easy Christmas gifts that you can make. Guess, I'd better choose which ones to make and get crackin'!

I am working on my embroidery piece...still! Not sure it will be ready by Christmas but I get an A for effort, I guess. 

Next week I'm off work for the whole week and I'm so excited. My plans are 1) get ready for Christmas...wrap presents...send out cards 2) organize my sewing room, which is long past due 3) get another quote for new kitchen cabinets (Monday) 4) finish embroidery piece 5) get some rest. I'm not sure I'll get any or all of that done! I already have babysitting for my grandsons scheduled on Saturday, so one day down. We'll see what happens.

My daughter sent a Christmas photo of my grandsons. They've grown so much! My oldest grandson will be 9 in January along with my youngest granddaughter (how are they 9 already! Weren't they just born?!) Geez, time flies!

My handsome grandsons with Santa!

I also celebrated another spin around the sun last week. Funny, I don't feel older, but my body would beg to differ! I guess you are really as young as you feel...not! LOL! Anyway, my oldest daughter made me a ginormous delicious chocolate cake and I had the whole family over for dinner. Yes, I cooked (and cleaned) on my birthday! But we had a great time.

Me with my ginormous chocolate cake!

Here's to looking forward to the holidays and a new year.

Happy Sewing, Quilting, and Embroidering!

And if I haven't told you yet, Happy Holidays! 🎄🎅🤶

Another Successful Surgery and a Cold Front

Howdy Folks!

Just stopping to let you know that my second cataract surgery was a success and I am recovering well. 👀 I was nervous about it, but there was no reason to be and now it's all behind me...well, except 4 more weeks of eye drops and another ophthalmologist visit. Ha! 

One of the nurses at the surgery center asked me if cataract surgery was a Christmas present to myself. I had to think about that one for a minute, but...um...yeah...I suppose it was! 🎁 So Merry Christmas to me!

I woke up to near-freezing temperatures this morning and frost on the ground (I mean...it's Texas, so that's newsworthy). So, it's truly winter here...at least for a few days. LOL! Just wait a minute and the weather will change! Sunday it was 81 degrees, so Texas weather is like a roller coaster most of the time, except in the summer when it's just HOT! 🔥

My embroidery piece is coming along, but I have to rest my eyes for a few days at least before I can get back to it. Not to worry, I have more Christmas shopping🤶 to get done and I'm working on a big project at work, so I'm staying busy!

Gotta go rest now.

Happy Sewing, Quilting, and Embroidering!

Turkey, Surgeries, and Christmas Shopping

Hey there!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving! I know I ate my fair share of turkey and stuffing!🦃 😉

Now it's on to Christmas. Speaking of which, did you do any Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopping? I sure did! Trying to get gifts for the kids and grandkids. I found most of the gifts on Amazon and a few at Target and may have bought a few things for myself along the way 😉 I always forget (every single year) just how stressful (and expensive) Christmas shopping is. I still have some shopping left to do, so trying to save up. 

When I was at the doctor's office last week, I was chatting with one of the nurses who mentioned that she had all of her Christmas shopping done by August! August...I don't even think about Christmas shopping until after Halloween, or even Thanksgiving! I'm curious as to how many people get their Christmas shopping done early 🤔

I also had cataract surgery in one eye 👁 and am going in tomorrow to get the other eye done. I am so hoping this will not only improve my vision but also my night vision. Haven't driven at night for quite a while now. Surprisingly, the first surgery was fast and easy (I was quite nervous!), so here's hoping tomorrow's surgery is fast and easy too. 

My Christmas tree is up! I actually bought a new tree this year (on sale) and put it up the day after Thanksgiving. Now, I'm not normally a tree-putter-upper but decided that since I'm in a new house and I have the kids and grandkids over more often (because...bigger house) that I would go ahead and put up a tree this year. 🎄 So here's a photo of my new tree! (I'm still waiting on some decorations and tree skirt that I ordered...so don't judge the bareness of my tree)

My new Christmas tree!

I'm still working on my next embroidery project and hopefully will be finished soon. It's been hard to finish it with the eye surgeries, but I promise to post photos as soon as it's off the hoop!

Here are some photos of the grandkids from Thanksgiving week, and also my tree out front is changing colors and it is beautiful!

The boys had a concert at their music school.

My beautiful tree, changing to autumn colors!

Happy Sewing, Quilting, and Embroidering!