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slipping away . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

This is the last slow stitching Sunday in October . . . and there are only nine left in 2020. How's that for an opening line?!

Between the birthday weekend and getting ready for the Blog Hop, by this past week I was ready to just chill. LOL! But I pretty much had something every night last week, so not a lot to show. I will share this darling photo of my niece, Liesl . . .

October is Down Syndrome month and the colors of solidarity are blue and yellow. My sister had the yard signs made this year. So sweet! If you're ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 6 months ago. under autumn , camp , down syndrome , embroidery , football , granddaughters , photos , slow stitching , stitchery

happy october . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Hello October, I'm so happy that you're here! It's *birthday* month and it's blog hop month, too! :)

I finished stitching up Mr. Jack O'Lantern!

He's such fun. But I felt he needed something a little more than a hoop or mug rug finish. I think I found (or rather, made) the perfect solution . . .

Yay! It's a slipcover for a Christmas pillow I've had for ages. I may go back and quilt the face of it later. Maybe. Right now, I'm liking is just as it is, where it is!

I got ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 7 months ago. under autumn , christmas , embroidery , fall , heart , hexies , photos , pumpkin , rv living , stitchery

happy wednesday . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

I'm going to start with the big news, right off the bat . . .

One. Hundred. Days.

Can you believe it?!? How much stitching do you have to do in order to be ready for it? That's the million dollar question, isn't it? LOL!

Late Sunday afternoon I finally sat down to stitch, but got distracted by a new TeaTime Holidays magazine . . .

Yeah, more Christmas! Though the first tea party they share is a Thanksgiving one! It justified having the pumpkin blondie with my mug of pumpkin spice tea.

I combated Monday work blues by 'fallifying" my office space ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 7 months ago. under autumn , decorating , embroidery , photos , pumpkin , retreat , squirrel , stitchery , tea , tea time magazine , work

weekend busy happies . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

I'm going to tell you a true story . . .

I read a quote that caught my attention: "The secret to having everything, is believing you already do."

Immediately I thought of my current fabric stash and felt a little convicted. Then this verse of scripture popped into my head: "Lord I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

Then I ordered this . . .

To go with this . . .

Which it does, and very nicely, I might add. The end. No names were changed to protect the not-so-innocent.

Where do I go from that? It's been a very busy weekend! Of course ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 7 months ago. under acorns , birthday , boat , craft , embroidery , fabric , granddaughter , handwork , lake , photos , pumpkin , slow stitching , squirrel , stitchery

achy breaky head . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

So. This was the first morning in sixteen days (sixteen looooong days) that I've woken up without a nagging headache. Bliss! I was so relieved that I didn't even mind going in to work! LOL! Happy September!!

It's been a long time since I've had a headache that persistent. No one (by that I mean no doctor), has every been able to figure out why I get them, and short of prescribing something that knocks me flat out, no one (see above note) has ever been able to treat them successfully. So yeah, I was really ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 8 months ago. under apple , baking , cream cheese mints , embroidery , granddaughters , halloween hoppin blog hop , on sutton place , photos , pumpkins , quilt , t blocks

Top Ten (?) from From the Strawberry Patch...

I was recently challenged by a friend to post one quilt picture a day for ten days on Facebook. I took her up on that challenge and enjoyed scouring the files for ten photos of some favorite quilts that I've made over the years. I had so much fun that I thought I'd share my selected ten here in collage form. Some days I get so busy planning the next project that it's nice to reflect on projects

added by Mrs. Goodneedle 3 years, 8 months ago. under photos , projects , quilts

Top Ten (?) from From the Strawberry Patch...

I was recently challenged by a friend to post one quilt picture a day for ten days on Facebook. I took her up on that challenge and enjoyed scouring the files for ten photos of some favorite quilts that I've made over the years. I had so much fun that I thought I'd share my selected ten here in collage form. Some days I get so busy planning the next project that it's nice to reflect on projects

added by Mrs. Goodneedle 3 years, 8 months ago. under photos , projects , quilts

passing through last week . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Whew! What a terrific week! Todd and I usually rent a house on the lake and take a week, but our plans got all shaken up this year due to (what else) and so I thought perhaps the summer might pass us by with no vacay. But Todd surprised me and I was able to take a week off, and we were able to rent a suite (a bedroom with private bath and a sitting room, with a private entrance) at a Bed & Breakfast in Guntersville – Lake Guntersville Bed & Breakfast – with a stupendous view of the lake, and just a ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 9 months ago. under bed and breakfast , embroidery , family , granddaughter , kit , lake , masks , photos , raccoon , vacation

quilts, kids, and critters . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Still slogging away in the new un-normal. I don't know about anyone else, but it all still feels so surreal. Work is normal (hours), so there's that, but nothing else feels the same. Strange.

I've been working off and on in the Nook. Our stitcher's group collaborated on a quilt for one of our ladies who's been diagnosed with breast cancer. Everyone contributed blocks (á la Lori Holt), one of our very talented ladies (and one of my affirmation group besties -- Sarah) did the layout and made it into a marvelous flimsy, and another of ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 9 months ago. under binding , camp , camp macoba , eq , grandchildren , hearts , petit fours , photos , quilt , sassy , sheep , stitcher's group , wildlife

pandemic pass . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

Evidently, that's just what I did. Took a pass on blogging during the height of the pandemic. I have no good excuse for it, either! Except how you know when you miss something one week ... and it makes it a little easier to miss it the next week ... until the week comes and it's hard to do it because you've missed so much?

Yeah. That.

I *have* been busy (for the last seven plus weeks). Lemme 'splain . . .

I made some masks (click here for the tutorial):

I made quilt tops and finished quilts:

(Temecula mini is finished ...

added by Denise :) 3 years, 11 months ago. under baking , boat , books , camp , pandemic , photos , quilt , tea

girls, girls, girls . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

This was another of those weeks in which I had something after work every night. Ten hour work days with an activity after work makes for LONG days! But that's okay. My reward came Friday in the form of a visit from these cuties . . .

Yesterday was their mama's birthday, and I kept the through the day Friday and overnight. While these visits are generally about movies and popcorn, Friday was a lovely, sunny day and we did go exploring! Everyone found a different daffodil to sniff . . .

We took time to smell whatever this was that was flowering . . .

And ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 1 month ago. under binding , camp , camp macoba , dst , fabric , granddaughters , photos , repair , slow stitching , utility sewing

a little remiss . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

What can I say that I've not said before?! Life is BUSY! But that's okay; I'm in the here and now!

This past weekend I hosted (?!?!?) the first ever Camp MACOBA Stitcher's Retreat! It was such a cozy, fun weekend! I hashtagged it #rustricretreat. There's a reason! LOL!

We made use of both bunkhouses. We slept in the one . . .

(Can you tell it was a quilter's retreat?!)

And we stitched in the other . . .

(And we trekked to the 'outhouse'. Really it's not that primitive -- it was a bathhouse. But still it was a ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 2 months ago. under camp , camp macoba , embroidery , handwork , photos , quilt , retreat , slow stitching , wool

eclectic collection . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

It's been a busy week, which means I wasn't able to get in as much stitching as I would have liked, but I got some in nevertheless. I did make some progress on my heart:

But put it down to work on the Peppermint Purple SAL.

Week 8 was made available on Wednesday, and I had it finished on Thursday, along with a good majority of the box outlines for the entire stitchery!

It's easy, soothing stitching and I'm enjoying it very much.

Thursday was guild, and I struggled to go, because by the end of ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 2 months ago. under blackwork , camp macoba , embroidery , grandmother's choice , guild , handwork , heart , photos , pumpkins , sal , slow stitching , utility sewing

bits and more bits . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

It's been a lovely weekend so far. Todd surprised me with a "gourmet dining experience" on Valentine's Day.

It was a privately catered event and the food was excellent! The chef classified his style as 'sophisticated southern.' We were served a four course meal which included a deconstructed Southern Greek salad, seared scallops, braised short ribs, and for dessert . . .

Red velvet cake with a cheesecake center, topped with white chocolate ganache. YUM!

Backing up a bit, I spent Thursday evening with the grandgirls and gifted them with their Valentines.

Edith was particularly enthralled with hers and went through ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 2 months ago. under blackwork , embroidery , granddaughter , grandmother's choice , heart , love , photos , sal , valentine

heartily stitching along . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

I've had to work all four (10-hour) days this week. It's been long! LOL!

I made just a little progress on my Love Sampler project. It's really so sweet to stitch on . . .

But not as much progress as I had planned. Scrolling through Instagram on Sunday, I stumbled upon a Blackwork SAL hosted by Peppermint Purple, and I chased that squirrel down. I have been fascinated by blackwork for some time, but hadn't ever tried it. This seemed to be the perfect opportunity to give it a go.

At first I though starting six weeks behind ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 2 months ago. under blackwork , embroidery , flowers , granddaughters , hearts , love , love sampler , photos , sal , valentine

french knots and hearts . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

It's only appropriate that the embroidery that I put together for our road trip weekend . . .

Was finished just as we entered the last mile into the camp!

Full circle (full heart?), I'd call that! Here it is in better lighting . . .

I still need to spray out my markings and decide what to do with it now that the stitching is finished. Heh.

Several of you have asked about where I found my pattern. It was a vintage freebie from French Knots. If you've never visited their website and you're an embroidery enthusiast, oh yeah, you really ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 3 months ago. under class , embroidery , handwork , heart , photos , quilt , road trip , stitchery

Sunday Scenery, Part 2 from Allen Quilts

It was a busy day taking care of grandsons. I feel so blessed to have been able to take my retirement at my earliest eligibility from my job in criminal justice, and be able to be so involved in their lives while they are still so young. I never got to be a stay at… Continue reading Sunday Scenery, Part 2

added by Wild Rose Quilter 4 years, 3 months ago. under beauty , country life , family , family farm , farm , favorite things , hiking , nature , photography , photos , ranch , wild rose quilter (Comments)

Sunday Scenery, Part 1 from Allen Quilts

Today, I thought I’d share some pictures I took while my mister and I were doing a little hiking on some family farm & ranch land I share with my brother and my cousin Dee. It belonged to our grandparents on Mom’s side. Someday soon I’ll try to write a longer post about it, but… Continue reading Sunday Scenery, Part 1

added by Wild Rose Quilter 4 years, 3 months ago. under family farm , farm , favorite things , hiking , nature , photos , ranch , wild rose quilter , winter (Comments)

back-up beeps . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

I realized that before I could share more about my quilt shop adventures, I had to have pics of my purchases, which I haven't taken yet. Mainly because I've been going pretty much non-stop since I got home from California! Then I also realized I wanted to share my quilt-related Christmas haul, and that I could also share some quilt finishes (of which I had FOUR in December)! So let me start with those . . .

All three girls were super happy with their Christmas quilts! They're so sweet! ♥

Leia even got in there and tested its catability. It ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 3 months ago. under christmas , class , fabric , finish , granddaughters , label , photos , presents , quilts

beginnings and ends . . . from Count it *all* JOY!

I love finishes! This morning I can share not one, but TWO! Well, perhaps I should clarify. Not two completely finished, ready-to-put-up-and-enjoy-and-never-need-to-be-worked-on-again projects. But two projects on which I've finished the embroidery stitches! I wrapped up my pumpkin piece (by Crabapple Hill Studios):

I just love this sweet stitchery. I love the character and variety of stitches and colors. It was truly like painting a scene. It's so yummy!

And I finished my teapot table topper . . .

I think the last time I shared anything on it, I was still whipping the hexies together! I finished the hexies up ...

added by Denise :) 4 years, 5 months ago. under alabama , blog hop , embroidery , hexies , photos , pumpkin , roll tide , sampler , slow stitching , snowman , stitchery , teapot

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