Hello July!

Here we are firmly established now in July. It hardly seems possible to me, but the calendar is proof enough, I suppose. And if we cannot believe even the calendar, then we must believe nature. Our flower garden currently features the showiest crop of lilies ever. Every morning these past few days we have been greeted by new bursts of color.

DH asked me to take pictures of all the varieties, which I did, and then created a few collages. Here's one that is representative of most of our colors.

When last I left you, we were preparing to celebrate our 44th anniversary. The thoughtful Mr. Right had arranged a surprise evening, and because he's done this for the last few years, I have learned to be patient and keep my questions to a minimum. It's fun to be surprised. 

Our destination was Lindy's in German Village, an up-scale restaurant in a quaint Columbus neighborhood, and our kids were there for the surprise. Son-in-law Jeff reminded us that this is our first anniversary as grandparents, and we sure are happy about that! Little Cate was an absolute angel all through dinner. This photo clearly illustrates how smitten the two of us are with everything about her. I like to think that she's equally taken with us!

My June highlights collage contains several Cate pictures. She changes so much with each visit. Crawling is the latest milestone achievement, but she's also holding her bottle and eating more solid foods.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

Let's take care of the top row rather than jump straight to the middle row. *grin*

TOP ROW: I quilted two blue Kaffe Fassett quilt tops in a burst of long-arm energy. The front porch has a barn quilt hanging above the settee. And we made a trip to Peebles to see my Great Uncle John, my mom's uncle. A peaceful afternoon on the porch gave those two time for shenanigans in addition to lots of visiting and reminiscing.

MIDDLE ROW: Now for Cate's row - She's wearing a little dress I made for her in the first frame; she's cheesing for the staff at daycare in the center frame; and she's "immersed" in her introduction to applesauce in that third frame. She is such a smile-y, happy little girl.

BOTTOM ROW: I definitely wanted to include a reminder that I'd spent a lot of the month cleaning the quilting room, so the display jars of my grandmother's vintage sewing notions represents that major effort. The one and only flimsy finish of the month was Alpine, the pine tree quilt. And to top off everything, here are our two daughters, son-in-law and Cate (hidden in the shadows of Emma's arms) at the anniversary celebration. Just outside the view are Emma's boyfriend and my Mr. Right. The whole evening was just wonderful.

Now I need to think about what my goals will be for this brand new month. I have many from which to choose, if I continue to refer to the list of "found projects" I shared here. At least a couple will be priorities, for sure.

The Tour de France started yesterday, and will allow me lots of time to quilt on Fall Foliage. I will be working to finish Polka Dots and Posies - two "for sure" projects. That Kaffe Fassett panel is really calling to me, so perhaps it will see some action, too.

We have several family functions scheduled for this month, so I will have to be mindful in allocating my time.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Hello August!

Recently I had the pleasure of reading The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath. Actually, it was audio-reading, but that's beside the point. (Why do I always feel obligated to clarify that listening is not reading?) This book struck such a chord in me that I listened twice.

This book validates my tendency to treat each new month as a mini-version of a new year and its accompanying resolutions. One section in The Power of Moments is devoted to explaining our need to start fresh and slough off the old with brand new plans for a brand new year - or month, in my case. I found so much good information in this book and have recommended it to several family members and friends. One good friend (actually she recommended it to me! Thanks, Pam!) has indicated that she plans to gift this book to newlyweds and graduates. Smart idea! It's just a really good examination of how we can make our lives richer and more full of memorable moments.

This new month is screaming out two things to me: 

1. start something new!

2. long arm some quilts!

Before getting too far into what I have on the August agenda, let me first do a wrap-up of July. I tell ya, I had a great month, but so very little of it was spent sewing and quilting! We were on the go, enjoying family and friends. 

Yesterday, we hosted 15 here for the 4th annual Honnold Bash. My DH's side of the family is so spread out, and our opportunities for get-togethers are few. We sorta' live in a centrally located spot for many of them to come here, so we began having this reunion in 2018. We had to skip the pandemic year, but have continued with our late-July bash since then. Above are our 2 daughters Erin and Emma, and Kevin's sister, Kellie. 

My July collage contains very few sewing highlights, and many more family fun highlights. Ahhh, the fun of summer!

Row 1: The finished re-fresh of the front room; we took out the 30-year-old carpet and put down wood flooring. My little patriotic vignette to salute the 4th of July, features a pillow I made in May. Niece Mary Jean came to sew with me and went home with a new stash of yarn and needles, since she prefers crocheting and knitting.

Row 2: Niece Anna Rose, twin of MJ, actually did sew at the sewing machine, and ended up getting her own machine. She had really taken to sewing and as an aspiring actress, hopes to sew costumes and accessories. The center pic is from Anna Maria Island, where I vacationed for a week with 4 girlfriends. Another niece, Abby, welcomed her first child, Boone, on July 20.

Row 3: My one flimsy finish was my Double Irish Chain. Technically, it is still waiting to have borders attached. I plan to do those tomorrow when Sharon is here to sew. The middle bottom pic is from yesterday's Honnold Bash - niece Julie and her DH C.C. enjoy visiting on the screened porch. My final pic is of Lake Effect, which I have been feeling a strong desire to lay out in full so I could see my progress. Gosh! I have more done on it than I realized! This gives me a very strong nudge to prioritize this quilt more than I have lately.

What will August bring? You know I have some plans. I will work on pulling some ideas together and share those with you tomorrow.

I hope your new month brings you happy, carefree days and lots of sunshine! Let's make some memorable moments!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

July Wrap-Up

Looking back on what I accomplished and seeing a few highlights of the month is a nice way of keeping myself in check that things are actually being done around here. Some months are chock-full of sewing highlights; others not so much. July was one such month with stuff other than sewing to highlight.

TOP ROW: The Frankfort Girls had a field trip to Vinton County for lunch and a tour or the beautiful residence and retreat center of Kathy Skinner. I wrote about it in this post. I prepped some leaves for my 10-year-project, Lake Effect. And the flimsy for my red and white stars finally became a reality.

MIDDLE ROW: I began a new scrappy quilt called Scrappy Trip Around The World. A family piece of furniture came into my possession and I am attempting (very slowly) to sand it down. Dear son Adam sent this picture of a beautiful cloud in Oregon; however, it is not a cloud. It is the smoke from a wildfire in his area.

BOTTOM ROW: I've begun the process of making new pillows for the front room sofa. The first one is done; the next one is cut out, but sits waiting for a pieced batting and an interfacing. Also waiting are 45 more Ohio Star blocks like those in the center. In the final picture, my two daughters Emma and Erin sit poolside at my sister's for the first of two big family events held in one weekend, one for my side of the family, and one for my in-laws.

I could create an entire collage for July's mini-vacation. After the in-laws were here for the family get-together, DH and I took two days to go to South Bass Island/Put-In-Bay in Lake Erie. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable mini-getaway. Here's one pic of the Perry Monument on the island.

Let's have a fantastic August, what do you say?!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

June Wrap-Up

Good grief, I do believe I have spent this month playing and gallivanting. The June collage tells the truth.

Mostly, I believe I have the 9 photos in chronological order. First, the trip with the Frankfort girls to McArthur, Nelsonville and Belpre for a shopping outing. We even went to a shop just across the river from Belpre, but I don't even know the name of the town.  Second, we were surprised by niece Abby and her husband Stephen when having dinner at La Cascada, our favorite Mexican restaurant over in Hillsboro. They joined us and we had a blast with them. Third, Mom and Kevin pose at the base of the Perry Monument overlooking Lake Erie when we took her to Put-In-Bay.

In the middle row, we see the mansion at Louis Bromfield's Malabar Farm near Mansfield, OH. We had a lovely day touring the home and the farm. In the center, all my siblings met at a popular watering hole - again, in Hillsboro - along with our momma. What fun that was!!  And finally, I took the big plunge and actually quilted on the long arm. It went surprisingly well, and my goal for this next month is to do a real quilt. Yes. You heard me. A real quilt.

In the bottom row, one of about a thousand pictures I took at the Dayton Air Show which was absolutely amazing. The final act of the day was a spectacular performance by the Blue Angels, which is what is shown in this picture. Talk about precision! The middle picture in the bottom row is from atop the aforementioned Perry Monument at Put-In-Bay, where we went for a second trip, this time with my father-in-law and brother-in-law. The final picture is of the Ohio Theater in Columbus, where we saw two movies this month in their Summer Movie Series. The first was a 1940 film called The Shop Around the Corner, and the second was a 1960 film called The Apartment. Both were black and white. The summer series features old movies and the big draw for us, besides the gorgeous 1920s theater, is the affordable ticket price - $5. The movie series is in its 49th year, and we have been going for at least 35 of those years.

This may be the first end-of-month collage I have done that doesn't include a quilt picture. The long-arm picture and the shopping picture are the only ones even remotely quilting related.

Since I played so much in June, I am gearing up for an extraordinarily productive July. I have made some preliminary goals, and will share those soon. I have also looked back at the yearly goals I made back in January; it seems I am still on track with those, even though I have spent a month having fun away from the sewing room.

Now, I can't beat myself up too much, for there has been some activity on the sewing machine. I am working on Blockheads 2, and find myself doing two different versions. That has been fun. I will share some updates soon. I have made some mini quilts, too, so I can't claim total negligence, right?

Today is our 39th anniversary. We are doing absolutely nothing special today to mark the occasion. Mostly, this is because we have spent the whole month celebrating!! Ha!! You can click here to see the post from last year in which I remember the day.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

May Wrap-Up

Unbelievable. Five months of this still new year (?) are history already. Looking back over May's activities, I am realizing that while I am having a good time, I need to focus more on my stitching.

May began with a trip to Siesta Key, FL, for 5 days. What a great get-away! That's what is showing in the first frame, and while away, I finished my semester at the branch with an on-line final. Back home, DH and I hiked to a high peak near Chillicothe for the spectacular view shown  in the second frame. The third frame is a block in a QAL I began, but doubt I will finish, as I don't have enough fabric to do all the blocks. I'll talk more on that topic soon.

In the middle row, a progress pic of my Lake Effect EPP project is followed by a group picture from Mother's Day, where 4 of the 5 "McKenzie Kids" are posing with our dear Mom. The last picture is my only finish for the month - the Village quilt top.

In the bottom row, a basket of quilts that I shared with the guild from Ashland, which was such a fun experience for me. Then our dog Steve is loaded into the back of the car for a date with the groomer. Steve is about 16 years old, and getting him into the car was no small feat! However, he looks happy to be going for a ride, doesn't he? The final picture is fabric I purchased in that sweet little Siesta Key shop, The Modern Sewist. I am still dreaming up a project for that little splurge.

Tomorrow, I am afraid I might splurge even further as the Frankfort Girls have a big day of shopping planned. We are going to several shops in eastern Ohio - leaving really early - and planning for the entire day. I will try to control my spending, as Lord knows my current stash is big enough. Stay tuned for a report on how that all goes. *wink*

Speaking of the Frankfort Girls, we had our regularly scheduled get-together last Friday at Sheryll's, and look at this fantastic coffee cake she served. Man, was it tasty. She got the recipe from Pinterest - look for Blueberry Muffin Cake, or something close to that, if you go searching.

And here is one finish by who else but Jan. She is the most industrious woman! Her love of all things in primary colors continues to reflect in the quilts she makes. And did you notice the pretty quilting? Nice.

So May is wrapped up. Hope your month has been wonderful. Now, I intend to make June even better! How about you??

Happy Quilting, Friends!

March Wrap-Up

Taking a quick look back at March, it appears I did very little sewing and a whole lot of playing. However, I do think I managed to accomplish a few things in my quilting room, so I pronounce the month to be a huge success. Let's review:

I love making these collages to summarize the month through pictures. Some of these have made their way to the blog, but not all. I will share just the basics on the 9 pictures in this collage.

To begin the month, we have had an old, non-working truck sitting in our driveway for-ever, and it was a constant sore subject between DH and me. We finally agreed to have it towed and make an attempt to get it running again - just for simple needs like getting mulch each spring, or carrying heavy stuff too messy or big for the back of the car. Getting that truck out of our driveway at last could be my biggest success of the month!

The other two pictures in the top row are of places I have walked this month. We got back into regular walking with the nicer weather, and explored a section of the path beside Paint Creek, shown first, and then I got to walk in Arizona, shown next.

In the middle row, I am pictured with Cleveland Indians TV personality, Andre Knott at the Goodyear Ball Park at Spring Training. That was a totally accidental meeting, as he and his family were just sitting a couple rows in front of us having a regular day at the park.

In the center is the second famous person I met this month - Carrie Nelson. I did write about this in several posts, if you wish to scroll back and take a look. And, you will find evidence of actual sewing.

The final picture of the middle row shows my dear Frienzies at our March get-together at Kay's house. We had a delicious dinner and afterwards painted canvases for spring.

The bottom row shows my major sewing accomplishment for the month - my Prairie Vine quilt top. Scroll back a bit to see more on it.

The middle picture is a grave marker from a cemetery near Otsego, OH. My 88-year-old F-I-L wanted to take a drive down there yesterday while we visited him. Jacob is the oldest Honnold in the family tree, to date. It's pretty cool how much genealogical research has been done on my DH's side of the family.

That last picture seems a strange one to include for a March highlight, but believe me, I want to remember - those keys have been lost since Christmas-time. I knew they likely spilled out of my purse, I just didn't know where. While at my F-I-L's yesterday, we parked on the street in front of his house after returning from the cemetery trip. My S-I-L found them in the grass as she stepped out of the car. I cannot believe it! Of course, we'd already gone to the trouble and expense of replacing one of the keys. And yes, they still work. Amazing.

So with not many pictures and a whole lot of words, there's my March. I hope I can be as focused in April. Fun times ahead!!

Happy Quilting, Friends!