December Finishes

 Chris went back to Mi and then flew to Phoenix for a church retreat.  

I'm hanging out here with the cats.  I turned the camper into my sewing room for the week. 

 I had bought some flannel remnants a long time ago. 

 I found a great pattern that I thought would work for the flannels. 

 Most were vehicles and some solids.  I 

cut them out, put them in a bag and promptly forgot about them, LOL.  

So when I was packing for the trip down here 

I gathered many of the projects up that I had cut out to try to finish.  

I added to them by one when I was down in Berlin.  

I have all but 2 of those finished now. 

 I started making the flannel construction quilt and realized that if I made just a few more blocks I could assemble another  small top from the left overs! 

 SCORE!

  I love when that happens. 

 So here are my 2 quilts.  

This is the little bonus quilt I was able to make.

It would be a great floor mat for a baby.

I plan to get them quilted upon my return to MI.

Another project I had was a Moda kit for this little fox.

There are three of these.

A fox, an owl and a raccoon.

I bought the kit for this one.

I love Annie Brady's patterns, very easy to follow.

These little kits gave ample fabric even if you made a cutting mistake!

I am so very pleased that I have been able to finish most of the tops that I brought with me.

I will be pushing to finish the final 2 I have cut out.

I woke up with a head cold today so we shall see how much I get done today.

~XOP~

 

Good Times

 I was in a mild fender bender last week.  

I went to back out of my parking space, going exceptionally slowly because there was a huge manhole-hole behind me, when a woman thought she could sneak behind me and get by. 

 It didn't work and since I was the one backing out it's considered my fault.  

Not much damage to either of the cars but a huge pain in the butt to have to deal with

 not to mention my high dedcutible, 

UGH! 

 I'm OK and so was she.  Cars can be fixed, right?

This was my bumper, only damage was on the driver's side.

When I finally got back to the camper after my errands and the accident, I sat down.

Cole came right over and snuggled into me.

Apparently he thought I needed the snuggles and a smooch!

It was kind of a harrowing day for me!

My kids were little the last time I was in an accident.

I slid into another car (on ice) as I was going around a corner.

Anyone doing the cracker swap on Instagram>

You fill a paper towel roll with sewing goodies (and maybe some candy)

then wrap it in a FQ.

I stuffed mine with 2 coordinating FQ and wrapped with 2.

I put in a set of the cool touch pins and some rotary blades.

I don't have my partner yet but I hope she will like what I chose.

Do you like this fabric?

All the other FQ coordinate with this one.

It's a fun and easy swap!

Sewing via FaceTime with my friend Kailie today.

Pics of my finish tomorrow or whenever there is no rain!!

~XOP~

Denim and Lace Quilt Top Finished

 I finished my Denim and Lace quilt top last month. 

I finally got some pics of the top.

It is so beautiful but a LOT of matching.

Thought I would share with all of you.

I started it when I was in Kansas City at the Reject Retreat this summer.

Mel and Kailie traded some LV fabrics with me.

This gave us all some additional variety.

I had someone helping me!

He is literally my shadow,

Chris bought fairy lights for outside.

We have been searching for these lights for the last 2 years and finally found them!!!

The pics don't really do the lights justice but they are so twinkly and beautiful.

We have them positioned in the woods behind the camper.

We will put them in the same position when we are home.

They should look great in the woods there too.

Leaving you with a shot of my best boy.

It's difficult to get great photos of a black cat but this one is pretty good.

~XOP~

The Drive Home, Looking Glass Falls

 Looking Glass Falls was so close to where we were staying during Thanksgiving we decided to stop there on our way back to Chapel Hill.

The falls were right near the road and easy to see.

We opted to get out and actually walked down to the river.

It was cold and we got a little wet taking pics, LOL.

This was looking in the opposite direction from the falls.

We stopped in Brevard and I saw this amazing dino.  

Had to get a pic near it.

They were all decked out in the town.

Loved this moose!

The next stop was at Lake Lure

We stopped at the Flower Bridge again.

Still beautiful

It was a great trip.

If you are ever near Brevard or the Pisgah Forest these are must see places!

~XOP~

More NC Fun Times and Thanksgiving

 We have been busy here in NC and the time is just flying by! .

 Chris and I packed up the truck and sent him back to MI for a week or so.  

He will be flying to Phoenix for a week for a church retreat then driving back here to finish out the year.  So let's catch up.

 We were driving and I spied 2 huge cotton fields. 

 I have never seen them in person and it was so beautiful. 

 Fabric seeds as it were, LOL.

Our eldest daughter came to NC to deliver a few peafowl to a farm here.

We all got to see her when she was here which was really nice. 

 Had a mini Thanksgiving at the camper with the whole crew. 

 She was heading back to the farm in Bullock to pick up a male peacock to use in her breeding.  

We got up early one morning and met her at the farm.  

I loved the teal peafowl, but she was taking home a purple male.  

She will have him for at least a year then return him to their farm.  

Some of her birds that I knew were at the farm.  

It was nice to see them again and very nice for the owners to give us a tour!

On the day before Thanksgiving we drove to the mountains to Brevard.

We got to spend it with our SIL's family

I made the stuffing and Chris cooked the turkey.

It was such a fun day and I'm happy that we were able to get some family pics.

It was us, BOTH of my SIL's grandmas, both of his brothers, his brother's wife, Nick's parents, Kelsey, Nick and of course Avery!

I love this little guy SO much!

Grammy, Pop, Papa, Gigi and Avery

I LOVE this pic of Kelsey, Nick and Avery!

It was such a fun day!

Hoping maybe we can make it a tradition going forward.

~XOP~

Cats and Things

 Finny was posing so nicely that I just had to get his pic today.

Last night before bed these 2 were co-opting my sewing space.

We were at Avery's the other day and he was taking the scooper off his lego truck.

He would say "help me".

Then Papa asked him if he was going to take it off again and this series of photos says it all.

Clearly the answer was YES

Silly papa!

I got a good photo of Cole showing how BIG he is now.

Amazing to think how far he has come from when he was ill.

For some reason this is Finny's favorite place to be, UGH.

We finally got Avery to actually enjoy jumping into the leaves.

It took some work but eventually he seemed to enjoy it.

He does love to snuggle with his papa.

I thought this photo of Finn turned out really well.

He is a gorgeous cat isn't he?

Kind of a mash up of pics but hope you enjoy these.

~XOP~

Quilt Top Finishes in October

 I brought along a variety of cut quilt tops to work on while we are in NC

I managed to finish 3 during the month of October.

My November is not looking as promising, LOL.

First up was a navy and white buffalo plaid quilt top.

I have a very special couple in mind for this one.

Some gorgeous navy minky is planned for the back.

I will have to seam it though.

Chris strung up a line between 2 trees so I could get a pic as this one is BIG!

It is so much prettier in person.

I have no idea where this one was even from.

It is an Elizabeth Hartman pattern called Chuckles.

I had a kit, but have no memory of purchasing it, LOL.

It went together so fast and turned out terribly cute!

I have plans to make another one in shimmery colors in the future.

I knew when I first saw this Art East Quilting pattern I needed to make one.

I looked for a long time to find the perfect background.

I found the cutest flower print!

Since the skunk in Bambi was called flower, I thought PERFECT!

I also found the most adorable lavender Minky for the back.

I ordered it to home and will get this one to the quilter ASAP once we are back home.

I have a very special little person for this one.

This pattern was a dream to make!

I just love Art East patterns.

There is a lot to cut but they go together so quickly.

Even the "stink" is adorable!

Which one is your favorite?

~XOP~