Turning the Corner!

I have had a lovely week of stealing a few minutes here and there to put in some hand quilted stitches on my border.  I have completed the second border and need to add a  few more to finish this corner before moving on to the third border.

Each stitch has been a delight and as I sat and stitched this week, I started thinking about how many hand stitches are in this quilt.  Way to many to count for sure, but so enjoyable.  I remember when I first thought about making a quilt back in 1977.   How does a quilter have  the tenacity to put in all those stitches.  Now I can look back and chuckle.  Kathy over at Kathy's Quilts gave a very good definition of why so many slow stitchers enjoy their craft.  We definitely come out with so much more than a beautiful quilt!

Pura Vida!

Last night one of our smoke/CO detectors went off.  The one right outside the master bedroom, of course.  Out of the blue it decided to go off!  Of course, first we checked the whole house for a fire. We are dog sitting my son's two large dogs that are deathly afraid of storms. Well, I found something that scared them even worse.  Max decided he wanted to be Lassie and felt he had to bark and run to the door, like we needed to be rescued.  We have high ceilings so we had to haul in the large step ladder to be able to reach the detector.  Looking back, we must have looked quite hilarious in our pj's with two large shaking dogs cuddled on the sofa and schnauzer that was in rescue mode.  So it took a while to get things back to normal and everyone in bed.  This morning we went out and bought new batteries for all the detectors and my husband replaced the wacky detector. Hopefully that won't happen again in my life time.  What a way to end the week especially after I had some really relaxing sewing sessions this week.  First, I finished my SVBQ  applique block.

Then, I turned to Baltimore Garden.  It is  such a large quilt and I am getting so close to finishing, that I have decided it will take priority the next several weeks. Before we moved I had started a wee bit of the border. I had decided to do perpendicular double lines every inch as a background to the swags.  When I pulled it out of the moving box and laid it out I just wasn't pleased. I wanted something that was a little denser to match the half inch grid I used as background quilting on the blocks.  So I decided to try 45 degree straight lines one half inch apart! Yes, much better!

 I am so thankful for all the encouraging advice the gals over at Slow Stitching Sundays gave me.   I was reminded that I should concentrate on my joy of stitching and not measure the progress.  To find a few moments each day to enjoy the stitching.  They of course are so right, those ten minutes here or there really add up and I found myself sneaking over to the frame every chance I got. Before you know it I got one border quilted.  Thanks to all of you that took the time to comment and help me get back that joy!  I watched a pbs show this week on Costa Rica.

Pura vida” is commonly heard in Costa Rica—it means “pure life” and is often used as a greeting in lieu of “hello” and “goodbye”
Costa Rica is known as the happiest country in the world. They spend a great deal of the show explaining the expression used above. It's all about taking time for one self and others and enjoying the simple goodness the earth provides.

I think they may have something there. I know without my quilting time, I tend to get wound up. So Pura vida fellow slow stitchers!  Thanks for taking the time to remind me it's ok to take some time for me and what ever  brings me joy! 

Shame Shame!

As I get up this morning and drink my cup of coffee.  I feel a lot of shame, when I look at the progress on my SVBQ block.  Not much progess at all this week!!!!!! Not sure why I can't relax enough to enjoy my stitching.  I am going to take some tips from the Slow Stitchers over at the linky party at Kathy Quilts.  I really need to set a goal of making a bit of progress each day.  I know if I just allow my self the time it will soon become a habit. So instead of being depressed about my progress I will share my progress in the photo below.  I almost got all the red petals added and I am going to concentrate on how once I finish them and once I get that stem added this block will blossom into a lovely block to add to my quilt.  It's just a hodgepodge right now, I really need to make it my goal to bring it all together, don't you think?

OH MY!

This is the first time I have visited my own blog since March of this year!  OH MY!  How time does fly.  If you remember my husband and I made the move from Arkansas to Texas.  Really only six hour apart traveling on the highway, but not as easy as one would think.  Finding a home in the Fort Worth area was much more challenging than I thought it would have been. The area is growing so quickly builders are not able to keep up with demand.  Also selling our home in Arkansas in a very depressed area was as hard as I thought it would be.  We had three offers over eleven months. Luckily third time was the charm and we are now no longer home owners in Arkansas.  We were able to close on our new home in Texas in early June.

So I have spent most of the summer getting settled. Can't say I am completely there but for the most part we are moved in and thriving. It is so nice to be only a few miles away from my son and his family.  Attending a graduation and celebrating a birthday without having to make a six hour trek is so delightful.

But getting my sewing room ready to go has not been on the top of my list.  I just seemed to have lost my need to stitch daily.  But this week I pulled out the pattern for the next block of Shenandoah Botanical  and decided to see if just making myself sit down I could enjoy a few stitches.  Well, that did it!!!!!  I think, I finally feel like I have  a few minutes a day that I can sit and enjoy some stitches.

I will continue by using the back basting method to complete these blocks.  I got all the leaves done earlier this week and I hope to work on the flowers next.  So, I started back basting the little heart shaped buds this am.

They reminded me how I much love hand stitching.  Aren't they just too cute!

I also pulled Baltimore Garden out of the box and started hand quilting the border.  It's hard to believe that hand quilting the border and than doing the trapunto and trimming and binding will finish this beautiful quilt.  But I am sure it will still take me some time to get it done.  But I sure have come a long way from when I first started blogging about making this quilt in April of 2013.  So glad to have the relaxing time to stitch again I sure hope those sharing their  stitches over at Kathy's Quilts have continued sharing!