Cozy Afternoon is Coming ..... Are you Ready????

People get ready......
     ..... a fun new BOM by Jacquelynne Steves is coming your way next Monday, June 15th!!!

If you haven't signed up to receive the FREE Cozy Afternoon patterns so you can sew along, go HERE NOW!  Remember - even though you may have joined along for Sew Sweet Simplicity, you will still need to sign up for this new sew along.

And you ARE going to want to sew along with us!!!  Here are few sneak peeks from Jacquelynne's website, just to whet your appetite .....

Convinced yet?  

Of course you are!!!!

Jacquelynne is using different fabrics to give Cozy Afternoon lots of different looks - one of them will be calling your name I'm sure!  And as always - there will be GIVEAWAYS!!!!

Jacquelynne has a wonderful lineup of guest bloggers for this fun BOM Event, and once again I am delighted to be one of them!!!  Remember the amazing Laurel Burch Cats panel I used for my SSS blocks?

Well, I've decided to make up my Cozy Afternoon blocks with a few of the remaining panel cats and then put them all together for one fantastic quilt!  Here are few of the cute cats that are left for me to choose from ....

So come on back Monday, June 15 to see my first two blocks!

You know you can't resist!!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Kitten Cuteness Overload!

If you don't like kittens, then this post is definitely not for you!  On the other hand, if you think kittens are just about the cutest thing God ever created, then hold on to your hat 'cause I've got a lot of "Kitten Cuteness Overload" pictures to show you!!!  I spent the past few days with my daughter, who STILL has not passed that dratted kidney stone!  On Wednesday, the doc removed the stent and told her he thought it would come through within 24 hours.  Not!  But we're hopeful it will be soon, as this is her third week of pain and dealing with this.  Luckily, we had the new baby KITTENS to distract us from all the drama of the kidney stone :*D

At the end of the post, I will show you my progress on my Cloud Illusions shawl, but really, how can that compare to KITTENS?????

NATASHA (the sweetest of the sweet!)

LOKI (Emma has him spoiled rotten already!)

HULK AND THOR (two big boy twins who love to play!)

Can you tell my daughter and granddaughter are HUGE fans of the Avenger movies?  Yep, every kitten has an Avenger name LOL!!!  That's some big names to grow into :*)  But Hulk and Thor are definitely doing their best.  They love to rough and tumble and play!  They are big boys!

You can see how tiny they are by the size of this one next to my hand!

Did I mention how sweet Natasha is?

Who can resist watching kittens play?

And I love how they all fall asleep together suddenly, as if a bell rings to tell them "Time Out!"
They all kind of fall down in a pile and sleep however they fall :*D

How do they manage to fall asleep in these positions???

There were kittens everywhere you looked!
We had to be so careful to watch where we were sitting and walking!

Mama Addie is doing a really fine job for her first (and last!) litter!
She's such a sweetheart!!!

While my daughter and the kittens were sleeping, I managed to get quite a lot done on my Cloud Illusions shawl!  I finished the beginning section - the Garter Stitch Body, and have completed 17 rows of the lace section.

I stopped by the Knaughty Knitter on my way out of town to compare the size of mine with the shop sample (you can see the sample in a previous post by clicking HERE).  Meredith knitted hers using a cotton yarn and following the small size pattern, but my yarn is more of a lace yarn which makes it work up much smaller than her sample, so I wasn't sure whether to stop at the small version like she did or go on with the extended size.  After comparing the two, I decided to go for the larger size in order to get it closer to the size I liked.  Fortunately, I had purchased two skeins of this gorgeous yarn just in case, because she didn't have any more.

So far, I think the lace pattern is working out well....this is really fun seeing the design come to life!!!

You can see other yarn projects over at Judy's Patchwork Times today.

I'm looking forward to some quality time at home!  I need to get my sewing studio back into some reasonable kind of order and get back to work on some of my priority quilt projects.  There is a certain little granddaughter who is already 4 months old and still doesn't have her baby quilt!  Bad Grandma!!!!

Genevieve Rose

And we have another on the way, due the day after Christmas!  They have decided to be surprised when the baby is born, so their baby quilt will have to wait until it is here.  Whew - a little breathing room :*)

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Back in the Blogging Saddle!

Gentle reminder.... Google Reader shuts down tomorrow!  

If you have been following by GR, I'd love for you to switch over to Bloglovin' so I don't lose you as a valuable follower!!!  Just click on the link on my sidebar to continue following along ♥♥♥

I got home late yesterday afternoon from my "world tour" - aka, visiting a few days with my daughter and then at the TVQA Spring Seminar in Murfreesboro for 3 days :*)  It's always such a delight to spend time with Christy and Emma.  I don't see them nearly enough now that they are three hours away from us in Savannah.  During this trip, I got a special treat ---- Warning!  Serious cute alert coming up ....

Brand new baby kittens!!!!

Adelaide ("Addie") with her newborns =^..^=

 Emma's cat Addie gave birth to these little sweethearts while I was on the road to their house.  Four shiny new faces greeted me upon my arrival!

Sweet little baby face!

Who can resist a newborn baby kitten?  Mama's got a protective paw over this little fellow

Addie is only about a year old herself and this is her first litter, so we were really happy to find that she is an excellent mother and doing a fine job with no help at all.  The proud papa, Harry, is not so sure what is going on, and he's pretty sure he's not happy about it because his playmate is not coming out to play anymore.  So he's finding other ways to keep himself occupied, like playing with my scraps as I was trying to iron them LOL!!!

He's such a ball of energy that it was hard to get a picture that wasn't blurry!

After I left Christy's house, I headed off to Murfreesboro TN and the TVQA Spring Seminar.  I took 4 classes in 3 days, and it was truly a blast!  Actually, I feel a little "blasted" this morning LOL!!!  Pooped and just plain worn out!  But I learned a lot and had so much fun!   I'm sending a shout-out to my friend and great roomie, Lisa!  This was our first time rooming together for anything, and I was delighted to have the opportunity to get to know her better.  She's such a great person and wonderfully easy going!  We got along famously and very quickly came up with a routine that allowed us both to enjoy our stay and each other's company - so lovely!!!

I'll share pictures and adventures from my classes tomorrow for Design Wall Monday.  For today, first up, I just have to share this wonderful fabric sent to me by my wonderful friend, Cheryl who blogs at Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting.

OMG!!!  Cheryl said she saw this fabric and just knew that I would LOVE to have a piece of it because of my love of text fabrics - was she ever RIGHT!!!!  Oh my gosh, I squealed when I opened it!  Not only do I love text fabrics, but I also love crosswords - any kind of word puzzles are special favorites of mine!!!  Cheryl, I can't thank you enough!  This will go in a very special project, something I can look at often and think of you!!!  =^..^=

I also want to share my Slow Stitching Sunday progress and link up at Kathy's Quilts - one of my favorite blogs!  This is a Ta-Da moment for me.....(pardon the wrinkles!)

Yay!!!  I finished the final block for Promises & Borders!!!!

Yes, indeed, my friends, all my whining about these blocks is now officially over!!!  =^..^=

I'll look up my pictures for all of these blocks and try to post them together sometime later this week.  I'm so excited to be done with these stitchery blocks, and I can't wait to trim them down to size, sash and assemble all of these lovely blocks and make them into a wonderfully inspiring quilt!!!

Since I knew I was very close to finishing P&B, I traced off the 3rd block for Winter Wonderland in case I needed another handwork project while I was traveling.....

I also took along my socks, but somehow never got around to working on those.  I understand there was an amazing Knit Shop right around the corner from where I was staying, but I never got a chance to get over there.  I have to find my yarn for the Dreambird Knitalong with Judy and Denise!  (You can go Patchwork Times or Justquiltin with Denise Russart to check that out if you're wondering what I'm talking about.  They both have links to this KAL on their sidebars)  I'm thinking a day trip with my friend Joanne is going to be in order very soon :*D

In closing today, I'll reward you for sticking around to the end by showing you some pictures of stash additions - very little actually - I'm quite proud of myself!!!

First, I found a good-size bottle of Best Press in the Unscented version in Hancocks....

Several of you wondered if the lavender scent in the smaller bottle I was using was bothering my allergies.  That particular scent did not bother me, but then I tried using the peaches and cream scent, and that one did bother me!  It really did a number on my lungs and I began coughing quite a bit.  I also didn't like the hair-spray-type sprayer on those small bottles, so I was happy to find this bigger bottle with the super-duper sprayer and no scent!  Now that I'm home, I'll be continuing my Stash Washing Adventures.  Thank you to so many of you who offered great suggestions and ideas for helping with that - you're the best! - and I will be trying each and every one of them !!!

And now for the Stash Enhancements you've all been waiting for

 - and very patiently too I might add  =^..^=

Pat Sloan had a box of half-yard cuts for $2.50 on her book table, a great price I couldn't resist, especially with some of these lovely colors and prints!

Aren't they wonderful?  Totally irresistible!  Fortunately, I did manage to resist all other fabric offers... unbelievable, I know!  Especially when Hancocks had an entire wall of fabrics in every color and print imaginable for 50% off!!!  I only picked up two pieces of solids in the remnants bin there for peanuts....Yes, I'm good :8)

Be sure to come back tomorrow for some pictures from my classes at Spring Seminar!

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday ♥

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

How Will She Eat?

Our Gypsy had to have six molars removed today!

She is 17 years old and we had been noticing little things lately that told us she wasn't feeling well.  And we could tell that she had lost some weight too.  Since she was diagnosed last year with diabetes, we decided to take her in for a check-up.  The good news is that her diabetes is still under control and there's no problem there.  The not-so-good news is that she is beginning to have a little kidney trouble, not bad yet but we have to change her food again.  It's a real problem trying to find a food that keeps both diabetes and kidney issues under control.  It was hard for us to hear about the kidney problem, because kidney disease is what took her sister from us last year.

The vet also said that she had some pretty bad molars that really needed to come out - like, all of them!  She had some of them removed about six years ago, and today he took out the rest.  They have to put them under for this and surgically remove the teeth.  Everything behind the canines is gone!  I asked the doctor, "How will she eat?"  But he said she has to have moist food anyway for her diet so it won't be a problem.  And he said she will probably actually eat better now because her teeth won't be hurting her anymore.  We really felt bad that we didn't know they were in that shape!  It had been a year since her last check-up, and they had progressed that quickly.

Bless her heart, she is feeling a little woozy tonight!  The vet gave her pain meds before we brought her home, and we just gave her another injection for the night.  I hope she sleeps well and doesn't hurt!  I'm not sure I could blog without my little blogging buddy helping me pick the right words!  This is how I blog more times than not =^..^=

I have to say though, even after surgery she looks better than me in my bedtime scruffies and scrubbed face!  :*D

Goodnight all :*)
Teresa
=^..^=

Slowing it Down for Sunday

It's a gorgeous day here in middle Tennessee!!!  

A little warm still, but the humidity we were suffering from Isaac is thankfully almost gone.  The sun is shining and the birds are singing... the poor little hummingbirds are working themselves silly trying to store up enough fat to make it across the Gulf of Mexico here in a month or so :*)

And I got a wonderful surprise yesterday afternoon - my daughter and granddaughter came up for a quick visit!  They wouldn't let me take their pictures, but I did get a good shot of one of the newest members of their family.....

This is little Addie - short for either Adeline or Adelaide, I can't remember which.  Does that make me a terrible grandmother?  LOL!!!  Isn't she the sweetest, cutest little thing you ever saw?  Well, not counting your own babies of course :*)  She has a brother too, but he was not in any mood to sit for a photo session.  They are about six weeks old and a bundle of energy & fun =^..^=

Today, I'm thankful for all these wonderful gifts from my loving Father!!!  What are you thankful for?

I'm joining Kathy at Kathy's Quilts today, doing some slow stitching.  As always, working on my Promises & Borders blocks keeps my mind and heart centered on my Father =^..^=  Here is my current block.....

I've gotten quite a bit done.  Just getting the lettering done is always a milestone for me, since it's my least favorite part of the stitching.  I love the way the trees seem to form the shape of a heart!  Jenny is a very talented designer and I'm really loving this project.

As promised, I spent yesterday working on my scrappy Rainbow Pineapples.

Here are the 2 aqua blocks, all done and looking mighty fine, even if I do say so myself :*)  Not sure if I'll work on the orange ones today or not, we'll just have to see how the day develops.  That's what Sundays are for... just going with the flow, easy and gently, just like riding a float on the waves.  Hmmmm, close your eyes and you're there!

No activity in the stash this week, but you can go over to Patchwork Times to see what wonderful things others are adding to their stashes =^..^=

I'm wishing you all a blessed Sunday and hoping that you will slow down 

and just enjoy the gift of the day :*)

 Source:  Pinterest

Hugs & Blessings!
Teresa
=^..^=