grand oak . . . the fun continues!

*Let me preface this post by saying that it looks a little odd. I know. The connection here is incredibly slow and I was having a very hard time uploading my pics. For some reason the layout of the photos didn't work right, so there's text and photos hodge-podged. I'm ready for bed, so I'm tired of fooling with it. Text and pictures . . . how hard can this be??? Argh! :)

Ah, what a glorious day! The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the sewing machines were humming! We got up and got a little sewing/chatting time in before our meal bell rang and we went upstairs for a breakfast of raisin bread french toast casserole. Yummy! We have not had a bad meal -- or a bad anything -- since we've been here! It's been so good, in fact, I purchased

this . . .

Today I was a little slack. I did finish piecing the baby's quilt!!!! This was a little more intense because I was having to do all the figuring (since it's an original, so to speak). I did a LOT of seam ripping on this, because I was struggling to get the vertical orange strips the right size. Or, as the ladies here often referred to it, I did a lot of the frog stitch. Ripit, ripit. *sigh*

BUT it is finished! I did some practice on free-motion quilting today -- I think that's how I'll quilt it. I dunno. I'm still wanting to tie bows in it. :)

Next I pulled out fabrics to work with . . . block ten . . . of the P&S BOM. You know, the one that never ends. Or rather, that I have never finished. Whatever. I particularly like the gold and purple floral. Isn't this gorgeous fabric? Really, my pictures do not do it justice.

I did not work on these hearts, but I was fascinated by them! Therese, one of my sewing station mates, pulled these out and I was absolutely captivated by them! The technique is called watercolor quilting, and you use a gridded transfer sheet. You fussy cut your fabric into the appropriate sized squares, arrange them in the grids, and iron them to the sheet. I fell in love with the blue heart with the ivy. It is so pretty, it almost makes me cry!

After you've laid out all your squares and ironed them down, you turn it over, fold each vertical line and stitch leaving a 1/4" seam allowance. This is the front after she's finished all of the vertical stitching

And this is the back . . .

Then she'll snip into the seam on all of the intersections, press it, and fold & sew on the horizontal grids. I hope she finishes stitching it tomorrow so I can see the finished top and take pictures! She has the book at home; she's going to bring it in to the next guild meeting for me! Yay!

It was a happy day. I learned stuff, I finished stuff, and I read my book (aka, took a nap). I was diligent and both made my bed *and* picked up my socks. Or rather, I never left any socks on the floor to be picked up! The Bed Nazis and the Sock Police are in full force. LOL! One of the great things about retreats is that you build a camaraderie that can't be forged any other way than by spending extended hours in the same room with ten other women! Lots of inside jokes will work its way out of it . . .

My utmost appreciation goes to Kari, who both invited me to the Stitcher's group and this retreat, and who was the coordinator of the retreat. She did a great job and I've had a blast! One more night (I'm off to bed shortly) and then tomorrow's check out time is at two. So a leisurely morning and a late brunch and we'll be packing up . . .

Tomorrow: wedding quilt. Again. To the death! Umm, I mean, until two o'clock.

*Yawn*smile*Yawn*!

:)

weekend reflections . . .

Lots of fun this weekend with two baby showers for Kim; one Saturday at her cousin's house, and a church one on Sunday, hosted by Reda. Kim got lots of great stuff for Sawyer! He's going to be such a pampered baby!

Kim is looking radiant and beautiful. It's so cute to see her from the back; you can't even tell she's pregnant! She goes this week for an ultrasound and we should get a more solid idea of when Sawyer will present himself!

The picture with Joc was taken at the Saturday baby shower. Sawyer was being very, VERY active, and Joc happened to catch a kick or roll. Her face was priceless!

Lots of fun food, a darling cake, and PRESENTS!!!

And Joc was responsible for the game gifts. She did an awesome job! I was in charge of games, but I had to leave early. Still, Kim had a darling hostess gift for me; it was an LED candle with a monogrammed P! Fun.

From Saturday's baby shower, Todd and I headed to Grady's B&B in Crane Hill on Smith Lake. Todd spoke on Sunday at Sulphur Springs Missionary Baptist Church. We enjoyed our stay and the church immensely. Grady, the B&B owner, was very effusive. The place was beautiful, too. I thought I had pictures to upload, but I'm not sure where they went! We were not able to spend as much down time as we would have liked at the B&B, and I think we've already decided we'd like to go back for a longer visit.

Early Sunday morning we headed for the church. Todd spoke very eloquently about our ministry and the men present listened intently and even asked some good questions. It always cracks me up -- men always want to know if *I* like staying in the RV at Camp Macoba . . . because it's every man's dream! LOL!

After the breakfast/speaking engagement, we went driving around. I took some funny pictures. We stayed at Sulphur Springs for both Sunday school and the worship service. Their pastor was phenomenal and preached one of the best sermons I've heard in ages. I'll have to detail it out a little, later in the week. It really brought conviction.

Definitely too short of a weekend. Especially since I gave myself the gift of strep. I woke up last night and my throat was on FIRE! I went ahead in and saw the doc and sure enough, I have a strep infection along with a sinus infection (which cracks me up; my sinuses aren't even bothering me). Lovely.

Ah well. Like my son told me today. That's why men don't go to baby showers; so they don't get diseases.

Oh.

:)

waxing clean . . .

So while in the grocery store the other day, as I perused the magazine aisle (cuz I'm a sucker for that aisle), I stumbled upon a new healthy eating magazine . . . Clean Eating. I hesitated for just a second, with my hand hovering mid-air, and then I gave in and picked it up and started paging through it. And then I put it in my cart. :) I was intrigued with some of the claims on the cover like, Easiest Breads You'll Ever Make (Skip the Bread Maker) p.57 and Low-Cal, Low-Sodium Minestrone Soup with Quinoa p.40, to name a few. So I got it and took it home and really went through it. And I have to admit, it was worth the $5.99 newsstand price. Some interesting articles and lots of yummy-sounding, healthy, and inexpensive recipes that aren't so full of bizarre and strange ingredients that I've never heard of or have to spend a small fortune on, or have to drive to India to find. You know what I mean . . . like cooking one of Martha Stewart's recipes! (Who I love dearly; I'm just sayin.)

Oh. And I do know you can't drive from Alabama to India.

Anyway, I was *really* captivated by the Minestrone (about which I think I posted a blurb on Saturday) which was featured on the cover, so I pushed up my sleeves and made it. And it was quite good, and pretty, too! This is a before Parmesan shot.

And this is the cornbread I made to go with it. Cornbread is so good. It's so bad for you and probably cancelled out all the good I was doing with the Minestrone, but it's so yummy and perfect for a cold winter's meal . . .

I prefer to cook cornbread in an iron skillet, but I don't have one small enough for two people, and I refuse to make a full recipe of cornbread to accomodate the skillet method. I just need to purchase a 4" or 6" skillet!

The after Parmesan shot. Wasn't that a pretty table? And yes, those are vitamins that you see at each place! :)

I also flipped to page 57 (the breads page) where a recipe for Apple Drop Biscuits caught my eye. They were made with oat flour and spelt, two flours I'd not worked with before. They sounded good (the biscuits), but I didn't want to invest money in the flour. Interestingly enough, there was a section of different flours and how to use then, to vary from the normal white/wheat flours. It also talked about milling your own flour from oats, or whatever, so I thought I might give it a try, using the steel cut oats I had on hand. The first attempt with my food processor (which I've never been impressed with) was an epic fail. But then I remembered reading about people using their coffee grinders to grind things like nutmeg and whatever, so I pulled it out and put the steel cut oats in it. *Perfect.* I was so pleased! So I used the oat flour and then for the spelt, I substituted a mix of pecan meal and wheat flour. They were very good!

Needless to say, when I stopped in the grocery store this weekend, I noticed that a new issue of Clean Eating was out. It went home with me, too. :)

These were my reveal gifts from my secret pal, April. Oh, along with the Hancock's gift card. Wasn't she sweet?!?!



And finally, here's a quick glimpse of Sawyer's baby quilt. I still have to cut the vertical orange strips and then sew all the strips together. Kim has the bumper pads and the crib skirt done already. It's going to be so cute! I've decided I'll tie off the polka-dot squares with a small orange satin ribbon, and then I'll quilt an "S" in each of the striped squares. I got some beautiful rich chocolate brown flannel to back it with. I'm so excited!

Let the week begin!

:)

sew, sew, sewing my life away . . .

I do enjoy being a bit dramatic every once in a while!

Today is the first day of February; and here's my third finish of 2010! It's a baby quilt that I started, on a whim, on Saturday. I've had the fabric (it was a Moda charm pack) forever, and I just wasn't sure how to use it, beyond just sewing the squares together. I was inspired by a Dora S'mores quilt, by Me and My Sister Designs, which was done for the Helping Haiti: Silent Auction for Disaster Relief. You can see the original here. Very darling and crafty. Why can't I think of things like that?!?!

Mine is a little different, mainly because I made it a four by four square, and I only used fabrics I had on hand (aren't I thrifty?), and I tied off the center blocks with white satin ribbon to make it look extra girly!

I've never done any tying off before; I didn't really use it a my quilting method. I machine quilted the whole quilt, and then I tied the bows, bringing the ribbon only through the top layer of fabric.

I don't know why this picture wanted to come in sideways, but it did and I'm tired of fooling with it. I did like the hot pink flannel I used on the back.

Mr. Flicker and Mr. Fox Squirrel are both making appearance out my back window right now. Enough of this computer and on to enjoy nature and a spot of tea for a bit, before I work on Sawyer's quilt!

Ciao!

:)

sunday, sunday . . .

We sang one of my favorite praise songs in church this morning; How Can I Keep From Singing Your Praise. The first line, "There is an endless song, echoes in my soul, I hear the music ring," completely captures it for me. Our worship team sang it as the special, and I know that the depth of the meaning of the words I sang were reflected by the smile on my face. :)

I finally found out who my Secret Pal had been . . . April! She gave me a really cute Vera Bradley set with a note pad/mouse, note cards, and a purse photo album (perfect for grandbaby photos), a gift card to Hancock's (!!!!!) and four baby-blue print fat quarters! Yay! She was a good secret pal and I enjoyed the round. I really enjoyed being a secret pal, and was happy Wanda (my recipient), was happy. *sigh* Happiness abounds!

Todd and I got home this afternoon and had leftover Minestrone soup that I made for dinner last night. I made it from a recipe out of a new magazine I found, Clean Eating. It was super good last night, and even better this afternoon; especially since it meant I didn't have to do any cooking. I popped it in the microwave for a simple reheat and lunch was served!

We then did something we've not done since we moved out here in early November. We took the coveted Sunday afternoon nap. I didn't realize how long it had been. In fact, I think this was the first time we've had an afternoon nap since we've been here! It would have been even better if poor Todd had not had to drive all the way back to church for a late afternoon meeting, but c'est la vie. It was a productive meeting, so I am not going to complain (especially since I'm not even the one who had to go)!

After dinner I worked one more strip of the baby quilt I'm working on. Tomorrow (Sew Freely Monday -- because I don't have to go to work) I'll finish that one up and start piecing the other baby quilt I'm working on. So many young women having babies in my life! It makes me smile.

The only detriment to a Sunday afternoon nap is that I'm not always really sleepy when it's time for bed. But Todd has already headed back, and he's on shift tomorrow, so I need to make the most of my cuddle time!

Buenos noches!

:)

another *sweet* surprise!

Have you ever just randomly googled your name? I do, just every so often, not out of any sort of vanity or anything, but just to make sure my name isn't being used--or rather, misused--in some bizarre fashion. I did that earlier in the week; Tuesday, I think it was. The search results come back fairly lickety-split, because there aren't that many of them out there to find! One or two in connection with the blog; a couple from back in the day when i was posting on newsgroups, like rec.gardens, one from some Rugrats page where the list owner included (by permission) a comment I'd make on alt.books.stephen-king (ages ago) about cartoons pandering to adults as much as children, and one hit came back from the list of participants in the Quilt Gallery's fall-inspired mini-quilt swap. A few are offerings with variations of my name, so they're not really me, and some have nothing to do with me or my name at all. It's not, by any means, a wowzer set of results; like I said, I do it as housekeeping, more than anything else!

But . . . this time . . . about halfway down the page one of the items caught my eye. I knew it was recent because it said Denise Panter of New Market, AL, and I've only lived here since November. Intrigued, I clicked on the entry, and guess what?!?!

I. won. again.

I didn't even know it! I'd entered my name for random drawings Planet Patchwork was doing on New Year's Day, and evidently, I won in the third hour of their drawings, a copy of Make Your First Quilt with M'Liss Rae Hawley courtesy of C&T Publishing. LOL! I don't know what it is with me and winning things. Anyway, Planet Patchwork's website said winners would get their prizes within 30 days, and that no other communication would be forthcoming. I'm glad I found that--I'd forgotten I'd even entered; that book would have come in the mail and I'd have had no *clue* why!!

So, I share all that to say that today, I think it came!!! How's that for definitive? We checked our po box after hours today, and in the box was a slip that said, "You have a mail item too large for your box." Which means I have to wait until Monday to find out for sure, but I think it is . . . I hope it is . . . I'm *sure* it has to be! Yay!

In other news, our snow turned to rain by yesterday afternoon, but temps have dropped today and it's snowing again. It's snowing HARD! I don't think we're going to get five or six (or even two) inches, but it's sure pretty coming down, especially with all the woodland creatures flitting in and out of the trees. My favorites are the cardinals and the blue jays; such pretty splashes of vivid color amidst the snowy white backdrop. I'm sure the deer will move in soon.

I got to Hobby Lobby this morning and got the remainder of the fabric I need for Sawyer's quilt; I got the orange for the borders and sashing, a lovely brown flannel for the back, and a really dark brown for the binding. It's all in the washer/dryer (I think it's moved to the dry cycle--the RV has stopped shaking) so I'll be able to press and cut it tonight/tomorrow.

I also finished cutting all the strips for another baby quilt I'm making for Kim's friend, Kim, who's having a little girl in February.

Julia e-mailed me a picture of the Rooster, hanging on her wall. Yay! It's nice to see him finally at home.

Todd's working on his Sunday School lesson for tomorrow, I'm quilting and puttering, the coffee pot is on, and nature is -- surrounding us! I'll put a pot of minestrone on for dinner tonight, and we'll just be cozy, warm, and happy.

I do count it all joy.

:)

wrapping it up . . .

The week, that is.

I've not gotten a schedule from Tate Farms this week, so I guess I'm not scheduled to work tomorrow. It's not really a big deal -- I don't work there for the money. I may go by and pick up my free pumpkin! I think I'd really like to carve one this year. It's been a while since I have done that myself . . . I think I'd like to get one pumpkin for Halloween carving, and one for the turkey stand. :)

James and I went to lunch today and had a nice chat. Marriage and impending fatherhood has been very good for him. I've always had a soft spot for my boy, but I enjoy his company more and more as he becomes the man, husband, and soon-father, that God's whittling out of him. James has perceptive insight into situations -- I love to hear his thoughts on a subject.

Both James and Jocelyn have, by God's grace--not through anything I've done, matured into pretty cool people whose company I enjoy. And they both picked most excellent spouses, making for a double blessing; one for them and one for Todd & me! I love my family.

Todd and I will probably spend a quiet night at home this evening. He's been to Camp Macoba and chatted with that committee today . . . we're moving right along!

Today is better than yesterday. Both James & Kim, individually, offered to take care of Merlin. I am still not sure I want to burden these two like that! But last night, as I spent kitty-cuddling time with Merlin, I decided that I would just enjoy him each day that I have him, and that I would trust God to do what was best. Seems silly to spend time crying now, when I could be spending that time doing something productive . . . like scratching under Merlin's chin!

I got the cute little sewing accessory kit in the mail this week, along with my teapot BOM from The Cherry Pit, a beautiful Jerusalem's cross that Cynthia, my sister, brought me back from her trip to Jerusalem, the most current issue of Eating Well, and I think that's it for mail. Overall, not a bad week!

It wasn't a bad week for James, either. He's inherited (or stolen) my lucky gene! He won an xbox 360 yesterday on the radio. He goes to pick it up today!! Go James!!!! Now he's walking around twice as puffed up ... because it was bad enough when they found out they are having a BOY!!!! Yay! A grandbaby boy will be so much fun! His name will be Sawyer Graham Panter. I cannot wait to meet him next March! Let the baby boy quilts begin!

If I don't work tomorrow, I'll post some pictures of this week's treasures.

Hasta la vista!

:)

drumroll please . . .

Humph. Evidently the drummer will be rolling for a bit longer. James has decided to *tease* me with inconclusive and noncommittal texts. They know . . . oh yes, they certainly know! But the thrill of holding something over my head is proving too much fun for my son!

All in due time, all in due time.

James did take a dvd, so they could record the ultrasound! I can't wait to see!

* * * * *
Okay. I had off on Monday. I didn't do much productive. I tidied and organized my yellow room; it was in dire shape! There were scraps and fat quarters and loose threads all over the place! I can't even describe everything that was out of whack with that room . . . but no more!

I also finished scanning all of my Celebrate magazines. I got about 50-70 usable pages out of each one. I'd had a copy of the Celebrate Halloween sent to Jocelyn and she loved it! I gave her the spring, summer, and fall issues, since I'd scanned them. For the time being, I'll just buy, scan, and send 'em on to her! :) Works out happily all the way around. She stopped by after work on Monday and guess what she had for me?!?! My birthday present! An iPod and the Bible on CD! I am so excited! I finally figured out how to load stuff on the thing, and for the past two drives to and from work, I've been able to listen to the Word! Love it, love it, love it!

Last night after work I headed over to Flint River for the Madison Baptist Associational meeting. Todd, as the Association's Sunday School director, had a table set-up with all kinds of SS info and helps. I'm so proud of my husband! I slipped into the meeting just as the sermon started for the first half. It was good -- I enjoyed the preaching, but I was sorry I'd missed the Flint River ensemble!

I joined Todd as he manned his table as the messengers went to dinner. I visited with the ensemble for a bit (which was really nice -- I miss them!), and then Todd introduced me to the two gentlemen who are with Rob on the Camp Macoba committee. I think it was important for them to meet me and understand that this was an opportunity I was interested in too! Todd continued to chat with them over dinner and after the meeting started back up. I went on into the service. There was a very nice tribute to John Long, and then there was my favorite ensemble doing congregational singing! The treat of the night, though, for me, was Brother Carl Tate singing "I Sing Because"! It was wonderful! I got to give him a hug last night, too. :)

There was some GREAT preaching in the second half, too -- by a fellow named Earl Johnson. His church joined the association last night. Great, great stuff.

When we got home, Todd shared with me that a date has been set:

NOVEMBER 14th, 2009!!!!

We're moving the RV to Macoba, and moving into it! Life is getting ready to make MAJOR changes!

Reflection time . . .

:)

CELEBRATION!

This is the day that the LORD hath made . . .

And it's also the day He saw fit to bring my youngest baby, James Edward Panter, into the world. Twenty-two years ago!

And now my baby is getting ready to be a daddy. Circle of life!

Last night James and Kim came over and had supper and cake (ice cream cake, in a bowl, per James), and celebrated. I cannot get over how blessed I am.

He really didn't want me taking his picture. Mom's privilege. LOL!

I didn't do a whole lot on BBS quilt yesterday; I framed it out in the black borders; that's all I had time for. This morning I added the six-inch borders down the length. I'll sew that up tonight! I did talk to Becky, who is going to quilt this bad boy on her long-arm quilter. I did not know that with the long-arm machines, you don't have to put the quilt top, batting, and backing together -- the machine feeds it together! WOW! I finally understand the charm of long-arm quilting! You can tell I'm still such a newbie quilter! :)

I got the fabric and fabric swatches in yesterday's mail! I got some Moda charm squares -- autumnal looking and festive; a yard each of acorns and Indian corn; and 2 yards of a Moda Christmas print - red and green and stars. fun, Fun, FUN!

Today I am going with my friend, Jennifer to one of my favorite places for lunch - Emma's Tea Room! Yay! I even have a coupon for a free pot of tea. Whoohoo!

Today is also Friday. FRIDAY! And it kicks off a three-day weekend! Hooray!!

Happy Birthday, James!

Happy Labor Day weekend, laborers!

:)

ps -- I added a link to TGIF giveaways! Check it out!

FABRICS . . . YUMMY!

Oh how I love Saturdays! I regret to say that I didn't finish as much on the quilting end as I would have liked, but I *did* have a day of accomplishment, nonetheless!!

I started out this morning by stewing and freezing all the tomatoes Todd had picked from our wonderful garden! I also added some peppers he picked yesterday as well. I was able to put up a couple of quart containers. I put about 3 quarts of tomatoes in brown paper bags, so they could ripen. 'Maters freeze better when they're mostly red!

I also baked and put up some acorn squash that Jeff had brought into work from his garden. I didn't know this, but they have seeds like pumpkins - and you can roast them just the same way! I've got the seeds soaking in salt water for roasting later.

After that, I cleaned up the kitchen, and Kim came over! I wanted to take her to Hooked on Quilting, so she could look at baby fabric with me! I think we decided that we need to wait until we know the baby's sex; especially since she definitely wants to theme the bedroom! Gosh there were lots of beautiful fabrics -- fun and darling and precious and soft. Yay for babies!! Then we headed over to look at the holiday fabrics. Whoa! Kim found some really cute Moda fabric for stockings for James, her and the baby. I found lots of beautiful things, but brought home a sampling of just a few. I also got a Moda panel for a table runner that was *so* cute! It goes with a kit I already have for a wall-hanging. So darling!

I noticed that three of the four fabrics I got today have the glittery gold in them. Really, I don't do it on purpose. I'm *drawn* to it! I do believe I'm becoming a fabric collector. I guess there are worse things! Gotta stock up while I can!

The fourth fabric I got was the chicken coop wire. Isn't that great? Oh, so much fun!

Kim and I had cake, ice cream, chips & dip while we were at the quilt shop. Both the shop owner, Cindy, and Mrs. Martha were there today, so we got chatted up and down both sides! I really do like giving my business to local small business owners. They are personable and remember my name, and that goes a long way with me. And they said sweet things about my Kim. Kim is definitely one of my "joy to love" people.

Finally we were able to head back home. I think Kim went on to do some grocery shopping, and I stayed PUT! :) I finished watching Matilda, then headed for the quilt room. Time passes so quickly when I'm working (on something I truly enjoy)!!! Next thing I know, it's after six! But, much to my delight, I have finished piecing the top of BBS quilt, with the exception of the outer sash! Whoohoo!!! I still have to cut and sew that, and then I can send it off for quilting! What a JOY! I'll post pictures of that later, after batteries are charged. Six sets of batteries, and not a stinking charged set in the bunch!

This was Day 6 of Week 1 of the love Bible study. She asked that I name some folks that I needed God's help in loving. I listed the one name that I knew from the get-go belonged there, but then another name popped into my mind. This was a person I'd thought about all week and how difficult they had been and how hard it was to get near them. BAM! You think I was supposed to make the connection earlier? I am so thankful I serve a patient God. One who waits for me 'get it'. Father, help me to remember Your patience with me the next time I am dealing with someone who's having a hard time 'getting it'. Allow me to think back on this day and how lovingly You waited for me to see it as You wanted me too!

Can you believe that Monday marks the end of August? September and fall are almost here! And tomorrow I'm tackling the chocolate cake!

Sweet dreams!

:)

What a glorious weekend!

Friday and Saturday, I went to the Jane Bray's home for a LBC women's event. What fun! Friday night was a late night; followed by an early morning back out there! We finished up by 11:30 and I headed home to get ready for our Girl's Night/Baby Shower for Lori. My darling husband had vacuumed, swept and tidied the kitchen, and just generally made the house look nice. *And* he brought flowers for me to arrange and set out! He's ***so*** wonderful!!

We had a fun time Saturday night. I was really pleased that both Joc & Kim were able to be there! We played a baby shower mad libs. Oh my. I think I shredded that sheet when we were finished. I know Joc sure hopes I did!

Folks were out of there by 8:30, and Kim, Joc, Todd & I sat around a talked for a bit. I love my family very much! Joc had met Elaine & Jimbo for lunch in Nashville, and they had sent her back with boxes of school supplies, and a quilt top that my Grandma Wadleigh had started, for me! It's precious -- I'll enjoy finishing it!

Sunday morning, Todd & I headed to Lighthouse. Brother Randy preached a very thought-provoking sermon titled, "Blessed". He used Genesis 1:26-28, Colossians 1:16-23, and Ephesians 1:1-10 to illustrate how blessed we are simply because each one of us was specifically created by God, the Creator. I am divinely designed; with that comes terrific responsibility!

Then Todd & I came home and had dinner and a raspberry cobbler. YUM!!! Then Todd went off on shift, and I finished Twilight and then made the Orange Marmalade Cake (see previous posts).

The weather, too was simply gorgeous! If that was a fall preview, bring it ON!!

Selah!

:)