If you love lace, don't miss this!!!!

This is the best giveaway I've ever seen....  Freda has the most fantastic collection of lace gathered to give some lucky person..... These are just a few of her prize.  Hop over and put your name in for it......  http://sewwhatsnew-fredab.blogspot.com/2013/08/lace-giveaway.html  She's also making a quilt from old linens which will be fun to watch progress...

I love the rusty crib gate on my little veggie garden and had chicken wire across the bottom to keep the rabbits (aka rotten rodents) out but they had pushed through.  It had been decorated with copper leaves and butterflies (on the left) that looked worse for wear...  So I backed the whole gate with a heavier wire and added a rusted rabbit which will have a sign saying "rabbits unwelcome."  Plus I added bells ...I have bells on all my gates.  I love bells...especially rusty old bells.

I have been so busy that every day just flies by but have several posts to add in the next few days to catch up...  Most of it has been "good" busy like today..and some "not so good"  My outside helper is coming this morning  and I have a long list of work for us to do this morning...and boy do I love help outside.  My CQ stitchers are coming in the afternoon and I'm demonstrating the assembly of a chatelaine (I'm making a second one for a gift and it is from home decor fabric.) and I will post it tomorrow.  And my husband invited guests for dinner but it will be something easy... seafood risotto and a salad....ice cream for dessert. And we will have to eat standing up because NO WAY will all the CQ stuff be off the table.

My CQ stitchers are amazing and Morris has a green nose.

Remember last winter when two ladies found me and, along with another friend, we started meeting on Wednesdays.  I refer to them as my "Cqers in training." Through the winter we met every Wednesday and they are making amazing progress.. I have been nudging them along, offering advice and encouraging them to try new techniques and materials... and they have had access to my stash... Through the summer we will meet less frequently but I want to share two of  their projects. Our third stitcher was not there yesterday so I will catch her work later.

Sherrie had done some crazy quilting when she started coming and is a very accomplished needlewomen...  She started with a very small piece and now is working on a much larger fan block... and her seam treatments are absolutely gorgeous..

All of them bought Carole Sample's templates and are putting them to good use.

Kathy has been working on a flap for a BoHo bag. Yesterday she started on ribbon flowers in her basket.  We laid out lots of colors and discussed techniques. I know it will be the highlight on this bag when it is finished...


They have been so eager and enthusiastic that it's been great fun watching  their work progress.
They are already planning their next project...





And as a footnote I noticed last evening that Morris has green paint all over his nose and part of his face.  It looks suspiciously like the acrylic paint I use on my buttons so he probably chewed the top off a bottle I accidently dropped... I've searched the house in all his favorite hiding places and have not found any evidence... but he does indeed have a green nose...

Stitch and they shall find you!

Something like that anyway....  I have been searching for CQers in my area for 15 years and they have come knocking at my door... well emailing anyway....  Here at my table are Kathy (left) Sherri, and Kathy (right)  Kathy (right) and Sherrie were customers and frequent visitors to the garden when I had the rose nursery and just recently rediscovered me in a CQ-related internet post...  Sherrie has done some CQ and Kathy had done none but bought Pat's BoHo Bag book and is eager to make one... They don't even live in my town but in a nearby city and were willing to drive to me.  This is especially wonderful for someone like me who rarely (and I mean very rarely) drives.

The other Kathy (right) has been a friend for years and worked for me when I had the nursery..  She has seen all my projects and when I said I was going to be helping two others, she wanted to jump right in herself... Hooray!  They all had a blank block and after looking at some finished blocks and a tiny lecture. I turned them loose in my stash and they proceeded with the first steps of lace and trims...

They were here about 4 1/2 hours and went home with lots of stuff pinned and ready to secure... Next session will be seams.  An incredible lovely day!!!!!