Things Are Always Better When You Can Hide Behind Mama

 Yesterday we walked out the front door of the mission and saw a mama duck and her babies.  Of course they all scattered immediately.  Mama went in one direction flopping around like she had a hurt wing, trying to distract us and keep us away from her babies.  The babies ran around the corner to a back door and hid, or thought they did.

Then Mama came back and oh my they were glad to see her!

 She ran from one side to the other trying to find a way out and every step she took the babies took.

 They liked it best when they were under her!

 Finally she just stood and waited for me to leave.  Which I did.  As soon as I walked away they took off for the bayou.  I bet they stay there!

Cute Fabric! And Passing Thoughts

Last week I found this cute panel (the center portion of the top) called Down Under (by Henry Glass).  I added a few borders and ended up with this.

I have no idea who's getting this one but I bet when it's quilted there will be someone who claims it.  :)

I packed up my sewing machine and everything for quilting that I brought with me except for my hand stitching today.  We finish up this mission trip next Friday and will head home right after breakfast.  It's always a bittersweet time and this year more than other times.  We've decided to switch the time we come to volunteer at the mission from June and July to February.  That means we won't see the "regulars" who come every summer any more.  This is the third summer we've worked here and the kids who come have grown up before our eyes - it's so easy to see that when you only see them once a year.  We've met some wonderful people and made some good friends and I know that we may not see them again until we meet in Heaven.  I'll miss their sweet presence in my life.

It rained again here today.  I don't think we've missed more than three or four days having rain since we got here the first of June.  Everything here is waterlogged.  And at my house in Arkansas the ground is dry and cracking, the grass crackles when you walk on it, and the poor bugs and animals are constantly seeking water.  I wish I could send some of this back home.

There's a Christmas Blog Hop beginning Monday - I'm not participating in this one but I'm excited about seeing all the Christmas blocks everyone is creating.  For a schedule click on the blog name and it will take you to Lesley's blog, The Cuddle Quilter.

Later in the fall I'm going to be hosting a blog hop - I don't have all the information yet but watch for it!  I've never hosted one before so I'm a bit nervous, but I bet it's going to be fun.  :)

Cherished Memories - Complete, but Not Complete

Last year I did the hand embroidery for the quilt called Cherished Memories designed by Arlene Neely of Rabbit's Haven.  I spent a year looking for a fabric I liked to make the sashing and finally found it this summer at The Bourne Quilter in Lafayette, LA.  The quilt just has a simple sashing but it took a particular fabric because I used several pastel colors in the emroidery.

For some reason I can't get the color to show up like I want it to - the bunnies are in a silver gray.  I stitched them on white baby flannel using mostly the stem stitch.  The flowers are various colors, some in stem stitch and some lazy daisy stitches with french knots.  The background fabric is yellow with dots of all colors.

When I started this quilt I didn't have anyone in mind to give it to; I just loved the pattern.  It turns out that I like it so much that I think I'll save it for my first great grandchild.  No, I'm not expecting one.  Not any time soon.  Some of my grandchildren are certainly old enough to produce that first great grandchild, but since none are married yet we'll just wait a while.  (If any grandchildren happen to be reading this please know that I'm not encouraging....just anticipating).  So I think I'll put this away until some future date, years from now (or months, who knows) when the big announcement will be made.  Then I'll quilt it and pray for the new little one that will receive it.  Now, aren't I good great grandmother-in-waiting?  :)

Read Any Good Books Lately?

From the left:  Twilight, Hunger Games, Virgin River, Outlander, and Clan of the Cave Bear.  Loved them all!

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And The Winner Is....

The winner of my Red, White and Blue giveaway is BillieBee at BillieBee's Blog.  Billie I've sent you an e-mail and will send off your winnings as soon as I hear from you.

And thanks again to Madame Samm and to Jayne for a wonderful Blog Hop!  

A Morning Walk...And Who's More Scared?

Most mornings I walk very early.  I mean like 5:30 or 6:00.  I know, crazy isn't it?  But honestly that's the only time of day it's cool enough here to do it and be able to breathe.  Well, I could probably walk late in the evening except then the mosquitoes would carry me off!  One morning as I walked down this little narrow, part-concrete, part-gravel, part-mud puddles road I was startled by these three little fellows running quickly away from the fence that borders the road under the bridge.

Toddler Raccoons!  Three siblings (I imagine) were hiding in the ditch at the bottom of the fence when they caught sight of me.  First they ran straight out into the field, then they scurried to the right, then decided that was wrong and reversed direction and ran to the left.  :)  There was a wild cat out in the field with them but he ran too fast for me to get a picture.  I don't know if they were friends hanging out or just happened to be in the same vicinity but apparently I scared them all!  Little did they know but I jumped three feet when they jumped out of that ditch.

I always watch for snakes but I don't normally look for other "critters."  You can bet I will now!

Just In Case You Ever Get Lost

One of my daughters was here at the mission with me for a week and of course we visited The Bourne Quilter in Lafayette.  She found a pattern and fabric she liked and asked if I could make it for her.  I didn't even really look at the pattern...just said, "of course."  This is the pattern she chose:

Except", she said, "I don't want the bow."  No problem...right?

I should have looked a little closer at the pattern.  :)  It's a nice pattern.  But it's not a simple pattern.  That bow?  And that band that looks like ribbons?  That's set in.  And if you don't want the bow you don't need the ribbon.  And if you don't want the ribbon you don't need the pattern!  You might need a pattern, but you need a different pattern.  Luckily I've made many purses so I was able to add an inch or two here and there and have it come out the shape she wanted.

The reason for my title?  Take a close look at that fabric....it's a map of New Orleans!  It's a great fabric and a great memory for her - while she was here she took her niece, my granddaughter, to New Orleans for the day.  I love that she chose gold for the lining because it really pops against the black and white.  I added a pocket on the inside out of the black and white for a couple of pencils and maybe even a cell phone.

Red, White and Blue! (And a Giveaway Too!)

July 9th

Home Designs by Amanda

A Stitch in Time

Karen ~ Briarside Lane

Stitching by the Lake

Moose Stash Quilting

Stitchin' by the Lake - that's me!  When I first saw Madame Samm mention Red, White and Blue I was so excited - I mean, really, who doesn't love that color combination?  And Jane, bless her heart, agreed to coordinate the Blog Hop so I couldn't wait to sign up.  About two minutes after I sent that e-mail I went into a dead panic!  What was I thinking?  In the summer my husband and I volunteer at a mission in south Louisiana, 400+ miles from our home.  I always take my sewing machine with me, but truth be told I don't get a lot of time for sewing.  I felt a bit like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland running around saying...hurry, hurry, hurry, no time to waste, no time to waste, no time to waste.  Did he say that or did I dream that?  :)

Several years ago I participated in an internet swap of red, white and blue blocks and I still have several that I made during that time - you might enjoy seeing those.

I had no idea what I would do for this hop but a few minutes here and a few minutes there.... I figured I could stitch up a few blocks for you to see.  First I went to Quilter's Cache because one of my reasons for the panic was ... I brought no books or patterns with me!  And if you ever need a pattern for a block, oh my goodness they have a million!  I wanted a few traditional blocks to add to the ones above and these were perfect:

 This first one I found is called Antique Tile...and I swear, it really does look like a tile, doesn't it?

Then I stumbled across this one, called A Dandy, and I thought it would be fun to make - Yankee Doodle Dandy!

 But I really got excited when I found Arkansas Cross Roads - I was born, raised and have lived in Arkansas all my life so it was perfect.

At that point I thought I was done but I do love machine applique and I do love quilting so these Hearts came to mind.

When I found out we were going to have a few days off for Independence Day I was thrilled because that meant I could go home and go through my books.  I love Art To Heart books and I found Uncle Sam in one called Easy Does It Patriotic.

I loved him so much I decided he needed to become a small quilt hanging for one of my Ackfeld Quilt Hangers so I added a bit of hand quilting with Valdani  Floss, a bit of free motion quilting, and a bright binding.  Don't you just love him?  I do!

What would a Blog Hop be without a giveaway?  Fun, yes, but absolutely so much more! fun if there's a chance to win a gift!  If you're a follower then leave me a comment telling me you are and I'll add your name to the hat for this hand embroidered tea towel, two patterns, and four red, white and blue fat eighths.    :)

Concentration

Learning to embroider takes a bit of concentration. :)


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