It's almost Friday!

It's that time again!  I have to finish the baby quilt that I started last weekend, so I'm looking forward to the Friday Nigh Sew In. 

Not much to say today.  I had a really awful day so I'm just waiting for it to be over so I can start fresh tomorrow!  Meet you at the sewing machine!

Wordless Wednesday

Today's post brought to you . . .

This post brought to you by the color ORANGE.

Orange makes me happy!

Apple Butter Festival!

Yes, another fall festival today.  Today, we were celebrating the making of Apple Butter.  I love apple butter, and I love a chance to walk around at another festival and look at an assortment of crafts, more food items than I could begin to list, and actually watch apple butter being made.

Not a great picture, but it was too hot to get very close.  The metal thing in the pot is the stir stick, and the gentleman was standing back about 6 feet, so as not to get too close to the heat. 

I bought a white ironware jug in an antique shop, and this adorable little hand-painted gourd ornament.  There were so many wonderful gourds to choose from - it was a hard decision.

We bought some barbecued chicken for lunch, and a funnel cake. I haven't had a funnel cake for a long time, and it was delicious!

We rode this neat trolley into town rather than parking along the highway and walking as far as we usually do for this particular fair. The inside of the trolley was fantastic! Almost everything was wood, including the seats. They were like old wooden park benches with painted iron trim.

After we got home, I decided to go to the local Outlet Mall to look for some shoes.  I don't usually like clothes/shoe shopping, but I'm in desperate need of shoes, so off I went.  I came home with not one pair, but THREE, and they're all suitable for work.  I may have also picked up a couple of clothing items from the clearance racks.

Dinner was a delicious Butternut Squash soup, made by hubby and me.  The recipe said it made 4 servings, but we'll be eating soup for a few more days!

And now I'm headed back down to the sewing room.  I laid out the quilt on my 'design floor' last night, and then realized that I had something wrong.  While fixing the design problem, I came up with a new design that was much more pleasing.  I plan to add the borders tonight, and get it sandwiched.  My dream of having it complete by bedtime tonight was just a dream.  But it will be finished in a couple of days!

                    
                              Keep on Sewing ~~~~Sunny

FALLing into Christmas

I love this time of year.  The weather is beautiful, the leaves are finally starting to turn, and Festivals are abundant.  Today we went to Color Fest, along with about a zillion other people. 

We walked around for about three hours, and hubby did some Christmas shopping.  I bought a bracelet made from an old spoon.  I'm really into bracelets right now, and fall in love with one every where I go!

We noticed that most of the people seemed to be walking through, but not buying much.  We had lunch, a crab cake sandwich for me, shared a bottle of yummy apple cider, and then headed for home.  We stopped along the way at a produce stand that is specializing in pumpkins right now.  I took a few pictures, and we chose a couple to bring home with us.

When I got home, I had an e-mail from Joan, and I now know who my Secret Santa partner is!  I'm going to spend a little time tonight trying to decide what to make for her.  I need to move my books and magazines in order to move some furniture, so I'll be multitasking.  I can't take too much time, though, because I have sewing to do! 

                Keep on Sewing ~~~~~  Sunny

No More Procrastination

Back in April, I committed to making a baby afghan, and I've had ideas swimming around in my head since then.  I wanted to use some Butterfly fabric that I had left over from another project as my inspiration.  It's now time (past time, actually) to actually produce the quilt.  My goal is to have it finished before I go to bed Sunday night.  Iwant something fairly simple yet sturdy, because I'm hoping it will really be used. 

10:00 pm Friday night:

Notice the butterflies?

My professional design skills

11:00 pm Friday night:

Progress update

Stay tuned for further updates over the weekend to see if I reach my goal!
                            Keep on sewing~~~~Sunny

No One Told Me!

When I completed my first quilt a year ago, I was taught how to sew down the binding on the machine.  Later, I made a large wall-hanging, and I once again did the binding on the machine.  I wasn't happy with the results, however, so I vowed to do them by hand in the future.  Somehow, that didn't sound like fun, so the quilts have been piling up.  Not a large pile, mind you, because I work full time.  And I like to travel and take pictures on the weekends.  Some of you make more quilts in a month than I've made in a year.  One of my Sept./Oct goals for CGQC was to finish all my bindings.  I love doing it!  I started on #4 tonight (of 4) and I feel so liberated that they're moving from the UFO pile to completed projects! 

Forgive the boring pictures, but I'm EXCITED! And I'm easily amused.

Keep on sewing!    Sunny

Weekend Road Trip

Hubby and I took a little road trip over the weekend.  We went to a spot on the Blue Ridge Parkway that I wasn't able to make it to on my solo vacation.  Of course this time, I had to suffer through NPR and head-banging music, and drive with the sunroof closed.  But, it was nice to have company. 

We stopped at an antique market along the way, which turned out to be much larger than I expected. I did a quick walk-through while hubby stayed in the car with his book. Two new hankies came home with me, and I've already made plans with a friend to go back when we have more time to browse.

Mabry Mill was our real destination, but we weren't there at the right time of day to get good pictures. 

Mabry Mill

We were able to see them actually grind corn while we were there, and hubby bought some grits.  I'm not wild about grits, but I'll eat them if he cooks!
Next stop was a little town called Meadows of Dan.  We did some shopping at an old country store, and made a stop at a candy store.  Yes, we did buy a little fudge.

On Sunday, we visited a state park, to check it out for kayaking opportunities in the future. It was a beautiful lake, and we'll be going back next summer with the kayaks.

We went for a short hike, and I was amazed at how green everything still is. There still aren't many signs of fall. This picture was taken in front of a restaurant, not in the woods!



Secret Santa Christmas Swap

As much as I try to ignore the signs, it's obvious that the holiday season is creeping up on us.  Christmas decorations are showing up in the stores, and I expect to hear carols on the radio any day now.  I've decided that I can put blinders on, and try to ignore the whole thing, or jump in with both feet and enjoy the entire season.  Guess which I've decided? 

I finished one Christmas Crafting group last week, and immediately signed up for another.  I've joined the Secret Santa Christmas Swap, and can't wait to find our who my partner is.  I've made several good friends since I joined the CGQC last year, and if my partner isn't one of those friends, I'll be making a new friend! 

I'm also planning to do a Christmas give-away in conjunction with Robin that will happen sometime in November. 

And. . . . .I'll probably have my 100th post in October or early November, so I'm trying to think of an appropriate give-away.  I guess I better get off the computer and get to work!

More Christmas Crafting!

Now that the Early Birds Christmas Crafting is finished, I've found another group to keep me on task as I continue to prepare for Christmas. Visit Kerryanne's blog for more details. She'd love to have you join the group!