i may have over-steeped . . .

Think you caught a misspelling in my header today?  Haha!  Nope . . . you've over-steeped your bounds if you've taken on more than one body should for a tea party!  LOL!

There was *no* time for stitching this week as I prepared for a tea party for the girls and adult staff at the Alabama Baptist Children's Home in Decatur on Saturday!  I made bookmark favors . . .

And teapot favors . . .

Isn't that darling?  And when I say made favors, I mean I made a BUNCH of favors!  

Thirty-two, in all, which isn't too terrible of a crowd, unless you're cutting out all of those teapots from cardstock!

And of course, what's a tea party without creme cheese mints?!

These were a big hit!

I spent Saturday morning making scones and tea sandwiches for the group.  Evey and Ellie were my helpers . . .

LOL!  Actually, Ellie's a big help and likes to be a 'cheffer'.  

In case you're wondering, that's a chef who bakes.  *grin*

I didn't have to set a table for this tea party. Normally I love to do that, but at least I knew I couldn't do that on top of all the prep work!  I had four sweet ladies take on the task of tea table hostess and they all set up beautiful tables!

Ellie helped co-hostess her mommy's table.  Isn't it pretty?!

Everyone did such a great job! It was a fun afternoon . . .

And I think that the little girls enjoyed it because it was a party and they had crayons and necklaces and chapstick in their favors.  But I think the older girls (and even the staff ladies) learned that tea parties aren't just for littles . . . they are wonderful opportunities for sweet fellowship and times of refreshing. I think we may have even made some tea converts!

All that to share that my stash report is unchanged this week . . .

Worth it. I did finish up my lil' gingerbread man ornament, and so finished up my two ornaments for February. Yay!

This afternoon, if I don't take a nap, I'll be working on basting these pretty little pieces to their templates.  

That's good stuff for a slow stitching Sunday afternoon!

Linking up to Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts.  I hope you're able to enjoy a beautiful Sunday, regardless of your weather!

:)

whirlwind week . . .

Last week I told you that I'd finished up two of my UFOs and gifted them.  What I *didn't* tell you was that I flew to Corpus Christi, Texas, to gift them in person!  

We had a lovely long weekend hanging out in the beautiful canal home of one of my sister's very gracious friends.

We pretty much celebrated the birthday girl by eating out, laying out, and going out to shop. Dream vacay, right?!  :)

Needless to say, I didn't get a whole, whole lot done.  I finished up four sets of swap blocks (which makes for a total of six down, ten to go):

They still need to be trimmed before they're presentable! And that's about the size of it (no pun intended) . . . which means not a lot happened in my stash.

Or rather, NOTHING happened in my stash, in or out! But I ordered this sweet little thing . . .

Both Ellie and June have 15" dolls. They need some new clothes for the babies! I bet I can make a little dent in the ol' stash that way!

I've got my second February ornament cut out and ready to stitch . . .

I love the little heart cutout -- perfect choice for this month, don't you think? He will make for some happy Slow Stitching today!

And, just in time for Spring and in celebration of the lovely weather we've enjoyed this weekend, lookie what I purchased . . .

It was used, so I got it for a GREAT price.  That front porch space of my Nook just needed a rocker, don't you think?? I was considering painting it purple (because it needs a fresh, weather-proofing coat of paint), but I think I like the white. We get just a tad warmer and I'll be doing my slow Sunday stitching right there!

And finally, it's been a while since I've posted a picture of the formidable "Leia". When Joc sent these to me, I knew I had to share . . .

Haha! And so you know it's not a one time thing . . .

Gracious!! I think it's safe to say that Evey loves Leia. Whether or not that love is reciprocated, I won't speculate. Leia rather has that, "Help me!" face in the second one . . . love hurts? LOL!

Linking up today to Patchwork Times, Kathy's Quilts, and the feline Friday post at sarah did it!  Y'all have a blessing-filled Sunday!

:)

bustin' a move . . .

Y'all.  There's nothing like a deadline to get me *moving* on a project.  That's how I can come before you now and say I have not one, but TWO complete finishes (quilting, binding, labeling and sleeves) this week!  Whoohoo! And what's even nicer?  I'm two months in-a-row complete on the #APQresolution challenge.  This month they drew project number five . . .

Which for me, was the faux ruched flowers project!

It now has a name . . . Larla's Pocket Full of Posies.  A little birthday happy for my baby sister.

And I also finished the antique rose topper . . .

Which also has a formal name . . . Desert Roses After the Frost.  This one's a birthday happy for my sister who's joining me in the 50's this month!

Two finishes . . . sheesh, it's about time! Two that are UFOnomos!  :)

I also managed to get all the pieces cut for Evey's quilt . . .

This is going to be fun to work with -- and I'm thinking I'll either embroider or quilt an alphabet in some of the white squares, along with flowers or something.  That'll keep me busy for while! Between getting that cut and prepped and labels and sleeves for the finished pieces, my stash report is looking pretty nice this week!

Of course, I realized that I didn't have enough of the Kona white to use for the back of my blocks, so I'll be adding more in the relatively near future, but it'll go out again quickly, so that's okay.

If I get some slow stitching time in today, this will be what I'm working on . . .

My go-to project when I'm not working on other stuff!  I have three more 'pairs' to baste to the base piece, and then I'll be ready to start a new block. Linking up today to Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts.

Our church is memorizing a passage of Scripture together each month this year. February's verse is one of my favorites and I made up a graphic for it.  Thought I'd share it with y'all . . .

Happy Valentine's Day! Feel free to right click and save it, if you'd like.  

Enjoy a blessing-filled day!

:)

this, that, and the other . . .

Not an overly productive week here at casa Panter (or should I say RV?), at least not for me.  I got off to a slow start with the sinus infection and subsequent laryngitis and didn't go back to work until Tuesday -- still not feeling *great*, but functional.  We were sent home early with the possibility of severe weather (yikes!), and I managed to start something new.  How shocking is that?

Actually, I've been playing around with this in EQ for a while now.  I wanted a simple design of 5" square blocks to make up a bigger block that I could easily quilt under the machine as part of a quilt-as-you-go piece.  The overall size is approximately 54" square and the white spaces (because I plan on using the polka dot prints in assorted colors and the Kona white for the alternating squares--exactly as it's pictured above) will make the perfect back drop for some special hand-quilting or embroidery -- I haven't decided which, just yet.  I think this will be Charmed, I'm Sure.  For Everley Jade.  (It's about time.)

I also managed to finish *one* of my two Christmas ornaments for February . . .

I love the yo-yo Christmas tree!! I had some darling embellishments I added as ornaments, which made it for me. On the other hand, I didn't do any of my block swap blocks yet, but there's always this afternoon and if that's the case, I probably need to do at least two sets!

I have been slowly-but-surely working on the quilting on the Antique Rose topper. I finished the roses and the hand-drawn vines around the outside border:

Now I'm stitching-in-the-ditch with the holographic around the outside edge (the purple and green).

If you look closely, you can see I outlined around the yellow center and again around the red center. The sparkly thread just gives it an extra bit of shimmer -- nothing extravagant or overt, just enough to catch your eye here and there. Hopefully I'll finish that up today, as it will make the perfect Slow Sunday Stitching (during Super Bowl L/50 -- I understand why they ditched the roman numerals for this one).

I might have finished it last night, but there was a bit of a problem. I'd taken it with me to Joc's (my folks have been staying with them and so I've been spending quite a bit of time over the past several days with them) to work on as we sat around and chatted last night.  I put it up when we went into dinner, and when I came back out, this is what I saw . . .

Oh my!  I'm just glad she didn't get jabbed by a needle or pin! LOL! Poor Ellie. She'd really like her Neesey to work on something pretty just for her!

Stash remains unchanged this week, which shouldn't be a shock.

I have the fabrics pulled for Evey's quilt, so perhaps they'll be cut and ready to include next week.

Linking up today to Patchwork Times and Kathy's Quilts, my favorite Sunday linkies!  Y'all enjoy the day!

:)

a review -- all things bright and beautiful

One of my favorite hymns -- growing up and to this day -- is a sweet children's hymn penned in 1848 All Things Bright and Beautiful, by Cecil Frances Alexander.  A quick jump over to YouTube can find assorted versions of the song . . . instrumental, choral, children's choirs . . . and it's be paired with several different melodies through the ages, and transcends denominations.

It's a sweet, beautiful picture of creation and its Creator. And I was delighted when I saw that the beautiful words had been paired with lovely illustrations to make a children's book!

All Things Bright and Beautiful, by Cecil Frances Alexander and newly illustrated by Katy Hudson, is sure to be a favorite of any child. Hudson's artwork is charming and colorful, and filled with movement, color and light. It's a delightful way to share God's good earth with little children and will be a favorite bedtime 'go-to' with our grandchildren!!  And, hint-hint, a perfect Valentine's Day or Easter gift -- or just because!!

I'm also linking up with the Bibliophile Files over at sarah did it!

:)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Worthy
Publishers, as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a
positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in 
accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: 

"Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.