I sure have neglected my posting lately.    I came home from Virginia and hit the road running.   I still haven’t put away my sewing stuff from retreat.

Last week Mark and I enjoyed four days in SugarCreek Ohio attending Pastors Conference of CMC.    The guest speaker was Colin Marshall from Australia.   We found his messages powerful and encouraging as well as challengeing.    He spoke on Disciple-Making.

 

Some more pictures of “Sewing with the Sisters”

Julia bought Mother’s wedding china at their sale and then turned around and gave us each a cup and saucer.  Now wasn’t that sweet!!!

 

 

I love the interaction that goes on at our retreats.   Mother wanted to learn to crochet so here Parla is giving her some pointers.   Mother finally gave up saying it took to much counting and concentration while with the family.    I bet you anything that she will pick it up again once it’s peaceful and quiet at her house.

 

 

Our brother Oren Jr. interacting with the females in the family.   I’m so glad we have Oren Jr.!

 

 

Interaction with the cousins even sounded good!  Here our Timmy singing and picking with cousin Hannah.

 

 

We love the interaction when it comes to helping us girls with our machines.   Julia put a plea out for someone to help fix a light that wouldn’t work.   Sanford came to her rescue.  We got a big kick out of Sanford’s remedy.  “All you have to do is turn the light switch on and it works!”

 

 

Josh was having a jolly good time cutting and sewing away.   His wife Jillian was horrified when she saw that Josh had cut the sleeve off of a perfectly good garment!!!  (Whew! It was from a discarded pile)

 

 

Do you think a kiss will get me a taste of that lollipop?

 

 

Jillian made this quilt for her oldest daughter Keonia.

I love the way she placed the darker black squares in the diagonal lines.

 

 

Her sister Jolene used the same pattern for a small lap robe she will use at the fire hall where she works.  That one is in the back left of the pic.   I love the bigger quilt as well.    She had better keep these quilts under lock and key because her husband Steve works at the same fire company.   Notice she did make her name really bold on the corner block so no one would get confused as to whose blanket it was!

 

 

Their mother June worked most of the time on her beautiful velvet comforts.

 

 

Sheila’s son Ryan helped his wife Nadia with this small blanket.

 

 

Sheila putting the border on a quilt she started years ago.   I think it’s ready now to go to the quilter.  Way to go Sheila!

 

 

Here Sheila’s daughter-in-law Hope working away at one of the four dresses she completed at our retreat.

 

 

Hope and Josh live just up the road and she hosted our brunch one morning getting help from Nadia and Hannah.

 

 

 

 

We had some sweet visitors stop in while we sewed!

Donna it was nice catching up with you and your world.   Mark and I just need to swing into your place sometime when we are heading south on 81.  You just wait, one of these days we’ll do it!

 

 

I loved seeing Doris and Thelma again.   Childhood playmates.  Thelma, (on your right) is my first cousin and is of kindred spirit.  Recently she has taken up sewing and machine quilting.   Our mother’s are sisters.

 

 

I have many more pictures I want to share but will wait and make at least one more post of our time together.

The day I got home from sewing I was welcomed by these two little sweeties.   They gave these tired sore feet of Grandma’s a wonderful hand lotion rub down!    Ahhhhhhhh it was great!

 

 

Good to be home again!

How do I begin?   I’ve just uploaded over 60 pictures of our annual Sister’s Sewing Retreat but I’m going to begin my post with the

Orca Bay Mystery Quilt.   Today I can link into Bonnie Hunter’s blog and all the quilters who made this amazing quilt.   Check it out and see what quilters from around the world did!

 

It was fun working with  my sister Julia on this mystery.   We made a few changes like swapping the black background Ohio Star blocks with the neutral background Stars.   This made the dark diagonal sashing stand out a bit more.

 

 

Every year I look forward to the week I’ll spend with my mother, my sisters, my sister-in-law, and nieces and nephews.

But this year I missed my father so much!   I just kept on thinking I’d hear him walking to the edge of our sewing room with his oxygen tank rattling , coming over to check out what the women in his family were doing!

 

 

This picture was taken two years ago at our retreat when Father was still with us.

 

 

…and now to this years retreat.

After sewing for 9 days straight I was able to finish piecing the wedding quilt I’m making for my youngest son Timothy and his soon to be wife Diana!

 

 

I’ve been wanting to experiment with machine Trapunto for a long time now and thought this would be an excellent quilt to do it on since there is so much white background.

 

 

With machine Trapunto you put double batting in the motifs and then machine stipple fairly close to puff up the design.   I had so much fun with this sample piece and can hardly wait to get started on the quilt.

 

 

Here is a close up.

 

 

Here’s what my sister Sheila’s basement looked like for these nine days!

 

 

Lots of Berninas

Lots of Sisters

Lots of Fun!

 

 

 

Around the corner there is another part of Sheila’s basement.

 

 

It’s not just women and their sewing machines.

Sheila and Sanford’s two sons,  Ryan and Caleb were busy.

I heard words like, crankshaft, metal shavings, locked-up, etc.

 

 

There’s even room for a pool table and a few men!

 

 

Come back later for many more pictures.  We’re tired now and need to get some sleep!

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can also check in on these other blogs for more of our time together.

Coleen’s Blog

Julia’s Blog

Barbara’s Blog

Hope’s Blog

 

It is time again for our annual Sisters and Family sewing retreat.   I love this week we get together each year to sew, laugh and cry together.   I wish you could of taken a peek into our basement room tonight and heard Mother telling us a story and we all were laughing so hard the tears were rolling.   Just ask mother sometime to tell you about the time she rode an electric wheel chair in a store.  I guarantee you will get a good belly laugh.

 

 

I have been enjoying my sewing project extra much this year.  A wedding quilt for Timmy and Diana.

 

 

Mark and I drove down to Virgina on Friday to attend nephew Benjamin and Malissa’s wedding rehearsal.    Most of us got a nice start on our sewing Saturday before the afternoon wedding.    Even the mother of the groom.

 

Blessing to the bride and groom, Benjamin and Malissa!

 

 

It was so nice having Mark, Timmy, Diana and Holly at our sewing retreat for a couple days.    Holly got a lot done on a T-Shirt comfort before she had to leave us Monday afternoon.

 

 

She  used a bed to lay out the blocks as she sewed along.   I just wish Holly could stay for the week but she needed to make a quick trip to Texas driving down Monday even. and Tues. and then coming home the end of the week.

 

 

I sure enjoyed the few days Mark was able to be down here.   Sanford and Mark looking at some Iowa pictures.  I think it was land and hunting pictures the were looking at.   Sanford use to live in Iowa and has relatives out there.

 

 

Thank you Sheila and Sanford for again being so gracious in opening up your lovely home to this crazy family of yours!

 

 

It’s fun seeing Julia working on her sewing project.   She is taking father’s shirts and coming up with a striking square block quilt.   Mother said it makes her feel so warm seeing the shirts of father and remembering the good and special times.

I have half of the shirts as well but don’t think I’ll have time to work on mine.

 

 

This morning Mother read a short devotional out of a book she reads from each day.

“Meditations From My Window”  by Edna Harmen

 

Mother loves sitting on this chair by her window and watching all the wildlife that goes on , on the banks of North River.

 

It’s late and I’d better get to bed because tomorrow is my day to make breakfast.

 

Check out Julia and Barbara’s blogs for more about our week.

 

Check out Coleen’s as well.

 

 

 

Visit from Mother

I was so happy to get a call from Mother saying she had a ride to Delaware and would come for the weekend.   I think it has been almost a year since she has been here.

 

 

Enjoying some early morning coffee and a chat before friends came.   I had invited Queena K. and Wava S. to spend the day with us.   Queena spent many days in our home when we were young and it is always a treat having her here when my family comes to Delaware.

 

 

I failed to get a picture of Mother’s project.  She worked on piecing little velvet squares for a dolly blanket.

Wava was able to finish piecing a quilt she started a while back.  Here she is getting Mother and Queena’s opinion on block placement.

 

 

Queena brought along a quilt she is making out of scraps from her girls dresses.  Oh the childhood memories this quilt will bring back to JoAnna.

 

 

I worked on machine quilting my Mystery Orca Bay Quilt.    I’m getting close to getting it finished.

 

 

While we sewed Timmy and Diana came in from working on their home for a lunch break.

 

 

For the rest of this post I have a few random pictures taken earlier this month.   I had a new years goal of taking a picture a day but I’ve already fallen down on the job.  It became a burden so I scraped that New Years Resolution real quick.   To many days I just didn’t know what to take a picture of!

 

A week or two ago we enjoyed a visit from Jeremy and Cheryl.    Bo was so funny.  The moment Cheryl put him down he disappeared in the kitchen.

 

 

Little Bo remembered I had hid some snacks in the back of this cupboard. 

Does he look guilty, caught or smart?

 

 

Cheryl often  brings music to our home.

 

 

What do you think  of my little Raccoon?

Max took a tumble earlier and Jeremy sent me this picture from his phone.

 

 

I was able to get Timothy and Diana’s wedding quilt cut out this month.   I can’t wait to start sewing on it but am waiting till I go to Virginia for our annual family sewing retreat.    I’ll keep you all posted on the progress.

 

 

Holly has  been so busy at her job working for Hospice.  I’m always glad when she can have some girl time with her friends.

Here she is with her cousins Rachael and Carmen.

 

 

Ethan’s have spent the month of January with his family up in New York.  We’re missing them like crazy but are glad they can have this time with them.

 

The mystery is solved!

Christmas and New Years week we got the 7th and 8th final clues to our Orca Bay Mystery Quilt and I couldn’t be happier with the finished quilt.    It wasn’t until week 7 that I could finally start seeing what it was going to look like.

 

 

This quilt is not for the faint of heart!  Last evening I counted close to 4,000 pieces in it.   For the past two days I have been sewing almost non-stop.  

My holidays were filled with loved ones and family .  It was a week that I will treasure and cherish the memories for years to come.   My Orca Bay lay untouched for that week and I felt I fell way behind.   

My sister Julia and I were talking on the phone concerning our quilts, (she’s doing this mystery as well) and we both decided to switch out the dark and light Ohio Stars so that the dark ones run in the diagonal sashing.

 

 

Now for the border.  I have yet to choose an inner border for it.   Here are two different colors I am auditioning.

Shall I go with the blue one?………….

 

 

…….or shall I go with the red one?

 

 

Thanks Bonnie Hunter for this new quilting experience.  I’m already looking forward to next years mystery!

 

I’ve been so blessed by my family whom I love so much.   The week between Christmas and New Year we were all together for parts of three days.   Some coming at the beginning of the week and leaving Friday, others coming Wed. and leaving Sunday.

I hope these pictures give you a glimpse of our Holiday cheer.

 

There were gifts, laughter, oohs and ahhhs!

 

 

We open one gift at a time so we can savor and enjoy the children’s excitement.

Little Bo is the youngest so he got to open his gift first.

 

 

Aunt Holly with the five nieces watching and waiting for their turns.

 

 

There was singing.  There were games.

Christopher and Alicia enjoying some time with friends Jason and Lydia.   I wish you could hear these four sing.  They sound so good together!

 

 

There was food!  Ethan made the bread and Queena a yummy soup for one of our evening meals.

 

 

One morning Cheryl made a wonderful Brunch and one evening Jessica took care of the evening meal.

What do you think of these creative little Penguins?

(Olives, cream cheese and carrot slices)

 

 

Here Summer is helping her momma make individual little bread pans.

 

 

Holly getting help with decorating Christmas cookies.

 

 

They turned out so cute and yummy.

 

 

What is it about Guys and Knives?

 

 

What can I say?  Like father like sons!   This grandma was pretty impressed with the survival knives Grant and Shad had belted on, but somehow I think they could survive without them!

 

 

Knives do come in handy when it comes to skinning and cutting up a deer.

 

 

See what the girlies thought about that deer.

Summer you silly girl, I don’t think it was that bad!

 

 

I wonder if these punkins will be eating deer meat this winter.

 

 

I’ll leave you with some “finer” things of life.

One morning we were treated to a brunch tea party.  No boys allowed!

 

 

We even got Mom Yoder to wear a little fancy hat.

This was the “high maintenance table”.  I wonder how much sugar they consumed.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Wava and Beka for putting on such a wonderful treat for my gang of ladies!

 

 

Parting shot:

A tender moment, Timmy and Boaz.

 

 

Blessings to each and everyone of you and may you have a

Happy New Year!

Lots going on this past week and lots more to come!

 

I started off Christmas week by having guests on Monday.   We have been wanting to have Bobby and Diane for some time now and Bob said he had some oysters to donate to the meal.  

We were so happy to have mom Yoder and her sister Aunt Freda grace our table.  Ethans along with two of Bob and Diane’s children are at the end with Mark.   Bob and Diane on the right with Grandma Lois beside Bob and Diane’s mom Agatha on the right.

 

 

Even tho it was a busy week I did find some time to go to a thrift store in Lewes.   Boy am I glad I did.   I told Mark I feel this little treasure was my Christmas gift from God!

 

 

Its a Willcox and Gibbs sewing machine.   Going by the serial number it looks like it was made between 1880 and 1890.    I was so excited when I saw it and called my mother.  Told her a little about it.  I remembered that she had one that was electric and my memory was that it sewed the nicest chain stitch. 

They had a sticker price of $265.00 on it and I thought that was a little steep.  The guy said he wanted to move it and he would let me have it for $125.00.  The cabinet was in excellent shape except it is missing the hinged lid.

 

 

Isn’t it the cutest little machine?  I brought it home and threaded it up and had to figure out how to make the treadle work.  It does need a new belt but still worked like a charm. 

 

 

Here is the back side showing the neat little chain stitch.

 

 

Update on my Orca Bay Mystery.   We were given the instructions of Part 6 this Friday.   I knew if I wanted to keep up I needed to get busy Friday and Saturday because I’ll have family in all next week.

 

We needed to cut 56 red squares,  112 neutrals, and 112 blacks.

 

 

Finally our pieces are coming together in blocks!  Oh this is such fun!  I love the mystery of it all and have complete confidence in our guide Bonnie!

By Sunday evening I had all 56 Blocks completed.  I did use my Bernina instead of the Willcox & Gibbs.

 

 

 

Now for our Christmas Celebrations!

We celebrated our Christmas on Christmas Eve morning.   Just a few pictures of our day.  Mark did some grilling for our noon meal.

 

 

Tim and Diana gave me the cutest little gingerbread people with their names on it to add to my tree.

 

 

Diana and Holly’s gifts to each other!  Neither one knew the other one was getting it.  Now how cool is that?

 

 

Now if you stop in at our house we are set to offer you hot tea or coffee.   The family gave me this Keurig  coffee maker.  I’m loving it.

 

 

Another thrift store find this week was a 1969 copy of Julia Child’s “Mastering The Art of French Cooking”.   Holly loved the movie “Julie and Julia” so I added this to her Christmas gifts.   She was so tickled to say the least!   Same thrift store where I found my Wilcox and Gibbs.  I’ll go back there I’m a thinking!

 

 

Our married children will all be coming home here between Christmas and New Years.   Christophers and Ethans tomorrow evening.   Then on Wednesday  Israels and Jeremys will be coming.   This house will ring with 23 loved ones here.  Lots of celebrating yet to come.

This week I had the privilege of going to Peddler’s Village with friends.

Last year I joined Wava and Beka for a two day Christmas excursion and we decided to make it an annual event.  

 

 

It is a quaint little village all dressed up in lights and a cozy atmosphere.   All kinds of shops line the cobblestone paths.   Each year they have contests for making little gingerbread houses.

 

 

 

Check in on Quiltville’s Quips & Snips  to see the progress of other quilters.

This Friday we got our next clue in the mystery quilt.  So far it hasn’t been to bad at keeping up but this next step is a pretty big deal especially since it is Christmas week.  I’m still going to try and get it done tho.

Here is my stacks of 700 little triangles.

 

 

It doesn’t look like that many but it is!  700

Our job this week is to sew two of the triangle onto the black/neutral  half square triangle units on the middle left of this next picture.

 

We  should have 350 of those units on the bottom by the end of the week.

Last evening I got busy and sewed and sewed!

 

 

See the picture of my husband propped up behind my sewing machine.   It matches nicely with these mountains of triangles.

I thank the Lord daily for a Godly husband who loves me and supports my passion of sewing.

 

 

Now tomorrow these 350 triangles are waiting to be sewn, then I’ll be finished with my units for the week.

 

RED, RED, RED!

Red is my favorite color.  It will be the main color in my Orca Bay Mystery Quilt.  This week is the first we get to use our main color in the quilt.

 

 

I need to make 126 of these string pieced triangles.

8 made so far and 118 to go!

 

 

Most of you know how I love to decorate for Christmas using gingerbread.   My little gingerbread men bring back so many memories of special people and special times in my life.

 

 

Yesterday I took care of Dorie and James.  I had saved the bottom of my tree for them to decorate.

 

 

They put up a few gingerbread men and then were ready to move on to other things.

This little tin gingerbread  with the sticker of a baby on it was given to me by Queena and Ethan a few years ago.   It was their way of telling us they were expecting a baby, and that baby was Dorie!

 

 

I enjoyed taking James around the house to see my three different Manger scenes.   He would point out Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, sheep, cow, shepard and then we would move on to the next one.   After viewing all three of them  he said, “More, more!”

 

 

Let’s Rejoice in the Reason for the Season!

Hope you are enjoying this Holiday time.

 

December Sewing Circle

 

Carmen P. showing her beautiful Christmas wall hanging.

 

 

Doesn’t this picture show the warm spirit of the day?

 

 

Comfort tops were knotted.

 

 

Shirley M. helping piece a quilt.

 

 

Eyes on an expert!   Josie we love you!

 

 

When this little gal saw her mother pressing with this sweet little iron she came over and wanted to help!

 

 

I love seeing Grandma’s with their grand-babies!

Wava with little Oliver.

 

 

Then I realized Oliver had two grandmas  there as well as his momma.

 

 

Then I realized that little Oliver was blessed by also having Great-grandma Irene there.

Four Generations!

 

 

I love this picture of Grandma Lois dressed in red working on a green quilt.

 

 

Lois pieced most of these blocks.  She’s about finished with her second one.   We are making sure these beautiful quilts go her great-grandchildren.

 

 

This last month we had a special sewing table made for our machines.   Today was the first time using it and it was great!

We drop our machines down in the recess holes so the machines don’t sit up so high.

 

 

 

Then we had another top made to cover it so the table can be used for a Sunday School room and also for our pot-lucks as a table to eat off of.

Connie and Queena said it is really light weight and not hard at all to cover.

 

 

Also notice the wheels for easy moving.  They also can be locked in place with the tap of a foot.

Thank you Chris Zook!  We love our table!

 

 

What is Maxwell up to?

 

 

He helped Grandpa Mark and I bread a gallon and a half of oysters.  He stuck by us the whole time and really was a super helper!

Mark dipped them in flour, Max dipped them in egg and I dipped them in Ritz cracker crumbs.