Caterpillar & Butterfly Quilts

Caterpillar Top; QUILTED with Bubble Meander (freehand)

... and this Butterfly Top; QUILTED with Single Loop Meander (freehand)

Woe is me... I'm pretty sure these were from back in the summer. I'm a bad blogger!! 

And I swear it shouldn't be NOVEMBER already?!? I'm loving having my sweats out again, truly, but the biting cold & wind this past weekend took me by surprise. Had to amp up the layers for morning walks!

Scrappy Wonky Blocks Quilt

Our A/C cannot keep up with the heat & humidity today, and the irony is that I hear from my BFF she's just seen her first Christmas advertisement for specials! lol 

Braid in a Day in Browns & Cream

Braid-in-a-Day quilt in Browns & Cream

QUILTED with Single Reverse Loop Meander (freehand)

Today marks my 100th post for The Longarm Lady! 

I think I'll leave it at that~ I wish there were more posts than there are for the duration of time, but well, life is all up in there.

If you'd like to check out where I was writing & sharing before this blog, check out Montie's Mom Talks Turkey. I'll forewarn you before you head over, what started as a life-sharing & grief outlet gradually became my quilting blog. So if you go there looking for pure eye candy you may be a tad disappointed; for over there is a fair share of family & doggie pics as well as some heavy/sad topics. Enter at your own risk :) 

But then do come back here!!

Appliqué flowers

Applique Flowers Top; QUILTED with Single Reverse Loop Meander (freehand)

This one does lend a hint of spring, no? I don't think we're "there" yet though. Our air has gotten cold again & we're looking at some snow flurries for today. No matter, the beastly lab & I got our morning walk in & the crisp air felt wonderful! 

I finally feel like I've "woken up" from my after-Christmas-daze, and I'm full-steam-ahead on new plans & goals for the upcoming year. I don't think too hard on New Year's resolutions, because really by that point in time, my brain is fried from quilting & holiday overload! 

I do, however, think of yearly goals at the beginning of the new year, and during January I start to slowly implement a few new habits. The first habit I began was taking some time every morning to write a little bit. These spewing thoughts are not for the public but for me, and maybe they'll get used some day & maybe not. It's become part of a larger devotional time that keeps growing. 

The other personal goal I've begun is my daily stitchery challenge. You can find pics of all my stitchery doodles under the tab under my cover photo. I wanted to challenge myself to create something every single day. A few huge obstacles had stymied my creativity, and I'm helping me get the mojo back!  That sounded like a little bit 'o bad grammar, but it is what it is... 

The next few goals have more to do with gifts & business, and they'll be revealed as I can :)

Happy Tuesday!

T-shirt Memory & Mickey Mouse Quilts

T-shirt memory quilt top; QUILTED with a large meander (freehand)

Mickey Mouse top; QUILTED with Single Reverse Loop (freehand)

These were pretty small finishes for yesterday, and truthfully I'd been hoping to get at least one more small quilt done. However my neck strain was acting up & so I spent a lot of time heating it with my home-made rice bag! (getting older is a pain in the neck~ heehee)

May Madness

BAM!! May was done in a blink of an eye! 

Our homeschool year has come to it's official close, and now there remains the portfolio compilation, having it evaluated, turning it into the school district, and I'll have our next year's Goals & Objectives ready & notarized to be handed in at the same time. No use making two trips!

I can't believe I have an 11th grader again! Oy vey! I do like a couple of this year's upcoming subjects better than last year's. We're going from Geometry & Biology to Consumer Math & Chemistry. Woot! HATE Geometry & Biology. I like Consumer Math & LOVE Chemistry. 

English is the constant subject I love with a passion & is so easily taught to & accomplished by my daughter. She & I love to read & write, so it's hands-down the most enjoyable subject.

While homeschooling in it's active form has winded down, homeschooling planning is about to go full throttle. Each subject takes a good 3-5 days just to plan about the first 6 weeks. Once I get that much done in every subject, I go back & add to the plans & must constantly work on it before & during the school year. 

It's also the time of the year that quilting steps up a notch, while piecers anticipate the holiday rush. I try to plan a week's vacation here & there throughout the year as the schedule allows, but I'm missing the years of having the summers off with the kids! 

So here are the last few quilts in May...

T-shirt Top; QUILTED in a Freehand Meander

This pic is just for my BFF due to it's content :) 

Shout-out to you, Kathryn!

A Scrappy Rectangle Top; QUILTED with Single Reverse Loop Freehand

Pink Floral Cross-Stitch Top; QUILTED with Leafy Swirl Freehand

Any grand vacation plans? None here, but we feel like our backyard pool is like a daily mini vacation, so we feel spoiled in that regard. 

Happy Summer!

Goodbye Spring!

How has springtime been treatin' ya? Besides some itchy eyes & sinus headaches, I've enjoyed getting outside a bit more. 

Here in Lancaster, PA, we've said goodbye to spring & have gotten Slammed with Summer this week. Sounds like a bad romance novel! The kids & the lab have enjoyed the early pool weather.

In other news, I'm almost past this stretch of time that nearly sends me over the edge every year. Springtime for me is on par with the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays. 

*Three family birthdays in May ~ one of which included my eldest turning 21!! Really, I can't possibly by THAT OLD?!?!?

*Mother's Day ~ while I'd love to tell you I look forward to this day & being pampered, it'd be a lie. I don't. It never feels "right" or completely joyful when my heart aches & it hurts to breath from missing Montie. I did have a terrific day, but maybe that's hard to understand? I still love being a mom. I still found enjoyment when my girls, their boyfriends, my hubby, and I went for a hike, and then they treated me to Sweet Frog & showered me with unexpected gifts. Plastering that smile on my face was hard, though, & took a conscious effort. And it was exhausting & so I was relieved on some level when it was over.

*Wrapping up a homeschool year ~ here in PA we have to have our child's schoolwork evaluated by a professional, then hand in a portfolio proving "appropriate learning" took place, then turn it into the school district. I have this pretty down-pat, but it still takes a great deal of time to attend to all the organization & compiling of materials.

*Planning for the upcoming homeschool year ~ need to have subjects & books picked to go to the CHAP curriculum fair in May and also prepare the affidavit to hand into the school district legally notifying them of my intent to homeschool in the upcoming year. Again, I love perusing curriculum & books, but the time factor can be huge if you don't use the same curriculum year after year (some I do & some we change up).

*This spring brought two added challenges in the midst of the craziness ~ my younger daughter was practicing to take her driver's license test AND she interviewed multiple time & has since been hired for her first job! These are definitely exciting events, but man, so much time involved!! And can I just admit that I HATE practicing parallel parking with a teen!! BLECK. Boring. Rifled & peppered with unhappy outbursts mixed with laughter. It's quite the bi-polar experience.

*And finally the crazed-spring-frenzy wraps up with Montie's birthday. He'd be 15 tomorrow, Monday, June 3rd. How I miss my little man... though I guess he wouldn't be so "little" anymore and more of a lanky teen.

I have managed to get some quilting done in between everything else in "swiss-cheese" fashion. It goes against my nature to do things in this manner but thems-the-breaks!

Red Floral Attic Window top; QUILTED in Bubble Meander freehand:

30's Scrappy Rectangles top; QUILTED with Daisy Meander freehand:

Red Labyrinth Top; QUILTED with Loops & Stars freehand:

Baby Rail Top; QUILTED Bubble Meander freehand:

Just had to show the Minky backing... quilts beautifully & so soft!

Geometric Blue top; QUILTED with Jilly panto:

Brown Batik Labyrinth top; QUILTED with Single Loop Reverse freehand:

Thanks for sticking it out till the end of this lengthy post! Hope you're enjoying a Slow Sunday :)