MeMaw and the Pincle Fit For Nothing

'I have started Ronnie a quilt     Got 4 squares and it will take 20     it takes a long time to make a star     thay call it the waggon wheel quilt    I have never made one like it Before an I wont never make another one like it no more    

I Hope to get it to Him By may' 

I was helping my mom go through some of her paperwork the other day. Sorting out things that needed to be saved and (tons of) things that needed to be thrown away or destroyed.  Among all of this clutter and chaos we found many gems and had a nice long walk down Memory Lane.  She held up an envelope and announced 'This is the last letter my mother wrote to me before she died'.  She read it silently and then handed it over to me.  I tried to read it but had a hard time deciphering my Memaw's handwriting.  I'm not sure my Memaw ever went past elementary school, or even what grade she completed in elementary school.  I handed it back to my mom and she read it aloud.  Knowing that it was the last letter that she had written and finding out that it was (partially) about quilting I immediately asked my mom if I could have the letter.  Of course, she said 'yes'.  I will have it framed and hang it above her treadle Singer sewing machine that I just acquired...

The rest of the story..... She didn't get to finish that quilt for Ronnie (my brother).  My mom was able to find all of the fabric and such when she went to the funeral and a friend finished it for her (for him).  It lays across the foot of one of his guest room beds (and I want to put it in my suitcase every time I visit him).

The last line of the letter reads: 

I am going to bed    this old pincle (pencil) aint fit for nothing   Love to All     Mom

I sure do miss my Memaw......

Finished!

There are so many things in my life that need to be 'finished', and I know that the majority of you all are very much in the same boat with me.  But why do I always feel overwhelmed?   Why does the overwhelming feeling seem to explode every morning at about 3 a.m.?  My eyes lids fly open.  I try to ignore it.  I make myself face away from the clock, pretending that this has NOT happened again.  I turn my pillow over to the cool side and try to close my eyes.  I try to relax.  I try to think happy thoughts. Instead I think of all of the unfinished things in my life.  Maybe if I get up and go to the bathroom it will help.  I doesn't (mainly because I trip over the dog who sleeps in a different spot EVERY night).  I come back to bed.  The dog has moved.  I trip over him again.  Back in the bed I begin to pray for those in need.  This sends me back to sleep.  Maybe God is waking me to pray.....  But when I wake in the morning, I wake with a block of sleep missing....and I drag through the day.

But here is one thing that IS finished thanks to the Mayor of DoodleMoochieville and his best friend who worked for 3 1/2 days to get this all done.  I think it is beautiful.  And it is one thing that is FINISHED and that I no longer think about at 3 in the morning.

BEFORE....Old appliances and countertops..

AFTER...New Viking duel fuel range.  A new vent hood that will suck your eyebrows off.  New granite countertops and a great stainless backsplash.

BEFORE...Old appliances, sink and countertops.

AFTER...new dishwasher, sink, countertops and backsplash (see previous post for close up of this magnificent 'red snake' backsplash).

Red Snake

A sneak peek into my Friday....
that is all.

Star Bright

So I am finally decorating my house after living in it for 2 1/2 years...  I could say I was too busy, or to distracted or didn't have the resources.  But, truth be told, I guess I was just procrastinating (I did mention that I am the Supreme Queen of Procrastination, right?).  We moved into this house with the intention of sharing it with our grown son and my mom.  So I did not decorate right away thinking that each person would bring their own tastes and that I would want to try to blend those styles to make everyone feel at 'home'.  Well, I waited and I waited.  My son did live with us for 2 of the years we have been here, but his belongings were pretty much confined to his area upstairs.  Then guess what? He fell in love and married and moved out.  Annnddd.....my mom has NOT moved in with us yet.  I am tired of waiting on others and tired of procrastinating.  So here goes.
My walls have been blank (for the most part) up until now.  I can't stand it any longer.  When I saw this Star Bright pattern being posted by friends on InstaGram I decided that it would be just the right thing to brighten up my den... and so I gathered up all I needed and made it.  You can find the FREE (yes, I said FREE) pattern on Craftsy, click here Star Bright Free Quilt Pattern.
Here are my results

Playing with fabric placement..

I left it in the floor for a week...

Pieced and quilted.  Ready for the wall!!

I made new covers for the throw pillows on my couch too!

We painted the front door Tiffany Blue.
Sorry this picture is from Christmas.
(My husband is not the procrastinator that I am.)

DONE and DONE

pattern prototype

This is a quilt that I have been working on for a long, long time.  It is not fussy, plain and simple.  Maybe that is why it took my so dang long.  Then again maybe it is because I designed it with the intention of writing and publishing the pattern.  You see, I wrote and published a pattern (Kiara Chevron).  You can find it on Craftsy....please find it on Craftsy!  But writing a pattern is really, really difficult.  Or at least my brain thinks it is.  I am so very paranoid about making sure that all the measurements and calculations are perfectly correct.  And I want it to look professional...no hand drawings or confusing instructions.  It took me forever to write the Kiara Chevron pattern even though it is a beginner pattern.  It also gave me a giant migraine headache and hives, some hair loss and a blurry vision. Not all of which is true.  You decide.  So....I think the completion of this quilt was hindered by the thought of writing the instructions for it (aka procrastination, of which I am honorary Queen).

yardage calculations...eeekkkk!

piecing complete!

scrappy binding ready

Finished product, fresh out of the dryer.

I am still on the fence about writing instructions for this quilt.  What do you think?  I really have a lot of the work finished. Only the computer part remains...Hahahaaha....ONLY the computer part remains.  I think I feel my hair beginning to fall out....