Sorting through my quilt basket this week revealed some wonderful unfinished quilts that I decided needed to be finished, at long last.  I hate to admit how long it has been since I took any stitches in my quilts, but I decided that now is the time to finish them up!

My friend, Ellen, who is a wonderful quilter, was a part of making this friendship basket quilt with me.  There were seven of us, who passed our chosen fabrics to one another over the course of many months, and we each stitched this beautiful basket design for each other.  Yesterday afternoon, Ellen and I  laid out all of the basket squares and stitched some borders between the baskets.  It is completely hand-stitched, which is my favorite way of stitching quilts.  I know that it is more time consuming, but I find it very peaceful, and I can stitch while I sit comfortably in my recliner.  I don't enjoy hunching over my sewing machine for long periods.  Soon I will have the long strips pieced length wise between each row of baskets and then it will be finished and quilted as a wall hanging.  Can't Wait!


I also finished my "Mystery Sampler" (With Thy Needle & Thread), and selected a rustic looking frame for it. It is currently in the process of being framed.  Hope to have some pictures as soon as the framing is finished !

As I turned the Mystery Sampler over to my favorite framer on Wednesday morning, I decided to begin working on the sweet little pincushion by Primitive Betty's at our LNS stitching group. A little progress so far...


Last weekend, we traveled to Vermont to visit some dear friends, who had experienced power outages and severe flooding in their area.  Would you believe that the flood waters from a brook across from their house, stopped only yards from their front door?  Their next door neighbor had water up over their front porch, but our friend's house was spared.  They say that it was the power of prayers!  The brook washed out a road bridge and the road, just yards from their house was broken up from the rushing water and an entire cliff came down too!  What a sight!  They had construction workers working almost day and night the entire time we were there, and they had been working since the hurricane and heavy rains had subsided.  

This is the West River near their home, with it's rushing water, coming close to the banks, last Sunday.

A beautiful old covered bridge above the rushing currents of the West River.

We had a wonderful weekend with our friends.  I kept telling my friend, Liz and her husband, Rick, that we felt like we were staying in a beautiful little Bed & Breakfast Inn.  Their rooms are very comfortable and cozy, and decorated with all sorts of very special and unique little collectibles everywhere.  Liz has a great collection of little German wooden pieces, which she has gathered over the years, when visiting her cousins in Germany. 

 More cute German figurines, adorable bear collectibles & beautiful "Blue Onion" china pieces.

Liz has an amazing Hummels' collection too.  These are only a few of her favorite ones.  She had a second figure of the little boy with the duck, resting on his feet, and she gave it to me!  I was so thrilled!  I have a few of my own collection, most of which belonged to my dear husband's mother, but they are very special treasures!


And the best is for last.....these are our friend's two beautiful Himalayan cats, Doodles and Elizabeth.

This is Doodles.  Isn't he the perfectly perched cat?  He was so quietly serene and perched anywhere that took his fancy.

Elizabeth is a real beauty.  She has the most amazing eyes....you could get lost in them.  Her favorite place to rest was in the kitchen, atop a little shelf on which she nestled next to a basket.  It was almost too small for her to fit, but she managed to curl up there anyway!

In front of this lovely arrangement, there is a card with a beautiful sentiment written on it.  Here are the words:

This is a beautiful blessing for everyone who visits our friend's home.  It is a blessing to take into one's heart and treasure the words and the sentiments.


I'm counting you, dear friends as blessings in my life, for sharing these quiet moments together with me.  I hope that you have a beautiful week! 


Thank you for visiting.  I cherish your friendship!