Layla's "Flower Garden" Baby Quilt

Finally, I finished the quilt top for my newest grand baby, Layla Grace.  She is now five months old!  Here is the finished top.

The green borders are more of a spring green than the photo shows.  

The birds and butterflies and center panel are from patterns that I have had for many years.  The patchwork squares are from coordinating fabrics for Layla's nursery, as well as fabrics from my stash. the vivid oranges and pinks are hand-dyed fabric.

Today I used some leftover blocks to make the pieced back, and mounted it on the machine.  I hope to get some quilting done tomorrow.  

Here is the sweet little recipient of the new quilt.  She is lying on the first quilt I ever made...for her dad!

We worked hard on the sewing room/studio space in our basement last weekend.  We got great help from Charlie's brother Richard, and our nephew, Jason.  Most of the ceiling is now complete, along with some wonderful LED light panels.

Next up:  finish the ceiling over the steps and in the bathroom, put in the bathroom fixtures, and then the floors.  I am thinking of using porcelain tiles that look like wood.

We have been having a great week here at the cabin in the North Carolina mountains.  Some pictures from a recent walk:

We will be here through the weekend.  We are hoping our nephew will come back and help finish the ceiling.  If not, it will keep for a few more weeks!

Happy Birthday, America!

It's an old-fashioned family Fourth of July here at our North Carolina mountain home.

We spend lots of time at the creek.

We had a homemade fireworks show last night.

We also went to the Christmas in July festival in West Jefferson on Saturday.  This area grows a large supply of America's Christmas trees.

And the drone flew over and captured some of the family, friends, and dogs who were here yesterday.

God bless America!

Mountain Weekend

I sure enjoyed my birthday weekend in the mountains!  We had to drive through awful thunderstorms in Greensboro and Winston-Salem on the way Friday, but it was worth it.  The temperature went from 92 degrees when we left to 72 when we arrived.

On Saturday, it was creek-sitting day.  This was my spot.  Nothing like plopping your chair in the water and letting the cold stream cool your feet.

While we were down there at the creek, my brother-in-law's Uncle Gary showed up with his bulldozer to help us with some landscaping prior to adding on to our cabin.  We want to be able to drive the Gator or four-wheeler behind the house to park in the basement.  Gary started pushing over some trees parallel to our existing driveway.  Now we have a bigger yard and a new road.

We all gathered to watch Gary in action, a master land mover.

He also took down a large hemlock tree that I always thought would be outside our bedroom window.  Oh, well, they grow quickly, and now we will have more room for the builders to work.

Notice how he knocked it over without touching the bird feeders, my flowers, or (not pictured) the charcoal grill right next to it.

On Sunday we went to Boone for a get-together in honor of my nephew, Ryan, who is leaving this week for the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis.  We are so proud of him!  He will be playing baseball for Navy during his time there.

                        

My sister-in-law, Patti, has done a gorgeous job with the landscaping on their hilly, forested lot.  What an inspiration for me, once the bulldozers and builders are done at our place.

She definitely had a red, white, and blue theme for the party.

Their natural hedges of rhododendron were in full bloom.  Just beautiful!

Today it is back to work on de-cluttering and cleaning...but we sure had a nice weekend!

Golden Weekend

I was undecided all week about accompanying my hubby to our mountain place this weekend, partly because of the gloomy, rainy weather experienced during the time ex-Hurricane Ida was lingering in our area. It was still yucky and drizzly when we left Friday, but the sun came out and the temperatures warmed as we headed west. The forecast of a mild, sunny weekend turned out to be correct!It was the first day of black-powder gun deer season, so while Charlie hunted in the morning and late afternoon, I kept to the creek and pond areas and enjoyed the sparkling sun on the water. Did not hear any gun fire, which made me happy.

I like this knobby old tree that is just below the pond and sketched it in pencil.

In the background of the photo is a big hill with Frazier fir Christmas trees. I had to smile as I watched five deer work their way across the top of the field while the hunters were up on the mountain in the other direction.

Speaking of Christmas tree farms, it is a huge industry in Ashe County, NC. They have been cutting trees already for several weeks. It must be profitable...this huge house sits atop a tree farm in Laurel Springs.

We do not have a killer view like they do, but I like the view from our back yard.

It continued to stay sunny, mild and beautiful all weekend. What a blessing for November! Local mountain folklore has it that the woolly worm caterpillar can foretell the severity of the winter to come. The more bands of black, the colder the winter. Woolly worms, sometimes called woolly bears, can be seen crossing the roads in autumn as they search for a warm nook or cranny to spend the winter before they become tiger moths in the spring. Looks like a mild winter based on this little fella on our driveway!

There is even a woolly worm festival every October in Banner Elk, near Boone, where one of my brothers lives. Spectators can bring their own woolly worm, or buy one to compete in "heats" to race up three-foot tall strings. Collecting the caterpillars, given names like "Flash" and "Speedy," from the top of the strings is former N.C. State and NBA center Tommy Burleson. Lots of fun!

This will be my last mountain trip until after Christmas. Back to quilting!

Mountains in Rain and Sunshine

Our mountain weekend started out with LOTS of heavy rain. On Saturday, we spent the day indoors, playing with my sister's grandbabies.


celebrating my father's birthday, eating lasagna, and enjoying a win by N.C. State in football.

The rain finally stopped just before dark on Saturday night. Our normally placid little creek was changed into a muddy roaring river

and the spillover at the dam was crashing over the rocks on the sides.

What a difference a day makes. Sunday we woke to golden sunshine, blue skies, and a light breeze. We took some beautiful rides on "our" mountain in the Gator.

Charlie and I went into the woods to fill up the corn feeders for the deer (and raccoons, squirrels, and turkeys...no bear on the stealth camera this week!) It is definitely beginning to look a bit like autumn. Hmm, this forest floor pic might make a good art quilt!
.

Even the ride home was gorgeous. This is where our road comes out on the highway in Laurel Springs. The fields are part of the North Carolina Upper Mountain Research agricultural station.

These fields and barns are also part of Upper Mountain, but across the highway. I like the way the golden leaf tobacco in the foreground matches the quilt block on the barn between the silos. There are goats grazing on the hills in front of the barn.

Hope to get some quilting done this afternoon, but it is continuing to be cool, sunny, and beautiful outside!

Labor Day Weekend in the North Carolina Mountains

Just back from five days in the North Carolina mountains...nothing quilty to talk about today, but be prepared for lots of family and scenery pictures! I spent all day Friday with my father and family members as he was discharged from the hospital after surgery. I am glad to say he tolerated his operation well and is now back home.

Our little cabin is located on a family compound owned by my sister and brother-in-law, with over sixty acres of land beginning at a trout stream and rising to the mountain top. There are numerous logging roads that allow us to ride to the top on ATV's of various sorts. Two of the men spent a whole day smoothing the ruts out of the main road to the top of the mountain. Wow! I believe I could drive Sweet Sue the Subaru up this nice road! That's old Maggy, still making the climb several times a day.

At night we sometimes go up to the top and watch the stars or the sunset from the Christmas tree farm. Since we did not have any of our kids with us this weekend, we took Ricky and Mary's grandkids up with us in the back of the Gator.

There was a gorgeous full moon that looked orange on Saturday night. It looked large and low over the mountain from the tree farm. You sure can't tell it from this picture.

During the day we either fish in the pond, play in the creek, or just pass around whatever baby might be visiting. My niece Melinda brought her six-month old baby, Ragen, and I got to hold her a few times.But that does not happen too often when Grandma Katy is also in town!

Mama Melinda let Ragen wade a bit in the creek. She is going to be a mountain girl- she loved it!
Guess who else got to play in the creek? That's me, the only adult who opted to get in and play with some of the kids. Those empty detergent bottles make great creek toys.

There are usually one or more dogs bounding through the creek, as well. This one is my sister's border collie, Fred.

I noticed that my great-niece Hunter and niece Melinda are starting to look a lot alike! Wow, they could be sisters!

The asters are in full bloom in sunny meadows and along the creek.

as are the goldenrods. Whole fields of gold waving in the breeze.

Charlie and I spent a lot of time on the mountain on Sunday,

marking trees with "posted" signs for the upcoming deer season. Our stealth camera did not capture any bears this week...maybe he has moved on.

Deep in the woods, the light appears to be almost liquid green as it is dappled through the trees.

But the dogwood and maple trees are starting to turn red.


We hated to come home. It was starting to get rainy on Monday, which made it easier to leave.

When we did get home, we watched one of the most exciting college football games on TV that I have ever seen...Miami beating Florida State 38-34. There were many lead changes and exciting big plays- my kind of game.

I hope your weekend was a good one, too!