Friday, July 10, 2026.....

 Hey...
Thanks a bunch ya'll for emailing me, leaving me comments here on the blog, and all the other things you do to make me smile and know you care! 
I love ya!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks so let's get started....

I'll talk about my stitching first...
I got tired of the "wedding" so I pulled out my "Santa's Wish List" 


I had it started...not far, just about the top 20 rows across the top. Then, I got my "results" from the fair. I was livid - I'll leave it at that. Then, I got really critical on my stitches and how they looked due to the commentary of the judge - and know I am VERY careful how I lay my stitches... so - I pulled them all out and restarted....I have one leaf done on the new start, so I won't bore you with looking at it. πŸ˜†

But I will share with you some quilting I've done recently....
As I said in the previous post, Ellie and Joseph is getting married next June and they bought a condo. Joseph closes on it today - July 10 and he will move into it this weekend. 
Ellie of course is not going to let him decorate it as a bachelor pad - LOL!
So she wanted me to make her a quilt runner....
I don't have the girls this week because Katie and Austin are having a small "staycation".
So Wednesday I got up at my usual time and started cutting and sewing, which didn't take too much time...it's the quilting that takes forever....
anyway....here's the quilt runner:

It's made from all Moda this line is from the 3 Sisters - it is quintessential Ellie.


I did Edge to Edge quilting on it - on my Baby Lock Meridian Embroidery Machine (I don't have a longarm). I found, bought and downloaded this sweet quilting design with a bird/flower/nest and feather. I think it turned out really darling πŸ’ž

Then in between hooping and re-hooping and waiting for the quilting to get done I used the leftover scraps to make a quick straight line quilted table mat, 




Got them both done in about 12 hours. Whew!

Then Thursday....
hold on to your seats...I had some nice people ask me about Cora's Princess Parade Quilt...
hardy har har....remember I said I wanted it done by her second birthday?! 
Let's all laugh....
Her birthday was Wednesday (July 8) - it wasn't done. 
So now Granny is shooting for Christmas πŸ˜‚

One block at a time, Sweet Jesus, right? I'll get it done, right? Slow and Steady wins the race?
 
Anyway, I made the Tiana Block (It took me 5 hours...that's about how long each one has taken me) 
They are foundation paper pieced and believe you me there are several little pieces to each block. Anyway without further ado here is Tiana (the Frog Princess):


Notice her background is Lily Pads - get it FROG Princess and Lily Pads....yeah....it made me giddy to come up with that idea πŸ˜‚and even giddier when I found lily pad fabric!

THEN, 
I got up this morning and I thought....WHY NOT!?
So may I present: Ariel, The Mermaid Princess


She's swimming in....THE WAVES! 
Man this background finding makes me happy 😏

Here they all are so far: 

I've got:
Tiana - Elsa - Anna
Merida - Ariel  - Pocahontas
and
Moana
Completed! guess how many I have left....go on now, guess!
8 I have 8 blocks left. I only  have 7 done...and 8 left. 
Then it is sashing and the quilting and the binding.
One step at a time, Sweet Jesus.

Here is what the original quilt designer model looks like: 

She gave it plain backgrounds, I decided that I wanted backgrounds that played off the Princess represented. I really like mine better (maybe I'm biased πŸ˜…). 

Let's see....
I think that's all the crafting I've done. 

BUT... lots of Family stuff has happened:
July 5 - saw me turn 56 - thank you for the emails, cards, texts that so many of you sent me! It  does a girl good to hear from friends!

Cora's Birthday is July 8 and her Daddy's birthday is today! So we had a combined party and here's some snaps of the fantastic day we had:
It was Max and Ruby Themed...if you all know who that is....


so Katie made the Ruby Cake and I made the Max Dirt cake with worms:


We had a great time!



Katie made matching t-shirts for her and the girls and party hats for all of usπŸ’–




Here's the birthday kids:


poppy, granny and Cora:


the whole gang:


Cora eating cake like a bunny πŸ˜†


Here's a couple of snaps of the Aquarium trip we took to Newport Aquarium:






Then our priest told Austin we should check out The Assumption Cathedral in nearby Covington, KY.
So we did:


We had a really great time and spent some wonderful family time together!

One last thing:
Maisy turned 3 months old on July 4:


Look at that mouth πŸ˜‚



That's it for today...
next Monday I will be back in the grind and this little flurry of crafting will grind to a halt! LOL!

All my love, 
Vonna



11 comments:

  1. Well I am just going to say if the fair judges were making you livid, I would have to say they do not know cross stitch. Because your stitching is impeccable. Don't let them get you down. Love the quilt for Cora...so cute. I don't blame Ellie.....I would not want my husband decorating our future abode. lol Happy Birthday!!

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  2. The table runner and table topper look awesome as do the princess blocks. Vonna, your stitching is incredible and impeccable, so I would take the comments of the judge(s) with a grain of salt. I'm chuckling about not letting Joseph turn the condo into a bachelor pad. I wouldn't want Bruce to do it as he is color blind and no telling what the end result would look like. Happy birthday to all the birthday kids! Hard to believe Cora is two and Maisy is 3 months. Enjoy the rest of your July!

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  3. I have caught up with both of your last posts. I have 4 grandchildren and I have kept each for the first couple years. My time has not been my own, but keeping them has been the greatest gift ever and given me blog topics:)
    Now, I truly can't even imagine a judge telling you your stitching is bad. I would never enter again. I like to stitch period. I know my stuff is not judge worthy at all, but is house worthy here. That table runner is so doggone precious. I can't seem to quilt - that seems to be where I am too hard on MYSELF. Maybe one day. Never enough to do all I want to do, but I do enjoy the days with the littles. Happy Summer.

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  4. I loved the fun pictures from the birthday celebration. It's great everyone could be together to celebrate you, Austin and Cora's birthdays. I'm sorry your fair entries didn't go well this year. We all know what beautiful work you do and I'm guessing the judge doesn't know "quality" stitching. The quilt runner you made for Ellie and Joseph is lovely. Congrats to them having a year to get things set up for when they marry next June. Great progress on Cora's parade quilt; I love the patterns and colors. Maisy is just soooo cute; precious expressions in her 3 month pictures. Thanks for giving me a smile with your family updates. Blessings to you and your family.

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  5. I can't imagine what that judge must have thought they were seeing. Your work is amazing! Love the quilt and mat. It looks like lots of fun family time.

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  6. So many Happy Birthday Wishes to everyone! Great progress on Cora’s quilt. I entered the fair once on a friend’s suggestion. Not for me. To me they are just people with opinions even if they are “experts” and I don’t do my hobbies to please them. I do it for me and no one is perfect.

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  7. Thanks for the update. Family looks so happy and congrats to Ellie getting married. ❤️❤️❤️ Jacque

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  8. Loved reading yur post. Nice way to start my week , not that I have a lot going lol. Cora and Maisy are adorable! And Cora's quilt..... I can't wait to see it finished, whenever it happens. Needless to say that the table top and mat are gorgeous! I am not sure what the judges were looking for but your stitching is great. I too have become very critical of my stitching.

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  9. Hey Vonna, good to see you out there again and sharing your blessings. Have followed you for several years so it’s nice to see the updates on the family. This is just perfect: an old-fashioned blog like the “old days”. Getting to where I could totally dump FB and IG … can’t believe your youngest has wedding bells in her very near future! Keep up the great work and know that you are respected and loved. Your news is good news in a troubled world! ❤️

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  10. What a wonderful post. Happy birthday!! Your crafting is beautiful as always, and I love all the pictures! God bless you and your family ❤️

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  11. Glad you had such a great family birthday celebration. Sorry about the fair. But your blue ribbons are from the Pfeiffer fair. And the stitches ? First place from us,!

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