February 8, 2026 - I did it!

 💣 BOOM! 💣

Moana:

Pocohontas:

Blocks I have so far: 

ONLY 27% done 🤣

and already about 16 - 20 hours put in on it.....

Lord, give me strength (and time) to get this done by July 8!!!!

I purchased all of the fabrics that the original designer used...to a tune of $250....

but before I do a block, I look up the original princess as drawn by Disney. 

Then I pull the fabrics the designer of the Princess Parade Quilt used....

then I go down to my fabric stash and look to see what I have that looks similar to what Disney animation drew, in style and colors.

 I am THRILLED with my choices I used for Moana's outfit. I love her! Pocohontas...I thought using the darker brown would look good because her block was very blah...in the original quilt. Sadly with the Robert Kaufman fabric I chose to use as the dress trim - I see cheetah print (and it's not a cheetah print) like a cave woman on her dress accent 🤣

BUT it's staying! 

I believe my backgrounds are really making the quilt come alive. 

I LOVE the Moana batik background that looks like water and with her holding her oar...perfect!

I chose the orange with leaves and flowers for Pocohontas because her theme song is: All the Colors of the Wind....and I just thought that fabric represented well. 

I'm pleased so far. 

And burned out for this week on blocks....so until next weekend - taking a piecing break and back to cross stitch.

Today, I'm going to pull a WIP out to finish. 

I'm trying to keep track of WIP finishes so that I can (if I want) start new pieces after I finish a WIP.

There is one WIP that should have been finished a long time ago. I'm pulling it today to try to whip it out! I'll save it for a surprise when it's done.

One last little "newsy" bit. If you remember....I finished "Joy" by Shakespeare's Peddler as my "2026 blessing sampler" HERE 

She (Teresa) said in one of her shop newsletters that she was going to have a companion piece to "Joy" at Nashville 2026. 

Well apparently Teresa gave a sneak peek yesterday on Instagram and my friend Joanie sent me a screen shot since I no longer participate or have a social media account anywhere.

Check this out:

From what I can gather, it is stitched again with Limited Edition Gentle Arts threads. 

I definitely will have to purchase this. And I *hope* I can get the thread pack again, because I prefer continuity. 

I picked up the frame that I ordered for "Joy" and all I need to do is take the time to pin and lace it. 

But since I spent literally 12 hours yesterday making Moana and Pocohontas...I just want a read the chart and make an X day...LOL!

I'll be gone for awhile now...I've had a lot to say recently...ya'll need a break from Vonna.

Until next time, my sweet friends, keep marching and smiling!

February 7, 2026

Happy Saturday!

 it is 6:45 am and I have a hot cup of coffee (today it's Bones Blueberry Pancake 😍)

and I'm going to have THE whole day to myself! 🥳

Yesterday...

Katie and Austin had the day off of work so I didn't have Cora. Katie had her 32 weeks Maisy doctor appointment and Maisy is doing phenomenal! Looking great and she has just one more 2 week appointment and then will start going every week until she delivers. I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy has gone. Soon our Maisy will be here! Prayers, please that all goes well and safely! Katie does so well with her pregnancies. I'm so proud of her. Me? I was a train wreck every pregnancy. They always started out good and then ended in an emergency - every one of them. But thanks to the Good Lord all my babies were healthy and did well once out of the belly. My OB told me once I was a microwave and not an oven (all my babies were preemies Katie 34 weeks, the boys 33 weeks and Ellie stayed in the longest at 36 weeks - but I had been on complete bed rest for 16 weeks).

So since Friday was off, I...

went to First Friday mass, came back home, took Ellie to college (I take and pick her up every day - she's a junior at Indiana University studying Computer Science), came back home sat and goofed off on my iPad. Then at 11:30 my husband (who is finishing our basement and took the day off work to mud the walls) came up and said he was at a place where he needed to take a break and would I like to go out to lunch? 

WHAT?!

Take me out to lunch?! If you know us, you know we RARELY go out to eat...

I almost did a cart wheel!

We had a lovely lunch at a local, family owned Mexican restaurant that we like to go to when we do go out. They have the best food, the wait staff is friendly and attentive, the prices are great and I LOVE their chips and salsa! Plus I rarely drink a regular Coke (and I am a Coke girl) and they have THE BEST Coke there. The mix is spot on - crisp and gives you the "burn" - if you know what I mean.

After lunch...

I went up to my "crafty room" as Keith calls it and started pulling fabrics for my next princess. by the time I got them all pulled and cut to start putting the block together it was time to pick up Ellie. 

When I opened my garage door, there stood Cora and her parents who had gone for a walk to come see us...it's so wonderful having them live so close. So we all hopped in the Granny Mobile (my van) and took a field trip to pick up Auntie Ellie. We got home and visited with Poppy for a bit then they went home for supper and Ellie and I went to do the church flowers for this week. 

(The illness Jake and Ellie had appears to be over...fingers crossed...and no one else appears to have symptoms of it...thank God!

Jake had it bad for 3 days...

Ellie had it bad for 6...yesterday was the first day she ate anything solid.)

After Church flowers were done...

I came back home and worked (from 7-10 pm) on my next Princess Parade Quilt Block - "Anna"

and happy to let you know - SHE'S DONE!!!

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

The Anna block:

she is the sister to Elsa and lives in Arandale too, so I used a snowflake background too.

Here is Anna and Elsa together:

I am SO STINKING pleased with the way they look! 

Someone asked me if this is foundation paper pieced and yes - it is. A whole bunch of little pieces on a whole bunch of paper pieced pieces that you have to put together. This block for example had 15 different foundation pieced "pieces" to puzzle together and then create the block. plus the gold and black bodice of her gown and the white streak in her hair...OMGosh...I'll leave it at that.

Here is the whole princess parade quilt as originally designed by LoRayMe (ETSY):

So that leads me to TODAY...

my whole day to Vonna-create! I think I'm going to focus on the Moana and Pocohontas blocks. 

I have some great ideas for both of them and I believe I have "just the thing" for both of their backgrounds. 

I *think* I can get two blocks done today! Maybe...We'll see! 

before I go up, I'm going to go down and go through my 10 tubs of fabric and see if I have more suitable backgrounds for any of the other princesses. 

Since we are finishing the basement (and the unfinished basement had been my finishing room/quilting/crafting room for years) I have A LOT of fabric/fabric kits/crafts down there. Keith told me I have to either: use up most of the fabric or give it away. 

I'm on a quest now because I LOVE Kansas Troubles quilt fabric and I squirrelled away a metric ton of it. I don't want to give it away. So quilting up some quilts is on my "to do" in my spare time list. 🤣 

I'll let you know how I do today later on tomorrow or next week!

Leaving you with some Cora pics from our week...

💖 she's the reason I get up every morning 💖

February 4, 2026

 Mid-Week Check In....

First, I'd like to give my deepest thanks to all of you following me here on this new blog. 

Thank You!

To those who leave comments.

Thank You!

To those who have sent me personal e-mails.

Thank You!

It does my heart good, restores my faith in people and makes me feel like I made a difference with some in what I gave and shared for over 20 years online.

People in this world are searching....

sadly I don't believe most of them know what they are searching for and strike out at anyone who has found it and practices it. Not to say I don't have missteps along the way. For at 55 years old, every night when I lie awake in bed I go over every year in that 55 years and see the missteps and pray that I am forgiven for those I hurt, that they forgive me and pray that I can forgive the hurts done to me. 

To love your neighbor as yourself...

hard.

I only have to gaze at a crucifix and remember what He endured for all the sins that had been done, were being done and would be done...

and that weight, that burden...He felt. 

It's easy then, isn't it - to forgive.

 I had a wise priest friend tell me, "Vonna, you don't have to forget - because you have to protect yourself - but you must always, always forgive. And if your heart won't, pray that it will, and one day you will wake up and forgiveness will be there. Ask and you will receive."

Wise words, I try to live by (try being the operative word there).

Anyway...not what I came online to say today, but obviously on my heart, so out it came.

Perhaps someone needed to hear it, contemplate it as well as I did and do.

I came on to show you this:

 I started working on Cora's 2nd Birthday Quilt. This is block 1:

The Elsa block for the Princess Parade Quilt!

It took me two tries and 6 hours to finish 😆

But look at those points! 

I tell you folks....like putting a puzzle together.

and then the thinking and contemplating on: if I sew this piece this way and press the seams what direction will it go? 

I struggle with orientation in space. 

Period.

I cannot for the life of me orient objects in space. 

It's why I struggled in Organic Chemistry during college and WHY I did not become a doctor 😝

Honestly after reflection I wouldn't have become a doctor anyway, because that's not what God meant for me, BUT Organic Chemistry did it's weeding job on me anyway!

So the struggle was real, but the final piece...Exceptional!

I used snowflake material for the back ground because she is: the Snow Queen! 

I thought I was so nifty for that substitution! (ha ha)

Here's the whole quilt for reference: 

This is the designer's original quilt pattern. Since the time she created it she has designed and included in the pattern Merida (Scottish Princess) and Tatiana (Frog Princess)

you are supposed to pick any 12 princesses you like, 

but Cora likes all of them. 

So....I'm just going to do all the blocks and figure out a 15th block on my own (I may do a name block) and then design my own layout. 

I also would like to jazz it up a bit. 

After subbing snow for the background of Elsa....

I decided I'm going to find material with movement for ALL of the princesses. 

Like a batik that looks like water for Ariel and Moana....

(that's as far as I've gotten - ha ha!)

But even if it would turn out like a small ditsy floral background or tiny dots...something with movement I think will make the quilt exceptional. We will see what I come up with. 

I'd also like to do some corner stones around the princess frames. I'm not one for plain frames. Maybe add a large ricrack around the total frame encompassing the princesses....

BIG IDEAS...

and only one block done! HA HA!

I have until July 8 to get the blocks done, the quilt put together and then quilted. 

That's a lot....

if any of the people reading would like to purchase this pattern you can find it: HERE 

She's On Etsy and the Shop Name is LoRayMe

She has a lot of great patterns. 

The norovirus has hit our house....

😖

Ellie started with it Saturday afternoon.

Jake got it Sunday night.

They both are STILL struggling with it. BAD.

Since I was a microbiologist in a hospital I did infection control along with bench work so I still get alerts from the CDC and it's hitting the Northeast and Midwest right now. 

Waste water samples have seen a severe spike in the last month of norovirus. Sadly, it is turning out to be a new variant and is virulent. 

Early onset of symptoms after contact. 

I am wiping down EVERY surface, every door knob...

I make them wipe the toilet after every use.

We have gone through 2 large tubs of Clorox wipes and I bought 4 more. 

Cora is here every day and I make them stay in their rooms as much as possible. 

I just don't want Cora and her Mommy who is 32 weeks pregnant to get it.

So far so good....

please pray that Cora and Katie don't get it. If I get it so be it, but please spare Cora and Katie.

Marching on and fighting the good fight!

See you next time!