I've been MIA

At first I couldn't believe it when I saw I hadn't blogged since early May!! But then as I began to ponder the WHY of what's been going on, I guess I do. 

Since my last post the following events have taken place: 

~My older daughter turned 20 (yikes!)

~Mother's Day, which is so bittersweet.

~I've taken two day-trips to NJ to help my mom & uncle pack up my Grandma's house. She passed away last October. The visits are emotionally & as well as physically draining. And once we bring whatever we've packed into the car(s) home to PA, it has to be gone through again to divide amongst us.

~My younger daughter finished her 9th grade year of high school.

~I've helped my best friend put on her younger daughter's graduation party

~And... wait for it... I GOT CARPETING IN MY SEWING ROOM!!! 

~We got the carpeting in the family room put in finally as well.

~June 3rd would've been Montie's 14th birthday

The carpeting being put in has really put my house in a tizzy. I've had boxes stowed hither & yon for my sewing room since we flooded back in September. I figured there was no reason to unpack the many boxes of fabric, tools, notions, etc., until I was moving back in... never thinking that it'd take this long! There were boxes I'd brought back down to the sewing room that I absolutely needed to do longarm quilting work, there were boxes up on the 2nd floor landing of the front staircase, boxes in Montie's old room, and boxes in our old schoolroom (we were homeschoolers recently, but I'd unpacked some things to make this area a make-shift sewing station if needed.) 

The packing scene that morning we knew flooding was imminent was a rather haphazard undertaking, and there were many hands helping who had no idea how to group sewing stuff. I say this not to be ungrateful but rather to point out that unpacking has been a slow process while I find a mix-mash of items in many boxes. The silver lining here is that it's all been reorganized as I've put it back!! 

I've had boxes full of things coming down my staircases & boxes coming in the front door full of my Grandma's things... she was a sewer & meshing her supplies with mine has multiplied the task. Again, I truly don't mean this as a complaint... I love to organize!!

Pictures of my newly painted, newly carpeted & newly reorganized sewing room are soon to come! I just have to get the pictures & whatnot up on the walls and I think I can call it DONE :) 

I have managed to keep up with the quilting...

Pink/Green Snowball/9-Patch; Quilted with Embossed Hearts (panto)

Blue/Green with Yellow Flowers; Quilted with Leafy Swirl (freehand)

Brown/Black & Applique Baskets; Quilted with Leafy Swirl (freehand)

Brown Star; Quilted SID & Diagonals in Border

Collaboration with BFF for the college graduation of a good friend of ours. She pieced this E-town quilt & I quilted it with Loopy Stars (freehand)

Memory Quilt; Quilted with SID & some Outlining of Applique

Autumn Stars & Applique; Quilted with Leafy Swirl (freehand)

Penguin Applique; Quilted with Water Stipple (freehand)

I surely hope I won't be too long between posts this time! And please forgive me for being absent visiting your blogs!!