Ride A-Bout

Carol here ~ 

Everyone is saying that this years' foliage was the best they've seen in a long time so we decided to go for a bit of a ride a-bout on Monday to see for ourselves.  I would have liked to have made the Rangeley loop but my back would not have been happy with that.  So we ended up heading up to Bethel, then Newry and Upton making a stop at Screw Auger Falls.  We then headed down to Andover, Rumford Point and back home.  And yes, the foliage is gorgeous.  I didn't really take any pictures because you just can't get the color from a phone camera.

September

Carol here ~

I've have felt pretty lousy most of September ~ a couple pukey episodes and several migraines so lots of reclining or horizontal days.  This is the view from my recliner, the leaves change daily.

This and That

Carol here ~ 

Not much happening here so will just share some randomness.

We had a visit from grand Evan and also grand Parker and his girl Avery came for dinner Sunday but other than that it's been pretty quiet.  OK by me.

Had a visit from this guy the other morning...

guess he was looking for some breakfast.

September

Carol here ~ 

Happy September!

This gorgeous sunrise was what greeted me when I came out of the bedroom Monday morning. So pretty!

Saw these orange-y leaves on my walk.

I'm wondering what the foliage will be like this year as we are still in drought conditions.  Time will tell I guess.

Blueberries

Carol here ~

Dan and I headed out to Goss Berry Farm yesterday morning to pick some blueberries.

New Kayaks

Carol here ~

We decided we needed new kayaks as ours were sit in and it was getting harder for us to get in and out plus the seat is very uncomfortable and was hurting my back. In other words, we got old. So, we ended up getting these which are more of a sit on top kayak.

On the Pond

Carol here ~

We have a Momma Duck with six babies that has been traveling back and forth out front.  She is very protective, all I have to do is come up to the window and she ushers them out and away.

Quiet

Carol here,

It was a very quiet holiday weekend around the pond.  I'm sure the rain had something to do with it, although it cleared off nicely yesterday afternoon.  

We were able to get a walk in. I've been on the lookout for Lady Slippers when walking up the driveway as it is about time for them.  Yesterday I found one just showing it's flower and eight more that could show us a flower in the next week or so.

Kayaking

Carol here ~

We finally got a warm day with not much wind so took advantage of it and got out on the pond in the kayaks.

The water is still pretty cold so I'm wearing my boots as I need to get in the water to get into the kayak.

Quilt Show

Carol here ~ 

We spent a couple of days last week at AQS New England in Hartford, CT viewing the 700 quilts.  Contestants came from 44 states and 13 countries.

Ta-Da!

Carol here ~

Ta-da! Lena Longarm and I have finished up the quilting on all 45 of the 2025 quilts.  Whew.  I didn't think we'd ever get through them.  So, here are the final three.

2025-43 is quilted with the digitized pattern Abundant Feathers.

2025-43

Three to Go

Carol here ~

Wowser! This teaser spring weather we have been having has been marvelous!  Pretty sure yesterday was the end of it, but it sure was great while it lasted.  

Thanks to all of you who commented with kind words on my Facebook post on Multiple Myeloma the other day.  March is Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month so thought it was a good time to share.  I am doing well, still frustrated that I can't do some things like I use to but....I'm here. Thanks for thinking of me.

Eyes

Carol here ~

I have been having issues with my eyes since maybe last summer sometime.  The sun reflecting off anything shiny, or reflecting off the ponds whether they are water or snow covered give me instant eye floaties/migraines if I catch the light just right.  As we have ponds on both sides of us it's pretty hard to avoid getting blinded!

Mud Pond out the back

Misbehavin'

Carol here ~

Lena Longarm is misbehavin'. I mentioned last week that her tension was not consistent and I had to keep adjusting it. That never happens, I usually finish up one quilt, load another and keep on going with no tension adjustment necessary.  I remembered that last time this happened I needed to replace the check spring. The check spring regulates the thread tension and stitch formation to maintain consistent pressure as the needle moves.  A worn spring leads to broken threads, skipped stitches, uneven tension and lots of snaggles, top and bottom.

Ugh.  Definitely what's happening.  That snaggle was just a few seconds in the making.

Too Many Too's

Carol here ~

Happy February!

Yesterday was finally a nice enough day to get outside for a walk.  Most of January was too cold, too icy, too snowy, too windy, too everything! Counting down ~ only 44 days until spring!

Lena Longarm and I had a bit of a snag the other day. The top thread had jumped out of one of the thread guides which resulted in lousy bottom thread tension.  Top tension looked fine so luckily I caught it before Lena made a complete pass.

January Finishes

Carol here ~

January sure is flying by, I can hardly believe this is the last week of the month.  

I have had a bit of the January blahs but still have managed to get quite a bit accomplished. Lena Longarm and I quilted up this pile of quilts...

I thought there were six but when I just counted there were seven and I still have a week to go! I have appointments this week so might get one more done before February rolls around.

What I've Been Doing

Carol here ~

I forgot to show you my new quilt-y socks I received for Christmas from daughter Vanessa.

Lemoyne Stars, one of my favorite quilt blocks.  She got them at The Sock Shack in Portland.  I love them!

Catch Up

Carol here ~ 

Sorry we've been MIA for the last few weeks.  I guess we needed a bit of a bloggy break.  Plus, not much going on around here.

I have been keeping fairly busy with Lena Longarm and bindings.  2025-21 is on the longarm now and I just finished up the binding on 2025-14.

I think the last quilt that I showed you way back in August was 2025-4 so will attempt to catch you up with the finished quilts since then.

Last Show Quilt

Carol here ~ 

Happy Thanksgiving week! I made vegan bread for the vegan grandson yesterday, will make yeast rolls for the rest of us today.  Yum!

This is the final quilt that we entered into shows.  It's a doozy! 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Thursday evening, in the studio. It is a tad too chilly for a fire. It’s a good evening to cuddle up under a few quilts. 

Today I spent some time and cut up more of a blowdown that blew a large oak tree into the Mud Pond. I got what I could last winter off the ice. With the water level low now I put my new waders on yesterday and removed a bunch more from the pond. Today I worked on the 12’ or so that was on the land. After managing to cut it up I had to split it once with a maul and splitting wedge so this old man could even lift it. It is all up by the shed and split and stacked. A nice little round wood pile, all hard wood.