Wednesday Inspiration!

 Remember that southwest needlepoint piece I started 26 years ago from one of my previous posts?  I loved it, but—like so many projects—life got in the way (grand babies!) It ended up tucked away, waiting for “someday.”  Well, “someday” finally arrived! I’ve made real progress—woohoo!

 All that’s left is the border. Which should only take me another 3 months!  HA  I just started on the outside border, which has 3 or 4 rows to go!  UGH

Our meeting area!

The push to pick it up again came from two wonderful ladies: Beth and Cheryl.  Every Wednesday from noon to 3 p.m., three of us—Friends of the Goodrich-Atlas Library volunteers—meet to sort through donated books for our next book sale.  I call us the Three Musketeers, and while we take our library duties seriously, we are also like to ‘play’.

Once the patron donations are sorted and placed on shelves, out come our projects: knitting, embroidery, cross stitch—anything that keeps our hands and creativity busy. 

Beth is my knitting idol. Her stitches are absolute perfection, the kind you point out to other knitters and say, “See? This is how it’s done.”  She just finished a stranded knitting sweater, which is amazing.  She also dabbles in other crafts—like the Christmas cross stitch hanging she’s working on now—and every single stitch is meticulous.

Cheryl is my cross stitch hero. Each year, she hand-stitches a tiny design for all of her family’s Christmas cards—those stitches are so small you practically need a magnifying glass!  Actually, I would need a magnifying glass. And she always has multiple cross stitch  projects going, moving between them so she never gets bored. She actually finishes them, too—an admirable skill in itself.  Look at the detail in her current project.  The bird is amazing!

Both Beth and Cheryl work on 16-18-count Aida fabric. For those who don’t stitch, that means there are 324 tiny squares in every square inch! It’s no wonder their work is so precise—it has to be.  They are both meticulous and their workmanship is beyond good!!! 

Meanwhile, I’m happily plugging away at my needlepoint, with my friends’ talent and dedication cheering me on. Just some closeups of the nine blocks.  

 One of these Wednesdays, I just might finish that 26-year-old project. And when I do, I know Beth and Cheryl will be the first to celebrate. 

 

They’ll probably be tired of looking at it and hearing me complain “I can’t see the squares!”. 

You can see I took these closeup pics before I started the borders.  And those little diamonds will also need to be finished.  

SIGH.......

Found Another Small Quilt!

 Back before my Ohio trip, I posted on finding some small art quilts...most from my online class with Hilary.   I was in my sewing room and looked up on my cork board and guess what!  I found another one!  HA  

It's the pink one upper left!  

It's already sandwiched and quilted...but needed binding or the edge cleaned up!  Now the story behind how this one happened to be created!  

I don't remember how the birds got in the photo that was on my blog!  Knowing Bill, he just happened to find the birds on the tree and took the pic!  

You can see above where I added more branches to the trees just to fill in.  Again, this was part of an exercise in Hilary's class.

This was the screen I had made from my friend's better half in Florida.  Bill is a photographer who takes great pictures.  This tree was actually growing in the front of the community where Bob and I would winter in Ocala.  The tree was going to be cut down so Bill took a photo and  I asked if I could copy the pic and hence, had a thermofax screen made from the original picture.

The little quilt was completed by free motion quilting but I never finished the edges.  So that's what I did!  I couldn't decide how to finish.  I got lazy and decided to just use an embroidery stitch on the edges.

Just a funky stitch but does the purpose of keeping edges from fraying.  I need to clean up edges and maybe fill in with paint to cover the batting or threads showing.  But otherwise, this bugger is finished!  Onto the next block to finish!

Another Small Quilt Block

I posted several weeks ago about finding more quilt blocks to finish.  The quilting was finished on this one quilt but the edges weren't finished.  So I've been trying to finish them up somehow!  

I had some good suggestions on FB so I decided to take the easy way out and just stitch around the edge of the quilt.  This piece is about 10" x 11 1/2" 

You can see the embroidery stitch I used for the edges.

This was part of Hilary's class for us to create a design based on pages from magazines.  We had to add our own ideas!  What fun to do.  

The leaves were all painted on paper then free motion stitched on batting.  

It's been so long since I sandwiched a quilt!  I had to have one (or more!) of my textile buds remind me to just fuse fabric on the back before I finished the edges!  

Geeezzzz  Thank goodness for my blog so I can see what I should do!  My memory sure isn't helping me!  HA

Another one finished!  Not sure if I have anymore small blocks.  Perhaps, I can finish the needlepoint piece!!
 

Ian & Talissa Visit 2025 - What a Wonderful, Fun Weekend!

 What a great weekend we had! Bob’s grandson, Ian, and his wife Talissa came for an overnight visit—and we soaked up every minute of it!

We haven’t seen Ian since 2019, back when we pulled off Bob’s big surprise 80th birthday bash. (Time flies when you're avoiding long drives, right?) And we had never met Talissa in person—we attended their wedding via Zoom two years ago. The kids live in Ohio and, well, let’s just say Bob isn’t exactly thrilled to get behind the wheel for long trips anymore. So it was extra special they took time out of their busy lives to visit us. And we’re so glad they did!

Kids arrived Friday late morning, and Talissa came bearing a hostess gift. It was a lovely basket with all kinds of goodies, but our hands-down favorite? Her homemade sourdough bread! If you know us, you know how much Bob and I love our bread. And yes—it was absolutely delicious. 

The basket also had a cute Ohio-shaped cutting board, a heavenly-smelling reed diffuser, and a moisturizer that’s already found its way to my bathroom counter. Such a thoughtful gesture—Talissa, you nailed it!

We spent Friday chatting and getting to know Talissa better. She was born in Brazil and came to the U.S. as part of a foreign exchange program, working as a nanny for several years. Now she’s studying to become a mortgage broker—go girl! We loved hearing about Brazil and her family, who still live in Brazil.

Talissa's veggie Fijata

For dinner, we took them to our favorite Mexican spot—Escamilla’s in Grand Blanc. That place never disappoints. The kids like Mexican food and are also margarita fans so everyone was happy… until Saturday morning, when the extra-hot sauce made a return appearance for Bob and Ian. HA!

My Botano Nacho

Bob & Ian had Flutas

And yes, there were margarita's!!!  No picture! Which are so, so good at Escamilla's!  Not strong but such a good flavor!!

After dinner, Bob couldn’t wait to show off his beloved Mini Z racetrack downstairs. He got Ian behind the wheel, and even Talissa took a few laps! She did great—much to Bob’s surprise (he’s a bit of an old-school chauvinist, but we love him). He was genuinely impressed.

 

Bob had the kids racing the opposite direction around the track, which turned out to be even more fun—and more laughs.  Here's a video I sliced of a few quick races Ian & Talissa ran!

After a full day of food, fun, and fast cars, we were all ready to hit the hay.

Saturday morning, I put together a little brunch to send them on their way. They were heading to Holland, Michigan, to celebrate Ian’s other grandfather’s birthday.   I made: overnight French toast, egg muffins (cheesy and veggie options!), fresh raspberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges, bacon, Talissa’s sour dough toasted!

 And a special treat Ian brought us—Giler’s Goetta sausage! Guess this is an Ohio favorite! It’s a pork, beef, and oat combo, and it was delicious. I’m not a sausage person, but I’ll eat this one! (I only cooked half the batch—froze the rest for a future breakfast.) They also brought us Brazilian cheese bread balls, and I can’t wait to try making them for dinner soon!

All in all, it was such a lovely visit. Talissa is just a sweetheart, and she and Ian are the cutest couple. Hopefully we won’t wait another 5 or 6 years to see them again! I told Bob we might need to Uber our way to Ohio next time. 😄

Thank you, Ian and Talissa, for the thoughtful gifts, the great conversations, and the sweet memories. Come back soon—we miss you already!

 

Goodness sakes, Robbie!

Here I go again! It's been awhile since I have had multiple projects going on at the same time!  BUT, for some reason, I'm getting back into that mode!  I honestly don't have many UFO (unfinished objects) laying around.  I always feel like it's homework that I have to finish...guess I had good study habits as a kid!  HA  But guess what I found!!!!!

Back in '98, Bob and I took a 2 week trip out west, flying to AZ and rented a car for traveling the state!  Which we did..top to bottom.  We had a stop in Sedona, which was beautiful and a walk around the business district, where I found this needlepoint pattern.  It's about 17"x17" and because of my love of anything southwest, I purchased with high hopes.  HA

And look what I found in my sewing room closet!!! Back in '99, I remember stopping at a local needlepoint shop to purchase threads I needed.  And I found receipts for threads in the project bag dated January 5,1999! And another one for two weeks later.

When we both were still working, Bob would golf on Thursday's after work.  So, after work,  I would take my project with me to a local needle craft store in a town a few miles from our house.    There were about 4 or 5 of us that met each Thursday and just sat around working on our stitching...just like a knitting group!  

I can't believe how much I actually finished!! 

Close up

If you look at the picture above I don't have that much more to do...well, when I look at the patterns on what I need to do, it's overwhelming!!!!  And it looks like A LOT that needs completed!  

I can't believe I did these blocks!!!!

Just reading the pattern for one of the blocks has me shaking my head!  HA

So, the plan is...I am going to start working on this each Wednesday...why Wednesday you say?  Well, that's for another post!  Until then, I'll keep scratching my head; do a little knitting, work on my paper quilting piece I want to finish and continue to be Betty Crocker and Suzie Homemaker!  Who knows, I may finish in 2025 or 2026 or ?????  

Ohio Family Schnaegans – Year 3! (2025 Edition)

 

Once again, I made the annual trek to Ohio to reunite with my sister, MaryAnn, and her ever-growing crew of kids, grands, and great-grands. With MaryAnn living in Florida, we only get to see each other once a year—so we make it count!

This marked our third year of the Ohio Family Schnaegans meetup , and we hit a new record: 16 attendees—including a friend who fit right in! 🎉

Dinner at Kitchen Social

Feeding the Crew of 16!
How do you feed this crew of sixteen—all day long!  Some family rolled in Thursday for snacking and grilling, and by Friday afternoon, I was greeted by a glorious spread of snacks, cheeses, and goodies that kept the nibbling going strong. Tiffany had made dinner reservations for all 16 of us at Kitchen Social in Dublin—at 8 p.m. no less! Yes, if you know Bob and me, you’re probably wondering how I managed to wait for dinner that late. But I did! And the food? Absolutely spectacular. At least five of us boxed up half our meals and enjoyed them again on Saturday, joined by delivered pizza.

Yes, we all fit in the elevator from the parking garage to the restaurant!

Olivia (Luke's wife), Nancy (my sister's 
better half) and my grand nephew
Luke!

And now for some introductions!

My back!, Nancy and my sister, MaryAnn

Rileigh (my grand niece), Mitch (host & my
Grand nephew)  & Olivia my grand nephew's wife)

Olivia & my grand nephew Luke!

Mike, my nephew and his wife Beth

Emma is Rileigh's roommate in Tennesse.

Lynn, my niece and Zion (Mitch
& Tiffany's son)

My niece, Leigh and her hubby David

Leigh, Erin (my niece), Lynn & Zion

Tiffany & Mitch.  The best hosts around!

Thanks to Mitch and his wife, Tiffany, for once again opening their beautiful home to all of us!   There was something for everyone!

Their patio and backyard are a dream—perfect for games and gathering. We had it all—competitive corn hole tournaments, lively badminton matches, darts, pool and even nighttime card games in the basement.

Chill time!!!

Leigh, David, Luke and Olivia.  That's Piper, my sister's dog's tail bottom left!

Luke and David...snacking time!

A Rainy Day and a Wobbly Wrist
Saturday brought on-and-off rain, but it didn’t put a damper on the corn hole tournament! Mike & Luke were the winners.  But kudo’s to all the teams that did play:  Maryann/Nancy, Mitch/Liv, Luke/Mike, Emma/Rileigh, Tiff/Leigh, Erin/Lynn.

Badminton, on the other hand? Let’s just say it got a little too exciting. My niece Leigh took a spill and ended up with a broken wrist—though she didn’t even get an X-ray until she got back to Pennsylvania! This, my friends, is why I stayed a spectator all weekend.

Doggy Details ! 

Kalee and Gigi stayed home (which truly deserves its own post). My sister’s one-eyed dog, Piper, kept up with the whole crew like a spry puppy, and that adventurous spirit with just one eye? Definitely blog-worthy.

Erin brought her sweet Daisy along for the weekend too—she trembled most of the time but was a dear pup. Unfortunately, on the drive home to Pennsylvania, Daisy had a seizure. Poor Erin was beside herself, but her husband directed her to a dog ER for evaluation. Daisy’s now on anti-seizure medication, so we’re all hoping things stabilize.

This gathering isn't called Ohio Family Schnaegans for nothing!

My sister and her daughter, Lynn one night outside!  I don't think they were singing but...who knows!

Grandpa David was having a water fight with Zion (who was running away so fast I didn't get him in the picture!).

Poor Rileigh ended up getting the worst of the water fight!  She's in the red top sitting!  She couldn't get away fast enough.

I don't think Grandpa David was the winner...and yes, David, I'm keeping the other video's of  your celebration dance off my blog!  You can thank me later!

Sunday Sendoff:

It’s always a mad dash on Sunday morning due to everyone traveling back to Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Michigan!  But we were up bright and early and out the door by 8 a.m.  My niece and her son & wife were flying back to Florida so their flight wasn’t until 3 p.m.  and this year it was right on time!  Las year, Lynn, traveled from Ohio to out west!! Then back out east then to Florida.  Her trip home was almost 3 days back to Florida due to flights being canceled.  This year Luke and Olivia were her lucky charms!!

Sad to leave my sister and worse we didn't get a picture of us together dressed up.  So here is from our 2024 Ohio visit which will will have to do!  

…we aren’t getting any younger and the years go by so fast.  I always shed a tear and but hope we can still meet up either in Ohio, Tennessee or Florida!  Hard for me to leave the dogs for more than a weekend but who knows what the future will bring.

 I just want to say again to Tiff and Mitch a huge THANK YOU…you are both the best hosts around!  You open your beautiful home to all of us each year and I can’t believe you keep asking us to come back…but so glad you do!  Until our next meetup!!!

Daisy Update!!!!  Erin just sent me this photo of Daisy lying in the sun!  She looks like she is very content and doing well.  Hope she continues and no more seizures!