In the Sewing Room.....

There has been some much needed activity in the sewing room lately.  

Pinned and ready to be completed!!! 

Have you made a Chandelier Quilt yet???

Easy, fast and fun. 

Add this one to my "soon to finish quilting" pile !!! 

There are a few finishes.....ten to be exact.  

A request from Emmerson for her birthday party friends.  

No pattern.  Just kind of made it up as I went along. 

A sweet final touch was sewn into each one. 

Just one more that needs to be quilted. 

Lucky thing is, I enjoy the quilting as much as the piecing.  

Next up.....Christmas projects. 

 It can never be to early to start thinking Santa!!!! 

Lovely to be home once again.....

It was so wonderful to be home once again....

....to see that the garden had flourished without me.  

It was time to place the lovely things I had brought home....

To surround me with memories of Jonesborough.....

....and reminders of our much loved and never to be forgotten Trish. 

But these are our greatest treasures of all.  

It was a blessing to be home to enjoy Grandparent Day....

....and baseball.  

There have been sleepovers....

....and time to be chaperones at the Zoo field trip. 

There were Fairy Gardens to create....

.....and cheeks that needed much kissing. 

 It was good to be home once again.  

Traveling home once again....

A new project on my needles....

....a goodbye to the neighbors. 

We wave goodby to Jonesborough....

 .....and we are traveling home once again.  

Jim was kind enough to add a few of my favorite places on our stop list. 

I was filled with inspiration for being home once again. 

 A favorite quilt shop in Utah....

A shop full of inspiration....

......and temptation!!!! 

What joy it was to stop in Reno and visit our delightul Cora. 

Final stop....a Dutch bakery to pick up goodies for the family. 

It will be great to be with them once again.  

Wonderful Surpise.....

We spent a few days in North Carolina. 

 We had no plans,  and no set direction as to what to see and do. 

 Thank goodness for GOGGLE.

When I looked for the best gardens to visit in NC, I found this. 

http://reynoldahouse.org/about/history

What an incredible destination this proved to be. 

The home and gardens of the Reynolds family, 

built by the wealth of their tobacco fortune. 

The gardens were abundant in Spring blooms....

Lovely combinations of tulips and other colorful annuals. 

Beyond the formal gardens were the green houses abundant

 with orchids and other flowering plants. 

The Reynolds were very caring of their community. 

They built a lovely village of cottages for those that worked for them. 

Those cottages now have been reconstructed into darling shops. 

Each cottage was so very special. 

I could have happily made each one my home. 

I spent much time in the garden shop....

Fell in love with the adorable children's shop.....

....and they even had a quilt shop!!!! 

A final inhale of the lovely scent of lilacs, and we were back in the car. 

I had met some people who were also visiting the area. 

They shared with me that I must include Graylyn on our places to visit. 

They had me at the sign for Manor House....

.....and just like that we were transported to the Cotswolds. 

This is another private home built with tobacco wealth.

Now it is a luxury hotel. 

Truly a magical place to visit....and I am grateul for the memory. 

A lovely Spring destination....a lovely Spring trip. 

Spring Diversions.....

 We had some extra days on our schedule.....

so we added  a visit to North Carolina as a destination. 

When we had lived in Virginia in the 1980s, 

we had visited this lovely Garden. 

I was excited to see it once again.  

It did not disappoint.  

Lovely places to sit and relax....

...an abundance of flowers to enjoy. 

I came home with many ideas for my garden....

....and inspiration for the things I could only dream of. 

It had been many years since 

we had been there with our young family. 

I didn't have much of a green thumb in those days. 

Pretty sure I was just busy with growing young ones!!!

This garden is enchanting....

....and timeless.  

 I was so grateful to enjoy it once again.