An update...

Warning lots of complaining/whining/bitching ahead... remember this is diary of my life and I want to document this month as it has been one I will try hard to forget ... but I shouldn't.  Feel free to skip this post. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Hello - I'm doing this update as I want to close out September and never have to talk about this again. So last week I told you of my 2 trips to the ER and one inpatient admission... well this week I added another  ER visit and another inpatient 2.5 day stay in the hospital where things got worse.

Let me summarize...

First trip to ER diagnosed with diverticulitis. Explained I was antibiotic resistant, was ignored and given low dose of antibiotic which kept it at bay for a couple of days and then let the infection come raging back.

Second trip to ER...  10 days later, yep infection has increased... white blood cell count now double what it should be and I have major bowel issues ... no more details are needed... you get the picture and it isn't pretty. So now I get 2.5 day of heavy duty antibiotics and I go home. 

Third trip to ER... again 10 days since I was there... infection/white blood cell count is now 3 times what it should be and they realize they have killed off all the good and some of the bad bacteria in my gut and now I have C-diff... I won't repeat the words I said (in my head)... C-diff is nasty... it is hard to get rid of... I was a prime candidate for it. Over 65, just did a recent round of antibiotics, and had been in a hospital.   Prior to this I've only had a passing knowledge of C-diff. It needs to be treated with a special antibiotic (very pricey)  and one should have NO other antibiotics.... but a hospitalist I saw in the ER when I was doped on on a very powerful painkiller (Dilaudid)  decided she wasn't sure it was C-diff ( I'd already had a swab for it at this point) and to "be on the safe side" continued to give me antibiotics for both diverticulitis and C-diff... totally wrong treatment... negated the effects of the C-diff meds while feeding the bad bacteria. It took another hospitalist to realize what was going on and stop the antibiotics for the diverticulitis and just give me the C-diff meds.

This second admission had me in a total dump of a hospital room. I took pics and I'm composing a complaint to the hospital. Baseboard heater next to my bed was duct taped together... and by the looks of it a 3 year old did it. There was a stain on the wall next to the bed... it was pinky red...maybe juice? maybe blood? ... I don't know... The visitor chair had a chunk missing out of the seat. The call button for my bed didn't work properly. The could hear me but I couldn't hear them. Didn't find this out till the morning I was getting ready to leave. There was painted chipped off the walls everywhere (the room use to be blue, not white). The floor had stains everywhere and the entry from the room to the bathroom was damaged... 2 chunks out of the riser that spans the gap and the difference of height of the floors... and every time I went to the bathroom ( which was more than I could count) the wheels of the IV cart would get caught and it would yank the IV in my arms... I am so bruised ... arms, hands, stomach...  This experience did make me realize that I'm not a good candidate for prison... I left on Wednesday as I had all my sanity could take.

Recovering at home. Thursday I did nothing but take pain killers and sit in my stitching chair but I could even pick up a needle. Friday some improvement. Put on real clothes, didn't take any painkillers and got out of the house for a little while. Saturday, better, actually have a bit of an appetite.  Realizing I am not going to bounce back from this quickly. I've spent more time in the hospital this month than the rest of my life combined. 

Working on trying to improve the good bacteria in my gut. Spoke with an infectious disease doc (oh did I mention C-diff is very infectious until you are on the antibiotic for 48 hours?)  I asked about eating things like Greek yogurt and  kefir and kombucha which he highly recommended. Taking extra vitamins and trying to rest because...  1 in 5 people relapse with C-diff in 2 to 6 weeks after the treatment... oh great... something else to add to my anxiety. 

I'm sure you've picked up that I am very angry about this situation. I feel that when I was admitted the first time someone should have been considering C-diff... instead I was visited by a pack of surgeons who seemed focused on whether or not they could re-section my bowel.  I think I should have been seen by an infectious disease specialist then, as I had all the classic markers of someone who could get it. 

Okay I need to improve my attitude... was suppose to have my hair colored and cut on Thursday... told my stylist who I've been going to for almost 10 years I couldn't make it... she's going on vacation for 2 weeks so I thought I'd have to wait till my next scheduled appointment which would make almost 9 weeks between... instead she's going to come in early on Monday to take care of me... and I do appreciate it. 

I hope that things in your life are going better... because if they aren't you have my deepest sympathy. 

I'm happy I'm showing improvement... now to make that a trend.

happy stitching-

carol fun 

The best laid plans of mice and men...on a Slow Sunday...

Hello... well as the saying goes,

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry...

and mine certainly did. When I was last here I had started 3 of my planned 7 samplers for my Birthday Extravaganza... oh I had high hopes for this endeavor... but it is not to be.   

My first draft of this post was filled in details of my experience which I have decided you don't need to be bored with... let me see if I can say it more succinctly. 

I had a bad diverticulitis attack. Put me in the hospital for 3 days. It has taken me about a week to bounce back, which is disheartening because in the past (like when I was 20 years younger) I would have recovered in 24 hours. Anyway, as I type this I am feeling sooooooo much better.  I've taken all my antibiotics and I'm following a low fiber, high protein diet for the next week or so. 

 To avoid diverticulitis you are suppose to eat a lot of fiber... but when you have diverticulitis you aren't suppose to eat much fiber... it's a conundrum.

Needless to say I haven't stitched much. I did do a day or so on my 4th choice of sampler. This was a last minute substitution on my part.  This is a modified version of Blackbird Designs Crowns & Shields. I'm going to do about 3/4th of it. 

I'm doing this is a monochromatic color scheme... DMC 829, 830, 831, 832, 833, 834... it is a gold with a green undertone and it matches the linen I dyed wonderfully. I plan to personal the little cartouches with family initials.

And at this point I decided to suspend starting the last 3 samplers I had chosen. They are kitted up and ready to go and I will get back to them.... but right now I'm not feeling like starting any more BIG projects. I need something small ... something I can complete in a timely fashion... and with that in mind I'm playing  with elements of  this... Hello Halloween by Teresa Kogut.

I'm going to do the little witches as separate little pillows...

Each little witch has a different dress and facial expression.

I found this piece of linen in my stash... pale swathes of green, orange and purple... 

originally  I thought I could squeeze 6 witches on the piece, but reworking my calculations said 4 was all I could do... and here is the first one I stitched...

Ain't she cute?  She's a shade under 3 inches tall on 32 ct... let's see if I can  get 4 done by Oct 31... 

Fortunately I had completed my Fall decorating before I got ill... and I'm really happy with the living room displays. I thought I'd just put things out in the same arrangement as last year, and there are some pieces in the same place but other stuff got changed up... 

Here's the wall quilt...

this year I opted for my acorn quilt... this block was a freebie and part of a larger SAL when I made it ... it is no longer free and I have no clue where my pattern is ...  here's a link to the pdf of the pattern.  Each acorn is a different Grunge fabric and the quilting by Delinda (here's her website) is dynamite!

The 2 level tier tray works great for these Fall pieces... the top piece is a Prairie Schooler  and the little guy tucked into the truck bed is  Pineberry Lane... Cats & Jacks.

From the top, the small display includes a white pumpkin mini quilt and Fall String by Lizzie Kate and little pillow finish of  Waiting for Harvest by Blackbird Design.

Middle shelf is my favorite pumpkin basket... this was from Henn Pottery (remember home sales parties?)  I've had this for years... a classic... the fraternal twin Bittersweet September pieces from Blackbird Designs... Autumn by Lizzie Kate fronting a small wooden trug and white pumpkin chart was called Autumn by The Stitcherhood. 

 The large display is looking quite nice ... IMHO... this year I skipped the straw the I usually strewn everywhere and just used fake leaves... cleanup will be a lot easier ... 

At the top I have the Fall Welcome from The Drawn Thread... below one of my favorite Blackbird Design pieces, Feast of Friendship.

The shelf below has Fall Most of All from Calico Confectionery and the Autumn Sampler from Lizzie Kate.

And the next shelf down has two pieces from Barbara Ana Designs... Autumn on the left and Autumn Keeper on the right.

When I post next time I will have moved onto  Halloween... gonna turn a lot of those pumpkins around and show their jack-o-lantern faces and swap out Fall cross stitch for Halloween cross stitch.  I'm enjoying the weather so much right now.... it is those halcyon  days of  mid 70 temperatures with no humidity... got all the windows open and keeping my dollars away from the utility company. They've sucked me dry this summer... and I dread winter as we are forecast to be colder and snowier than the past couple of years. 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts... planning on spending the day on the porch, reading blogs, stitching and probably a bit of napping too.  As for sage advice, get plenty of fiber in your diet so you don't spend your 70th birthday sipping ginger ale in the hospital.   

happy stitching-

carol fun 

A rare occurrence on a Slow Sunday...

Hello -  okay do NOT get use to this frequency of posting... 3 weeks... IN A ROW???  ... unheard of!!!  But I thought I'd stop by and show you my 2nd start (of 7) for my 70th Birthday Extravaganza... and I have a bit of Fall decorating to share too...

First, the sampler.... 

this is Prairie Schooler No. 45 Garden Samplers... I'm doing the one on the right side of the chart... 

I painted the linen with Rit dye Apple Green and Lemon Yellow... using almost all the called for DMC flosses. Sooooo, I've been stitching Praire Schooler for years and years and years, and I've never come across what I would call an error, but I'm having an issue with this chart.  My goal was to get that saying stitched in the 4 day window I gave myself... okay to be truthful I hope to get everything above the saying done too but that wasn't happening. Anyway I got myself down to the phrase and pulled out the called for flosses 3787 for most of the saying and 935 for the highlighted words ... garden, plant, flower... now I'm stitching from a more recently re-released chart, not a cardstock orginial.  The picture on the chart I have shows a definite difference in the color of the floss for the majority of the saying and the highlighted words... the saying appears to be a gold-y color and the highlighted words are definitely green... however, 3787 is a green-y taupe... dark... and the same value as 935... huh??  I stitched a couple of words in 3787 and did NOT like it... so I frogged them and from my stassh,  chose 3045 for the words... it is a gold-y color... I'm happy with this but puzzled over the discrepancy... I searched to see if there was a correction for this chart but didn't find any.... oh well, I think it looks good so far. I think when I wrap up this Extravaganza it will be the first WIP I come back too. I know this is a sampler I'll display a lot during Spring/Summer. 

As for the saying... oh I'd loved to have a walled garden... but since my garden is in my front yard that isn't going to happen... pesky city ordinances regarding fencing and walls... instead I have this living wall...

those cannas are about 6-7 ft tall ... I started with 2 plants a couple of years ago... I think I've added in maybe 2 more... and they have spread like crazy... haven't dug them up for years and they get all this growth in just a couple of months. I LOVE the stripey yellow leaves... the variety is called Pretoria... those flashy orange blooms are icing on the cake... and it does give my garden a kinda walled vibe... wonder if I could add another flower bed in the front yard next to my neighbor....ooooohhh... more plants, less grass... sounds like a great idea, right?   I'm obviously delusional here as all I've done the last couple of weeks is moan and groan about all the watering I'm having to do. We haven't had a good rain in over 2 weeks and none is in the forecast....I love my garden but it is the time of year when I'm tired of watering... and yet I have dreams of more flower beds... yes... I'm crazy...LOL

Weather wise it has cooled down just a tad... I think the 90's are over ... forecast for next week has some days with highs only in the low 70s... my kinda weather!!  So I got up the energy to put away the Summer decor and my son graciously hauled the Fall decor from the basement and the quilts from the second floor and deposited all in the living room... I COULD NOT DO THIS without him....  I have a LOVE LOVE LOVE my Fall decor... I think it is the influence of the 70's ... burnt orange, harvest gold, avocado green and coppertone brown... my Mom LOVED those colors and painted our home with all of them. I remember her getting a new stove and refrigerator in the coppertone brown color... so groovy...  anyway here's my display out on the sunroom porch... I started here because I'm spending a lot of time out there crossstitching and admiring my flowers... and when the weather is cool enough I can open the window and the breeze is so nice...

Up top I have a Barbara Ana Design called Autumn Tree. I stitched this one by mistake... there are a couple of Barbara Ana Designs with trees and houses on the branches and stuff hanging from the branches.  I personalized this one by making the squirrel albino as we use to have one in the neighborhood. I was about 3 branches into this piece when I realized it wasn't the pattern I had searched for... the one I wanted was called just Autumn... and after I finished this one I stitched it ... a very happy mistake as I do love this one... and it pairs nicely with one of my few new Fall decor purchases, that large green glass gourd... now this piece was a real bargain... I got it at my local Meijers... it was originally priced at $29.99... and it hung around for quite a while... in fact I think it was after the first of the year that I saw it had been marked down... 75%... wow that would make it $7.50... so I put it my cart and got the groceries I had come for... when I got to the check out I was stunned when it turned out to be 85% off... I paid $4.50 ... you can't beat that!!

Below I have the adorable squirrels all decked out in their Sunday best from With Thy Needle & Thread... the pattern is called Autumn's Acorn Gathering.  I love the tie and the striped pants!!   And on the bottom shelf is an oldie but goodie from Ewe & Eye & Friends that is called Simply 855... I think that was a reference to the called for Anchor floss for this piece... I stitched it in some overdyed copper-y brown... love the squirrel in the middle and that over one alphabet... boy my eyes were better back then. 

Since yesterday was a bit cooler I did some clean up in the yard... filled 2 of those giant paper lawn waste bags.... soooooo much more to tidy up before its all over for the season.  I cleaned out the window boxes and went looking for pumpkins... WOW are they expensive this year... I wanted some small white ones... the ones the size of a grapefruit... first place wanted...hold onto your hat... $3 each for them!!  Second place was only slightly better at $2.50 each... waaaaaay more than I want to pay... gonna keep looking... of course after I go to 4 or 5 places I will have talked myself into that $2.50 each and probably would have saved myself about $20 in gas and hours of time..  sheesh... how I long for the prices of just 2 years ago...

So I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... planning on a quiet Sunday... rest of the week has something going on every day... getting the AC checked out... watching Elliott... lunch with a friend... and on Friday, to celebrate my birthday,  my older son is taking me to my favorite BBQ joint Sonny's... the location is about a 90 minute drive each way... I fell in love with Sonny's when I lived in Albany GA... I swear we ate there at least twice a week... and every time I went to Florida we would eat at Sonny's... I'm really looking forward to that. 

Hope you have a great week ahead!

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Blue Moon phenomena on a Slow Sunday...Edited to add pictures

Oops... forgot to add picture..

 Hello ... well what do we have here?  A post 2 weeks in a row...what?  Definitely a Blue Moon occurrence..like the 2 Full Moons that just happened ... what a coincidence... the stars must have aligned too! 

Anyway  I wanted to share what I've done to kick off my 70th Birthday Extravaganza which has coincided with Sampler September on IG... here's the link..  I've started with the largest sampler on my list... Every Opening Flower by With Thy Needle & Thread.  I have LOVED this sampler from the first time I laid eyes on it, which was over a year ago,when it was the project for a retreat in Amana, Iowa.... I knew I'd have to wait a year before it was released to the public but the wait was worth it. 

Now this is on 32 ct (everything I do anymore is on 32 ct)... I painted it a pale tan with splotches of turquoise. As you can see in the picture I started in the upper left hand corner with the flower border... it was a bit fiddly when I began but I got into a rhythm ... the colors are so pretty and to me they look like little rosebuds... which got me thinking... about a couple of things... first off ,the older I get the more memories come flooding back at the drop of a hat... and sometimes lead to the drop of a tear... but let's not go there right now... back to the memory... rosebuds...  Robert Herrick...  Freshman English  class taught by Mrs. Rechtin at St. Thomas High School in Ft. Thomas, KY... 1967/68...

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
   Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
   Tomorrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
   The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
   And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,
   When youth and blood are warmer;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
   Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,
   And while ye may, go marry;
For having lost but once your prime,
   You may forever tarry.

Now I've always thought this poem's theme was Carpe Diem, Seize the Day... and that is part of it... however in looking up the entire text I came across a analysis that I know was NOT discussed in Freshman English class... The proper title of the poem is To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time and I don't believe that is how Mrs. Rechtin titled it, as I always remember is as Gather Ye Rosebuds... anyway according to the analysis "Gathering flowers can be seen as a metaphor for sex or wooing here, for plucking the flower and enjoying it while it's still in the bloom of youth".... that was definitely NOT a discussion of my youth...LOL... good thing we didn't have the internet back then... anyway I will stick with the seize the day theme which is appropriate for my birthday extravaganza... gotta make the most of the 4 days I plan to spend with each sampler... no dillydallying... 

And another random memory... Mrs. Rechtin... she drove a beat up Renault ( why do I remember that? and I can't remember what I had for lunch? sheesh) ... she was strict and not well liked by her students... as I reflect she was a good teacher but we didn't appreciate it.  We knew where she lived and several times a year we would visit her home under the cover of darkness and TP her yard... TP,  as in toilet paper, thrown everywhere... OMG... and we were the "good" kids...I'm sure she knew who did it but she never mentioned it ... and she was the only English teacher for all 4 years I was in high school. This was small school.... my class had 48 kids... the total enrollment was about 225 ... it was over 50 years ago but sometimes it feels like it was just last week.... 

Okay, let me get back on track...here's my progress as of this morning...

I will work on this tomorrow and then move on to my second pick... I think it will be a smaller piece as I don't get a lot of stitching done on Tuesdays as watching Elliott takes up my attention.  Oh I didn't get the Teresa Kogut sampler finished...

but I will get back to it the beginning of October as I don't have much more to do on it... 

Hope you are enjoying the Labor Day weekend... we had 3 lovely days last week... highs only in the upper 70's & low 80's... I turned off the AC and opened the windows... but it was fleeting... it is HOT today... 90 degrees...  and it is forecast to stay that way for a while... and it hasn't rained in over a week... there goes my water bill... I am sooooo ready for Fall weather... and I want to really enjoy it as I've been listening to weather predictions for this Winter and it ain't good for where I am in SW Ohio... forecasts are for below average temperatures and above average precipitation... short and sweet... cold and snowy... arghhh... we haven't had a bad winter in quite some time... I know we are due for it... last year I think we only had 2 real snowfalls  that were enough to shovel the sidewalk... not looking forward to that weather at all.

So today I'll spend more quality time with Every Opening Flower... not a lot on the calendar this week... next week is busier... 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and check out on IG what everyone else is up too... but trying to limit that scrolling time as I have rosebuds to gather and stitch!

happy stitching...

carol fun 

Nobody here but us chickens on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello... well I normally write this post on Friday or Saturday but it is now 10am on Sunday and I'm just getting my butt in gear. This one should be a short one as I don't have to a lot to share. I've been plugging away on the Teresa Kogut Remember Me sampler and I finished up the Pickety Sticks quilt and took it to Delinda but forgot to take a pic of the finished top... not a big deal... it is still as wonky as what I showed 2 weeks ago and as I referenced then, it will only be displayed as a folded quilt...showing off that lovely border and trying to turn a blind eye to the OCD madness that is this strippy quilt. 

As for the weather it has been HOT... not as hot as those of you in the southwest but HOT for southwest OH. Keeping my fingers crossed that my at least 16 year old AC unit can keep up till the end of this summer. September is a mere 4 days away and for me September marks the beginning of Fall... the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!!!   Pumpkins and falling leaves and pumpkins and cooler temperatures and pumpkins and pumpkins... yeah that sums it up nicely. I'll...well to be honest, my son... will be hauling up the Fall decor bins soon... right now I'm thinking about the Wednesday after Labor Day as a starting date... and it will probably still be upper 80's maybe even in the 90's and my AC will be going full blast but I'll blithely go on with my decorating.

And speaking of decorating... here's where I am at the moment... nobody here but us chickens!

The wall quilt...

The tier tray...

The big display..

Some closer pictures...

The little piecrust edge side table...

The small display unit...

Sorry I didn't move the side chairs out of the way to take the pictures... my left knee is acting up and I'm trying to stay off of it... got a cortisone shot about a week ago... hoping it kicks in ... if not, moving onto the gel shot... getting old sucks.

I didn't stitch or purchase anything new for these displays... I've been monogamous to the Teresa Kogut Remember Me Sampler.

Here's where I was 2 weeks ago...

And here's where I am now...

Progress has been made... got all the brick work on the house filled in, still need to do the windows... got the band of birds completed... and the alphabets and working my way down the borders on the sides.  Now I'd like to have this done by September 1.... but I think that's a pipe dream... I wanted to have this finished before I plunged into the SEVEN new samplers I'm starting for my 70th Birthday Extravaganza.... last night I decided that my best strategy would be to get the outline of as many flowers as I can on the border done... then when I come back to this all I will have is fill in... and I think that may be doable..  I LOVE this sampler... but then I LOVE the samplers I've picked for my 70th Birthday Extravaganza... 

Did I mention my 70th birthday is approaching?  LOL  What is it about a birthday that ends in zero that makes one  ponder one's life?  I reflect on mine and know that I am in a great place ... hasn't always been that way but it is now. I'm kinda shocked that I'm this old... my parents both passed before they were fifty,  I was only in my twenties. My only sibling was only 62 when he passed.  As a young child I didn't think I'd live to see the year 2000 ... and that passed pretty quickly, didn't it?   I know realistically the years I have left aren't as many as I've lived, so what DO I WANT TO DO?  I have the resources to do just about anything  I can think of, but my thoughts go to things I want in my home to make life as comfy and cozy as possible. Dorothy was so right "there's no place like home, there's no place like home"... and with that thought I purchased a new box spring and mattress for me and my lower back is very grateful. I want a new couch for my living room... an olive green couch or perhaps a turquoise blue couch... what about both??  Yeah... so I've found an IKEA couch which I can get slipcovers for from a shop on Etsy and I can get both an olive green and a turquoise blue slipcover for a good price.  Now to get the existing couch out of the living room. Have found it a home but it's new owner needs to arrange pick up.  

My next thought for the house involves all those flower beds... looking into a drip irrigation system or sprinklers. They couldn't be installed till next Spring but I'd appreciate not having to hand water everything.  I'm having the AC looked at next month... I know it will need to be replaced in the next year or so. From what I can tell it is at least 16 years old.  I thought about having some rooms repainted (its been 10 years) but they still look good and I don't think I'd change any of the colors, so that can wait. I do want Dan the handyman to pull up the carpet on the back steps to the basement and just paint them... I hate the carpet, it makes the stair treads narrow and a bit slippery... don't want to take a fall.  Mulling over having a cleaning service twice a month... bathroom and kitchen ... Nick and I can handle the rest. 

So with the house taken care of what activities do I want to engage in... well more of the same...more cross stitching, more knitting, more quilting. A rational evaluation of what I have says I don't need to buy another craft item EVER ... but that ain't gonna happen...LOL..and rationally I don't need anymore samplers or socks or quilts ... BUT I WANT THEM!!!  And I SHALL HAVE THEM!!  Occasionally I look around and think what's gonna happen to all this stuff when I'm not here?  I've advised my sons that they should feel no guilt or  obligation to keep any of it. I'm sure they'll keep an item or two but hopefully my habit of stashing stuff in sterlite bins will make it easier to transport them to Goodwill. I have a lot of stuff and I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my stuff... but I don't expect my sons to clutter up their homes with my stuff. I am realistic... and totally at peace in that belief. 

On that note, I'll wrap this up today... hope things are going well in your corner of the world... I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and plan to spend the rest of the day cross stitching on the sunroom porch... a great way to spend a slow Sunday!

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Lies and LOTS of other stuff I tell myself on a Slow Sunday...

Hello there...well another couple of weeks have blown by me...and I have a few things to show for my time... and of course there is a lot more I wish I had gotten done... but that's how every week goes around here.  Weather wise we had heat and storms and a nice day or two ... lather rinse repeat.  The gardens are looking quite lush... a friend commented that it looks like the flowers are eating the house... and he might have something there...LOL... and here's the proof..

 I was happy to find out that I won a special award from my little town... every summer Deer Park honors different residents with a Beautification Award. I've been blessed to win this about 7 times in the last 10 years, but this year the cherry on top was getting a Mayor's Choice Award...only 3 properties were chosen ... they were ranked on a 30 point scale... and my yard got a perfect score!  The city put this cool sign in my yard...

and they gave me a $100 gift certificate to a local garden center. I will be happy to spend that next Spring on some interesting perennials.  And while I've been telling myself I don't need any more dahlias...umm...that's a lie...  okay I don't NEED them but I WANT them ...badly... so I pre-ordered 4 new to me varieties... they will arrive in April... and I'm sure another pre-order or two or three will probably be made before this year is over. 

I did get to spend some time down in my sewing studio and while I said I was going to put that Scratch quilt back in it's plastic bin, well... that was another lie. I kept looking at it and I knew it wouldn't take a lot more time to be a finished top. Then the stars aligned and Elliott has wanted to play in down in my sewing studio the last 2 weeks... it is definitely cooler down there and he has a bunch of toys and the TV... so I buckled down and ta-dah... the Lemon Yellow Scratch quilt!!

Now it could lay flatter... all those seams made for different lengths of strips... I made some adjustments here and there... and looking at it I should go back and take off the bottom border  and re- do it...  and while I thought about passing this issue along to Delinda... I have faith she can "quilt  it out"  ...but I could give it a little help... and I really don't need this one till next Spring... I think I'll wait to take it to Delinda... I have other quilts I want before this one...

Here's some close ups of sections I really like... I fussy cut lots of words to sprinkle in with the prints...

 and not only did I get the top finished I made the back... which is the fabric I fussy cut all the words came from...

I LOVE this print and I had purchased about 5 yards and with a bit of piecing it is big enough... I even went ahead and made the binding.... OMG... I don't have a clue what has gotten into me... maybe it was that article I read about procrastination....now I don't know why I read the article as I am a WORLD CLASS procrastinator... I don't need any lessons... but then it wasn't about getting better at procrastination...LOL... one of the points it made was if a task will take 5 minutes or less go ahead and do it right then and there...now finishing this quilt and making the back and binding took quite a bit longer than 5 minutes but it fit the general guidelines... it was quicker to deal with this and not leave it unfinished,  than to start something new which would also be unfinished. 

And to continue the theme of finishing up long languishing projects  this happened on Friday... I unexpectedly had Elliott at my house for  a couple of house... his Mama wasn't feeling well, strep throat, and his Daddy had to go downtown to the office ... and it was hot so we headed for the basement. I have several fabric collections scattered about and thought about starting something new... and then I went looking for some Fall fabrics and my eye spotted a plastic bin with this project in it... the pattern is called Pickety Sticks ... it is from the Anka's Treasure book called On a Roll Again... you can see it here...now this book is copyright 2007 and this quilt using this exact fabric is in the book...which means this collection is probably from 2006 ... well aged... I don't often use the exact fabric for a pattern but I LOVE this collection ... it is called Blossom by Urban Chiks... at a minimum this project is 15 years old!!!  Now I should hang my head in shame... but I have no shame...LOL!! I remember starting it at a mini-quilt retreat I did with a couple of my quilty lady friends back when another friend of ours had a condo she didn't use all winter and we'd get away for a weekend of sewing there.  I know I've played with it since then as most of the components were in the bin. Here's look at what I got together so far...

Yes this is an OCD nightmare and we'll get to that in a minute... I had all 4 of the strippy panels done... they are sewn to a muslin backing... the sashing strips were fussy cut and 2 of the borders are ready to be trimmed. Now as for the wonkiness of those strippy panels... they are suppose to be that way...except you can see that I started off a bit subdued (and I wish I had stayed that way) and then I threw caution to the wind and started sewing the jelly roll strips willy-nilly ... and boy did that go south quickly... if I had enough fabric to do it again I'd keep the strips more orderly...but at this juncture, its full speed ahead to a finish... now that border fabric makes my heart beat faster... here's a close up... that background is dark brown not black... and those flowers are HUGE!!

Now this quilt will definitely benefit from being displayed as a folded quilt so you don't get the full onslaught of wonkiness... and in looking at the book I just realized that no where does is show the quilt in it's entirety... just a pic of it folded over a chair...which will be it's fate!!  I do love all the colors in this and it does have a bit of a Fall feel... need to get this one to Delinda soon. 

Completing the one project  and having the second one almost done (I think I can finish it when Elliott is back here on Tuesday) has made me feel quite virtuous  and exciteed about starting another project... a Christmas quilt? I have a layer cake of Cathe Holden Christmas Faire calling to me and I even know what pattern I'm going to use... Piece of Cake 3 by Thimbleblossoms.... an aside... I have made this quilt before also in Christmas fabrics and I don't think I gave the pattern away but I can't find it... and I've spent a decent amount of time looking for it... so do I keep looking or just break down and purchase the pattern again?   I told myself I'll keep looking, but for a $9 expenditure that may be another lie I told myself... are you seeing a pattern here?  

Another Christmas quilt I want to do involves this panel from Teresa Kogut's new collection called Kringle.

I bought this as a kit from  Connecting Threads which you can see here... I didn't really need the backing but but I thought the binding they include would  be a good match...  except the dark border around this ins't dark green like I thought, it is black ...and the back is a black with a cream speckle... which I don't think I'm gonna want for the binding... so I probably would have been better off just buying the panel... oh well... this is going to be super simple as I'm just going to pass the panel and the back onto Delinda to long arm... all I'll have to do is pick a panto and some thread... and yes I also told  myself that I don't need any more Christmas quilts... I know I already have somewhere in the range of 35 Christmas quilts of all sizes but I LOVE Christmas!!

I also have a FQ bundle of Fancy That Design House's collection called Slow Stroll calling my name... you can see it here... and the FQ bundle included the panel ( you can see it at that link and I bought the pattern to make the quilt with the panel... which lead me to  discovering her new line called Dawn on the Prairie ... which is here. I love the panel in this collection too although I'm not sure what I going to do with it but I NEED it... so I ordered the FQ bundle Friday from Green Fairy Quilts. When I ordered they were having a anniversary sale with an extra 15% off their already discounted prices so it was a bargain...right??  This is where you shake your head up and down, up and down and make me feel virtuous...LOL... Anyway I think both of these collections will go together well and I want to make a bed size quilt from them along with the panel quilt of Slow Stroll... Now I've told myself for several months that I DO NOT NEED anymore bed size quilts (I probably don't need any more quilts period but need has nothing to do with it)... however, I've made 2 quilts in the last month, Halloween 2 x 4 and Lemon Yellow Scratch and they are both bed sized...

Sooooo lies lies and more lies... I really wouldn't trust me if I knew me... LOL

As for crossstitching I've made some good progress on Remember Me by Teresa Kogut...

Here's where it stood about 2 weeks ago...

And here is it currently...

I'd really like to have this finished before I start on my SEVEN Birthday Celebration samplers... but... cue the shark music... I may change my plans and start the samplers before September 1... here's my thoughts on this BIG project... so I started kitting things up and it takes a considerable amount of time to prep 7 samplers. I have collected all the flosses and prepared the little floss bags that I like to use... I like to put the name or number of the floss on the bag and draw the symbol that corresponds to that floss on the chart... and I've cut all the linen for the 7 samplers and labeled them on the bottom edge... like this...

I know it is hard to see the plastic bag... but it is there... I haven't put the floss in the bags yet as I want to be able to see them all as I'm painting/dyeing the linen...oh and I just realized I want to make a working copy of all of these charts and some of them (the ones from With Thy Needle & Thread in particular) will get huge and need to be taped together... sigh... it will take time but it is worth it. 

Any how I still need to paint and or dye all the fabrics. I had made notes on what I was going to do but then as I put the flosses together I changed my mind a couple of times. I am itching to start and I'm thinking maybe I will make my birthday month run from August 20 to September 20, allotting 4 days to each sampler. That way I'd still have some time left at the end of September to squeeze in some Halloween stitching... so telling myself I'd wait till September 1 may not be a true statement... time will tell. 

The next two weeks don't seem busy right now... of course there is Elliott on Tuesdays and a appointment to get my hair cut and colored and a  semi- annual meeting with my investment guy... I'd like to keep it as un-busy as possible so I have lots of time to stitch and sew and sit on the porch mindless scrolling on the phone... yeah that last activity is a major time suck but I always end up seeing something I hadn't seen before so I tell myself it is educational... is that a lie? or being delusional? 

Well if you've hung in here I congratulate you on your stamina ... didn't expect to get so chatty but once I started I couldn't stop...LOL

I hope things are well in your corner of this big wide world... the weather outlook is still decidedly SUMMER... I can't wait for cooler Fall days... it is my favorite season and that is NO lie.   

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and check out what everyone else is up to... a nice activity for porch sitting on a Slow Sunday... 

happy stitching-

carol fun