What is your least favorite color on this Slow Stitching Sunday????

Hello - if you have read this blog for any time at all you know I'm always talking discussing whining   complaining about the weather and this post is no different... it is the reason for my question what is your LEAST favorite color??? Mine unequivocally is gray... I know it is super trendy right now... all the model homes are decked out in shades of gray from the walls to the kitchen cabinets to the granite counters  and it does NOTHING for me... and the weather the last several weeks (although it seems like the last several months) has been wet... gloomy ... and GRAY... I am soooooo fed up with it.... it makes me sad and gray and I don't like it all... the last 2 weeks have been the worse ... I don't think there has been a 24 hour period without some precipitation... according to the weather wonks we are 12 inches above average for this year and it isn't half over yet!!  I feel so sorry for the farmers who haven't been able to get their crops planted... I have spent more time un-watering my plants than watering them this season. I realized the other day that I haven't put any water in my window boxes in weeks... and the petunias are looking great but I fear they are rotting ... petunias like to dry out and there hasn't been any dry weather. I have gone out and emptied the water out of all my pots on numerous occasions to try and make them less soggy ... un-watering... but how does one un-water what is in the ground???

I do have a couple of pictures of my yard which I want to show now in case everything rots ... the flower boxes look great right now...

 I do like this combo of purple and white... memo to me next year...more of the stripe-y petunias and less solid ones... and maybe more shades of purple... I'm thinking like a gardener and planning for next year already....LOL


And this is my new bed with the dahlias and the zinnias...

the dahlias are in the back and are coming up nicely.. there is one in the back there that is almost 2 feet tall... the zinnias are lagging... could use more sun and less rain....

And this is my little corner garden bed....

and some gratuitous close ups...

the black eyed susans are looking good and the hydrangea is very healthy looking... the volunteer dahlias are really tall already... more than 3 feet ... I really didn't think they would come back as I didn't dig them up... they aren't where I want them but I hate to pull out a pretty plant...and they are pretty.

And the marigolds are filling in nicely around the roses...

I should have mixed up the big marigolds at the front... too stripey... but then I did plant them in rows... another note for next year...

My favorite rose bush...

And the pyramid of petunias...

Now this looked better a month ago... you can see pics of my garden stuff from then if you click here... lots of stuff has filled out nicely but these petunias just haven't gotten to dry out...and they need that... I have un-watered them as much as I could...

Well at least the sun is shining as I type this... and if we can get through tonight and tomorrow they are "promising" a string of sunny dry days... fingers crossed.


On the crafty front I have gotten a couple of things done... I got the binding on my Arcade quilt...

Basic Grey's Saturday Morning collection... the Just Roses panto from Quilting by David... some glamour shots on my neighbor's patio ... this quilt spent 2 years in time out as the top and bottom sections didn't line up... I finally went back and fixed it... didn't take that long... and I'm glad now that I did...


and where I have it displayed right now...

on a chair in my living room... I have to say the colors go really well here... even though it is hard to see in this pic... the sun coming through the window made it hard to photograph but I'm not complaining about the sun...no never complaining about the sun (remind me I said that when it is 90...LOL)... I didn't have that in mind at all when I made this quilt. I still have a jelly roll of this collection and would like to make another quilt from it... that would give me a quilt for the back of each of the chairs by the front window...


As for cross stitch, I finished up LHN's Summer ABC's last night... took about 2 weeks but I didn't stitch on it every night...

Close up of top section....

and bottom section....

I painted the 32 ct linen with Rit Lemon Yellow and a very diluted Blue... I forget the name... I changed all the flosses to DMC based on this version I saw on Instagram.... and I added my own touch... where the IG version had stars by the B I charted and stitched some bunting... patriotic and fits with the letter ... the DMC's I used were...
321
336
420
729
823
869
3021
3051
3052
3354
3865

now to get it FFO'd.

And I worked a bit on WTN&T  Grand Olde Flag...

want to get this done for July.

I can't believe how fast June has gone particularly with all the complaining I've done about the weather, but July will be here in no time... and there are still a lot of things I want to stitch... and sew... and knit... I need to stay off of the computer and IG and I'd get more done... I love reading blogs and looking at pretty pictures on IG but invariably I find more things I want to do... so much talent out there...

I hope that wherever you are you are drying out... I watched a report with a longer range outlook on the summer weather and it doesn't look good... I think this is going to be one of the wettest summers on record and that isn't good for anyone ... gray will be the least favorite color of lots and lots of people...but at least the sun is shining at the moment and that improves my mood greatly...

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... my son and daughter in law and ELLIOTT are coming for dinner tonight... I'm making a prime rib roast... I ordered prime rib a couple of weeks ago at a restaurant and decided that mine is better... LOL... got salads in the fridge and prepped some asparagus ... will put rolls in the oven when the prime rib comes out and rests... should be plenty for dinner and some leftovers to make sliders...

take care ... try to stay dry...

happy stitching-
carol fun

Planning a Patriotic Palooza on Slow Sunday Stitching...

Hello friends...well it was a good week... I didn't feel sick at all and I got all the stuff on my "I want to do this" list completed... that rarely happens as there is almost always waaaay more on the list than I have the time, or the inclination to do...the weather has been pretty good... temperatures in the low 80's and sometimes even the 70's... still could do with less rain but the flip side of that is I've hardly watered my flowers at all... it is raining here again today, so there will be more time for stitching which is a bonus...

First thing on my list ... I FFO'd the June installment of Hands on Designs' A Year of Celebrations...

I found the ribbon in my stash and it is probably 10 years old... but a perfect match for this piece... the little fish pins are from JABCO and I've had them a while too... it is good to have a stash of crafty stuff... the flamingos are salt and pepper shakers from Cracker Barrel... which I purchased because, as I said last week, when I looked at the chart I thought those flags in the upper right hand corner were stylized flamingos... the power of imagination, right??? LOL ...no mind altering chemicals were involved here... kinda scary isn't it??

And then I moved onto getting some other projects prepped... I painted and dyed linen for a bunch of patriotic projects... I probably will not get all of these stitched before July... "probably" isn't the correct word... but I'm happy deluding myself that I can get it all stitched...here's what I played with...oh if you are tempted by any of these charts I've tried to link then to where I got them... currently I've been ordering a lot from 123Stitch and Kitten Stitcher... both have excellent service and reasonable shipping costs...IMHO...and I've been getting my linen from Everything Crossstitch... again, excellent service and reasonable shipping...

Where Liberty Dwells by With Thy Needle & Thread... I want to do the one with the big star...

Betsey by Sheepish Designs... Kitten Stitcher found a bunch of old Sheepish Design charts, not reprints, originals and I've always liked this one... right now I just plan on stitching Betsey...

Summer in Baltimore by With Thy Needle & Thread... plan is to just stitch the eagle with the bunting...

This is another one I found at Kitten Stitcher... Chessie & Me Lady Liberty Notebook... I want to stitch each side as a separate piece...

Lizzie Kate's Buzzy String...

And Lizzie Kate's Yankee Doodles... the plan is to just stitch the big hat with no words...

Rise and Shine by ScissorTail Design... stitching the top chart with the 2 chickens and the flag...

And I can't leave out Little House Needleworks Summer ABC's... can't wait to start this one...

OMG... I hadn't fully realized how many projects I've got planned here...and there are more charts I didn't dye/paint fabric for... a Patriotic Palooza ...LOL... and after I got all the stuff cleaned up it dawned on my that I didn't prep linen for Hands On Designs Year of Celebrations for July or August which is something I need to do... I'm proud of myself that it is June and I've gotten every month done so far... don't want to stop now...

Meanwhile back at the ranch (actually on the sunroom porch) I stitched two small pieces and started a third...

Lizzie Kate's Summer from Summer Smalls...

I used DMC floss and changed up the colors... made the pinks more peachy and totally chucked the dark gray letters for some turquoise... the Summer Solstice is June 21 ... I'll have this FFO'd by then.

And I stitched up this little gal from Heart and Hand Designs... she's called Libby...

I used some DMC and some Weeks and used some gold braid for her crown... oh I just realized I never stitched the stars that are suppose to go on her sash... I'll fix that later today...

And I started Grand Olde Flag from With Thy Needle & Thread...

Notice the  lady doesn't have a big skirt to fill in but that spool is gonna take a while... I'm seeing a pattern in WTN&T pieces that I like... always some BIG section that needs lots of stitches...

And to finish off my list, I finally got the borders on the Chamomile quilt...and last night I decided on a panto so I'll fill out the form today and pop that into the mail tomorrow to Quilting by David.

It was a pretty productive week... and next week is looking promising for lots of stitching time... with the rain falling as I type there is no need to water... and other than a dinner engagement one night  there isn't anything else on my calendar...yeah!!!  I've had several nice days and evenings sitting on my sunroom porch stitching...the light out there is great during the day... at night it could be better... I do have a lamp but it isn't in the best spot... I do like sitting out there and watching the birds... last week I had a cardinal, a blue jay and a finch all in the same afternoon... I've been keeping the bird seed doused in the Cole's Flaming Squirrel Seed Sauce and the little rodents in the nice fur coats haven't been dining at my feeders... they have been digging up some of my wave petunias which I'm not happy about either... Mother Nature can be a pest sometimes...

So I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and then I'm parking myself in my recliner on the sunroom porch and watching  YouTube gardening videos and stitching... I've found lots of great videos from the Chelsea Flower Show and I always enjoy Garden Answer... makes me want to plant more stuff!!! Oh it is a very good thing that I don't drink, smoke or do drugs... between the gardening and the cross stitching and the quilting I don't have any money left for those other vices...LOL

Hope you have a great week with lots of crafty time!!

happy stitching-
carol fun

I was off to a fast start...and then the wheels got wobbly... on a Slow Sunday Stitching...

Hello - so how are all of you doing?  I had a fantastic start of the week... did a lovely carryout dinner with my son and daughter-in-law and Elliott... he is still super adorable... and then on Tuesday  I had 2.5 cubic yards of topsoil mix delivered to my house... that's the equivalent of about 67 40lbs bags... but this was a bulk truck load... which was dumped on my driveway... to fill the 4' x 20 '  raised bed...

oh for those who asked the raised bed came from Costco ... I had seen it in the store but purchased it online, however, when I went to find the link today it is gone, sorry... it was around $85 for a 4' x 12' bed... I ended up buying 2  sets to get the length I wanted but still have additional pieces that would make another smaller bed... if I had somewhere to put it... insert frowny face... anyway it was 89 degrees on Tuesday but at least there was a breeze... my younger son was a HUGE help in getting the dirt moved along with my friend Bill... I could not have done it without them... and I knew I needed to get it off the driveway and into the bed on Tuesday as Wednesday was forecast to be rainy (and it has been rainy a lot here) I didn't want a muddy mess on the driveway... it took about 4 hours but we did it... and then I took a break and went back out and planted all 70 of the dahlia tubers I had and a bunch of zinnia seeds... here's what it looks like now...

 see the little green sprouts... those are the zinnias... I think I might get a few more seeds as now I can where tell where I put them.

As I expected Wednesday was rainy  so I did lunch with a friend and shopped a bit at Micheals and came home and sewed... I've been working on this Chamomile quilt for a while and I want it DONE... the blocks were fun to do... just squares of low volume prints ...and lots of them are novelty fabrics... zoom in to see birds and bicycles and cars and clothes hangers and clothes pins and lobsters... the triple rail fence sashing with the 9 patch cornerstones really makes this quilt...(you can find the pattern here...)

except that the triple rail fence sashing and the 9 patch cornerstones take FOREVER to sew together... all it needs now is a small outer border and it is complete... I even got a deal on an extra wide back yesterday at Joanns... 50 % off one regular prices item...usually when I have that coupon the only regular price item I can find that I want only cost  $2.50...not worth using the coupon. I like the quilt ... it is very cool and summer-y looking  for my bed in August.

Also I finally finished a top I last worked on in June of 2017...yes I know that was 2 years ago... you can see pictures and read my post back then here... when I went to sew the top half and the bottom half together they did not match.... arggghhhh.... so I put it n time-out... a very very very very long time-out... I finally took it apart and got the top and bottom lined up correctly... I then decided this quilt does not need a border... it is big enough...which was a good thing because the back fabric I purchased would not have been large enough if I had added borders... I boxed it up and sent it off to Quilting by David... I even made the binding for it when it returns... I was feeling very good...

Wednesday night I was productive in finishing up a couple of cross stitch pieces... the guy from With Thy Needle & Thread Farmyard Parade... I got the girl done last year...

and I finished up the June edition of Hands on Designs A Year of Celebration...

just need to get it FFO'd ... this little monthly chart is was an easy stitch ... I made mine more turquoise as it went better with the linen I painted... and I have a confession to make... do you see those flags in the upper right corner?  Well when I was looking at the chart...not the picture... to me they looked like stylized flamingos... LOL... I didn't see the flag pole and they are stitched in a flamingo kinda color... which set me on the search for some  flamingos to display with this piece and I found a cute set of salt & pepper shakers at Cracker Barrel that I'm going to decorate with... flags ... flamingos...  6 of one half dozen of another...

So late late  Wednesday ... actually after midnight, so on Thursday things started getting wobbly... I felt nauseous but thought if I went to bed I could sleep it off... I was wrong... I did sleep a bit but woke up and well... lost my dinner... and usually you feel better after that but no... I was achy and still nauseous and so tired... I ended up sleeping about 20 hours on Thursday... I finally hauled my butt out of my bed and into the shower and into my stitching chair, but fell asleep again and woke up and returned to bed to sleep until 8 am on Friday... and I might have slept even longer but I knew I needed to be up and dressed as a new mattress and box spring would be  delivered for my son's room and they said they'd be here between 8:30 and 10:30 am... after they left around 10 am I putzed a bit and got a shower and got myself together as I had a previously scheduled doctor's appointment for a yearly check up and I didn't want to reschedule it... it went fine and I came home to veg some more... and that's about all I've done since then...

Luckily the rain has been enough that I didn't have to water ... but I do need to go out and deadhead some flowers and figure out what to do about the squirrels and the wave petunias I've put in the ground... they've dug up several that I planted around the base of the trees in my yard... oh I use to love squirrels even though I know they are just rats in nicer fur coats but all of that has changed this year... they have still been gnawing on my window boxes... I'm wondering how much I'll have left if this keeps up ... the flaming squirrel oil seems to keep them out of the feeder ... don't know if I could coat the boxes with it ... I may try...

So I'm feeling a bit perkier today and there is nothing on the agenda... we do dinner on Monday nights the first and third week of the month as my older son works as the prosecutor for our little town and does mayor's court those days... it is just up the street from my house and he never knows when it will be over ... but we meet when he done and go out to dinner then... there is babysitting on my calendar this week... I'm watching Elliott for a couple of hours so mom can go into the office and do some paper work... should be fun!!

The weather has moderated ... highs in the 70's and some cool nights so I can open the windows... I love that... however the rainy pattern continues... I swear we haven't had 3 consecutive dry days in months... I'm beginning to think I've been moved to Seattle... I know we are having more than normal rainfall for this time period... so I figure it will be hotter than blazes and dry as can be in August so in the end the average will be... average... Mother Nature is no fun at all...

So my plans for the week are to get those borders on that Chamomile quilt and get the June piece FFO'd and get some linen painted for the Summer version of the Little House Needleworks' ABCs and some linen for a small Lizzie Kate Summer piece... and then I want to get some stuff together for some more patriotic pieces... there are so many cute ones I want to do...

Hope you have a great week ahead... I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts as usual...

happy stitching-
carol fun