Ruminating on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

 Hello - I know I said I'd be back last week to post pics of my recent Christmas quilt finishes, but... the week just got away from me... and then we did Christmas Eve and Christmas morning and I totally lost track of what day of the week it was (thank goodness my phone tells me the day and the date...sheesh)... So I'm here now and I do have pics of the quilts and I have some thoughts about my tentative crafty plans for 2021... which I figured I should talk about this Sunday since by next Sunday it will be 2021 and I will again not know exactly what day of the week it is unless I look at my phone... and hey where is my phone??? Oh there is it... stuck in the cushion of my chair... big sigh... I misplace it several times a day... and it doesn't do me any good to call my phone because I always have it on silent... so unless I'm close enough to hear it vibrate I'm out of luck... oh well

So here are pictures of the 4 Christmas quilts I finished for this holiday...now the first two I started last year and early this year... 

This is Meet in the Middle... a free pattern you can see here... now it was jelly roll friendly but I made it with a layer cake because there were a lot of directional fabrics in the Basic Grey Kringle & Klaus collection I used and I didn't want my ornaments or my Santa's laying on their sides... so I just cut everything into 2.5 x 10" strips and it worked fine... 

and here's a close up of the quilting from Quilting by David... 

I picked a panto with ornaments which I thought echoed the fabrics... and it washed up nice and crinkly!

Next is Snowfall with another Basic Grey Christmas collection... this one a well aged one called Fruitcake..

This one used charm packs and the pattern is from the book Charm School... I had David use a snowflake panto on this one...

Next up is this one using another well aged layer cake... this one is called Very Merry from Sandy Gervais ...

The pattern is Piece of Cake 3 from Thimbleblossoms...you can see it here... I'll be making this quilt again... easy construction and it shows off the fabrics nicely... 

And last but not least a scrappy quilt ... I started with wanting to use up the border and other fabrics I had from the Heather Ross Sugarplum collection... I added in a bunch of other Christmas fabrics from my stash and I'm very happy with how it came together...

Now these are different pictures of these quilts from what I posted on Instagram... but if you want to see more you can find them here... 

And with these quilts complete I thought I'd play in my sewing room and somehow I started another Christmas quilt... my thought process is that I'll be ahead for next year... that is if I stick with it... but there is always a possibility (actually a very STRONG possibility)   that it will end up in a plastic bin before I truly finish it... I'm already having second thoughts about it... here's a pic of what I've done so far... 

the pattern is Jelly Roll Dash, it is a lovely pattern, and you can see it here...  now the pattern is written to be strip pieced but I'm not fond of that method because my strips get wonky and there is too much repetition of fabric placement... I like things all mixed up (kinda like my life.. but that's another story...LOL) so I'm sewing individual squares together... and yes it it going to take about 4 times longer this way... but then I'm not thrilled with how it is looking...  I like mixed up... but... this is looking too mixed up to me... I think I'm going to unsew what I have and just do simpler blocks... like a nine patch or maybe a rectangular block that is pieced and alternated with a solid block... hmmmm....oh I LOVE the fabric ... it is the Oh Deer collection by Urban Chiks... along with some leftovers from their Christmas collection of 2 years ago... here's the Oh Deer collection 

I love these fabrics because you have YELLOW Christmas fabric... I even found yardage of the yellow print with the deer and I ordered it for the border... ruminating here ... and this is going to be re-worked... and that's ok..

And I did some cross stitching last week... I was in a holiday mood so I started (are we seeing a pattern here... I am such a GOOD starter... we will not discuss finishing at this time)... a Christmas piece from Prairie Schooler book No. 63 called Christmas Samplers... you can see it here...

I needed some simple stitching... all DMC and a mystery piece of 32 ct linen from my stash... it is a nice warm tan... I didn't feel the need to paint or dye it as not much of it will show when the whole piece is complete... 

But I put it down yesterday and picked back up my Heart & Hand sampler from With Thy Needle & Thread...

I LOVE this sampler... I LOVE that berry filled vine and the white flowers and the birds and the big house and the lady gardening... I'm using the called for flosses and the fabric is 32 ct I dyed with Rit dye... I think I might be able to finish this by the end of the year... and if I can I am not going to put the last stitch in till 2021 because I will NOT date anything 2020 ...ok I did date one piece 2020 but it was a tombstone for Halloween... I can't think of any year I want more to be behind us and I don't want to be reminded of it by my stitching.. there will be plenty of other reminders ... so I that's the plan...

And then there is the rumination of what to work on in 2020... I like to start a cross stitch piece on New Year's Day and I like to do a bit of sewing and a bit of knitting and I want to eat something very tasty... my philosophy is you need to do things on New Year's Day that you want to repeat as much as possible the rest of the year... get things off to a real good start... and the Lord knows we need a nice good start for 2021!!

Sooooo... what to start... I have a couple of samplers I want to do that are already kitted up... but this sampler is also calling my name... it was the Linens & Threads Mystery Sampler for 2020... now I never like to do a mystery piece until I can see enough of it to be sure I want to join... and I didn't find this one till about October... and I love what I see... here's a link to the project and it is free...and this is a finished version that I LOVE...

And you can see more versions here at the hashtag #linenandthreadssampler2020.... so many wonderful color combos... I think this is my favorite ... lots of people did it on 40 ct... but I'm not fond of stitching on 40 ct... I'd rather do 32 ct ... and I think I could dye a piece of linen similar to the picture... and it will be LARGE ...15.25" square... and I do like the idea of a light color thread on a darker linen... but 2 threads of a light color on 32 ct is sometimes sloppy looking... soooooo I purchased some 12 wt Sulky ... I want to play with it and see if I like that coverage... so I'm ruminating on that... and the fact that they have another mystery sampler for 2021 and darn it sounded interesting too... "Our 2021 mystery sampler is inspired by the Mexican and Spanish pottery tradition from Talavera de la Reina, in Spain"... oooohh... I went and looked at the pottery and it is very colorful... more temptation....

And I have this project teed up for 2020 too... another needlepoint stocking... this one is for my daughter in law...

I did get to the needlepoint shop last week and picked up a bunch of fibers for all the ornaments and I got green wool for the tree and I ordered a bunch of skeins of a minty green for the background... so I should probably put a few stitches in it on New Year's Day...

And I'm ruminating on starting a new knitting project... I think I'll go with a new pair of scrappy socks... something easy... 

And I can't help but ruminate on what 2021 might bring... I don't know if we'll have another lockdown here in Ohio...(but it was the reason I went to the needlepoint store last week as I'm pretty sure a needlepoint store is the definition of non-essential/sigh) ... I have plenty to keep me busy, but then I had plenty to keep me busy last time but I didn't get a lot done... I wonder if we had another round would I be more focused... but focus is a big problem now... I waste too much time on the internet reading stuff and not getting anything done... I've been trying to ignore the news/politics as that is a deep deep rabbit hole that leaves me feeling  anxious and ticked off...I'm trying to avoid that and it isn't easy... my current strategy is to watch youtube and flosstube videos while stitching or knitting... at least I'm getting a little accomplished. 

Soooo... I don't make New Year's resolutions and any plans I made are extremely flexible... but there are definitely projects I want to do...now if I can spend less time endlessly scrolling through IG that would be a step in the right direction... I can't totally give up IG as I get the best ideas for new projects there ... it is like looking a new magazine every time... and remember magazines?  I LOVED magazines... LOL

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... I hope that you all had a nice Christmas and that we will all have a much better 2021... 

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Christmas Decor 2020... on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

 Hello - where did December go to???  I just don't understand how time goes so fast and so slow simultaneously, but it sure seems to do it... I was patting myself on the back for getting my Christmas decor up early (for me ) this year... first week of December... but it wasn't "finished'  every space I arranged still needed a little of this or a little of that and it has taken me all month to finish up... and I think I'm done... I want to be done... I want to sit and look at my displays and stitch on a Christmas piece that won't be finished for this year and try to find a bit of peace in this crazy year... that's my goal for the week... we shall see how it turns out... but you aren't here for my introspective ramblings, you'd like to see some pretty Christmas stuff, right??  Okay... here goes...

HO HO HO ... Santa is gracing the wall again this year... I added some garlands around the top as I liked how that looked on my Halloween quilt... 

and the tier tray is a nice collection of Santas .. a couple of my now getting to be vintage needlepoint Santas and a cross stitch one that I never can decide if he's a Santa or an elf... 

Moving around the room we have the TV stand... I crammed a lot in here... a stack of Santas, and small pack of pixies, a flock of deer and mine and Nick's needlepoint stockings...

And speaking of stockings, Elliott's came back from the finisher and I'm very happy with it...

It is hanging on the mantle at his house waiting for Santa to stuff it will goodies... and as a side note I've already purchased a stocking for his Mama ... it will be my BIG project for 2021... then the whole family will have stockings... 

Continuing to circle the room... the shelf unit... lots of stuff from previous years ... 

I like the nativity scene at the top... I have a good view of it from my stitching chair... 

I have picked up a new Santa head or two... that collection is definitely growing and I like the trees growing out of their heads... I want some candy cans to put in that biggest one but keep forgetting to pick some up at the store..

And this is a new addition to the cross stitch... its from With Thy Needle & Thread entitled " The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"... and now I have Andy Williams singing in my head...LOL

I'm quite proud of myself for this finish... it was a super quick stitch ... I think it only took about 4 days and it is the first time I've inserted pompom trim into the seam... boy the flanges on pompom trim are tiny... had to find my zipper foot to get it sewn in... but it came out exactly like I wanted ... a rather flat pillow ...not puffy... and instead of using interfacing on the back of the stitching and the lining I used fusible fleece.. I had it sitting on my cutting table from a previous project... it gives it a nice bit of loft ... I'll be using it again in my finishing...

And a bit more of the shelf unit... I can see that I've got a turquoise/red theme going with my Christmas stitching... and I like it... it works for me...

A look at my Christmas tree... on the small side but it's best attribute is that again this year it made a successful trip up and down the stairs to the storage room fully decorated... all I did was plug it in and straighten a few of the bubble lights and it was good to go... the chairs are sporting dueling Basic Grey Christmas collection quilts... and I made another one this year... still need pictures...

And I have a new spot to decorate in the living room... I took the little yellow cabinet to the basement (and I still need to finish decorating it... will try to post more pictures tomorrow too).. and I moved in this shelf unit... I like that it is open and you can see what is on the lower shelves... and it is a little longer so there is more space for more STUFF... and you know how I LOVE MY STUFF!!   LOL

The shelf unit came from Amazon and I replaced the knobs with those turquoise ceramic ones I picked up at Hobby Lobby... I like the pop of color... stayed with a red/white/yellow theme here ... added one new piece of cross stitch...

This is from the No. 25 Prairie Schooler chart "Up on the Housetops"... I've had it in my stash a long time ... copyright 1989...  I made the house a bit more yellow than the called for floss and found that little white trim in my stash... a organdy bow and some little jingle bells in the corner... oh I also used the fusible fleece in this one too ... 

And now for the porch... you may remember  I was lusting after a what I thought was a fluffy white kinda 50's tinsel wreath at Joanns... and I bought it...

as you can see when I hung it up on the  storm door it has a definite pink glow... but that's okay because the porch display has a definite pink vibe..

and I think the pink goes well with the lime-y green and turquoise... I finally finished the Lizzie Kate Christmas ABCs that I started probably 2 years ago... it takes a longer to stitch those words than you would think... I don't think that any 2 of the "e"s are the same design... 

and I'm glad I snagged that pink deer at Target back before Thanksgiving... if you've been shopping you know how picked over every place is ... it was definitely not a year to waffle on a purchase... buy it when you see it... and I think that is going to be the case going forward for a while... 

So I do have a bit more decor but I haven't taken any pictures yet ... I'll try to post something in a day or two... I have 2 displays of gingerbread guys...one in my kitchen and one downstairs in my sewing room and a reindeer vignette down there too... and I've gotten four Christmas quilts done this year... 2 I did late last year and early 2020 and two I did in November 2020... I put the binding on the last one last night... need to pop it into the washer... and maybe I can get some outdoor glamour shots today... it is cloudy which is good for pictures and my neighbor's decorative porch railing is newly painted...however there is an issue there...

I am quite sad to say that my neighbor Jane, passed away a couple of weeks ago... she was a very sweet lady and I miss her... Jane never married and has no extended family in the US, just 2 nephews in Canada... they did come down and look at the stuff in her house but turned it all over to a local attorney to dispose of ... and her house went up for sale on late Thursday... it has been quite a stream of potential buyers... in one hour I saw 3 showings and I wasn't even trying to be nosy... it has been listed as pending since Friday night but I've seen at least 3 more showings since then and I haven't been sitting by the window watching, I just catch a glimpse of the activity when I look out my kitchen window... Jane told me I was always welcome to use the porch railing to take quilt pictures... I hope the new neighbors will be as accommodating ...

And a bit of rambling... this Christmas just isn't the same, is it?  I understand the need for masks but when you can't see people's entire faces you can't tell if they're smiling ...and I don't think they are... I don't feel the same upbeat energy you usually get this time of the year... and I do think it is going to be a long cold winter ... not sure if our governor will lockdown things again.. I hope not... I feel so bad for all the little businesses that are hurting ... just how does the powers that be think these people are going to survive?  I do think that if those that called for lockdowns weren't getting paid, they would have a different take on the situation...  just my opinion... 

So I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today and try to post some pictures tomorrow of quilts and other displays... I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping...just need a couple of stocking stuffers and I want to get my gifts wrapped today (that is get out my fabric Christmas bags and stuff them in... LOL)... and I think I'll have a bit of a year end wrap up in a week... I'm surprised at how many quilts I finished this year... now a bunch were started in previous years but this was the year I got them quilted and bound (ok not all of them are bound.. but I'm getting there)... didn't do as much cross stitch as Elliott's stocking took a lot of time and there was that totally unfocused lockdown part of the year... I started several cross stitch projects and finished none of them... and lately I've wandered off into the realm of reproduction samplers... somehow 3 different reproduction charts have come through my mail slot... and 3 makes a collection, right??  I've got a very strong urge to do samplers this upcoming year...  I found this one ... Linens and Threads Mystery Sampler 2020... a gorgeous gigantic Quaker piece ... it is free and you can see it here. And there are several started samplers in my UFO box...so many many things I want to stitch... big sigh... 

Okay so if I don't see you before the end of the week... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! and lets pray that 2021 is not  a continuation of the dumpster fire  of 2020...

happy stitching-

carol fun 

 

Memory, ain't what it use to be... on a Slow Sunday Stitching...

Hello all - I truly intended to post last Sunday but my cable company had other ideas... we had lots of high winds, I expected that we might lose power but instead the wifi went out... after several calls to their automated number they assured me it was an area outage and they were taking care of it... about 18 hours later (which now makes it Monday morning) they changed their story and told me the problem was just with my wifi...HUH?? A customer service rep instructed me to go down to the basement where the cable comes into the house and unplug and re-plug in the connections... another HUH??   The box we are talking about is mounted right up to the top of the ceiling ... it is tall... I am short... and there was a bunch of stuff up against the wall... Well, I managed to use a little step stool and on tippy toes unplugged and replugged the cables... still no wifi... service rep says they'll send out a repair guy between noon and 4pm... okay... I'm not getting a lot done without my laptop... I can do things on my phone but the pictures and the text is itty-bitty...

So I sat a stewed and tried to occupy myself with other stuff and the hours ticked by... at 3:20pm  for reasons I will never know the wifi came back on  all by itself... another HUH??? Decided I would wait for the repair guy to call and when he did about 10 minutes later, I informed him that him that the wifi was back on... he insisted on coming anyway and gave me a new cable box ... smaller ... with a smaller display of the time... not thrilled... and he informed me that if a customer service rep ever instructs me to touch the box on the wall in the basement I am to inform them that I was sternly warned to NEVER touch it... he said I could have gotten a shock if I plugged things back in the wrong way and it is strictly a repair man's job... I will obey...

So that was how the week started, along with a mammogram on Monday and babysitting on Tuesday and I forget what happened on Wednesday and coffee with a friend on Thursday and errands on Friday and some sewing on Saturday... 

Well, I had hoped to report that I had gotten the bindings on the two Christmas quilts that are languishing in my sewing studio... but it didn't happen... every time I went downstairs I got sidetracked by some other shiny thing... and while I could have finished something instead I started something else, actually 2 something elses.... I saw a cute pattern on IG and downloaded it...Lucky Log Cabins by Quilty Love... you can see it here... I thought it would look good in Christmas fabrics and I remember  I had some jelly roll strips which would be perfect for a this pattern ...well there weren't nearly as many strips in the bin as I remembered (like I said memory ain't what it use to be)  but there were 2 other projects in the same bin... and I have no recollection of either one... memory issue again... There were what appears to be all the pieces for a Jingle Jangle quilt by Seamed to Be ... you can see the pattern here... I have them cut, stacked and labeled... no recollection of doing that. .. and then there were the pieces for a quilt by Thimbleblossoms called Piece of Cake 3... again check it out here... the fabric collection was Very Merry by Sandy Gervais... and while I didn't remember starting this quilt I did remember that the fabric had been gifted to me by my friend Stephanie ... so perhaps there is still a little memory ... LOL... 

Anyway I got this totally sewn together!!  I had about 5 blocks done and the other 20 went together fast... I love this collection because it is non-traditional colors... turquoise and a brick red and an olive green and a minty green and that peach... OMG.. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that peach... and it is peach ...not pink... there is always so little fabric that is peach... about 30 years ago when I lived in Modesto peach was my friend Marcella's favorite color... it is so pretty...oh, where was I??  (Memory wander off ...) Oh yeah, the quilt...

And some close ups...

I love that this pattern only has a top and bottom border... so easy... and speaking of easy the only time I pinned was when I was sewing the rows to each other... Oh, I went out to Joanns Friday night to find a back for this quilt... I know, I know, I have hundreds and hundreds of yards of fabric but nothing I liked that was big enough... but  I went to the small location nearest my house... and I was tired ... and hungry (not sure what that has to do with my decision process but I'm throwing it in there)... and this is what I bought...

GIANT RED DOTS... somehow they seemed Christmas-y in the store... but when I got it home and shared it with my friend Darlene she pointed out that it would make nice Christmas-y clown pants... ROLFMAO... yep, it probably would ... but instead of making clown pants,  I sent it off to Quilting by David... it is nice fabric... it just kinda vibrates when you look at it for more than a couple of seconds... something else to remember...don't pick fabric when you are tired... I'll try to remember that, really I will. 

So, I'm definitely making this pattern again... I'm thinking of doing it in some of my vintage Debbie Mumm fabrics... the pattern starts with a layer cake and you get nice chunks of fabric that don't chop up the pattern a lot... would be good for some of those cute novelty Debbie Mumms and I'd like to play with them... there are some good memories packed away in those bins... 

And while I remembered that I wanted to play with the Lucky Log Cabin pattern I opened another bin of Christmas fabrics and found leftovers from a quilt I made back in 2018.... which you can see here... I loved those Heather Ross fabrics... the collection was called Sugarplum and I was smitten because it had a yellow print with peppermints... and you know how I LOVE yellow, which is not traditionally thought of as a Christmas color... but I do... in fact I've made  2 Christmas quilts that feature yellow and now I've started a third one...

Now there wasn't enough of the Heather Ross yellow peppermint fabric to do all the sashing so I found some yellow polka dots in my stash... and there weren't enough Heather Ross prints to do all the blocks but there was enough of the polka dots to include one square in each block and then there was that plaid border print... there wasn't enough of it either to do the full border but my cutting smaller sections and inserting a spacer it is gonna work!! 

Here's some close ups of the blocks...

See polka dot sashing and peppermint cornerstones...

And some Riley Blake Prints from Jill Howarth...

And that border print with a spacer...

In rummaging through my stash I found fabric that I remember getting at a quilt shop in Louisville... or was it Lexington... it was definitely in Kentucky... that's the best my memory can do... it was years ago and I was happy to include it in this quilt.. it was an odd color for Christmas ... a bit of a tomato-y coral-y red.. but it works great for this quilt... there is a light pink... almost a flesh... and aqua... and of course yellow... lots and lots of yellow... I'm calling this one my  3 P quilt... Plaid, Polka Dots and Peppermints .. I still have to cut the border pieces for the bottom and then sew it all together... but I won't have to deal with a separate border as I can sew it in rows... I think I'll like that... It has been quite enjoyable to sew the last couple of days... haven't been this into my fabrics for a while... I like it...

And I have my Thanksgiving decorating done... a couple of new items, lots of old stuff but in new places and some nice memories of where things came from...

The Grungy Gourds quilt ...

The tier tray...

The little yellow cabinet ...

The shelves...

Close ups of the only new pieces I got finished... Turkey one... a freebie I don't know where it came from...

Turkey 2  ... a snippet from a larger Prairie Schooler chart...

I so enjoy my Fall and Thanksgiving decorations... with the sequence of Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving it doesn't seem like we have enough time to fully enjoy each one... rushing onto the next... I know I lot of people have leaped ahead to Christmas but I'm content to pause here for a bit ... 

And speaking of the holidays, I know that many people are not having the Thanksgiving Day we would like. I've spoken with several friends and we are all weary and not too thrilled with the arrangements other family members are putting in place... I know that their children and mine are concerned about our health and safety but not a one seems to have asked if we are okay taking a risk... some of us are... not a huge risk, we're good with wearing masks and keeping our distance, but we'd like to see as much of our family as we could... spending the day in your house, by yourself is just like all the days in the last 8 months, nothing special about that. My family is doing a modified celebration... each side of the family for my son and daughter-in-law is meeting separately with them... Chris' side of the family on Thursday, Jenny's side of the family on Friday... I will miss seeing her parents and her grandmother... such nice people. 

And speaking of weary ... and anxious... every friend I've spoken to has mentioned an episode of crying over seemingly nothing... except it isn't nothing, is it?  I know I've had my crying bouts... I'm tired, not so much physically, I'm trying to eat right, exercise and get plenty of sleep, but an emotional tiredness that has settled into my bones.  Some days are better than others, but not having much to look forward to is wearing me down... I'd love to plan a trip to Disney World with Nick, but don't want to walk around all day wearing a mask... I'd love to go to a quilt show, but I don't know of any that are scheduled right now, I'd like to go see a stage show but nothing is booked till August 2021... I'm doing my best to keep myself busy. I'm happy my sewing mojo has returned... my new sewing room furniture makes the whole room seem brighter and more inviting... I've been working on some Christmas cross stitch and have some crafty projects I'd like to get to... but some days while I have the time, I don't have the motivation.  I'm trying to spend less time on line, I can lose hours reading articles or scrolling through Instagram... I find inspiration but don't get anything done... and I don't think I'm alone ... I worry that we've made some changes in our outlook and behavior that will be hard to shake... I don't want to feel apprehensive being around other people... and I want to see people's faces... I want to see their smiles... 

So I continue to pray and whine and complain to my friends... oh and I have fired off some emails to certain politicians, although I doubt they actually read them. I have gotten a reply or two, which I know some low level staffer sent, as the questions I asked were never answered, and in every case I was directed to  certain websites... the same websites  that I mentioned in my email having looked at for the answer to my question. I've got a thing for statistics and have been stymied in finding certain data for the current year... eons ago I worked as an economist and scoured government publications for data... it should be easier in this day and age but it isn't... I've found out that a lot of what I'd like to know isn't being aggregated in one spot... and compiling the figures takes quite a bit of time... which accounts for some of those hours I've lost ... and I've ended up with more questions than what I started with... 

Okay - I'll drop that right now... going to link up with Kathy's Quilts... doing brunch with Chris & Jenny & Elliott... maybe some more sewing today... started another Christmas quilt project... a couple of bins of fabric have exploded all over my cutting table... need to cut some more pieces and tidy up a bit...

Hope that the week ahead is not too trying for you... I know that it is going to be a long day on Thursday for a lot of people... I'll be saying extra prayers for you...

happy stitching-

carol fun 

PS ... and speaking of memory... I realized that 55 years ago today JFK was assassinated... and I remember exactly where I was and how I heard about it... I'll bet you do to...

Changing things around....

 Hello - I know I said that I'd be back last Monday... not sure why I thought I could get all the things finished that I had planned in 24 hours... in fact, it took all week to do what I wanted to do and everything still isn't done... but some things are ... and over all it was a very productive week...

I got off track starting last Monday... all the flower beds needed to be cleaned out as we had had a couple of frosts and one night below 32... everything was bedraggled and well... dead... so I started with the dahlia bed. Had to cut back all the stems and leaves and dig up the tubers... lots and lots of tubers... I thought at the beginning of the summer that I would label them when I dug them up... and I made a detailed chart of what was planted where... but in the end I just threw them all in a box... I really like the look where everything is mixed up and I like the surprise of not knowing what the plant will look like till it blooms... and that's all the "unknown" I want in my life these days... 

And after the dahlia bed there was the rest of the yard... OMG... you plant things here and there, this day and another day, you put seeds in this week and then another week and then another week ...little by little... but then it dies ALL AT THE SAME TIME... and you have to cut it back or dig it up and get rid of it... I don't have any place to dispose of the debris and detritus in my yard so I have to put it in those large paper yard waste bags... I filled, absolutely STUFFED FULL  20 of those bags... my garbage guy is gonna hate me tomorrow when I drag the out to the curb... 

Now the beds are cleared out and I can move on to planting bulbs... daffodils, alliums and hyacinths... bulbs the deer won't eat... not certain but my rough guess is there are about 300 daffodils and 200 alliums and a handful of hyacinths that need to be planted... my younger son is going to help dig holes and we don't have to dig a hole for every bulb... lots can be planted in a bunch, but it is gonna take some time... I'm telling myself not to over do it... I did over do it several times this week and my left knee has been screaming at me... damn getting old is not fun!!

As for crafty stuff I have a couple of quilt projects to share... first off, this is the Giant Disappearing Nine Patch I made for my younger son... about 85" square...

all homespuns that were in my stash... fabrics that I used in a quilt I sent off to college with his older brother over 15 years ago... really??? Where does the time go??  Anyway I got the idea from an Instagram post by @michelle.made.this... you can see the post here... now I've made a Disappearing Nine Patch quilt before... you sew 9 squares together and then you cut it horizontally and vertically down the middle... easy peasy... so the first block I sewed for this GIANT version I started that way... but it became very clear that this wasn't the way to assemble this quilt... when you do the GIANT version you are starting with 10" squares... when you sew 9 10" squares together you get a block that is bigger than your cutting mat... yikes... so the light bulb went on and I started with a different strategy... I first chose those squares that I didn't want to chop up... then I cut the remaining 10" squares in half so I'd have 5" x 10" pieces and for the corners I cut 5" squares... much better ... and by cutting everything ahead of time I was able to re-arrange the fabrics till I got the look I like... my only constant in this quilt was that I made all those 5" squares from assorted gold fabrics (I didn't have enough of any one gold fabric)...it gives it a little definition..Quilting by David with the Diagonal Plaid panto... he loves it and I think it is quite a handsome quilt...

This version came together is like 3 days... on a Thursday night at dinner we talked about this quilt, Nick pulled out the bins with the homespuns when we got home from dinner and chose the ones he liked, on Friday I cut out the fabrics and got all 36 blocks sewn together is a couple of hours... took Saturday off for other stuff... and then sewed the 36 blocks together on Sunday... had to wait till the wide back came on Monday to get it off to Quilting by David. 

Here is a glamour shot on my neighbor's patio...

And here it is on his bed...

However, ever since I saw this pattern I've wanted to do a version for me... actually I have at least 2  maybe 3 versions I want to do for ME... but this is my first foray... my well loved "vintage" Momo fabrics... 

I started with the Wonderland collection... so many prints there I did not want to cut up ... and added in Avant Garden, Flying Colors, Lucky Day ... I've got birds, cats, hedgehogs, scissors, butterflies and some cool scenes... I love these fabrics for their colors and their 70's vibe... my youth...LOL... every 10" block in this quilt is a different print... I did use the same blue polka dot for the 5" squares and I plan to bind it with that print... I LOVE IT!!! Sent it off to be quilted yesterday... now I want to do a version with my American Jane fabrics and perhaps a version with my Kaffe Fassett fabrics... what I LOVE about this pattern is that it is so easy and quick... the blocks only have one point of intersection and no points of intersection to match up when you sew one block to another... 

Some close-ups...

This one went out in the mail yesterday...

And since I've been spending more time in my sewing room I've been thinking of ways I want to update it... when I moved in 7 years ago I had a couple of pieces of black IKEA furniture so I went with that color scheme, but I've always wanted it to be white... and nothing was beat up or worn out but I just didn't like it ... and I decided that life is too short not to have this space as pleasing to me as possible... so I'm replacing the black furniture with white furniture and I'm adding pieces to the mix...

Here's my sewing machine area... now bookcase cubby in the front is Closetmaid... front view...and yes that is a Santa in the back ground...I'm not rushing the season I'm just too lazy to put him in the storage room... he is good company...LOL

 there are two IKEA tables pushed together and the update here are the Alex drawer units...

and this is the ironing board space... another Closetmaid cubby...notice those cute little stools?  Those are from IKEA ... $6 each... called Marius.. you can see them here... the are great as a little table and the stack... and I think they look a lot like a button...

And I am going to replace the 5 black Billy bookcases with 6 white Billy bookcases... there is just enough space to squeeze another one it... however I need to have my handyman Dan do those ... there is baseboard that will need to be cut out and they have to be L-bracketed to the wall... not a project Nick and I can handle... you can see the how the room looked and  wall of bookcases here in this IG post... 

But Nick and I tackled this project... a 4 x 4 Kallax unit from IKEA... I got the idea for this from @carolinacajuncreates ... I'm moving the TV which I rarely watch (think I'll replace it with a smaller TV that is Roku... thinking about ditching cable altogether)... that freed up this whole wall...

I LOVE this... I got lucky when I went to purchase this unit... IKEA has been out of stock of so much merchandise... you have to stalk the website and then race to the store and hope that they still have the inventory when you get there... for this unit I checked for days and days and one morning the website said they had 5 of them... I live about 12 minutes away...when I arrived there was only ONE unit left... this one... and yesterday after Nick assembled it I checked on how many bins or baskets they might have... it said there were 32 of these so we didn't rush, but we went over ... I usually stay away from IKEA on weekends and the parking lot was packed when we got there... luckily I've spent soooo much time in IKEA I know EXACTLY where this items was... instead of walking through the entire 2 floors we came in the exit and then walked against the flow of traffic to the spot on the bottom floor with this department... and there wasn't 32 baskets there were EXACTLY EIGHT... OMG... I should buy a lottery ticket!!!

Now you may be thinking why does this look like a display from Homegoods...well... it is my organization of items I like to use in my displays... risers, lanterns, candlesticks, pitchers, galvanized metal, greenery, cake stands, vases...all of these items (and more) were in big plastic bins in my storage room... I'd have to root through them every time I went looking for something and you can tell by the number of little cake stands that sometimes it was easier to just go pick up a new one rather than search for what I had... by having this display I can see what I have and it will change as I use things in my seasonal displays... some things are just pretties I've picked up here and there because they were a bargain and I loved them... I LOVE MY STUFF... and yes I have LOTS of STUFF... but my philosophy is that if it is organized you can have EVEN MORE STUFF!!!

As you know yellows and golds are my favorite colors... so I shouldn't be surprised that I have lots of yellow/gold glass ware...

and it is nice to keep my chickens out along with some of the Rae Dunn pieces I've been collecting...

and I've finally found a place to display that little turquoise chair... 

I'm putting fabric in the baskets and maybe some other decorating pieces... I think when I use the chickens in my kitchen in the Spring and Summer I'll fill in that space with the numerous watering cans I have that I couldn't squeeze in at the moment... 

I had so much fun arranging this piece... do you remember Mary Tyler Moore's BFF Rhoda?  Rhoda was a window dresser... I've always wanted to be a window dresser...LOL... that's probably why I love putting together the seasonal displays... and speaking of displays I'm working on my Thanksgiving displays... I know in light of what has gone on this year lots of people are skipping ahead to putting out Christmas but I LOVE Fall and want to hold onto those decorations a little while longer... and I have some cute turkey stuff  so check back next week... 

Today is gorgeous... almost 80 degrees ... in Ohio... in November... thank you Lord for this glorious weather... we haven't had any rain but there isn't anything I need to water... I was going to work on planting some bulbs today but the day has gotten away from me... Chris & Jenny & Elliott came over for brunch ... we got carryout... and then we went to the park for a while... they have a great fire truck climber that Elliott loves and even better, there is construction going on by the park and they left a small bulldozer and back hoe there... we got to get up close and personal with them ... you know how children have something they just love ... trains, dinosaurs, princess stuff... well Elliott's love is construction equipment, particularly back hoe kind of diggers.... we were able to fondle the tires and hug the bucket... he was quite a happy boy...

So I think I'll save the bulbs for tomorrow... Nick and I will want an early dinner since we didn't do a lunch... and I think I'll sit on the porch in the sun and cross stitch a bit... it is a good day...

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts... always plenty to see there... hope you are having a good day and an even better week ahead... still rumors about lockdowns coming back here... Krogers is again limiting the number of packages of toilet paper and paper towels and some soap items... I'm in great shape in those areas and have picked up a nice selection of hand sanitizer too... I hope it doesn't come to that... I know how hard this is hitting small businesses ... don't know how much more they can stand... trying to do my part to support local places ... 

take good care of yourself...

happy stitching-

carol fun