Quality time with my sewing machine...

Hello all - well last week was very nice... lots of good things happened... let me fill you in. When I was here last Sunday I said I had my fingers crossed that my son's house would sell before today... and it is sold... in fact, it sold in less than 24 hours, above asking price... the agent came and took pictures around noon on Sunday and didn't get them uploaded till around 4:30pm... within 15 minutes of it being listed they had a showing booked for that night... and before the night was over they had 2 more showings with appointments for a dozen more on Monday. They got their first bid by 7pm on Sunday ... and in the end they closed off the bids and the showings at 5pm on Monday when they had 5 bids... all for over the asking price. Now I knew the market was hot but I didn't realize that now days the asking price is a starting point, not the ending, and I thought the agent started at too low a price point... if I had been the agent I'd have started about $5K higher. They even had one bid sight unseen for more than the asking price but the buyer was upfront in that he was purchasing it to be rental property. My son and daughter-in-law would like it to stay owner occupied so they refused his bid. What surprised me was that every bid waived an inspection... OMG... I've never purchased a house without having it inspected. Now I assume people figured it would be fine because my son did disclose that the basement leaks some times and that they had done some work to mitigate that problem. Any other issue would have been cosmetic ... so now it is a done deal... they close the end of August.

And on the weather front we got some rain... oh we needed it... my grass is still a bit brown but I have my fingers crossed for more rain later this week and a forecast of lower temperatures. I even heard a long range forecast for a cooler August ... 80s being cooler than 90s... I'll take it!!

On the crafty front I was monogamous to  Elliott's stocking...  it is easier to see my progress on the back than on the front...

last week...

this week...

I got that garland and the ornaments at the top done, the blue bow on the package Santa is holding and all the silver garland on the tree.  I know these pictures are terribly interesting to you guys but they do let me look back and see if I made any progress.

I was able to make and appointment and go to the needlepoint shop Monday morning... got some more decorative threads and wool for the background.  I confirmed it has to be stitched by October to get finished by Christmas...

And I spent some quality time with my sewing machine this week. First I got my flag quilt assembled except for the borders...

This is my favorite flag...

All these fabrics are vintage Debbie Mumm...  I love the button prints and the little flags... I think the star fabric I used for the sashing was actually from a Christmas collection but it looks pretty patriotic here.  Oh, the pattern I used was a free one you can find here on Amy Smart's blog. Very easy to sew up...

And while I should have finished up the flag quilt something else shiny came along and I HAD TO DO IT!!!   I totally missed that this quilt was a SAL on Instagram not long ago ... but when I did find out about it I raced to my favorite local quilt shop, Homegrown, Homesewn  to purchase fabric for it... all Basic Grey Grunge... and here is my version of the Jumbo Spider quilt pattern from Pen and Paper Patterns... here's a link to her stuff and  you can see lots of the quilts that were made here.

It is a brighter green than is showing up in the picture... I thought the polka dot was a fun background and I got the Grunge Glitter for the spider and the web...

and instead of the eyes being pieced I'm going to put those googly eyes on after I get it quilted.  I want a spider web panto for this one... it is going to be so cute on the wall in my living room for Halloween!!

Then I got back to the quilts I wanted to get bound... I got 2 finished which was my goal ... first I got the binding on the biggest one I had waiting... my 2x4 yellow scrap quilt... here it is on my bed, freshly laundered... oh I LOVE the texture...

Here's a close up of one of my favorite blocks... little red polka dotted chickens...

I even made some new pillowcases to go with this quilt... I found this rose fabric in my stash.. I love the vintage look of it...

And I got the binding on my "Good Girl" quilt too... I have it draped over the chair in my bedroom...

A nice cozy spot to sit and read  in a lovely sunny room...

I still have 3 more quilts to bind and  I want to get the backs sewn for 2 Christmas tops... trying to get ahead of the holidays.  I hope to have some sewing time this week... my son has a dentist appointment, I babysit one day and we have dinner plans for  tomorrow night... I should call and see if I can get the oil changed in my car but nothing else is pressing at the moment.

Since I haven't gotten this posted yet on Sunday ... its almost 10pm... and I have a lot of quilting content for a change...I'm going to link up in a couple of places... Kathy's Quilts, Love Laugh Quilt,  and Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

Hope you have a good week ahead... lots of time to do the things you want to do!!

happy stitching-
carol fun

Circling back around on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

Edited to add:  I've had a couple of emails saying that people are having troubles leaving comments... I don't know why... perhaps because I'm trying to avoid changing over to the new Blogger format... if you want to leave me a message you can do so at   -  cfunliu@aol.com

Hope you are having a good day!!


Hello all - don't know where the time goes to...the days fly by and I don't seem to have a lot to show for them. It has been hot here... really HOT... upper 90s... ugh... my utility bill is going to resemble the national debt... and then there is the water bill... OMG... I've been watering and watering and watering... the flowers are looking pretty good... the grass not so much... taking on a definitely brown-ish hue... I threw in the towel on the monster pumpkin vines that were growing on both sides of the house... they were going gangbusters... largest plants in my yard... but they were taking over the new boxwood shrubs, and the daisies, and the zinnias and were moving on into the lawn... I wish  had more land to grow something this large but its not gonna work on my little lot... I've got some pictures of my yard at the moment... things are filling in nicely... I'm happy with this little corner... a new spot of planting...  peach and pink geraniums, white cleome, purple delphinium, pink gomphrena. and those little seedlings are going to be zinnas... I think I planted the pink ones there... we shall see...

I'm loving the marigolds... still have a couple of bald spots but a good overall look and I LOVE the cannas in the middle... great stripe-y leaves!!

The coleus in this planter overwhelmed everything else I planted in it...

Not sure why the dahlias seem to be lagging... but it is probably the heat.  The ones  I planted in the raised bed are still on the short side... other assorted dahlias I've planted by the foundation of the house seem to be taller.  This variety is prolific... I planted the tubers 3 years ago... and I never got around to digging them up... they've come back again and again ... lots of pretty pink dahlias!

Mother Nature does what ever she darn well pleases.

And circling back around, I've replanted the window boxes... I've never done that before, but the petunias were dying ... don't know why ... same thing happened last year, they didn't last the whole season. Since I went with a random mish mash I continued with that style. I've added in some vinca and some angelonia in pink, purple and white... we'll see if this can hold up till September.

On the crafty side I fully finished (FFO'd) this adorable piece by Melisa @pinkernpunkinquilting...she calls it Bees, Blooms and Chickens and you can find it here on her blog.

Now as always I changed a few things... the linen is 32 ct I painted that was in my stash... I just used DMC flosses I had ... I did the bee skeps in satin stitch and added smyrna crosses in the middle of the flowers. As for finishing I made a mat from cardstock that I die cut with that scalloped edge and added a bow from ribbon that has been maturing in my stash for probably 8 or 9 years... it is GOOD to have a stash of crafty stuff... VERY VERY GOOD!!

I stitched up this Yankee Doodle Hat from Lizzie Kate...

I was going to stick a real feather in the hat but it overpowers the design so I will stitch the feather on the chart ... gotta go find where I stuck my copy of the chart... sheesh... this is what happens when you straighten things up... which I spent several hours doing the other day... things are neater but I don't know where stuff has relocated too... oh well.

And I'm circling back around to the 5 quilts patiently waiting in my sewing studio for bindings...  you can see a snippet the two latest here and here on Quilting by David's IG account...  my goal for the upcoming week is to get the binding on ONE of them... maybe two... then I'll take some pictures... I also dug out the two Christmas tops I made back in January... I have the material for the  backs for both... just need to sew them up and send them off to Quilting by David.

And I am also circling back around to the Christmas stocking I'm doing for Elliott. I put it aside when the Covid hit because I didn't want unpleasant memories attached to it... you understand, don't you?  You can look at a sampler or a quilt or a sweater and remember what was going on when you worked on it...and my attitude during the lockdown was not positive ... and it still isn't 100% positive but I know if I want this done by October I have to work on it NOW... I picked it back up and I will say that I'm more decisive on what fibers and colors I'm using... primarily because I HAVE to work with the stash of needlepoint fibers that I already own... the little shop I bought the canvas from has just re-opened, but for appointments only. I'm going to call next week and set up one so I can order the wool I need for the background. Some of the fibers I'm using are 30 years old... really... that is the last time I did needlepoint on a regular basis... when I discovered counted cross stitch my needlepoint interest waned dramatically... and until the request for a stocking for Elliott it hadn't resurfaced at all. I think I'm a good needlepointer but as I've aged I forgot that it is harder on your hands than cross stitch. Pulling thick fibers through canvas can be a struggle... my hands are tired after a couple of hours, but I will keep going.  Here's where I am today.. you have to click on it and make it bigger to see the details...

last week I did the bear and the train in Santa's sack... and I did the trim on Santa's coat and the snow in the windows and I  figured out what fibers I'm going to use on the garland on the tree.

Here's a pic of the back ... shows how much ground I've covered so far...

I'm going to switch on and off with cross stitch... think I'll work on something I've already got started, although the temptation to start something new is strong and I ordered 4 new charts last week. So many many many pretty things I want to make.

I hope you are all hanging in there with the Covid stuff... I'm still ticked off over the whole thing... I realized the other day that the "15 days to flatten the curve" has now extended to over 120 days... the county I'm in has a mandatory mask rule... I'm okay with it... I wear one when I go into places, I'm just not totally convinced that they are super effective... I'm a skeptic at heart... I ask waaay too many questions.  You know like what is the criteria you are using for making mask wearing mandatory?  And what is the criteria you will use to determine they aren't needed any longer?  I like facts and figures but you can find them to support either side of debate these days. I read a great comment from Scott Adams... he said we are trying to make decisions based on facts and the experts, but it has turned out that the facts aren't accurate and the experts lie... so what does one do??

Okay, so I have lots of crafty plans for the week and not a lot of obligations... there is babysitting on Tuesday and probably a nice lunch out with a friend or two.  My general contractor job is done. My son and daughter-in-law's house has been freshly painted and spiffed up and goes on the market this week. I'm thinking it will be sold by next week. The inventory of homes to buy is very low here and the demand is still very high and interest rates are low... makes for a very competitive market.  The last year in this neighborhood houses have been selling like hotcakes... almost all have an offer in less than 48 hours for the either pretty close to the asking price or even above. Not easy for buyers, you have to jump right away if there is something you want and mulitple bids are commonplace. Fingers crossed  and saying a prayer that it goes quickly and smoothly for them.

Well I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and spend some time seeing what everyone else is up to. Here's hoping we all have a great week ahead...

happy stitching-
carol fun

Lost and Lazy on a Slow Stitching Sunday...

Hello all ... yes I haven't been here for a while... have I been off on some exotic adventure... is the groecery store exotic??? cause that's all I got... mostly I've been lazy where posting is concerned. I have put some stuff up on Instagram... you can always check me out there...  https://www.instagram.com/carolfun53/...   I've been involved in a bunch of different house and garden projects. My son and his family got moved into their new home, but not until I ended up being  the general contractor getting things painted and fixed up before hand... and then after they moved into the new place, I've been doing the same job for their old house so they can get it fixed up and put on the market... I don't mind doing it, but it takes time... and I've been busy in my yard... lucked into a great deal on some 1 gallon perennials ... $3.49 each... from a very reputable local greenhouse... obviously mis-marked at the local Kroger's store... I ended up buying 36 of them...

and I'd already planted about 25 other 1 gallon perennials and I bought a couple at the garden outlet  and another 8 or so the other day at the hardware store ... so more than 70 plants have been added this year... and right now it is looking good... hope they can hang in there...

That massive leafy thing on the left is a volunteer pumpkin... I should probably get it out of there as it has covered some yarrow, and a dahlia and a small boxwood... but it is the most prolific grower in my garden... the seed must have come from the pumpkins I had in the window boxes last Fall...

Lots of stuff in these 2 bed included 2 cabbages there in the back... again this may be a mistake as they are getting huge... I've never grown them before and had no idea those little bitty seedlings would get so ginormous...

Mother Nature has turned up the thermostat to broil for the next 2 weeks... temperatures in the 90s ... only saving grace is humidity isn't too bad, but I'm watering twice a day...petunias are already looking a bit bedraggled...

.

and yes there is another monster pumpkin plant in the front yard... I trimmed it back a bit as it had grown out of the bed and into the lawn and my lawn guy would have mowed it over... I've never had any luck before growing veggies so I'm shocked at how these have taken off...


On the crafty front I have gotten some stuff done... told myself I didn't need any new patriotic, but then I NEVER  really listen to myself...

I stitched up this sampler from Blackbird Designs... Stars and Stripes, Schoolgirl Sampler Series .... chart dated 2003...

a piece of unidentified 32 ct yellow linen I splashed with diluted Rit dyes in Scarlet and Royal blue.  That frame/stand has been in my stash for a couple of years... saw Priscilla put a Prairie Schooler monthly chart on it... got it marked down at Hobby Lobby and have been saving it for the right project... I think this vignette is looking good.

I also stitched a snippet of With Thy Needle & Thread's Summer in Baltimore...

it is finished as a flat disk... 32 ct linen I painted... and the tier tray is looking good, if I so say myself ... and I do...LOL

That top piece is a freebie from Notforgotten Farm...

I finally got my large shelf display put together the day before the 4th...

The only new piece here was a partial stitch of another With Thy Needle & Thread... this is Where Liberty Dwells... I left off the words at the bottom of the chart...

I sewed up a couple of flag blocks to make a table runner... you can see the free pattern  from Diary of a Quilter,  here....

I have more cut out to make a quilt... all vintage Debbie Mumm fabrics... hope to get to it before July is over... will be late for this year but ahead for next year... I have 3 quilts waiting downstairs, to have bindings attached, and two more that will be returning from Quilting by David soon that will also need bindings... I have a bed size top almost done... and I foolishly started a SAL for another bed size quilt ... that is definitely languishing... and I want to refresh my quilting studio... replacing the table with black tops, with tables with with tops, replacing 5 black IKEA Billy bookcases with 6 white IKEA Billy bookcases... I've been wanting to do it for a while but has been a low on the list of things  I've wanted my handyman, Dan, to get to... once he gets done with my son's old house (in a week or two) he may have time... then then I checked IKEA and the bookcases are out of stock...grrrr....who knows when all this stuff will get done...and while it may seem like I'm not lazy I sure feel lazy... maybe it is the heat...maybe it is my disgust over all that is happening in the world...not gonna mix my politics with my crafty stuff... I dislike seeing it on IG... I just want to see pretty stuff and buy pretty things... I don't need to know any philosophical  background as it isn't a deciding factor in my purchase, never has been... I want to make pretty things to escape reality... just my opinion and yes I realize what I just did... sorry... 

Anyway... I'm gonna sit on the sunroom porch and veg ... maybe watch a flosstube video or listen to some music videos and stitch a bit and nap... I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and see what everyone else is up to... not too much on the agenda next week... a followup for my eye... got that cataract zapped ... easy peasy... shouldn't have been concerned... vision is so much better... will spend lots of time watering my plants and will probably have to break down and water the grass... I hate to water the grass as way too much water ends up on the sidewalk and I always get drenched setting up the sprinklers... maybe some day I'll have my yard outfitted with sprinklers...ooooohhhh... that's an idea I need to think more about... 

Hope you are having a good week... 4th of July here was unbelieveable... since all the local municipalities cancelled their public fireworks shows, it appears that every private citizen in my town bought their own pyrotechnics... and set them off continously for about 2 hours last night... honestly I have never in my 66 years seen so many fireworks at the same time... it was deafening ... and surprising as setting off fireworks other than sparklers, snakes and snaps is illegal in the state of Ohio... not many people seemed to be concerned with that detail... I think a lot of people bought fireworks and thought they were the only people on the block who did so... surprise... everyone on the block did it... sheesh...I did feel sorry for those people with skittish pets and those suffering from PTSD... it was not a good situation... wonder what Labor Day will bring...hmmm...

take care...happy stitching-

carol fun