Additions for the "to do" list on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello... where does the time go??  My sainted Grandma told me time goes quicker the older you get... damn she was right... and yet the faster it goes, the slower I seem to be moving.  So many many things I want to do... I have quite a lengthy "to do" list... but some days I just can't get together the energy and the motivation to do them. Somehow sitting on the porch and watching the birds at my feeders while nodding off for a nap has been a regular activity lately. 

I've done a little sewing... got this top together... 

the fabrics are a couple of collections from Urban Chiks and the border is Deer Christmas... deer... on yellow... simply irresistble! 

And can I mention that I really like taking a picture of this top in front of my shelf units... the lighting is better in this spot... gotta figure out a way to put up some sort of clothesline that I could clip a top to. Here I used big Clover binding clips and attached them to the top... they held really well... it was up there for several days and never came loose. I'm thinking that Ikea has a wire clothesline set up that might work....hmmmm... need to go shopping and then figure out how Dan the handyman could mount it... I'll put that on my "to do." list .. oh sorry for that tangent....

Anyway,  I even got the binding made for it while watching Elliott ... I got him a toy tool box... with a hammer, screwdriver, wrench and "working" drill... kept him busy all day...

I think I've said this before but there is a engineer inside that child desperately trying to get out.

Now I have 2 more Christmas quilts in the works and another one popped up on my radar a week ago... Letter to Santa QAL... here's a link to the info... you make a couple of words a week... I haven't started yet but I did decide I want to use turquoise blue,  Pool Grunge, for the background and use red, green, pink and white fabrics for the words... not going to make it as big as the example... I think a throw size would be good... and another project for the "to do" list... 

I've been doing a bit of cross stitch... I finished this piece that I started last year...The Queen's Garden by The Scarlett House.

I LOVE that green background... its more  vivid IRL... and I'm adding my spin on the bees were charted...they were BIG FAT bees... done over 1 thread... not my kind of stitching... so I thought about getting some buttons that looked like bees... and in my search I stumbled on these adorable little polymer clay slices...

look closely... the have little smiley faces!! 

 Here's a link to the etsy shop I got them at... I'm going to glue them on after I get this FFO'd... I'm thinking of doing a little pillow... with some chenille trim... cause I bought a boatload of chenille trim... 

Since I finished the stitching on that one, I picked back up Fall Most of All by Calico Confectionery... you can find the pattern here.   I LOVE the colors on this and I do LOVE FALL MOST OF ALL... 

This is warmer IRL...  I may have miscounted on that basket... but I ain't froggin it... I just need to count off the bottom band from the border instead. Hope to finish it this week..

Meanwhile, the other afternoon while sitting on the porch, nodding off now and again, and wandering around the internet I stumbled upon this year's edition of Fragments of Time by Summer House Stitch Workes... It is called the Susquehanna Valley Sampler... I lived in the Susquehanna Valley for 3 years in the early 1980... and I HAD TO HAVE this!!! 

Okay, let me back up a bit so this makes more sense... back in 2016  I stitched the 2015 edition .... here's my completed sampler...

There are 8 separate charts... and  a complimentary chart is provided on Barbara's website for the border and the dividing bands.  The linen I used on this has a definite yellowy orangey glow and according to what I wrote back in '16 I did this on 36 ct Edinburgh... hmmm... looking at it I thought it was 32 ct... probably because I used 2 strands over two threads... 36 ct isn't my usual choice... hmmmm... another tangent I wandered off to..

Here are the 6 charts that are currently available... the last two are being released at the Fall Needlework Expo...

And what made me HAVE TO HAVE the 2022 version is the border and dividing bands... do you see the alphabet running through the center???  I LOVE IT!!  

Here's a link to the complimentary border chart. I ordered the called for linen, 32 ct Straw by Weeks and the called for flosses... they should get here Monday... I may overdye the linen to add my touch to it or dye something else... gotta see it before I can decide. I'm itching to start this even though I have plenty of other samplers languishing in plastic project bags I should attend to first... but I won't...  I love the horizontal orientation of this sampler  and having 8 separate sections makes me feel like I'm accomplishing a lot more as I go along... and yes that is all a figment of my imagination but it makes me happy!! And add another project for the "to do" list.... see how it keeps growing???

Oh and I did one more small patriotic piece before I packed everything away...

Colonel Sammy by Notforgotten Farms... a freebie... go to her blog  here., and scroll back to May 10 ... 32 ct Lemon Yellow Rit dye... brightened up the flosses and added chenille trim... it was nice to use one of the dozen or so color I have... made me feel virtuous...LOL

Now I am taking care of all the flowers in the yard... because... well ... I paid for it, I planted it, I weeded it and I need to water it so it doesn't die... and while I'm watering I contemplate how did there get to be sooooooo many flowers???  Right now my house looks like it is going to be swallowed up by the flowers....

Looking at the side of the house from the driveway which is the view I see most often...

Moving around just a bit and stepping back for the wide shot...

Continuing around the house... corner view... see how I have 2 front yards....

Now to the address front yard...

Stepping back for  a wider shot...

See what I mean???  I've come to the conclusion that I have jumped the shark... there may be ... just may be... too many flowers... but there's nothing I can do about it now... maybe next year I won't plant as many thing.... ROFLMAO... who am I kidding?  If there is a pretty plant at the garden center... or a blank spot in my garden beds... I'll be spending money on plants.  The zinnias are doing great right now... saw this butterfly enjoying one...

and the marigolds which were slow to start are busting out of the bed...

The dahlias are just beginning to put on a show... here's a couple of my favs so far ...

but lots of plants haven't bloomed yet... more surprises to come!

Mother Nature has given me high temps for days on end and then a couple of days of rain here and there and as I'm writing this on Saturday she's on her best behavior... low 80's and more importantly low humidity... Forecast of some rain overnight which would mean I could skip watering ... yeah!!! 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts... lots to see there... next week is looking good ... no appointments... I like being home when it is my choice... Don't tell me what I SHOULD DO, cause I'm not gonna want to do it!!  I could go off on a righteous rant about the media circus on Dr. Birx's revelations about the "vaccines" but I should keep my BP down... so instead I'll go eat some chocolate...

Hope everything is going well in your little part of the world... I'll be here trying to get some of things on my list done... and thinking of things to add to it...

happy stitching-

carol fun  

Making stuff on a Monday...

oooooohhhh... a rare Monday posting...  well, my sewing mojo has returned... don't know how long it will stay but I'm making the most of it... I've recently gotten 2 quilts back from being quilted by Delinda and I finally got the sleeve sewed down a on a quilt I know has been complete for over a year... talk about procrastination.... I'm really really good at it!!  Its a gift!! LOL

So wanna see what I've been up to?  LOTS of pictures ... just like yesterday...

Okay lets start with the 2 recent finishes... I talked about this first one yesterday but I want to include it  here too... 

First is the Flag quilt from the County Seat Quilts book...

Love the variegated thread...

Love the panto...

Then I got the binding on this one...  excuse the floor pics... the design wall is full of blocks I didn't want to take down...

the pattern is Skylight from MSQC you can see it here... and the fabric is Songbook from Fancy That Design House... she's a new (at least new to me) designer and I love her style...  further down this post you'll see another quilt I'm making with her Christmas collection.  Anyway this quilt pattern only take 1 layer cake... and it goes together super quick... I'll make this pattern again... maybe with a Halloween or Christmas layer cake... stay tuned.

This is the quilt that has been languishing waiting for me to sew down the sleeve so I could hang it...

These are leftover blocks from several other quilts I started and then changed my mind about... all done in American Jane fabrics... some Lori Holt blocks and some from The Farmer's Wife that was a QAL that I lost interest in after a month or so... sigh... Anyway I like how they look  and I have a plan to refresh my sewing area with more quilts done in American Jane fabrics... so cheerful and bright... but not TOO bright... I definitely had a quilt phase of about 10 years where ALL my quilts were really really BRIGHT... but I'm over it... and while I still like HAPPY colors I don't need them to scream at me anymore...

Funny story ... most of my really bright quilts were made in the years prior to getting my cataracts removed... someone once speculated that perhaps I didn't see things as bright as they actually were because of my vision... and I think they were right!  

So along with this quilt the little cabinet that sits in front of it needed a new table runner... and this it quite the accomplishment...

See?   Small, very easy construction and wait for it.... I did it while simultaneously watching my 3 year old grandson.... gasp... how did I do that?  Well there are lots of interesting things in Grandma's sewing room, not the least of which is the sewing machine. Both of Elliott's grandma's sew and he LOVES anything mechanical... I'm pretty sure there an engineer in there waiting to escape... we shall see... both of his Grandpa's are mechanically inclined... one has taught math & managed the facilities at the high school he works at for 35 years, the other has a degree in mechanical & aerospace engineering... his Daddy went off to college thinking he was going to do engineering, but after his freshman year he decided while he could do it... he had great grades... he didn't want to do it ...and he wanted to go into law... which he did... 

Anyway where was I???  Oh keeping Elliott occupied while I sewed... he likes to sit on my lap and watch me feed  the fabric through... he knows what the presser food is, and the difference between a needle and a pin... a needle has a hole in it according to Elliott ...and he LOVES bobbins... he likes to see inside the machine where they sit... he like to play with bobbins...

If Maria Montessori  had sewn this would be an activity.... stacking bobbins on a straw...

Another activity he enjoys is sticking pin in my design wall...

And trying to figure out if they come out the other side...

Two weeks ago  "we" made the table runner... last week "we" sewed together these 9 patch blocks and discussed that they were squares and counted 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9....  I'm planning on sewing some more of these with him tomorrow... fingers crossed...

Back to the quilts... I've competed two tops with the Bonnie & Camille swap blocks I did back in 2017... they had matured enough to be sewn... LOL... sorry both of these pics aren't great but you get the idea...

This first one is bed size and it already at Delinda's to be quilted.

These are the blocks I had leftover and I'll take this top to her when the other is complete. 

And wait... there's a bit more... I really like the fabric collection Cheer & Merriment from Fancy That Design House..  not a real in you face Christmas line ... a bit more subdued... you can see it all here... I was particularly taken with the gold fabrics in the collection ... you don't see much yellow or gold in Christmas lines and I though it would be the perfect sashing for this pattern...

The pattern is French Vanilla from the book Perfect 10 Quilts by Sew Emma...

This pattern is sooooo easy to do... since I'm making this bed size I cut 2 10" squares from each of the FQs in the bundle... you make 2 cuts and you have all 4 of the pieces you need to make the block... You don't need any pins to sew the block together... it is super quick!!   I went down to my sewing room Friday around 1: 30 ... by 5:00 I had cut out ALL the fabrics for the blocks and  half of the sashing needed and I sewed together 21 blocks... a very productive day!!   Now I may make the sashing between the blocks a bit narrower... not sure yet... I know that gold is strong but I like it ... it  is very cozy and I think it will look great in my bedroom as I have buffalo check drapes that are gold and white... 

Here's the pieces laid out on a tray...

I hope to get back to this a bit today or on Wednesday but in the meantime it can wait for me on this cart...

I really like this cart... it is  a We R Memory Keepers  Project Cart... I got it at Joanns ...here's the link...  the price now is higher than what I paid... I think I got it for about $75 and if you Google it, you can find it for less than the Joanns price... anyway I like that I can have multiple projects staged and ready to go... the trays slip in an out easily and they sit on a wire frame that has a lip on the back so you don't push the tray all the way through...  I liked it so much I got two... so many projects... so many many projects...LOL

Edited to add:  Last night I went to Joanns website to look at this cart... this morning I got an email giving me 25% off and flat rate $2.99 shipping... I haven't had this happen for a while, but there have been times when I left an item in a cart and a day or so later I get an offer for a better deal... just something to consider. 

So that't where I am right now with my quilting... I want to get the Cheer & Merriment quilt done before I see Delinda again... and I have at least 2 more Christmas quilts I want to play with. I got a layer cake of Cathe Holden's Christmas Faire... you can see it here... I think I've decided on a pattern and I already have some Grunge for sashing... I have a FQ pack of Christmas Joys from Riley Blake which you can see here...not sure what I'm doing with it... and I want to get a layer cake of the new Basic Grey Christmas line called Peppermint Bark which you can see here....  one can NEVER have too many Christmas quilts!!!

And there are a ton of cute Halloween collections this year... might need another quilt for that holiday...again... so many many projects...

But I'd rather have more things I want to do than time to do them in, than be bored... I don't get bored but I do find myself unmotivated at times these days... gotta stay away from the doom scrolling on my phone... I really need some kind of parental controls to stop me after  20 minutes or so...LOL ... too many times I waste an hour or more on IG or other sites...  I think I did pretty well this last weekend...  I gave myself a 3 day stay at home retreat... I sewed a lot on Friday... sewed a bit more on Saturday and cross stitched... and then cross stitched a lot on Sunday... got a new Fall-ish pattern that I couldn't put down... 

And there was some gardening work tossed in too... haven't had to water in a week, but it was needed last night... and I did a bit of weeding and deadheading ... and then picked off more Japanese beetles ... and then sprayed for the beetles and deer repellent as they chomped on my daylilies and my hydrangeas... grrrrr... 

Forecast for this week doesn't have any rain in it at all... and 80 degree temps... I'll be out there at least once a day ... the dahlias in the bed are full of buds and I found 3 partially opened flowers last night... all the same variety... a pink cactus form... can't wait to see what pops next.

So now I think I remember the blogs that did Monday aggregates... Love Laugh Quilt... Small Quilts and Doll Quilts...  I'll link up with these two... 

Hope you have a productive week ahead... I've got some babysitting and lunch with a friend but nothing else on my calendar... I'd like to keep it that way and stay home and sew and stitch... fingers crossed that is the way it turns out...

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Patriotic Palooza for a Slow Stitching Sunday...

 Hello -  yes I have been gone for a while from here... I did attempt to post last week but I could not for the life of me get my pictures to upload, so I gave up... I think things are working better at the moment... and I have TONS of pictures ... in fact I have so  many pictures I think there is going to be a rare Monday post too... today I'll concentrate on the patriotic stuff and tomorrow I'll do quilts... my sewing mojo has returned and I'm getting some quilts done... we'll talk about that later... ok?

WARNING Will Robinson... this post is LOOOOOOONG.... 

Patriotic Paloooooza... I had fun getting all my stuff out of the plastic bins... love the older stuff I have and love the new stuff I added this year... a couple of knickknacks, another flag quilt (I'd like to add another next year) and several cross stitch finishes some of which were stitched eons ago but never got FFO'd.

Lets start with the room view...on the back of the sofa is my newest flag quilt... this came from the book County Seat Quilts... lots of great patterns in this one... I made mine using my vintage Debbie Mumm collection... Debbie did GREAT Americana... 

Debbie did GREAT Americana... which is evidenced by the quilt on the wall which is also all Debbie Mumm fabrics... I made this years and years ago and cut off the top & side borders to make it fit on this wall ... I like it better this size... I saved the borders I cut off because that bunting print is fabulous and I made 2 table runners with it... very thrifty, dontcha think?  LOL

Here's a larger pic of the new flag quilt...

And a close up of the quilting... I love how the variegated thread pops and blends...

Here's a look at the back ... 

I love this panto... Delinda used another version on the winter village quilt I did back in January...  it has great motion...

In the tier tray I have some old cross stitch and some new cross stitch and 2 new knickknacks... 

Zoom in for a minute and check out the adorable Lady Liberty in the chair... got her at Micheals... and the flag piece on the bottom shelf is my newest Jim Shore piece...   and the flag waving gal is a snippet from Pineberry Lane... she's one of the half dozen newly FFO'd pieces... I'll insert them here...

You'll see them as we go along... from the top, a freebie I stitched eons ago from Samplers & Santa, you can find it here... Marly has some great freebies... below that is another freebie, this one from La-D-Da called Flag City... you can find it here...  I left off where it said Flag City and stitched in more stars... and next to it is the snippet from Pineberry Lane's Hurrah ... I added the USA part...  and the trio at the bottom are from With Thy Needle & Thread booklet Red, White and Bloom...  I really like them on the yellow background... and yes I dyed that with Lemon Yellow Rit dye ... and I painted the fabric for the Flag City and the Pineberry Lane snippet....  oh that was a tangent... 

Back to the decor... here's the large display shelf unit...

At the very top I have a few new pieces... USA came from Hobby Lobby and the firecracker from Micheals...working down...

I like the little house with the starred roof - Michaels ... it pairs well with the truck that came from Hobby Lobby ... I tucked one of the WTN&T pieces in the bed of the truck... the July stitching from Prairie Schooler is one of my favs...

Flag Folk from Pineberry Lane... I stitched this last year on linen I painted with Lemon Yellow & Evening Blue... oh the little Uncle Sam shelf sitter was another Micheals purchase... I went in to get the firecracker piece and came home with a bunch of other stuff I didn't know I NEEDED...but I did!!

Lady Liberty from Heart in Hand and the freebie from Samplers and Santas... I think that chenille is a nice way to finish the edges... I just bought some more different colors from 123Stitch...

Other side of the shelf ... a snippet from WTN&T's Liberty Dwells and the full version of Hurrah from Pineberry Lane. 

One of my now becoming vintage Longaberger baskets and a snippet from a Sheepish Design called Betsy...

And a patriotic pair from WTN&T ... they look good together and were a perfect fit for that tiny tier tray from the Dollarspot at Target... I got is months ago and almost forgot that I had it ... 

Moving around the room, next to the large display... the flag quilt from last year on the chair and...

Another Jim Shore piece... red white and blue birds... love them!  A Lady Liberty from Chessie & Me... I subbed in a chicken for the cat she always includes... and below Blackbird Design's Summer Song. 

Continuing around the room... are you dizzy?  Sorry... as I warned you... LOTS of pictures... LOL

The smaller display shelf...

The large sampler is an oldie but goodie from BBD called Stars & Stripes... the eagle is  another snippet from WTN&T (notice how many little pieces I've been  stitching...  years ago I would never have thought of doing this... but I'm glad I'm doing it now!) Oh I wander off again... the snippet is from Summer in Baltimore... and take at look at the table runner... that is part of the border I cut off from the big eagle quilt... such a good Americana fabric... I still LOVE Debbie Mumm fabrics!!

Another couple from WTN&T... Farmyard Parade... 

The Summer Welcome from The Drawn Thread... another Longaberger basket and a Debbie Mumm plate... oh I was soooooo into all things Debbie ... glad I held onto a bunch of it.

Oh and one last little display... this is in my TV cabinet...

Yankee Doodle from Lizzie Kate, the Flag City freebie and who can resist a man in uniform???  Liberty from Birds of a Feather...

So are do you hear Kate Smith singing God Bless America?? I do... LOL... as I was putting everything out I  was surprised   how many bits and bobs I have that say God Bless America... I hope that he does... we could use more blessings... 

Well that was a pictorial overload, wasn't it??   And wait... like the Ginsu knife commercial... I got more!!  Now we'll go outside... the weather here has been all over the place in the last month... first waaay too much rain... then 90 degrees temperatures ( waaay too high for June) ... and then bad storms... the weather guys confirmed a tornado in the area last Wednesday...luckily no deaths but lots of damage...  

My flowers are looking good... and these pictures are for me to be able to remember what things looked like when I'm longing for some green in January... 

Looking nice from the corner...

This window box looks the best of the 5 I have... the petunias in the other ones have started to give up the ghost... and I've tried to add new ones in but it hasn't been helping... sigh...

The cleome has done great as are the little zinnas  I edged all the beds with... 

I'm very very happy with my new outdoor lighting... those little pagoda type lights really light up the plants at night... I think I'm going to see if I can add a couple more of those to the beds... I'm going to call Adam an see if I can get on his schedule for Fall...  after I clean up these beds... I'm thinking maybe 3 more ... another project...LOL

The other front yard... the marigolds are filling in... the canna's are finally blooming and there are dahlias that are almost 7 feet tall... I suppose I should have cut them back ... too late now... look at the pic below... I am 5 ft tall ... 

Also check out the roof... that is my outdoor American flag... and there is not way I can reach it... I texted Dan the Handyman and when he's over in my neck of the woods he has a ladder tall enough to reach the roof line and he says he'll get it down for me... 

And here is a view of the dahlia bed that I've never shown before... you can see how long it is here... 24 ft... and how tall the dahlia are getting in this bed... so far no blooms but lots of buds... with the forecast of sunny days this upcoming weeks things should start popping...  now to deal with the Japanese beetle problems... ugh ugh ugh... I picked off about 50 of them last night from the dahlias in the front yard and the zinnas... I'm going out today to get some spray and maybe some beetle traps... the problem with the traps is you are suppose to set them about 30 ft from the plants you want to protect... ummmm... 30 feet from any of my stuff is either the street or the neighbor's yard...  I may ask my one neighbor if I could put a trap in the corner of his yard... he doesn't have any flowers there and I would be diligent about emptying the trap... have to think about it...the woes of gardening... 

So now that your eyes have glazed over I shall toddle off here for today... I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts ... and if you are so inclined stop back in tomorrow... I'm going to post some quilty stuff... like I said long long ago at the beginning of this epic post, my sewing mojo has returned... I took at top to Delinda last week, I have another that just needs a border,  one that is waiting for a binding, a table runner finished, a quilt that has languished for over a year waiting for me to sew the sleeve down, and a NEW quilt on my design wall.  Now don't think I'm being productive every day, because I'm not... I find that if I have a day where I get a lot done, it is followed by one or two where I just doom scroll on my phone... trying very hard to stay off of the computer or my phone... I can waste hours and hours and hours looking at pretty things and reading all kinds of stories... which is enjoyable, but I have nothing to show for my time... which bothers my Catholic soul... boy the nuns trained me well... LOL 

Hope things are well in your corner of the world...

happy stitching-

carol fun