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