Hello all... have you been keeping cool? It has been a real struggle here in SW Ohio... we had 2 rain days last week but it was a very minute amount of precipitation... and right now I am sooooo tired of watering... I don't mind watering the flowers so much but I've been trying to keep the grass from turning brown and I'm not having a ton of success... supposedly there are a couple of chances for rain next week... fingers crossed and saying my prayers...
As for crafty stuff, well, I'm in a funk... I put a few stitches in 5 or 6 pieces last week ...bouncing around... I'm torn between doing seasonal stitching... Melisa at Pinker N Punkin Quilting posted 2 patriotic pieces that I really like... go check out her blog here.... you won't be disappointed ... she has so many cute things she shares... and then along with the BIG samplers I showed last week there are a couple of intermediate size projects I released from their plastic pouches for a brief moment or two... they still have my heart too... I just can't find the mojo and stamina to stay on one project, but I really want to FINISH something... and I'm debating whether to pack away my current seasonal stitching and jump ahead to Fall or Christmas... I have several partial stitched pieces from last year and other interesting charts I've acquired since then... and I really should get into my crafty room and organize the charts I've dumped in a basket ...
I didn't turn on my sewing machine again this week... I did get some more hexagons cut out of my Debbie Mumms but I have a loooong way to go on that quilt... and if I stand too long cutting stuff out my knees end up bothering me. I've tried cutting fabric sitting down but the angle is just off for me. I know I'm doing lots of kvetching here... I'd blame it on the dog days of Summer but that is suppose to be the end of the season, not the start... I've spent way too much time sitting in my recliner on the sunroom porch in front of a fan and scrolling mindlessly through the internet... I know it is a waste to time... sigh... I need a re-set!
Okay let's move onto something more creative and interesting ... 4th of July is Thursday and these are my displays... here's the small shelf unit .... lots of patriotic stitching and knickknacks here...
From the top moving left to right... Stars & Stripes from Blackbird Designs and Colonel Sammy, a freebie from Notforgotten Farms.
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another small quilt on the table top stand ... this time a flag with Debbie Mumm fabrics and yes ALL of my patriotic quilty pieces are sewn exclusively with Debbie Mumm fabrics... I LOVED her stuff for years and years and years and I still do! The eagle on the left side is a snippet from Summer in Baltimore by WTN&T and the sampler eagle is a from the chart called Eagle by Sheepish Designs. Check out Kitten Stitcher for some older Sheepish Design charts... I've picked up several there.
Middle shelf has Star Spangled Spectacular from WTN& T and Liberty from Birds of a Feather... love those high stepping fellows! And the flag waving gal is a snippet from Hurrah! by Pineberry Lane.
Bottom shelf starts off with the Double Eagle Sampler from Prairie Schooler then another WTN&T piece, a snippet from Liberty Dwells (do you see a trend here... I'm big on stitching just a piece of lots of charts... I chalk it up to my short attention span...LOL)...
and the shelf finishes up with Lizzie Kate's Yankee Doodles.
Moving around the room, there is the little bump out with my matching chairs from the now defunct Pier 1 and the piecrust tier table I got in a thrift store and paid more for the paint I used on it than I paid for the table... I have coordinating flag quilts each done all in Debbie Mumm fabrics...
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and on the tier table the Farmyard Parade from With Thy Needle & Thread with a patriotic chicken I made years ago with more Debbie Mumm fabric. You can never have too much Debbie Mumm!!
Here is the big shelf display...
from the top Welcome Summer from The Drawn Thread... this was the first one of the series that I stitched... I've got Fall and Winter but still haven't gotten around to doing Spring... some day... some day...
mounted on the cheese grater is Libby by Heart and Hand... I'm pretty sure I got this finishing idea from Priscilla of Stitching with the Housewives and I love how different it is!
The middle two shelves...
On the pedestal is a chart from the Blackbird Designs book called Souvenirs of Summer... it has been re-released and you can find it here... in the truck bed and the Uncle Sam on the 2 tier stand are pieces from Red, White & Bloom by WTN&T. Liberty was a freebie from Lizzie Kate that I got off of Pinterest.
I currently have 2 other patriotic pieces started... but I don't think they'll get finished this year. I will probably leave my patriotic stuff up till mid July as it has been out since early June... I have some Summer chicken stuff I'll get out for a bit of July and August and then move onto my FAVORITE season Fall! Already longing for cooler days...
I still have a couple of patriottic pieces to FFO and I'd love to stitch one the most recent charts from Melisa. I was going to start the other day but when I pulled out the Aida I had picked up at Michaels I was deeply disappointed in the fabric... stiff and thin... yucky... not going to spend all that time stitching on inferior fabric... I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and picked up 3 packages of the 16 ct Aida I like... don't want to run out again... and I want to get the bindings on the quilts I picked up 2 weeks ago ... and I have a pair of capri pants I want to get hemmed ... it is no fun being short when it comes to buying clothes... and I'd like to get more hexagons cut out for the Debbie Mumm quilt and I think I'm going to pull out the Christmas quilt I started last December and work on it... a bit of Christmas in July... perhaps that will help lift me out of this funk...
I was looking at my stats and as of this post I've done 26... I only did 28 in ALL of 2023...now this is no where near the 150 I use to do when I started this blog... and I scratch my head and wonder how I did it... I had 2 boys who took up the bulk of my time, I volunteered and did all the housework stuff and still found time to be more productive where crafty stuff was concerned.. I know I'm getting old...I walk slower and things just take longer to accomplish... I have more free time but seem to have less to show for it... too many distractions on the internet... that's what I'm blaming it on, but really it is just me doing way more vegging out than I should.
I'll link with Kathy's Quilts today... only a couple of things on my calendar for next week... Elliott and a hair cut ... and I should go get the oil changed in the car... been putting it off... Nick and I plan to spend the 4th of July at home... there will be plenty of fireworks to see from our front yard... the neighbors 2 streets over have been setting off stuff for over a week already...
I hope you have a good holiday ... maybe a picnic... I really would like some homemade potato salad and a brat... need to make that happen...
happy stitching-
carol fun
Me too Carol! I don't finish nearly the number of projects I used to when I had more energy! That's okay... we're still having fun stitching away! I enjoyed peeping at all your lovely displays and how creatively you arrange and finish your stitcheries! I love the side by side chairs with the matching quilts, and that great table covered in creativity! Happy Stitching!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly are ready for the holiday. Everything is decorated so beautifully, Carol. Your quilted shelf runners are gorgeous and I just love all of your patriotic stitching. The yellow fabric really does pop with the patriotic colors. I am so touched that a couple of my designs have tugged at your heart. I hope you enjoy them. I have been torn between smalls and big projects here too- aaah just so many things to stitch. I want to stitch them all. Thank you , Carol for the sweet shout out and have a wonderful 4th of July week. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteI am always amazed that you know the pattern origin and name for all of your stitchery. I would be hard pressed to identify mine and I don't have nearly as many as you do. I love all of your displays. Boy, do I miss Pier 1. I got a lot of my decor there. I hope you get your crafting mojo back. I agree that the internet can greatly impede how productive we are.
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