Trying for a re -set on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello all... I know I sound like a broken record (does anyone even play records anymore?) but the days just fly by... my sainted Grandma told me as a child the time flies the older you get... the woman was absolutely correct!!  I got a few things done but not the ones I thought I would do... but hey, any little progress is a good thing, right?

Did you have a nice 4th of July?  Nick and I spent a quiet day at home... it rained... several times... I was so happy because I didn't have to water... and we grilled some steaks and had corn on the cob and pasta salad and that chinese broccoli slaw I like... very tasty... and in between the rain showers we went out for an ice cream... all in all a lovely day. Now I could have done without neighbors shooting off fireworks randomly throughout the day, but the law changed in Ohio and they are now legal so nothing can be done about it... and while the rain  on the 4th definitely kept down the "celebrations" they made up for it last night.... over an hour of explosions ... right now I'm extremely happy with my neighbors ... it is annoying when you are deep into concentration reading or stitching or napping and one pops off ... BOOM!! and I jump...not sure what they get out of it and I assume they are clueless about how much others dislike them... scared pets, people with PTSD, people who do shift work and are trying to sleep,  small children who were put to bed hours ago... it is so totally  thoughtless and inconsiderate.... and yes right now I'm a crabby old woman.  Sorry for the rant....

With the holiday being on a Thursday I got all discombobulated... woke up on the 5th thinking it was  Sunday... don't know why... then I realized it was only  Friday, so I got my butt in gear and went and got my  car's  changed and they washed the outside of my car... it needed it.  

The heat is still sticking around but rain on Thursday and Friday was much appreciated and fingers crossed more is forecast for later in the week. 

My water bill came...yikes... I know I watered a lot but I wasn't expecting a bill 40% higher than normal. And my utility bill came... not sure if  it is because I got the new AC or because there was a stretch of about 5 days I didn't run it but that bill was less than I anticipated... we shall see what next month brings.

Well last week I was in a bit of a funk and thought I needed a re-set... and like all my ambitious plans it took until Thursday to kick in ... and here is my re-set... Christmas in July!! I figure if I start some holiday stuff now it will be done by December... always wishful thinking...LOL

First off I pulled out one of the samplers I had kitted up for my birthday "7 for 70" celebration last September which didn't totally materialize... this is the Noel Sampler by With Thy Needle & Thread... I dyed the fabric with Apple Green Rit dye and I'm using all the called for DMC flosses...

I've seen this one stitched a lot and I've always loved it...  I love that the border changes ... I want to get the more stitch heavy borders done next week... and maybe those 3 trees on the right... that big house is going to take a while....overall,  my goal is to have 3 medium to large Christmas samplers to hang in my living room next to whatever Christmas quilt I hang... this would make the second one... and this is the first one...

 I finished this is January and used the same color linen...I'm thinking whatever I pick for the 3rd one should also be stitched on Apple Green linen... I have a couple of ideas for the 3rd one, but I shouldn't get ahead of myself here as I still have quite a ways to go on this one.

And I went downstairs and turned on my sewing machine and stitched up some more blocks for a project I started last December... the pattern is Fat Quarter 4 Patch and it is a freebie from FQS that you can find here... the fabrics are the Basic Grey line Jolly Good... Basic Grey does the best Christmas collections IMHO... 

I really like these blocks ... they are easy to make, show off the prints very nicely and are BIG... they finish 15". Now I'm not sure how or why I purchased the quantity of  fabric I have for this quilt... I can tell I purchased a FQ bundle but I also have some fat quarters and some yardage of several of the prints.  I think I can make 24 block with no repeats... but I have enough fabric to make this fit my double bed with some prints being repeated... and there is enough left over to make another smaller quilt... but I have no clue what I planned for that smaller quilt... anyway I'll start with 24 blocks and go from there... I think it is  a very Jolly Good looking quilt... so far these are my favorite blocks... I bought yardage of this one...

and this red is so pretty!

I also piddled with 3 different patriotic pieces and not a single one is done... I may just put them away for next year... I was perusing IG the other day and saw 2 Prairie Schooler projects I'd love to do... and I swear I screen shotted the pics or saved them but I can't find  them now... arghh...

Anyway the stitchers had done all of the charts in Prairie Schooler No. 13  A Prairie Year as little pillows in a big dough bowl... this is the chart... I actually have a cardstock copy that a sweet reader of this blog reached out to me with... here's the chart...

And there was another stitcher who did all the charts in Praririe Schooler No. 24 Prairie Birds as little pillows to put in a dough bowl...  here's that chart...

Now I think that I'd like to do all the calendar ones from PS No. 13 on a tan neutral 16 ct Aida... I think I'll purchase this fabric rather than dye it myself... but I want to do the birds on a pale colored 32 ct linen ... perhaps  Evening Blue or maybe the new Sage ... I need to calculate how much fabric I need and I will dye it and some extra... I have to do it all at once as I can never recreate a color... I have a lot of admiration for people who hand dye fabrics for sale... it is an  art and a science... anyway  I think both of these projects would be great ongoing ones which are easily finished and  will give me that nice sense of satisfaction from a job completed... we shall see... I'm going to Hobby Lobby and get all the flosses I need for each chart so I can kit them up... oooh squeal... another new project that is BIG but doesn't present as BIG... I'm psyching myself out here, but all is good...

As I mentioned before all the rain is making the garden look great... here's a gratuitous pic of one section...

and here is the prettiest dahlia that has bloomed so far.... if I remember correctly this one is called Belle of Bamera ... I love that deep peachy orange color! It kinda glows...

So what's on the agenda for next week?  Got an appointment with a retinal specialist on Monday... I'm sure they will dilate my eye... oh joy... Elliott will be here on Tuesday and so far nothing else  is on the calendar... I'm good with that... hopefully we'll get more rain mid week... I do enjoy sitting out on my sunroom porch and watching the rain ... I put a nice floor lamp out there so I can have more light when I need it and it is my favorite place to stitch!

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts ... hoping for a quiet day today that I can get more stitching done and maybe sew up a couple more blocks...

happy stitching-

carol fun