A bunch of different things on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello - well this week, like many other weeks I've had, has gotten away from me... I was out of the house waaaay too many days which resulted in not much craftyness... as always I have high hopes for this coming week. It is supposed to be a rainy one and boy do we need rain... and rainy days should give me the time and motivation to get some sewing done... I have two more Christmas quilts I want to get to...fingers crossed... and there is one more Christmas cross stitch sampler I want to complete... and none of these projects are started at all... sigh... 

It was a HOT week weather wise... those lovely Fall-ish days we had disappeared and Summer returned with a vengeance... upper 80's to low 90's... had to close the windows and turn on the AC... my sprinkler system and drip irrigation has gotten quite a work out... my flowers and my grass still look pretty good... last year when we had this kind of weather everything just turned brown and died... so I'm getting what I wanted from the purchase. 

Here's a couple of pics of the yard...the front...

the side...

the cleome took over the front yard so the pinks and purples dominate  the front of  the house... and the dahlias and the zinnias dominate the side yard... since I live on the corner I have 2 front yards... and I will say I have the greenest grass in the neighborhood... the lawn is patchy in places...needs re-seeding... but until it rains it isn't worth doing...

and here's a bunch of the dahlias... this is the time of year they shine...don't ask the names as I didn't make any notes ... I just know they are pretty!

And I have to show you this elephant ear, Latin name Colocasia... it is HUGE! my rough measurement is almost 3 ft... 

As far as decor, I'm happy with the Fall stuff I've gotten out... I got rid of some older decorations and I need to go through what I didn't put out and see what is worth keeping and what needs to be donated... my goal is to reduce the Fall decor by one bin... and I'm being more judicious about what I'm buying these days. Something has to be really special before I purchase it. I find myself adding more cross stitch pieces versus knickknacks... which I think is a good thing... here's are some small displays I've put together...

This is in my TV cabinet... mercury glass pumpkins and Blackbird Designs... at one time both of these pieces were called Bittersweet September...

now the one up top with the alphabet is Bittersweet September ... and the one with no alphabet on the bottom  is Bittersweet Lane...  but both are beautiful in my humble opinion..

In the telephone niche in the hallway I have a collection of pumpkin knickknacks and the little lady from the Pineberry Lane pattern Cats & Jacks  plopped in a tiny wheelbarrow... 

and below is Lizzie Kate's Thankful String... when I stitched this back in 2019 I wasn't sure I like this framing and thought about changing it... but I never have... so I guess I do like it after all... LOL

This tiny tier tray has  Lizzie Kate's Autumn piece from the the chart Seasons up top... and below is a companion piece from the Pineberry Lane chart Cats & Jacks hitching a ride in the bed of a truck...  can you tell I like to pair small cross stitch pieces with knickknacks?  Cause I love little cross stitch pieces and knickknacks!!

And speaking of cross stitch...nice segue right?  The only thing I worked on was the Shakespeare's Peddler  Jenny's House which I'm calling Carol's House... 

now I LOVE that tree... I think I have all the branches stitched... in order to keep track of where I was I would stitch a branch and then cross it off the chart ... same way with the trunk of the tree and now the leaves... it does slow down the stitching but I think I avoided leaving anything out... 

I actually spent some time in my sewing room this week... that hasn't happened for a long time...not sure why... but it felt good to sew.  I got the binding on not one but two quilts!  yeah me!!

The first is this bed size Giant Disappearing Nine Patch done in Brenda Gervais Fall fabrics... and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this!!   

It is so rich looking in my humble opinion... the purple and the teals are a great addition to the traditional oranges and browns ...  here's a close up  of the panto... oak leaves and acorns...

As a companion piece I got the binding on this smaller Brenda Gervais  4 patch quilt that I put on the easy chair in my bedroom...

 I like having two coordinating quilts in that room. 

Plans for next week... there are still several quilts that need a binding... and several quilts I want to start... and I may put "Carol's House" aside and stitch on something Christmas... but if this arrives in my mail box all bets are off... 

This is an exclusive from Teresa Kogut called Scarecrow Lane... I found out about it from this Flosstube video which linked me up to the FB group Homespun Needlework. You have to ask to join the group and then if you look for Julie Kursave's post she explains things... it is ordered from the shop Shepherd's Needle which I think this link works...

Now since I've purchased a kit I will stitch the whole sampler...but not this year... however I am going to stitch up several of those scarecrows as little pillows... they are too stinking cute !! I do LOVE everything about this sampler... that border is stunning... and the funky birds along with those scarecrows... I could  NOT resist and I gifted it to me for my birthday... I'm a really good gift giver... LOL

As for my present from my kids... well they know me well... I got another giant 8 ft tall  inflatable chicken!! This time it is a Halloween chicken... we're calling her Bonita...

I'm considering putting up a little sign that says DON'T TOUCH THE CHICKEN!!  as I don't want Bonita to meet the same fate Henrietta, my Christmas chicken met ... to refresh your memory someone stabbed Henrietta multiple times... poor gal... I do have a Ring doorbell now so if something happens I should have some video proof. 

So the weather forecast for next week includes several days of rain... one forecast has about 3 days and another forecast has 5 days... I'm hoping for 5 days... so far my calendar only has the "normal" stuff on it... Elliott, working out and taking a certain family member to lunch one day... I hope to keep it like that and stay home and get some sewing done... and maybe some re-arranging of my sewing room... I've been wanting to do that for months... and I've come to the conclusion I shouldn't try to redo ALL the shelves in one sitting... just concentrate on one unit at a time... and eventually I'll get to all of them. 

I will link up with Kathy's Quilts  today... I plan to spend some time watching the memorial service for Charlie Kirk ... and I wanted to share this ....

this is a building in Waynesville Ohio not far from me ... the young woman, Erica Arndts,  painted it in 4 days and the owner outlined it in red, white and blue lights... here's the FB link to the story... 

Hope you have a great week ahead...

happy stitching-

carol fun