Reflection and rambling on a Slow Sunday...

Hello-- well all in all it was a quieter, less hectic week than I've had in a while...there were a couple of things that went squirrelly but I got them worked out. I even had a day where I didn't leave the house all day!!!   Don't remember the last time that happened... but I sure enjoyed it!  This post got really looooooong ... lots of reflection and rambling... just a head's up... 

I had plans for starting some new cross stitch on my birthday but instead opted for napping  and putting a few stitches in this sampler... A Cheerful Heart by Shakespeare's Peddler... and I was perfectly happy with that decision.

I also spent some time reflecting on stuff I've done and want to do and life in general... I'll go into that later in this post... first let's talk about what  crafty stuff I did this week...

I decided to stick with the knitted mitered squares... that is portable and I like watching the striping in each square develop. Here's the one I finished this week...

there's a section in this one... crimson and gray... which gave me Ohio State vibes...LOL... and as soon as that one was done I started another square... very pink!

We had 3 days of 90 degree weather... too hot for me... so I retreated to my underground lair AKA my sewing studio and worked on not one but TWO quilt tops!! First is this one... my modified layout of the Weathered Whimsey pattern from Moonkin Stitchery using the FQ bundle of Merry Happy by Ruby Star... 

And  here are a couple of my favorite blocks ... I love the egg ornament!

This top is 80" square... I'm envisioning a quilting panto with peppermint sticks... I vaguely remember Delinda used a panto like that on a Christmas quilt I did a while ago... 

And because I had a FQ bundle and I had already cut about 99% of it into 2.5" strips I felt obligated to do something with them... yeah, yeah,  I remember I said I didn't want to make a second quilt out of this collection, but then I tell myself a  lot of things that I don't agree with later. ..LOL... sooooo... this book was sitting on my cutting table...  Simply Jelly Rolls by Sew Emma...

and as I was paging through it this pattern caught my eye...Baklava... all the patterns have food names, don't ask me why...

 anyway here's where I am so far... there will be 4 blocks across and 4 blocks down...

this one should be about 72" square... it is an easy pattern, that I can see me making again cause I got a whole lotta jelly rolls in my stash...

And I got the binding on one of the finished quilts languishing in the basement... this is the vintage Debbie Mumm Halloween panel...

Isn't this panto super?? the only kind of spiders and spiderwebs I like....LOL

Delinda .... The T-Shirt Quilt Company.... has so many cool panto designs... and while I drop my stuff off and pick them up she does a ton of mail order business too. 

As for decor here's some more of what I have scattered about the house....I took this pic across the room accidentally and I like it... it makes the room seem bigger than it is...LOL

On the wall I have one of my favorite quilts... and I truly mean that... it started with a panel of those 6 birds and I was determined to use all of them in the quilt... and I filled everything in with crazy pieced blocks  using lots of collections of Sandy Gervais' wonderful Fall fabrics... you know when people say if there was a fire or other calamity and you had to grab stuff and leave what would you take?  This quilt is the one I would want to take... birds and Fall stuff... both favorites with me!!

I got out a different tier tray stand... this one came from Target a couple of years ago... and I managed to get  quite a bit of cross stitch on it... 

Up top I have a Lizzie Kate piece from the chart Seasons...(oh I just saw you can get this pattern as PDF on 123Stitch... how cool is that?) 

... and next to it one of the Garden Fairies by Prairie Schooler... I did this on 40 ct... not sure how I saw it but it was 10 years ago... younger eyes... LOL... anyway I got the chart individually but now you can get all 5 in one chart... Prairie Schooler No. 210... Prairie Fairies...ooooh.. I love the rhyme!!

Below I have more Lizzie Kate....Lizzie Kate Autumn ABC's (and this one is also available as a PDF)... and two little leaf pillows which are snippets from the Bent Creek Autumn Soapbox pattern that I showed last week. 

Over on the TV cabinet I have this little vignette... I love this pumpkin because it is skinny so it takes up less space when I have to put it away.... and it has a bird on it!  I need to go back to Hobby Lobby and get another one of those cute wheelbarrows... I as I recall it came in orange and silver ... and I like tucking a little cross stitch pillow in them... in this case a piece from Pineberry Lane's chart Cats & Jacks,

 

Over on my tier table I have some cute scarecrow figurines that Nick bought for me and a companion piece from Cats & Jacks... and below the Lizzie Kate  Autumn String. 

The rest of this is my reflection and ramblings... you can skip if you'd like... I'm just trying to put my thoughts in order... 

I had a lovely dinner last Monday night for my birthday at Texas de Brazil...(a suggestion... go on a week night, not a weekend... way less crowded and spectacular service) ... it is one of those places where they walk around with meat and serve you at your table... the salad bar is fabulous.... and so are the desserts... I had a citrus creme brulee...so yummy... and I got to spend some quality time with my boys... the icing on the proverbial cake.  And as I contemplate my 73 trips around the sun I'm reflecting on the good things that have happened in my life and thinking about what I want to do with how ever many years more the good Lord gives me... I have no plans to toddle off this mortal coil any time soon... I hope to live as long as my grandmothers... they were in their 80s... I've already surpassed the life spans of my immediate family...my parents both passed before they were 50 and my brother was only 62... but I know I have less years before me than behind me.  The last month or so I've been concentrating on getting the house in the best shape I can. The new roof has a 45 year warranty... I have no illusions I'll be around for that but hopefully Nick will.. The furnace and AC unit are only 4 years old ... the water heater is 11 years old but I know who to call when it dies.... and I made a decision about the yard.  I want everything that is now growing (except for the tree-form hydrangea and a dogwood bush) cleared out. I want a landscape that is primarily low maintenance shrubs and perennials... something I won't have to spend a lot of time on and neither will Nick when I'm gone. To that end I talked with 2 different landscape companies... I hope to hear back from them in a week or so as to cost (this is gonna be pricey) and a new layout.  Something less crazy than what I've had in past years. 

I've thought about whether I need to curtail some of the activities in my life... and I'm ready to reduce my gardening time... I'll play with the 6 raised beds and the patio planters but that's enough. As for crafty stuff, well that is harder to figure out. Realistically I know I don't need another quilt or another sampler or another pair of socks or another knitted or crochet afghan... but I still want them... and my little house is getting stuffed... so I'm going to be doing a modified form of the Döstädning... the Swedish Death Cleaning... clearing out unnecessary belongings so your family does not have to do it later. Some people frame this as looking at an object and deciding if they bring you joy... ummm...that't not gonna work for me as almost ALL my stuff brings me joy... that's why I have it...so I'm trying to embrace another tactic... ask whether it supports the life you actually want... I can definitely let go of some decor items and some fabric and some card crafting stuff and some jewelry making stuff ...and I have some ideas where to pass it off. 

And yes I will still collect stuff but I'm working hard on if something comes into the house, something has to leave.  The plan is one room at a time... gonna start in my bedroom and go through my closet and dresser and the under the bed boxes which have more sheets in them than I will ever use. Then I think I'll work on the kitchen... I have a ton of Fiestaware... I think I have place setting for like 20 people...and my dining room table seats FOUR... do I really need 6 large platters and 8 large serving bowls... probably not. 

My goal for the  my next trip around the sun is to be more mindful of what I'm doing... I tend to bounce around like a BB in a box car (my sainted Father's description of me)...there are plenty of projects that need to be finished up and I want to give them more attention... and this may be my biggest gift to me ... I want to give myself more peace and grace... I'm the quintessential Type A... ADHD... go go go person ... which is why that 6 weeks of being confined to my house with a fractured tibial plateau was a prison sentence to me...I do find myself enjoying being home all day ... I LOVE my little house!! So  I want to spend some time sitting quietly and enjoying it... a bit of stitching or knitting or crocheting in my hand and a cup of tea on the side table... now I still want to come here every week and show a little crafty stuff and some decor... and kvetch about the weather and the time change (oh it's coming, you thought I forgot?? never!!)... so I hope you'll join me ...

Circling back... next week isn't real crazy... I need to get back home Monday after working out to let the guy in with the replacement window... that's been months in the making...Elliott will brighten my day on Tuesday...  hoping to see Delinda this week and pick up a quilt and drop off one... a monthly dinner with a sweet friend ... and take a certain family member out to dinner another night. The weather is trending in the right direction for me... highs in the 70's, lows in the 50's... turn off the AC open the windows and air the house out!!

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... hope your week ahead is a good one!!

happy stitching-

carol fun