Lies and LOTS of other stuff I tell myself on a Slow Sunday...

Hello there...well another couple of weeks have blown by me...and I have a few things to show for my time... and of course there is a lot more I wish I had gotten done... but that's how every week goes around here.  Weather wise we had heat and storms and a nice day or two ... lather rinse repeat.  The gardens are looking quite lush... a friend commented that it looks like the flowers are eating the house... and he might have something there...LOL... and here's the proof..

 I was happy to find out that I won a special award from my little town... every summer Deer Park honors different residents with a Beautification Award. I've been blessed to win this about 7 times in the last 10 years, but this year the cherry on top was getting a Mayor's Choice Award...only 3 properties were chosen ... they were ranked on a 30 point scale... and my yard got a perfect score!  The city put this cool sign in my yard...

and they gave me a $100 gift certificate to a local garden center. I will be happy to spend that next Spring on some interesting perennials.  And while I've been telling myself I don't need any more dahlias...umm...that's a lie...  okay I don't NEED them but I WANT them ...badly... so I pre-ordered 4 new to me varieties... they will arrive in April... and I'm sure another pre-order or two or three will probably be made before this year is over. 

I did get to spend some time down in my sewing studio and while I said I was going to put that Scratch quilt back in it's plastic bin, well... that was another lie. I kept looking at it and I knew it wouldn't take a lot more time to be a finished top. Then the stars aligned and Elliott has wanted to play in down in my sewing studio the last 2 weeks... it is definitely cooler down there and he has a bunch of toys and the TV... so I buckled down and ta-dah... the Lemon Yellow Scratch quilt!!

Now it could lay flatter... all those seams made for different lengths of strips... I made some adjustments here and there... and looking at it I should go back and take off the bottom border  and re- do it...  and while I thought about passing this issue along to Delinda... I have faith she can "quilt  it out"  ...but I could give it a little help... and I really don't need this one till next Spring... I think I'll wait to take it to Delinda... I have other quilts I want before this one...

Here's some close ups of sections I really like... I fussy cut lots of words to sprinkle in with the prints...

 and not only did I get the top finished I made the back... which is the fabric I fussy cut all the words came from...

I LOVE this print and I had purchased about 5 yards and with a bit of piecing it is big enough... I even went ahead and made the binding.... OMG... I don't have a clue what has gotten into me... maybe it was that article I read about procrastination....now I don't know why I read the article as I am a WORLD CLASS procrastinator... I don't need any lessons... but then it wasn't about getting better at procrastination...LOL... one of the points it made was if a task will take 5 minutes or less go ahead and do it right then and there...now finishing this quilt and making the back and binding took quite a bit longer than 5 minutes but it fit the general guidelines... it was quicker to deal with this and not leave it unfinished,  than to start something new which would also be unfinished. 

And to continue the theme of finishing up long languishing projects  this happened on Friday... I unexpectedly had Elliott at my house for  a couple of house... his Mama wasn't feeling well, strep throat, and his Daddy had to go downtown to the office ... and it was hot so we headed for the basement. I have several fabric collections scattered about and thought about starting something new... and then I went looking for some Fall fabrics and my eye spotted a plastic bin with this project in it... the pattern is called Pickety Sticks ... it is from the Anka's Treasure book called On a Roll Again... you can see it here...now this book is copyright 2007 and this quilt using this exact fabric is in the book...which means this collection is probably from 2006 ... well aged... I don't often use the exact fabric for a pattern but I LOVE this collection ... it is called Blossom by Urban Chiks... at a minimum this project is 15 years old!!!  Now I should hang my head in shame... but I have no shame...LOL!! I remember starting it at a mini-quilt retreat I did with a couple of my quilty lady friends back when another friend of ours had a condo she didn't use all winter and we'd get away for a weekend of sewing there.  I know I've played with it since then as most of the components were in the bin. Here's look at what I got together so far...

Yes this is an OCD nightmare and we'll get to that in a minute... I had all 4 of the strippy panels done... they are sewn to a muslin backing... the sashing strips were fussy cut and 2 of the borders are ready to be trimmed. Now as for the wonkiness of those strippy panels... they are suppose to be that way...except you can see that I started off a bit subdued (and I wish I had stayed that way) and then I threw caution to the wind and started sewing the jelly roll strips willy-nilly ... and boy did that go south quickly... if I had enough fabric to do it again I'd keep the strips more orderly...but at this juncture, its full speed ahead to a finish... now that border fabric makes my heart beat faster... here's a close up... that background is dark brown not black... and those flowers are HUGE!!

Now this quilt will definitely benefit from being displayed as a folded quilt so you don't get the full onslaught of wonkiness... and in looking at the book I just realized that no where does is show the quilt in it's entirety... just a pic of it folded over a chair...which will be it's fate!!  I do love all the colors in this and it does have a bit of a Fall feel... need to get this one to Delinda soon. 

Completing the one project  and having the second one almost done (I think I can finish it when Elliott is back here on Tuesday) has made me feel quite virtuous  and exciteed about starting another project... a Christmas quilt? I have a layer cake of Cathe Holden Christmas Faire calling to me and I even know what pattern I'm going to use... Piece of Cake 3 by Thimbleblossoms.... an aside... I have made this quilt before also in Christmas fabrics and I don't think I gave the pattern away but I can't find it... and I've spent a decent amount of time looking for it... so do I keep looking or just break down and purchase the pattern again?   I told myself I'll keep looking, but for a $9 expenditure that may be another lie I told myself... are you seeing a pattern here?  

Another Christmas quilt I want to do involves this panel from Teresa Kogut's new collection called Kringle.

I bought this as a kit from  Connecting Threads which you can see here... I didn't really need the backing but but I thought the binding they include would  be a good match...  except the dark border around this ins't dark green like I thought, it is black ...and the back is a black with a cream speckle... which I don't think I'm gonna want for the binding... so I probably would have been better off just buying the panel... oh well... this is going to be super simple as I'm just going to pass the panel and the back onto Delinda to long arm... all I'll have to do is pick a panto and some thread... and yes I also told  myself that I don't need any more Christmas quilts... I know I already have somewhere in the range of 35 Christmas quilts of all sizes but I LOVE Christmas!!

I also have a FQ bundle of Fancy That Design House's collection called Slow Stroll calling my name... you can see it here... and the FQ bundle included the panel ( you can see it at that link and I bought the pattern to make the quilt with the panel... which lead me to  discovering her new line called Dawn on the Prairie ... which is here. I love the panel in this collection too although I'm not sure what I going to do with it but I NEED it... so I ordered the FQ bundle Friday from Green Fairy Quilts. When I ordered they were having a anniversary sale with an extra 15% off their already discounted prices so it was a bargain...right??  This is where you shake your head up and down, up and down and make me feel virtuous...LOL... Anyway I think both of these collections will go together well and I want to make a bed size quilt from them along with the panel quilt of Slow Stroll... Now I've told myself for several months that I DO NOT NEED anymore bed size quilts (I probably don't need any more quilts period but need has nothing to do with it)... however, I've made 2 quilts in the last month, Halloween 2 x 4 and Lemon Yellow Scratch and they are both bed sized...

Sooooo lies lies and more lies... I really wouldn't trust me if I knew me... LOL

As for crossstitching I've made some good progress on Remember Me by Teresa Kogut...

Here's where it stood about 2 weeks ago...

And here is it currently...

I'd really like to have this finished before I start on my SEVEN Birthday Celebration samplers... but... cue the shark music... I may change my plans and start the samplers before September 1... here's my thoughts on this BIG project... so I started kitting things up and it takes a considerable amount of time to prep 7 samplers. I have collected all the flosses and prepared the little floss bags that I like to use... I like to put the name or number of the floss on the bag and draw the symbol that corresponds to that floss on the chart... and I've cut all the linen for the 7 samplers and labeled them on the bottom edge... like this...

I know it is hard to see the plastic bag... but it is there... I haven't put the floss in the bags yet as I want to be able to see them all as I'm painting/dyeing the linen...oh and I just realized I want to make a working copy of all of these charts and some of them (the ones from With Thy Needle & Thread in particular) will get huge and need to be taped together... sigh... it will take time but it is worth it. 

Any how I still need to paint and or dye all the fabrics. I had made notes on what I was going to do but then as I put the flosses together I changed my mind a couple of times. I am itching to start and I'm thinking maybe I will make my birthday month run from August 20 to September 20, allotting 4 days to each sampler. That way I'd still have some time left at the end of September to squeeze in some Halloween stitching... so telling myself I'd wait till September 1 may not be a true statement... time will tell. 

The next two weeks don't seem busy right now... of course there is Elliott on Tuesdays and a appointment to get my hair cut and colored and a  semi- annual meeting with my investment guy... I'd like to keep it as un-busy as possible so I have lots of time to stitch and sew and sit on the porch mindless scrolling on the phone... yeah that last activity is a major time suck but I always end up seeing something I hadn't seen before so I tell myself it is educational... is that a lie? or being delusional? 

Well if you've hung in here I congratulate you on your stamina ... didn't expect to get so chatty but once I started I couldn't stop...LOL

I hope things are well in your corner of this big wide world... the weather outlook is still decidedly SUMMER... I can't wait for cooler Fall days... it is my favorite season and that is NO lie.   

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and check out what everyone else is up to... a nice activity for porch sitting on a Slow Sunday... 

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Futzing about, fiddling around, and figuring things out on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello ... anybody still here?  It has been several weeks since I posted and as I sit down to write this I'm not sure what I have to share is blogworthy, but it's what I got. I've been futzing about and fiddling around with lots of different things, finding it hard to figure out just what it is I want to do. I certainly have a wide variety of choices... but after a brief period of infatuation the thrill fades ... and from talking with some other friends they've been experiencing this same situation. Is it the summertime blues brought on by the heat?  Maybe...high temperatures are everywhere and here in SW Ohio we also got a dose of high humidity to go along with the 90 degree day... the air you can wear... the only consolation is the rain has helped reduce my water bill as I haven't had to go out and hydrate the gardens... thanks for that Mother Nature... now can you do something about the Japanese beetles?  yeah... I didn't think so.  

And speaking of my gardens, everything is quite lush right now... I'm to that period of summer where it appears that the flowers are overtaking the house... and again I may have jumped the shark where plants are concerned... but as with any addiction more is more... I'm already thinking about next summer and bought some seeds for things I haven't planted before... and I'm trying to collect seeds from what I do have... and I got an email yesterday that soon some places will allow you to pre-order dahlia.... oh my goodness ... I can't resist dahlias... in the past I've been over the moon for the dinner plate varieties, but lately I'm smitten with the pompom ones... this is my new favorite.... LOVE the color and the petal formation...

and a gardening friend turned me on to collarette ones...  here's examples of those... I need some of those next year. 

If you want to get a feel for the scope of my gardens... my house is a corner lot so I have 2 front yards... here are two links to videos I made... I can't for the life of me get them to download to the blog so here they are on IG...

Side yard...

Front yard...

Even though these didn't get a lot of likes IG tells me they were viewed over a thousand times... that's boggles my mind!!

As for creative ventures... still doing a  lot of crossstitch, a little quilting and a bit of knitting... because every 90 degree day needs some handknit wool socks... right? 

I finished Sunnyside Sampler by The Drawn Thread...

I got 1889 Alphabet back from the framer...

And I've made some more progress on Remember Me by Teresa Kogut...

As for the knitting... I finished on pair of socks and started another pair with yarn from a company I haven't heard of before, Jubilee Rellana Flotte sock yarn... you can see the listing  here.   This is a great business for sock yarn. I've ordered from them many many times... always high quality yarn and super fast shipping!

Here's my skeins ... 

and the sock I've started...

On the quilting front, I got the binding completely on  2 quilts and one more just needs the binding sewn down on the front.  I tried to finish up the Scratch quilt, but it the thrill is gone... so it will be returned to it's plastic bin... and in it's place I worked on this Halloween 2 x 4 quilt... this is the freebie pattern tutorial from Film in the Fridge which you can see here... I've made this pattern before with every block a different yellow and a different background... and I think I may want a Christmas version of this too!  I was very happy to finish this last evening... 

now I cut most of the fabrics out over a year ago... each block is a different Halloween print.... 90 blocks in total. It is easy mindless sewing which I'm able to do while watching Elliott... he's got toys down here in my sewing studio and with the 90 degree temps outside the basement is the coolest spot in the house. 

Some of my favorite blocks... I'm using the same spiderweb fabric in each block...

As you can see it starts with light greens, then moves on to yellow-y oranges and orange, fade to purple and finish up with black. and ..I found a perfect back for this in my stash... some 108" wide yellow-y orange ... can't wait to get this to Delinda to have her quilt it.

Those are the things I've been futzing and fiddling with and then there is the BIG project I've been trying to figure out... sooooo I have a birthday coming up in about 6 weeks...one of those BIG ones with a zero as the second digit... and I want to do something special... something BIG... and a friend of mine posted on IG what she did for her BIG birthday, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea. Okay... the BIG  birthday number is 70.... how in the h*ll did I get to be this old??? Anyway the birthday gift she gave to herself was the permission to start SEVEN new samplers ... one for each decade... We need to play with and enjoy all the lovely charts and threads and fabrics we have... we ain't getting any younger... and I'm not the only one who'd buying charts like I'm immortal... now her strategy was to start a new sampler and work on it for 4 days... 4 x 7 = 28 days... and there are 30 days in September so I have a little cushion.  So I went through my voluminous stash of patterns and decided on 7 samplers...  I think this is the final cut but it is still subject to change until September. I have some big projects and some smaller ones... I thought that would be a good idea... a bit of a palate cleanser as the month progresses... and all but one of these are from my favorite designers... I've determined what dimensions to cut each piece of linen... I'll be doing all of them on 32 count and I'll be dyeing or painting all the linen... that's my project for August.  I already gathered all the flosses I need except for 2 overdyeds... some of these were partially kitted up and  aging like fine wine ... 

And you can see Marsha's birthday sampler starts here and here. 

So here are my choices in no particular order and I haven't decided what order I will actually stitch them in... maybe I just blindly choice a bag every 4 days and surprise myself!!

1. Red Bird Fraktur by With Thy Needle & Thread... I bought all the flosses for this when it first came out and they were in the bag with the chart. I might make the birds a little redder... the floss is a rust Valdani... and I think the linen will be a pale green with some yellow splotches.

2. Little Red Hen by Blackbird Designs (this chart is in the book Comfort Inn)... this is going to use only one floss... Calico Kitty by Classic Colorworks. I have a piece of a rosy beige linen labelled Cameo Pink but I may add some pinky splotches to it. 

3. Every Opening Flower by With Thy Needle & Thread... for this one I'm thinking a tan linen with splotches of turquoise to play up the turquoise bird and house.

4. Noel Sampler from With Thy Needle & Thread... a nod to Christmas... I'm thinking a mottled pale green to contrast with the red house. 

5. Strawberry Garden from Blackbird Design... oh this one has been in my stash FOREVER... my friend Marcella stitched it a year or two ago and it is gorgeous... I'm thinking pale green linen for this one too.

6. Manon's Garden by Mojo Stitches... a new to me designer... got this  here on Etsy... I like the bits and pieces and the four different borders... my choice  for this one is a pale turquoise linen.

7. Garden Samplers by Prairie Schooler... I could NOT leave out Prairie Schooler... perfect comfort stitching... I've done other PS sampler like this as I love the format... going to do pale green and yellow linen. 

I'm doing that one on the far left...

Now I have no illusions on what the timeframe will be to finish all of these... but it will be easy to pick them back up when I'm in the mood for a change as they will be kitted up and started and those decisions will be done with. 

As for decorating, I put away the patriotic stuff and got out my chickens... I'll show pictures next time as this post is already getting long in the tooth. 

August doesn't look too busy at the moment... as I remember 2 doctor's appointments... one for me and one for Nick as we had to find a new primary care physician... the one we saw left the practice because of health issues... I'm sad as we've seen her for years, I really like here,  and I'm concerned about her ... she's only mid 40s and the last 2 times we saw her I suspected something was wrong... she'd taken a couple of bad falls and was having trouble walking... not sure the cause but it can't be good... I keep her in my prayers... I'm hoping the heat subsides a little... no more 90's would be good. I'm dealing with some household projects... got a new ceiling fan installed in Nick's room... Dan the handyman put it up but I had to get an electrician to straighten out the wiring... picked up a new bathroom faucet and hand held shower... Dan can replace these but I need a plumber to deal with the tub drain... I finally got tired of having a sore back every morning and broke down and bought a new mattress set... should be here next Saturday... my aching back will be soooo happy!!

And yes that was probably more info on my life than you needed but as I've said before this has become a diary of my life... 

I hope things are going well in your life...  the seasons and the years race by...I've been thinking a lot about that lately... my parents both died young... my Mom was 47, my Dad 52... my only sibling died at 63... both of my grandmothers lived into their 80's... I'm hoping to emulate them... fingers crossed. So let's seize the day and do some fun stuff!!  Even though I'm buying crafty stuff like I'm immortal, I'm well aware that I'm not!!

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts and see what other trouble I can get into...

happy stitching-

carol fun 

A Plethora of Patriotic on a Slow Sunday...

Well the days fly by don't they?  Half a year gone... poof!   And while some days are quite productive, other days are a bust... so many things I want to do and so many distractions. Social media...  Instagram, YouTube, blogs,  the internet in general... a blessing and a curse.  I keep finding new things I want to do and I'm wasting time looking at stuff rather than doing stuff... the last couple of weeks have seen some finishes, but not as much as I had hoped... but then realistically I never get as much done as I want to... because I want to do it ALL!! 

And then there is the weather... not sure why it affects me more the older I get but gray and rainy day do not help my mood... and as I write this on Saturday  it is gray and very rainy...and it is forecast to continue this weather pattern for several days...now I  know my lawn and flowers will appreciate the water... and my water bill will particularly impacted... which I could use... as last month I totally spazzed out and let a hose run for 24 hours... which my bill reflected... acckkk!! 

So lets try to move past that and  start out with some stuff that got done... Spoiler alert... there are several tangents... my focus here is fuzzy... anyway...  I got all of my patriotic cross stitch FFO'd... in fact I even did one more piece that I didn't show last time I was here... a group shot...

and some close-ups.

This is Star Spangled Spectacular by With Thy Needle & Thread... I stitched this on 32 ct linen I painted with very diluted Rit Dyes in Lemon Yellow and Evening Blue. I lucked out and found this frame at Hobby Lobby 50% off and it is a perfect fit and color. 

This snippet of Eagle from  Sheepish Design got a pillow finish with some red tinsel trim.

And the little lady, also from the Eagle chart  got a vintage looking button . 

Lady Liberty from It's Sew Emma got a bit of pompom trim. 

And here's how they look  scattered  in among my displays...

Stars & Stripes from Blackbird Designs...the eagle is a snippet from WTN&T Summer in Baltimore, Betsy Ross is  another snippet from the Sheepish Designs chart called Betsy. 

Some vintage Longaberger , a Debbie Mumm plate and my recent WTN&T finish Star Spangled Spectacular.

I refer to this couple as Ole and Lena... they are another WTN&T pattern called Farmyard Parade and Flagmaker  a freebie from Not Forgotten Farms. 

This is my big display shelf unit and it is really stacked and packed. 

At the top..

at the tippy top the Welcome Summer from The Drawn Thread... a tangent here... I realized the other day that I've done this one Winter and Fall but not Spring... I need to rectify that situation before March 2024... I'll put that on my to- do list...LOL

Moving down... Flag Folk by Not Forgotten Farm, a partial stitch  of Liberty Dwells from With Thy Needle & Thread and July from Prairie Schooler... I'm still in love with that little Uncle Sam shelf sitter I picked up last year at Michaels...another tangent... I've seen very little knickknack stuff lately that is catching my eye... perhaps this is a good thing as I do have A LOT of knickknacks... I love Jim Shore stuff and actually talked myself out of a new little patriotic piece he has because... gasp... I walked around and couldn't figure out where I would put it... 

Okay back to the shelves... on the platform with the house is a freebie, Liberty Star from Samplers & Santas,  below in the truck is a piece from WTN&T  Red, White and Bloom, the pillow from Eagle by Sheepish Designs. In the middle Grand Olde Flag by WTN&T and on the grater Libby by Heart in Hand. 

Another tangent... the other day I went looking for a WTN&T chart I'd seen on IG... I thought I had it but it turns out I don't... but that's not the story... I have a TON of WTN&T patterns and I separated out the ones I've stitched... and I have stitched a TON of them...  no matter how much I stitch I always think I haven't done that much... but I guess I really have... last time I counted I have somewhere around 80 samplers hanging on my walls... and I live in a small house...surrounded by the stuff I love... aren't I lucky? and a bit crazy?  LOL

Bottom shelf... the little soldiers, another chart called Liberty by Birds of a Feather and Uncle Sam  with his flag waving gal from Red, White & Bloom by WTN&T and Hurrah from Pineberry Lane. 

But wait, like that Ginsu knife informercial,  there's more... 

I really like this arrangement of smalls in my TV cabinet.

That little gal from Eagle is tucked in with the bicycles and that's Colonel Sammy in the basket, a freebie from Not Forgotten Farms and below some Lizzie Kate... 

Looking across the room some patriotic quilts...

The tier tray...

A piece from The Drawn Thread who's name escapes me, oh wait, found it, it's called Free and Brave,  a snippet from Hurrah and the new Lady Liberty from It's Sew Emma.   Another cute shelf sitter... you don't see too much Lady Liberty stuff and I do like it... and a bit of Jim Shore...who I also like... a lot! To be honest, I'm not thrilled with this tier tray... but I'm also not motivated to do much more at the moment... 

I had hoped to get the Sunnyside Sampler done... close but no cigar... but in my defense I did a lot of patriotic stitching and I picked up the Remember Me Sampler by Teresa Kogut.  I started Sunnyside back in February. It is 63 stitches high and 315 stitches wide... on 32 ct that makes it ....  Definitely a BIG project. 

I have one house and one section of over one still to do... and while I tell myself that is a day's worth of stitching, that's a lie... those houses had have a lot of detail and stitching... new goal is to finish by the end of this week so I can start something new... or maybe pick up something that's already started... what a novel concept... LOL

Oh here's a pic of Primitive Lady by Ewe & Eye & Friends all framed ...

I really like this frame... which is a very good thing as it was a pricey one... I misheard the amount and didn't realize until after I they swiped my credit card how much this was... not going into details but in the future I will pay closer attention. Lesson learned. 

Well  I was planning on adding some quilt pictures but the weather outside isn't cooperating for some glamour shots, so I'll wait till my next post... I think I've  already overstimulated you enough.

Planning a on quiet 4th of July on my part... some burgers on the grill and corn on the cob and watermelon an a cold salad or too. I anticipate that the neighborhood fireworks could be quite long and loud because as of this year they are legal in Ohio... and they were plenty long and loud even when they weren't. 

After the rain lets up I'll go out and check the garden. I've gotten some dahlia blooms from tubers I put in the ground... here's a couple ...

 The yard dahlias are looking good... and so far they are one of the few things I can count on not being eaten... the deer this year are ravenous... they've pruned my hydrangeas and my window box petunias.  

And I got a new little guy in my life...

 He's about 2 ft tall... right now he's sporting petunias as a hair do but I have plans for other styles... maybe some wild grass or succulents... he's gonna be fun to have around... 

I've got nothing big planned for the upcoming month... a semi-annual eye doctor appointment... I'll be hoping for a cloudy day as they will dilate my eyes... I did break down and get a steroid shot in my right thumb  a couple of days ago... so far, its better than it was but still have some occasional pain... but at least I'm not icing it while trying to cross stitch...that's a good thing. 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts today... I really appreciate those who still coordinate compilations of blogs...  my plan for today and as many days as I can is to sit on the sunroom porch, watch the birds and stitch, stitch stitch...

Hope your 4th of July is SPECTACULAR!!

happy stitching-

carol fun