Thursday 10 June 2021

Thoughts and More On a June Thursday

Don't know how you folks in warmer climates do it!  I guess it's because I'm originally an east coast Canadian that the humidity really really gets to me. I find it isn't at all pleasant to walk, jog or garden in. I can't shake the idea that even breathing air like that is not good for you. 

But I'm all set up with overhead fans whirring and this in front of me.

I'm listening to Anne Tyler's Red Haired Girl By the Side of the Road.  I think I read it before as parts of it seem familiar.  I like the orange Bubly the best and please take a look at those petals under the word Bring.


I haven't been keeping up with showing you Daughter's cakes to us.  This one was another lemon with frosting...delicious, a requested remake. 

 I pictured this book in the last post, The Book of Flowers, Four Centuries of Flower Illustration by Alice M. Coates. And thank you all, by the way, for the comments on the tablecloth. I joined a SAL at Melva Loves Scraps and got caught up in this flower garden block. I wound up making a large tablecloth with them.  Melva is hosting another such SAL called Pieces of the Santa Fe Trail. Melva's link there will take you to the latest free block, Snow, which is very interesting.

 The book belonged to Hubby's mother who was a flower lover.  The illustrations are marvelous- here are the sunflowers. 1777 by J. Miller.


 My next block of the Hawk Run Hollow piece is of sunflowers for May and I'm not crazy about the colour of one of the very large sunflowers. It is a dark cinnamon colour that looks brownish. Not a sunflower colour  I'm familiar with.  I'm trying out the brighter reddish cinnamon that was used in the ladies dress in the first block - though I'm a little reluctant as I do respect the designers' thoughts. You can see my substitution in the first photo back at the start of the post.  What do you think?

We had the Bell guy here to fix phone issues and he was terrified of dogs. So much so that every time he re-entered the house he wouldn't come in till reassured Ned was corralled. We thought by saying he was a puppy it would be okay, but not.  Must be awful to have a fear like that.

I realized I should sew some of the Tumbling Blocks together to make sure this pattern will work. It was a challenge to sew those 6 points meeting in one spot but manageable.  Someone mentioned the darkest colour should traditionally be on the top.  I didn't know that.


The chickadees have gone quiet but lots of other birds are around. The bluejays in larger numbers than usual have really enjoyed the suet.

And the ravens are usually present early in the morning and late in the day.  I love to watch them strut about but it is hard to get a good photo of them together. I see they like to spread out and seemingly cover a lot of ground. Not a good photo but amazing how a month makes such a difference to the grass and the greening of things.

We both have been able to move up our second vaccines. Will be a relief to get them over with.  I am so tired of all of that. But meanwhile, enjoying life and all our pastimes while still corralled here at the wooden house. 

Happily linking with Not Afraid of ColorPaying Ready AttentionConfessions of a Fabric AddictAlycia QuiltsViewing Nature With EileenApplique Patchwork QuiltingQuilting is More Fun Than Housework and Life in the Scrapatch



33 comments :

LA Paylor said...

oh I never heard that law about dark on top.. silly. The light would hit the top first usually, as long as they are all the same you get the effect and yours are working great!
Poor puppy ned who wants to lick the guy and play. Fears hold us back, I should know I have so many. But who can resist the love of a lab?
pretty embroidery. I'll check out your book too, I'm faster at hearing books than reading them. My eyes get tired

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

glad your appointments for your 2nd vaccine is moved up - I feel so much safer now. I did a tumbler block quilt years ago it is the only one I made for some reason. the heat and humidity is awful here too - usually doesn't hit us until July - but this week after all the rain the heat arrived too so we have 90 and high humidity - I'm staying in the A/C unless I have to go out other than a walk to the garden in the morning to check it out and at 9AM it was already 82

Ruth Hiebert said...

Heat and humidity are not my friends either. Stay cool.

Brian's Home Blog said...

The cake looks fabulous and those Tumbling Blocks are sure pretty too. Hey, it's super hot and humid down here in the South, you are lucky to be in a cooler place.

loulee said...

I'm with you, sun flowers should be bright cheerful colours. Go with the change.
Love your tumbling blocks and thank you for the link to Melva.

Judy S. said...

Your quilt blocks are beautiful, and so is your cross stitch! We have Steller's jays here but none like yours. Glad yo're getting your second vaccine as you will have a bit more freedom!

David M. Gascoigne, said...

I'm with you, Jocelyn, I detest heat and humidity. I could never live in a place where that was the default weather.

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

An audiobook, some stitching, and a cold drink look perfect for a hot day, Jocelyn! Your daughter's cakes always look wonderful - I would request that one again, too. Lots of bluejays at our house recently, too. Aren't they a beautiful bird?

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Jocelyn! Oh, that lemon cake looks delicious. YUM! And it must be to have requested a repeat. So glad to hear you will be able to get your shot sooner than later. And Ned is doing well?! I hope so. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne

Siouxzq64@gmail.com said...

Between you and LeeAnna I want to make tumbling blocks. I ordered some templates to make them, now I am waiting. Love your stitching it is always so pretty. The cake looks yummy. I have a red winged blackbird that follows me around outside, after I was beeping at it. Great pic of the jays.

PaintedThread said...

Your daughter makes great looking cakes! I never knew that about tumbling blocks. Yay for your second vaccine!

grammajudyb said...

I always enjoy your posts! Orange Bubly may be the only one I haven’t tried! Now I will! *smile*! I like your change of color on the sunflowers! Good choice! Lemon cake sounds divine!

Linda said...

I love your substitution on the sunflower. Your daughter's talent with cakes is amazing. I don't know how you keep such a trim figure! That poor man afraid of sweet Ned. You wouldn't like it down here in Texas. Our unseasonably cooler weather has vanished this week.

piecefulwendy said...

We have had a record set of days - 9 so far, I believe - of temps in the mid-90s and high humidity. We are more than ready for a break, but it's not coming any time soon. Hope you can stay cool with your fans and stitching! I've read that book, so I'll be curious what you think of it.

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

Your embroidery is very pretty! Yes a bright yellow would be pretty for the sunflowers with a brown in the center. Tumbling blocks. If you put 3 of the dark tops together, it could make a secondary pattern. But mostly it is up to the quilters' eye that will make the placement pop. I have a Karen Combs Patchwork Illusions CD and she make 9 patch squares and made tumbling blocks out of them. A fun technique to play with that is for sure.

The Bluejays are beautiful! And the table cover along with the Sunflower book really sets it off!

Little Ned scaring the guy is interesting. Maybe he had been bitten by a dog when he was young. I know I stay away from cats because we had one and it fanged me and gave me cat scratch fever and 8 days in the hospital in 2013. I used to have so many cats when I was young though but no pets anymore.

Have a great week! Hugs

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I love the ads for Bubly - quite fun to see. Your jays photo is great - not easy to get them to sit still long enough. As for the sunflower colours I know they come in many different shades. Having said that, you have to use what you feel is right and I doubt the designer would be upset by it.

Michele McLaughlin said...

Glad you will be getting your second vaccine sooner! I like the orange you chose for your sunflower! I never heard that about tumbling blocks but most of the antique patterns I just looked at have the dark on the side. It doesn't really matter as long as the dark is the same position on all the blocks. Lemon cake! YUMMMM! I wish I had a nice daughter that baked for me. I'm with you on the humid weather though. I can't stand it either. Stay well and cool! Hugs!

The Joyful Quilter said...

Tasty looking cake, Jocelyn, and lots of fun things to stitch!!

Andrea H. said...

Really enjoy your blog! I live in middle Georgia, and I absolutely HATE the heat and humidity. I so envy anyone living in the colder climates. After 51 years, I am looking forward to finding someplace to live that I can actually enjoy! We see snow about once every 2 years, and I swear summer lasts 9 months out of the year. That lemon cake looks very refreshing.

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

The cake looks yummy, I love anything with lemons. Your tablecloth is pretty. The
book illustrations do look lovely, pretty sunflowers. Your are busy with the quilt and embroidery. I am sure Ned would never hurt anyone, labs are such friendly dogs. Great capture of the Blue Jays, I have not seen any lately. They must all be in your yard. Our weather is all over the place, hot and humid or rainy cloudy and chilly. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your weekend! PS, thank you for the comment and visit to my blog.

Shiju Sugunan said...

Lovely pic of the Blue Jays. The cake looks delish!

Adam Jones said...

I really like the Blue Jay.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

The tumbling blocks always intrigue me!

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

Your Tumbling Blocks look fantastic, whatever the dark is on the top or not ;) Pretty birds too.
Thank you for linking up today ;)

gladiquilts said...

I like the lighter color for the sunflower and that cake looks so good!!

R's Rue said...

Stay cool and enjoy that yummy cake

Michele in Harrisburg said...

That book of flowers that was your mother-in-laws is beautiful. Could you give me more information on it? I would love to track down a copy for myself. Thank you.

Jackie said...

What beautiful stitching. And the tablecloth as well as the tumbling blocks are just lovely.

I have seen dark, almost brownish sunflowers in farmers fields here. Don't know if they are an aberration or a species though.

Enjoy your cake.

God bless.

Rajani Rehana said...

Beautiful blog

R's Rue said...

Hope you are having a beautiful day. Blessings to you.

QuiltGranma said...

We enjoyed a cooler day today here, even had some rain here in our drought, and a few thunders as well, then bright sunshine was back. I don't like the heat nor humidity either.
I did not know that about the traditional Tumbling Blocks to have dark on top either. Like another said, dark on top does not make sense. Just turn the quilt a little and the shading would make more sense. Lightest on top, medium on one side, dark on the other side.

Angie said...

Jocelyn - I agree 100% with your feelings about humidity! We love the low humidity of Montana. I can see there isn't much cake left - what a shame - I would have asked you to send me some! The thread for your sunflower looks a bit too red, but photos do not always give a true color. Love the blue jays!

K Reeves said...

You chose wisely in my book! That cake...oh my!