Rule #7, Embroidered Primitive Mini Quilt, Links, Shopping

 Rule #7 All life on earth is vulnerable. Money, intellect, education or prestige don't protect against all the ills that can befall us. So there is nothing that has happened to me or will happen to me where I can say those two little words, why me.  While I didn't say that out loud when I lost everything in the fire, a part of me inside felt let down by the universe.

 I'd been through enough by then with my various losses to know I wasn't special enough to be given a free pass from bad things (during those times I got a lot from reading the book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner)  but I did think of myself as a good person going through life trying my best to do good. It felt like because I'd had those bad experiences and survived, I'd paid my dues, that I'd earned protection from further bad things happening to me. How could that be my pay back I thought. Nonsensical I know, especially when I would remind myself that nothing I'd been dealt was directly life threatening like so many many face. I'm  ashamed to admit I was bitter for a month or two. before common sense took over and righted my thoughts, thankfully.  Aging is going to present challenges I know; perhaps I'll have a better perspective. 

Ok, enough about that...on to the good stuff that we all enjoy and love. For instance, with continuing warm temperatures, the autumn garden is still pretty. In particular, the pink Sedum has thrived.

All the yellow Ligularia in this garden is the Brit Marie Crawford strain which is known for its gigantic elephant ear leaves. Here the Sedum is a standout with Lavender on the left and one of the mauve Asters in front. Coral Bells peaking on the lower right. Any purple to be seen is Lavender.

Neddy down by the pond. Wild Goldenrod flourished this year and with the warmth, is still blooming.

This week I sewed a primitive style mini quilt. I've often mentioned how much I love pumpkins. I drew this very simple pumpkin shape, embroidered chain stitch to get full coverage on a small scrap of dark gray fabric. I used the most orange DMC, #740, that I had.

A little Kaffe material (I think) from the scrap bag for the border.

And embroidered the word Pumpkins on the other side. Funny about colours in photos; this is actually the same green as the stalk on the front. 

I'll probably use it for a mug rug. A fun little project. And here is the link to the Pinterest site, Mug Rug Halloween that features 630 Halloween/Autumn mug rug ideas.  All so cute and many many free patterns.

Stitching this weekend will be working on evening up the sides of my Tumbling Stars panels. I think I have enough sewn for a single bed size now and it's time to gather ideas for borders. All happy stitching for me. This is definitely my most ambitious hand pieced project to date.

We bought ourselves two items to celebrate our summer birthdays. One was the Nespresso machine and the other was a Cubii elliptical machine, not quite as much fun.   I've been using it while watching tv which you can because it is very quiet.  As a committed multi tasker, I think it is wonderful.  Strong legs are important for balance so hopefully this activity, even while seated, will help somewhat. 

New mug from Walmart with words I couldn't resist. Link is here if you'd like to order one.

Hope your week has been a great one and your weekend will include some stitchy time.

So happy too to link with these fine parties... Not Afraid of Color, Life in the Scrapatch. Texas Quilt Girl, The Inquiring Quilter, My Quilt Infatuation, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Alycia Quilts, So Scrappy, Kathy's Quilts and Quilt Fabrication.