Reason to Keep the House Clean
I spent Monday afternoon tidying in the sewing room. That seems to need doing every time I turn around and I thought of some of my quilting blogging friends as I was doing it. Bet they don't get into such a mess in their sewing rooms as I do in mine, I thought, and if one of them should drop in, what would they think! And that made me think of my Javex loving grandmother who was an especially clean freak. We were talking about this issue once and she said her house had to be clean and tidy because she just never knew when the minister might drop in. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Ahh, our reasons for keeping our houses clean! What about you?
Anyway, for my troubles I found this healthy sized stack of scrappy strings. Many are neutrals so would work well in any number of patterns.
Good thing I belong to the Conquering Mount Scrapmore with Brenda group on Facebook. Tons of ideas there as to how to use them. Only problem is there are not enough hours in my days to accomplish all I would like to do on the stitching front.
A new to me bird...I think it is a Yellow Rumped Warbler, a first to be photographed here at the wooden house. Perhaps someone could confirm or identify it. Thanks in advance.
I think I've mentioned I have a lot of table/desk/furniture tops here in the main open area of this house. I've counted 17 including the kitchen area island. So I will always have an excuse to stitch a table topper. And imagine if I decided to change them up with the seasons! Anyway, that leads me to sharing one of the prettiest free patterns I've come across. From the kind folks and talented Dawn Heese, at Linen Closet Designs, is this piece called The Naturalist. I downloaded the pattern already.
What is very positive are linky parties like So Scappy, Quilting Patchwork Applique and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.
25 comments :
well, I seem to carry my weight the dangerous way, petrified fat around the center of me. I've always had dancer's legs, and large bosom but now the waist has disappeared.
oooo the birdbath photo is lovely.
scratches to the puppy... Ned needs a treat! going to check out your quilt link
LeeAnna
Working back through your comments: try melatonin if you wake up mid-night and your thoughts race (like mine). I didn't plant herbs this year because I knew we would be gone much of the growing season. My favorites to grow are thyme and dill. Little projects, when completed, can be very satisfying! I desperately need to clean up my cutting/quilting room so that I can finish some projects. I too easily distracted, though I have done a good job this week finishing and/or moving projects to completion.
Hi Jocelyn! Oh, I am sorry that you are not sleeping well. I go through that often and so does my sister. I am just about 65 and she is 89, and I believe it's cyclical and almost predictable. Maybe if you start a journal and record the instances, you will see a pattern. And why do we worry when we're not sleeping well? It seems like we are weak and those thoughts just naturally rush in. Beautiful picture of the warbler - I cannot confirm the identity but he is sweet. Happy Thursday to you. {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne
Sleep, that elusive nighttime rest, that just doesn't happen for any real reason. I have joined that club too. Mount Scrapmore , I had to be VERY careful and make sure that word stated with a Capital S.!!!
My scrap bin is still overflowing, even after culling a lot to do the owl appliques. Those neutrals and pale ones are lovely. Keep warm as winter nears. We have a cool day, some misty rain, and the fire isn't lit yet.Hooray for that.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one waking midway through the night with all the crazy thoughts that don't allow me to fall back asleep very easily. It's gotten to be almost my new normal. On one of those wee-hour nights this past week, though, I came downstairs and saw a beautiful bright moon casting the backyard in interesting shadows. I opened the door to the deck and just sat there and watched and listened to the crickets and other night noises. It felt a little like a consolation prize for being awake and was very peaceful. I'm going to check out that FB group. Thanks for mentioning it. Oh, and my sister was just recently told by her doctor to not worry about a few extra pounds at this point in life. That made me feel better about my thicker midsection, too!
I’m trying to organize my sewing room too! Always a work in progress! My sister always used to say! “ stirring your stuff doesn’t count as organizing !” I often just stir( go through and look at) my stash and I really need to organize and get rid of those things I don’t love anymore or know I won’t use! Harder to do, though! I like seeing all your bird photos. I don’t think we have warblers of any kind in our neighborhood! Thanks again for sharing!
So many pretty strings! I like the little bird. I need to make more table toppers!
Yes indeed, Jocelyn, that's a Yellow Rumped Warbler. I have them here at this time of year, feasting on cluster flies. A farming area curse for me but a bonanza for the warblers and fly catchers. Two evenings ago I watched little brown bats swooping at the house to dine on the flies.
Jocelyn, you made me smile. I always keep my house clean since my mother could drop by and she is a neat freak! She always points out things I've missed. I clean a little everyday and don't really mind it. I guess I'm used to it. I love that free pattern. Thank you!!
Dawn Heese is such a talented designer. I belong to The Applique Society and she also belongs, I believe. Thank you for the link to her free pattern. I'm totally hear you on waking up in the middle of the night and unable to go back to sleep due to worrisome thoughts that won't let up. I think it's a woman-thing! hahaha! Let's see if we can sleep through tonight!
I do think that is a yellow-rumped warbler, Jocelyn. He looks just like the one in my bird book! A pile of strings is always enticing - I wonder what you'll do with them. The free pattern you found is a lovely one, and also very tempting! I'm sorry you're not sleeping well - I have that same thing happen. Listening to an audiobook helps take my mind off those things and doze back off - maybe that would help you.
On someone’s wonderful blog I read of a fusible web from Australia-I think- whose name started with a v. Can anyone help me with more information? Thanks
I carry my extra weight across the stomach/hips mainly with very thin arms. I use a variety of spices but mainly for cooking I always go to my Italian mix of basil, oregano and thyme I guess - I'm not sure what else is in that mix and sprigs of rosemary in roast in the crockpot
My sewing room is pretty tidy - I try to clean it up as I go, or at least before I quit for the day. Now that all flies out the window when I sew with strings! As far as the house, it stays fairly neat, but the dog hair and cat hair literally rolls around on the floor! Even the day after we vacuum. Obviously we need to brush our animals. My weight accumulates in my belly. It is never completely flat, even when I'm underweight, so hmmmm maybe some sit-ups are in order? That's a beautiful photo of your "maybe" warbler.
Parece que todas las mujeres llegamos a ésa edad concreta en la que dormimos poco....... el cuarto de costura casi nunca está ordenado.... pero de vez en cuando saco las cosas y las ordeno😉
Utilizo perejil, tomillo, romero, pimientas, orégano y nuez moscada.
Precioso el patrón gratuito. BESICOS.
I can't help with the bird ID.
Weight is evenly distributed. But when I lose weight, the middle goes first.
Waking at night seem to be a problem with a lot of us. I know all about the mind racing about, thoughts about all sorts of things, most of the irrelevant and being unable to stop them and settle.
That's such a cute little bird and a beauitful quilt! Have a fun weekend. Our Brian is pretty sick so I'm behind on commenting.
Hah - if you could see my sewing room and the space beside my living room chair you would think a bomb went off. I clean it up and vow I won't let it get that way again and a couple weeks later it looks just as awful. I know I need to do a deep shovel in the sewing room and get rid of a lot of 'stuff' but I will leave that for January after the Christmas rush is over.
As for spices, I'm not the cook in our house but I do know that the 'Club House LaGrille Vegetable Seasoning' gets regular use. That stuff is good on pretty much anything.
ps - meant to comment on the sleep issue to say that I suffer from the same thing. My mind simply won't shut off so I quite often get up and play solitaire on my tablet which seems to help re-set my brain enough so I can sleep. Couple that issue with a snoring husband means that I spend more nights on the living room couch than I'd care to.
My weight issues seems to to be belly, hips and thighs. My sewing room is set of disordered. I sew in kitchen and dining room though. I read for a couple of hours to get sleepy,might fall asleep for 1-1/2 hours , wake up and then have trouble getting back to sleep.
My sewing room is also in need of a clean out…after I finish the current project I think. I did work in taming some scraps this weekend, and actually finished much of my big cleaning jobs yesterday, so maybe I’ll get to it today.
I am a melatonin fan, but have also had good luck with doing a bit of knitting, then reading just a chapter of my current book while I drink a cup of chamomile lavender tea. It seems to relax me just enough to be able to go to sleep sooner, and when I am up in the night I can go right bac’ to sleep. My problem these days is waking up at 4, and th8nk I got it is already 5!
I love that little bird you photographed!
My motto for house cleaning is, "Clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be happy." My mother spent most of her life cleaning and it seemed like she hated doing it and complained. Now I find I don't love cleaning unless I can see the difference between before and after. The room where I sew can get pretty messy before I take the time to clean it.
What a sweet bird. I can't help with identification.
Dawn's pattern is delightful.
On herbs.... I don't do much cooking or baking these days but in the past have frequently used parsley, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, chervil, sage, oregano, and so many more. I'm not a fan of spicy foods, though.
Wouldn't that be great to wake up with happy thoughts that keep us from sleep?!
Oh boy, 17 tops to cover, it's a lot of table toppers and runners ;)) These scrappy strings are very promising, there are going to be some great projects in the future! Sorry about your nights, mine are not easy either, too many thoughts in the head too...
Thank you for sharing, and linking up!
Congratulations on finding those scrappy Light NEUTRAL strings, Jocelyn! You had e beautiful winged visitor. Those extra pounds have a way of creeping on, don't they? I carry mine around my waist and hips. I've heard the same from DS1 when I complained about the 5 or 10 extra pounds on me. He told me that I was perfect the way I was and that it was better to carry a few extra pounds in case of illness.
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