Quilting and Cross Stitch Projects, Thrift Find and Bonita's Raisin Buns

 It is always a treat to open the kitchen curtain in the morning. I never know what I might see. One morning recently -back when the sun was shining- this fellow was sleeping in the driveway. I watched him idly glance about, yawn and tuck his head back down for a few more zees. I wondered how long he'd been there; overnight would be unlikely as I know foxes have dens. I'm always surprised by how long and thin their snouts are and their bodies too. And what colour! Note: taken from a great distance and this is not the first time a fox has chosen the big garage driveway for a nap.

This week's treat with a cup of tea...Bonita's Kitchen Raisin Tea Buns. 

Two things... #1, I didn't brush them with egg or milk and they were very pale on top but golden on the bottom. If I could just serve them upside down...

#2, I used the amount of sugar as called for in the recipe and these were too sweet for me. But you know who loved them. I will use this recipe again but I will cut the sugar by a third. 

That plate is a thrift find. I love it when I spy pink plates which are rare and especially ones with the pretty dense double edge of leaves like this one had. Unique. It is Mason's "Vista" featuring a typical English scene. And what shade would you call that deep red?

I haven't yet shared my hand stitching on this colourful quilt below. This is the scrappy blocks project I'd layered and readied for quilting back in ???

I decided to use a star design for the middle of each of the black blocks. I cut out a cardboard template and used my erasable pencil to outline a wonky star.

I used different colours of Perle cotton to outline each one.

Though I have the stars all stitched now, I quickly realized summer time is maybe not the best time to be working on a quilt in your lap. But I do hope to add more quilting lines outlining the blocks and finish it this summer to have as my very own lap quilt for the fall. 

It was too wet to do much in the garden work or sit outside stitching this weekend but the best excuse ever to sit and stitch inside. 

In particular, enjoyable cross stitching moved along my Pileated Woodpecker. I had a stitchy dilemma about that grey. Somehow the called for DMC 646 had been swapped for a Simply Shaker Aged Pewter. Because it wasn't quite as dark grey as the photo showed, I worried about it. As more stitches got laid I realized it shades darker depending how you look at it. It is more closely resembling the picture than can be seen here so I'm okay with it.

 I have had to dress like a mariner to venture outside. Rainfall warnings every single day. Huge downpours, the kind that bring down weak branches and bend over my tall plants. Photos of the mariner and her brown dog next time.

Hope there is something sweet and wonderful in your week!

Cardinal Rule, Tilda Orange Peels, Cakes, Free Patterns

Thanks for the lovely comments about my veranda views. I miss Newfoundland very much but I certainly can't complain about where I'm living these days. It is beautiful and I enjoy all the critters so much too. Of course, those photos don't show the mosquitoes or the heat. However, no sun this morning; it is rather gloomy with promised thunder and lightening today.  So it goes.

Our busy week is over that included two medical appointments for Tony. And we did take Ned to the vet and now he is on two drugs and has a special shampoo. One week into the treatment and he is already feeling much better. Fur is growing back in a spot he had scratched almost bare. Perhaps this will do to see him through the hot summer in comfort. Hope so. At the practice we go to, the vets are all young women. They are slim, energetic and favour athletic wear. They are eager to share their knowledge and are kind with us too. This latest doctor immediately called Ned "Neddy Boy".  I noticed how she could kneel down, pop back up, get down on one knee, etc. with such ease. I could do that once but not anymore and I don't know when exactly that became impossible for me. I wonder is it retrievable??

Tony is enjoying another lovely Chocolate cake from Beth. I had a sliver and it is rich and delicious. Here is the link to Rock Recipes 20 Best Chocolate Cake Recipes that includes this one.

Here is my progress on the Chookshed Stitchers Challenge for June... Cardinal Rule. So it begins...better late than never!

I used the machine to stitch the background and then prepped some leaves.

These wools are thin and very soft-lovely to the touch. But look so much alike, it was a challenge to keep them straight. And they photograph poorly. Here is part of the vines and I am hand stitching them using easy blanket stitch .

How bad is the lighting in the sewing room?  I didn't know these vines were a deep greenish shade till I brought the piece out to the tv room. I've had to use the lighten button on the computer so you can see any of this clearly. When these are all secured I can begin to attach the "fun" bits. 

It's also fun stitching these appliqued Tilda Orange Peels. The freezer paper prep for each takes longer than the stitching. I've found a few solids to work into the mix too. I realize these have such a sameness about them...perhaps I'll show them on the wall all together so you can better follow the progress. 

Over at the FAT QUARTER SHOP, they are readying for Christmas in July. Then they are offering their FREE Star of Wonder Mystery QAL and SAL, a Christmas quilt and cross stitch design. I'm interested in seeing what patterns they will be offering this year.

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week is did we ever go to camp as a kid?  I did...once. It was a Girl Guide Camp beside a beautiful lake near Corner Brook where I grew up. It was held over a long weekend and we were able to work on our outdoor related badges. I remember two things...the mosquitoes (I returned home with a ring of bites around the back of my neck that Mom made a fuss about) and how much I loved the singsong around the fire each evening. What about you? Did you get to go to any summer camps? 

I've got a chicken soup with lots of vegetables cooking in the slow cooker and I'm looking forward to catching up on my cross stitching while watching several of my favourite Flosstube stitchers this weekend. What about you? Any similarly comforting or special weekend plans?

Happily sharing this post with Kathy's Quilts, Bolt to Beauty, Melva Loves Scraps and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

Veranda Photos...Garden and Stitchy Stuff

Writing outside this morning. 8 am and already 25 C. We have a heat wave warning but it is very pleasant just now. A little breeze is blowing too. I must be a pessimistic gardener. In front of me is a Blue Beech tree I planted here years ago with little expectation that it would grow. 

Well grow it has and is now at a point of crowding out the other things I've planted like the Weigelia. It was a wild shoot that had sprouted on the opposite side of the house and I read that it was slow growing. I do like it- especially the way the leaves alternate daintily along the branches ending in a tuft of little leaves. It's disappointing now because it will have to be cut down or trimmed back unless I figure out a way to dig up the roots. The early spring, though so wet and wild at times, was especially good for all the growing things. The garden is amazing this year.

I removed the robin's nest from the front door light. I knew there were two fledglings and there usually is three. Sadly one of the eggs did not hatch. What a gorgeous colour that is!

 

I took outdoor photos of my weekend stitching. More Hour Glass blocks.

And also Tiny 9 Patch blocks on white batting resembling snow in this June light.

I shared Thrifted blouses in this post. Still on the topic of clothing this body of mine...I must tell you what happened one morning when I pulled on a pair of those elastic waisted capris from Walmart. The waist was so tight I was uncomfortable. I always buy size large so I can be comfy in such things so all sorts of thoughts, all negative and down on myself, went through my mind. What is the point of the exercising, eating right, etc. blah, blah, blah. A little later, I changed into long pants to go in the garden (tick coverage) and glanced at the tag on the capris...size small! Make no wonder they felt tight! I'd picked up the wrong size and I know exactly how that happened. Didn't take the time to get out my reading glasses in the store. I'll pass them along to younger daughter.  

I'd brought out my cross stitch piece to lay a few stitches. Natural light is the best. But it's a bit buggy and the temperature has risen. Time to go inside, get some laundry going and check on Ned and Tony.

To my left

In front of me

I do enjoy living in our little private forest! I hope you too have lots to love and lots to do this week and best get at it.

Honestly, June, slow down!

Sharing this post with Songbird Designs, Alycia Quilts, A Quiltery, It's a Small Town Life, So Scrappy, Quilting Patchwork Applique and Quilt Fabrication.

Chookshed Stitchers Challenge- Cardinal Rule, Free Patterns

The resident mallard on our pond is sleeping there overnight. If up and down there early enough, I see him always resting in the same spot.  I took this shot from a great distance but even then he alerted. Every year the ducks try to nest there and we find the egg shells strewn about. I've tried to work out how the legs are folded here. ? Mallards are part of the Dabbling Ducks family which I'd never thought was a real scientific name till I looked into how they spend their nights. 

What shade of yellow would you call that beak?  Mustard? No, it's some more exotic name I think.

I want to show you this. 

A little tear in a turtleneck of mine. I put it beside my sewing chair to mend and you wouldn't believe how long it's been there. Let's just say some months. I finally sewed it yesterday- took me all of 5 minutes. I kept looking at it all the while not doing that tiny task. Confounding!

 The Chookshed Stitchers Challenge for June is #10 which for me is Cardinal Rule. For a moment I was completely blank and then remembered it is my Bonnie Sullivan (Kathy Schmitz's sister) wool applique project.

I was excited to get out the material and patterns which I'd put together ages ago. I made the first cuts in the wool yesterday to begin sewing the pieces for the background. Unlike that mending, this will be so much fun to work on. These background pieces are so similar, I had to label them. 

LeeAnna's Not Afraid of Color prompt this week is remembering the last day of school and then how we spent our summer days. The last day of any school year has a special excitement and feel all its own. I was always a little nervous wondering where I might have placed in the class, marks wise. ( I should point out this was self inflicted pressure; my parents never put any pressure on us- just do your best was their motto. In fact, I think they should have been a little more directive if anything.) In grades 7 and 8, the school was across from a Woolworths so my friends and I would go there for fries and a coke float to celebrate. Dad had to stay home and work but the next week, Mom and the three of us kids would be on the train to visit both grandparents for the summer, all of which I loved very much. What about you? Any special last day of school memories? 

It seems I always have an aspect of my stitching to be researching and I keep being surprised by the beautiful patterns that folks share for free. Here are two more such sites where you can have a good look about. 

At Always Expect Moore, generous Carolina shares a wonderful bank of her free patterns. I've noted several... here is a sweet little winter stitch project. Love that snow flake design.

When I was researching Orange Peel patterns, I came across this pretty wallhanging design with a free peel template. Link to the  Live Art Gallery pdf pattern. And so many more free patterns there to ogle!

The Phoebes on the back of the house have also fledged -so quickly it seems- and I miss seeing them flitting about while in my tv room stitching chair. I read that one of the surprises of older age is that days seem like mere hours. That is certainly the feeling here at the wooden house. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Also enjoy sharing with Kathy's Quilts, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

New Project Beginnings, Cross Stitch, Fitness Talk, Adieu Fledglings

This turned out to be the best photo I got of the mama bird. Today I hadn't noticed her very frequent trips across the lawn and checked the nest. The two little ones have fledged in what seems like no time at all. Here's hoping they will survive the all important first year. 👍

Here are the first Tilda Orange Peels I tried. When I had the block sizes sorted with the overall block finishing at 12 inches, the freezer paper templates drawn, cut and pressed on the fabric, the actual stitching went quickly.  Another slow stitching project and one I can use larger scraps for the backgrounds too. And some blues can find their way in too!

 

Cross stitching on the weekend got me to this point on my Pileated Woodpecker project. I'm using # 26 tapestry needles- someone wanted to know. And this is funny, another someone-this one anonymous- wrote and asked what the heck kind of thing is this you are cross stitching???

I've mentioned before that my sister in law, Karen, has been working hard making fitness videos. She calls them Easy Fitness Over 50, where all you need is a broom handle and the kitchen counter as fitness equipment. She was interviewed by Parade magazine recently and you can check out the article here... I'm 67 and in The Best Shape of My Life. Here's Karen with my brother who is also going strong with the fitness and eating well regime too. 

I'm so happy for her success as she volunteered teaching fitness classes after work for decades in her hometown, Corner Brook, Newfoundland. All their videos are filmed in their home and yes, their house always looks like this. 

Below an important reminder... I need it for when I get tired of how much time I spend on my own fitness and trying to eat well...generally. And sometimes feel a little discouraged about it all too. 

Next time I'll talk about my Chookshed Stitchers Challenge and the best free patterns I've seen. Hope your week is off to a great start. Take care all of you!

Sharing this post with Songbird Designs, Alycia Quilts, It's A Small Town Life, So Scrappy and A Quiltery.

Quilting Projects, Garden and Thursday Chat

Everything is about the garden these days here in our tiny patch of the world. I tried to think of a word to describe ours and came up with lush. I was exclaiming how the heat has encouraged so much growth; the front area is full and almost overgrown looking so early in the season. Tony pointed out that I've been adding to it each summer for the eight years I've been here. Of course, everything has grown taller and wider over those years. At this point, I won't be adding any more plants/trees to the front and side gardens. My work here is done. But on second thought, maybe more flowering bushes in other parts of the property would be nice. 

Ned smelling the poppies while thinking get me out of this heat!

We topped 30C on Wednesday and Ned does poorly with the heat. We think his dark brown coat might have something to do with it. And just like last summer, his dermatitis has set in. We are spraying and shampooing each day to help control it for him. Poor Fellow If you know of a helpful product we could be using, please let me know.

Tiny 9 Patch EPP blocks in blues...still in their cardboards so a little bumpy...

I'm also still plugging away at my ongoing scrappy Confetti Blocks. I keep this batting covered piece of foam next to my sewing machine to sort the scraps for these blocks. The trick is to use lots of whites to perk up the colours, I've noted. These are leaders and enders, as some call it. 

I still have lots of Tilda fabric left over from my Plaid quilt finished HERE in 2022. A quilt I've always wanted to make is an Orange Peel one. I might give that a try on the weekend- I do have several orange peel templates. I'll have to look for any solids that might coordinate too as these are busy.

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week is if we can rest during free time or do we feel we have to keep moving, doing, etc. I was definitely taught to keep doing...the devil finds work for idle hands. Though I never heard that said in the home, we definitely learned that you must keep busy. I think these lessons get absorbed. Like never sleeping in or lying down during the day unless sick. I did hear keeping your hands busy is good for you-it takes your mind off things, etc. My parents led by example with this as I don't remember either of them ever sleeping in or taking naps, or taking time for themselves in any kind of way, etc. I can watch tv during the afternoon while stitching. Tony learned that this is somehow a bad thing, that there is something wasteful or lazy about it. Even now at almost 85, he cannot watch tv during the day, only at night.  5pm is the magic hour when it is "okay" to watch tv. Can you believe that?

I have to keep busy and my hand stitching certainly plays an important role in this. How about you? 

I find the first cup of coffee in the morning disappears quickly. Do you? One cup is my limit so I'll have a cup of decaf later on. This is my old Pioneer Woman mug from Walmart. Still love those flowers and the pretty shade of blue handle.  

I'm off to the library for a poke about and then to the grocery store. Almost always we bundle our chores off the property these days. Thank you for your kind comments on my last post...very appreciated! Hope you all are enjoying these early summer or early winter days depending on where you are on this amazing planet of ours. 

Happily sharing with Floral Friday Foto. Quilting Patchwork Applique, Kathy's Quilts, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and So Scrappy.

Thrifted Summer Tops, Bramble Blooms 1 &2, Twenty Six Jell-o Desserts

Just like that, our world outside is a million shades of green.

Tony and Ned on the side lawn

I put a mirror up and saw the robin's eggs have hatched. It is a good spot well protected by the house roof which is also under the veranda roof. I got a quick shot of her. We can now sneak in and out the door without disturbing her. 

As promised here are three of  my latest thrifted summer tops. Below is the one I'm most concerned about...such a bright colour with such large blooms. I'm not sure it's really me (whoever the heck I am these days) but I was swayed by the brand. "They will see you coming" as my father used to say about wearing something colourful. But then, I guess summer is when we do go bigger with prints and colours. What do you think?

I've already worn this below a few times...light material and super comfortable. I have a silver necklace that perfectly suited this one. And I love the pockets. 

Here is another Northern Reflections made of a linen/cotton blend, also light weight for summer. Love it.

So, more fabric saved from the landfill! At that thrift store, I also spent time in the book section where they have a collection of very old books, ones bound in special ways that would have been expensive. I wished I could bring home a few I held as I hate to think of their fate. But it was nice to spend some time with them too. 

Bramble Blooms I -My top is a flimsie. Improv is seriously not my thing so this gave me pause many times along the little journey. But in the end, as is true with all my stitching projects, this one too was a labour of love in its own way. Those turquoises are taking on a glow in the sunlight. I like how I used all scrap fabric in this project. So also way out of my comfort zone with these colours which are showing brighter than they really are.

  

And Audrey at Quilty Folk has challenged us to use a pieced center for Bramble Blooms II. I chose a dark teal/blue element from BBI and tested this pieced block. The design really appealed to me. More about this and the free pattern for it in another post. This is also not the true colour...it is very dark in real life as I want to move away from the BBI brights. Frustrating!

The topic of Birds Custard Powder mentioned in THIS POST stirred a lot of interest.

 And jogged our memories for some of us older folks. Any one else remember your Mom setting tinned fruit in Jell-o for a dessert? A couple of people mentioned it and of course, I remember Mom doing this too for a week night dessert. I can't remember the last time I had Jell-o. But it is a great summer time dessert and I found this at the Pioneer Woman site... 26 Easy Jell-o Recipes to Whip Up Anytime For the Retro Desserts of Your Dreams. And that also made me think of Nigella Lawson who elevated gelatin desserts when she used it to make a fancy dessert served in individual glass bowls at a dinner party. 

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I do hope your week is off to a wonderful and perhaps even delicious start! Please stop by and share it with us! 

Sharing with Songbird Designs, Inquiring Quilter, A Quiltery, My Quilt Infatuation, Good Random Fun, Alycia Quilts and Quilt Fabrication.