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.