Flowers in Bloom, New Stitching Start, News

There are loads of butterflies around this year. In particular, I love to spy a Comma flitting about. Because of how jagged the wing edges are, I think this is a male. Their spiritual meaning is unconditional love and faith. Wouldn't it be nice if we all had a healthy dose of both those things!

My indoor now outdoor Geraniums are blooming. They took a rest when I first moved them outside. 

I'm reading this book, North Woods by Daniel Mason, and enjoying it. Daniel is the author of the Piano Tuner, his first book published at the age of 26! Daniel is also a Stanford Psychiatry professor. This book shares the many tales of the inhabitants of a single house throughout the years. 

Here is my new cross stitch project, from The Blue Flower, The Tudor Bee, a design by Jeannine McGowan. I love the colours which are actually rosier than this photo is showing. The wonderful folks at Traditional Stitches kitted it up for me. They chose 28 count Zweigart Cashel Platinum linen and I'm enjoying the initial stitching which is two over two.

I always enlarge the pattern on the printer and it's my habit to begin in the top left corner.

So a little news! I'm going to take a blogging break and for very good reasons. Summer is my busy time with the gardens and outings. There are a ton of things to do around the property plus a few things that need my undivided attention. I'm also going on a special trip next week! I'll take photos to share with you later. Meanwhile, thank you for all the love and kindness, you, my blogging friends, share with me weekly. It never fails to lift me up. I hope your stitching fingers will be busy and your mind at peace. Take care all of you! 

 

Birthday Celebrations, Shopping, Pinterest Pages, Jackie's Meditation Moment

 Order of business from the last post, Beth's cake was officially a Chocolate Filled Kahlua Tiramisu Cake from Rock Recipes. This cake is delicious and surprisingly light. 

Tony's birthday celebrations continued Saturday night. It included a wonderful and fun limo ride to Quebec. We did the same thing for his 80th, some of you may remember. We enjoyed oysters and the four course Table d'hote meal at the Gatineau Sterling and it was delicious. Here is the Salmon Tartare. Most of our main dish, steaks, came home with us.

I gave myself a haircut the day before. It didn't take long. And I figure it couldn't be worse than the last one to cut it...the sad professional. And I want to show you my summer dress I wore to the dinner. Very light and loose (a must for me these days) with a lining. It is the Coral Pattern Ruffle Midi Dress from online Northern Reflections and was half price...still available HERE. I should figure out how to properly take selfies!

I wore Mom's charm bracelet..oh, how she loved jewelry and these kinds of outings so much. So I had her with me, so to speak.

I'm happy and grateful to be continuing my summer fitness regime, I guess you could call it. Several have asked how it is going these days. This summer it includes the elliptical trainer in the basement. I go down first thing in the morning and listen to music on my ipad. I aim for 20  minutes but have to take breaks, not because of my breath, but my leg muscles burn. I usually use just the left arm to give it a workout too. Then I get a little swim in late afternoon before supper. It feels so refreshing and of all the fitness type things I do, swimming is my favourite. Not that I'm a great swimmer; I'm not... don't do the front crawl just the breast stroke. Somewhere in late morning I take Ned out for his walk before it gets too hot. In summer this is less than brisk, let's say. It's more of an amble and we stop to smell (and sometimes photograph) the flowers. I hate heat and humidity and have so much respect for you folks who work, exercise, play, etc. in it. The only two things that are constants in my fitness...I like to change up the method of exercising to keep me motivated and certainly never overdo. Lol

Here is Ned at the top of our driveway; he'd been smelling the swath of wild flowers Tony kept there for the bees. Now fading.

Three Pinterest Pages to Note

I enjoy looking through this Pinterest page collated by Marci Patch...Quilts By Cheri.  Cheri Payne was a wonderful improv primitive quilter. There is a photo of her sitting on the floor surrounded by piles of fabric scraps. In front of her is a design she is creating, literally making order of chaos. I've stitched a couple of Cheri's fall/Halloween designs.

Sheila Barfield Quilting Ideas Pinterest page is full of wonderful patterns, many free and lots of eye candy. If ever stuck for an idea, have a look and you will find inspiration for sure. 

Alejandra's Embroidery page is full of embroidery ideas, patterns and techniques. I keep saying I'm going to try Sashiko stitching for instance. On my bucket list, I guess you could say. 

Below is one of my favourite Flosstubers, Jackie, whose channel is called Comfort Stitching. She has a lovely voice and offers a short stitcher's meditation at the end of her episodes. It's been so popular she made a video of just that and I've returned often to listen and take a quiet moment to slow the breathing, ease the thoughts, etc. I invite you to give it a try if there is a time when you need a "moment" to calm yourself. 

Project updates next time. And summer news too. Hope your week is off to a wonderful start!

Tablerunner, Cross Stitch, Tony's Birthday, Cake

Summer of 2024 has settled around us here at the wooden house. What is a garden without weeds. You can't have one without the other. I've pulled a bushel and if only they were worth something! A very tall thin plant infested the beds in the front but offered no resistance to the pulling out, roots and all. Horseweed took up residence in the backyard beds-unfortunately not so easy to pull. I've been favouring my right hand...the stitching hand, so the left has had a workout. Ah well, small price to pay for the enjoyment the garden is providing this year. 

Perhaps the prettiest of weeds is the Purple Loosestrife that caused a fuss back ten years ago. When a plant gets labelled "invasive" it sounds so scary. Here it is on the wet land area near the pond and it seems to have stayed just to that location, not spread. And on the plus side it is a source of nectar for the bees. Another plus...I don't have to weed it.

I will show you two more pieces of "found" items in my old boxes. Things sewn before fabric collecting as such, using bits I had on hand. Another cobbled together tablerunner with no batting. Too bad I didn't know about Kantha stitching at the time. It would suit this one.

And this cross stitched piece that I shared here many years back. 

Tony celebrated his 85th birthday this week!

The cake Beth made was wonderful...a chocolate filled Kahlua Tiramisu cake. It was so good and kind of light, I had two pieces.

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week is about going to outdoor concerts. I've been to Shakespeare in the Park in St. John's a couple of times and also a very special one there where over 100 fiddlers performed together in a park. That was wonderful to see very young children and also the very old performing Newfoundland songs together on the fiddle. But my most memorable was a story I've shared here before... the time I got to see Gordon Lightfoot at Camp Fortune waaaayyy back in 1968 here in Ottawa. I was on a Young Voyager trip with 19 other 16 year olds. I remember the concert because when it got darker the fireflies came out which fascinated me -we don't have them in Newfoundland. I'd only read about them till then. What a nerd! How about you?

I had something to do mostly off property each day this week. I hate when that happens which worries me a little. Am I becoming a recluse, I wonder. One of the definitions of recluse... "Being able to not only enjoy but look forward to doing things by yourself." Yes, that's exactly me... a nerd...and a recluse! So be it! Ha ha

Tablerunner, Morris Embroidery, Cross Stitch Finish, Show to Watch

 Mid July and it is still all about the outdoor gardens both wild and tended, for me these days. To think that just a few short months ago this was all buried under a mountain of ice and snow! And I still hold a strong awe and wonder about the whole wee seed to beautiful blossom process. But I'm thankful too to keep my indoor plants alive and doing well.

 Like the beautiful Ardisia or Coral Berry below I received for Christmas. I took it outside just for a portrait in July sunshine. It has tolerated the eggshell/banana/coffee water I've experimented with feeding it and the way I'm good at not overwatering. So, much easier to care for than I'd been led to believe too. And now getting so big I will have to think of finding another slightly larger pot but not till the fall. In the wild they can grow up to fifty feet!

A Christmas in July Plant-also called Australian Holly or Christmas Berry

Our old deliveries box finally eroded apart so I had to press into service this blue one. I keep it at the bottom of our front walkway. It saves delivery people some steps. 

My journey with number 9 in the Cottage Garden Samplings Year in the Woods series, the Woodpecker, is done. Ahh, not quite. Looking at this photo, I see a spot that needs about five more stitches. Can you see it?

He joins number 3, the Jackrabbit, that I stitched last year. 

And I'm thinking of ordering The Fox next. What an elegant fellow he is! What do you think?  Appropriate too because I am sighting many fox this summer.

But first I want to stich another bee which I 'm setting up now and will show you soon. 

I found a box of my stuff at older daughters and had fun going through it. In it was this hand stitched tablerunner I made years ago. A way to use large simple blocks.

And on the other side,  I recognized these hand embroidered motifs as William Morris designs...easy running stitch.

Meanwhile, I'm obsessing about something I watched on tv. We've been enjoying The Bear, a series on Disney and made it to season 2, episode 6 called Fishes.  I was completely unprepared for how wonderful/amazing/awful that episode would be so was idly stitching away when it began. Within minutes I had to put down the stitching. For there was Jamie Lee Curtis playing Carman's alcoholic mother, Bob Odenkirk as an uncle and Sarah Paulson playing a cousin in what becomes a wild and riveting display of Christmas family kitchen/dining complicated and unrelenting drama.  Americans do these scenes so well! Years ago, Home For the Holidays had a similar effect on me.

Jeremy Allen White is awesome in it too.

When I was thinking of starting a blog, I'd thought of writing one about books or movies or both. When I retired I promised myself I would watch a movie five days of the week...the work week. I love all genres of movies and have a lot of patience with the acting and plots though sometimes I wish I was in on the editing, LOL. That last bit goes for books I read too. 

It's good to keep up our interests, isn't it. Fun and therapeutic too. 

Happily linking this post with Songbird Designs, A Quiltery, My Quilt Infatuation, Floral Friday Foto, It's a Small Town Life and Alycia Quilts.

Project Updates, Jodi's Seedlings Book, No Bake Mini Muffins, Summer Drinks

There are certain weeds I won't cut down right away. The wild Thistles are one of them and it is for this reason. Goldfinches depend on thistles for food and use thistledown for their nests. This one was checking out the Purple Globe Thistle plant that won't bloom till late July. 

The spiritual meaning of Goldfinches is to encourage resilience and embrace changes gracefully. So many of us have been tried and tested in both those regards, right?

Mid week progress on two of my quilty projects...the extra scrappy EPP 3 inch 9 patches and more Tilda Peels. I was pleased to note fabric from four men's shirts in my 9 patches. Can you spot it?

I love Tales of Cloth where Jodi Godfrey shares her amazing slow stitching journey through life. And  when she made this book available, I had to buy it. I got my copy from Amazon. EPP is a favourite pastime of mine as you know, and I also love how Jodi's designs are uncomplicated. BTW, I found Jodi while researching the famous and beautiful Kingwell EPP Smitten quilt that so many folks stitched. Here is Beth de Maille's Smitten Pinterest page if you'd like to have a gander at that. 

One design of Jodi's in particular has been in my file for a long time. I bought a number of large pieces of soft florals when I first started fabric shopping many years ago. That was back when I thought the only way to buy fabric was by the yard. They would suit that pattern well I think. More about that later.

Jodi also has a bank of free patterns to check out. I downloaded this one called the Orbit Quilt. 

  I happened to be out front pulling weeds when my latest OddBunch box got delivered. The driver, whose name was Sarmad- I get text notifications- stood there looking around and saying beautiful, beautiful. He was so nice but had to run off quickly keeping to a schedule. I really hope his time in Canada is going well. 

I'm enjoying the challenge of using whatever appears in the box. 

To date I have had a number of items that I never buy and a few that are new to me..blackberries and radishes that I know of but never buy, tiny cucumbers called Poppers, limes, apricots, butter beans, beets, various squashes, a huge crispy living lettuce head with the roots attached and when I looked it up, had been grown with hydroponics. There are always a number of organic items, which I never buy at the grocery store. Beth and I think these are available because of how expensive groceries are esp. the organic these days.

And speaking of food, I showed you my mini muffin pan last time. That's melted chocolate there and my special vanilla older daughter brought me back from Cuba.

I made these no bake 2 bite treats and I'm loving them. I used milk chocolate for my top layer instead of the dark. They have to be kept in the fridge because the mixture gets soft quickly. I added a couple of sprinkles of sea salt.

I got my recipe-very simple ingredients- from The Roasted Root but there are many versions on the net. Instead of peanut butter you could use mashed banana. Though I love bananas, I'm not crazy about the flavour in baked things ... odd I know.

 LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's Prompt this week is if we have a favourite summertime drink. I wish I could say I did enjoy a special or fun exotic drink- I could show it with one of those mini muffins. But I do drink more of my favourite sparkling water during summer time...San Pellegrino, in particular.  Here are other drinks I keep cool in the fridge...Mango juice, Kombucha, and Cranberry Ginger Ale. And I squirt lemon and lime into everything. What about you? Iced coffees maybe?

Rain falling in sheets there outside. Day 2 of that. Thank you, Beryl. 

Otherwise, all is rosy in our garden here at the Wooden House. Hope all is equally going well for you as this summer moves right along at a very snappy pace. 

So happy to link with Kathy's Quilts, Creations Quilts Art, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

Butterfly Freebies, Blooms and Bramble Blooms II, Slow Stitching

Young robin, pond bathing...

The garden has become overgrown and I'm a bit overwhelmed trying to keep up. Who knew rain and heat interspersed with sun were the perfect combination for plant growth, :). Look how everything is spilling onto the front steps. Usually this is a late August look.

I'd planted many Day Lilies to line the beds on either side. I chose the brightest red/rust colours to contrast with the white Hydrangeas that usually steal the show. The Day Lilies are being smothered by all the other growth this year. Here is an inadvertent movie I took of one.

My Woodpecker is getting more of his feathers! I made a mistake in one of the lines and had a little unstitching to do. I waffled about pulling out the stitches because I don't think anyone else would notice. But I'm glad now I did it because it probably would continue to bug me. But I'm enjoying this slow stitching journey -I'm certainly not doing any fast stitching that's for sure.

I shared a look at a block I'd stitched for my Bramble Blooms II project a while back. The one hosted by the improv artist, Audrey, at Quilty Folk. The free pattern is called Circle of Fiends and is from Maureen Cracknell Handmade. I have the other three blocks that I'm using for a center cut and ready to stitch. I realized the block is aqua-ish and would suit for the July RSC. 

Joy at The Joyful Quilter has picked butterflies as a theme for July. Very appropriate and here are a number of free patterns featuring that summertime favourite motif.

The first is so lovely and light and summery...From Cloud 9 Fabrics

From the folks at Craft Gossip comes this wonderful variety of free butterfly quilt patterns.

I really liked the pattern from Connie Kresin, Free Motion By the River. I used to join her very popular linky party years ago. Caroline from SewCanShe has a beautiful and easily pieced butterfly in the collection too. Beautiful fabrics and butterflies...quite a combination.  

We are enjoying this show below while eating our supper...we use trays in front of the tv. Anybody else dine like that?? (I've read that Ronald and Nancy Reagan loved eating like that.)

Love the characters and situations they find themselves in. The dialogue guarantees you will be teary eyed at some point in every show. However, at the risk of sounding like a prude and old fogey, I'm a bit perturbed by how much smoking and drinking the Vicar does. Raised in the United Church/Protestant as I was, ministers did not drink or smoke. I don't know if it was a church edict as such or just had something to do with setting an example of self discipline maybe. Not just that point though, it also looks so unhealthy.  If you watch the show, you'll see what I mean. 

I wonder why I've gotten out my mini muffin pan, the one I bought to make some fancy tarts that one time about ten years ago and hasn't been used since. Have you ever done that?  You will have to drop by next time to see what I got up to with it all these years later.

Another post threatening to get too long! I always have so much to say it seems. You all take care, stay warm and toasty or cool and collected depending on where you are on this beautiful planet of ours. Here the ceiling fans are whirring!

So happy to share this post with Songbird Designs, Alycia Quilts, Quilting Patchwork Applique, So Scrappy and My Quilt Infatuation.

First Thursday of July Things and Thoughts

Bloom where you are planted. I do not remove these when they pop up in spots like this till the blooming is done.

So pretty and a marvel up close. ( Taken with my cheap phone...I miss my old macro camera feature.)

 Here is one of the Laura Wheeler quilt pattern Pinterest sites featuring some of Laura's shared designs....Laura Wheeler Quilt Patterns. I've been reading there is a mystery surrounding who Laura really was. That seems like a shame as that lady's patterns, whoever she was, were renown and reached so many women in many countries. Laura published a version of this pattern below. I've been going down a rabbit hole to find out more about it-it's called Little Boy's Breeches. Anyone familiar with it?

It would make an interesting EPP project. Btw, here are two friends who explore these older patterns and history...  Michele often chats about many vintage patterns and interesting tidbits on her Pennsylvania Piecemakers blog as does Melva at Melva Loves Scraps. I always find it interesting reading about anything vintage and the attached meanings and history. It's become popular to reproduce the look of old fabrics and cross stitch samplers, the kind stitched by girls and young women a century ago. And modern day cross stitchers are enjoying working them by the droves. They are being encouraged to attach an identifying label so someone in the future won't mistake their work for that of an original stitcher.

My Cardinal Rule is at this point now. Cardinal has his beak and wing. I did switch the white nest for a medium brown bit that in reality is darker than showing here.  Thank you all for taking the time to comment about this particular matter.

 I also decided not to use the pale orange blooms? because when I laid them all down they too seemed to be a little distracting and there were quite of few of them...

 Instead I foraged a few pieces of  deep red scraps and cut more holly berries. None of those are attached, just trying them out. I have enough wool to make a backing which will be next.

 If you have never worked with wool, you should know how lovely it is to stitch on. It is very forgiving and so soft to the hands. 

I also pulled out a couple aqua pieces to stitch more appliqued Hour Glass Blocks. The July RSC colour is aqua which is a difficult colour to pin down sitting as it does between blue and green on the colour wheel. (I looked it up). It is probably the scantiest of the colours I have on hand. And I haven't fallen off the fabric diet. Sticking to my guns. (I wonder where and how that expression came about.) I had two packs of 40 each Bella cream blocks and I've used them all. Sewing a couple of these here and there adds up.

Did Mother Robin nail true aqua?

I'm looking forward to cross stitching this weekend. And thinking about my next cross stitch project which will be another bee, a most suitable summertime theme. 

A very happy Glorious 4th to my American stitching friends! I admire the eloquent words of your Declaration of Independence written by 33 year old Thomas Jefferson. So young and so full of hope!

Thankful to share with parties at Not Afraid of Color, Kathy Quilts, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts and Quilting is More Fun Than Housework.

Chookshed Stitchers 2024 Challenge #1, Tilda Peels, Chicken Dinner

This little guy kept popping his head out. He's living in the tunnel under the back terrace plus has inherited what I imagine to be an elaborate tunnel system all over the property made by groundhogs that came before him. 

This is a very young groundhog, which are the largest of the squirrel family. Those cute ears are small and rounded to keep dirt out of them while doing all the continual digging. The yellow flowers are a mystery visitor but it has flourished there beside the little rocky manmade pool. Anybody recognize it?

Is it St. John's Wort?

The two sunny, without rain, days we had, I was outside a lot. I attempted to weed the front beds and pulled the extra large weeds that had overrun, so quickly it seems, a couple of beds in the backyard. I feel badly how the back yard gets neglected. The dogs running about back there hasn't helped. 

I took the Tilda Orange Peel blocks- slow stitching, out to the veranda and it was so enjoyable to sit, relax, and lay a few stitches. The only distractions were the beautiful garden colours and bird songs. I'll remember this come winter when the view out my kitchen window will be starkly different. 

Then I laid out all the blocks and got a sunny photo. Inside shots will not do the colours justice. 

I've prepped enough peels for 10 more blocks and see where that takes me size wise. I hope to get these all finished this month. So I'm setting this as a monthly goal and linking to OMG at Stories From the Sewing Room.

 A bit of new organization in the sewing room. I'd bought this for basement storage and decided I can make better use of it in the sewing room closet.

Moving it in there will require major moving/reorganizing what I've got tucked into that area...quite a lot. But that's okay. I love the after feeling of tidying and always discover things I'd stowed away. Update...After pulling absolutely everything out of the closet, the darn thing won't fit in there. It is too square so it will have to live tucked away in this spot, a little bit out of view in case it starts to look overrun and unruly.  But then, I'm the only one who sees it, so.... 

 But on the upside, in all the rummaging about I was pleased to realize I don't have as many UFO's as imagined (typical me to have exaggerated that number). Happy to know it's mostly flimsies needing to become fully finished.

Speaking of projects Deanna at Dreamworthy Quilts has chosen #1 for our July Chookshed Stitchers Challenge. That is another wintry project for me- the Crabapple Hill Snow Days quilt that includes a lot of embroidery. Because of that sewing room reorganization, I was able to put my hand right on it. It will be a pleasure to add stitches to these pretty scenes. Then on to those easy pieced blocks. 

 I cooked us a Sunday night stuffed chicken dinner. All the vegetables were from my weekly box. They were small potatoes so I cooked them with the skins on. Do you ever do that?

Looking forward to the leftovers too.

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!

I'm so happy to have been born in what was the newest province of Canada.  I love Canada and what it stands for. We just topped the three safest countries in the world for travelers list and importantly, we are number three in the world for quality of life for citizens. Here at the wooden house, we have nothing but praise for our healthcare system, in particular, which we have had to avail of -a lot (for one of us especially). This, despite all the depressing news reports and complaints about our elected officials, etc., etc. which, the older I get, the more I'm learning to ignore. 

• “Canada is not a country for the cold of heart or the cold of feet.” – Pierre Trudeau

I always liked that quote. 

Another week and I hope you have something wonderful taking your interest and enthusiasm. 

Very happy to share this post with The Inquiring Quilter, Friday Floral Foto, It's a Small Town Life, Quilting Patchwork Applique and Alycia Quilts.