Free Patterns, YouTube Videos, Links, Stitching Too

I did get outside for a little veranda stitching before the heat wave returned 

and, on the front of the house, the Hydrangeas are definitely dominating the space just now. 

The lawns are getting crispy and there was an announcement that the forests here in Ontario are under great stress. They've asked even hikers to stay out of them lest they start a fire. We are up to 19 days straight without any rain. Due to break with rain tomorrow. 

Here is Petey getting his morning greeting and tickle from Tony.

Besides wonderful balancing Petey, I want to point out that box...Tony's new lap top arrived in it over a week ago and guess what we are debating about it. We both agree it is a really good box, perhaps, maybe even too good to throw out. Tony is more reluctant than I am to get rid of it. He keeps saying "but it's a really good box". Now I lived with a box hoarder for 34 years so this is a very familiar conversation to me. Maybe for you too? I'll let you know the upshot of this one and since I'm in charge of putting out the garbage these days, its' fate is in my hands. Though it really would make an excellent sturdy box to house Christmas ornaments, for instance, or large quilt blocks. What do you think...the burning question...will the box stay or leave???? (:

Great days for in the cool sewing room...

Those leaders and enders tiny blocks are mounting...I found some in blues and even two in aqua to share for the RSC challenge.

I've joined all the basket blocks and added one border...it's getting massive!

And my Free Pattern file is overflowing. Time to share a few with you.

 Free Patterns from Tiny Orchard Quilts include quilt patterns and also free motion quilting lines patterns which was especially interesting to see. Megan also has a great YouTube Channel. I loved this pattern called Gift Boxes and is such a great Christmas quilt idea.

Debbie Kratovil at Quilter By Design offers what she calls calendar blocks where she shares various blocks for each month, some made by friends, plus many with free patterns right there in each post. So many free patterns!

In her July 28 post  "By the Sea", she shares 3 boat quilt designs. I've always wanted to make a boat quilt. 

The Bear Creek Quilting Company has 100 pages of free patterns like this one called American Beauty in such pretty fabrics. Who knew pinks and blues and reds could look so pretty together. 

Yarnspirations has a whole section of free patterns dedicated to beginners. If you've ever wanted to try crochet or knitting, this would be a great spot to check out. 

Speaking of which, Brenda at Brenda and the Serial Stitcher has begun crocheting! A surprising event for such a lifelong dedicated cross stitcher. She's still cross stitching, of course. But she is following Lori Holt's tutorials and making very pretty large size coasters. 

Brenda has discovered this hobby is a great way to give the eyes a rest and suits very well for "in front of the tv" stitching. 

I love this message below. Seriously striving to live it. 

I've more to share including next time my stitchy temptations and maybe a little stitchy mail. Yes, I fell off the no stitch shopping/ purchases wagon.

Hope your week is going well and take care now!

Can You See It?, Videos and Shows to Watch, Slow and Fast Stitching

August has brought welcome cooler temperatures here this week to the Ottawa Valley, Canada. The season of growing things with all the greens and the buzzing things is at its height...this meadow below was literally abuzz, so much so I would not walk through it. In particular, there was a large fly there we used to call stouts as kids. Have no idea what exactly is a stout but we were afraid of them as they could bite. 

Speaking of green, I saw this frog and was intrigued by his 2/3's brown and 1/3 green colouring. This one has his bases covered to blend in with either mud or plants. Nature is amazing which seems like not nearly strong enough of a word to even begin to describe it. 

And speaking of blending in...one morning we rounded the path to the pond and something at the furthest end caught my eye. I immediately led the dogs away and went back by myself to investigate. Another of my "can you spy it" shots. Something so tall and standing so still to almost camouflage itself.

A Great Blue Heron

I was sorry it was so far away and also it took off just as I had adjusted my camera. I would have loved getting a better photo of it. Oh well, I saw it and enjoyed the sighting.

I'm still using the Bear Bell on Ned's leash to alert any critters nearby when out on our walks. So far we have not met any so I hope it means the bell is working. 

Michele in this post at Pennsylvania Piecemaker mentioned she watches Sue at From Small Things on YouTube. I'd also discovered Sue and am enjoying her unassuming attitude and also thrifty ways all the while sewing marvelous quilts. She can get the most amazing deals on men's shirts to use for quilt fabric at regular church rummage sales, for instance. As well as all the great Oceans quilts, Sue shared and demonstrated two things that I've noted to purchase. More on that later.

Meanwhile, I've been stitching more of the Propeller blocks to bring my number to 60. Each little block is hand sewn then the four propellers machine stitched together. I'm sorry to be boring you with more photos of this simple block but this happens when there are not that many WIP's being worked on. 

July 30 was International Embroidery Day and I did stitch along while watching the amazing YouTube video. I just loved seeing so many stitchers from all over the world - I wonder how many countries were represented. And the great variety of methods they shared was incredible. Oh my, some of the surface embroidery pieces are works of art truly. 

I've stitched up to V ( no U in this alphabet) in my G. Leger 1898 alphabet. I'm eager to get to a pear but I've realized the alphabet actually takes up most of this design, not the pears or house. I don't know why I'm just understanding that now. Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees. These are the fanciest letters I've ever stitched.

A small matter but one that makes a big difference...Tony has put new lights in my sewing room ceiling fixture and I've decided not to put the very heavy ornate light dimming shade back up. It is wonderful to have this much improved lighting and will be especially important in our short darker winter days. 

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's conversation starter this week is did you play with hula hoops? Yes we girls all had hula hoops on Charles Street, Corner Brook, Newfoundland where I grew up. I am reminded of that as we are watching Offspring on Prime and in the opening song, which is really catchy, one of the characters is swinging her hips in a hula hoop. The Australians have a brilliant way of combining serious with humour so we are enjoying this one very much and loving that there are so many seasons.  

I enjoyed reading your reactions to the photo of my messy sewing room I shared last post. How kind you all are! And funny too. No, sadly no, I did not throw scraps all around just for the photo, LOL.

Hope something is putting a smile on your face and stirring your creative juices these days while you try to stay cool or keep warm, wherever you are in our big wonderful world. Take Care All!

Happy to share with these linky parties - Creations Quilts Art, Quilting Patchwork Applique, Kathy's Quilts, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, The Inquiring Quilter and So Scrappy.

Goals, Lists, Messiest Sewing Room

 I used to be the queen of list making. Put my hand in any pocket of any dress, skirt or coat and I could most likely pull out a list. Sometimes it was groceries to buy, but often book titles, fitness ideas, phrases or words I liked, too.  Having goals, especially deliberate, defined ones is a great thing and I'm never short on ideas of what I want to do, explore, achieve, etc. Here is a list of what I'm thinking right now this minute...

1. look into isometrics- can I really tighten my stomach muscles by breathing in and holding it???

 2. stop being concerned with stitching output/finishes or the lack thereof - don't let WIP's be a source of sadness not gladness. Accept you are a process stitcher!

3. write down more memories of both grandmothers 

 4. feel less panic stricken about what might (or indeed, might not) be in the future;

 5. re #4, stop trying to predict the future, you have never had that capability and time is running out for you to acquire it 

6. try to keep up with friends/acquaintances...at this rate, in very short order, outside of the tiny family, nobody will even know your name.

The wording of that last one was influenced by what we are still watching to end our night's tv viewing these days. But you know we can still laugh at the Coach's lines. 

 What about you? Are you a list maker? I know Jackie at In the Land of the Living Skies blog likes to do it and I enjoy reading her lists. Do you share any of my thoughts there on my list?

What was on my garden to do list was transplant the Coleus which had quickly outgrown its' planter. Got that done. It is getting ginormous and if only I could give all you gardeners a slip of it to grow your own. I think it is the composted soil that is helping this along but it also loves heat.

And the pretty pink veins are appearing from all the sunshine.

Yes, several asked... I planted all the Day Lilies that are here now. Here's what happened. That year when we moved in in summer time, I immediately noticed empty spots in the garden bed areas and realized the owner before us had dug up the flowers that were bulbs and taken them. I don't blame her...it had taken a long time to sell this house and they'd had to reduce the price so I think were disappointed. But don't feel too badly, they'd already built a wonderful lake house to move into. 

Should I or shouldn't I ...show you this photo below I wonder...

Diann at Little Penguin Quilts recently shared a view of her very neat and tidy sewing room. That day I couldn't resist taking a photo of mine to share. Some of you might want to look away...just looking at this might give some of you the heebie- jeebies. Am I right? I'm sharing this so you can feel so good about how you tend your own space...you're welcome, :)

My excuse...I'd emptied out the messy scrap bins onto the tables to paw through...On the up side, just looking at this photo prompted me to do a big cleanup and sort out. I do tidy a little at the end of most sessions and sweep up so I'm not wading through scraps on the floor at least. 

And further to that I had made a goal to spend more time machine stitching and I'm happy to say I've been accomplishing that this summer.

And I've begun joining Propeller blocks I've sewn so far. More to come. I think I'll need about 60 of these for a small quilt. I'm really loving how this is using up some of those sort of mid sized scraps.

Have you heard the hype about this cream?  

The Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Regeneration Cream that's supposed to take 7 years off your face. I think they've dropped that claim and I don't believe such but I figure it's probably a good cream especially for the price. I got mine on Amazon.

I hope your week is off to a great start. Tony is still slumbering and I have the garbage put out and the dogs walked so all is tickety boo here at the Wooden House. Last goal in this post...I'm going to work on my photos for what's left of this morning, something I enjoy but don't do as often as I should. Take care all!

 Happily sharing this post with Songbird Designs, The Inquiring Quilter, Creatively Beth, The Quiltery, Alycia Quilts and Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

July Sunny Days, Slow Stitching, Sampler Quilt and Soups

I got up at 6 this morning and went right out in the garden by myself which has so many rewards. (But left two pouting dogs to do so.) Instead I had my shears with me on this walkabout and did a little snipping here and there. I disturbed three turkeys who I think must have overnighted somewhere nearby. I sat by the pond and reminded my body how important it is to relax. It is hard for me to sit and do nothing...by the pond like that early morning is the closest I can come. But even then I had to open the Merlin Bird Song ID ap on my phone to identify what birds were singing. Right away it identified the Red Eyed Vireo, Chickadee and Chipping Sparrow. Just awesome.

These late July days the showy Daylilies are blooming. I tried for a variety of colours when planting these. There are yellow ones and a paler peach about too.

Here's Ned and Petey on one of the more shaded trails later on this morning. Petey is twisting his head a bit and it is for a reason.

He had found and led Ned to a downed wasps' nest and they both got a little pinch before fleeing.

No worries...whatever they felt it was momentary as they were fine right away.

 It had cooled down to 20 overnight in what has turned out to be one of the hottest Julys on record here. Midday yesterday it felt like stepping outside into an oven, reminding me of Florida.

In stitching news and attempting to divide my time equally, I got out my EPP Starry Hexagon tote and worked on those while we watched tv last night. Angela has said Aqua is August's RSC colour but we can dig back into dark blues if we wish. I do have a little aqua fabric but want to save it for another project. Anyway, meanwhile I stitched these with lighter colours for the starry centers and will use darker for the outside diamonds.

I also spent one stitching session last weekend on Basket Love laying everything out on the table to take a good look. I sorted more blocks for another border, machine stitching little 3 inch squares into patches which will set off the appliqued border on the opposite side.

 I came across some interesting bits of fabric in my stash while looking for more to suit this project, things I forgot all about. I have no recollection of buying this but I seem to have fat eigth remnants.

These are autumn colours and it would be nice if I had this flimsy ready for fall quilting.

 I'm almost finished this book by the Irish writer, Colm Toibin. This one is a kind of quiet story but with characters interesting enough to keep you reading. 

I know not everyone enjoys stitching sampler quilts...the same can be said in the cross stitching world too. But this one is so special. I've been seeing folks working on this amazing quilt...Harriet's Journey by Jennifer Chiaverini. It features 100 beautiful blocks including different ones. I like how these quilts get attention again, usually on Instagram.  Here at Amazon if you'd like to take a closer look. 

Winter or summer, we both love soups and it's always good to not have to use an oven in extreme heat, though with A/C not so much of an issue which I'm loving this year. I had a summer plan to make a homemade soup each week and I've not quite/almost stuck to it by making a soup every two weeks. So far I've made vegetable barley, split pea, chicken with variations, lentil and bean and minestrone- not that adventurous. I wish I had the tomatoes that some of you are growing in your gardens. We love tomato soup and the fresher the tomatoes the better for that. 

I read this article, 10 Simple Ingredients to Give Homemade Soup OOmp and picked up a few tips like adding Worcestershire sauce or yogurt which I'd not thought of doing. Great ideas for ramping up the nutrition too. I made us a pork roast dinner on Monday and after another meal of hot pork sandwiches with air fryer fries, I still have leftovers today. I think I will use it in a rice soup. What's cooking at your place?

Hope your week is going well and you are coping okay with whatever is on your plate at the moment because we all know there is pretty much always something up, isn't there.

Happy to link up with parties at The Inquiring Quilter, The Quiltery Kathy's Quilts, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework and Alycia Quilts.

 

80 Quilt Blocks Later, Growing Fruit, Tackling Thistles

It is not just the Goldfinches that tackle those spikey Bull Thistles. I've noticed two different kinds of butterflies giving them lots of attention too. Here is the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail in it's July brilliant yellow.

And an interesting brown with blue spots butterfly that took me some time to find a name for and am still unsure but think it is a Black Swallowtail. 

 

These poor three plants are doing triple duty as they are loaded with bees too looking for nectar.   

I got waylaid from chores this morning but for a great reason. The garden was looking so lush and beautiful in the 8 am light, I had to go out and do a walkabout (it is also cooler then too). After all, these summer mornings are fleeting. There are a number of meadow like areas that are full of wild flowers this time of year. That's an outbuilding of ours in the distance. 

The daisies, purple and violet loosestrife and wild salvia are blooming with butterflies flitting and bees buzzing. It all made me think of how much beauty this land holds for me that I would miss. I've loved being so up close outside pretty much every day of the year with land like this to tramp about. But then, nature, in all its forms, fascinates me so wherever I am plopped down, I think I would find outdoorsy things to enjoy...hopefully. 

The shallow part of the pond has dried up - a sign of the extreme heat this year- so we will have to hook up the water hose to the well down there to run some water in it.

This exposed what I'm pretty sure is the muskrat's old den. 

I finished my little walk back at the meadow on the side of the house. The Smoke tree there is blooming too with the hardy Black Eyed Susans poking through trying to reach the sun. It is much much taller than I am but so hard to tell perspective in this photo.

This week I worked on my G.Leger cross stitching piece- finished the letter "P", while catching up with YouTube super star stitchers like Kathy at Kathy's Quilts. Kathy also hosts the very popular Sunday Slow Stitching party so many of us enjoy. HERE is the link.

I took this photo in the sewing room of my stacks of String blocks and the partly hand stitched and wonky Propeller blocks -there are 40 of each now. That's 80 blocks for me in a relatively short time.  And I'm especially pleased with these for the scrap busting aspect of the two blocks...so I tell myself.

I'm going to look up string block layouts. And can you see how my large cutting mat has gotten a wave in it. Any way to fix that?

LeeAnna's- Not Afraid of Color -conversation this week is about summer time foods. I make potato salad this time of year and we also eat more corn on the cob, strawberries and watermelon in season. When I found wild raspberries growing way over near the border with the neighbour, I uprooted several bushes and replanted them on the bank near the side entrance where there is good sunlight all day. That would have been about 6 years ago and after poor showings for a few years, they have gradually spread and are especially doing well this year.

 The reason I did this is because it is Tony's favourite fruit...not so much mine as I'm not crazy about the seeds. These are the black when ripe variety of wild raspberries. I've picked a small bowl every four or five days for him. Wild berries typically have twice the nutritional value as farmed, a fact that surprises me. 

Having a garden requires patience and time, I've come to realize, especially so for fruit growing. :)

👍Tony wanted me to tell you thanks very much for mentioning him and wishing him well in your comments and emails. We both appreciate the sharing and kind thoughts. 

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

Happily sharing this post with The Inquiring Quilter, Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework and Songbird Designs.

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