Me in My Thrift Find, Hand Stitching Progress and Cake Too

 The only constant in my days is that they are flying by. Does time speed up in the summer months I wonder. We had Tony's birthday celebration last week and he is now 87 and counting. It was a somewhat sad day as he reflected on all the people he has lost including another good friend in recent months. Things brightened up though when we went out for a meal to a nearby restaurant with Beth and Brad. Beth made him a beautiful chocolate cake, his favorite. She uses Barry's recipe found at his site, Rock Recipes, and it was very moist and delicious. 

Everything is in full bloom which is beautiful. This means the weeds are also doing well. I've had to pull out a lot of Manitoba Maple as well as a new weed that grows straight and tall. Every day, I pick a part of one of the gardens to work on and spend about twenty minutes tidying it. Here is the view from my kitchen window these days with the Hydrangeas putting on their usual amazing show.

I said this would be the summer of dresses and I've added a couple to my wardrobe. This mauve one is a thrift store find from Old Navy. Though it isn't slimming, it is light and airy making it perfect for an Ontario summer. And this is as long as I'm letting my hair grow- to the bottom of my earlobes. That Smoke Tree is enormous. 

I'm happy with my summer of 2026 hand stitching progress too. Summer Feels is almost finished. I've just a few stitches here and there to add still. And I've finally gotten a photo that shows the true colour of that background linen. It's such a pretty shade. I've added three butterflies that weren't in the pattern. That is something I would never do in the past but now my thoughts are different. Who cares if I do that? No one is who. What's a summer garden without butterflies and they filled in sort of blank spaces. 

I'm finishing my appliqued Quarter Dresden project too. The last ten blocks are getting appliqued this week. I was aiming for 50 and I think I've sewn more than that. Such an enjoyable stitching project and I've loved every minute of each of the stages creating these blocks. Next will be layout decisions.

I've also been adding to my Liberty Puddles WIP. This was a SAL in 2022 run by The Strawberry Thief over on Facebook and there are videos available. I'm on the sixth panel now. Surely my scraps must be diminishing with all this scrappy stitching. You'd think, right. Here it is on the chair where I'd been stitching on the patio. 

The dogs are loving getting out for a long walk early morning before the day heats up. I shake a Bear Bell to warn any critters that might be about. A fox has been visiting the yard regularly lately and I really would not want an encounter with the dogs.

 They are so joyful running about and that always puts a smile on my face. 

I hope you are smiling too. 

It's a wild world out there. Is it just me or is it getting wilder??? Take care of yourself!

Spring Cleanup, Finishes, A New Start

 Here are the dogs taking a dip one day when the clouds did a very unusual thing.

They swirled and darkened above us in the center with a rim of brightness all around the horizon's edge. It looked like we were under a bowl of doom, LOL.

  It was both neat and threatening looking. And I wish I could have captured some kind of surround photo. Everyone's complaining about the cold and cloudy spring. The weather people keep promising higher temps that don't happen or there is a chilling breeze. 

My Merlin Sound ID ap is identifying usually seven or eight different birds around the pond every morning. Nashville Warbler is the new one to me but I've yet to see it. Keep hoping to.

Meanwhile, here is the second brightest bird I get to photograph, the Blue Jay. 

My cross stitched project that is an homage to Mom is finished. I think of her every day, usually with something I want to ask her about. 

And here is my next summer cross stitching project, Summer Feels, from the clever folks at The Artsy Housewife. They have an Owl design that I love, but my rule is this one has to be done before ordering another.

 I don't stitch on coloured fabric that often but the design certainly suits this pinkish shade of 32 count Belfast linen called Sorbet. I already know I will struggle to show you this colour as it really is.  

And here are the flosses around my upside down very tiny start.

My FPP Primrose Flowers small quilt is at the flimsy stage. I've sized it to fit a certain side table here. These blocks are pretty and the FPP makes the sewing go quickly. Now to choose a backing and get it layered for quilting.

Meanwhile I'm almost finished the quilting lines on the Lone Star Medallion. I'm using the seams as a guide.  I'm also using Frog Tape to help keep the lines straight too. Any of you use that?

 May has been a productive month for me. I've changed over the bed linens and reorganized three closets. I've cleaned out the flower beds in front and to the side of the house...still have more to do in the back yard. I tidied up the laundry area in the basement where I also keep all my plant stuff. It's one of those places where you dump things and can get messy after a while.

 There have been three ticks on me so far and I do a check every night. I'm using the OFF Tick spray and so far it seems to be working; last year I'd found 7 or 8 ticks at this point.  

Yes this is the center of a Tulip. Besides the brilliant yellows, I like the hexagon shape and the brushed edges of the brown.  There's so much more beauty to see when you look closely. Plants don't disappoint...unlike weather, people, politicians, etc. LOL

I do hope there is nothing disappointing you! One final thing... I've bought a fitness device that I'm loving. I'll share next time. 

Marvelous May, Floral Beauty, Slow Stitching Updates

We don't get to see sunsets here with the way the house is situated but we can occasionally see the effects of sunsets like this one below. The woods in the back yard were glowing with these vibrant colours; it looked surreal. 

I love when I manage a sighting of a Pileated Woodpecker, even better when it stays just long enough for me to grab a photo.  Any of the large birds are thrilling to photograph even when from quite a distance. 

 

My stitching fingers have been busy. For embroidery, I picked up my French Floralies piece to work on this week. Here is the chart posed beside my Madagascar Jasmine which is happily sending out new shoots. I'm always relieved when these older plants survive the winter. The beautiful white flowers are very similar to Magnolias which, btw, is the state flower of both Mississippi and Louisiana. 

Here is a photo of enjoyable veranda stitching on this project last summer with pink Wiegelia bushes in bloom. BTW, if you are thinking of new flowering bushes for your garden, consider Weigelias as they are so hardy and bloom for long periods. The pinks they come in are gorgeous too. 

And now it is finished. Surface embroidery is one of my many loves and of the twelve different stitches used in this design, satin stitch is my favourite. HERE is the link to the Canevas Folies site where you can see other gorgeous kits and patterns they offer. Canevas Folies is French for canvas/ tapestry whims or follies. Some of you may be interested in this link which takes you to their blog and the step by step instructions to Needle Paint an apple. It is easy to follow and you can achieve stunning results.

Tony thinks the photo isn't doing it justice which is a nice complement. He seldom notices these things. :)

I've finished the quilting lines on my Flowers and Butterflies woolen piece- photos later, and now have my Lone Star Medallion quilt topper is back in the quilting hoop and about time too. Here it is last summer. I did layer it up at the time, began the stitching and didn't like how untidy my lines looked so took out all the stitches. So maybe second time now will be the charm. 

This was stitched using EPP so it took a while to remove the paper triangles too. I'm so eager to get this one finished. Sigh

We've been busy with appointments including another one for Tony where we met our new doctor. He's at least twenty years younger than our last and we both liked him very much. He gave Tony the very good news that the lung nodule has not grown and he also had a suggestion about his medications. The one he takes for high cholesterol is known to casue tiredness in some people so he wants Tony to half the dosage to see if it makes a difference in his case. Tony was surprised (and to be honest, a bit angry) as no doctor has mentioned this to him before. Of course, he will give that a try and it buoyed his spirits to think he might have a chance to feel better. 

 

Dog walking has been wonderful especially seeing up close all the changes with spring taking hold now, in spite of it being a wet, cold one. I'll leave you with a photo taken from the tv room window (that has a screen on it) of my deliriously happy pups relaxing on the back veranda. Note the snow shovel that needs putting away- finally!

Also from that same chair, I'm watching the Phoebes who are back-yeah!- and using the same nesting spot on the wall as last year. I do hope things are also going well for you wherever you are in this wonderful world of ours!

Photos of Lucky, Interesting,Yummy, and Stitchy Things

 It has been raining all night and all day. But that's good; it will help clean up the ground. The wetland on one side of the pond is finally free of ice and I flushed a pair of ducks when taking this photo last week. The Peepers are finally making their spring calls early morning. They can sound quite raucous and I read why...the females choose their mates by the volume of their sounds. 

Yesterday I  spotted these two on the pond so took this photo from a great distance and I wonder if they are the pair that made a nest there last year. It was pouring down rain but they looked comfortable enough.

I took this photo of another movie being filmed in one of the nearby towns, Carleton Place, where we go for Tony's hearing aids. That was the second one filmed there in March. They were using the local butcher's shop in this strip mall. It's kind of fun to see all the crew and equipment it takes for just a couple minutes of film. 

 Easter this year coincided with Brad's birthday so Beth brought over two cakes for our get together. We've been enjoying cake every night for dessert since.

The birthday cake was a Carrot Cake to die for. Yes and that is its' name. TO-DIE-FOR Carrot Cake. It was huge and heavy and shifted a little during transport. The recipe is found here on Trish's Mom On Time Out site. You will not be disappointed if you give this one a try!

And the Easter Cake was a cake that featured a favourite of mine, Peeps. It is the Peeps Sunflower Cake and the recipe is found here at Taste of Home.

 Isn't it neat!

 During my last ramble through a thrift store, I came across this sweet baby quilt. The edging was a new design to me and it was so striking, I took a photo to share with you. It added so much interest to a simple quilt made with a panel. Have any of you used this method for a binding? I'm sure it must have a name.

And my own stitching...more Flicker blocks featuring a few pinks, another colour I'm short on.

I'd hung on to this scrap of fabric below with the pretty tulips, debated using it in this project, and then decided it's time had come. You have probably done that very same thing. 

I'm so happy the season is shifting even though so far it has been sunless and very wet, the latter I'm hoping will be good for the forests. LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt last week was if we like spring. That would be a resounding yes from me; spring is a very welcome season here in the Ottawa Valley. The Pussy Willows are starting to open and pretty soon I'll see green shoots underfoot. 

I'll leave you with this photo Tony took of the three of us very lucky creatures last year. 

I'm sending mental well wishes to you all wherever you are in this topsy turvey world. Try to stay calm while we stitchers ride out this storm together.  

Wooden House Still Winter Roundup

 Here is one of the Mother trees near our laneway featuring in a photo taken Wednesday. 

It's still mostly winter here and that's all I'll say about that. I suppose it's appropriate that I'm still knitting my very warm afghan. Here's how long it is now.

The male Cardinal is even more beautiful this far into what should be spring. He may be the showiest bird we have in Canada especially against a winter landscape.

And I'm so happy the Barred Owls have returned to Jim's nesting box in Indianna. They were a little late which made us worry it would be the first time in 13 years that no owl would choose the box. Here is the video after egg #2 was laid and Here is the link to the live cams run by the wonderful Cornell Lab folks.

Tony forwarded this to me. 😊 Fair enough, I am a little obsessed with them. 

Here are a few more of my little appliqued snowmen in progress. I decided I needed a teacup snowman, a sailor, and a ghost in the house snowman. It's fun to stitch these. I also machine stitched a couple 9 patch blocks to see if I liked the white better than the dark colour of the original pattern and I think I do. 

It's been a busy week with appointments every day including the vet. Tick season is almost here and we needed the special medication for the dogs that helps repel insects.

Here's a photo of the happy freeloaders. Petey would never join Ned on his couch but does so now, a sign of his comfort with us all. Ned disappears on this couch as his coat matches the colour exactly.

 I'm finding there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. I fight the feeling that I am falling behind. Behind what exactly? Ridiculous, I know.

I hope you are not feeling behind on things and finding something to soothe you from the news out there that is all miserable. Even the Oscars, which I normally enjoy, upset me to see and hear about this new thing that some women feel they have to take to be thin. Madness!

Take care of yourselves!

Happy to share this post with great linky parties- Alycia Quilts, The Inquiring Quilter, Songbird Designs and Creations Art Quilts.

Kindness Counts, Free Patterns, Flicker Blocks

We had a snowstorm ten days ago and I captured this shot of Petey from my tv room chair. Ned is still off somewhere in the yard. Neither of them seemed aware of the wild weather all around them. This is the most snow we've had on the ground since living in this house. I can touch the roof in places. It means the ground will get a lot of water this spring and after a couple of drier years, that's a good thing. 

 Back in 2016, just over ten years ago, I wrote this post called 5 Healthy Things I'm Doing.  I reread it recently and was happy to find I'm still doing those things most of the time; the oil pulling has fallen by the wayside but I've picked up a couple of other practices. Like doing 10 or so squats each day. 

You would think we had a beaver living with us. Ned still loves sticks and snuck in a rather large one by the looks of the leftover chewings. I have a high tolerance for pet shenanigans. 

I needed to find my button tin and had to do some digging. That's always a good thing because I come across so many things I'd forgotten about. Like these Blue Strings blocks I stitched last year. I couldn't settle on an arrangement, became overwhelmed by all the layout choices, hence became paralyzed and did nothing. Has that happened to you? Is that why you have WIP's too?

And finally the button tin was unearthed. It's an original Scottish McVitie's & Price famous Petticoat Tail Shortbread tin. The wedges had a frilled end like a lady's petticoat. 

I inherited this from the first wife and I wonder who she inherited it from. I'm hoping to find a few interesting buttons to use with my appliqued snowmen.

I stitched the first four Flicker blocks in the March RSC reds. Thought I'd switch up the backgrounds so using darker shades for this round. 

I still love this free cross stitch pattern from the amazing Teresa Kogut. I enjoy her YouTube videos too. HERE is the link to her website.

Kindness is Free and what a sweet design it is too. Teresa always puts a lot into each of her designs. 

And the Moda Fabrics folks still offer this project below that includes quilting and embroidering. Stitching Kindness is a beautiful red and white quilt from Susan Ache. The patterns are all there to stitch this quilt and copy the words. I was thinking this pattern would make one of those quilts you could put family names on. 

HERE is the link to Susan's beautiful quilting books for sale on Amazon too. 

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week is about hair cuts we've had. Since I cut my own hair, I have no one to blame for several bad cuts I've sported at times throughout the years. Getting a professional cut hasn't always worked out either...like the last one. It wasn't a good cut at all and I came home and did some trimming. I felt sorry for the lady who did it. She was a single working mom and I gave her a big tip. And I've since wondered how she is doing because it is a competitive business.

I do hope all manner of kindnesses are surrounding each and every one of you. 💗

So happy to share this post with Small Quilts and Doll Quilts, Quilting is More Fun Than Housework, So Scrappy  Melva Loves Scraps, The Inquiring Quilter, Quilts, Art, Whatever and Songbird Designs.

Christmas Quilting, Baking and Colours

I've made the list and in my case, I've had to check it not twice but three times. I've been wrapping and making note of what's for who, etc. I'm trying not to do what Mom always did and that was to find presents tucked away in a drawer somewhere the next July. Does that happen to you?

I worked really hard to get this Peppermint Trees quilt top to this stage with all the trees appliqued and outlined in blanket stitch. The trunks are not stitched down yet. I had to take it outside to photograph; it's too dark these days inside. So here it is on the front veranda in the snowy light.  HERE is the link to Helen's Etsy shop and the pdf download of her pattern if you'd like to check it out.

The little garden girl on a swing was a gift to me from Robbie. 

I've made it longer to suit a spot over the long stairwell. And my plan is to sandwich this and ready it for quilting as soon as I can. In the original design, Helen used straight lines around the trees in each block which looked great and is so doable for me so I will try to do the same. 

And I've also been hand stitching more quilting lines on Christmas Presents too. Some of these fabrics are so pretty and have splash of gold too. 

I'm halfway down the quilt, rolling it as I go which is not ideal but semi working for me. I do love the hand quilting part but the wraggling of something this size is difficult.  This experience is making me wonder if you should look into getting a quilting frame. 

I'm using DMC perle 8 in a variagated mint green to stitch the quilting lines.

 

I've been enjoying a Youtube channel called Rowsells Everyday Off Grid in NL. I especially love Diane's baking videos. In this one below, she made two favourite cookies/squares/slice -whatever you call them in your part of the world. I like her enthusiastic and down to earth attitude. I wonder what you think of her kitchen; it looks so eclectic and I really like it. 

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The first one she makes, the Five Star cookie/ bar, is very popular in Newfoundland and is so easy to make. Perhaps there is another name for this particular treat in other places. It uses Aero bars for the topping.

LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week was do we like the colours red and green. They certainly are the traditional Christmas duo aren't they. Yes, I like them, especially the vintage kind of shades. And here is a welcome red I love to spot. The male Cardinal visited one of the feeders while the female stayed on the ground below. I wonder are they the same pair I'm spying all the time.

Winter chores have kicked in- shovelling snow, throwing deicer on the front steps- we had four large bags delivered, and my favourite chore, refilling the feeders. And I'm off to walk the dogs now, another favourite activity here at the wooden house. And Petey senses when that time is. He's a dog that looks you in the eye with such pleading stares. Who could resist this? 

Hope this time of year on the very cusp of Christmas is going well for all of you and you don't feel rushed. That it is "the most marvelous time of year" for you. 

Happily sharing this post with Alycia Quilts, The Inquiring Quilter, Days Filled With Joy and Creations Art Quilts.