Yesterday was a middling day with no appointments and drizzling outside making it gloomy inside. My mind was all over the place and I felt like I accomplished only odd bits and pieces here and there all day. Like I played with things rather than getting down to working. Sometimes a blank day is a good thing to have and other times it becomes meandering, missing some drive, so that I get little done. But all that matters less as a retiree as no one is depending on my "work".
However I did have a little sort of work recently. That was sewing his name on both Robbie's hockey jerseys. He's playing hockey in a league again this year and has moved up a level. Hockey is huge here! But this is just for fun with absolutely no pressure which is a good thing. As long as he enjoys it, his parents will support him.
The Ladybird books were a part of my childhood and I was happy to also share them with my girls. Are they familiar to you? I came across this one in a thrift store and almost bought it and now regret I didn't. I love this cover.
Do you like whimsy? I really do. And it taps into my sentimentality about things from childhood too.
This also reminded me that the mushrooms did not fare well here this year. Maybe July's heat and humidity affected them; no idea. Other things were outstanding. Like the Hydrangea that is still sending out blooms and getting tinged with pink by the cooler overnight temperatures. Side view.
LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week has to do with fortune telling like having our palms read.
I've had mine read three times in my life.
The first time what stood out was she said I would have two children and a long marriage both of which I did. 34 years with first hubby which I guess is long.
The second one talked about emotions and health more than anything else. Nothing concrete though more general like I was kind and emotional and creative and might live a long life...I tried to pin her down on what she meant by long but no deal.
The third one in San Francisco told me I had many children. I told her that was untrue. She insisted my hand was showing many children...she got a little curt with me in fact. Finally I said I had just two children but I was around kids as a teacher. She said, ahh then you treat your students like they are your children. She also told me I showed my emotions but was secretive about true feelings like, she went on, you are hiding a deep sadness. I welled up as I thought she had struck a chord. Later, when I thought about it, I figured she said that to everyone because perhaps we all have a deep sadness within us. What do you think? I do think she was probably the best of the lot at "reading" people maybe not necessarily palms.
Anyway, all in good fun. What about you? Have you had your tea leaves read or your palm?? I'd love to hear about it!
My Plus quilt binding is done! I'm going to put it through the wash and have it all ready for a little squishy Christmas gift.
Pumpkins are neat gifts too!
That reminds me of one of my daughters when she was little not liking Christmas presents that were squishy, assuming they were clothes, :D
Hope you have had a good week and now something fun to look forward to on the weekend!
I photographed this fellow from my usual lookout spot... the kitchen window. He was checking out the bird feeder area and on high alert all the while. He looked well fed and had a beautifully coloured coat that shone in the autumn sun.
I noticed all the little critters immediately disappeared. The only birds that hung around were the Blue Jays and they kept squawking at him. Then I saw this...a Chipmunk taking cover inside this fir bush.
It was cute how he kept poking his head in and out (reminded me of that Whack a Mole game) checking if Mr. Fox was gone or not. He stayed safe!
I was complaining to my friend about not sleeping well and she asked if I was reading at night these days as that always made her sleepy. I confessed I've been using audiobooks recently. So I borrowed this ebook from the library, The Last Gentleman, by Walker Percy. It was a National Book Award finalist back in the sixties. I'm enjoying the writing very much and am reading a few "pages" each night before turning in. I'm also back on the Chamomile tea for after supper sipping. I never tire of reading your suggestions for improving sleep so do keep them coming.
It's the time of year when the 2023 Christmas Ornaments issue is published by the Just Cross Stitch folks. I have a couple older versions and I think the designs have gotten more elaborate and interesting over the years.
Here CZ does a flip through of the latest issue. Really beautiful designs being chosen these days.
Speaking of great designs, our good friend, Melisa at Pinker n Punkin Quilting & Stitching, has again generously offered a lovely free design to cross stitch- the Halloween one is part of her wonderful Mason Jar series. Halloween Mason Jar Freebie What amazing talent and generous spirit!
The Aqua table runner is getting it's binding chosen today. And my stitching just now is getting the binding sewn onto the Plus Quilt. Going well and I like this green polka dot fabric; I hadn't noticed just how many greens were in the flowery fabrics but there are a lot. And the Sulky variegated green thread is matching it well.
I mentioned tidying in the sewing room during which I seem to have misplaced my little autumn runner I'd started as a QAYG piece. It's around here somewhere.
Just had a UPS fellow drop off our new pool tarp and knocked on the door to let me know a pick up truck had come down our long driveway and left just before him...it struck him as odd. That was nice of him, I thought. A few minutes later, he's back at the door to tell me there were a bunch of people looking for a lost dog out on our main road so that's probably why a strange truck was here. That was really nice of him. I did a run around of our trail but didn't see any dog. Do hope they have found it. Just hate lost pets. Update...the dog didn't get mentioned on the local neighbourhood Facebook page so I'm thinking it was found.
Hope you are hanging onto all your things and especially your wits. :D
I took this photo of Tony and Ned walking one of the 4 marvelous public walking trails within a few minutes of the house. This is the one where Beth walks Petey and Abbey. We wondered if Ned could smell them. Don't know about his legs, but his nose certainly got a workout!
Speaking of Abbey and Petey, here is a cute brief video Beth took of them. They are definitely lovable Labs.
This strange orange glowing dessert below is my Plum Crisp in the oven light. I'd bought a basket of small plums and they were bitter- so disappointing. Has that happened to you? They looked so good in their cute little basket. But anyway, perfect to use in a welcome October crisp. Tasty with a little ice cream. I used The Seasoned Mom's recipe to work out proportions of flour and oats but of course, I always add extra oats and this is something I will use real butter in too.
I'm ready to set a monthly goal again and join the party at Stories From the Sewing Room. I desperately need borders and bindings on the latest two hand pieced and quilted projects. So a two for one monthly goal is what it will be. And that will require me to get back to machine stitching, but oh well. Needs must!
A little veranda stitching...yes, afternoon temperatures are quite warm and enjoyable. The latest in the season I've ever been able to do this.
This Plus Quilt is 40in x 42in which is a bit odd as I thought it was square. 😕 I'm now adding lines in the opposite direction.
And of course I hope to get the layering done and begin quilting the aqua quilt table runner this week.
I came across this small quilt below, expertly sewn a long time ago by unknown hands...a happy thrift store purchase. The very deep greens are batik. Time to display it on one of my surfaces. It photographed well outside on the deck.
It was a deja vu moment; the pattern rang a bell because I've actually shared it before here on the blog.
And Donna also made a video called Fall Leaves Table Runner showing how she stitched it. My unknown stitcher stopped at one leaf to make a table topper.
" As I get older, I just prefer to knit." - Tracey Ullman
Unlike Tracey, the knitter, I am not monogamous. But I can certainly identify with the desire to stitch above all else as I age. HERE is an amusing article about Tracey and knitting. It includes a superstition about knitting I'd never heard before. Have you?
I love reading about your stitchy preferences, btw, and I'm always learning from you. And thanks so much for the kind words you take the time to share with me about my own stitchy endeavors.
My ring fingertip, right hand, that pushes my needle when hand stitching, is feeling a little sore this morning. I punctured it while stitching and the needle seemed to keep finding that one little hole but I didn't have the sense to stop, of course. Will give it a rest for a day.
I mentioned a few years ago I wanted to grow Coleus and finally set a packet of seeds this spring. When I put out the tiny plants, some critter ate most of them and these few here below somehow survived. I'm happy to have these and hope they will fare well now when brought into the house later on.
All the Marigolds were also grown from seeds and I chose the autumn colours at the time. I wish I'd put them all in one big pot instead of spreading them throughout different pots as they would make such a pretty show now.
I've been reading how to gather seeds from the Zinnias and Marigolds and will give it a try. The beginnings...
We got together with Tony's former in laws last weekend. We went to a pub in a nearby village which serves English style pub food. We were slow to finish our wonderful meals as we had so much catching up to do with all the news. I was struck by the ceiling lamp in real stained glass which is something I love. It was enormous and there were two of them.
Remember the Plus Quilt?
Free pattern from kind Mollie at her Wild Olive site. It is a perfect lap size and I've removed all the templates and started the hand quilting in diagonal lines. Sorry it looks so rumpled; should have given it a little press.
I haven't shown the back fabric before. A neutral with green/grey swirly flowers.
I haven't used the machine in ages but I feel like I'm getting lots of stitching done.
I notice folks are starting their Autumn and Halloween stitching. Projects are cropping up and always fun to see. Here are a couple of free patterns featuring leaves that I've been eyeing from the Quilt Inspiration Autumn Leaves Bank .
This pattern is Turning Leaves and is from Cloud 9 Fabrics. Looks completely different when sewn in different colours as you'll see at that link.
And this one is Mirrored Leaves from A.E. Nathan and the free pattern is in the main link above...you'll have to scroll through to find it but that is not a hardship as there are so many beautiful patterns you'll be looking at.
Thank you for all the comments and emails about canned meat and the ways you or your mothers and sometimes hubbies use/used it. Yes, that was a staple in many cupboards back in the day and our mothers relied on it for busier week days like wash days, etc. It reminded me that Mom would take tinned corned beef, mix it with mashed potatoes and make patties. Those would be fried and served with her homemade pickles or beets and of course, homemade bread. You could make a meal out of it, as they would say.
Anyway, generations now know nothing of designated wash days or breadmaking days, etc. That's almost laughable now.
Here at the wooden house, it is a day to get some of the summer clothes put away and drag out the next heavier duvet (yes, the top bed covers have varying warmth levels).
Hope your week is ending on a high note and there is something to look forward to in your weekend!
We seem to be down to just one ground hog-this fellow. After the dogs gave him a little chase in the back yard one day, I now see him more regularly out front and on the side lawn. There's about 9 more acres he could explore so I'm not sorry he's not in the fenced back yard.
The crocuses opened and faded quickly in the intense heat we had -that was a little bit sad. But a traditional sign of rebirth in the garden however brief.
The dogwood trees are in bloom also. Many of them here and all the greens are intense.
Inside the house has been cleared out a little. I put away all the knitted throws and quilted blankets and the inside flowers/plants are all moved to outside pots. That last bit took all Saturday morning. I also moved a lot of firewood closer to the house with older grandson's help. It's all been stacked neatly by the back door in close reach for next winter's fires.That night I was tired and my finger ached so I made the decision to have a very quick and easy supper. Cheesy wiener hot dogs with a side of potato chips. No one complained.
I've enjoyed hand stitching this easy star block for my red Rainbow Neighbourhood house. Hopefully the whole house will be finished by Thursday.
I'm also digging out fabric for the borders on my Plus Quilt. That is something I want done this week as well.
I came across this wonderful post from The Repro Quilter called Ten Tips for Making Scrappy Quilts. It's not like I haven't heard many of the ideas before, but it's helpful to have reminders. And it seems each stitcher adds an idea or two that works well for them which is always interesting.
And something I've been eyeing...Nicola at Cake Stand Quilts has this beautiful summery sampler pattern for sale called Primrose Hill. Her site is lovely with such pretty projects. Talented Nicola is a designer for Moda Bakeshop.
From now on, weeding and general garden work will be on my TO DO list each week. Also I want to get my hummingbird feeder hung and make a decision about which flowering bush I'll add to the garden this summer.
Help!
I've been busy with the various yard chores, taking care of us and tending to family duties. I've felt a little exhausted at times. Handling my own stress levels continues to be a goal of mine and I am loath to resort to a drug therapy (but if I have to, I will, sigh). If you have any ideas of things/exercises/ health items, natural remedies, etc. that work for you in this regard, please let me know. Your kind and encouraging comments always mean the world to me. Thanking you in advance...
The first and only flowers in the garden to open so far are these miniature Daffodils. They popped up in an area full of low growing shrub used for hedges - I don't know the name but may be Juniper. But I think the thick shrub kept them protected somehow during the adverse spring weather.
The turkeys have been walking through lately and I was quite taken with this male travelling with four females. Wow to all those feathers!
He is surprisingly colourful with blue around his eyes and an interesting red as well. I'll say again I'm astonished by the tiny head in comparison to the large body.
LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week was do we speak another language. Sadly no, but I am taking French lessons still online with Duolingo...I'm up to Unit 8 now going slowly because I am repeating lessons. French is an official language of Canada and I'd love to improve...better late than never. What about you?
In my sewing room I've been working on my orange house. Most of my time has been spent sewing the little block because I'm stitching it by hand. It's just a 6 inch block so it shouldn't take long.
I've also made great headway with the EPP Scrappy Plus Quilt.It is so boring to show you more of the single pluses. I couldn't resist sewing some together to see how it would look. I'm stitching these at night watching tv so grabbed a photo in there...not a great shot but you can get the idea at least. Love EPP!
Another great way to use up scraps... This free Scrappy Irish Chain quilt pattern by Jessie Fincham is the perfect choice. Jessie shares how to turn scraps into 18 inch squares to easily create this quilt. I'm going to look more closely at this pattern to see how that works.
Pieces of the Past is running a free BOW starting May 15. It features scrappy (or not) Dresdens and is called Dresden Picnic.
Yarnspirations is an amazing site for free patterns in knitting, crochet, embroidery, sewing, etc. like this really delicate Tea Cup to cross stitch.
I do enjoy Mary's way of explaining feelings.
“Ten times a day something happens to me like this - some strengthening throb of amazement - some good sweet empathic ping and swell. This is the first, the wildest and the wisest thing I know: that the soul exists and is built entirely out of attentiveness.” ― Mary Oliver
These days most of the wetland area is flooded and unwalkable which is too bad as the path winds through neat little treed areas. It was near this spot, I went through the ice and up to my thighs in water back a couple of years ago. About August, this area will dry out enough to walk without boots. The tree in the middle is a monstrous size, one of the Mother Trees here and I call it a Halloween tree.
The mallards are back on the little pond- I wonder each year if they are the same ducks. I watched them glide up as far as this tree foraging. The photo below was taken from a great distance as they alert very easily.
You'll note the bits of green there. Everyone is talking about how we went from that horrid ice storm to high temperatures...30C and even a humidity warning in the space of one week. We could actually watch our banks of snow melt. So spring is here now and I'm going to ignore that the word snow is in the midweek forecast.
Now then, I had a successful stitching weekend.
First I made a bunch of EPP Plus blocks. Itching to begin stitching these together; I will love that part. These are beiges and neutrals.
Then I stitched another house in the mmm quilts Rainbow Neighbourhood project- this is the most cutting and piecing I've had to do on a quilt ( except for Farmer's Wife). I usually choose projects with simple shapes as I have little to noconfidence with cutting accurately. I say I enjoy learning so I think I'll share with you a lesson learned with each house I stitch.
Using the same pattern certainly has its benefits but each house will teach me something new. This time...
Lesson Learned: Cut all my outer pieces a little larger so I can trim it all back at the very end.
With Ned who enjoys quilting photo shoots so much
and without Ned, LOL
The block on the side is from The Quilt Block Bible book by Rosemary Youngs. I've started another roof and am thinking of purples for the next one. I will have to dig deep to find anything that colour. I have just a few pieces from old Halloween sewing somewhere.
Online shopping recently led me to this site...Nature Reflection Jewelry that I thought you might also like. Since losing what jewelry I owned in my fire, I don't buy much, just for my girls. This has a soft chime with movement that's supposed to be calming. (Not affiliated, just sharing).
For embroidery folks, Australian stitcher, Joy is offering another free SAL. This Days Filled With Joy is for Spring and is just so lovely.
I did well to calm my mind and thoughts this week. I also upped my exercise level which I hope to continue. For me there is a direct link between movement and feelings, I've no doubt now.
Also I will be busy continuing cleaning this week...closets, the car, the veranda, etc. Everything needs a clean sweep!
I'm late posting because we just had a horrible Ice Storm that knocked out power. More about that next time.
My doggy daycare has been going well. Daughter reports her dogs are tired and put themselves to bed early these days which means they are getting their exercise here. These aren't their real beds...I know one sleeps with Robbie and one with the adults every night. LOL
Daughter has been seeing a physiotherapist and finding his advice on exercises working out well. She is finally feeling some improvement from that horrible adductor tear injury, thankfully.
LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color's prompt this week was what did we get for Easter treats growing up. We always had those straw baskets with flimsy handles and covered with coloured cellophane. I would share the small candy eggs with my sister because she had a sweet tooth. There was always a new Easter outfit with a hat and white gloves to wear to church and a large meal afterwards. It made Easter a special time once the drabness of Good Friday was over. BTW, does anyone remember that t.v. for Good Friday was just movies or shows having to do with Good Friday? Imagine that!
I've stitched a bunch more of the EPP Plus blocks, this time in blues. These are a little addictive and are mounting fast.
I've also stitched together dark blues for a border for the Wheels quilt. Since there's definitely enough scrappiness in the colours of the quilt itself, I'm keeping the border simple.
I mentioned I have purchased the pattern to join Sandra's QAL at mmm quilts. This will be a real test. Can I follow a whole lot of printed instructions involving math and measuring both of which bore and befuddle me? Even those as wonderfully well written as Sandra's. I guess we'll see. I think I can manage the very first part, picking out the fabrics...though that can get muddled as well sometimes. I'll show you some choices on Monday and see what you think.
Thursdays' Three Free
If interested in piecing blocks...
At the Fat Quarter Shop there are the block patterns and tutorials for a 2017 QAL they called the Bella Skill Builder. I should be stitching this one because of all the expert help with accuracy. Hmmm, teals and pinks are pretty.
Moda Blockheads Round 4 Far as I could tell there are patterns at that link for 27 blocks designed by various designers plus bonus blocks found at that link. I liked the block by Jan Patek and it stands out as the only one featuring applique.
And the wonderful AGF site provides many free patterns including this one for a table runner using Hyper Nature fabric by Pat Bravo. Art Gallery Fabrics
I cannot forget my slow stitching pals, here is the link to Gathered's freeCross Stitch Dog Patterns by Kate Mawdsley. There are 10 of them there including this cute little guy. There are cat patterns there too, btw.
My little camera, the Olympus Tough, that was good for Macro photos, has died. We tried everything, including at the very end, dropping it but nothing has revived it. What's a little bit humorous is when I turn it on, it makes a sad creaking/groaning noise like it's saying, I'm done. It served me well. I'm debating replacing it with the updated version, three versions later now. It's still getting good reviews for macro photography which was why I chose it in the first place.
Hope you are all safe and comfortable whoever is reading this.
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