Time flies ***

 How can it be Friday already. 

I completely missed I LIKE Thursday, yesterday. Mr Busy had a doctor appointment early, there was a grocery pickup, my stitching group met and went out to lunch together. 

So I’ll answer LeeAnna’s conversation starter. Do I like Dairy Queen.?  We have a local DQ, and stop every now and again. The treats are kinda expensive in calories. Mr Busy always orders a Peanut Buster Parfait. I will get a a Blizzard. My favorite is Cookie Dough, but I’ll eat any flavor except cherry. LOL. 

Some good thingthis week. I have 7 tomatoes on the 1 plant that made it into the ground. 

Now if we can just have enough warm weather for them to ripen. Our earliest freeze has been September 21st. But a few places in our state, south and west of us had freezing nighttime temps last week. The Farmers Almanac is predicting, earlier cold, colder temperatures, more snow and a longer Winter. YUCK!

I found this on the internet and had to share. 

The string blocks are slowly being sewed together. I’ll keep you in the loop. 

I made baked banana oatmeal this morning. It was a new one for me. Both of us thought it was really good. 

https://pin.it/7DvUBAkFO

Or go to fivehearthome.com.

Banana Baked Oatmeal.

One last thing: the baby has arrived. I’m embroidering her name and birthdate on the back. 

I do not have permission to share her whole name yet. But it’s beautiful. 

I’m sharing with Not Afraid of Color, go there to find others.

And linking with Finished or Not Friday

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful. 

Slow Sunday Stitching.

 

I’d really hoped to finish Hello Summer this last week, but it was not to be.  I needed to work on the Glowing Hearts QAL,  hosted by Sandra at mmmquilts. I was very,very late to the finish. I trimmed it up, constructed the binding and got it ready to hand sew down on Wednesday, 

Many of you have followed my slow progress, but it is done. And before the baby arrives. A win-win. 

So there was some progress on Hello Summer, but it is not finished. The larger watermelon slice is nearly finished and the border needs to be finished. Then I can frame it. 

And get back to work on the octopus biscornu. 

Today it will warm up a bit from earlier in the week. A high of 80° is predicted today. But we don’t have humidity, so it should be pleasant to stitch out on the deck.  Fingers crossed. 

I’m linking up with other stitching friends at Kathy’s Quilts Slow Sunday Stitching. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

ScrapHappy Saturday

 

Linking up for Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  August is Aqua. 

I added on more potato chip block. Not much I know. But progress is progress. 

This week’s addition.

And both on the design wall. 

In defense of my non-productive-ness, the baby quilt is finished. And little miss is not born yet, but they are officially on “Baby Watch”. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

Finished or Not Friday!

Charmed I’m Sure aka Glowing Hearts is finished except for a label. I will wait for the name and birthdate of the recipient before completing that step. 

You’ve seen lots of progress photos, so only the Glamour Shot today. 

My long arm quilter got it back to me in record time. She received it on a Thursday and Sunday she called me to say it was completed. I kinda gave here carte blanche as to the overall quilting design. It’s flowers and swirls, in a peach thread. Perfect the Nancy Halvorson fabric Charms features flowers and swirls. 

I’m linking up with Alycia for Finished or Not Friday

There is lots to see at her blog. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful. 

Finished or Not Friday

 

Finally this small baby quilt is off to my local long arm quilter. It measures 41.5 x 41.5. It is Glowing Hearts , a QAL from Sandra @ mmmquilts. 

I was able to find an almost big enough piece of batting, and just had to add 4 inches to the length. (No photos of the frankenbatting construction)..

The backing piece that I wanted to use was a bit short also. I usually cut backing by measuring the desired width of the backing x2. . In this case, 49.5. Rather than add a piece on the end , I used the piece I had, folded in half and sewed a 1” seam along the selvage edge.   Then pressed it and trimmed the fold off. And trimmed the 1” seam to be 1/2”. And pressed it open. Then of course I cut the length to be 49.5, but the width was still only 45.5”.  I had lots of leftover strips from the front. I  sewed them end to end until I had 2 strips 49.5” each. Then sewed them together along the long edge. I now had a pieced 4.5’ by 49.5 inches. If I added this new strip to one side, most would be mostly cut off when I trimmed it after quilting. I did that early on in my quilting journey and it looks awful. 

See the two strips that ended up on the edge? My quilter didn’t fuss and did a great job of quilting this. It’s “our” quilt and lives on our bed so it’s OK. But it’s not a look I like!

So I added it to one edge then sewed it to the other edge to make a tube. Folded it in half again and cut the fold opposite the pieced portion. When I opened it up the pieced strips were in the middle. I should have folded it so the pieced strip was off center, but thought of that after the fact. 

Taken in my kitchen with a shadow! ;(

Taken outside in the wind! Also :(

The baby this is made for has not made her appearance yet. Hopefully I’ll have it back from the quilter and bound before she is born. Then I will just have to put the label on it after I know her name and birthdate. 

I’m sharing this at  Finished or Not Friday  hosted by Alycia at Alycia Quilts. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful 

I LIKE Thursday. 7-31

LeeAnna gave us this conversation starter. I couldn’t possibly tell you about all my summers. I did work as a teenager, met Mr Busy when I got a job at the Piggly Wiggly the summer between my Junior and Senior year in HS.   I was head over heels for him!💖💓

Go to Not Afraid of Color, LeeAnna has a list of links to other blogger’s posts. 

 july 31

remember summer breaks when you were a kid? How did it feel to have so much free time or

did you help the family business when you were a kid, or take on summer jubs? As you got into high school and college did you have summer jobs or take special trips?  Did you take special courses in summer (example, typing, drivers ed, space camp, courses in crafts at the YWCA? )

Summers were special. Friends and I explored the neighborhood and wildlands around our house. We picked wildflowers ,sat in the shade and talked . I was a voracious reader and we had a bookmobile that came to our neighborhood. Only a two block walk. Sometimes I would check out three books, go home and read one, take it back and get another before the bookmobile left. 

This week was appointments, grocery shopping and time spent in my sewing room. Glowing Hearts is finished, batting found , backing constructed. I was short four inches of width. My quilter likes the backing and batting to be 8’ bigger (4 inches on each side) than the top. I didn’t want to add to the edge cause that looks weird when you trim it, so some 2.5” pieces were placed in the middle. I didn’t plan the colors, just sewed what I had. 

It’s windy this morning. Imagine that!!  This is as good as it gets today. Hopefully my quilter has an open slot. 

Stay Busy and Stay Busy and Healthy and Hopeful. 

Not Finished Friday

 

I’m linking up with Alycia Quilts for Finished or Not Friday. I haven’t had a finish in forever. This isn’t one either. It’s a not finished. 

The first row of hearts is sashed and attached to the second row. The second sashing is attend to the last row. Now the 2 rows need to be attached to each other and small narrow borders added. Then I need to find some backing, maybe purple/lavender flannel.. The quilter will have her turn, then I’ll bind it. A label will be added as soon as I know the name of the new little miss. 

In  the event you are interested, this is the Glowing Hearts pattern by Sandra Walker of   mmmquilts. If you click on her tabs at the top of her blog, you will find a list of all her QALs. This is the 4th one I have participated in. 

I should have it done by next Friday or the following one. LOL. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful. 

Last Purple ScrapHappy Saturday!

There was not much purple sewing going on in my space this week. I was trying to get my 30 Blocks flimsy wide enough to become a shower curtain. I measured and cut squares and rectangles of several colors. And I measured and sewed muslin for a backing. Not much to look at. I didn’t get it done. 

But there was a bit of purple in the mix! 

I had a couple of days where I wasn’t feeling my best. Achey and out of sorts. So I did some cross stitch, read a book and napped. 

Unstitched the hems in some gifted gingham curtains and sewed the pieces back together for a backing for the Jasmine quilt. 

I posted about my Table Scraps Challenge Thread Catcher.   There were just small projects completed! 

Linking up with Angela at ScrapHappy Saturday. Wishing Happy Easter to all who celebrate and Happy Weekend to others. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

I LIKE Thursday. 3-28

I’ve been pretty busy in the sewing room. We finished up Project Quilting. The last challenge theme was Irish Chain.  I decided on a shelf topper. My space is 10 x 44. 

Scrappy greens , because Trisha announced on St Patrick’s Day, with a nod to the RSC color of the month purple. The centers are purple and the binding is purple. 

I also cut pieces for a baby quilt using some novelty fabric I had. It was a pattern I won from Sara Goer Quilts during PQ15.4. The pattern is called Back and Forth. 

Close up of the Princess Jasmine fabric!

I also finished my Table Scraps Challenge, but you’ll have to check back tomorrow on my blog, or at The Joyful Quilter’s Linky Party. 

I finished Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. 

I gave it 5 Stars. It’s raw, it’s real, it’s hopeful!

My book club is reading Angel Falls by Kristen Hannah. I don’t have a copy and all library copies are checked out. So I’m reading this one from a favorite author. 

Mr Busy and I recreated our Friday Night Date Night with a visit to a local favorite restaurant. It’s the House Special Pepperoni! It was good, but not necessarily awesome. It’s wood fired and we like some of their other flavors better. I also had a beer, called a Sour. It was kind of like a strawberry lemonade!

 For March28, 2024

Baby animals are often born in the Springtime. If you could choose any baby animal to be your pet, what would you pick and why? Don't worry about space or legal restrictions, just imagine having it.

I kinda like all babies born in the Spring!  The ones we see around here are calves, lambs and horses. Also the farm stores have baby duck and chicks. Of all those, maybe I’d like a lamb as a pet. I’ve never been up close and personal to a lamb, but I assume they are wooly and cuddly! Maybe we wouldn’t have to pay the neighbor kid to mow the lawn. We could just let “Lambchop” eat her fill! LOL!    To be transparent, I’m not interested in any pet at this time. We’ve had pets since our oldest was a baby and she’s going to be 60 this year. I’m just  over it for now! 

Joining LeeAnna and friends over at Not Afraid of Color!

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

Scrappy Happy Saturday ~ some more purple

I thought I made enough Split Nine blocks. And I made 4 zipper blocks. But as I was sorting through the scraps to find crumb block bits I ran across this and made a 5th zipper block! Too pretty not to include!

My crumbs added up to a slab about 18”  by 8”. It turned into a thread catcher.

Whose hands are those? 

And I used some purple in a sweet baby quilt. This is a pattern I won during Project Quilting, from Sarah Goer quilts. It’s called Back and Forth. And now all but an uneven strip of the Princess Jasmine fabric is  gone! 

I have some pieces cut for a different quilt with some HOT Wheels for the focus fabric!  Vroom!

I linking up with ScrapHappy Saturday only on this Sunday afternoon. I was hoping for weather to photograph the Jasmine top but it's snowing and not good photo weather. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!