I LIKE Thursday ~ August 17th

I’m joining LeeAnna and others at Not Afraid of Color to share the good stuff and maybe even a bit of the not so good!

Last Saturday I attended the Herb Festival sponsored by our County Extension Office and the Master Gardeners. It was great fun and very informative!

We were given some springs of Dill(always in abundance this time of year) and some Rosemary. Then after the walk they had a table set up to make these cute little herb dryers! A small wooden embroidery hoop, some netting or tulle, 6 pieces of string and a hook. Three strings to hang the hoop, 3 to tie up bunches of herbs! 

And they were showing how to take a marigold flower , smash it onto a piece of muslin with a rubber mallet and use it as the base for a flower drawing.This is one my friend Linette did, but it made me think of LeeAnna and Joy and their journaling artwork! So pretty! ⤵️

Sunday my friend called and asked me if I wanted some chokecherries of course I said yes. So, Monday I washed and cooked two batches of chokecherries into 2 quarts of juice. Isn’t it a pretty shade of magenta?

I haven’t processed it into jelly yet, because my kitchen is in a bit of a disarray.  My microwave door won’t close!  ( some of the not good stuff I was mentioning at the beginning). It’s above the stove. A repair person was called, but can’t come until the 24th.  So Mr Busy aka Mr Fix-it, decided to watch YouTube videos to see if he could fix it! It’s apart and in pieces as we speak!  No jelly making in the near future!!

We’ve started watching Virgin River on Netflix!  I know, Season 5 is about to start, but we didn’t see it earlier. It’s kind of a “chick flick” , but Mr. Busy is watching with me. So it’s not too “sappy”! 😊

If the actress oops familiar, it’s Alexandra Breckinridge. She was also in This Is Us, as Sophie! 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

To-Do Tuesday #153

Last week's to-do were mostly not done. I had a problem with my car! So I didn’t attempt to venture out shopping.  It is fixed now we think!  At least the dealership can't find a problem. And the oil got changed and the tires rotated! 
I wasn’t lazy though. I sewed more Birches strips.


I played with the layout of Full Stop! I even enlisted the help of Minnie and Rudolph!

Last week
August 8- 14th


1. Cut some more 15.5" squares for Bright Birches. I need to go to a LQS and see if I can find an orange solid and a black solid. I'll need 1/2 yard to make 2 large squares. This time of year the Halloween fabrics should be out, so it shouldn't be a problem. Fingers crossed. ❌


2. Plan projects for the Sleep-in-Your-Own-Bed Retreat that starts Thursday the 17th. ❌
          I don’t know what to work on! The Bright Birches is fiddle-y. With those angles! And I don’t like                the zigzag stitch on my travel machine so the remaining appliqués of the Spool Quilt need to be                  done on my Bernina! I’ll think of something.

 
3. Prep another stitching project. The bread cloth will soon be done✅


I prepped and started stitching this sampler from Melisa at ..Pinker n Punkin Quilting I found this old piece of 14 count aida in a pretty blue. I'm using DMC 791 a deep royal blue for the alphabet. The sunflowers will be some shade of yellow and I'm not sure about the leaves yet. I'm wingin' it!






Mini Sunflower Sampler


I hope the above link works. The link on Melisa's page is broken. But the chart is included in her July 10th post. So if you have to scroll back to July 10th , you can find it there. 



4. Get the zigzag stitching done on at least 1/2 of one of the applique borders for Spool Quilt. ❌ I’ve been tired and really wasn’t up for that project.


I did pick 1/2 of a bucket of chokecherries and made 2 quarts of juice. They make a beautiful mess!


Aren’t they the prettiest magenta?

Next week
August 15th - 22nd.


1. Keep stitching on Mini Sunflower Sampler.


2. Sew birches blocks at SIYOB Retreat.I think I've decided how to do those blocks at retreat!


3. Make some jelly!


4. Pack and go on a short road trip to the Black Hills!

Simple enough! 

I'll link up with Carol at Quilt Schmilt when she goes live this morning! 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

ScrapHappy Saturday Some yellow

Not much yellow was sewn this week. I’m still trying to work out the arrangement of the Full Stop rows. It’s a bit of a puzzle! I even enlisted the help of Minnie and Rudolph! There was even a small black spider who wanted to check out my blocks, but didn’t want her picture taken! 

This may not be the final layout!

And only one yellow Bright Birches was constructed! Though there are bits and pieces of yellow in lots of the birches strips! In fact, the yellow square is still under construction 🚧! 

Today I’m attending an Herb Festival with friends. It’s put on my our county Master Gardeners. Should be fun, and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot! 

I’ll link up with Angela at So Scrappy for ScrapHappy Saturday! There will lots of yellow happening from other Rainbow Scrap Challengers this week, I’m sure! 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

I Like Thursday. August 10th

Wasn’t very good about feeling gratitude this week. But check with LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color for some other bloggers who found things to like this week. 

I did get Back to School photos of our great grandkids that live in AZ. But their parents don’t like their photos on social media so I can’t share. They are our oldest great grand and our youngest great grand. Thirteen and six. That makes me feel old! 

I had a phone call from our youngest granddaughter. She lives In Vermont! They have been having lots of rain and flooding. She and her fiancé are safe, no damage to them or their property. So that makes me thankful! And she is happy! That’s the best part!

I baked a half a cake Tuesday! I’ve never tried that, but it was fine. I have a favorite rhubarb cake recipe, but it makes a 9x13 pan and a yellow cake mix. Way to much for just the two of us. A stitching friend mentioned that she had tried using 1/2 of the ingredients in a box of cake mix. I asked another friend who is a HS Family and Consumer Science teacher. She says they do that all the time in class.

I used Mr Busy’s digital scale, I don’t have one! Weighed the mix, put 1/2 of it away in a plastic dish with a lid and used the other half. Half the liquid ingredients was easy. It called for 3 eggs, I used 1. The Reid a heavy one with rhubarb and extra dug and heavy cream. Nobody missed the 2 eggs.  I could have mixed all three eggs together and used only 1/2, but then I’d have had leftover egg. Yes , I could have scrambled it for a quick breakfast burrito! Maybe next time! 

Did I say it was pretty?  No!    Did I say it was yummy? Yes!  Mr Busy adds vanilla ice cream, I used SF Cool Whip!  It helps even out the calories! Not really! 😂

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

A Thread Organizer idea and July Stash Buster Report!

THREAD KEEPER ORGANIZER

The first is a short picture/description of a thread organizer I thought up while trying to keep needles threaded and at the ready for stitching my Spring Stamp Sampler. I had in my stash of stuff a portable thread saver that I made using this :

https://my.modafabrics.com/2016/10/thread-catcher.html

Mine looked like this. 

When I was stitching the Spring Sampler, I added a scrap of 14 count Aida and just tucked the edges inside the binding. I pinned it securely. Then I thought, "how will I keep the colors organized?". So I added a scrap of white fabric, to the end. My prototype is rough as you can see. I can write the color numbers or names on the scrap of white with a Frixion pen. Sticking the threaded needles in the proper place. 

When the project is done, a hot iron remove the writing.!!  Slick.

STASH BUSTER REPORT

I've started participating with Carole at From My Carolina Home and her Stash Busters Report.  I began in June. Carole says just jump in any time. She gives a guide to decide how to calculate the yardage out. Read her guide lines here.

My balance from June was 

June Fabric In: 6 yds MSQC order Neutrals
June Fabric Out: -15.25 yds – 4 projects completed
YTD: -9.25 yards or -9 1/4

July Fabric IN = 4 yds. Because I posted 6 yds in June in error, I found my invoice. 10 yds!
July Fabric OUT =  -9 3/8 yds or 9.38 yds
July Net Total ( + In, or – Out) = -5 3/8
Year to Date (net total for the year, + In, or – Out) = -14 5/8 yds

Out : Bench Pillow=  1 yd

          July Table Scraps = 1 1/8 yd

          Long May She Wave QOV finish = 7 1/4 yds

                                                   Total        9 3/8 yds

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

TO-DO Tuesday #152

Linking up with Carol and other to-do list makers @ Quilt Schmilt-For the Love of Fabric

 

Last Week

August 1st - 7th

1. Post about August colors for RSC and the coordinating UFOs. ✅

     This is my post to So Scrappy on Saturday.

2. Keep stitching on Poinsettia Bread Cloth ✅

3. Cut binding for Rainbow Neighbourhood quilt. The longarmer promised it to me by the 1st of September so I can bind it for the Quilt Show, October 7th & 8th. I want to be ready to attach it and make a label. ✅

4. Set up my “backup Janome”, because the Bernina is getting cleaned!✅

Though Janey didn't stay here very long. My Bernina was back to me in slightly more that 24 hours. Cheryl picked it up at 10 am on Monday and brought it back to me at 11 am Tuesday. How's that for SERVICE?

Next Week

August 8- 14th

1. Cut some more 15.5" squares for Bright Birches.  I need to go to a LQS and see if I can find an orange solid and a black solid. I'll need 1/2 yard to make 2 large squares. This time of year the Halloween fabrics should be out, so it shouldn't be a problem.  Fingers crossed. 

2. Plan projects for the Sleep-in-Your-Own-Bed Retreat that starts Thursday the 17th. 

3. Prep another stitching project. The bread cloth will soon be done

4. Get the zigzag stitching done on at least 1/2 of one of the applique borders for Spool Quilt. 

That should keep me out of trouble. 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!

Slow Sunday Stitching ~ 1st Sunday in August

My stitching for today is still the dark green bread cloth with a poinsettia in the corner. 

I’m making good progress, stitching mostly after supper while watching various shows on TV.  Some series are intense as HIJACK with Idris Elba. Not many stitches were placed during that final episode. I was glued to the screen! But during showings of YouTube episodes, I can accomplish more. I’m not a fan of  car repair shows and only mildly interested in woodworking shows. 

Sharing at Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching.   

Stay Busy and Stay Happy and Healthy and Hopeful!