Here Comes the Sun

 Yes, indeed, this afternoon while walking with Emma, I saw the sun shyly peeking out of the clouds. Awesome!!! We have had a miserable stretch of cool, rainy, drizzly weather, but the meteorologists promise at least a few days of sunny weather this week. :-)

So, what have I been working on? I made this project bag for a friend’s birthday. I had bought this fabric at a quilt shop that was closing on the Cape. This photo doesn’t do justice to the vibrancy of the fabric. I love it, and fortunately, I have enough fabric to maybe make a few more project bags including one for me! Note the cute old fashioned sewing machine zipper pull that I purchased in the notions section at Hobby Lobby. (My original plan had been to make a summer pocketbook out of this fabric, and I still might put it away in my stash to do that next spring.)

I’m making steady progress on my large wool applique piece. If I consider this table runner as twelve separate little scenes, I have seven more sections to stitch. I’ll post two more completed sections in my next post. 

I have been very disciplined trying to work on this project for one hour a day. While stitching, I watch episodes of my new favorite flosstube on Youtube, “Running with Scissors with Jane and Julie.” These two cross stitching friends are just plain funny. I actually laugh out loud while watching them. Even if you are not a cross stitcher, you would definitely enjoy these ladies. Their projects including hardanger are not the type of stitching that I enjoy, but I absolutely do enjoy watching Jane and Julie. (Hardanger is a lace-like form of embroidery not for the faint of heart.)

They have various sections on each episode including “Delightful Deliveries” where they show their cross stitch purchases which leads me to share a “Delightful Delivery” that arrived at my door the other day.

This is a set of size 8 perle cotton. Aren’t these colors luscious! I already have a similar set in bright colors. I now have enough perle cotton to last me with my wool applique projects until I’m at least ninety-three. If I run out then, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. :-()

The third item under my needle is a lovely cross stitch piece which I have also been stitching on each day. When the stitching is completed, I will be adding beads. This is something new for me, but I am excited with this project so far. I have been working on it for over a month and hope to maybe get it finished this week.

At today’s meeting of the Crosstown Quilters Guild we had an excellent speaker, Barb Vedder. You can see her work on Instagram, and you can check out her blog, Fun with Barb. If your guild is looking for a dynamic speaker with a trunk show or someone to offer a workshop, consider her.

Fungus Among Us . . . Just how rainy has it been? There are mushrooms sprouting everywhere.

Stay creative and stay safe.

TB 12 Comes Home, Garden Notes, and a Possible Santa Sighting

Patriots Nation is abuzz!!! Tom Brady has come home. At today’s first game of the season, the greatest quarterback of all time will be honored at half time at Gillette Stadium, and I cannot wait to watch it. For twenty years he brought joy to the hearts of Patriot fans far and near along with six Super Bowl titles. He went on to bring a Super Bowl title to the Buccaneers in 2020. One of the statistics that I find most remarkable is that he is the only quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl in three separate decades.

School started here this past week and though I truly loved teaching, I’m also truly enjoying this endless summer known as retirement. Students and teachers must have been sweltering in classrooms with the 90 degree temperatures and high humidity we have been having. . . definitely not a fun way to start the new school year.

Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Herring Run Quilt Guild, and it was as if we were sitting in a sauna. There were, however, some pretty cool quilts shown!

Garden Notes:

There is so much to do before ending this gardening season, but with the rain and the heat I haven’t accomplished much. (This summer is now in the record books as being one of the wettest summers in this area ever.) I am looking ahead to next year.

I have never really liked red salvia. A neighbor gave me an extra flat of salvia and thinking that it might attract hummingbirds, I planted it in the wine barrel in the center of my hostas. I’m a convert. They have grown about two feet tall and have made quite an impressive display.

Orange is one of my least favorite colors, but I have to admit this hibiscus is gorgeous.

Final garden note . . . never toss old galvanized gardening cans that begin to leak or that have holes on the bottom as they make lovely planters. (On second thought, do toss old rusty, leaky watering cans . . . toss them my way, and I will give them a good home. :-)

For Emma fans . . . here she is after a trip to the groomers on Wednesday.

Finally, let me tell you about a possible Santa sighting and you be the judge. I was picking up a few craft items that I needed on Friday at our local Hobby Lobby. Then I decided to take a look at the autumn/ Thanksgiving seasonal decorations. The whole time I was browsing the aisles I kept repeating my mantra. . . “you don’t need any more decorations,” and it worked, I didn’t pick up any. Next came the forest of Christmas trees on display. Okay . . . here is where it gets interesting. I was in one of the main aisles and happened to glance down one of the side aisles displaying Christmas decorations . . . when whom should I spot but Santa or at least it might have been Santa . . . you be the judge. At the end of the aisle in the decoration section was an older gentleman wearing a bright red scally cap and a matching red polo shirt and, yes, he had a full white beard!!!!!! Truth to say, he was fairly trim, but that might not mean anything as Mrs. Clause probably doesn’t start her holiday baking until November. So, could it really have been Santa? I don’t know, but if he is around this early, I’m not taking any chances. I’m going to be a very, very, very good girl from now until Christmas! 

Have a fun week and be good just in case. . . 

Three Cross Stitch FFOs and Wool Applique, Too!

 There is a great deal to be said for having to stay off your foot for a week. I accomplished quite a bit including finishing this pillow for my bee display. “A Bee C” is a design by Lindsey Weight of Primrose Cottage on Etsy.

I do not think that I posted photos of these pieces in previous posts. The first is “Bee Sweet”  by Annie Beez Folk Art on Etsy.

Below is “Citrus Summer” from the Fat Quarter Shop. The Fat Quarter Shop is an online quilting and cross stitch shop. Kimberly Jolly, the owner,  hosts a quilting program and on Wednesdays a cross stitch program on Youtube. If you enjoy quilting or cross stitching, be sure to check out the Fat Quarter Shop website. 

This past week also afforded me the time to work on a wool applique table runner from Shabby Fabrics. I had purchased the kit during the pandemic, but when I saw how many pieces (269)  I would have to trace, cut out, place, and stitch, I put it away for another time. Wool applique kits are expensive, so a month or so ago, I decided to get on with it. I traced, fused, and cut out all the pieces. To keep things straight, I put the pieces in forty-one separate baggies. Yes, the kit came with forty-one various shades of wool.

The runner will finish at about eighteen by thirty-eight inches. It took a few days this week to assemble this ‘jigsaw.’ I had fused various segments together and then began pinning them to the background. Truth to say, I had been muttering and sputtering about the whole thing and even considered tossing the project. I am, however, not one to give up easily and as it began to take shape, I was hooked! “Americana,” the wool applique kit, depicts a colorful village scene with a barn, a church, animals, etc. Because of its size this will not be a lap project. In fact, it’s a good thing that I have no formal banquets planned here at the castle for the next month or two as this piece will remain on my dining room table until it is completely stitched. 

Though I had purchased the accompanying 12wt Sulky thread pack, I plan to use No. 8 perle cotton on the larger pieces. If I am going to do all this stitching, I sure want it to show!!!

My plan is to spend a minimum of thirty minutes daily on this piece and will post a photo of each section as it is completed. Wish me luck!

Today the news came of the passing of two TV legends. Bob Barker, the host of “The Price is Right,” passed at the age of ninety-nine. Carol Duvall while perhaps not as famous as Bob Barker was the queen of crafting in the early days of HGTV. She was delightful and her shows were always filled with fun, creative craft ideas.  Carol Duvall was ninety-seven.

Have a creative, fun week.

A Busy Week and a Scary Morning

This lovely curcuma graces my sunporch. I love the sculptural elements of this plant. To learn more about curcuma plants you may visit Costa Farms. 

So, what has been keeping me busy lately? The Company Theater in Norwell had a world premiere of a contemporary rock opera.

Since  my cousin Miss L. chose ‘Joan of Arc’ as her confirmation name and since her sister Miss T. is involved in theater, I invited them along with their parents to see this production. The music was wonderful and each person in the cast had a wonderful voice. The staging of the play was masterful and the story was well told. If I had any criticism, it would be that the first act needed to be shorter; a few judicious cuts would help move things along.

I met retired teacher friends for lunch on Tuesday, and friends came to dinner on Wednesday and other friends on Thursday. . . a busy fun week. I’ll keep that in mind this week as an issue will keep me off my foot for at least a week. Yes, I am grounded once again. Gosh darn it! I was supposed to join family at a WooSox game at Polar Park in Worcester this afternoon and I had plans on Monday and Tuesday. Oh, well, it is what it is . . . If I follow my doctor’s orders, I hope to be back out galavanting the following week. :-() Meanwhile I should be able to make some progress on the 269 piece wool applique project spread out on my dining room table. 

So, about that scary morning . . . on Thursday evening meteorologists were predicting some heavy rain storms moving in around 5:00 am Friday. When I got up before 8:00, there was still no rain. Things changed after 9:00 as the meteorologists began breaking into the morning shows to report a tornado watch in Connecticut. Things went downhill at that point. The tornado alerts kept coming and to my shock where I live was in the target zone. At 9:45, my cell phone began blasting an alarm saying to take shelter in the basement which Emma and I immediately did. My cousin Kristin kept texting me updates. At one point, she asked if I was near two particular streets as the tornado was on that path. I live on a long street and the streets she mentioned are at either ends of my street. YIKES!!! Fortunately, there was absolutely no damage in my area. The tornado did, however, touch down and do some damage in another section of Weymouth. We have not had a tornado in this area in seventy years. It was scary.  I’d just as soon just deal with our Nor’easters and blizzards.

The weather this summer across our country has been beyond crazy. Have a stress free, calm week and wherever you live I hope your weather is calm and pleasant.

Sunday Smorgasbord

Grab a cold drink as this catch up post could be a long one. These photos are from one of my dinner plate size blooming hibiscus plants. I have three such plants of various shades in my large garden.

Yes, I simply love all types of hibiscus!!! They make such an impact. Here’s a regular size flower from my deck. Note the ruffled petals. I usually don’t bring in plants to overwinter them, but this one is so pretty that I may have to in this case.

 On Wednesday evening, I went with friends to see Lyle Lovett and his Large Band at Plymouth Memorial Hall. What a show!!! 

They came onstage at 8:10 and left the stage at 11:15, three solid hours, no intermission. The Large Band consists of twelve truly impressive musicians and three singers. Two members of the horn section are professors, one from Georgia Tech and the other from a University in Texas. They spend each summer vacation traveling with the Large Band. Lyle features each musician at least once or twice and tells a bit about each one, whom they have played with, and where they met. It seems that most of these musicians have played with Lyle on his tours for years and years. From June 1 to August 31, they play fifty-six shows across the country. 

If they are ever in your neck of the woods, make it a point to see them.

I stitched this piece “Beach Please” by Kathy Habermann of Hands on Design last month. I modified the size of the piece and left off the words. I mounted it on this small blackboard easel with a narrow shelf on which I placed small shells and beach glass.

Wool Applique Alert!!! If you enjoy wool applique, do check out the Pumpkin Village Mystery Stitch - A-Long. You can get information at The Woolen Needle. Each Monday from July 31 - October 29, you may download a free block pattern. Each shop will offer kits and corresponding threads for sale. I should be able to complete this project from my own healthy wool stash. Warning! Wool applique may become highly addictive . . . great fun but highly addictive!!!  

My friends Cathy, Marilyn, and I recently went to lunch to celebrate our birthdays; Cathy and I are July babies and Marilyn’s birthday is this month. We have been friends since we were little girls and no, I’m not saying how many years that has been. :-()

Finally, I thought you might get a kick out of this photo.

These turkeys had thought it would be pleasant to take a stroll in my backyard. Emma took exception to this and set off barking and charging. With a whole lot of squawking and flapping of wings, the turkeys flew up into the tree instead. :-)

Okay, that’s all for now, have a wonderful week.

But wait! There’s more!!! When I write a post, I usually let it sit for at least an hour or so in hopes that when I come back to proofread it again, I will magically spot any silly errors. (Proofreading is tough. I can read and reread something and then much later spot a misplaced modifier, a wrong verb tense, or heaven forbid a punctuation error.  Worst of all, I sometimes leave out a word. 🥴) Anyway, all the time my post has been sitting here, I could not get the word “squawk”  off my mind. What kind of word is it? Where did it come from? Now, in the one in ten million chance that you, too, might also be wondering about this word, let me show you what I found on Etymonline - Online Etymology Dictionary.

Why did it become slang in the US around 1945? Another site referenced the “squawking” of the radios in the planes flown during the second World War. There you have it. I don’t know about you, but I feel better knowing how this word came about. :-)

 Bye! (For real, this time . . . )

Rain, Humidity, Heat . . . Repeat!!!

 Rain, humidity, heat . . . repeat! Rain, humidity, heat. . . repeat! Add to this the smokey skies caused by the wildfires raging across Canada and it has been quite a summer so far. There are dangerous heatwaves affecting a third of our country and also across Europe. 

It has not been possible to do much work in my garden, but there are a few bright spots including coneflowers which are one of my favorite flowers. 

Here’s another equally lovely bee. ;-)

This glorious bee needle minder is attached to one of the pieces on which I am currently working. I had purchased this needle minder from Mini Minders on Etsy. Everything about cross stitching is fun. Projects are kept in fun, themed bags and many cross stitchers have far more coordinating needle minders than they could possibly ever need. :-(). 

I cross stitch in hand or use a Q-snap. Recently, I have begun using Nurge hoops like the one pictured above, and they are great. They are easy to hold, provide a larger stitching surface, and do not leave hoop marks.

Who Knew?????

When a friend moved, I took home a snake plant that was not making the move to her new home. I knew little about these plants, which go by a number of  names, other than the fact that they are an easy plant to grow. It has enjoyed life on my sunporch. Here’s the interesting part. . . a week or so ago, I noticed a small stalk emerging. It grew and grew and grew and then this happened!!!

Who knew!!!

Keep cool and have a fun, interesting week. :-)

Patriotic Cross Stitch and “The Dial of Destiny”

In my previous post, I urged you not to be afraid to go in close with your camera phone.  Here’s an image that I took simply by going in close with my iPhone. My daylilies are in bloom! They are beautiful, but I sure wish that in spite of their name the individual blossoms lasted longer than a day.

It has been a hot minute since my last post, and I’m blaming my lack of posts on the heat and humidity alternating with the rain we have been having. I simply haven’t been doing much. I’m not complaining about the weather, mind you, as other parts of the country have been dealing with horrendous heat and storms. All things considered, I’m happy to live here with our New England weather. 

Patriotic Cross Stitch . . . 

I have added three new pieces to my July 4th patriotic display which I will leave up until the end of the month. They are: “Old Glory” by Diane Williams of Little House Needleworks, 4th of July Bird by Heart in Hand, and “Stars and Stripes Street #1 by Priscilla Blain of Stitching with the Housewives.

This flag themed wood display was purchased from Paisleys and Polka Dots . As I have mentioned in other posts, the precut pieces arrive unfinished. You provide the paint and then glue it all together. It’s easy and fun to do. I mounted the cross stitch piece on an acid free thin board and put it on another board covered with the red fabric. I would normally then use magnets to attach the cross stitch, but since I will not be switching this piece out, I simply used Ailene’s glue to attach it. 

I still have a few other small patriotic pieces that I have yet to fully finish.

So what have I been up to lately? Well, I celebrated my birthday last Sunday with a visit from my cousin Kristin and her girls. They had stopped at Tony’s on Wollaston Beach to pick up lobster rolls. YUM!!! (Note: Tony’s is the best place around to get a lobster roll.) Kristin, her girls, and I regularly went for a “Ladies Lunch” when the girls had an early dismissal from school one day each month. Those sweet,  precious little girls are now fourteen and seventeen and still sweet and precious. :-)

Yesterday we had a family July Birthday Cookout. Four of us have birthdays this month. We had a great time and the weather was perfect.

Finally, on Saturday I saw the fifth and supposedly final Indiana Jones movie, The Dial of Destiny. As the title suggests, it involves finding a legendary artifact which could alter the course of history. It had all the expected elements: adventure, danger, exotic locations, and a ‘forty year old’ Harrison Ford which was the most amazing part. How did they accomplish that? There are many articles online explaining how this was done and it is beyond amazing. Besides that, while watching the movie  I kept wondering how are they able to makes these complicated action/adventure films? I googled it later and discovered the possible answer. Start with Disney and Lucasfilm and add 300 million!!! So, should you see this film? If you have liked the other four Indiana Jones movies, I’m sure you will enjoy this one as well.

Have an exciting, adventurous week. ;-)