Slow Sunday....

Sunday. I'll be resting in my recliner today I think. I might drop Emily off to a birthday party.... or I might have hubby drop her. Depends on how the toast for breakfast sits. I seem to have some sort of stomach bug... which better be gone before I travel next weekend.

I'll prep some more tumblers on the left to their tumbler size and then mark them all for hand stitching.

 These will make up the last 2 rows for the tumbler quilt. The first 8 rows are hand sewn together. The rest are hand sewn in sets of 2. I'm wishing now I had made it more green and less cream.. but that is how things work out sometimes!

I love the advise/recommendation of fellow bloggers. I just need more practice adding those tea towels to the edge to make it fit in the hoop on the edge! I seem to have missed the top of the quilt... I will be working on this heart in the corner today and hopefully a few other blocks along the edge, since those are the ones left for quilting. Linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching and Oh Scrap.

This was my entertainment this morning - Ollie and Peanut were playing on the floor by my recliner. The kids were building with lincoln logs on Friday night and Saturday morning - we did have an Ollie and Peanut tornado demolish the buildings - it was rather amusing watching them jump when they crashed!

Aidan went with us to Emily's group horse lesson on Friday. He was out petting the horses in the fields while she rode. These two were following him along the fence until he stopped and rubbed their noses. I nixed his flip flops so he found Dad's boots to wear around the barn. Hard to believe at age 10 his feet are just one size smaller than his dad and are bigger than mine already!

Saturday....

I had to uncover the table from the kids attempting to make some projects earlier this week. Once I dug it out....and put things away it was time to help Emily make a pillow case for a birthday present tomorrow. Favorite colors were purple, white, black and teal. We went with what we had on hand and Emily made this for her friend Teagan. I did the cutting and helped with lining up one set of the pins. She did the rest!

I cut a few more green 5 inch squares out so I have enough to finish the last 2 rows of the green and cream tumbler quilt. I just need to trim them to the tumbler size and then draw the hand stitching lines on the back. It will probably be a travel project next weekend. 

I was thinking of sewing with some blue after dinner.... but I'm tuckered out and ready for some relaxing and maybe some hand stitching. I hope to get some blue sewing in tomorrow.

Dinner was yummy - Sheet pan lemon parmesan garlic chicken and veggies! 

Sometimes you just need to let something go.....

I started a crochet mystery back in 2015. I learned a few tricks and got a little better with some crochet stitches. It was my first try at a granny square and it was pretty easy and mine actually turned out well! I did not like the size (too small) or where the project was going so stopped at step 4. And there it sits with a couple blocks at step 5 which was adding that cream middle part.

I could take apart the steps I don't like and do something with them, since it is based on a granny square.... or..... I could dump them into the waste basket and call it done. I think I will do that.... they are now in the trash and I have the remaining yarn to do something with. I feel better already!

I am debating on creating a continuous granny square in the colors of yarn I have - light blue, dark blue, grey and cream  - which I think will make a throw in colors I enjoy. I was looking at other patterns last night... this circular sunburst granny square caught my eye as well. Decisions, decisions. I could do knitting and do that ripple stitch pattern you taught me Mom. I still have your index card with the hand written pattern hanging around in my knitting bag. I have time to figure it out.... as this will be a travel project in a few weeks.

I had started a center part in cream a few months ago.... I think I'll pull it out and play with a different size crochet hook in a different color.  We will see where this one ends up......

Monday....

 Don't ask me where the weekend went!

Saturday the boy needed some boy/Mom time... so after a trip to Aldi's to stock the crispers with fruits and veggies it was time for lunch. He was hungry so decided on Southern Pig and Cattle... which Dad and Emily had selected for their date. We decided to go together. Then we split up and Aidan and I went looking for desks for his room (that needs cleaning and a place to put it first!). He was searching for things to do on my phone and found a marion county museum of history and archaeology. We got there about 45 minutes before they closed and he had so much fun looking around. The 2 people working there came and asked if he had seen a few things... and pointed them out and was sharing the history. Aidan loved it and they gave him a few books to take home! He pointed out all the sewing type things to me!

They let me touch the quilt - big baptist fan quilting with a thin batting. He mentioned there are more quilts in storage! We need to go back!

We went to the main library after since it was across the street. He got a bunch of books then wanted to find the geocache. All our libraries have one that they change yearly. After a bunch of searching, and a little help from our librarian we finally found it. 

A stop at a chocolate shop with a coupon in the kids school coupon book and then it was home to cook up some fajitas for dinner (that was planned for Friday but I didn't have time to cook up before horses and I put the men in charge of dinner - yes, they ordered pizza).

Sunday.... once the kids finally left for Grandma's after 10AM... I read a little on the internet then took a shower and logged into work for the day....until the thunderstorm dropped my connection around 4:30. 

I did manage to finish sewing row 13+14 together after work Sunday. I think I have lots of cream and not much variety of greens left for the last two rows. I'll have to pull the greens out and make some more tumblers to finish this one off.

Slow Sunday..... on a holiday weekend.

We are celebrating Labor Day here in the USA. That means Monday is a holiday!

Today.. the kids finally just left for Grandma's house around 10AM. I get a couple of hours of peace and quiet with no one in the house! I think I will pop out and attempt to reclaim a little bit of the garden area this morning before the feels like is over 100 degrees. I have ignored it since April when it got hot. Yup - I excel at growing weeds and grass! Time to tame it and attempt a fall crop of cooler weather things.... or you know, what I used to grow up in Vermont in the summer!

Saturday was spent tackling the front yard in the morning. I finished weeding some beds that I started a few weeks ago and got out the hedge trimmer and let Aidan play with it. All the front shrubs got a buzz cut and it looks much better now. I just need to go get some flowers to put into the front beds for the fall and winter months...  probably tomorrow with the kids. After 3 hours in the heat working..... I was pretty much done for. I did also hit a grocery store, played a family game of Pictionary and then made some Korean Chicken wings -recipe from America's Test Kitchen. I did a double batch... so over an hour working in the dutch oven deep fryer for all the chicken wings and legs in batches. Boy were they yummy and crunchy! I opted out of the drive in last night like I was thinking.... I was tired. I'll try tonight with the kids and will go see Hotel Transylvania 3. They saw it in the theater with Grandma.... the other option on the other screen is Christopher Robin.. which they also saw with Grandma.  A late night for them as it doesn't start until 8:20 when it gets dark. Good thing they can sleep in tomorrow.

I got a heart hand quilted this morning while sitting in my recliner. 30 blocks of 63 done. I got the blue one done on the left and moved it to the sunny yellow one for this afternoon. I noticed a heart that needs a little 'fixing' as the applique thread must have been cut somehow.  I'll also need to figure out how to do the blocks around the edge.... any ideas? I might just go hoopless on those....?

I also did a pink one in the car line waiting on the kids at school this week. I push the driver seat way back so I can quilt!

Linking up with the other Slow Sunday Stitchers today. Time to throw on some clothes and head out into the heat. Hopefully the bear that had a feast on our garbage last night is long gone... he found the wing tips we cut off for his midnight snack followed up by some girl scout cookies that had gone stale and were in the trash. 

August checking in to see how I did... and Sept goals!

Hmmm.... looks like I made progress at the beginning of the month. Lets see what was on the list.
1.)  Finish the binding on Scrappy Houses quilt. Finished this on Aug 2!
2.)  Make and attach binding to Dresden Plate Quilt - done Aug 5!
3.) Make a backing and pin baby hearts for quilting - currently hand quilting 29 of 63 blocks done.
4.) Midget Applique quilt - no progress.... still in drawer.
5.) Green Tumblers hand piecing - 8 rows are all sewn together as 1/2 the quilt top done, another 4 rows are completed and need to get added to it. 4 rows to go!
6.) Assemble BITA blocks - nope -still sitting in their box.
7.) Work on Emily's triangle quilt - nope.
8.) help Aidan with his quilt - nope.

The start of school and all that craziness happened mid month. That included a pre school day trip to Weeki Watchi springs for fun. A girl scout recruitment event and my troop meeting starting again - we have had 2 so far.
I expect next month to be a wee bit crazy - one business travel week home to Vermont and cooler weather I hope! A big ty to hubby who will leave work early that week to pick up kids from school  including an early release day at noon so I don't have to get a sitter to pick them up and stay with until 6PM when he normally gets home. 2 deadlines at work Oct 1, and normal kid activities including checking homework this year.
Oh, the fridge also got defrosted Wednesday night and one of the ice makers is working again... just not the one in the door! I did finally figure out how to get the water working again yesterday afternoon. The pantry also got organized and sorted, as well as 4 cabinets in the kitchen. Unfortunately it has been raining with thunder each evening this week.... so no nightly walk or hitting my steps goal. Hopefully the weather pattern changes next week, I like my evening walk!

Goals for September.... Survive! Just kidding!
1.) Finish hand quilting the baby hearts.
2.) Finish the last 4 rows of the tumbler quilt and attach it all into a top.
3.) Start making star blocks out of the 16 patches from the RSC Challenge. 2 sets - one in tan and one in black for backgrounds.
4.) Make the Squared Away RSC challenge blocks for Sept, and the pink ones too!
5.) Maybe bring yarn with and start a crochet granny continuous square afghan to use up some caron yarns I have in blues, cream and grey.

We will see how I do at the end of September!

RSC Blocks....

I pulled out the 16 patch blocks that I made over the last year or two with the RSC Challenge. I have a good amount of them.... and was thinking of doing another version of my cubed quilt with grey as the background..... I do have 25 blocks... which is what I used in the below quilt.....

But I am in a mode to sew them up and clear them out. It takes a little more thinking to make the alternate block for that pattern (and a clean floor to lay them out on!) and I am not in thinking/creative mode with a couple of deadlines approaching in the next month at work. I think instead I will make them into stars and have them ready to donate next year to the Hands 2 Help cause..... or locally if something comes up before then. I have made a couple of these and love how they look. This one I get to see at my MIL's as it went to Papa Andy. It has a nice snuggly fleece backing. I like this look....so will probably do the squares on the edge of the blocks for one of them... maybe both!

This one I just did a plain square in the corner of the star block.... I don't remember where this one ended up. It might be somewhere in my house!

My 16 patch blocks made with 2.5 inch squares.... into sets of 12.

I sorted and pulled some backgrounds. I think the tan will look good with the set on the left. I was thinking black or grey for the group on the right. I think the black won when I laid it out. Yes, Peanut stayed there and would not move so I just put them on top of him. He likes to be covered!

The most difficult part when you have generic blocks - figuring out what to do with them! I have a plan now.... so I can start sewing these into bigger star blocks.

Linking up on Saturday with the RSC Challenge.  Who knows... I might have some stars made by then!