Lazy Sunday......

 Well, it was a lazy start around 9AM. Seems everyone turned over and went back to sleep after being woken up at 4:30AM with thunder storm number 1 and then again around 7:30 with storm number 2.

We called off Grandma/Emily shopping birthday day as storm#3 was to be heavy rain and wind about the time Grandma was to drive up to us. It was a good call as the heavy rain started around 10 and has been off and on heavy to light rain with thunder for almost 3 hours now.

We (you know that We Mom? Greg was the We this time!) cooked a briscuit on the smoker yesterday until the 4:30PM storm had us bring it inside and cover the smoker - it has the thermostat as electric and water and electric don't mix. It had done the smoking portion already so we finished it in the oven on low. Around 7PM.... it was oh so yummy to 'taste test' it. It will be warmed up for a late lunch today. I have white bread about ready to go in the oven and potato's bubbling in water for a potato salad. Greg boiled up 20 eggs yesterday (coming out our ears they are... but I got a few dozen sold for next Saturday's horse lesson at the stables!) so that portion of the potato salad is done.

It was a lazy start watching America's Test Kitchen Season 17 on Amazon Prime. I got a couple of Hexagons stitched and have 11 done this month. I prepped enough for the week yesterday so they are easy to grab to stitch and quilt in the evenings. 

I'll be resting up my ankle today with some hand stitching and a movie. Some work to finish off stitching this flowering snowball block and I have one more prepped and ready to stitch. That will give me a good amount for a little throw.

Then I'll add some stitches into the basket table topper.

I turned my ankle about a week ago and took it easy but overdid it on my walk Thursday night. Then was up on it way too much yesterday with horses - walking to the outdoor arena, then around Lowes with Aidan, then planting and walking around the yard. Of course.... I have been up on it today too - prepping the potato salad and making bread and cleaning up the kitchen. Let's just say I can feel it so it will be up on a pillow for the afternoon! Maybe I'll even have time to get the twosies of the Endless Diamonds into foursies!.

Linking up with the Slow Sunday Stitchers.

Sewing Sunday!

I am halfway moved into the new sewing area! When you sort through things as you bring it back in, it tends to take a looooonnnnnggg time! I did sort 2 big drawers of strips of fabrics (1.5,2,2.5).... I have a lot more room now! I'm going to hand off a bag of yarn to one of my girl scout Moms so she and her Emily can crochet.

Last week I had some goals and I'm happy to say I made progress on a few of them! I got 3 umbrella blocks completed- laid out on my new floors which are so much nicer than the carpet,

 the knitted dish cloth finished and one patch hand sewn onto Emily's girl scout vest. I forgot how much of a pain it was and will attempt to use the machine to stitch the rest of them today.

I did make my embroidery block - I just need to add a couple more french knots and then trim it to size. I am thinking I will pull some fabrics from the stash and hand piece this one while in the many car lines I get to sit in now! I'm debating changing to blue to a little bit darker floss.....

I'll stitch in Emily's and knit or crochet in Aidans. His I tend to be on the road waiting to get in with all the police going back and forth..... I like to be looking up not down at my stitching. I'm going to try a hexagon crochet block to make into an afghan. I found a tutorial I liked here - will see how it goes! Hmmm. Might have to look down at that though, unlike my dish cloths (which I need to finish the one I started last week in car line - it is half way knitted!). Will give it a try this week and see how it goes.

 I also got back into hand quilting and have 2 sides of my setting triangles to go on the basket quilt. That will be the project to work on today.

Grandma called this morning.... seems the gage on her pump is zero and no water. Hubby will go and see if he can figure it out and will bring some jugs filled with water for her. We kept 2-3 of the big blue jugs from when we had them at the store. They come in handy to fill with water in case of power outages (hurricanes) or situations like this. Hopefully it is an easy fix and she doesn't need the pump replaced... we had to do that a few years ago with ours. I see a nice quiet house for a few hours and time playing with fabric in my sewing room. 

Linking up with Kathy and the other slow stitchers this week.

RSC Saturday

It is another rainy day here in Florida. Lots of rainy day pick ups from school (3 of 5!) which we normally don't have until a few months into school!
That has allowed me extra car line time!

I am all caught up on my umbrella blocks! (I was 3 behind!) I finished off the pink and made 2 blue ones this week. That's my new flooring in the sewing area/office (a.k.a the finished garage area!). I love it with my pretty sunny yellow walls!

All the umbrella's so far. No clue how they will end up in a quilt.

I also picked up my blue basket quilt and I've got 2 sides of the setting triangles quilted in the evenings. I have yet to find the herra marker (hopefully today as the sewing room painting and floors are done! Time to sort and move back in this weekend!) so just did a free hand lines to mirror the triangles. The bottom is done and I'm working up the right side. This is 32x32 for a pretty wall hanging.

Linking up with the RSC Challenge. Head on over and see all the fun projects being worked on.

Hand quilting progress....

The last basket got quilted! Now it is time to stitch the setting triangles. I always hate to stitch near the edge.... as it doesn't catch well in the hoop. The options - baste on the edge,  add a piece of fabric so it will work in the hoop or stitch without a hoop.

I started basting along the edge as I was finishing the last basket. Not sure it will work but I'll give that a shot first. I need to find my herra marker and make some stitching lines.

I do need to 'fix' a few baskets. When I cut out behind the baskets I got a little too close on a few and they are pulling out the applique stitches. This will be a wall hanging so not too many washings.

I also went ahead and got all my purple hexagon flowers stitched. I know, purple has not been called but I am almost done.... brown and light blue to go and the brown area all prepped to stitch and the backgrounds are all cut for the light blue.

Linking up with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

It was yard work morning... in the feels like 100 degree. I am wiped out but... one more load of weeds and brush to pick up and bring out back and I am done for the day. The front bed is now planted and Aidan and Emily were trimming the bushes. Another hour tomorrow should have the side of the house done as well.... we sill see how hot it is at that point if I try to work on the back or not! I guess we should have started a little earlier... but we all slept in (after 8!) and someone wanted crepes... so she made a blueberry compote while I made crepes for everyone. They were yummy. Time to go pick up the rest of the front and then it will be jump in the pool time!

Sunday.....

It is a busy weekend in my family. June 15th is always busy.... It is my parents 56th Anniversary, my nephews birthday (he was born on their 29th anniversary as the first grandchild) and yesterday my niece graduated from High School with honors and got her schools scholarship to UVM! Great job Sally!

Today - Happy Fathers Day! Hubby got breakfast in bed (coffee and everything bagel with cream cheese) and the kids homemade gifts at 7:10. They were so excited and were busy for a few hours making things yesterday. 

Happy Fathers Day to my Dad.... so many games played with his kids after a long day of work, trips to the dump on Saturday morning with 'going to the dump music' and special stops at the little store to chat with neighbors and I got Swedish fish =).  Great memories!

This is the 20th basket of 25 that was finished off last night. The heart is a little wonky and off center.... but I am ok with it. 

Linking up with Kathy and the other slow stitchers.

Slow Sunday...

I plan to get a couple more of my blue hexagons stitched up today. Look at that! I got 2 done while waiting for the computer to charge to post this!

Then I'll settle in and get a basket or two quilted. I have 13 of 25 done so far.

Why does this always happen?

Linking up with the other Slow Sunday Stitchers.

I am so tempted to start the embroidery I purchased earlier this year with Blueprint.... but figured I should finish a hand project before starting a new one. (Crazy I know!) I'll start it in July.... probably in Vermont when all the hexagons are stitched onto their background. It will be my first try at embroidery.... and with my tutorial video....and Mom who did that back when she was younger I should be able to tackle it!

Yesterday the boy wanted Mom time and Mom wanted machine time! I got the last of the bow tie blocks sewn and he decided the layout.

He wanted 4 together in the same color way in a circle. There were 12 of each color so we have 3 blocks of each color. The blocks of 4 are now 6 inches.

Might need to make another 8 bow ties in the black color way to get 30 blocks instead of the 28 we have. I went ahead and made one more set in black yesterday but the numbers were not working out. It was taxing the boys brain and we gave up. I'm going to add 2 more black and grey blocks today to make an even 30 for a 5x6 set.

The girl was playing UNO with Dad in the afternoon and they also made the meatballs for dinner last night. The boy and I handled the making of the french bread. With some angel hair pasta and marinara sauce dinner was done! Mom - the zucchini cake with cream cheese frosting came out really yummy..... you know the one from the Taste of Home magazine =)
I had to play Bingo last night with Emily.... my kids love to play games!

I also gave her churn dash blocks to play with..... did I mention I tend to collect blocks? Hehehe....

Linking up with the RSC Challenge and Oh Scrap.

Sunday....

It's all about slow stitching on Sunday. With it being a new month at the Rainbow Scrap Challenge dark blue was the chosen color. I love blue.... and I have a couple of blue things that fit the RSC Challenge and Slow Sunday Stitching! Hand quilting and basting and applique!

I am hand appliqueing my hexagon flowers onto their black backgrounds this month and the dark blue were the only ones left that need basting so they can continue their journey onto the black. I started a few last night and will finish up the rest today then pin them to the backing so they are all set to sew whenever I get a few minutes.  I hand pieced these quite a few years ago and they are so close to being blocks to put together into a quilt! Sew exciting!

I also started quilting this little basket last night and it should get finished up this evening..... or afternoon if I need a break. So nice to have options when you have a few minutes here and there to stitch on something.

Linking up with the other Slow Stitchers over at Kathy's Quilts who has been hosting this wonderful link up for 7 years! I just want to thank Kathy and all who have posted and encouraged me in this hand stitching process. 

Yesterday..... someone decided it was time to get her ears pierced! It was to be her 10th birthday present back in April (my rule you have to be 10 and then if you want them pierced you can) but soccer season was in full swing and no jewelry. She had her heart set on Justice piercing them and had picked out a pretty aquamarine post. The nice lady mentioned her ears were thick so would need a long post which they did not have. We walked down the mall to Claires where they had a couple with long post. Chatted with the staff there and they mentioned you could bring the earring of your choice to a piercing place and they could do it. Then she mentioned it was a tattoo parlor and Emily got all nervous.... like ... no way, Mom!. We said thanks and took a walk. The boys headed into Yankee Candle and the girls sat and chatted. The chairs were next to a Padoga jewelry kiosk. I went up and saw they do piercing and had some long posts that were cubic zirconium. Very pretty in 14KG in gold or white. She looked at them. We sat again. Then I mentioned why don't we ask her what the process is... she liked that idea. The lady was super nice. She said she has been doing this for 21 years and a coworker there for over 10. They could even do both ears at the same time. Everything was explained and all questions answered. We sat again. She was thirsty....we walked to the food court and got her some water. A few sips later and then it was 'Are you doing this today or another time?' The boys had moved onto Bath and Body works at that point (Aidan loves his smelly stuff and was looking at candles. He will be making a batch of candles tomorrow with some melts he purchased on Saturday). She said today... we walked back and the boys met us there. It was go time. She waited for a few customers to finish up, we paid and then she got her ears pierced. Good thing it was at the same time... she was a bit terrified and one of them stung for a bit after for a few minutes. All better now and she will go back in 4 weeks and have them take a look. Just a solution and turn morning and night and she now has pierced ears! I keep telling her I am stealing them when her 6 weeks are up... they are really cute earrings!

Sunday....

Another week has flown by! The kids have 3 weeks of school left... just 3 weeks! How is that possible?
Things are starting to wrap up and the end of school year crazy is happening. Scouts has 2 weeks left... guess I really need to sort badges and plan the bridging ceremony for next week. This week they are learning about Autism (one of the younger sisters in our troop who is now in the Daisy troop that meets with us has autism) and will make a swap and write a letter to a girl in a sister troop in Ohio... and give some input on their end of year ceremony next week.

Soccer has 2 more weeks. Awards ceremonies are the last week of school and an orientation to Aidan's new middle school next year is also that last week of school. 2 summer camps are scheduled and paid for (camp invention for both and horse day camp for Emily one week). I work from home about 20 hours a week...yup, summers are interesting but the kids are older now and more self sufficient so it should be ok. ( humor me with that thought anyway!)

Kids are being shuttled to Grandma's by Dad today. I hear he might have some project to do there today as well. I plan to take 1.5 hours and attempt to pick up and clean the house. Note to self.... smaller house next time!

Then it will be lunchtime and the afternoon is all for sewing today! I will be working on the graduation quilt - chevron in yellow and blue. I hope to get all the strips sewn and cut today to play with the layout. Tonight..... I'll curl up in my recliner with the binding stitching on the huge log cabin quilt. I have 2 sides done.... 2 sides to go (188 inches of binding)!

I might also pull out the hand quilting on my first basket on my quilt... unpin and cut out the basket backing on all of them. It is a wall hanging size so not too big. Lesson learned... always cut out behind if you plan to hand quilt! 

Linking up with Kathy and the other slow stitchers..... as I will get some slow stitching in today eventually!

Just rubbing it in a little for Mom - some photo's of the tomato plants overflowing with roma and cherry tomato's! I might have been having tomato with fresh basil and mozzarella the last few days =)

This one got planted out by the kids play area.

The angel trumpets are in bloom. This is the one by the tree through the fence. The one by the shed is also in bloom. 

Time to get dressed and start cleaning.

Slow Sunday... new projects....

After a slew of binding finishes this week (baby hearts and 16 patch, Emily's quilt) it is time for some 'new' hand work projects. 

This is Emily's quilt as of last night. 

The baby hearts quilt is done so I get to put the little basket quilt into the hoop for hand quilting. This is 32x32 and was hand appliquéd in the summer of 2017. 

I pulled out my hand pieced hexagons from 2014 and will be basting them for applique onto 6.5 inch black background in accordance with the rainbow scrap challenge this year. Red is the color for January and I got all 17 of these basted and one prepped for applique onto the background. I hope to prep the other 16 today so I can just leave them in the car with supplies for car line this week.

It was also time to give some attention to the trip quilt on the frame in my bedroom. I had avoided it as the kittens did some damage to the batting and I was too afraid to look and figure out a plan. I dared to look last week and will be doing some batting stitching once I am ready to roll this.... but that means I have some quilting to do before I have to deal with that. I think I will be doing this in the evenings while Emily reads to me for her 20 minutes of reading per day. It is a good goal for both of us! I did the top section in purple on Thursday evening while she was reading.

Linking up with Kathy and the other slow stitchers. A big thank you to Kathy and all who have encouraged me in my hand work endeavors over the years.

I am signed up to start a hand pieced quilt along starting tomorrow over at Elm Street Quilts and Simple. Everyday. Handmade. Take a look and if you want a fun little quilt along to start the year this might be the one for you!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

The next hand quilting project.....

Never mind that I have a 90x90 trip quilt on the frame..... that is being neglected.

I did finish hand quilting the baby hearts quilt and added the binding last night. I still need to hand stitch it down... cause after I got to my recliner it seems Peanut had overtaken it! I picked him up to move him and he landed on my lap, belly and chest... he was laying down and comfy!  and Sophie jumped up onto the foot part. I was unable to do any hand work with those helpers.

So I pulled out the next 2 quilts I was thinking about hand quilting. The baskets and the cat and mice.

I asked the kids.... they said the baskets... which is nice and small and should go quickly.

The cat and mouse..... just doesn't seem finished. Aidan said it needs a border of lizards... you know, cause my cats love to chase the lizards down here in Florida! I like the idea... but a plain border with hand quilted lizards is more my thought process. He also thought it needed some balls with swirly lines like they are rolling... so I might need 2 borders! We will see as this one still needs some work.

I was going to stop at Joanns on the way home from bowling to pick up some hand quilting batting...but since that basket one is small I 'think' I can piece the leftovers from the baby quilt to be big enough.

One more week of the kids being home........ not that I am counting down the days until January 3 when they go back to school! =).

Grant me patience today... Emily will try and quilt her quilt this afternoon.

I gave myself a little gift this morning. I had purchased a year subscription of Craftsy earlier this year for me and the kids. The deal gave me a $25 coupon each quarter. Well, that got spent this morning buying some fat quarters of a pretty red and cream line that was marked down, a charm pack of that and a charm pack of purples. Yes, it was a little over but that $8 was worth it! I also purchased one of my 'free' classes today - a hand quilting one that looked good on the reviews. I can't wait to watch it. I also saved off a slew of free patterns (ok - 11) in case they go away tomorrow. Some dress patterns, little coin cases, skirts, pj's, microwave bowl holders....

I think today will be showing the kids that lava cake video and have them make it for dessert tonight!