Table Scrap Challenge.

 English country garden was the prompt. I did some internet searching and got a picture in my head of blurred flowers on the edge and a lighter walkway through the middle. I was thinking to add a butterfly or two to the top. Alas, the little experiment did not turn out like the photo in my head. Oh well, I did play with some scraps and came up with this 12x12 little quilt. The purple part - the backing was purple as was the binding. Maybe there was a little purple in the flowers in the fabrics here and there. 

The bag of Liberty of London fabrics were so happy to see the light of day and get some air. 

The finished piece.

The front from a different angle. I just used the walking foot for some improv quilting.

The back.

Linking up with Joy and the Table Scrap Challenge for July.

Sunday Slow Stitching

The dog was up bright and early this morning wanting his breakfast and a walk. He got that, then the pool got a clean and shocked, because I forgot to do it last night. The pool is in the shade in the morning so it should be fine. The chickens are roaming around the back yard, finding bugs. 

Some of the household has woken up around 9AM. I just put a batch of muffins in the oven to use up the extremely overripe 2 banana's on the counter. I've taste tested them, and they are a yummy muffin!  The F1 race is looking like a wash out, but we will see. 

I've been slowly hand stitching these flowering snowball and shoo fly blocks that I cut out with my Accuquilt. I have more cut out and marked for hand stitching. I'll be adding a shoo fly to the mix today with my slow stitching. I grabbed fabrics from the stash wall in blue, greens and purples with a single solid background of a Kona off the roll I got from Missouri Star Quilt Company. They had a deal on them a while ago, so I have a couple of lights and a navy in those. 

I'll need to cut out some more of each at some point to make it a wee bit bigger. I think I have 25 blocks cut out right now. I'll finish stitching all of these first and then find some more fabrics to add to the mix. 

I've been seeing all the cross stitch happening in the link up's. I have done that in the past but think I might dabble back in. I've had this little Christmas stitchery in the console of the car for ages, and think I might just stitch it up this week for a change of pace.

 

I did find another stitchery with this pretty cardinal.

I also have a half finished one that got stalled with a mistake in the counting and stitching. I might have to figure that out and unstitch so that can get moving along again. 

Linking up with Kathy and the other Slow Sunday Stitchers.

RSC catch up.

 I missed orange and most of purple so I'm playing catch up this week. I did a few 16 patch blocks. 2 in orange from last month and one in purple for this month. I should be able to get some sewing time in to work on the alternate blocks in both colors and do another 16 patch block in purple today or tomorrow. 

First, I need to finish playing with this bag of scraps I have had since I lived in Vermont....so 16 or 17 years? Liberty of London fabrics I grabbed from a quilt guild table. They were my inspiration for the English Country Garden prompt over at the Table Scrap Challenge. It might not be purple, but it will fit the scraps and garden feel. Now to get it finished and see if it matches the picture in my head.

Sorted into lights and darks. 

I had a busy start to the morning. Someone was whining and wanted his walk at 6:45. He got it about 20 minutes later... then I got a quick shower and headed to the school for a volunteer opportunity for Girl Scouts. We had a table at the community back pack give away. I was there from 9-1 and missed the marching band 'preview' for the parents they gave of what they have been working on this week at band camp. It was M-F 8-6PM! I'll check out the video's someone will post of it. Em is off to bowling with some friends from the band for a team bonding thing this afternoon. Aidan is off with his friends for a late lunch. Do I curl up with a book on the couch with the sleeping dog (he is napping and I am a pillow!), or rouse him and go sew a bit? We will see.....

Linking up with the RSC.

Wednesday

After picking up the car yesterday after work, I figured out dinner. I had made a list on a post it note and attached it to the fridge door back on Sunday. It has lessened the 'whats for dinner' questions.  I had enchiladas down last night, so used some of Emily's roaster chicken to make that with a can of green enchilada sauce. My recipe is just chicken (extra roaster chicken, or canned chicken is what I use), a can of cream of chicken soup and some sour cream - about 8 ounces. I add a good spoonful of refried beans (I made my own yesterday and need to work on that!), then some of the chicken mix and then some shredded cheddar. Roll up the big burrito and place in a 13x9 pan. Cover the top with the sauce and then some cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. 

After dinner, I prepped things and did another batch of tomato's. I now have 21 pints of tomato in the pantry. Well, the last 7 will get washed off and placed in there later tonight closer to the 24 hour sit mark. The all sealed already. 

While that was processing, I finished the purple flowering snowball and did this blue one. I think I have a green shoo fly prepped for tonight.

Tonight I have lemon chicken and capers over pasta with a salad on the list. I have some snow peas that will get quick boiled and then smothered in butter and salt and pepper as a side. I'll run out to Aldi and grab chicken for that and some spinach and cheese for the quiches tomorrow night. I'll do a spinach, onion and cheese one and then a sausage and cheddar cheese one for Emily and Greg. They are picky!

I also need to make the dozen of hard boiled eggs from a couple of days ago into Deviled eggs. Once made up - they tend to disappear quickly.

Thursday is my day off.... so I'm thinking I need to really get a 'finish' in soon of my UFO's. That Arkansas Traveller quilt needs to get pinned and I need to play with the Table Scrap Challenge for Purple as well. A few 16 patches need to get made in orange and purple and some alternate blocks are needed as well. If I'd get off my phone games and work on some of that I might see some progress!

 

Rainy day

 We are in a rain and t-storm loop. No doggie walk this morning. 

I picked up a 25 pound box of tomatoes on Friday. They needed a little ripening, so I waited to process them a few days. I got 2 batches of them canned in pint jars last night. 14 so far. All sealed fine. I just do the ball canning for raw pack tomato like my mom did. I figured with the upcoming issues with fields not being picked,  I'd better get some staples canned. I had my first broken glass in the canner on the first batch, so 1 jar and contents got thrown out.

I've got some tomato left for another round today. Some might have been used for tomato sandwiches as well.

One last bit of stitching needed to finish off this flowering snowball block.

Honda said the car is ready for pickup.  I took it in for the recall maintenance. The also did a car check and the tech said it is one of the nicest he has seen from carvana! Yea!

Sunday

Sunday and a migraine. Sigh. I went back to bed after about 30 minutes and slept until after noon. A bit better. No, I am stubborn and have not taken the meds for it. I will though, as I'd like it gone and I normally have multiple days once I get one. Mine tends to be behind the right eye, but thankfully light and sound don't bother me too much. 

I did get a new to me car yesterday! We got it through Carvana and traded in the 2016 Kia. I now have a 2018 Honda CRV EX-L. It's got about 45K miles on it and drives well. I'm happy to be back in a CRV. They delivered it to our door and everything!

 Aidan is driving my 2014 Crv. Emily has Greg's 2013 Tacoma truck. It got stripped down and painted over the summer and looks like a brand new vehicle for her. She has been driving it to horses on Saturdays and will be driving to school this week for marching band practice. They are doing one week instead of 2 this year, so it is a long day for them. 8-6. The teacher is pregnant and due the end of November, so she is very organized this year! 

I did a little hand stitching in between things yesterday. I just need to sew the rows together on the shoo fly block. Then move onto the curvy parts of the flowering snowball. I had just a wee bit of thread left, so added that yellow square with it yesterday. I think it is around a one inch square, so just a few stitches and it was attached. This is my current hand piecing project. 

I'll also work on crocheting the grey around the last 6 granny blocks this week before I figure out how to assemble the box of them into an afghan. 

I'd also like to get these last two teal blocks finished this month. I have 14 of the 16 string of beads blocks completed.  These are needle turned applique. They need a press, as the travel bag got them a bit wrinkled. I drew on the peel placement with pencil. My two teal colors and the outer dark green peels are marked and ready to go.

 This is the first 12 of them. The orange ones did not make it into that photo, but they are completed.

Plenty to keep me busy and out of trouble this week! Linking up with Kathy and the other slow Sunday Stitchers. 

Seeing the results of Kathy's unpicking on that pretty bird cross stitch, I might have to revisit the January cross stitch design that has been at a standstill for too many years due to a counting mistake. It might be time to figure out where I went wrong and unpick so I can get that one moving along again. 

Erin's Butterfly blocks

I had good intentions to press and load a quilt top and backing onto the boards for pinning yesterday. That would have involved clearing off my sewing table. The backing blocks and the parts for Erin's Butterfly were sitting on my cutting mat. I had zigzag stitched the pink and a light blue one earlier this year. Instead of moving them..... I decided to cut the fusible to attach to the wings, pressed them on then placed onto the background and machine stitched them down. All eight are ready for the body to be attached by hand, (the pink was done) and then they need embroidery for the antenna. I do need one more of these made... so I think that will be the next step in the sewing room. Dark green I think - I'll steal from the greens I got for the Christmas tree quilt I have yet to make for those wings. Julierose - this one making progress should make you happy! I know you've been rooting for this one to be moved along for a while now.

I hand stitched this purple shoo fly block yesterday as well. 

I'll link up on Saturday with the RSC for progress on some purple sewing this month!