Wednesday, May 31, 2017

CELEBRATING

I'm celebrating the beginning of my week. I have my house back to myself again.
I love my husband and son, but I love my time to myself too :)

I kept up on chores, but you know for every one done, two more crop up. I'll do them each day as time and energy permit.

I/we, Rocky and I, started our day with a walk. Even though I was up at 6, we really can't do much until after 8, when Newton leaves for school.  I have an app on my phone that records steps and activity. What was a 30 minute walk a month ago is now only 17 !!! We are going to have to extend it to get the time in. This is a new change starting today - we are going to walk first thing in the morning and again in the evening, maybe around 7.

Another change I've made is to stop drinking everything except water after dinner. I had to go out, so I'm picking up a new scale to help keep track of my progress. I just feel the need to get healthier.

I spent most of the day feeling like I was chasing my tail. . . laundry, errands, phone calls. It was 2 p.m. before I got my sewing time in. I spent my 30 minutes quilting redwork. I felt I made good progress in that time. So much so, that I kept coming back to it. I probably ended up with about 2 hours total sewing time.

One goal has been accomplished . . . 


I finished the sheep block.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Monday

Memorial Day

I hope everyone had a good weekend and took the time to remember those we have lost over our life times.

Rocky decided 6 a.m. was a good time to get up for the day. We surveyed the backyard after about six hours of off and on rain, heavy rains for the most part. There's water standing everywhere. Mosquitoes are biting even this early.

Laundry, breakfast and lunch are done. Dinner decided. I set about working on the redwork quilt. I managed sandwiching and pinning everything in place. It's a long slow process, but looking forward excitedly to the finished project.


It was a very relaxing day with no pressure to do anything, go anywhere or even cook. We did leftover grill because it was there for dinner.

What a difference a day and rain makes in the garden.

 

The pink roses that were budding on Sunday were blooming on Monday :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.


Monday, May 29, 2017

May Goal Report

Goals for the week of May 22, 2017

1. Redwork
- sandwich and quilt border
- binding

No progress - set aside to get Growing up done

2. Easter 
- assemble

No progress here either

3. Growing up QAL
- assemble monthly block


DONE


4. Tilda doll
- hair

 

DONE

5. Pull next UFO :)

DONE

6. 30 minutes sewing challenge

DONE

I managed to get my goal for the daily/week met. I spent my Saturday - when I found a few minutes here and there - to get some mending done and caught up :)


Goals for the week of May 28, 2017

1. Redwork

- Quilt
- Bind


2. Easter/30 Minutes Sewing

- Assemble


3. Sheep/stitching

- Stitch one block

4. UFO - Lace Cabins

- sandwich blocks


Those projects should keep me plenty busy this week.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.



Sunshine Saturday

We had sunshine when we rose for the day !! It did rain some during the night, but I slept through it.

After a quick walk through the back yard, I made breakfast



in my new copper pan.



My mother's day gift from my mom.

After breakfast, Honey Do and I went plant shopping for the vegetable garden. My rule of thumb has always been to have my gardens planted by Memorial Day weekend.



By noon I had 3 1/2 rows planted while the dogs ran the yard and the rest of the garden gridden.

A quick walk through my flower beds made me smile. Between temperatures and rain the plants are thriving and blooming, as well as all the weeds.



 


Lunch was tasty - open faced philly chicken with a drizzle of ranch dressing.


After lunch, I finished the BOM


Goal accomplished. I also received some squishy mail.


Well, maybe not quite so squishy. At least it was fun. I won last month's Growing Up prize and it came in the mail this week. I had forgotten all about it. Thank you, Alida :)


Just before dinner, I went back outside with the poochies. While Honey Do grilled dinner,


I finished my planting. All the plans we purchased were in the ground the same day !! There's rain forecast for Sunday, otherwise I probably wouldn't have rushed. It feels really good to have it done. Next week, I'll start re-weeding the flower beds. I have discarded shasta daisies coming.

 


Tilda is also done. Another goal accomplished.

All around a very productive and creativity day.

Thanks for stopping by.

Weekend Kick Off

As usual, Friday started with my feet hitting the floor running . . .
laundry, started before I left the house . . . 
groceries, we have to ear . . . 
library, close all weekend, picking up an order and ordering books for Newton.
I was home and everything put away by noon.

The backyard looked clear after a visit from "mama" deer. She had been pretty aggressive in letting us know she didn't want us using it.

I opened the gate and let the dogs run. On the way back from getting Rocky I saw it.


We all went right past her laying in the grass. She's no more than a couple of weeks old. She beside the tree. That was as close as I could get.

I spent the afternoon finishing laundry and prepping dinner. My backed chicken called for fresh herbs. It was wonderful to ust go out and get what you need from your garden: rosemary, parsley and thyme. The thyme is already flowering.

After dinner I was tired, but still managed to grid three rows of the garden and start the Growing Up BOM.


Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.


Friday, May 26, 2017

Switching Gears

I spent part of the day with Mom. That didn't stop me from getting in some early morning sewing. I spent about 15 minutes before leaving to prep the final section of backing to be sewn on when I got home.



I was only at Mom's for a few hours. As always, it was a nice visit. Mom is so inspiring. At almost 80 she's still doing so much on her own. My brother, niece and I do what we can to help her. We're all within an hour's drive, so someone is always available.


It's bee a soggy few days and the rains keep coming. It rained so much Thursday afternoon that Rocky didn't hesitate to come in from his afernoon break. He tore through the house trying to get dry.

I stopped at the library on the way home to pick up movies for the weekend. We're a pretty quiet family, so no big plans. That means we'll all do what we enjoy most. . .

me - sewing, stitching, watching movies, prepping meals
Honey Do - putsing in the garage, video games, watching war movies
Newton - video games, more video games, eating

With more rain on the way for the entire weekend, we'll got lots of rest in, too,

I finished - finally - putting the backing on the quilt Thursday evening. It feels like it took forever to do this last section. I learned a lot doing it this way. The biggest lessons were more planning and thinking things through. And, don't work on it when you are tired.

Switching gears means I need to set the quilt aside for a couple of days to get my Growing Up BOM done by deadline.


I spent part of my evening choosing my fabrics.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.




Solitary Play Day

I am on my own this rainy Wednesday. It started early, and is relatively cool. AND is forecast for the entire weekend - off and on. More time to play at the sewing machine.

An early dentist appointment for Newton had me on the road and I took advantage of that time to run my errands.

Once home, I was ready to start working on the Redwork quilt . . . or so I thought. Oh the frustration !!! For every step forward, I took two back. I wasn't rushing the process, at I didn't think so. Every mistake made me fill like I was. I was getting nowhere fast.




It took most of the afternoon, but I finally got the piece on correctly. One more side and it will be ready for final quilting and the binding.



Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Changed Plans

I love when I can change plans so that it benefits me in a positive way. I had an appointment first thing that I was able to combine with another one saving me time and gas. One more thing to keep me close to home.

Chores done by 9 a.m. :)

Worked on Redwork. I was able to spend my sewing time Monday sewing on the binding. Tuesday, I cut the backing for the border section and sewed it on the two long sides. This took longer than expected. I also miscalculated my cuts, so I had to add and extra section and sewed it on.


Measure twice = cut once !!

Add to that, I'm out of backing fabric so I'm using the leftover black with white dots.



Tuesday evening stitching was the sheep since I didn't have anything drawn off and this is a project in progress already.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.





Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Priorities and Goals

As the end of the month approaches, I have to review my priorities. I could spend all day sewing, making quilts, doing embroidery. And if I didn't have a family, pets and home to care for - I would !!

As Monday dawned damp from the Sunday rains, cooler - forecast is for a high of 65 degrees - I need to concentrate on household chores. The laundry is caught up except for a load of sheets and a mattress pad. There's some deep cleaning, like behind the refrigerator. The stuff you put off because it's just not that easy to deal with and is usually time-consuming. Monday was that day. There's no in-between the fun stuff for these chores, or they'd never get done.

I did manage some sewing time at the end of the day.



The binding has been sewn on to the quilt.

Goals for the week of May 15, 2017



1. Redwork Quilt
I'd like to see it finished this week.
- Sashing - DONE
-Border - DONE
-Binding - on, but not completely finished




2. Easter Wall Hanging
- Final stitching - DONE
- Assemble - not yet




3. Tilda Doll
- Put the doll's body together - DOEN


4. Salem Witch Quilt
This is a new project that's going to take a year to do.
- draw off panel one - not yet, put it away for now

Goals for the week of May 22, 2017

1. Redwork
- sandwich and quilt border
- binding

2. Easter 
- assemble

3. Growing up QAL
- assemble monthly block

4. Tilda doll
- hair

5. Pull next UFO :)

This is actually a pretty easy week, going into the holiday weekend. Honey Do is planning on adding Friday for a four-day weekend. Newton will also be home on Monday for another three-day weekend (second one in a row). We have plans to be around the house - pulling up carpet and planting the vegetable garden :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Monday, May 22, 2017

Mid-May . . . Already?

21 days of sewing fun !!!

We are more than half way through this challenge!! I hope everyone participating feels as productive with this challenge as I do. It has been very rewarding to have this much time at the sewing machine. I did the math and it's only 9.5 hours total, but I feel so accomplished. When I don't sew I feel like I've deprived myself of something very important.

Susan at DesertSky Quilting alerted us of a freebie at the same time I discovered it. I spent my Friday morning at the library downloading the patterns.



Here's your link to Bear Creek Quiling's BOM for 2017. This company is wonderful because the patterns are all still free without any posted deadlines or expiration. Not sure if previous years are still available, but it appears they have a new BOM every year.

My 30 minutes of sewing time was spent putting the rest of the sashings on the Redwork quilt



I get more excited with each step of this project.

And to round out the day


progress was made on the Easter block.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Thursday's Play Day

The humidity kicked in hot and heavy. Temperatures were forecast in the low-mid 90s . . . for mid-May !!!!
I was originally planning on playing with BF and her daughter, but then I was supposed to go to work, but then work cancelled. 

Image from Yahoo

I spent the day home, alone, except for my constant four-legged companions. We took the day as it came and went.

I got my 30+ minutes of sewing in by finishing the quilting on the final 9-patch row.
I also got the top and bottom sashings sewn on.



I took a break and ran some errands . . . 
library books needed returned and picked up
dinner supplies and . . . strawberries.

Dogs needed to go out and because it was so warm (hot?) and fairly breezy, I decided it was a good day to line dry the laundry.



There's no school on Friday, so we'll take the day as it comes.
Fortunately, most of the chores are done and we can relax and just have some fun :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.


Friday, May 19, 2017

Monday . . . Tuesday . . . Wednesday . . .

Monday flew by and I was surprised when the morning passed, but even more shocked when 3 p.m. rolled around.

I did normal daily chores and in between made more 9-patches and border strips for the red work quilt. I decided I needed one more row to balance out the quilt.


My 30+ sewing minutes accomplished.

I spent the afternoon running errands, getting dinner supplies and walking Rocky - He actually misses his daily walks when we don't get them in.

Tuesday

Another productive day at home. Today's 30 minutes of sewing concentrated on the outer border of the quilt. It's still in pieces but is coming along nicely.



The 85+'s have arrived and needless to say, so has the humidity. Honey Do started tilling the garden after work and only quit at my insistence. It's not a huge plot, but with this heat we decided to just do a little at a time.

Wednesday

I got some hours in at work for the first half of the afternoon. The temperature got into the 90s and I felt like a wet noodle most of the day and evening. I did start to quilt the 9-patch row, but didn't get very far. Not sure I even got 30 minutes in.

I have made really good progress on the Easter block.




This is turning into a very happy, fun little project.

That last row will go at the top of the quilt.




Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.



Monday, May 15, 2017

Sew 30 Challenge and Goals

Can you believe May is already half over?? !!
This morning dawned sunny, which is a blessing. We've seen a lot of rain during March and April. I'm hoping to get some time prepping the vegetable garden for tilling - that means pulling lots of weeds. The weeds are taking over the flower beds, too.

This is my first full week home in quite a while. No work on Monday and no visits planned or scheduled. I'm excited and feel almost like I'm getting ready for a vacation :) I'll be tackling projects I haven't had time to get done.

My sewing and stitching goals for this week:

1. Redwork Quilt


I'd like to see it finished this week.

- Sashing
-Border
-Binding



2. Easter Wall Hanging


- Final stitching
- Assemble



3. Tilda Doll
- Put the doll's body together


4. Salem Witch Quilt
This is a new project that's going to take a year to do.
- draw off panel one

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Sew 30 - Week 2

 This week has flown completely past me. I wasn't feeling well because I pulled a muscle in my lower back. So that forced me to take things a little easier.

The rain also helped to keep me inside and working on the quilt and other projects.

I spent time off and on working on another panel for the "cube" for the Children's program. This is time consuming and frustrating because the plastic lacing twists, but I volunteered and want to finish this project by the time study resumes in September.



I have also worked diligently on my quilt.



It is officially a quilt top as of Sunday. 
I'm linking up with Annie's Ruby Slipper for the Sew 30 challenge.

My Mother's day was fairly relaxing. I prepped as much of our meal as I could on Saturday. I waited patiently for Mom, drawing off the final Easter design . . .


We spent the afternoon/early evening looking through cookbooks, Mom was knitting on baby clothes and I was working on my Easter stitchery. It was a wonderful time and I so appreciated her making the drive and spending the time with me. That is so important for both of us to do.

I hope all my "Mom/blog friends" had a wonderful day doing what they love doing, no matter what that was.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.


Friday, May 12, 2017

Sew 30 - Day 9

Monday, rolled into Tuesday, rolled into Wednesday. And I'm happy and relaxed.

Tuesday i did things as I felt like doing them.

I finished Tilda's dress.


Earlier in the day, I prepped the four rows of redwork into two rows.



After Rocky and I went for our walk, I spent the evening finishing the backs by hand sewing them closed. I'm very pleased with the results.



All in all a very productive day.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Sewing Challenge Day 8

Monday was the last leaders' meeting for Bible study. It was a morning of mixed emotions. We're excited about the summer break, anticipation for the study of Romans beginning in September, new members, new groups and for many, myself included, sadness because we won't be returning to leadership. It was a difficult decision but my responsibilities needed to be re-evaluated and therefore, I won't be a children's leader next year. I will still have some responsibilities for service but not as demanding (for lack of a better descriptive word).

Monday afternoon was quiet and fairly unproductive. I didn't really have time to work on my quilt, so I chose another UFO - a Tilda doll that I had begun several years ago.


This pile of pins and fabric are the bodice of Tilda's "Jane Austin" dress, which you can see in the background photo. It took longer to pin pieces into place than it did to actually sew it together.


And this is her finished dress. 

The fabric was a border print piece that I received when Aunt Rose passed away. I still have a fairly decent size piece left. Not sure what I'll do with it, but I absolutely love the print and bright colors.

I still need to finish the doll's body, although most of the parts are sewn together so will just required stuffing, final assembly and then things like hair and face. Wish I would have kept track of how much time it took to do this project from start to finish. I can tell you that it's not for the faint with all those little pieces. This is why I refused to make Barbie doll clothes :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity and productivity.