Oh August, Where Did You Go?

 August? . . .  

2023? . . . 

The whole year gone!! Seems like the year had just begun and here we are three fourths of the way through.

  

 

August was hot and least last week really wet. We had some foggy days to contend with as a result. It didn't keep me from being busy.

 

  

My Bee Vintage quilt blocks are current to the point that they are all assembled and ready to be machine appliqued. Next up is shopping the stash for sashing, borders, binding and backing.

 

As part of cleaning the garage, Honey Do came across this sewing table.

  

 

 

This table is one from a school and would have sat two students and sewing machines. It was in Mom's basement for years. I had my sights on it for a long time and when Mom decided to move, I got it :) It obviously needed some serious cleaning, but once that was done I got it set up.

 Honey Do suggested the change reasoning it was better to use it. I, of course, agreed. He took the smaller tables apart and they will be set up in the scrapbook room (yes, I get to say I have a room just for scrapbooking. More on that later.)

 

 

 

I'm loving the changes. I feel like we have a lot more room to work in the space. Two drop leaves can be lowered, but for now I like the length and being able to reach across the table as needed.

I've started setting things up the way I want to use them with as little moving things on and off. There's a fair amount of reorganzing, but the room has needed some attention for a while.

 

Honey Do has not only been cleaning the garage, but was building a storage rack . . .

when complete, this rack will hold 30 of these plastic storage containers. He has filled some with some of his hunting gear and things he doesn't need on a regular basis and still needs more thorough sorting. I will organize my seasonal decor as soon as I sort and purge and organize. My plan is to do this seasonally as I change things accordingly. I don't see any point in doing it twice.

In the garden, my roses continue to bloom. This is the one Mom gave me years ago for mother's day. It moved with us a couple of years ago and survived the transplant. So it's always special for me when it blooms.

The pollinators are working overtime. We are enjoying the birds, bees, hummingbirds and here, Rocky is watching a swallowtail butterfly in the butterfly bush. 

Sunflowers are growing everywhere the birds drop seeds from their feeds. These are growing down at the duck pens.

 

 

The garden has been providing. Some things better than others. Tomatoes and peppers have been abundant. I'm making tomato sauce and Honey Do is making hot sauce with the peppers.

Five of the six heads of cabbage we planted did well enough to process for sauerkraut. We ate all that I made last year.

 

My sister has brought me zucchini and we've pulled a couple from the garden. The temperatures are dropping at the end of the week, so I'll be able to do some baking.

 

Hope you had a good August, We are on to September . . . happily :)

 

 

Busy Few Weeks

 It's been a busy couple of weeks. It just doesn't seem to want to stop. 

Honey Do has been busy repairing/remodeling the half bath. We had a leak and the floor had to be replaced. In the meantime, the dishwasher decided to spring a leak too. We decided that it made more sense to just replace it and then we would know how old it is the next time. Consequently, the house is a mess.

That includes the sewing room . . .

This is my work table. Well, one half. As you can see, it's where my laptop lives, along with the pile of fabric for my newest project.

Yes, I started something new. I had promised myself I wouldn't until I got some of the quilts finished that have been waiting. Even setting a one monthly goal (OMG) has been enough to keep me motivated. 

This new project is from Lori Holt and it's called Bee Vintage. It's simple applique and isn't very challenging. I got caught up in it through membership in a Facebook Group. It's cute, and will be quick to finish. I'm managing to keep up. My choice of fabrics is 1930s reproduction/tiny prints. The project is in its fourth week and we are doing three blocks per week with a total of 20 blocks. There is a requirement to purchase the template shapes in order to do the images. And there is the suggestion with every block that you can make a whole quilt with that particular image.

Here are the blocks I have done so far:

 

 These are not in the order that they were made. The project started with the fruits, as they are the simplest of the designs. I chose to do raw edge machine applique, using a zig zag stitch.

Wishing you all a good week.

A Special Day Out

 A Special Day Out

Honey Do surprised me last Friday with a special day out. I received a recommendation for a local quilt show from my friend, Susan. Honey Do decided it was the perfect excuse for an overdue day off. What a lucky girl I am.

We had a great time. There were quite a few quilts for such a small show. But it was big enough. There were plenty of vendors and of course I did my fair share of shopping. Not as much as Honey Do encouraged, but enough.

First, the quilts . . . 

The show took place at the County fairgrounds.

Appliqued

Paper pieced deer

Paper pieced penguins

A relatively traditional quilt - this was one of my favorites. I love the layout, I love the colors.

Embroidered quilt - block close up

Embroidered quilt block close up

The embroidered quilt drew my attention for two reasons. It's embroidered and it's done in blues. 

 A t-shirt quilt Honey Do was drawn to.

The bicycle quilt drew me because I have a similar pattern to make one.

I'm calling this the geometric quilt. Both Honey Do and I like this design. I liked this one and he like one that was done in darker hues. We discovered that I like brighter colors and he likes the darker ones. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the darker one.

 

I don't know what to call this one. I loved it. The colors are very calming to me, but what I really loved about it was the way it was quilted. I haven't mastered this are yet, but it really adds to the quilt.

 

Black and white and brights . . . what's not to love?

 And the close up.

I've always wanted to make a black and white quilt. I participated in a swap just before and after Covid. I received some beautiful blocks in that swap and it is on the list to make this year.

I learned something else about myself . . .  I really like small quilts. This will be an inspiration for using up some of my scrap stash, although this one is made of solids.

And my purchases . . . 

 

A new rotary cutter and extra blades

 

Mini stencils

 

And two miniature quilt patterns.

Honey Do is one of the most generous people I know. He kept telling me he was surprised I didn't buy more, that I didn't buy fabric. Honestly, the way the fabric was packed in and displayed did not encourage me to root through and purchase. I liked the things I purchased and yes I could have gotten more, but I stayed within the budget I set for myself for the show.

We had plenty of day left after the show and went for a ride.

 

It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the countryside as we drove. Next stop, the antique mall.

We did a lot of walking, saw a lot of really cool things. 

Honey Do found this for me. I grabbed it and hung on. An old mason jar filled with DMC perle cotton. I kept looking for more, but this was the only one.

My finds at the antique mall. Linen hanky, thread on wooden spools and 88 inches of lace.

 

 

Upon closer examination, I notice this spool was from Cleveland, Ohio. I've never heard of the company but makes it more special.

 

And this spool contains pure silk thread, another rare find.

 

Once we were done at the antique mall, we headed across the street for lunch. We had the best burgers. They were big enough that we only ate half. Honey Do said he could have eaten the whole thing but it's a long ride home and he didn't want to be uncomfortable. Both of us said we would love to go back and eat there again.

It was a lovely day and we both enjoyed ourselves very much.