End of August

How did we get to the end of August so quickly? It feels like Summer just started and now we are heading into Autumn. The days are getting slightly cooler. The pool water is downright cold! Soon it will be shut for the season. I like all of the seasons, so I don't mind that we are heading into cooler weather. 

With that in mind, I have made a lot of progress on my granddaughter's sweater. The back is done and I am about halfway done with the left front. The pocket was tricky, but I figured it out. The cable is looking pretty good.

The nine blocks of my mother's Churn Dash quilt have all been quilted. 

These are the stencils I have chosen to use on the borders. 

I added another log to all 64 blocks of the Log Cabin quilt. I like how they are coming along.

The snow of the Merry Christmas Snow Globe is now falling over the cabin. Yes, it is a pale yellow. Next up is carefully counting and stitching the border that makes up the globe itself.

I am still reading The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis. There are parts of this book that move along nicely and others that seem to lag. Overall, I am enjoying it, but it is not as good as some of her other books.

I will be joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch on Saturday and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Take some time to relax with a glass of something cold or a cup of tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching.

 Thanks for stopping by!  

Still August, but quilt and sweater time here

 It is still August and it is still hot and humid here on Long Island, NY. It has also been cloudy and rainy so we haven't been enjoying the pool much lately. You can start to feel the change in the weather towards Autumn. With that in mind, I have been working on my younger granddaughter's sweater. The yarn is bamboo and I am having difficulty keeping a consistent tautness at times. There are a few parts of rows that are definitely looser. The back of the sweater looks pretty good though.

I added another log to each of the 64 blocks. 16 of the blocks are waiting on the right to have the next log added.

The quilting on my mom's Churn Dash has slowed as I want to see if I can finish the sweater quickly. There also have been no stitches added to the Merry Christmas Snow Globe cross stitch. No photo updates on these.

I will be joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch on Saturday and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Take some time to relax with a glass of something cold or a cup of tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching.

See you in two weeks. Thanks for stopping by! 

August Stitch Along Update

 Well there was an almost 2 week break (you can read about it here) from my 100 stitches a day during these last three weeks so the progress has been slower. I tried to stitch more than 100 stitches each day in anticipation of the non-stitching day so I do have progress to show. Here is where I was 3 weeks ago.

I had finished a page and was starting the last page of this column.

This page is smaller than all the rest, but still has about 2000 stitches. This is where I am now.

You can see that I have made it to the bottom of the page, but there is still plenty to fill in. This will definitely be finished for the next update. That will be cause for celebration as I will be halfway done with this project. 

This Stitch Along is hosted every three weeks by Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea who kindly sends us the needed posting reminders.

Grab yourself a glass of something cold or a cup of coffee or tea and take some time to visit the other bloggers below who are part of this stitch-along. There is a wide variety of stitching projects. These talented stitchers are from all over the world, so please allow for the time differences and check back for each post. 

Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret,

 Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Daisy, 

Cathie, Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

An August finish and a crafting lull

The last of my grandchildren's Christmas ornaments was completed on August 1st. It has both a polar bear and a penguin.

 Now there are no more deadlines for the rest of the year, though I would like to make my own ornament. You may remember that I made 3 of these for my grandchildren. I have one more that I want to make for me. 

There weren't any crafts worked on at all for the first week of August. Our daughter and her family were visiting from the 1st to the 8th. All crafts were put away for that time except for the ones we worked on with our granddaughter. It was very hot here that week so we spent it either inside in the AC or in our pool. Ruby, their pup, enjoyed being in the back yard.

She looks small in this photo, but she is about 25 pounds. Our granddaughter was thrilled to be able to get ice cream from the ice cream truck. 

They don't see them where they live. We have at least one come by every day.

Once everyone left on the 8th, Hubby and I did laundry and cleaning as we were headed to Saratoga Springs, NY this past Wednesday for some fun at the racetrack. 

We didn't win big, but we didn't lose big either. We managed to walk 5 miles each day just walking around the racetrack grounds. 

We also enjoyed a dinner with friends who have a home in the area as well as a dinner that was just the two of us in our favorite Italian restaurant there, Nove.

Although I brought the Merry Christmas snow globe to work on during vacation lulls it never came out of the bag. I did get a few stitches in prior to leaving so the green trees to the left of the house are now stitched, though there is white and yellow still to be added as snow.

When I was free on vacation, I was busy reading The Underground Railway by Jennifer Ryan. What a wonderful historical fiction book set in Britain during WWII. Yes, I wasn't going to read any more WWII books, but this one was mostly upbeat and heartwarming. Now I am about to read The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis. 

I love her books so I am looking forward to losing myself in it.

Prior to our daughter's visit, I made a stop at a local yarn shop and bought these. I want to make socks for my daughter for Christmas. 

I am debating making the Hermione sock pattern. Has anyone done so? Also, have any of you knit using the magic loop method? I plan to try it. Tips would be appreciated.

I also bought this yarn to make this pretty cardigan for my youngest granddaughter. I have yet to make her a sweater. 

I will be joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Take some time to relax with a glass of something cold or a cup of tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching.

Thanks for stopping by! 

End of July update

 This is the last day of July. I have almost finished all of the ornaments for my grandchildren. I did finish my younger granddaughter's ornament. This polar bear is adorable.

My older granddaughter's ornament needs just a few more pieces. 

I hope to finish it this weekend.

I have finished the cabin for the Merry Christmas Snow Globe. 

Something about the smoke coming from the chimney just warms my heart. There is a lot more to do on this project, but no deadline. If it is done for this Christmas that will be a bonus.

The hanging sleeve was added and Having a Ball is now on display on our second floor landing.

It sits next to a quilt I call Whirligig that is an Alex Andersen pattern.

I am still quilting my mom's Churn Dash quilt. No photo this week. 

I have been working on the latest quilt. Currently all 64 blocks are being worked on at the same time. I have assembled the first 4 pieces of all the blocks. 

There are 12 pieces per block. 

These Blueberry Greek Yogurt popsicles are delicious. 

You can find the recipe here. Hoping my granddaughter enjoys some of these treats when she visits.

This is one of 14 blueberry muffins that I made. I shared half with my MIL and froze the rest after I tried this one.

The recipe comes from a local PTA cookbook. 

I am reading That Camden Summer by LaVyrle Spencer.

 I am thoroughly enjoying it. The main female character is quite interesting. 

Hubby and I made our first ride to Jones Beach this summer to walk the boardwalk. Hard to believe it took us this long to get there. It is only 20 minutes away. The sun was setting. That is the Jones Beach water tower and Wild Play obstacle course. 

The moon was already visible.

I won't be posting next weekend. Our daughter and her family are arriving this Sunday and staying for the week. All my crafting projects will be stored away from little hands. Here's hoping the weather is fine and we can spend time at parks and in the pool. 

I will be joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch on Saturday and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Take some time to relax with a glass of something cold or a cup of tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching.

See you in two weeks. Thanks for stopping by! 

Another Mini Happy Dance!

Giving myself the goal of 100 stitches each day has rapidly increased my progress on Three Boats. This is where it was three weeks ago.

 Now, I don't always get 100 stitches each day. Some days there are a little more than 100, some days almost 200 and some days no stitching is completed at all, but it is much, much more than I was doing previously. On the last update, I was hoping to finish the page that I was on by this update. Well I did that!

Can you see that the first two boat are completely stitched?! I have even managed to add a few some more stitches since the page finish. This is where I am now.

This size if this page is about 2/3 of the page above it, so I am hoping to finish it by the end of August. Our daughter and her family are coming to visit for a week starting next Sunday so Three Boats will be stored away during that time. We are also planning a trip to Saratoga, NY later in August. 

This Stitch Along is hosted every three weeks by Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea who kindly sends us the needed posting reminders.

Grab yourself a glass of something cold or a cup of coffee or tea and take some time to visit the other bloggers below who are part of this stitch-along. There is a wide variety of stitching projects. These talented stitchers are from all over the world, so please allow for the time differences and check back for each post. 

Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret,

 Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Daisy, 

Cathie, Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

Thanks for stopping by!  

Just some progress reports.

The next polar bear ornament just needs its arms and star. There are no problems with the directions for this one.

The log cabin for the snow globe just needs its roof.

 

I am not sure that I like the DMC conversion flosses for the windows. They seem too bright, but I will make a decision on whether to change them when this piece is finished which will be a while from now. They may grow on me by then. 

The hanging sleeve is finally being sewn on Having a Ball. 

This is the quilt in the header and has been finished for a while, but it had a lot of color bleeding in the white centers and around the edges. I used ice cubes to get rid of some of it and then - GASP! - threw it in the washing machine with color catchers. Almost all of the bleeding is gone and the rest is very, very faint. Soon I will post a photo of it hanging on the wall.

There are only 3 more blocks to quilt on my mom's Churn Dash. 

Have you ever used 1/4" tape as a quilt guide? I find it very helpful.

Once I was finished cutting all the fabric for the log cabin quilt, I just had to sew together the first block. 

I am glad I did as the sewing guide I made for myself was off. I have fixed it and numbered the order in which to add the various pieces. 

I finished reading The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis. 

I do love her books. This one was fantastic. I had a hard time putting it down.  I am now reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which was made into a movie in 2009. So far I am enjoying it.

I will be joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch on Saturday and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Take some time to relax with a glass of something cold or a cup of tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching.

Thanks for stopping by!