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! 

A finish!

The first polar bear ornament is finished despite the missing directions for the arm on the left. This one will be for my grandson.

The next polar bear has been started. This will be for my younger granddaughter. 

In keeping with Christmas in July, I am continuing to stitch the log cabin of the snow globe piece.

 I haven’t been concentrating on this so it is growing slowly. 

Another block of my mom’s churn dash quilt has been quilted. I still have to erase the blue markings.

 

There are 4 cross blocks left to quilt and the borders. 

All the beige fabrics for the log cabin quilt have been cut. I’ve moved on to the blues. I’m about 2/3 done with cutting them. I am using mostly scraps from past projects and fat quarters

Some of these fabrics bring back fond memories of those past projects. 

I made raspberry lemonade yogurt popsicles.

These are delicious! You can find the recipe here. 

Some of these new flowers in our backyard are putting on a show.

I am not sure what these flowers are called.

My coneflower is not blooming as well as usual, but it was transplanted this year and unfortunately put into a shady area.

 I think I will try to transplant it to somewhere with more sun next Spring. 

This lacy hydrangea got a good haircut in early Spring and is in full bloom now.

I was sitting on my front porch reading when this little gecko decided to visit.

We have a lot of them lately. I don't mind them as long as they stay outside.

I stopped reading Cold Sassy Tree when I realized I was wanting to go to the library to get a good book to read. I have yet to start another book. 

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! 

RAIN! and a new start

Oh my did it rain here on Monday. My neighborhood got well over 4 inches of rain. Our pool threatened to overflow! 

We had a little bit of a leak in the basement, but nothing that several towels thrown on the floor couldn't handle. It was a good day to stay in and start a new project. I have decided to make the top log cabin quilt. Of course that could change, but that is the current plan.

I am cutting two inch strips and plan on making 64 blocks. I will decide on borders when all the blocks are assembled. I started cutting the scraps of beige fabrics.

I am organizing the various lengths of strips in the plastic bags that I used for my daughter's quilt.

 I almost have all of the beige fabrics cut. Then I am making the center squares all the same red fabric. I just washed a variety of blue fabrics for the dark half of the blocks. I am using scraps there also but I wasn't sure if some of the larger fat quarters had been washed.

I haven't added many stitches to the snow globe stitchery. It now has some trees to the right now. 

I ran into a little glitch with the polar bear ornament. Can you spot the problem?

There are two pieces each numbered 35 and 36. Two of the stripes on the scarf and the front and back of the arm on the left. The step to stitch the arm is missing in the directions. Thankfully I have made enough of these ornaments that I will just add the missing step at the end. I just finished the candy cane. It was not fun to stuff.

This bear should be finished when I work on it again.

I've been quilting the churn dash quilt at night. The center and three of the cross blocks are now completed. 

I need to mark the stencil onto the last cross block before quilting.

My son and daughter in law sent me this recipe for Baked Oats. I made the strawberry coconut version this week. I have previously made the blueberry version and my son and his family like the chocolate also. The recipe makes two BIG servings, but it keeps you satisfied at least until lunchtime.

I finished reading Between Friends by Debbie Macomber. In the end, I really enjoyed this book, but I can't say it is one of my favorites of this author. Now I am reading Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns.

 I just started it, so I don't yet have an opinion of 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! 

 

First July Stitch Along

I have learned something about myself. I need set goals. Since I decided to aim for completing 100 stitches each day on Three Boats, I have been fairly diligent about doing so. This is where I was three weeks ago. 

Except for when we are traveling or hosting our grandkids, I have stitched 100+ stitches each day. This is where I am now. 

I’m so pleased with this progress. You can see that the top boat is almost finished. The second boat will be almost done when this page is completed.

I’ve got other crafts that I am working on also. You can see my Christmas in July plans here. Having a self imposed deadline or process plan for most of them means I am not spending time doom scrolling and wasting my day in other ways. 

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

Sadly, Sharon is taking a break from this Stitch Along while she is dealing with some life changes. You can read about that here.

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! 

Christmas in July

For the past few years, I have done my own version of Christmas in July by working on the yearly Christmas ornaments that I make for my grandchildren. This year is no different. I have decided to make each the polar bears from this felt kit this year.

 I have started the bear with the candy cane. 

This will be for my grandson. Usually I embroider each grandchild's name and the year when I am about to attach the back to the ornament at the end. These ornaments attach the front and back in the middle of the assembly so I already embroidered my grandson's name on the back of this polar bear. 

I also want to make this Charmed Santa Face for me. 

I have made one for each grandchild so now it is my turn to have one. 

I have been slowly working on the snow globe stitchery. Another Christmas in July project that will probably last for another few months.

 

 I made a couple of counting mistakes along the way that required some frogging. It is 28 count linen and you stitch each cross over two threads. I am being more careful now. 

I have quilted 3 of the nine blocks of my mom's churn dash quilt. I really like the way the stencil looks on the blocks with the cross. 

This has been my go to craft while watching the World Cup games each evening.

Speaking of World Cup games, my son-in-law bought tickets to the France/Norway game in Boston and invited my husband and his dad to join him and my daughter for the game last Friday. This is why there was no post last week.

I watched my 3 year old granddaughter who was an angel. We played Old Maid and Go Fish as well as many other games. She liked using the card holder I made her from two old CDs.

This is such an easy craft. Cut two pieces of fabric about 1 1/2 inches larger than the CD. Two pieces of batting the same size as the CD. Place the batting on each CD. Put the fabric on top and do a running stitch about 1/2" from the edge of the fabric. Pull it tight so that the fabric wraps to the back and secure. Do this for both CDs. Then place the CDs so that the fabric edges are on the inside and sew a couple of stitches through the middle to hold them tight. Add a button in the middle on each side. Done! 

I did a bunch of reading in the car and finished this Agatha Christie book over just a few days. It is the first novel that she ever wrote. I enjoyed it. She used to be my favorite author when I was a teen.

Now I am reading this book by Debbie Macomber.

I really like her books, but this is different. It is written all in letters. I am not really sure that I like this style of writing, but so far it is easy reading.

I made a cherry tomato foccacia this week.

 It is tasty, but a little to doughy for me. Nothing special, but I tried a new recipe and used up grape tomatos that had been refrigerated while we were away. 

Most of my daylilies bloomed while we were in Boston. These are all that are left.

I am trying to decide what quilt I want to make next where I can use the multitude of fabric that I have. One of these is my first choice.

 

You know that I love log cabin quilts. I am leaning toward the top one. I will probably use blue/black/red for the dark and cream/beige for the light. Sort of like this example that I found on the internet.

This would be a queen size quilt.

I also like this log cabin variation that gives a 3D look.

I have a lot of turquoise strips. This is a variation with the light colors in the center.

This would be a wall hanging.

We will be celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the United States on Saturday. I'm sad that it is not as exciting as the Bicentennial was 50 years ago. Hubby and I will be staying home and watching the multitude of illegal fireworks that the people in our neighborhood shoot off each year. It is not legal to have fireworks in New York yet they will start tonight and probably continue through Sunday night. I am talking about big, beautiful up in the sky displays. Rarely do the police come unless the fireworks or parties get out of hand. We can sit in our driveway or on our back deck and enjoy the show although the excessive heat we are experiencing may mean we stay indoors. 

Happy 4th of July!!!

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!