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! 

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!