One less WIP

I have finally finished my table runner. I am so happy with the way it turned out. I am so glad that I took out all the dark green machine quilting. Hand-quilting and using beige thread definitely enhanced this project. Here it is:

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A few here, a few there.

A few rows here, a few rows there and my knitted vest is growing.

I am enjoying knitting this vest. Much more than the last one. The pattern is so easy.

A few pages here, a few pages there. That is how my reading is going. I am savoring The House at Riverton by Kate Morton. I am nearing the end so I am reading more slowly. Do you ever do that?

I think I do that with some of my crafts too. I procrastinate with the finishing when I am really close to the end. That of course is the reason I have yet to post a picture of the totally finished table runner. I am still hand-finishing the binding.

I am joining Ginny for Yarn Along today. What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading? Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are up to.

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Done quilting

I am happy to say that I finally finished the quilting on my table runner. I don't know why I originally started machine quilting this because I really enjoyed hand-quilting this and I like the result so much better. Now I just have to sew on the binding . I think that will be my Slow Sunday Stitching project today. 

I have also made progress this week on my Prairie Schooler Santa.

Baker Beach is growing also. Last week it looked like this.....

and although I am still stitching a whole lot of black, I definitely made progress.

I should get a whole lot of crafting done at night this week since Hubby will be away on business. In other words, I can use the OttLite in the living room without blinding him.

 I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching today. Monday I will link-up to the Stitchery Link Party over at Super Mom - No Cape. Pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching.

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Yarn Along

I haven't made a whole lot of progress on my vest, but it has grown a little.

I don't mind though because I have been busy quilting my table runner. I am almost done with the quilting. I will a share a pic soon. 

I am in the middle of reading The House at Riverton. This is another great Kate Morton book. I don't want to put it down yet I don't want to read it too quickly. I want it to last. 

The humidity has broken here on Long Island. It is a gorgeous day. 

I am joining Ginny for Yarn Along today. What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading? Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are up to.

Just a quick update.

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Hot and Steamy Stitching

It is hot and steamy here on Long Island this weekend. When you walk outside it feels like you are being slapped in the face with a wet rag. Yup, it is that humid outside. It is supposed to be over 90 degrees today also. I will probably take a dip in my pool. I like it best when it is really hot outside.

 All my stitching will be done inside today. Thank goodness for central air-conditioning. 

I have decided to spend a lot of time working on my table runner. I have now finished quilting one half of it.

I am enjoying the hand-quilting. The second half should be completed this week. Yay!

Last week I had almost finished the 3rd page of Baker Beach.

I spent some time this week getting started on my 4th page.

There is a whole lot of black to stitch on this page, so I take a break from it every once in a while and fill in with other colors. It is hard to see the other colors, but there is a little bit of dark brown and maroon mixed in with those stitches that you see. My goal is to finish this page by the end of August. At the beginning of the summer, I had hoped to finish a page each month, but I think that may be unrealistic. Considering there are 6 more pages after this one, I don't see this being finished until sometime next year.

I am joining Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching today. I will be joining the Stitchery Link Party at Super Mom - No Cape on Monday. Pop on over to these sites to see what other bloggers are stitching.

Keep cool!

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Lots or Reading

Okay, right now I seem to have too much of everything lined up.

On top of the 3 cross-stitch projects, knitted vest and crocheted Granny Squares, I have now started a crocheted bookmark. 

I started it two days ago. You would think it would be finished by now. I seem to have an aversion to finishing my WIPs right now. I am slowly working on Mom's vest. 

I still haven't finished the ribbing. I think it is time for me to start concentrating on just one project and finish it. 

I am similarly flush with reading material.

One of the staff members at the school where I worked brought in several shopping bags full of books that she was clearing out of her house. I took a few for some summer reading. Sorry about the blurry picture.

I finally finished The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I so wanted to like this oft-recommended book, but I just didn't. As I said before, there wasn't a single likable character in this book. Nobody to root for, nobody to feel sad or happy about. As for it being a gripping thriller, I just didn't think so. I slogged through this book. Some fellow bloggers told me there was a twist at the end. I figured it out. I can now say that I read this book, but i wouldn't recommend it.

I have also finished The True Love Quilting Club by Lori Wilde. This is a romance novel that I realized early on I had read previously. Never mind, after The Girl on the Train I needed something really light and easy to read.

This is a heartwarming story with likable characters that is the perfect summer read.

Now I have to decide whether to read one of the books in the pile pictured above or this:

My daughter gave me this book for Christmas and I think this will be up next.

I am joining Ginny for Yarn Along today. What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading? Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are up to.

Thanks for stopping by!

Flower power

My garden is still blooming!
My daylilies at the side of our deck.

 A lacy hydrangea

and Easter lilies

I love the continuing show of blooms throughout the summer. 

I am joining Kathy for Slow-Sunday Stitching today. Monday I will join the Stitchery Link Party at Super Mom - No Cape.
I have managed to make some good progress on my cross-stitching.
There are only 4 stitches left until I start on the 4th page of Baker Beach. You can see the white spaces off to the right below the bridge.

I stopped stitching to make dinner the other day. Those 4 stitches are three different colors. 

I spent some time at my mom's house one day this week and got a lot of stitching done on my Prairie School Santa.

I am not using the recommended color for the green as it was too blue for my taste. I also didn't like the way it looked with the gold for the scarf. I chose a vintage thread from my stash. I plan to sit on my front porch or back deck and stitch some more today.
We are enjoying some really great weather here on Long Island this weekend. 
Friday night Hubby and I went to Jones Beach to walk on the boardwalk and by the water. 

Hubby was taking the picture.
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30 Years

Yesterday, Hubby and I celebrated 30 years of marriage.

We celebrated by going out to dinner at a local restaurant.

The lazy summer days have caught me. I haven't spent much time crafting at all this past week. Of course, my daughter was visiting for the July 4th holiday. I didn't want to waste any of our time together. We went shopping returning (she had purchased a lot on-line). . . great mother-daughter time. As a family we went to Belmont Racetrack for the Stars and Stripes Festival on the 4th. We all had a somewhat winning day at the races!

I started a new project at the end of last week. 

Does the yarn above look familiar? Those of you who read this blog last summer followed my trials and tribulations in knitting a vest for my mom. In the end, that vest was waaaaaay too large for mom. I had one skein left over, so I am starting another vest for mom. This one has a much easier pattern and I now know the correct size to make for her (I measured her favorite purchased vest). Mom has returned the too-large vest to me and I will frog it to use the yarn in this new pattern. Sigh......

I am joining Ginny for Yarn Along this week after a long absence. What are you knitting/crocheting? What are you reading? I recently finished reading Crazy In Love by Luanne Rice. This is an older book and I can't say that I really enjoyed it. I found the main character to be way too dependent on her husband and marriage for her happiness and although her journey through that was part of the crux of the story, I did not find it interesting. There was too much angst and too much sorrow for my taste. 
I am currently reading The Girl on the Train by Pamela Hawkins. 

I won this book in a giveaway from Kat at Through Our Garden Gate. I know this is a best seller, but there is not a likable character in this entire book. As for it being a thriller....no it is just a drawn out mystery that I am currently not interested in solving. I will finish reading it and then pass it on to my daughter. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Happy Fourth of July!