Fall

It's fall.

Yesterday poor Scout got stung in the butte by a bee.  The yellow jackets are wretched right now and will attack anything just because they are miserable.  My grandmother used to beg all her grandkids to "never get married between August and October" because of bee behaviour this time of year.   I always think of her gardening wisdom this time of year.

On Thursday, I had lunch with some friends; a few of them are nurses.  Do you remember when I took a fall on Labor Day?  Scout took me for a drag the first time we walked after her leg healed.  Anyway, my friends didn't like the looks of my arm and insisted I see a doctor.  And then...they started texting and emailing me to remind that I do need to get the arm checked.

So I went to an express care facility yesterday and it turns out I actually broke my arm (nearly three weeks ago).  That would be okay but it has to be seen by an orthopedic on Tuesday.  Apparently the set of the bone is not proper.  I'm not sure what is in store for me so I am letting you know now in case I get off the blog for a while after Tuesday.

I'm in no pain, just minor discomfort from time to time.  One of the funniest things about this whole situation is that when my neighbor told her 17 year old daughter about the situation, Katie said:  "that Michele-- she is a savage!" This comment made my husband and I laugh like crazy 😊

So now, everything is up in the air:  Scout's spaying, my husband's work and hunting, and I may have to rearrange my lecture schedule for the next few weeks.  I'll know more Tuesday.

So what am I doing?  Well cleaning up the sewing room and getting things together so that if I have to have my arm in a cast (I declined the cast at the express place), I'll be able to work with one arm.

I'm not good at keeping still.  Fortunately the problem is my left arm so I'll be able to write.  I have two programs to work on and will be handwriting them and some other business stuff if I have to be in a cast.  I have ephemera to organize and books to read and we'll see how it goes.

I hope you are having a better beginning to this season!  Take care of yourself and have a great weekend!

I Like Thursday, September 21, 2017

Shana Tova! 

It's Rosh Hashanan and I wish a Happy and Sweet New Year to all my Jewish friends!

This week I am just getting things together before Scout gets spayed next week. There is a lot of debate as to when to spay a dog at this point.  My vet said that the pros and cons are about even for doing it now (when she is 6 months old) or waiting until after she has a heat or two.  The turning point for me was finding out that my neighbor's rat terrier is a stud dog and I don't want rat terrier/poodle puppies!

Speaking of Scout, she is doing very well and is a very cute puppy.  She has a variety of nicknames throughout our neighborhood and literally grazes through the streets as we take our constitutionals.  It seems like everyone wants to give her a treat or a biscuit and they have transferred their affection of Seamus to her--even if she does still jump a bit.  

As I have mentioned before, she is a blue standard and is now beginning to really gray.  I like her coloring and now giggle when I look at her face.  She is greying towards the top of her ears and it reminds me of Jameson from Spiderman comic books (I'm a mom of a comic book collector).

I also like her new collar which has her name and my phone number embroidered on it:

I like pruning my garden.

It's therapeutic and the pay off is that I often get a rebloom of flowers.

 That the hostas will rebloom surprised me this year:

 Rudbeckia with caryopteris behind it:

 Canterbury bells:

 Fever few and caryopteris:

I posted this late and apologize!

I hope you have a great weekend!

End of September Sewathon

I finished this skateboard top this morning.  

It will be a donation quilt for Camp Erin.

Now it's back to business as usual.  My husband returns home from Peru this weekend, lecture season begins next week, and I have to start thinking about Scout's spaying on September 27.

I'm glad I had the past 13 days as a sewathon while the hubs been away.  I finished 6 tops, three of which were all scraps.  The skateboard quilt and the Origin tops were UFOs.  I had an entirely different pattern for Origin but I couldn't find the pattern and couldn't even remember my original concept.  Doing a square in a square is totally simple but at least it is a top.

I'd love to tell you that after all this sewing, I see a substantial difference in my stash but alas, it looks the same.  I will however do more of the square scrap quilts.  They are easy to do, and I have many bins of scraps to use up yet.

It's time to head to my machine quilter now so I have quilts I can bind while Scout is recovering.  This weekend I will be packing up quilts for the lecture next week and cooking up some meals for my husband.  

Have a wonderful day!

I like Thursdays, September 14, 2017

It's "I Like Thursdays!"  Be sure to visit our hostess with the most-ess, LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color, to read more positive posts!

What do I like this week?

I like that all my friends and family came through Hurricane Harvey and Irma safely.  Thank you God and continued prayers for all those impacted by this terrible weather.

I like the relationships I've developed through the internet!  This week a big shout out to Jocelyn at Canadian Needle Nana!  Welcome back and so glad to see you back online!  I love Jocelyn's likes each week and her projects that she so graciously shares with us.

I like the tutorials at the Missouri Star Company.  This week I'm working on their skateboard quilt pattern which will be a donation quilt.

It's mum season!  Love the flowers, love the scent!

My husband is away and while he is, I had breakfast for dinner last night.  It's not the kind of dinner he would like and that made it a bit more fun 😄

Because my husband is away, I've been getting a LOT of sewing done.  I'm set up in the dining room because Scout isn't allowed on the steps yet.  This week I finished these two tops:

 

Well that's it for me this week.  

Wishing you a day of kindness and blessings!

Peace and Remembrance

Another weekend of prayers.

And may I add praying for the folks in the Caribbean, Georgia, the Carolinas, and all else who are in dangers way.  

I like Thursday, September 7, 2017

I like that the SUN is shining today!

And so does Scout!  

We've had rain for quite a few days and are relieved to have some sunshine today.

What do I like this week?  I like that I can sew while it is raining.  I have a lot of scraps and thought I would use some of them up for donation quilts.  Yesterday I finished this one:

Scout poses on my quilts just like Seamus used to.  She is too adorable for words!  She is healing well and gets her last therapy appointment this week.

Now I'm working on this one.  I tend to cut scraps into charms or jelly roll sizes so piecing these have been really easy.  

I like things to be organized.

I like collections but I think they should displayed (or why keep them?) and put together in a place, here is one example of my display case with my bisque dolls:

I picked up this piece recently and am in love with the shape.

Plus the inside has drawers!  I'll probably use this for storage in my sewing room:

My favorite recent find is this spool shelf which I hope to hang in the cornerr above my desk:

I won't be gardening until the soil dries out and to be honest, I took a fall this week and am too sore to be digging around.  So I'll continue to sew.  

Prayers this week for those in Florida, the Caribbean, and those recovering in Texas.  

Be sure to check out other "I like" participants at LeeAnna's blog here.

Have a wonderful day!

Holiday Sewathon

My husband is working out of town and for the holiday weekend I've been doing a sewathon.  So have some of my friends.

I finished the last of the sea glass quilt tops.  All five are done now.  Yippee!

Finished a donation top:

Carol finished this scrappy donation top:

Today I'm doing a four patch which I hope to finish today as well.   My girlfriend Beth is also working with her new machine and last I heard she was cutting strips for a donation quilt as well.

Sometimes you just have to use up your scraps and what better way than making some fun and funky donation tops!  

Scout continues to progress with her healing.  On Friday she had some laser therapy on her knee and except for a few minutes of limping when she first wakes up, she is doing well.

On Friday I was cleaning the house and thought, "geez she is quiet." As we all know:

I couldn't find her, not in her bed, not at her toys...then I spied the little vixen:

She had jumped up on our blanket chest and was talking a nap there.  Apparently she likes to sit there and look at the window.

Not exactly what the doctor ordered so I gave her a big pillow to jump down on because I know better than to argue with a poodle who has decided on her special spot.

It's been a rainy and cool weekend and even though it is clear today, I think I'll stay in and sew some more before I work in the garden.

I hope you are having a good weekend!  

I like Thursday, August 31, 2017

Although watching the suffering in Texas has grieved me, I like how our country has pulled together and focused on what unites us instead of our differences.  I have found the rescue efforts of the locals in Houston inspiring and it makes me proud of our country during this stressful time.

I like using sewing to relieve stress. I have felt compelled to keep the news on and used the anxiety to propel me to make donation quilts.  I'm just using up scraps and making blocks for quilts.

Scout (or the Scout-essa as I often call her) thinks sewing is fun too, especially when she can invade the scrap bin...oh wait, stop there.

Silly puppy.

It's the last day of August and we can feel Autumn approaching. 

I like caryopteris bushes.  Not many people use them around here but you can't beat the late season bloom and even the foliage has a wonderful scent--reminiscent of lavender.  It's a great bush.

I'm also cleaning out gardens.  The problem with my garden is that everything is happy and then I have to move things.  I actually like the work and like that it looks cleaner afterwards.

I like that this primrose continues to bloom.  It was given to me when Seamus died by my neighbor Denise.  It is very happy and always seems to have a flower on it.  It makes me feel like Seamus is always with me.

Finally, a note for my friend LeeAnna.  LeeAnna as you know is our hostess of the "I like Thursdays" posts and you can see her website here.  You may remember that Milo is recovering from a serious injury and in a brace.  LeeAnna commented that he isn't gaining a lot of weight.  We are seeing the same situation with Scout.

If there is one truth I know about poodles it is this:  they eat in relation to the exercise they are getting.  So it is not surprising to me that Scout isn't gaining much weight, she often leaves much of her kibble in her bowl these days but she is still on exercise restrictions and rest for her leg.  I'm not worried about it (too much) because I know she is really going to shoot up when she is better and can take walks again.  

I hope you have a safe and healthy week!  Be well and happy!