I Like Thursday: August 29, 2019

I can't believe it is Thursday already!!  Wow!

Why does time go so quickly at the end of the summer?

Time for an "I Like Thursday" post 

hosted by LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color!

We've had good weather this past week.  It was actually a lucky break for me.  My sewing machine jammed up late last week and while it was getting serviced, I worked in the garden.  Time to get some beds ready for moving plants this fall!

One of my neighbors sent over a set of lanterns and I'm finally figuring out where at least one of them will go!  They are weathered and worn but I love them!

Also a good time to appreciate some reblooming!

Scout has been happily assisting me in the garden when she isn't napping :)

Our suffrage project continues on at the Pennsylvania Piecemaker blog.  Last week Diann won a set of batik fat quarters and turns out, she is the same Diann at Little Penguin Quilts who participates in "I Like Thursdays" too!  Congrats Diann!

Have a wonderful week!

I Like Thursdays: August 22, 2019

Good Morning!  It's "I Like Thursday" sponsored by LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color.  Visit her blog for other positive posts!

We are nearing the end of our fourth heat wave this summer.  Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler.  I finished binding one quilt this week so far:

This quilt was made of leftovers and scraps.  I used the last of the nesting doll fabric and the orange fabric and just about used up all the aqua.  It's so satisfying to use up fabric!  

What do you think about when you are sewing?  I usually end up thinking of my next project as I sew.  I'm working on an I-spy quilt and would like to make a lot more of them.  They make great donation quilts!

The peegee hydrangea tree is blooming and as always, full of busy bees and butterflies.  This time of year it is just swarming with happy insects!

We are also enjoying all the butterflies in the garden.  They seem to enjoy the zinnias just as the flowers are opening:

Today I'll be sewing and visiting with my friend Linda.  She is a gardener too and called last night to suggest we get together today since tomorrow will be great gardening weather!  Should be a fun day!

Have a great day and enjoy your weekend!  Hope your weather is good too!

To-Do Tuesday

Good Morning!!!

I'm posting as part of Roseanne and Sue's "To Do Tuesday".  

We are in the middle of another heat wave but I'm still managing to get some weeding in.

It gets really hot in the attic where I sew so I prepared a bunch of projects to work on before the heat wave.

I have two quilt to bind and some hand embroidery to do on some blocks:

Scout is annoyed we are not walking more.  

She is constantly interrupting me as a bind:

And early in the morning I can tolerate the attic enough to work on this baby quilt:

I found this kitten fabric in my stash and am making this one for my cousin's new grandbaby.  I love this fabric and had forgotten all about it.  I had just enough fabric to make the quilt:

I also have business things to do and some letters to write.

Perfect things to do during the heat and humidity.

Well I hope you have a great day!

Stay cool!

I like Thursday, August 15, 2019

It's Thursday and time to fill the internet with positive energy!  I Like Thursdays is hosted by LeeAnna; be sure to visit her for more happy posts!

I like Dahlias!

I don't have many but I bought a few at an end of the year sale at the nursery.  They are cheerful and happy and I'll get them again!

We have a cold running through the family right now and I've caught it.  I haven't done much gardening but I'm enjoying the zinnias that are blooming these days.

Last week our guild had a program which featured the quilts of different members.  I was particularly inspired by Karen's baby quilts.  The older I get, the more I seem to gravitate towards visual simplicity; it's why I loved her baby quilts--especially this first one!

I'm going to make some baby quilts using the top photo idea.  We have a new crop of babies coming in the family.  I actually prefer to make quilts for kids when they are toddlers because I can make them bigger and more fun.  These days, parents don't seem to use baby quilts but grandparents always want me to make their grandbabies quilts...so I do!

Speaking of simplicity, I finally finished binding this quilt; I've been sporatically sewing it all summer.  It will go on my donation quilt pile:

Have a wonderful day!

I Like Thursdays: August 8, 2019

Good Morning!  How are you today?  It's Thursday and time to post positive things as part of LeeAnna's "I like Thursdays" day.  You can read more positive posts at her website!

I like marigolds!  Go figure, I've been gardening here for decades and never used them before.  I like that the foliage stays nice (unlike cosmos or zinnias) and it has a fresh scent, not overly sweet.  Definately going to use this plant again in my next garden!

We were certain this butterfly bush had died but it is back and even flowering which is such a nice suprise!

Scout has played a few more times with Otis, the puppy that lives next to Mom.  He's a bit mouthy and wild yet.  Scout isn't really sure what to make of his biting her collar and his attempts to get her ears.  Fortunately, he tires easily after a few rounds with Scout!

Have a great day!

I Like Thursdays: August 1, 2019

Can you believe it is August already?

Welcome to "I Like Thursdays" hosted by LeeAnna.

Visit her for more positive posts on the internet!

I live in a neighborhood full of many creative people.  

This week I adored the creative signs that someone posted for their yard sale last week.  Here's one example:

The butterflies, hummingbirds, and finches are all active in the garden these days.  The cleome is blooming:

And so is the Swan Hydrangea:

 I remember talking to one nurseryman who didn't like the bush.

He said he didn't like the way the flowers hung down but that is exactly what I like about the Swan.  It's like a tree laden with fruit but heavy instead with large flowers:

 Scout is finding the heat challenging since she usually gets quite a few walks during the day.  We've had to limit our walks to early mornings and twilight when the pavement is not going to burn her paws.  

Still, we find things to do with her.  She visits some of her dog friends and scampers in their yard for a few minutes until Mom says it is too hot to be running anymore.  This past week, she got to play with Otis.  Otis lives aside of my Mom's and is about 2 months old.

Today begins our year long celebration of the suffragists over at the Pennsylvania Piecemaker blog.  

We are kicking off our celebration with a giveaway and hope you join us over there!

Have a great day!

Sewing Kindness

Roseanne over at the "Home Sewn By Us" blog is one of my favorite bloggers.  Her kindness radiates through her blog and lights up my day.  She recently blogged about making a table runner for a friend who had given most of her stash to Roseanne and Sue.

I have a pretty good stash of fabric and friends have often come to pick out fabric they need for a project:

One of three cabinets.

Scout says: Wait what about this fabric? Yes some here and some vintage fabric there: 

 But if you look closer at the fabric, you'll find that a lot of it is fabric that is fairly old, like these blenders from the 1980s.

To be honest, most of it was donated to me.  For years, friends and their friends would ask me to take fabric from loved ones.  The fabric had belonged to late members of family or quilters who had to give up sewing for one reason or another. 

When this happens anymore, I just encourage folks to donate the fabric to a quilt guild or a sewing group who does donation projects.

But when I was building my stash, I always tried to make something for the person who had sent the fabric my way.  Sometimes I made the person a wall hanging, tablerunner, or quilt.  Just something to remember their mother or aunt who had passed on.

Often people didn't want anything back at all so I would make things to donate.  I'd still send them a thank you note but always enclosed a photo  of the projects I made with the fabric--like Teddy Bears and premie quilts for kids in the hospital:

One of the best stash distribution ideas happened in my guild, The Crazy Quilters.  Years ago, when a member passed, our guild sold the fabric for a special cause.  The late member had two cats she adored and when a family agreed to adopt both of them, special members of our guild (hello Lorraine and Sandy!), sold the fabric for the care and upkeep of her cats.

I'm an old quilter now and most of my family has had their fill of quilts and sewn items.  I choose to use my sewing now partially for the business, but mainly for donation quilts.  Besides making guild donation quilts, I've been making lap quilts. When a friend or acquaintance tells me of a family or friend who is battling cancer, I like to send a quilt over to them.  From what I've heard the chemo rooms are often a cool temperature and the quilts are a wonderful way to forward a hug from a stranger.

Recently I heard about the "I Found a Quilted Heart" project.  People anonymously leave quilted hearts with messages like "I need a home" and "You are loved" in public places.  It's a really cool idea and you can read more about it here.  It's definately on my list of things to make in the coming year.  What kind of donation projects do you like to make?

I like Thursday: July 25, 2019

I Like Thursday is a day to appreciate the good things in the world.

The heat wave that has been plaguing us and most of the country has passed and we have had a few days of tolerable weather.  The garden is full of weeds and some of the plants have literally burnt but hopefully the worst of summer is behind us.

It's nice to be able to sit outside and watch the butterflies visit the garden.  We do miss our butterfly bushes this year.  One had to be taken down because it had self-sowed too close to our rhododendrun and one had an ant nest living in it.  My friend Linda and I are going to purchase some this fall to add to our gardens.  I found an interesting one that is tri-color.  If you have this one or know anything about it, could you let me know ?

The good news is that there are lots of fresh crops of tomatoes, watermelon, and corn in now.  I've been loving watermelon the last few weeks.  It's just so refreshing in the heat.

I finished one little sewing piece this past weekend and am busily binding another quilt and doing some small embroidery pieces.  I've done a lot more writing for the Suffrage Centennial and even cleaned straightened my sewing room.

What have you been occupying yourself with during the heat waves?

Have a great week and be sure to visit LeeAnna for more positive posts.

I Like Thursdays: July 18, 2019

Greetings and Salutations!  Can you believe it is mid-July already?

It's"I Like Thursday" day and time to post positive happenings.  Our hostess with the mostess for this day is LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color, visit her here for other happy posts!

My favorite word of the week is estivating.  I told my neighbor Scout and I were hibernating during our heat wave and he said "No, you are estivating" which essentially means the same as hibernating but occurs with animals in the summertime during hot or dry weather.  Do you hide in the a/c during heat waves?  

I've been doing some sewing (none of it done yet) and catching up on business paperwork.  Scout and I took one road trip last Saturday.  My girl is so good in the car:

Once I put the key in the ignition, she sits patiently in the back and enjoys watching the world go by.  We had an especially fun trip to our friends' house when we encountered a flock of geese on our journey.

We were on a particularly busy road with lots of trucks when a group of geese decided to cross the road.  They just began to walk across the busy road as trucks and cars screeched to a halt.  I mean, forget complaints about the entitlement generation, what about the geese of today?  

I started laughing because they just seemed to feel they owned the whole road.  Scout is in the back seat getting excited by the birds, I'm asking them, "What is wrong with your wings?  Isn't the hot macadam burning your feet?"   And meanwhile, they are ignoring all of us.

We hadn't gotten a quarter mile from this encounter when another group of geese started crossing the road.  The poor guy in front of me is swerving to miss them and they aren't even flying away at that--just flapping their wings as if to intimidate the automobile.  My friends laughed like crazy when I told them what happened.  Apparently this a pretty common occurence near this particular industrial park.  

Every year in the garden I seem to have a new variation of rudbeckia in the garden--that I hadn't planted but just seem different.  The new one this year appears to have polka dots around the center of the flower.  Here's a close up:

Here are some of the varieties growing now.  I probably post these kinds of pics every year but they delight me:

I like Otis!  He's my mom's neighbor new puppy and pretty little boy!  Scout doesn't seem to interested in him when they met but she was distracted by another dog there she loves.  Isn't he adorable?

Wishing you a happy week full of joy and peace!