hand dyed medallion

 Summer afternoon...

I just thought I'd pop in and say, "Hello!"  Hoping everyone is having a good summer.  Our kids are living in the pool- can you imagine anything more fun on a hot morning, afternoon and evening?  They're all getting as brown as little nuts.  Unfortunately, there are some not so fun side-effects.  Their toes are raw and poor Abe has a sore diaphragm and taking a deep breath is painful.  With some one else working the garden, my time is more my own than most summers.  And then the kids have camps- two each for the oldest two, John and Eva.  The two younger ones are planning a couple fishing jaunts with their daddy and a free movie at the library. There should be some perks to being left behind.  Their cousins have come back to Indiana for a month this summer so they are frequent visitors.  I came home last night to find that the combined crowd had eaten a raw lasagna... Didn't they notice the noodles were a bit crunchy and the cheese not melted?  Didn't keep them from eating the whole thing! Well, you know how hungry swimming can make ya.  At least I made two trays so maybe they'll give me a chance to bake this one.

This song is pretty much my aspiration...

 

 

 

I have a MRI scheduled, tomorrow, for my shoulder and then a follow up appointment with the surgeon for next week.  I sure hope they can fix me up so "I don't hurt any more."

leaders/enders

I think I need a new storage box for my 2" leader/enders, whatcha think?  That's actually quite a bit of sewing when you figure I only make one at the beginning and end of other things I sew... 

Start for coffee shop

 A wall hanging for Mary and Jacob has begun.  Jacob loves all things coffee and they've decorated their kitchen like a coffee house.  The wall hanging has some words appliqued on it- cafe, espresso, cappuccino, etc... I'll have to pace myself on all that applique- seems like I've been doing more of that, lately.  But it's a great way to thin out the scrap basket.



blue enhancement

  Speaking of scraps... I've got some new blues.  A very good thing as I just don't gravitate towards blues at the fabric stores.  How can I buy blues when there's nice warm oranges, greens, browns or reds just pining to go home with me? Oh, I notice that there's a couple things on the back of the sewing counter- of course there is.  If you have a young son or grandson, I know they'll love this book, "Sir Kevin of Devon."  I know I've recommended it, before, but here it is, again.  It's out of print but you can find a used copy on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=sir+kevin+of+devon&sprefix=Sir+Kevin+%2Cstripbooks%2C287  There's the link. The girl in the picture is me when I won the pig tail contest that the newspaper sponsored- only in West Virginia.  Not sure how old I was. My hair was half way down my thighs so it made some fairly long pigtails.

 

 

Being without a plan can be liberating

I started this quilt ages ago and I sew up a little 9" sampler block every now and then to throw into the box.  I don't have any kind of plan- wouldn't that be just too easy?  The fabrics are all from my hand dyed stash.  I suppose the large thingy in the middle will be a medallion, but whether it will end up on point or straight... if there will be sashing or alternate blocks... how many blocks it would take to make a queen size... See?  No plan.

 

 

Here's hoping that you remember to sit out in the warm summer air and watch the butterflies and bees dance from bloom to bloom and listen to the birds sing a sweet song, setting aside all the chores and work that are waiting... they won't go anywhere.  I promise.  But the days of summer will race away and we'll be huddled in the cold, drab days of winter dreaming of all the bright, sweet scented ones we didn't savor when we had the chance.  Live today. Much love and God bless! ~nines