Smokin' !!!

Wait, NOT me! 
It IS smokin' hot outside!!!!
Waaaay too hot. 
When it's 100 degrees without the heat index?
Multiple days weeks in a row?
Add unsafe air-quality to that, and forget it!
Asthma and poor air-quality do NOT go together well!
Makes me feel very unproductive.

Wait.  Yep, I am unproductive!

So, I found something less taxing than pulling weeds and prepping for parties...

A quick read that seems appropriate for the weather:

If you've missed the whole series of

"numbers" from Janet Evanovich,

well, what can I say. 

Laugh out loud funny is the first that comes to mind.

Just a little on the raunchy side, but not too much so.

Hilarious beats out the little raunch in my opinion.

One of her first books in the series I was reading in an airport,

then on the plane,

and seriously, I was laughing out loud. 

I had tears in my eyes. 

People were concerned,

or thinking I had serious issues,

and moved away from me. 

Others evidently had read Evanovich before

and smiled or laughed with me, as they KNEW.

Anyway, Smokin' Seventeen is a quick read

(and, a little better than the last two have been).

and the

laughs are worth the avoidance

if you are reading in public!

Back to the Smokin' Hot:

when it's

hot enough to keep caramel soft:

you just have to make some turtle brownies...

So I did.  With a side of ice cream, of course.
And I shared with the Friday night volleyball friends.
Not that we played much volleyball.
It has rained monsoons for most of the Friday nights this summer.
Which then adds to the humidity and poor air-quality.
But this past Friday it rained monsoons in the early afternoon,
so we gathered
to pretend we played volleyball on Friday nights.
Mostly we sweated. 
And, we ate melty-caramel topped brownies.

(I have stitched a little this past week, but that's for another day)
Happy Summer Stitching!

the story of a baby quilt

A friend,

who is NOT a quilter,

found out she was going to be a grandma...

and,

she found,

that like many others before her,

that she wanted to make a quilt

for her soon to be grand baby...

She asked me to help.

Her daughter had a picture

of something she really, really liked but was no longer available.

The friend asked if I, the quilter,

could help her, the non-quilter, 

make something similar...

After some quick sketches and some paper cut-outs,

a trip or two to the local quilt shop,

a couple of lessons on

HAND needle-turn applique & some embroidery stitches, 

she was hooked!

Many, many, many hours and sore fingers later,

"the new grandbaby quilt"

for the non-quilter became a reality...

She also made the two-sideded crib bumpers -

complete with these same hand appliques 

and double-boxed, piped & corded edges. 

Oh, she also made the crib skirt with boxed pleats.

And, I got to quilt the beautiful creation!

Grandma flew to Florida for the shower,

binding all the way there, I'm told.

More than impressive, isn't it? 

Oh,
the things you can do
if you think you can!

heat wave

108 degrees today with heat index...

If you like saunas, welcome to the Midwest today...
It's been a while since it's been this hot here in Ohio.
And steamy...
And with bad air quality...

So, today's high heat/bad air quality event was a test of many things:

1. Heat endurance: getting from car to quilt shop aka work
2. Patience:  for people who don't have working air conditioning in their vehicle
3. Meds:  asthma doesn't like the combo of really high temps and really bad air quality.
4. dress code:  sleeveless is in

And, I guess I passed the above tests -

1. Got there early before the temps peaked, left after the sun dropped, & working at a quilt shop really isn't considered work, is it?
2. Just got out of the way of those folks who where driving faster and faster, trying to create their own cooler breeze
3. Still breathing, no extra meds, so must have stayed inside during the worst time, and thankfully, working air conditioning
4. Guess my sweat glands passed, too - gross!

I will tell you -
I am not working with my wool this week!

Happy Stitching though!

month three of five: Vintage Trick or Treat

Another month is gone

in the five month count-down

to the finish of

Vintage Trick or Treat by Crabapple Hill!

It is just so fun -
fun to stitch and
fun to see the pumpkin characters come alive!

This month's assignments

were the two blocks

from the right-hand side of the quilt -

Star Eyes and Squiggle Mouth.

Are they just not so "October-ish"?
(ok-I just realized that I have the wrong panel pictured on the left...
can you just imagine that it is Star Eyes? :)
Really, I have it done!)
Anyway,
I can't believe how fast these blocks are going!!!
Do you feel the same, or is it just me?

Next month's assignments:

• stitch "the Gang's all Here" block
• trace the blocks: Hoot Owl and Squiggle Mouth from the left side of the pattern
• finish any block piecing: pinwheels, nine-patches, center stitched panel with nine-patch border and small orange border

piece together the two corner blocks with the "banner" for the top row of the quilt (make sure you check your corner & banner block measurements with the "center stitched/pieced block" finished size before you cut your stitched piece!!!)

Happy Stitching!

a cake, memories, & two quilts

The hardest part

of getting ready for

this party

was getting the doll out of the box!

I thought I was going to have to

go to the barn to get a hand saw!!!

Getting the doll into the cake

was easy after all of the cutting, prying and snippin'!

So, as I made this cake

and decorated the cake-gown

with about a

 ba-zillion little icing flower squishes,

I remembered Grandma Ruth

and her doll cakes

that she made for each of her

grand, great-grand and great-great-grand daughters.

I think it will be a happy 5th birthday party tonight.

And, a couple of baby gifts have been given this past weekend-

First up - to a new little great-niece,

I used the lil' twister template,

and added a border,

then quilted with a floral and twisty-swirly design:

 Next, to a little great-nephew

that somehow got forgotten

in the birth-quilt-gifting,

so, better late than never,

to a happy five year old:

I used that Crazy Nine Patch pattern

that has been around for about forever,

then I quilted it with a big swirly/Snail-y design.

(and because he is now five, I made it bigger and added a border.  He was a happy camper, as he was carrying it out the door when they left the reunion, and was planning on sleeping with it in the car and in bed that night!).

On the home-front/stuff to do list:
The Local Shop Hop starts this week,
so a few finishing touches left to do on a couple of samples;
AND, Vintage Trick or Treat by Crabapple Hill
CLASS is tomorrow night,
so I need to gather supplies for that.
Pictures tomorrow of the next block finish of Vintage Trick or Treat.

review:

I'm loving this new thread for hand-stitching!

(top to bottom: gold, silver, light orange, black)

(It's also available in light pink, dark pink and blue)

It's called Sparkles by Cosmo/Lecien

and the gals at Crabapple Hill

are using it in some of their new patterns...

I'm going to use this new Silver Sparkles

as snowflakes in this sample above.

Also in this new pillow pattern in the star tree-topper:

So, for my review:

I think it's just a little on the high-priced side

at $6.00 for almost 33 feet (10 meters) 

& it is a single thread you can't split.

BUT, it's great quality and definitely worth the price,

as it doesn't seem to ravel, split, knot or un-twist as you stitch.

NONE of the headaches of previous "metallic" threads.

Well, that's my two-cents-worth...

let me know if you've stitched with it and what you think.

Happy Stitching!

It's raining, it's pouring...

not literally...
but I was singing this little ditty
"It's raining, it's pouring"
as I was doing up the dishes from the aftermath of the senior picnic...

You know how when it rains it pours?

• Another wedding-this one out of town -& no, I don't have the wedding quilt/gift done
• a reunion-back in town, but not at my house this time...but 2 baby quilts as gifts are done, as we get to meet the new little ones to join the family
• the local shop hop starts this coming week with preview Wednesday night & as an employee at one of the shops, I've signed up to do some samples and on the schedule twice as much this week, so that's 4 not 2 days-what was I thinking?!
• Hair appointment before both the wedding and the reunion - a new cut - Yay!
• and just finished doing the summer picnic for the township seniors group of 35
• lunch with a friend from out of town can be squeezed in between things, right? Right!

No, I'm not complaining, just trying to figure out (in writing) where my summer is going!
That list seems like it should cover the whole month, but in reality, it's just this weekend and next week - seven days.

I guess I'm in the not raining but pouring stage of Summer...


And so very blessed with great family, friends, colleagues and in life.

Hope your July is going as great as mine is!

Hay!

tonight is the full moon of July,

called the "full Hay moon" -

least that's what my great-grandma B called it. 

She said it was because there was a full moon

and

we were finished putting up the hay.

So, I did a little research, and by-gum, she was right!

July's full moon is known as
the Full Hay Moon!
It's also known as the Full Buck Moon -
because this is the time when male deer's antlers start budding out.
July's full moon is also known as the Full Thunder Moon - as this is the month with the most thunder.

So, I guess, take your pick -

Hay, Antler or Thunder...

it's full moon night in July -

and I'm going outside tonight

to enjoy the Full Hay Moon tonight!

summer storms

The summer storms are just rolling through here already this week.
They're great because they clean out the air as they blow through, taking care of the pollen and making the air-quality-index in the breathable range.

Yesterday's storms popped up early afternoon and dropped the temperature from 98 degrees to 82, then an hour later down to 78 degrees.  And the inch and a half of rain dropped the humidity greatly too.  That humidity was just hanging in the air, causing problems, and I was glad to see it fall to the ground in big, splatting, drops.

The bad thing about those storms rolling through?
They took out the cable, Internet and phone.
Soon the electric went too.

So, that means the commission quilt is still on the machine
(sorry, Annette, it will be another couple of days!).
And, that means that I was able to sit and hand-stitch a while today!
That's always a nice treat - hand-stitching in the middle of the afternoon and into evening.

And, dinner plans changed. 
Some beef from the freezer,
some ears of corn in the husks quickly water-soaked
and a match to some charcoal ...
dinner was an impromptu barbecue,
just added some fresh-sliced tomatoes and a couple of peaches - yum!

Thanks, summer storms!
Another perfect summer day!

summer "Stew"

The summer's sweltering heat and humidity have hit!!!

and the air feels a little like stew. 

Speaking of stew...

I worked on my hand/wool stitching
just a little this week-

yeah, I know,

wool

 plus heat & humidity

don't really go together,

do they?

But I have this pattern by

Threads that Bind...
called "Alphabet Stew"

AND,

I belong to a very informal

Woolly Wednesday Group

that meets about once a month,

whenever we can get together-

(sometimes even on Wednesdays!)...
In the next week or so
we'll meet for our monthly woolly gathering.

So,

I have been prepping this project

As you can see, I have the "alphabet" stitching done,

now to get the woolen "stew" ready to attach!

I think "Alphabet Stew" 

will eventually hang above the doorway into my kitchen.

The wall surrounding the doorway into my kitchen

is also the wall where I've been hanging my
"small quilts" aka: wall hangings
over the past years,

so if Alphabet Stew doesn't seem lost there,

that's where it will go!

Happy Summer Stewing Stitching!

meandering & the heat

Summer's heat and humidity have hit Ohio, finally!

Sweltering is....

nice?

OK, not nice, but I do like it!

Yep, weird, I know.

I have the air conditioning on just a little -

just enough to keep the humidity down enough to quilt!

And, as a positive,

the guests seem to stay a little longer

if there is a little temperature control!

So, besides the sweltering going on here,

there has been some meandering, too...

first up this past week is Roberta's reds...

so very scrappy and beautiful.

Next is Carolyn's...

she tried something new to her - a foundation-pieced crazy quilt,

 all pieced by machine and then machine fancy stitched, too.

It also is a beauty

in greys, pinks, browns, just a hint of green occasionally

and some striking maroon/reds.

Both are very inspirational, aren't they?

Makes you want to start using up some scraps, huh?

And, we all have scraps, don't we?

It might be time to go dig around in this sweltering heat

and think about doing a scrap quilt, I think!

Do you think I can move my sewing machine out

to one of the deck tables under an umbrella?

:)

scissors gone!

Thanks to all who took the time to drop me a note

about the favorite scissors on your sewing stands or in your project bags.

And, sorry, gals, but the scissor giveaway winner -

Laura Clever, has claimed her prize!

Congrats! Laura,

your scissors will go into the mail today,

Wednesday, July 6th!

Please let me know what you think of them,

and I'll pass this info on

to a couple of gals who were keeping track of all of the "reviews".

Guess I'm not the only one with a scissor "thing" going on :)

Now, back to "work", so

Happy Stitching everyone!

I'm off to play around on a finish

of a patriotic quilty/thingy to hang on my own wall

(it's pieces and parts are covering up a whole lot of real estate that I really need to re-claim!).

Then, to do some meandering: 

there's a great art quilt commission next in line!

Happy Independence Day

to you and yours!

We, Sweetie and I, did enjoy the

Down-Town fireworks a couple of nights ago...

I tried to video and share a little of it here,

as it really is a spectacular light show...

But that didn't work, so,

OK, OK,  I know, I should keep my day job,

as a videographer, I'm not!

Did I mention that it was

90 degrees and humid

at 10 o'clock p.m. the night of the fireworks??

And that we were with

a half-million

of our closest, sweaty friends???

That was fun, and smelly!

Just kidding, maybe...

We were up on a roof top

with only about 200 of our closest friends,

12 stories up in the air,

where it was only 80 degrees 

and there was a slight breeze

that blew the schtink into someone elses area :) !

It was a wonderful night

and great food was brought in by all.

Here's the recipe for one of the dishes that I took to share:

Italian Tomato Salad with Pasta
A few hours before dinner or the day before,
mix together the dressing:
1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 cup red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Sea Salt
1 Tbsp. basil*
1 tsp. black cracked pepper
1/3 cup parsley*
     *Refrigerate this for a couple of hours if using dried herbs (*see below)
1 lb. pasta, cooked, drained, cooled to room temperature
6 - 10 medium, fresh tomatoes, wedged and drained
1 large sweet onion, sliced and roughly chopped
Optional: fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed
Put all of these last ingredients into a large serving bowl and toss together.


Whip the EVOO and vinegar dressing with a fork before pouring over the pasta, tomato and onion.  Serve immediately or cover and chill before serving- I like to serve a few hours later or even the next day, as this dressing mixture is very generous and there's plenty to be absorbed into the noodles overnight.


*You can use dried basil and parsley - fresh is better, but not always in season, so this recipe uses the dried herbs, you just have to let the dried herbs re-constitute a little bit by refrigerating a couple of hours before dressing the tomatoes, onion and pasta.

Hope your holiday is a safe and happy one!

better late...the scissor giveaway!

a Winner of the great scissor debate...
has been chosen!

This scissor giveaway came about
because of the problem issue I have...
aka the scissor hoard on my part...

I am always looking for a great pair of scissors when I am in my lazy-girl stitching chair and "watching TV".
I am looking for a pair that are easy to grab,
stay sharp and don't maul the threads and wools,
and can also be dropped into a project bag last minute...

Thanks to everyone that left me a comment here and by email!  (There are quite a few new-to-me followers and anonymous folks lately, and I really appreciate you all!)
After reading all of these comments I've decided that there are as many favorites as there are brands of scissors!

So, theWINNER of the scissor give-away is:

Anonymous said...

By far my favorite scissors are Dovo.

They stay sharp super fine tip for small snips.

Mine are small for stitching and trimming.

They are awesome.

 I own several brands but these are my favs.

Laura Clever

Congratulations, Laura!

Send me an email*,

 and I'll get this pair of

Tooltron scissors into the mail on Tuesday!

(If I don't hear back from Laura by Friday, July 8th, I'll do another random drawing)

So, after all of that great info about scissors,

I'm thinking that I need to go try out a few more brands of scissors!

Do you think that's a problem?!? :)

Happy Stitching, everyone!

*my email is listed under:  view my complete profile

July First ends with a Boom!

First...Thanks to all who commented on my scissor debate - I'll let you know tomorrow who was drawn as the winner!

Second, Sweetie and I are off tonight
to see the "Down Town" version of fireworks.

This is not your local-yocal version of fireworks...
you know - local-yocal version
as in one boom or sprinkle of lights every few minutes spread over about fifteen or twenty minutes (which we do hit on the 4th in our little local village, and really enjoy, too).

No,

this is the Down-Town version

with bazillions of booms and lights

and choreographed to music

and a constant light show

lasting more than 45 minutes!

We are joining about a half million

of our closest friends to see

"Red, White & Boom".

This does live stream
http://www2.nbc4i.com/special_section/redwhiteandboom/live/
tonight, Friday, July 1st,
if anyone wants to join us from afar!
You, too, could be one of our half-million friends.