More Blocks

I've cut and sewn three more blocks in a new color scheme.  The directions for each block suggest selecting a light, medium and dark fabric.  I chose the tan for light, patterned for medium and red for dark.  In the case of this first block, I wish I'd been thinking ahead and used the red for the basket.  I think it would look more grounded.

Simple Flower Basket

Spinner

Snowy Owl

These three blocks bring the total up to 267 completed.

I read this cute little poem over at Stray Stitches.  I thought you might enjoy it.  With all the copyright issues popping up all over the internet, I hope I don't infringe on anyone by copying it.




Hope you had a good day.

15 Minute Challenge

I managed to work on these projects seven days out of seven last week.  To see how others did with their 15 Minute Challenge, visit Kate at Life in Pieces.

I finished the cross stitch snowman this morning, I've blocked it and it's drying.  I'm not sure how I'm going to finish it yet.  This being only the second counted cross stitch I've finished, I have a lot to learn.  1) find a neater way to secure and carry threads so they don't show through,  2) read the directions carefully,  3) have an idea for the most logical way to attack the project. 4) count and recount.  I had to rip out a large section when I realized that I was off by two rows which affected the rest of the pattern.  There's a stitch here and there that is incorrect but unless you have the pattern and view it stitch by stitch, you'd never know.  Also in the graph there was a stitch that looked like a quarter stitch.  I thought at first it was just a half stitch but then there'd be two half stitches in the same stitch block.  So I winged it.  I need to research this more.  I remembered to sign and date it but I think I'll try to stitch it smaller next time.  Anyway, here it is:

For a few years I've debated whether to get a tattoo.  It's all the rage you know.  And I like to try new things....  You wouldn't believe how many I've looked at on the internet.  I saw one years ago of a vine winding around the woman's wrist, so I've mostly been looking for something like that.  I also debated maybe something on my leg or inner wrist.  For sure I wanted some color.  But it's so permanent, what if I don't like it after I get it...and....it's gonna hurt.  Yesterday, for kicks, I drew a vine with flower around my wrist to test it out.  This is what it looked like:

I kept looking at it on the other side of my wrist but my eye kept being drawn to the brown spots, wrinkled skin and large blood vessels on my hands.  You'll notice I don't have a picture of that side.  I couldn't wait to wash it off.  I don't think I want a tattoo.

Anyway.....

Hope you had a good day.

They mowed the lawn today...

How do you determine when summer has come?  For me, it's when Monday rolls around and they're mowing the lawn and weed whacking the bushes.  Today is the day.  April 30, 2012.

Yay!

Hope you have a good day.

 

Back to it

Here are three more blocks for the 501 Project.

Starry Path

Steps to the Altar

Sunny Lanes

Hope you have a good day.

Not much sewing going on

I've been away for a little over a week, babysitting Little Girl while her folks and older brothers went to Disney World.  We had a great time together.

Three of the days she went to daycare, as is her normal routine.  This is what happened her first day there.  She took a nosedive, literally, on the playground grabbing for some chalk.

Poor baby.  But it didn't bother her for long.  The rest of the week was uneventful.  Yay!

I got some knitting done on a sweater I hope to have finished by fall.

 And I started a free counted cross stitch snowman from xstitchpatterns.com.

It's supposed to be done on blue Aida cloth but I chose white instead.  I've questioned my decision since then.  White on white was difficult to work on in the evening because the lighting wasn't right.  I've since ordered a Mighty Bright Vusion Craft Light that can be used on the stand or clipped to my project.  My daughter showed me the one she bought and it'll be perfect so I can work on my project wherever, whenever.  Since I've been home, I came up with another idea for the short term.  I have a clip on light that I move from my headboard so I can read in bed, to over my sewing table.  But now it has another use.

I should just break down and buy a couple more clip-on lamps so I don't have to keep moving this one from place to place.

So as you can see I've been keeping busy.  I plan to do some sewing later this week.

Hope you have a good day.

Foto Finish - Animals

Barbara at Cat Patches has chosen 'Animals' as this week's optional theme for Foto Finish.  Because I haven't really been participating lately, I wasn't at all prepared.

I went for a walk this morning and when I returned home, I thought it would be nice to have my coffee and read blogs out on the balcony.  So I wiped down the furniture, grabbed my coffee and ipad and out I went.  Then I read about this week's theme and thought maybe I could just get a photo now.  So I went in for my camera and managed to take one not-so-good photo of a robin (do birds count as animals?) before my battery went dead.  So I plugged in the camera and went back outside to continue with my coffee and blogs.  But after sitting there for a few minutes I realized that it was too chilly (38 deg.) so back indoors I went.

I found a photo I liked from among my old photos.  For me, these fall under 'farm animals'.

As an Air Force brat, I'd always wanted to live on a farm.  When my children were growing up, we were able to have a little 'backyard' farm.  Over the years, we had donkeys, chickens, sheep and pigs.  Sheep and chickens are my all-time favorites.  We started with chickens when the neighbor's hen laid an egg in our donkey's hay box.  I was totally enthralled with the idea of 'getting something' in return.  At one point we had 50 laying hens, of a number of different breeds, that we purchased from Murray McMurray Hatchery.  The chicks were hatched on Sunday and arrived by mail at our house on Monday.  Very cool!  I've never outgrown the fun of gathering eggs or the excitement when some turned out to be double-yolkers.

Even though I'm no longer able to have chickens, it's still fun to look through the catalog/website.

To check out other entries in this week's Foto Finish, visit Cat Patches at the link above.

Hope you have a good day.

I'm back...did you miss me?

It's been almost a month since I've blogged.  Just after my last post, I'd pretty much made up my mind that I was through.  I was feeling pressured with quilting, 15 Minute Challenge, Wordless Wednesday, Zentangle, Foto Finish, 501 Project, artist trading cards, crochet, knit and counted cross stitch.  I was mostly working on projects just to have something to blog about.  So I put away my sewing machine and all my sewing supplies and settled in to trying mixed media art.  For a few days, I made beads, created an art journal and proceeded to paint or draw every day.  But it just wasn't bringing me the satisfaction I needed.  I put that away too.

By this time, I was having severe withdrawal from not sewing or blogging but I still wasn't ready to resume.  I worked on knitting socks and crocheting afghans but that wasn't doing it either.

So here I am.  Back to sewing and blogging.  We'll see how much of the other 'stuff' I'm going to do.  I have a really difficult time remembering that moderation is the key.

For my first sewing activity back, I've spent a little time working with some of my scraps.  A couple of months ago, I separated out most of the browns, greens, tans and maroons.  They don't begin to touch the number of scraps I have.  I've always had a difficult time deciding what size scraps to keep so I've kept them all.  I've made some scrap fabric blocks but they're a lot of work with little return.  So now I've decided to keep only those pieces that are strips or can be sewn into strips.  This is the progress I've made over the past two days.

I've made 12 blocks total so far but as you can see I have plenty of strips to go.  It feels good to do some 'mindless' sewing.

Hope you have a good day.