July sewing and some cats!

The online stashbusters group that I am in has a "precut" a month that you are supposed to work on getting out of your stash.  July was orphan blocks.  I dug through my collection and "gifted" a few to my mom to make things for a charity bazaar and then put some things together to make placemats for my guild charity project.  This one used 2.5" squares and four patches.

This one was made from some leftover half square triangles.

I got the catnip quilt quilted and bound!  It's slated for the quilt show this fall.

And I got all of the hash tag blocks made.

And sewn together.............

This quilt is for Sarah.  I'm waiting for her to see it this weekend and decide if she wants a black border on it or just stop and have it bound in black.  She also needs to decide on a backing.

I also got all of the fan blocks from my great grandmother's quilt trimmed and pressed.  I laid them out on Sarah's bed.  I set them on point and laid out the colors differently than my great grandmother had.

You can see that Esme wanted to be close to the action, but not covered up by it.

It's now all together and I think (if I do say so myself) it looks amazing.  I wish I had taken a "before" photo so you could see the difference.  My cousins who gave it to me can't believe it's the same quilt top.  I had to repair some of the blocks, and I tossed a bunch that were just too frail to repair.  I have binding strips cut in a pale peach, and will make a backing from muslin that I have a bolt of.  

I also went through a tote of old jeans parts from my stocking efforts last fall.  I salvaged tags, pockets, and some seams and then cut 2.5" strips and 5" squares.  This is the first bag I made from them.  

I think it turned out pretty good.  It's lined and has pockets inside.

And now for the cats..............

Esme enjoying a box...........

Mabel catching a cat nap............

And Harry Potter as we like him best.............SLEEPING!

Mabel and Harry think they are worthy of being a centerpiece, but I had to tell them they were a little off center.

Christi

July Happenings!

 Our sweet corn produced!  This was the biggest harvest from the 12 rows planted in the field.  My parents and cousins, Pam and Susie, came to help.  I put up a total of 135 pints of sweet corn this year.  Almost half of it was shared.  And several other people came to pick some.  

We also bought 2 boxes of tomatoes since my tomato plants were dying from being sprayed.  We did those this past week.  I just did plain tomato sauce even though I have a beautiful pot of herbs growing.  I was out of tomato sauce and still have plenty of pasta sauce from last year.

It was a really hot day, so we worked in the basement.  Willow supervised from her lofty position at the top of the steps.

I think she was a little sad to not be included in the party!

And our beautiful Ukranian daughter, Yuliya got married to Vlad.  We have seen some video and photos and it looks like it was an truly beautiful day.

It has been so hot this month.  But it also seems like summer is flying by quickly.  Our August calendar has filled up with lots of stuff, trying to get the last of the things in before fall, piano lessons restarting, and harvest.  I am ready for some cooler temps though.  

This is how I know fall can't be far off.................

Not only are school supplies out, but so are the pumpkin cookies!  And Hobby Lobby is filled with fall, Thanksgiving, and Christmas decorations.  My new solution to a heat wave is to just go in the store and walk the aisles of those decorations!

Christi

What's new in the sewing room?

 How about some Christmas in July!  This is Sarah's Christmas quilt (which didn't get done for last Christmas, but I'm ahead of the game for this Christmas).  It's called Heaven and Nature Sing and is on the UFO list.

And this is one I did called O Christmas Tree.  It took forever to make all the blocks and the quilting pattern I did also took forever.  Glad this one is finished and off the list.

We are going to a birthday party for a little girl who will be 2 this week, so I made a very small bag for her from jeans, and a zipper pocket, and leftover pink gingham John Deere fabric as the lining.  I thought it turned out pretty cute.

I also have half of the Hash Tag blocks done.  The rest are sorted onto paper plates awaiting their turn under the needle.

My poor husband is so bored and ready to be released from his sling and physical therapy.  He organized my quilting thread for me..........

Doesn't it look nice?  Let's see if it stays that way.

Maybe we should do another UFO List update????

 1.  Proposal  (FINISHED!)

2.  Waverly  (FINISHED!)

3.  Lookout  (FINISHED AND GIFTED!)

4.  St. Pats Pillow  (FINISHED!)

5.  St. Pats Runner  (FINISHED!)

6.  St. Pats Wall Hanging  (FINISHED!)

7.  Jimmy John  (FINISHED AND GIFTED!)

8.  Snailing Around Town  (FINISHED!)

9.  Chalet  (FINISHED!)

10.  Foxes in Flannels (FINISHED!)

11.  Show and Tell  (FINISHED!)

12.  Love in Bloom Panel  (FINISHED AND GIFTED!)

13.  O Christmas Tree (FINISHED!)

14.  Heaven and Nature Sing  (FINISHED!)

15.  Scrap Jar Stars  (FINISHED!)

16.  Hash Tag  (Half the blocks are done!!!!!!!)

17.  Jelly Twist   (It has traveled to 2 retreats and never been out of the box)

18.  Halloween Panel  (FINISHED!)

19.  Thanksgiving Panel  (FINISHED!)

20.  Redlin Panel  (Thought about it and almost gave it away)

21.  Legendary  (Haven't even thought about it)

22.  My Kinda Town  (Have copied the paper piecing patterns and sorted into bags for each block)

23.  Turkey Lurkey  (FINISHED!)

24.  Turkey Blocks  (FINISHED!)

25.  Cat Nip  (Ready to quilt)

26.  Pineapple  (FINISHED!)

27.  Tea Time Topper  (FINISHED!)

28.  Vintage 30's Blocks 

29.  Great Grandma's Fans  (Over half of the blocks are trimmed)

That's 21 of the 29 complete!  I'm planning to quilt the catnip quilt after I do one for my mom which is on the longarm now.  

Christi

How does your garden grow?

 Well, my garden is ugly.  The spray from the beans seems to have drifted or fogged over my garden and almost everything is dying.  There is one cucumber plant still trying to do something.  It has more blooms (5) than leaves (4).  Don't know if there will ever be anything there or not.  The tomato leaves are all curled up and shriveling.  There are a few green tomatoes, but I'm planning to just buy a box of tomatoes at this point.  That's what happened to my green beans as well.  The garden corn which was planted after the spray had killed all the peas and 2 of the 3 hills of mystery pumpkins are still looking ok.  So, how about some pictures of my flowers...........

I did flowers along the ledge of the deck this year.  They are draping nicely over the twin flower boxes my dad made a few years ago.

Below is the plant I received from the bell choir.  It just keeps getting bigger.

You can't tell it because of how big the plants have grown, but there is a cute enamel tea kettle and a bright orange bucket full of plants here.

And my herbs are thriving.  I love rosemary, thyme, and ?  I think it's oregano, but maybe basil?

My porch box that my cousin Brenda made for me.........

Lilies..........

Another pot of annuals perched on one of David's big rocks..........

And more annuals in a black kettle.....

The daisies are getting ready to burst forth!

And the rose bush by the front door just keeps blooming.

Happy Sunday everyone!  We're off to the theatre in Macon to see Almost Heaven this afternoon.

Christi

Sweet 4th of July!

What's more American than Sweet Corn!  Here are the first five ears I picked.  The hubs told me it wasn't ready yet, but I checked anyway.

The new corn bags (at least for me, he can't use his yet because of the sling) are working well.  The first 5 rows aren't the best, but the other 7 rows should be ready this week and they are taller and look like have bigger ears.

We've been setting the traps but so far no coons.  What do you suppose is being concocted here?

The coon bait seems to have attracted a skunk, and he met up with Friday!  So, Google told us to use a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and Dawn.  

Harry Potter had to inspect the tub.  Both dogs got sprayed with the solution and then bathed.  Willow seemed to only have a little smell (probably by association with Friday).  Here's how they looked after their baths.

Esme thought the whole process was ridiculous because they still smell like dogs, and Friday still has a faint skunk smell.  He should probably get washed again.

Wishing everyone a Happy 4th!  Have fun and stay safe!

Christi