Thursday, April 30, 2020

I LIKE THURSDAY.....

Because it's the last day of April.  It's been wet, cold and windy this month.  We even had some snow, not much, but enough that you could see it on the ground.  But it has mostly been rainy this month.

Overall, April was a wet month with most of the state reporting 4 to 7 inches of rain which is 125-150% of the normal precipitation for April.  
The maximum wind gust was 46mph out of the north.  17days with above normal average temperatures, 12days with below normal average temperatures, 1 day with normal average temperatures

I got 2 of the quilts on my list done.  The Easter Quilt....
I've also gotten the Spring Quilt done, just need to put the label on....
That's Bob laying next to the quilt.  He's napping....


  The next 13 Quilts on my list of UFO'S.....
1. Dresden Quilt(Gray Center)
2. 6" Crazy Quilt

3. Jar Quilt
4. Happy Scrappy Quilt

5. Boo Quilt
6. Valentine Quilt7. Dresden Quilt(Red Center)
8. Under The Sea Quilt
9. Spring Quilt
10. 4th of July Quilt

11.ABC Quilt
12. Circle Quilt
 

13. Indiana Leaves Quilt
 

As for reading....none this week.  I've been occupied with these 2 quilts.   While working on my quilts I have been watching The Black List on Netflix.....trying to catch up on episodes I've missed.


I'm linking up with.....

I Like Thursdays
Thursday 13 



I hope you......











Wednesday, April 29, 2020

WORDS.....



Bleeding Heart 






No new words in my reading ...my word is from Word A Day Calendar....

disingenuous.... 

not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does.

"this journalist was being somewhat disingenuous as well as cynical"


Tuesday, April 28, 2020

TA DA......

For To-Do-Tuesday last week my list was....

1. Finish the Easter Quilt (it's been in the hoop "forever")(DONE)
2.  Learn a new Embroidery Stitch
3.  Put the Spring Quilt in the hoop.(DONE)

 The Easter Quilt is done.....Ta Da....
Since my sewing machine is broken, I had to do the binding by hand.  This was the first time I done this...hope I done it right.  I found I really like doing the binding by hand.  It's very relaxing.
The Spring Quilt is tied and I'm putting the binding on now.  It will be done by tomorrow.  The 4th of July Quilt is in the hoop now.
 As for learning the a new embroidery stitch, that didn't happen..so I've added that to my list for next week. 

The TAST stitch, over at Pintangle for Week 15 was Butterfly Chain Stitch....here's mine.  The TAST stitch for Week 16 is Coral Stitch...you can find all the stitch tutorials in Sharon's Stitch Dictionary.  Head over and check it out.


My To-Do for the week of April 28th through May 4th:


My list for next week....
1. Tie and bind the 4th of July Quilt
2.  Learn a new embroidery stitch...Wrapped Coral Stitch
3. Work on my SAL(Stitch A Long)



Monday, April 27, 2020

NATURE NOTES.......

Spring is trying to come here in North Eastern Indiana....but Winter seems to want to linger around.  We have had some cold days and warm days.  The trees are budding, the flowers are blooming and I saw the bees are out and busy.  I even saw a mosquito.  And for me Spring means the Tree Frogs are back.  I heard them singing a few nights ago.
I was blog hopping and found this site...The Squirrelbasket.....they have something called I'm Following A Tree...you can get all info on this here.....
I've decided to join in with them.  I'm surrounded by Maple Trees here at my home.  Don't know how long they have been here, but I've lived here since July of 1981.  They are big, strong trees and they are beautiful when in full leaf.  In the Fall they have some beautiful colors.  I have picked out a tree among the many around here and will be reporting on this tree every month.  This is my tree....
The tree was topped a few years ago....so it has lots of new growth.  At this time it is starting to get it's leaves.  Lots of critters visit this tree, sitting, scampering up it, or just crawling up it.  I'll keep you posted on what's going on with my tree.

Also a sign of spring around here is the Violets....they grow wild in our yard, flower beds and gardens.  They are considered a pest  around here...but they are so pretty in the spring.
This one is growing in one of my flower beds.....I think I'll leave it there and see what happens to it over the season.

I'm linking up with.....

Nature Notes




Sunday, April 26, 2020

Found What Was Lost....

Have you ever put something up or stored it away....and then forgot about it?  I did that.  A few years ago I put a lot of fabric in a tub...intending to use it at a later time.  Then totally forgot about it.  Well, I went digging for it yesterday and found it!!!!
In the tub are some of my 1930's reproduction fabrics.  Also some 1930's reproduction Sunbonnet Sue and Dresden Plate pieces.  Totally forgot about these. 
I did a Dresden Plate swap a few years ago.  This is all the packs I got.  I think there is enough to do a small quilt.
These are cut 1930's reproduction Sunbonnet Sue pieces.  I'll be working on these also.  So I'll be adding both of these projects to my ever growing QUILT LIST.  (Which you can see the list at the bottom of my side bar.)
So I have enough hand sewing to do for awhile.  I'll also be putting the binding on a quilt, since my sewing machine is broke, I'll be sewing the binding on by hand.  Which quilt am I binding...My Spring Quilt and the 4th of July quilt is in the hoop to be tied.  So I'll be keeping busy.



I am linking up with.....
Slow Sunday Stitching
Oh! Scrap


Have a great Stitching....


Saturday, April 25, 2020

BOOKS AND FLOWERS.......

Today is Friday, two of my book memes run on Friday's.  So here are my answers for ....

The Friday 56












How to Bake A Murder - A. K. Emrick (A Cookie and Cream Cozy Mystery Book 1)



"Hi," she said.  "Just the man I was looking for."

Book Blogger Hop


Question:
Do the star ratings a book receives on Goodreads or retail sites affect whether you buy the book or not?

Sometimes is does, but most of the time I read books by author's I know.  I will also pick a book by it's cover....I know, not always a good choice.  If I'm doing a reading challenge, I'll pick a book based on the list the challenge suggests.


 Floral Friday.....




BLEEDING HEARTS
Lamprocapnos spectabilis, bleeding heart or Asian bleeding-heart,  is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae, native to Siberia, northern China, Korea and Japan. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus Lamprocapnos, but is still widely referenced under its old name Dicentra spectabilis . It is valued in gardens and in floristry for its heart-shaped pink and white flowers, borne in spring.
Other common names include lyre flower, heart flower and lady-in-a-bath.
The Asian bleeding-heart grows to 120 cm (47 in) tall by 45 cm (18 in) wide. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial with 3-lobed compound leaves on fleshy green to pink stems. The arching horizontal racemes of up to 20 pendent flowers are borne in spring and early summer. The outer petals are bright fuchsia-pink, while the inner ones are white. The flowers strikingly resemble the conventional heart shape, with a droplet beneath – hence the common name. The plant sometimes behaves as a spring ephemeral, going dormant in summer.(From Wikipedia)


Have an AWESOME......



Wednesday, April 22, 2020

WORDS OR NOT.....

 WONDROUS WORD WEDNESDAY

I found this word in my book I'm reading....In Good Faith by Scott Pratt....since this is a book with a lawyer as the main character, I thought I would also add the legal definition.

Turpitude.....

She had a habit of committing crimes of moral Turpitude...
vile, shameful or base character's depravity....

Legal meaning...
an act or behavior that gravely violates the sentiment or accepted standard of the community


WORDLESS WEDNESDAY



Tuesday, April 21, 2020

BUSY TUESDAY........

I've got a lot to do today....so I'm hoping I get it all done....we'll see....First off it's To-Do-Tuesday, so I'll start there.

Last Tuesday my list to-do was this:

1. Finish the Easter Quilt (it's been in the hoop "forever")
2. Learn a new embroidery stitch (Buttonholed Cable Stitch) DONE
3.  Put the Spring Quilt in the hoop.

The Easter Quilt DID NOT get done.  Went to put the binding on and my sewing machine isn't working.......so it needs to go in the shop.  So I've been hand sewing the binding on, I've never done this before so wish me luck....picture next week.

I was so flustered after the sewing machine thing and didn't get the Spring quilt in the hoop.    The only thing from my list last week I got done is learn a new embroidery stitch....Buttonholed Cable Stitch....
 And the stitch over at Pintangle this week is Butterfly Chain....here's mine....
The new stitch I want to learn is Spanish Feather Stitch.

So my tasks for next week are.....

1. Finish the Easter Quilt
2. Put the Spring Quilt in the hoop
3. Learn the Spanish Feather Stitch

Between quilting and embroidery, I haven't had much time to read this week, but I'm reading In Good Faith by Scott Pratt on my Kindle Fire, since the library is closed.  This is a series of books and this is book 2 of 9....hoping to read the whole series.   Here is my teaser for Teaser Tuesday.

Sheriff Leon Bates shivered as he sat alone inside the Dodge Dakota he used for surveillance.  Nothing glamorous about this part of the job.

Monday, April 20, 2020

NATURE NOTES.....

The trees are getting leaves, the grass is really green and growing, some of my spring flowers are up.   And one lone Dandelion is growing in the crack of our back step.

 Dandelion is a plant with yellow flowers.Taraxacum officinale is the most common variety of this plant, and it grows in many parts of the world. Botanists consider dandelions to be herbs. People use the leaves, stem, flower, and root of the dandelion for medicinal purposes.

I took these photos last spring.....the life of a Dandelion....



Our back yard, back by the barn, looks like this...
And my grand kids have a wonderful time picking these and blowing....
Thus insuring next years Dandelion.....I am linking up with Rambling Woods for Nature Notes.
 
 



Sunday, April 19, 2020

SAL.......

I recently joined in on a SAL over at Avis's place.  I'm not a fast embroiderer when it comes to kits.  I was at Wal-Mart a few years ago buying yarn and started looking at the embroidery kits.  I came across this pillowcase set and really liked the pattern, so I bought it.  I also am joining Kathy over at Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching, I think this could called slow stitching...lol
It took me 6 months to do the first one.  It has been waiting for the second one to get done for so long it's yellowed some....hoping that comes out in the wash.


 But the second one has gone unfinished for a few years and I really want to get this done.  So I joined this SAL to get inspiration to finish this.
I've started on the lower left corner of the ribbon....but after looking at the chart, I've already messed it up....so have to pull some of the stitches out.  Hoping to have time to have more progress at the next SAL update.  Below are all the folks joining in this SAL....hop over and see what everyone is working on. 













Saturday, April 18, 2020

SATURDAY....Scrap Happy

I've been working on my 8 1/2" crazy quilt blocks.  I have a box full of scraps I'm working out of.   Actually went to 2 boxes now.  I keep accumulating scraps...ha ha....

Last night I put together a blue block.  It's 8 1/2" and it's on unbleached muslin or bleached, which ever I have handy at the time.
I'm not really sure about the orange, but according to my color wheel, blue and orange go together.  I'll have fun embellishing this block.  I already have some ideas of what to put on it.  I've also finished the block I was working on last time.
I had some green mesh....for lack of what's it's really called....over the blue, did some feather stitches and added some beads and charms.  I really like how this one turned out.

I am linking up to

Scarp Happy for the RSC 2020 Challenge(Blue)


Friday, April 17, 2020

FRIDAY......

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freida over at Freida's Voice.  Hop over and see what everyone is reading.

The Rules

Grab a book, any book.
Turn to Page 56 or 56% on your ereader.  If you have to improvise, that is okay.  Find a snippet, short and sweet.


 My Friday 56

In Good Faith - Scott Pratt 
(Book 2 of 9)

56% on my Kindle Fire

 









"Even if what you're saying is true, she doesn't have any power over me,"  I asid.  "I don't believe in Satan, and I don't believe in curses."

I'm only at 22% right now, but love the book so far.  Watch for my review next week.

Thursday, April 16, 2020

THURSDAY.......

I am joining Brian for Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.....Want to join in...just hop over to Brian's place to see what everyone is posting today.

What I'm thankful for....

Family
Grandchildren

Bella

 














Bub















My son, Tommy















That I can still work on quilts.  I have Degenerative Join Disease....Want to know what this is?  Check out the link I've provided.  I have this in my hips, knees and spine..I'm thankful it hasn't gotten to my fingers yet.  So I can still do this.....
And this.....
I'm thankful my son bought me a Kindle Fire for Christmas. So I am  learning to read books on my Kindle Fire....Our library has closed due to the virus.  So I've been reading books this way.  I'm slowly adjusting to not having an actual book in my hands.  The book I just finished and it was really good....See my review here.....


Hope you all........


Wednesday, April 15, 2020