Friday Fun

Good morning, my friends. We were in and out of the grocery store in less than half an hour yesterday. It left plenty of time in the day for getting the rest of my to-do's to-done, and there was plenty of time for sewing too. Before we left, I stitched up Tiny Treasure #59. This one has satin stitch, stem stitch, lazy daisy, backstitch, and straight stitch.

I'll stitch the last Tiny Treasure for this go-round this morning. After that, there will be just one more go-round of this project before I can start sewing it into a quilt. I have a plan for these. I think it will be cute. More on that later.

So we did our grocery shopping after that. I found neither cherries nor apricots in the grocery store, and so no baking for me yesterday. It seems early for cherries, but I saw both when I was at Whole Foods a few days ago. If I find myself in the neighborhood, I might try one of the specialty stores. For now...we're dessert-less. Oh, the humanity!

Okay and when we got home, I went to work on the binding for "The Story of My Day." It needed to be clipped and pinned, and then I stitched for a while, turning the first corner. 

I'm hoping to get to the second corner today. This is a square quilt, so all the sides are the same.

From there, I had a couple of housekeeping chores to do, but there was still plenty of time in the day for finishing off the Mountains block. It started with this quilt block:

My friend, Miss Pat, tells me this block is called "Delectable Mountains." It was surprisingly quick and easy to sew together. To create the block background, I just needed to add some borders.

And then the applique:

Today I'll get busy doing the top-stitching for the Mountains and the Salmon block below. I have the machine set up with monofilament thread and a microtex 60/8 needle. There are a lot of nooks and crannies in these blocks, and that makes for slow-going on the top-stitching. I still think I'll have time to finish both blocks today.

If I can finish those, I'll make June's inverted star before I get started on the Yoder Sisters project. I've wanted to make this quilt for a long time.

It's another rainy day today, and so I'll be spending the day inside. I want to go for a walk on the treadmill, and there's one housekeeping chore on today's calendar. There should be plenty of time for sewing. 

With that, I'll be on my way. I hope you have a super Saturday ahead of you.

A Day of Many Hours

Good morning, my friends. Often, a day gets away from me, and the time passes more quickly than I thought it would, leaving me with some of my goals unaccomplished at the end of the day. Yesterday was kind of the opposite. I kept thinking it was later than it was. It meant I was able to get a lot done. Don't be impressed. None of it was very exciting, but it's always good to have crossed off all the items on my list at the end of the day.

Starting with Tiny Treasure #58...this one took a long time to stitch, and yet...not so much time. It has stem stitch, stem fill, satin stitch, French knot, and buttonhole stitches.

When I had that finished, I suited up and hoed the garden. We picked up all the gutter guards protecting the corn from crows. I think we're safe with that now. There were signs of burrowing animals in the garden. They haven't done any damage to anything, but we put out gopher stakes, just the same. They make a vibration every few seconds, and the gophers don't like it. 

When I was finished with the garden, I filled the bird feeders. Opening one of our tube feeders, I was startled to find a bird inside! The holes are obviously large enough for a small bird to get in. He probably thought he'd hit the motherlode until he tried to fly away again. I'm glad it was a day for feeding them, because I'd hate to find a dead one. This one was saved...when I opened the lid, he flew off. 

Taking a walk around, I noticed again how pretty the Edda clematis is. I think it's close to being bloomed out now.

Not to worry...the Red Cardinal clematis is ready to take over clematis duty.

Back inside, I had a couple of housekeeping chores to do, and then I was able to make my way to the sewing room. Sewing the binding onto "The Story of My Day" was my first priority. Smitty was there to make sure I didn't get distracted.

That didn't take too long.

And then I had time to fuse the applique for the Salmon block.

It's ready for top-stitching now, but I'll make the "Mountain" block first. I spent a few minutes looking at the instructions for this. I thought the quilt block in the background was going to be a major hassle, but it's actually pretty darned easy. I'm glad to see that because the borders for this quilt are made the same way.

My only gripe about this block is using grays and blacks for the mountains. Really? Because I've seen the mountains in Alaska, and they look blue to my eyes. Here's an image from Homer.

So, I'll probably change the colors in this block. My quilt, my rules. And it was too late in the day to start on that. I cut the pieces for the quilt block, and I'm hoping to have some time to piece this together today. 

There are only a few pieces for the applique. Potentially, I could make it to the top-stitching today.

Okay, as for the rest of the day...it's a grocery shopping day. Our list is mercifully short, and it's our only stop in town. I have a couple of easy housekeeping chores on my list, but it's also a day for making dinner earlier in the day. And if I can find both apricots and cherries at the grocery store, I'm going to bake our annual serving of Apricot-Cherry Upside Down Mini Cakes. If you've been following for a long time, then you know I've been making these every year since time began.

All right, so next up, I'll stitch Tiny Treasure #59. I'm closing in on a finish for this go-round. There's just one more after today. We'll do our grocery shopping and the rest of it. When I'm able to get to my sewing, I'll start clipping and stitching the binding for The Story of My Day. It awaits my arrival downstairs.

We're experiencing the kind of weather our weatherman calls "Junuary," meaning we want it to be warmer, but it's sometimes cold and drizzly. We've had a mixture of very warm days and some chilly gray days. I'm hoping we'll have good weather for Monday because Matthew and I are meeting up for a walk. If the weather won't cooperate, we might decide to do something else...an indoor activity. 

That's all I have for now. I hope Friday treats you well.

My Day in Court

Good morning, my friends. Before we go even one word further, I feel I must point out that today is

Have you hugged your cat today?

As expected, I had almost no time for sewing yesterday. I managed to stitch Tiny Treasure #57. This one has stem stitch, stem fill, lazy daisy, and French knots.

Checking the forecast, I noted rain was supposed to start in about an hour from when I finished that. I decided to hurry out and replant the sprouted bean seeds. Happily, more have sprouted from the original planting. It seems the crows didn't get all of them.

Now here's something interesting I saw on Facebook yesterday. Honestly, I've been gobsmacked by the damage done by the crows this year. We've had damage to our garden from critters living both above and below ground, but I've never seen the crows go after the beans like they did this year. Then, I read this article on Facebook yesterday morning that explains it somewhat. Without posting the whole long article, this is the part that stunned me:

In the winter of 2012–13, researchers logged approximately 1,000 crows near Portland State University [my alma mater]. By the winter of 2017–18, that number had risen to 7,000. Last winter, they counted more than 22,000 in a single evening. To put that in perspective: crows now outnumber students on Oregon's third-largest university campus by more than 1,000.

So, it isn't just my imagination. There really are more crows in our area. Well. We've fixed their little red wagons (if they had red wagons). They're leaving the beans alone now that we've fenced them off from their prying beaks. 

Also while I was out, I noticed a flower on our poor struggling rose bush.

There are two more buds and one more sad looking flower on another branch. The poor thing has almost no foliage on it. I'm hoping it will start to look bushier now that I've pruned it and groomed it some. It might require more drastic pruning this fall. At our previous home, we had 52 rose bushes…all planted by an English lady who lived there before us. I had a regular care routine established for them, but this poor little rose gets neglected most of the time.

The only other thing I have for show and tell is that some of the cherries are starting to blush.

These won't be ready for at least another month, but it's good to see them coming along. They're a little smaller than an olive at this stage.

Okay, so I know you're all waiting on tenterhooks wondering what happened when I went to court yesterday. First, I need to say that my citation was issued by the City of Lafayette, Oregon. It was incorporated in 1878, just 19 years after Oregon became a state. As of the 2020 census, Lafayette had a population of about 4,500 people. This is the building to which I reported for my hearing.

Walking in, there was a panel of folks (3-4 people) on one side of the room, sitting behind a row of tables. One of them was obviously the "judge." There were several rows of chairs facing the panel...all empty. There were three uniformed police officers in the room. Aside from those people, I was the only other person in the room. As I came through the door, one of the police officers welcomed me.

Me: I'm here to face the music. 

Them: (Chuckling.) 

One of the police officers indicated I should "have a seat." 

Me: Do I sit here?

Another police officer directed me to a "podium," which consisted of a music rack like the ones public schools use in their music rooms. Taken by surprise at being heard so quickly, I grimaced, eliciting more chuckles.

Judge: State your last name.

Me: Stanbro

Judge: You've been cited for speeding. How do you plead?

Me: No contest.

Judge: You have a clean driving record. Do you want to keep it that way?

Me: Yes!

Judge: [Announces the amount of the fine, which was reduced by $50...not as much as I’d hoped, but better than nothing.] Don't get any more citations for a year, and this will stay off your record. 

Me: That's it?

Judge: That's it. Go through those doors to pay your fine.

Me: Wow. That was easy. No blood or anything. (Chuckling in the room.)

Police Officer: And no jail time!

Judge: Not yet, anyway.

So there you go. Except for the fine, it was downright enjoyable. Can't beat that for a day in court.

All right. There are a couple of little things on today's agenda, but I'm going to get back to my sewing today. I'll start with the day's Tiny Treasure, and then I'm determined to get the binding sewn on "The Story of My Day." There was some time yesterday afternoon to square it up. The binding strips are cut. I just need to sit down and sew. There should also be time to start the applique for the Salmon block. 

Time's a-wastin'. I'd better be on my way. Happy sewing today, y'all, and stay out of trouble.

Facing the Music

Good morning, my friends. Today comes the "find out" part of my recent FAFO actions. (Google it, if you don't know.) It's the day I go to court over my recent speeding ticket. There's no whining or making excuses on my part. I'm just hoping for a reduction in the fine if I throw myself on the mercy of the court. What form do you think this should take? Should I writhe on the ground for a while? Would kicking and screaming be ill-advised? Probably I should wait and read the room before making any rash decisions. But let's chat about something more pleasant for now, shall we?

Yesterday was my day for a monthly pedicure. I returned to a spa I went to several years ago. I always liked the spa. It's part of a local luxury hotel. There was a nail tech I liked, and when she left the spa, I followed her to her new location. After several years, she remarried, and then moved about an hour south of where I live. (The nerve of some people...living their lives, and all that. Sheesh. Did she even consider the inconvenience to me when she made that decision?)  

Her new location was too far for me to consider following her, and so I went with the woman who replaced her at the salon. That was all fine and dandy until she got kicked out of the salon. I know the story, but it isn't worth going into. It all seemed like a big misunderstanding to me. In any case, she's been working out of her home for the past year or so, which has been less than ideal. When I realized I was no longer enjoying the pedicures in the awkwardness of the environment, I decided to return to the spa. It was a good decision. 

And all of that to say that I had time to stitch Tiny Treasure #56 before I left for my pedicure. This one has stem stitch, straight stitch, pistil stitch, and fan leaf stitch.

So, I was home just before lunch time. The bird feeders were empty, and I went to work feeding the birds. From there, I wandered around to see what's up with the flowers. The rose might actually get a chance to bloom. It has about four buds that look like this one.

After the crows pulled up most of the green bean sprouts, Mike erected some fencing around the pots. I posted this picture a few days ago. At the time, I noticed one sprout.

So yesterday I checked to see if it was still there, and it was! Looking at some of the other pots, I spotted three more.

And so it seems we may have thwarted the crows. Also, I checked the bean seed replacements and found several of them sprouted. I'll replant the seeds that were pulled up today. Maybe we'll get some beans this year after all.

Walking on, I continue to be amazed at the Edda clematis. That purple color is so dark and rich.

Turning around and looking across the yard from there, I noticed how much the dahlias have grown. I'm not sure why the two on the left are such laggards, but I'm glad they're living and growing.

 Also...that's our greenhouse. I've posted pictures before, but maybe not from this angle. We saw this Solar Gem greenhouse at our county fair several years back. It seemed a good solution for our short growing season. Without it, we can't grow tomatoes to red ripeness. A couple of years ago, we had problems with squirrels getting inside and causing all kinds of chaos. Mike spent a summer trenching around the outside, burying some fencing, and then folding it over the ground outside. Then, he covered it with river rocks. It was that whole episode that caused us to plant dahlias in the pots. We move the pots into the garage in the winter, and so I don't have to dig them up and replant each year.

And all of that (I'm wordy today) to say that I've noticed the first flower buds forming.

Here's another one over here. They're just about to take their turn as the most watched thing in the garden.

Also on the watch list are the hydrangeas. We won't have to wait long for these.

Oh yes, and the daylilies are about to have their day too.

Back inside, I had lunch and went to work baking a Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake. I made this for the first time last year, and it was added to the list of desserts I must make once per year. It has a streusel topping, and it looks like this when it comes from the oven. The streusel is made with sliced almonds that give it a nice little crunch.

But wait...did I say "topping"? Because this is an upside-down cake, and so it gets inverted onto a serving plate so that the streusel ends up on the bottom. When it's flipped over, it looks like this:

We had that with a dollop of whipped cream last night, and mmm, mmm, mmm. I love this time of year when so much fruit is in season. I linked to the recipe back there, but this is from America's Test Kitchens. You'll probably need a subscription to open the link. If you can't open it, and you want the recipe, just email me, and I'll be happy to send it to you.

With that finished, I went back to work finishing the quilting on "The Story of My Day." Only the outer border remained. I outlined those little applique flowers, and then did a less dense version of what I'd done for the rest of the quilt.

Then I laid it out on the floor for its photo, and that puppy is ready for binding.

That will be my first sewing priority today. But I'm also hoping to make some more progress on the first of two blocks for "Northern Wilderness." I was able to finish sewing the block together yesterday afternoon. 

Then, I added the surrounding pieces to create the background for the "Salmon" block.  If there's time, I'm hoping to get started on the applique today.

It was too late to start on that yesterday, but I took time to trace my next embroidery block. This is Block 6 for "Home is Where My Flock Is."

There are still four days of Tiny Treasures to stitch, but I'll start on this one when those are finished. These are the blocks I have for this project so far.

Okay, so this is an if-I-have-time kind of day. I need to check on the garden to see if it needs hoeing. If it does, I'll do that first. But I want to replant the sprouted bean seeds too. After that, I can get to work squaring up "The Story of My Day" and getting the binding sewn on by machine. I'll work on the hand-stitching over the next couple of days. Also, I want to get a start on the "Salmon" applique. All of this is in keeping with my plan to go to court mid-afternoon. It's going to make it hard to be very productive this afternoon. Any sewing will need to happen this morning.

So with that, I'd better be on my way. There's a Tiny Treasure to stitch, and then I'll get on with my gardening duties. Sewing will take a back seat to everything else today. If I have anything to show you, I'll be back to chat tomorrow morning. If not, look for me on Friday. For sure I'll have something to show you by then.

Summery Day

Good morning, my friends. The Summer Solstice is still a couple of weeks away, but it sure felt like summer yesterday. I took time in the morning to stitch Tiny Treasure #55. This one has stem stitch, stem fill, basketweave stitch, and straight stitch.

From there, I headed outside to check on the flowers. There were just four poppies this year. The poppies are biannuals, but I’ve been getting flowers from them every year. I’m not sure why this year was so skimpy. There was one other, in addition to the three in the image below. It got beaten up by the rain, and its stem was broken. These self-seed, and so I directed its head back into the barrel.
 

And wow. Look at that! This is the Fairy Princess peony. Amazing.

I’ve erected some fencing around the Stargazer lily. These fence cages were already made, and so I couldn’t adjust the size. The bit that’s left outside the cage didn’t have a flower on it originally. Now, it does. So after I took that picture, I worked with it to get that straggler inside the fence too. Now all the flowers are safe.

Heading back inside, I found these two demonstrating what it’s like to dwell in the sublime.

I had some things to do inside, but eventually, I made my way to the quilting. The interior…the part inside the narrow colored border…is all done now.

Here’s a peek at the back.

I left it needle down at one of the border appliques. I have in mind to outline these, and then connect them with something similar to what’s done on the rest of the quilt. Sometimes I have to adjust my expectations and my design after I’ve tried sewing it for a while. They don’t always work the way I think they will.

Heading into the sewing room, this pattern was lying on the table just inside the room.

I decided to pick out the fabrics I’ll use when I get started on it. To the ones below, there will also be a white background fabtic. The gray is some I used to make a Halloween costume for Erik when he was six years old. Let’s see…that would have been 1985. It’s safe to say that has been in my stash for a very long time…longer than I’ve been making quilts.

But I can’t start on that until I make two more blocks for the Northern Wilderness project. I decided to start with the salmon block.

There is very little in the way of instructions for these. I appreciate the lettering and the measurements, but figuring out how to sew it all together can be a bit of a puzzle.

So, these are all the pieces I’ll need to make the quilt block background.

The next step was to lay out the pieces and sew the different units together. These are the units I’ll need:

This first one was pretty easy to figure out.

I made one and then checked my measurements before going any farther. Just right.

Then, I could begin to lay out the pieces.

Just then I had to lay down a protective armor over the block when Sadie showed up and decided it was a perfect spot for grooming herself.

Next, I needed to make this unit.

Figuring out how to orient the triangles is tricky. For my first attempt…well that ain’t right.

So, I took it apart and tried again. There we go.

And then I could sew the whole thing together.

The next step just added some pieces to two sides of the unit above.

Those were pretty easy. Then, I could lay out the whole block.

It was getting close to quitting time by then, and I left it as you see it. I’ll have some time to sew it together today.

There are a few things on today’s agenda. I’m leaving early to get a pedicure, but I’ll be home before lunch time. We finished off the strawberry ice cream last night. Not to worry, though. I’ve been searching for rhubarb for weeks, and I finally found some at Whole Foods last week. Today I’ll make a Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake. I made it last year, and it was so good, I added it to the list of annual seasonal desserts. Aside from that, it’ll be a mostly sewing day.

If you’ve appreciated the grammar, spelling, and punctuation in this post, you can thank Smitty for his careful editing. He worked so hard on this he had to take a morning nap. As for me, I’m going to try to get the day’s Tiny Treasure stitched up before I need to leave. Have a good day, Everybody!