Who knows the song that the title of this post is from? It's been running thru' my head this weekend. (I know what it is, just wondering if you do!)
What a Summer it's been for hot, humid weather!
I have to say, I'm so grateful to have air-conditioning. About seven years ago I had a geothermal system installed to heat and cool my house. Before that I had never lived in a house with air-conditioning.
I remember the year I was pregnant with my daughter, 1989, it must have been this kind of Summer and we had to pretty well live in the basement. I remember walking up the stairs and feeling the wall of heat on the main floor. Again, so grateful for the A/C.
Just saying....I'm not complaining about the weather!!! I'll save that for February :)
I'm happy to report that I've been on track with my applique this month. I set an achievable goal to try to have the final border done for my FlowerGarden quilt.
This weekend I'm working on appliqueing down the vine, as I've got all the leaves done that needed to be tucked under the vine.
I started this morning by hitting the mid-way part of the stem and ended with only a quarter of the way to go...I'm good with that!
We have a busy day planned today, hosting a welcome party for my grandson, Lachlan, but I hope to have a few moments of quiet this evening to finish the stem...it will feel like I'm over the hump on this border, I think.
I'll have to remember to schedule this quilt into the queue for the longarm in September....since my goal is to have it ready for my trunk show in October.
I'd better go make the finishing touches for the party today. We have some vegan guests, so we have accommodated with a couple of dishes....one of them being a Falafel salad.
I prepared it yesterday and it turned out yummy....then I thought it would be improved by a bit of feta cheese (what isn't, right?), and as soon as I mixed it in I realised it was no longer a vegan dish! Another moment where the word "crapola" from this post comes in handy! Could the bits of feta pose as tofu?, probably not.
I'm linking up this morning with Kathy's Quilts once again for some Slow Sunday Stitching and with Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for OhScrap!
Have a wonderful Summer's day!
I've been making some good progress this week during my morning applique...
At this rate I should have this final border for my FlowerGarden quilt completed by the end of the month!
Back in the day, I was someone who could manage sewing clothing....I haven't really done much of it for years (since becoming an avid quilter, maybe?).
Lately, I've noticed a lot of comments on something called the Washi Dress. I was tempted to order the pattern online when I found out that Lana at my local quilt shop, Quilt Junction, had ordered the patterns in for the shop.
I went out and bought it and some fabric on the sale table. I don't want to commit to full-price fabric 'til I know if the dress will look good on me and if I can manage to do a good job of it!
I wish I could have this sewn by our party this weekend for my new grandson, but I think it would be pushing it with so much going on this week. I think the most difficult part will be not sewing with a 1/4" seam allowance!!
I am linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social.
Have a great day....which, by the way, sounds like the beginning of the next heat wave!
What a lovely weekend...and good thing, too, since we are preparing for a party next week to welcome our new grandson. I guess we can only do our best with the backyard as the lack of rain has everything sagging and sad looking.
It's hard to get motivated to do yardwork with the Olympics starting this weekend! I love to watch and hear the stories of our Canadian Olympians.
It would be so easy to make this a true slow-stitching Sunday by watching the Olympics and poking away at my FlowerGarden applique!...
I'm starting to mull over ideas of quilting this quilt. I know what I'd like to try but find the idea a little intimidating! This quilt is at least two years in the making, so far, so I want to do it justice with the quilting, as well.
It would be nice to plunk myself in front of the tv with my applique and Olympic excitement, but I just have a few more hours of this quilt on the longarm...
It would be nice to get it done, but I'm afraid my back is flaring up again so I don't know if I can....so maybe applique and Olympics it is!!
I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching and with Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh,Scrap!
Have a great day!
I guess today I am walking the walk of shame.
Yes, I've gone and done it....started yet another quilting project.
Last week I mentioned a new sew-along called 100blocks100days. You can read about it here.
The idea is to use Tula Pink's book to make all 100 blocks, one block per day, starting on August 17th. By posting your daily progress on Instagram you would be eligible for all sorts of quilty prizes.
Of course I had to try a block....adorable!
New Recipe
I tried something new yesterday on advice from my daughter. Dairy-free pudding made of chia seeds! It's actually quite yummy and you can find all sorts of chia pudding recipes on Pinterest. Mine didn't thicken up very well, maybe because I used coconut milk instead of almond milk?
I will definitely do this again. I'm showing a picture even though I know it doesn't look all that appetizing...but it is good!...and all the nutritional value of the chia seeds!
There is the choice of blending it to make it less lumpy but, like the chef states, it's not necessary and only creates more dishes by using the blender/food processor!
Also, as a bonus, no sugar. There were a couple of choices and I chose to use maple syrup...but you don't taste the maple syrup at all.
As I finish this post we are nearing the end of yet another heat-wave (at least it's not snow!) and we had a look of a storm on the horizon. We went out and gathered in the chair cushions, etc....now it's all sunny again.
Have a great weekend!
August marks the beginning of the end of the applique of my FlowerGarden quilt!
I have all the stems basted down. Normally I would start appliqueing all the leaves that need to be tucked under the stems before the stems are actually sewn down.
....but I couldn't resist starting out with this big, fat, beautiful flower that will be at the top of the border...
I had pinned it all down, but with all the manipulating of the piece while it's being sewn I decided to baste it first. The pins were coming out a bit and I was being poked by pins....not fun. Totally worth the little bit of time to baste it.
This will be my first time linking up with Red Letter Quilts for One Monthly Goal. So my goal for August is to complete this final border for my FlowerGarden by Kim McLean. Here are the borders that are completed so far (with still a little tweaking to come)...
I am also linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts today for Let's Bee Social.
Have a great day!
I just want to pass along a "must read" post by Stephie Boon today at Dawn Chorus Studio.
You can read it here.
If ever someone wanted to know why we take part in this quilting hobby, her words just about sum it up!
I always think of each quilt as a journey. I'm not concerned that my quilts usually take a couple of years to finish. It's what it brings to my life each day....peace and reflection....and many friends!
When I hear people say that they just don't have the patience to do something like make a quilt, I know that they just don't "get it", and I don't try to explain because those people will have to find their own way to slow down the pace of their lives.
I love that Stephie will finally get to cuddle up in her quilt and the memories that it holds.
A Year in My Life refers to my version of the Quilty365 project.
This is just a quick update to how mine is going.
I began on November 12, 2015 and this picture represents all the blocks from then to July 23, 2016!
This is seventeen rows of fifteen blocks....equaling 255 blocks...so far!!!....way over the hump!
I'm still enjoying the process, although I admit I do fall a bit behind at times. I hope for the next month to at least prep a block per day. I may not have them appliqued right away as I want to focus on my FlowerGarden quilt this month.
Maybe every heart in this quilt will not be specifically reminiscent of that particular day, but many blocks will be significant for me....a friend's birthday, the birth of my grandson, painful times, and joyous ones, etc.
We can visit Audrey over at Quilty Folk to check out many more Quilty365 blocks.
Of course, with the end of this quilt in sight (November), another project is tempting me, as I talked about here, in Sunday's post.
Have a great day!
