HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY ALL

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Hugs,

Julierose

La Blageuse

HAND, HAND, FINGERS, THUMB...

 

 I will be on a break until my hands recuperate....;(((((

Hugs, Julierose,

La Blageuse

DARK DAYS , FEBRUARY'S BLOCK 2, et al

 

The Comfort Cloth prompt for

February is "Home".

[K3N Cloth Tales is hosting

this year long slow stitching

SAL]

I am doing wonky little log cabins....

set in two rows....

I just finished my 1st row row today...

[you can see I've set up the

next four little centers 

across the top....]

We have to leave a background 

border 

on all sides of about 

1.5"-2" for joining

the blocks...month by month...

K3N is doing her blocks scattered

"cattywampus" about her cloth using

wedge shapes where they join...

Well,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, s i g h ...........

I began that way last Wednesday and 

by Friday had ripped them all out.

👿👽👺

Working that way just made me 

SO

VERY

 ANXIOUS!! 

This is supposed to be a cloth

to calm you down when you are

working it; 

so,

 I decided to

do my blocks in normal--if a

bit wonky, rows,

I am just free cutting

my fabrics

as I work along to fit

So all the blocks vary in size...

The background is 10" x 18"

so about 1/2  the size of the 1st block

[which is 18"x18"].

See below

↴↴↴↴↴

I've begun adding some more 

stitching with radiating lines

on January's block...

I am using whipped 

running stitches...

and...

There is still a lot more 

stitching to

add onto Block #1...

I love using this Valdani thread...

**********************

AND..

Can you believe that there are now

3 blooms and one bud still left

to open on my Amaryllis...

??????????

Here are a few shots.....

You can see all four above

Here, 3 have fully opened...

and the front one has a slight 

greenish tinge to it...

I really hope I will be able to save this one 

over the Summer to bloom

again next season.....it is so spectacular...

I hope you are all having a

wonderful weekend

Hugs, Julierose,

La Blageuse

(still-slow-stitching-euse)

IT'S THE BERRIES:))), et al

 

I began quilting my Strawberries 

early this morning--

What's a girl to do when she wakes up

at 5 a.m.?????

She, of course.....

decides how she wants/needs to quilt

her berries:))))

(Before someone comes along and

eats them hahaha)

Because my appliqued berries' strips

are so wide and the berries are so

large, I figured they'd have to be

quilted down or the planned

echo quilting around them would just 

POUFF out those fruits!! 

Decided on dark red for the berry

and lighter green for the cap...

I stopped halfway through the cap as

the "HANDS" decided they

were getting tired. 

😒😓😔

I know this will take a long time--but I

am in no hurry; this is my quilting

project for the foreseeable future...

*************

We interrupt this post to

bring you a 

News Flash:

👀👀👀

AMARYLLIS SURPRISES AGAIN!!

THREE more buds appear overnight!!

and .....

not to be outclassed,

 my 

white Christmas Cactus 

is putting

forth lovely, frothy blooms:

After seeing this "Whitey" bloom

 

 "Tangerine" decided to bud out, too!!

My little window garden is coming

alive...;)))

👀💕👀

We still have a bit of snow on the lawns, 

but roads and driveways

are all cleared..

******************************

Today various household chores need

to get done: vacuuming, dusting, 

and general picking-up...

S  I  G  H

Housework is always 

with us, isn't it?

Hugs, Julierose

La Blageuse

(quilting-along-euse)

BACKING UP, et al

 

Here is "proof" (haha) that I am serious about

BB1's return to be finished:

[just in case you wondered?]

😏

I made this backing from very, very "olde"

fabric favorites that I have been

hoarding for years

(Why, you ask??

I don' t know why 

and it's

past time 

to use them )

Look at that lovely field of tulips

(paired with a newer floral)

and

this pink bouquet which has to be one

of my super faves paired with

another semi-new piece...

I think the reverse will contrast nicely

with this  (ahem,  & may I call it??) 

"Vivid" front--

yikers--

talk about

wild and

in your face!! 

What WAS I thinking??

I am looking back to see if I was

unusually stressed? Worried?

Anxious???

?????????????

Anyhoo....

It is what it is and 

it now layered up and

ready for pinning.

which I WAS going to do today,

{REALLY}

but,

 after food shopping early and

then putting together a 

Shepherd's Pie for our

supper tonight,

I have retired to my recliner armed

with a cuppa tea and a blankie...

👀😇👀

And

here it is already lunch time--

time flies when you are 

having fun, right???

AND because you lasted through

all  my silly

wittering..

here is the latest look at 

my Galaxy, Nymph Double 

Flowering amaryllis...

(try saying that 3 times!!);)))

Just heavenly ....

Hugs, Julierose,

La blageuse

(R&R-ing-euse)

 

AMARYLLIS ,et al

 

Yesterday, Amaryllis began to open up...

It looks like

 a striped pink one!!!....

💗;))))💗

(sorry for the dark photo--a very

gray day out there).

AND

this morning early....

She is opening more by the minute...

And....

↓↓↓↓

Now....

you can see the striated petals

Definitely worth waiting for...

So lovely against last night's 

snowfall...

Here is the early morning view from our

back deck--

You can just make out the last

of the snow clouds and the 

sun rising in the far misty morning...

A Winter Wonderland--

All so quiet and

so hushed.....

And now with the sun having 

come out...

the tops of the trees look

gilded..

.

I love the Winter landscape after

snowfall....

***********************
My friend Lizzy

encouraged me to take 

my Bramble Blooms 1

out and revisit it...

she liked my pot of 

little 

crocuses....😇

{I was unhappy as to 

how it came out before--

somehow I felt I had 

failed with this one}

It is resting on my dining room table

right now for a 2nd looksee....

I don't think I will abandon it

after all...

It measures 28" x 28"...

and

I have decided to finish it; as

it was 2024's big project

along with Audrey

for her SAL....

As my first ever effort 

making a 

medallion piece

it contains a lot of my 

favorite fabrics and those 

little yellow roses that

I made long ago...

Soooo,

I am now thinking 

it's worth finishing...

But.....

So so out of my wheelhouse...

😔

Thanks so much, Lizzy,

 for your kind words

 of encouragement.

Hugs, Julierose

La Blageuse

(watching-snow-showering-

off-our-trees-euse)

HELGA RIDES AGAIN/ MY OJOS METHOD

 

After a month-long hand stitching journey, 

Helga and I resumed our Christmas Ojos sewing.  

It felt so good to be at my 

machine again ;))))

Above are the mostly

green ojos

and here

↧↧↧↧

are the mostly red ones.  

I only have four of

the red blocks-- 

(16 separate 4" blocks

seamed together)--

as opposed to 

Six of the green (24 

separate 4" blocks...)

.

So, I went to work on 

making more reds

this morning...

**********************

My method: 

(this is for you Lizzy)

💖

When I sew strips on 4" telephone

paper squares (diagonally)--

or any size I like,

I only sew through the paper on

the first two strips:

(right sides together)

After this, I only use the paper

to measure how long the strip

should be to cover the paper and

I fold back the paper:

so, I am only sewing cloth to cloth.

Then I iron the strip open and 

unfold the paper to measure for

the following strip.  

I do this on all the remaining 

strips on both sides....

So at the end, I only have ONE 

sewn seam to remove and the

paper comes off very easily;)))

You can see the one seam here on

the completed square...

All my strips hang over the edges

and I then use the paper to trim to size.

And I do not add any seam allowance

when cutting; I just trim to the paper size.

Here you can see how I am just

sewing strip to strip with the

paper folded back...

I am sure there are many other methods, 

but this is how I do it; as I

really dislike tearing papers

off as often seams come apart on me.

[As a side note, I tend to tear my

fabrics into the size strips that

I want as I go--no hours pre-cutting

for these...the only cuts I 

may do using my dies

are triangles for the corners which

aren't really necessary but I find

easier for good coverage. ]

********************

I am trying to use up most of my older

Christmas red, green, gold and

red/white fabrics.  They have been

around way too long; 

I am attempting

a no buy year...😏😔😏

With all the gorgeous new fabrics

coming out I find this very hard.

BUT, at 81, 

I feel that I must use up

as much as I can to whittle down

my stash....

Hugs for a wonderful 

and productive 

weekend,

Julierose,

La Blageuse

(Ojos-ing-along-euse)