THE HEART OF HOME: A Year of Remembrance Project, et al

My "Heart of Home" project is coming

along now...

I am celebrating our 60th

Wedding Anniversary by

working on this.

  

Sept 11th, 1965...

Phew--so many years ago--

a whole lifetime really...

Tempus Fugit for sure...

🎼🎹🎷📅

These four little vignettes I plan

to put together 

into one bigger

piece..

This block is really finished...

(our joyous life together);

and  this one

below

is just about done also

Almost, anyway--I need a 

heart of some kind in that large

pink area at the top...

with the Winds of Time moving

us along in life...

and

perhaps I will outline that area 

with some couched sari silk

echoing the outlined heart on

the first panel.  

(Our Gardens, so many meals, 

cups of coffee and tea, etc.--

family life together)

The following two are in process:

This block is all basted down with

the backgrounds in place; it

needs additional feature elements 

reflecting our home life...

AND...

This final block is just pin basted

with backgrounds only and a few

natural elements 

that have featured prominently 

in our lives:

Deer visits, owls calling

during the night, and

lovely snow falls under a full moon...

perhaps Christmases together...

These are my long term slow stitch 

project for this year of remembrance...

Finding meaningful feature elements

is such fun for me...searching my

novelty fabrics to find the 

"little" things that meant so much

through the years...

💙💜💞

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

Meanwhile, my poor tomato plants 

are slowly fading away....

as summer passes into Fall 

here in SE CT...

Our driest summer yet has not helped at all either; 

even though we have watered assiduously, 

I think the colder nights have taken 

their toll on them...

They are still producing a few cherry

tomatoes --and lots of greens

They are hanging on for dear life.

While...

those naughty squirrels are 

feasting on them

by taking only

one bite and then 

leaving the remainder

to rot...

I found this travesty this morning...

are they teasing us????

I mean really...how annoying can you be????

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

Here are the October place mats

 I made for Willa and Fiona...

along with those 

Harry Potter"kisses" for a 

little Halloween treat....;))

Isn't that fabric just a "Hoot"???

So cute and funny...

That's the latest "goings on" here from

the house on the hill for 

this First day of Autumn...

hugs, Julierose

La Blageuse,

("still-crazy-after-all-these-years"-euse)

STARS X2, et al

 

I put the 2nd block together this morning and

set up the next two whole blocks...

I am debating whether to make 2 or 4 more...

I have enough to make 6 in total...and

I do like how the diamond

shape is emerging 

in the center a lot...

Six vertically would make 

a lovely table runner

with borders...

Stay tuned...;)))

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

Le Chef Tom is making his

 Tuna Noodle casserole

for us for dinner today;

I will provide the sliced tomatoes

and cucumbers...along with

applesauce for the sides.

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

Meanwhile, 

 we will be watching Formula One from

Azerbaijan which is the "Quali" today.

(short for qualifying for first position for

the race tomorrow--called 

"Pole position"--

much desired for obvious reasons)

And I hope to do some more quilting

on Sunrise, Sunset...this afternoon...

while watching.

I have 

completed the two blocks

the middle row above--↑↑↑↑

and begun 

↧↧↧↧

working my way around the next center strippy block..

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

We have been having a run of lovely sunny, coolish 

days here and are trying to sit outside a little

bit in between various housekeeping chores...

💕👫💕

Have a wonderful weekend

Hugs,

Julierose, La Blageuse

(still quilting-along-euse)

SLOW DAYS, et al

 

I've been wanting to use up my 5"and 2.5" 

precuts for a while now...a lot of

them are leftovers from different packs...

Here they are stacked up and

ready to be trimmed up to 4 1/2"

This is the "try-out"  (1/4 block) I 

made to see if I like it and

if I like making it, too.

(these need to be trimmed up before 

sewing as you can see)

Four of these scrappy sqs set in

 this configuration will make this

lovely star block:

(I saw this on Beth's Youtube :

"My Sewing Room" and really 

like how it looks...)

Above is the first block of my 

"Not going to make anything new" 

project for the Fall months...

😀😁😂😃😄😅😆

[Didn't last long, did it?]

I plan to just trim the four pieces 

needed for each block before 

I sew---

 and not do a mass

trimming up to 

save my shoulders 

and hands...

This is my "slow machine project" for

days when I cannot hand quilt...

AND

am otherwise searching for backings

for my old UFO's--which,

BTW 

I find pretty tiring...

S I G H 

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

Here is an early morning

shot of our skies today

Just so beautiful.....

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

I am still working on hand quilting 

"Sunrise, Sunset";

so far --one block is totally completed

⇩⇩⇩⇩

and

I have begun the 2nd of the 6 blocks

just above it...

⇊⇊⇊⇊

Quilting slowly and working for

only 15 minute intervals

I hope will be easier on my

hands and shoulders....

I hope your week is going well...💗

Hugs, Julierose,

La Blageuse

(feeling-better-euse)

"RE-ORGED" FOR NOW, et al

 

Well, I've decided that this is organized enough for

now and for me to be able to find things...

Compared to a whole lot of stash photos online, 

mine looks so tiny!! But I am happy with my outcome...

I know where everything is and i can see what I have to

work with now...

A few big bags of real crumbs...too...

And below are the small flimsies to be layered and 

quilted hanging on either side:

So, finishing will be my Autumnal project...

I don't want to begin any new projects 

(huh, and what are the chances of

not doing just that???)

And 

working to finish 

Sunrise, Sunset 

slowly....

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

I had a nasty migraine set in last evening

as a result of the pressure  of

rotary cutting and perhaps

too much reaching up to that

top shelf???

 (and my sinuses, I think, too)

that I relieved with naproxen,

darkness, and sleeping...

Could also be a bit of stress what

with DH's issues right now...

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

And this has been bugging us....

↴↴↴↴

We've been having woodpeckers 

drilling holes in our lovely fencing !!

So.....

....after trying the tin foil strips--

which didn't work at all...

DH put this up

↧↧↧↧

Our new deterrent-friend:

"Horton" 

We do have to name everything it seems...

😆😅😇😉

[Those of you Dr. Seuss readers will

recall "Horton hears a Who" ;))) ]

and, so far, 

he is doing his job 

of keeping those 

woodpeckers at bay...

:)))))))))

Another  plus is....

I think it is so funny that looked at from

a distance he appears to be floating as

the bracket seems to disappear in

the background foliage...

😁😂😃😄

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

I am off to my "yearly" later

this morning and various

errands on my way home..

Hugs, Julierose

La Blageuse

(still-quilting-euse)

SUNRISE, SUNSET, et al

The center strip blocks of Sunrise, Sunset

are getting hand quilted

 little by little....

I have only one more center to quilt and then

I can begin working on the surrounding triangles...

Here is what the central panel of the back

 is looking like with the quilting

running through it...

Aren't all those cute animals funny???

So whimsical...that fox and the bunny, too;))))

I love that I have probably

enough left of the fabric 

to make a little

pillow perhaps ;))))

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

Today, as my back is complaining

 from all the standing

while I sort and fold fabrics--

I am starting on the solid boxes.

I can sit with the box at my

dining table and fold..

.

I think I will begin with

that big red/pink box

↓↓↓↓

Perhaps oranges and peaches can also

reside in there--thus saving space on

my shelves...

Decisions, decisions--

???????

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

Since my bout with Lyme and

Anaplasma diseases-----

my appetite has disappeared

for the most part...;((((

So, I am trying to work up some

enthusiasm for making dinners....

The big question each morning is

"What are we doing for dinner?"

S   I   G   H....

[Well,,,,,,,

I just don't know really!!

I'd just as soon not have any...!!]

AAARGH

Perhaps I am just sick of making these 

decisions after all these years of

doing it!! 

We will have been married

SIXTY YEARS

the 11th of this month...

that is a heck of a lot of decisions....

sounds awful and whine-y but

it is what it is.

👿👹👺👽👾

Do you ever feel like this????

Hugs, Julierose,

La Blageuse

(what's-for-dinner-euse-?????)

 

 

SOME PROGRESS, et al

 

Here are the "starting" color stacks of my prints....

[I say "starting" as I haven't gotten 

into my bins, boxes,

and bags as yet to pull fabrics out...

but there are not really

all that many fabrics left!!

I may have to go "shopping" to round

out some colors as you can tell from the

smaller stacks...--too bad hahaha]

The two bigger bins on the left top hold

whites and "I don't know where

to put these?" prints...

and my Jolly Bars and 10" 

precuts...

and

You can just spy my leftover

bindings bin on the top right...

Here are my solids on the right

still in bins but not

yet re-folded...

I don't seem to use solids

very much so I think storing

 them in bins will work--

at least for now.

↴↴↴↴

All my jelly rolls, etc are stored in this blue bin

on my bottom shelf

and so far my shirtings reside in that plastic

zippy bag next to the pinks/reds bin....

I will be re-assessing these after I have 

gotten into my top shelf

pictured below

↴↴↴↴

I did find my long-lost quilt labels fabric during my

search--so that is good...I need to label a lot

of my finished pieces...;)))

And

While I am sorting and folding I am

coming across lots of little pieces that are now

here

A new collection of 2.5" squares ready to go;))))

I am using my old Accuquilt Go! Baby

cutter and the 2.5" die--even though it has

dulled a lot with age...👾

Lots of these smaller pieces lined up to be cut...

(Does anyone know of a way

 a way to sharpen dies?)

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

While doing this I've felt the need to

break my "no buy" pledge:

So I began with these two great little

Halloween fabrics that I found on sale:

AND

I plan on using them to make my grandgirls--

Willa and Fiona --Halloween placemats...

I think they are just so cute;)))

So far so good--I am resting 

this afternoon after putting

in another 45 minutes this

morning...

I need to pamper my back a bit...

Hugs, Julierose, 

La Blageuse

(still-sorting-euse)

FALL CLEANING OF A SORT, et al

My fabric stash closet mess!! 

It is way past time to get this straightened out

so that I can FIND things and know

 what I HAVE on hand...

YA THINK?????

👺👽👾👿

Here you can see that I've begun

the reds and oranges on the left

neatly stacked 8" x 8"-- 

[with smaller yet not crumb pieces on top];

and these

are just what had been (shoved!) 

placed on the shelf higgeldy-piggeldy

🐖🐖🐖🐖

as they came in...

The left shelves hold all my printed fabrics

and the right (in bins) holds solids--

uh, sort of!!  

I mean really....

I have pulled peaches, pinks and blues

to work on and stacked them on my ironing

board to be dealt with next ...

[and you can see other colors have worked

their way into these piles--I wonder how that

happened hahaha]

↯↯↯↯

I am estimating at least the rest of this week

and perhaps next, also, to really get

my fabric stash  in order...

AND

I realize now that

I don't have a lot of actual full yards--

mostly Fat 1/4's and 1/2 yds...

I am resting my back 

right now, 

from all the standing

and bending needed 

to work on this..

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

This Labor Day will be a quiet one

for us...

I am making my simple bean and hot dog

casserole with a tossed salad and

snowflake rolls...

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

Tomorrow my daughter and Cassidy

(my grand- and her daughter) 

will be joining us for

lunch for a visit before she moves to

live in New Jersey for the next 

phase of her life....

You know you're old👵

 when your two oldest

grands move away to live--

Steven the eldest lives and works in 

Boston...

And life moves inexorably forward

doesn't it????

Happy for them, but a little

sad myself....

I hope you have enjoyed this long 

Labor Day weekend

💕💞😇

Hugs, Julierose

La Blageuse

(re-folding-and-re-stacking-euse)