Lavender in the Dye Pots

pulled out my copy of Karen Kahle's

Little Book of Lavender...

rats, out of the dyes so made up my own recipes...

two dye pots going

one more blue, one more red

I hope

this is one of the Pinterest images 

that inspired the dyeing

might do some of those chartreuse greens next

if you want to see how my dyeing has been going

check out the previous days for the "after photos"

yesterday's grays dyed green
are still waiting for a rinse and dry

will add them to the older

post tomorrow

hope that makes sense

I am bored silly with my fabric stash

between mom and I most of it has been around

20-30 years

am not interested in new fabric though

too much to use up

or dog!

Hope you're having a great weekend

I'm off and resting my achy legs and feet

my own fault

for gaining weight over the winter

depression contributes to my eating issues

but I just like food too much!

the struggle has begun to lose weight again

~~~~~

I  hope don't mind seeing Jensen's handsome face 

for a few more days

first he makes me smiles as an actor and a person

second my electronics are giving me an issue 

with changing the header photo

Recent Hooking and Swap

swap quilt from Marian Edwards

of Australia

top photo ~ 

is from a few days ago

the rug is now hooked and whipped

needs some wool strips to finish

about 24 x 46

makes me want to hook larger rugs

bottom photo ~

just finished hooking today

pattern by Red House Wool Studio

Harvest Blessings

15.5 x 19.5

so a few weeks ago my desktop crashed

have been using my phone or laptop

for most things

still getting the hang of blogging on laptop

a few more days left of my vacation

as always no painting was done

given the choice between hook/needle and brush

I am never going to get my walls repainted

at least they are clean

as are the baseboards and all the trim

so I did a little prep work

that should count for something...

wishing all my friends

sweet dreams tonight

and a joyful tomorrow

In Progress

I have been on a real

red, white and blue kick this summer

this is one of many small quilts

in progress

*****

plus a few favorite Pinterest finds...

 this cat!

 

this quilt!

I've already started cutting the triangles...

 

 this door!

 

this is me...

Wishing everyone a wonderful day!

 

Simply Squares

 all images from Pinterest

I've been doing a lot of hand stitching lately

plenty of 9 patch blocks

along with other random stars, flags and log cabins

mostly just squares

with no real plan for the squares

I search antique quilts for the perfect setting

by the time I find it

there may be enough squares for a few

bed size quilts 

 

forever drawn to green

this one really has my attention

I have also been hooking some

sewing room angels

based on antique cookie cutters...

As my fabric collection is too large

to require any shopping

I am tea dyeing some of my pinks today 
just to change things up

 *****

I've also been keeping busy

being one of the administrators of an amazing

Facebook group

Quilts by Cheri ~ Friendship Group

as you may know, Cheri passed away 

April 15, 2018

it has been my pleasure and honor 

to help keep her memory and spirit alive

she started this group in 2016

to share her love of primitive quilts with kindred spirits

please be sure to request membership 

if you'd like to join in

our goal is to be positive at all times...

Hugs,

thanks for hanging around during my 

blogging lulls...

Displaying Quilts

 Pinterest 
as always 
has provided me with some inspiring photos of quilt displays...
 

 I have a lot of quilts

many stitched by Mom

others from my sister

a few on my own

plenty more tops that need quilting

 I have a quilt ladder

would love to display them unfolded

this might be a job 

for favorite brother in law...

 am going to start adding these triangles

to my small quilts as I finish them 

How do you display your quilts?

Lori Rippey need not reply...

your displays are an inspiration to us all!

Cats and Wool

so rare to find these two close to each other

they were both enjoying the breeze

from the front door

Olivia was there first...

the quilt on the back of the couch 

is the last one Mom made for me 

from 2011

I've been using it for napping

*****

dyeing more wool before work today

I'm getting ready to list it for sale

later this week

$11 a fat quarter

plus shipping based on your zip code

USA only

if I don't sell even one piece

it'll be fine

all the colors look so gorgeous next to each other

I haven't dyed much in a very long time

these will add some joy to my hooking

Happy Tuesday!

Color Inspiration

I do enjoy a good cozy mystery

so will probably pick this up at the library

it caught my eye on Pinterest because of the colors...

everywhere you look

there is color inspration

*****

filling the wool orders today

off to the post office tomorrow

it's been fun going through all my wool

I now have an even larger stack to overdye

the rest is looking so pretty on the shelves

it will be a shame to mess it up again

 *****

Ewe Are Loved 

I haven't been much interested in quilt making lately

this one could change my mind...

their goofy eyes crack me up

Hooking and Stitching

this is as far as I got yesterday

using strips from the worm baskets

out of colors I want to use from here on in

 personal challenge to finish hooking

without cutting another strip

Inspiration:

 

from New England

1920-1930

love those faces

 

haven't stitched on naything in ages

maybe even since Mom passed in May

log cabins are a perennial favorite

cutting some strips this morning

to put in my work tote

*****

also in my work tote is some car wax

we wax the x ray tables and slide boards

making it easier to move patients on/off from carts

since I'm obviously not keeping up with car waxing...

Wishing you a beautiful Sunday! 

Random Quilt Love



most of these quilts I love for the design

when looking at them

my mind seems them in the colors I'd use...

hot and humid yesterday and today

that means indoor work

cleaning, moving furniture around

more cleaning

lots of cat brushing

Giving Thanks

 

 

over the years

I have been very thankful

to come from a family of readers

reading to learn

to laugh

to heal

to relax

to escape...

 

the written word

has brought much to my life

 

lately

I've been reading everything

I can about Alzheimer's

my "go to" place is the

 

Alzheimer's Reading Room

 

founded by Bob DeMarco

this site is wealth of information

from the articles to the comments

I have learned

how to better communicate with Mom

how to be a better

caregiver

a better person

 

~~~~~

 

We had a very nice Thanksgiving today

brunch with my sister and her husband

here at home

they cooked and brought over most of the food

a real treat for both of us

all I did was fried potatoes...

even better is leftovers for lunch tomorrow

you know cooking is not my thing

 

Mom and I spent the rest of the day stitching

watching peaceful TV shows

The National Dog Show

Andy Griffith

American Pickers

Pawn Stars

 

yesterday Melrose and I had a contest

to see who could nap the most

he won...he does have more time to practice

 

Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving night...

sweet dreams

 

 

 

 

 

Home

no flowers here

just snow and more snow

the birds were wild about the feeder today

nearly emptying it out 

in a few short hours

with the squirrels dashing around the ground

then trying to get past the baffle

then climbing a small tree...

grand entertainment for Mom

she's been stitching

reading (letters and short articles)

practicing walking without her walker

testing the peanut butter fudge I made

some easy days

that we both enjoy

Folk Art Applique

a book on my wish list

(aka in my cart at amazon)

Jan Patek image and pattern

I know I've told you before

that mom sitched four of these

Bible Quilts

from the Jan Patek pattern

on a recent visit my sister and BIL

hung my quilt in Mom's living room

she loves to look at it

and keeps saying

she doesn't believe she made it

and three others

I've been moving some things slowly

in to her house...

looking at all my quilts

has been a treat

she says seeing them makes her

want to start stitching again...

tomorrow

 during a Pinterest ramble

this caught my eye

~~~~~~~

over my initial freak out

about Mom

or my dealing with the reality of her

mental status...

there was never any question

that moving in with her was the right decision

now it just seems to be

taking too long...

Dad is doing good

I've been taking him outside

in the mornings to read the paper

he's loving the sunshine and fresh air

Each day brings a new challenge

for all of us...

some bright spots too

Thank you for your prayers

for your emails

your friendship

my time online is a little

bit of peace



Patches and Thread

I see this in browns...

when time allows

Mom has been going through her

sewing room

finding container after container

full of thread...

who knew she collected more

than scissors and fabric?

sgcountrysampler quilt

image

found on Pinterest

oh boy do I love this one...

easy scrappy

easy enough for the sewing machine!

another for my

someday list

More Candy

all images from Pinterest

I save them to enjoy the color and workmanship

I have no further information on any of the photos...

I am ever so slowly packing my stuff

still much to do for the folks each day

leaving little free time

maybe this weekend when I'm off...

Thanks Pinterest

if it wasn't for

Pinterest

I'd have missed all these

inspiring images...

like this amazing bit of storage

speechless!

there has to be

a pattern for this...

wool from Blackberry Primitives

...drool



another use for some of that

Army green wool

large pennies...

~~~~~~~