Flower Friday: June 13, 2025

 

Happy Flower Friday!

Hoping you have a lovely holiday!  We will be having rain again but that's okay, I'll sew.

Joanne's lovely hibiscus with a pink center.  I've never seen this kind before!

Pete's lovely clematis!

Beth's stunning Mountain Laurel!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lucky

 

Woof!

He's a beautiful boy!

Lucky is doing well despite having some seasonal allergies.  We've been inside a lot during this rainy season but we still walk throughout the day.

I was cleaning out the sewing room one day and was surprised that Lucky is still afraid of this doll.  The doll has been sitting there for months; he just noticed it that day.

Anyway, he is fine and doing well!

Tomorrow is Flower Friday and if you like, you can share of your photos!  Email me at allentownquilter@gmail.com.

 

Tuesday This and That: June 10, 2025

 

Welcome to another edition of This and That!

On Sunday, Lucky and I passed a grazing deer as we walked the park.  The deer didn't care about us and Lucky (still) isn't sure what to make of the deer.

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The Salem witch trials have nothing compared to Scotland.  Between 1563 and 1736, an estimated 2,500 people were executed in Scotland for witchcraft.  Since 2020, two women have been campaigning for an official apology and some kind of national memorial.  

And below is a special tartan plaid made in honor of those who perished.

You can read about this at the Smithsonian website here or listen to a podcast at Haptic and Hue about here.  It's a fascinating subject and one I had no idea about until recently.

***

Friday's session of giving away plants to neighbors was cancelled.  It's been raining off and on since then.  Not sure when we will get the plants out and transplanted!  How's the weather where you are?

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Wishing you a safe and happy day!

Pins and Needles

 

So just out of curiosity, what are your favorite kind of pins to use?  I've tried a variety but I love Dritz button flat head buttons.

I love how sturdy these pins are and that I can use them for foundation paper piecing as well.  I did try the new silicone pins for a while.

It's great that they can withstand heat but I'm pretty careful with my iron.  The main reason I discarded them was because I found them more difficult to pick up off a smooth surface.

I've been going through my (hand sewing)  needles more and I really need to create a needle book.  I now use a variety of them for different projects.  What is your favorite needle?  Do you have a needle book?

Have a safe and happy day!

Flower Friday: June 6, 2025

 

I'm still trying to create my piece of heaven in my backyard.  I've moved more plants and pulled 5 garbage cans of weeds last week.  

Later today, some of my neighbors are coming in to take some plants from the front yard garden (that I'm still trying to empty).  Saturday and Sunday look cooler so I'll probably get some more work done.  I can't work when it is really hot and humid.

Here's what is blooming in my garden:

Feverfew:

Sundrops:

Astrantia:

The Lavender is beginning to bloom:

On our walk, we saw Red Hot Poker flowers.  I always thought it was a weird name since the flowers are orange and yellow:

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!

Ocean

I'm a big supporter of The Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center.  This month, they are featuring an international traveling quilt exhibit entitled "Ocean".  It begins June 6 and ends August 3.  My understanding about this is it features an international array of current quilters and the only place the entire collection will be featured is at the Schwenkfelder.

I don't make it out often to attend shows but I'm hoping to get there to see the exhibit.  Summer is jammed already with doctor appointments for family members but I'll do my best to get there.

For more information, see here.

Have a safe and happy day!

 

Sewday 1

 

I would love to have a Sewday and stay home all day in the sewing room.  With caregiving and other chores, that rarely happens.  

I'm still doing a lot of handwork.  I continue to do quilt as you go hexagons in the evening.  I'm using an assembly line method.  First I cut them all out, then I hand sew them pulling the back to the front.  I'm at the hand sewing stage now.  After that I will piece the table toppers together.  I've been making cans of them:

I'm also making some mug rugs for my guild's craft show in the fall.  I tried to use 2.5 inch binding again but it was too hard on my hands.  I'm back to 3 inch strips.

All these projects are scrapbusting and that is wonderful.  

I won't be taking on anything new this week.  It looks like it's not going to rain for the rest of the week and I HAVE to do more in the garden.  That will take up most of this week.

Have a safe and happy day!