Blue Beard Blooming

About 3 years ago, I decided I didn't have many flowers blooming in my yard in the fall.  I went out and bought 3 blue beard plants.  They were just little twigs then, and I planted them what I thought was a good distance apart.  Now they are overgrown, too close to a baby crepe mytle, and need to be moved. I wanted to wait until they bloomed one more time.

 

They attract lots of bees and butterflies.

 

 

Chase and Keeper went out with me this morning when I was taking pictures.

 

 

Keeper watched me from the patio.  He doesn't like to walk on grass.  I suspect he was raised in a kennel with cement floors.  He was found wandering around in the woods about 3 years ago.  He had Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, double ear infections, worms and was about 15 lb. underweight.  Now he is healthy, and you wouldn't suspect his past unless you look at his ears, which are shredded at the edges.  I also think he was fixed by an amateur because the first vet he saw, couldn't say for sure if he had been neutered or not.  He is timid and very independent.  He has just decided that he likes to be petted, but he doesn't understand how to fetch or play. 

 

 

Chase is our watch dog. He is always alert and lets me know when there are any birds in the yard or people in the cul-de-sac.  He is nine years old,  about 30 lb., built like a corgi but with the coat and tail or a golden.  He loves to play and do tricks.  We call him our circus dog.  He can roll over, give high fives, spin, and fetch a ball.  Chase is neurotic and axious. He was getting over-dependent on me which is why we took in Keeper, hoping the canine company would help him.  

 

 

 

One Block Wonder and the Die Cutter

At my class last night we focused on getting our fabrics lined up and getting them cut.  The plan was to use the store's die cutter to speed up the cutting.  But the die cutter was acting up and not cutting cleanly.  The owner tried several things to fix it, but none of them worked.  About 1/3 of my 'blocks' got cut out, so I will have to go back again next week.  Here are 30 sets all cut out.

In theory, the die cutter saves cutting time and also trimming time since there are no dog ears.  It is a little frustrating, though, to have to go back. No one in the class got all their triangles cut. There was a lady from Williamsburg in the class who did not get hers finished either, and she has to drive an hour to come back to the shop.  I hope things get figured out before I go back.

This weekend will be consumed with a soccer tournament, so no sewing until next week.

Stash Report, Plus Eight Yards

This week I added 8 yards of fabric to my stash for  a stack and whack class  I'm takingThursday night.  This was the most expensive fabric I've ever bought ($11.49/yard!), but I liked it, and I had a gift certificate to use.

I used Marti Michell's Magic Mirrors to see what kind of blocks I can expect to have.

Used this week: 0  yards

Used Year to Date: 64.75 yards

Added this week: 8  yards

Added year to date:  30 yards

Net Used: 34.75  yards

Spider Web Quilt Top Done, Stash Report

This week I got the spider web quilt top put together.  It's not quilted yet because I quilt by checkbook, and we have 2 college tuition payments coming up soon.

Used this week: 5.5  yards

Used Year to Date: 64.75 yards

Added this week: 0 yards

Added year to date: 22 yards

Net Used: 42.75 yards

World Yo Yo Contest

One of my kids is competing in the World Yo-Yo Contest in Orlando Florida this weekend.  Bet most of you didn't even know there was such a thing.  Here's the link to the live feed:

http://www.worldyoyocontest.com/2012worlds/

Yo-yo players compete in the trick ladder ( a list of tricks that gets consequently harder), off-string yo-yoing (yo-yo not attached to a string), free style (yo-yoing to music) and yo-yoing with a counterweight on the end of the string.  There are also top  and diablo contests.  Most of the players are boys and young men.  It takes a lot of coordination and practice to learn the tricks. 

When my son first got interested in yo-yos, my husband would take him down for the competition.  Later, all of us would go down as a family and hit Disney while we were down there.  This year, it's just my husband and son again.  He is being sponsored this year by G Squared, a newish company.  When you are sponsored by a yo-yo company, you usually get your registration fee paid for competitions.  You also get free t-shirts.  You don't get rich!

How does this relate to quilting?  I want to make my son a t-shirt quilt out of his yo-yo shirts.  He has quite a collection.  Most of them are black or another dark color (the better to see the yo-yo string).  If you have any words of wisdom for making t-shirt quilts, please let me know. I have also been looking for novelty fabric with yo-yos on it.  Once in a while I find something printed with old fashioned toys, but those prints are generally too babyish for a 20 year old guy.  So let me know if you ever see a yo-yo fabric, please.

Not a Hosta

Two years ago, my neighbor split her hostas and gave some to me.  I planted them on the shady side of the house next to the driveway.  One of them turned out to be a canna plant, not a hosta.  I thought cannas needed sun, but these are thriving in the shade.  They need to be thinned out this fall.

My garden doesn't look great this time of year.  It is too hot to do a lot of weeding. Some of my  flowers were planted years ago,  and since then, trees have grown up and are shading plants that need full sun. The day lilies aren't blooming very well.  I think they need to be split.  I have a lot of transplanting to do this fall.

Thread

I know lots of quilters buy lots of fancy threads.  I don't quilt my own tops, so I usually just buy Aurifil thread in a neutral color to piece with.  But I have a lot of lesser quality thread left over from my garment making days.  I store it on racks inside my walk in closet.  It is a hodgepodge of Mettler, Gutterman, Dual Duty and Piece Goods store brand. Piece Goods went out of business many years ago.  I think some of this thread is at least 25 years old.  My mother used to give me spools of Piece Goods thread (5 spools for $1) in my Christmas stocking when I was a teenager.  It is very linty, so I use it for sewing on the occasional button and zigzagging around linen when I cross stitch.

Karen at Sew Many Ways is hosting a Thread Organization Linky Party.

http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/2012/07/thread-organizing-linking-partyshare.html

 

This week I made 2 more pillowcases for my son.  I also worked on my spider web quilt, but it's not done yet

Used this week: 2.25 yards

Used Year to Date: 59.25 yards

Added this week: 0 yards

Added year to date: 22 yards

Net Used: 37.25 yards