Garden Walk

No stitching in this post, just a few pretty blossoms from my garden, where I have been spending most of my daylight hours. There is just something soothing about digging in the dirt.

We are hard at work on new backyard garden beds.

 

Herb trough.Those two rosellehibiscus in the back got zapped by an unexpected cold night.




Take care, stay safe and well,

Jennie

Cross Stitch, Hooking, Etc.

More days of gardening, cooking, eating, stitching, Prime movies and generally just wondering what day it is. I must admit that I am enjoying the slowed pace, but there are things that I do miss. Like eating out, family and friend contact and running to the nursery to select plants for that perfect spot. But we are well, and life is good. 

On the hooking front I only made the tiniest bit of progress. A little more background on The Reader.

Cross stitching got a bit more effort, as that is what I do at night when watching a movie with Blake.

I have finished six of the eight Prairie Schooler Santas from this leaflet.

I have done one a month since January, which is my goal. They will become ornaments, hopefully before  Christmas.


Next up is the Ann Roberts stitch along. I am up to date through March with a little extra to spare.

Then there is Berry Thief Pinkeep,  which was from a previous year’s Scattered Seed Sampler Club. Here it is before assembly.

And here it is after.

It was my first try at constructing a berry pinkeep, and I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. I followed Vonna The Twisted Stitcher’s video tutorial, which was a big help.

Top. The charm was silver, but I tinted it a bronze color to match better.

Feather stitching down back. It is stuffed with crushed walnut shells from PetSmart.

I want to make a whole bowl of berries, so successfully constructing one was a big step forward.

Next up is my coronavirus stitch. Everyone needs one, right?? To be able to say “This is what I stitched during the Pandemic of 2020”.

I chose “My Heart Can Rest”, one of Blackbird Designs’ 2020 market releases, here....

This is my start. Parchment 40 ct linen with called for overdyed flosses. A sweet and pleasant stitch...nothing too difficult.


Lastly on the cross stitch front is Martha Scott by Gigi R. 

I had made a start on her, but set her aside for the pandemic stitch.


My birthday was April 8th, and my girls treated me to birthday cake in Ashley’s backyard. Except for these photos, we were pretty good about social distancing.

It was wonderful to be with my family,  even though we didn’t touch. The cake was delish, too.


This pretty little rose is truly an antique. We moved it from hubby’s aunt’s yard.

Such sweet little blooms.


So that’s about it for today.


Stay safe and take care,

Jennie

A Month

It’s been a month since I last posted. And what a strange month it has been. We have all been impacted by this pandemic in some way. Despite the death, fear and economic crisis it has caused, it has made people slow down, spend more time with their families, cook at home....the list goes on.  Having been a nurse in my working life, I find total empathy with all of those folks on the frontline. I admire them, fear for them, hurt for them and for their families who are also sacrificing. On the other hand, I have made up my mind to make the best of this situation. Hubby and I have spent lots of time in the yard, I have done some stitching (but not as much as I thought), praying, cooking and cleaning. But I will admit that concentrating is difficult and I find myself gazing into space more often than not.  Hope all of you are well. Enough...,

This is mostly a Quilty blog because I just haven’t photographed anything else. These are things that I worked on in the past month.

All 120 heart blocks are appliquéd and ready to be joined into a quilt.

Home Sampler by Kathy Schmitz is embroidered and I am auditioning fabric for borders to make it into a small wall hanging.


My Mary Brown block for March is prepped and ready to applique. Haven’t done anything about an April block yet.


And month six of the Happy Hexies BOM is done.

Month seven has arrived, but I haven’t prepped it yet.

This pretty Japanese roof Iris is blooming in my yard.


Casper wanted inside the veggie garden,

(Note the leafy beard)

but the chickens were having their turn

Did I hear a cheese wrapper??


This sweet girl is missing so many of her Senior year milestones....

but seems to be taking it all in stride. Her school has promised that, at some point, there would be a prom and graduation ceremony. Good for them!!

I will be back soon. In the meantime, 

Take Care,

Jennie