Table Topper This Week

Last week's sewing project was an alteration, a pair of my grandson's wool suit pnts becuse he's taller than when he bought the suit, and he also needed a couple of inches at the waist.

We thought he could just buy a new pair of suit pants, but the color had been discontinued.  it's a very, very dark navy.  I'm grateful that th jacket still fit and now the pants do too.

I wanted to start out this week with a mindless project before going back to comforter binding - four mor to go, my goal for this week is two.

I had four blocks left over from the Moda Blockheads project, so it was easy enough to sew them together for a table topper, then quilt and bind.

I'd never tried out the laser feature of my sewing machine - it projects a thin red line to guide the sewing.  This quilting probablly wasn't the best project for using it, but it was fun to try it out.  I'll come back to it  again.

Enough?

It's almost August - and maybe this is enough flower shopping..

Maybe.

When I lived in Michigan, a frost could come any time after Labor Day.

But this is Kentucky, and I'm looking forward to a nice long fall.

Once, many years ago, my husband was mowing the yard in Kentucky when his sister called from Michigan.  They were shoveling snow there.  And my husband, in typical youngest child fashion, took great delight in this.

Future Monarch

 

This year there are three milkweed plants in my garden, but so far just one monarch caterpillar.  I keep looking hopefully for more, but so far there is only one.

Lots of seed pods, one faithful bee, but just one caterpillar.  Maybe there's still time. Maybe I'll have to be happy with just one.

Every morning, I look.

Marigolds

 

It's been a long time since I've had pretty marigolds, but this seems to be their year.

Of course they came marked down at the big box store, looking just a little unhappy, but they've thrived in a tub of Miracle Grow potting soil.

I added a couple of day lilies which languished on my back porch all winter.  They don't seem to be doing as well as when they sat in their containers on the porch.  Maybe they like just plain dirt rather than the good stuff.

There is a new butterfly bush growing happily in the "just plain dirt."  I know it might b a little invasive, we'll see.  But it's all by itself in a spot where nothing else seems to grow.  It's in the back yard, away from the pollinator plants.

If you have concerns about it, Master Gardener Joanne, let me know.

Rain

 

It's raining on and off, and when it rains, it rains hard.  It seems like we've had a flood watch for days.

I met my cardio goal for the week sweeping water in the basement toward the drain, so there's that.  Not a flood, don't worry.

My only trip out today was to the quilt shop, I'd been thinking about that all week.  I picked up the fifth block of the month (and still haven't started the first one.)

Then there was a pattern for a zipper bag, a very simple one that I'll use again and again.  And a kit for a table runner that I've been admiring in the shop.

I rarely buy kits, but the sample looks so pretty and I can use the basic design for other projects.

But first, an embroidery job needs to be started.

Comforter Binding

 

I'm way behind on sewing binding on comforters for Mennonite Central Committe.  Our group got a nice stash of comforter tops some time ago from Indiana and we've been knotting those, one or two a month.  

Only thing is, there are only two of us who can sew on binding, and we've both ended up behind because of various health/travel issues.

This week I've binded five, which put a nice dent in catching up.  I need to pivot now because of an embroidery job, then I'll be back.

My favorite binding method is machine sewn, starting with sewing the binding on the back, then flipping it around to the front and turning it under.  A hot iron is so, so helpful for getting the binding flat.  Binding clips speed things up, just a quick pinch instead of putting in a pin.

A three-part zig zag stitch ensures that the binding won't pull loose if it gets snagged.  That stitch slows down the process but it's totally worth it.

As I stitch, I enjoy thinking about where the comforter will end up, it could be anywhere.

Raccoon Saga

 

For my birthday, around the summer solstice, my neighbor gifted me with a beautiful bouquest.  And now, on this seventh day of July, some of those flowers are still looking pretty and summer-y.

Like many others, I'm glad that last week's heat has lowered about ten degrees.  We've had a few nice showers.  I'm no longer itching from misquito bites that come with summer watering.

The raccoon saga - a neighbor saw a raccoon going in and out of my chimney.  After a while I had a chimney cap installed, the chimney guy didn't see raccoons, and the projected time for raccoon babies to be born and grown had passed.

Only thing was, mama and babies must have been hiding in an L at the bottom of the chimney flue.  After a few days, mama got desperate and worked at the flue covering in the basement and was able to work it loose.

She ate a couple of bags of Cheetos I had on a table, also sampled most of a bag of flour, drank toilet water, and went back to the babies.  Her tracks were in the flour and she left a mess behind.

I don't do critters well, two neighbor men nicely helped make sure she was back in the chimney, and they wedged the flue cover so she couldn't make her way back.  My daughter helped me clean up the mess she left behind.  Thankfully, the basement is unfinished.

The chimney guy came back and removed the chimney cap so mama could come and go and the babies could get bigger.  And now we wait.  A couple of nights ago there were still little squeaks, so the family is still there.

Apparently several neighbors have had similar stories, chimney caps have appeared, and mama moves on to the next house.