Color audition

Hello, everyone. Today I started working on a small quilt. I pieced a few squares and found some more pieced squares, then raided the (many) charm packs to find some compatible squares. This is just an allover collection of 5" squares. 

I'm auditioning fabric for narrow sashing between the squares.

This is the color shot.

This is as close as my phone gets to plain old black-and-white. (To look at values of the fabrics) Somewhere during updating, some idiot decided that I REALLY need about 8 different color variations but only 2 that are at least close to B&W. And at the end of the row there's a little arrow. I tapped it to see if the B&W option has been hidden in the corner. NO-O-O!  The arrow leads to some pitch that involves Samsung membership update. Or something. They don't even tell you why you want to do that.

Way to go, Samsung! That was pure genius. (Not, for the sarcasm impaired!)

I might move or change out one of those dark purple squares. They're both batiks. I'm pretty sure there is a milder shade of purple available in the stash. 

Tried out a new (to me) design

Hello,  everyone.  

The new design is a rose, that was sitting in my hard drive. I don't remember where I got it. I'm getting into Christmas prep mode and wondered if it would be a usable ornament, or be part of gift tuck-in froufrou.

This is a 5 inch charm square--quilting cotton. The heart completely filled the side to side dimension. Also the fabric needs a backing. I could see it as the decoration for a small pouch...on a  6 inch square with some light batting behind for support. It would need a reverse side square if it were the front of a bag.l, or it could be appliquéd onto a larger item like a tote.

I could see this heart on felt, too, actually. (With felt backing or cotton backing) A little big for a Christmas tree ornament but it could be hung from a biggish wreath.

This was a fun little break from chores and used up a charm square. 

Flowers for the Hot Season

Hello,  everyone.  It is indeed the hot season for the garden. 

A year or two ago, we got some tiny Desert Rose plants at the home show. They had tags promising different colors but were obviously young seedlings. This year two of them are blooming.

This one had made a single bloom a month or so ago; now there is a whole collection of the ivory yellow double blossoms. 

This one has single blossoms  that start out dark and get a little lighter as they open.

The desert rose plants are happy in morning sun here. Unfortunately there is an ant colony nearby that is trying to raise aphids on the leaves. Fortunately the green lacewings have laid eggs nearby and I hope the lacewing larvae will chomp the aphids for me. Lacewings are fierce predators on aphids and white flies. 

Bonus Blocks!

Hello, everyone. There were bonus blocks leftover after the patriotic centerpiece was completed. They found their own purpose for existence. 

Several of these, on being stitched out on the white twill, proved not to fit into the petal template for the centerpiece. Also some are thematic in that they have lines from "My Country 'Tis of Thee" embroidered on them. (Not all the lines of the first stanza got embroidered. And one had far too dense of stitching in its test and has joined the scraps pile.) 

I had gotten the white cotton twill for making  Christmas gifts...still on the To Do list...it worked out reasonably well for this. The backing of these little flags is cotton from stash. 

Photographing something at the top of a window was tricky. I finally resorted to doing it after dark, using the room light for illumination. During the day the sunshine shone in and overruled the pennants.

Finished a new project

Hello, everyone.  I finished the Fourth of July project.

This began with a picture on Embroiderydesigns.com, which I looked all over the site and couldn't find it. I did find a similar shaped centerpiece with flowers. So began a hunt for directions and for suitable designs to put on it. 

This was all before they made the patriotic one available through their blog. The blog listing includes the suggestions for designs. The designs suggested are nice, but some of them also somewhat densely stitched. This seems to be a tendency in the "cute patriotic designs" category overall. I used two layers of stabilizer under most of them.

Oddly enough, this year the classic "spirit of '76" image has not been popping up.

It was fun to make this.

A new project in the works (edited to add links)

Hello, everyone.  There's a new little project on the table--even though I'm hip-deep in another one. 

The other one has a lot of embroidered pictures to make. They're using a lot of bobbin thread, and I'm running short of empty bobbins to load. I need to finish off the dribs and drabs of a number of mostly empty bobbins to continue with the project. 

Therefore I decided to start with the new passport-and-credencial case. It will have a zipper closure so the documents can't fall out. 

The prototype 

The inside pockets of the prototype.

I'm planning to do this in some lovely black X-Pac fabric I found at Ripstop By The Roll. The interior will either be some cute cotton or some ripstop. I haven't decided yet.

There was rain a few days back

Hello, everyone.  There was indeed rain, over several days, and now it's normal June weather with sun. 

An unexpected plant came up after the rainy period. 

This is a turmeric that I started from a grocery-store tuber. Last year it looked ratty and sad, then it died down after fading for a while. I was about to give up on it, but on feeling in the dirt found a firm tuber with little "eyes" that might grow, so it stayed in its pot, got water up until the rainy spell, and got blown rain from the weather. Lo and behold! A fine leaf came up, then a second one appeared on the stem, and there is a tiny green nose poking up that should become another stem. It looks much better this year. I'm glad I didn't give up too soon.

The crinum bulb clump that was here when we came is also happy about the rainy spell.

Two stems of buds have come up.

I didn't photograph it, but the lemon grass clump has put on a flush of growth and is now over 3 feet tall. 

New Sewing Club Project

Hello, everyone.  We're in normal summer weather in this region: partly to mostly sunny, and if it doesn't rain, the day's high temperature will be in the 90's F. 

In this weather, what we call "air conditioning season" we enjoy indoor hobbies during the afternoons. Like sewing.

This large quilted bow was our meeting project at Sewing Club. I finished the ladt topstitching and assembly after getting home. This purchased pattern required tons of 4" squares to make the bow pieces. It also involved fusible fleece batting for the support of the "ribbons." 

In the execution,  I discovered that maybe the seams of the piecing should have been pressed open, instead of to the side for nested seams like I did. The seams did nest, but they were very thick. Also there was a lot of bulk in the bow tails; maybe leaving out the fusible there would have been wise. 

Topstitching the edges meant stopping to walk the needle over almost every seam. 

After completion, though, the bow came out pretty. I suppose I could see doing another in a different color assortment. It does clear out stash fabrics.

More flowers!

Hello, everyone.  Summer has arrived, with our typical temps in the 90's F. 

Salad of cucumber, tomato, and garden pepper

Very low carb, dressed with viaigrette and some onion-y green sprinkle and parsley. 

Another of the desert rose plants is now in bloom.

After the rains we are getting flowers

Hello, everyone.  I love flowers, and right now we have a bunch of them.

This crinum lily came with the house. I have tied up the bud stems because they were falling on the ground.

I brought these daylilies over with us when we moved. Each flower lasts for a day.

These marigolds came up when we threw a packet of old seeds--that had been in the fridge for years--into some empty space in the planting box.

It's so nice to go out into the yard and find flowers blooming their little heads off.

Learning new things (edited for spelling)

Hello, everyone.  

I have been working on the lessons that came with the upgrade to my embroidery software.

From first to third, the key fobs made in the lesson about editing shapes. 

I don't think the first one (cork) worked out that well. Poor choice of font, and general first-attempt confusion.

The second was done on some thin vinyl I had gotten at Hobby Lobby a while back. Now sitting in stash. 

The third used a thicker vinyl, also in stash, and I note that both of the vinyl ones showed a tendency to pouf up. 

The blue one was glued to the stabilizer with basting spray. Possibly the decorative design was just too busy.  The shell has more stitches than I realized.

The black one was taped down instead of being glued. It still did the same thing. The puffiness seems to start at the yellow arrow. 

Anyway, it was a learning experience!

Spring has sprung! edited to add links

Hello, everyone. Spring is indeed here in South Texas. The daily highs are in the 90's F. The nights are leaving the low 70's as we go on, the tomatoes are about to stop setting fruit, and we have flowers.

The first year of bloom on the Desert Rose plants we got as tiny things...one white one bloomed earlier, but now a red one is on stage. 

 

The big pink one is glorious but I can't get the picture to be right side up.

The fig has responded well to the pruning a few months back.

The native ruellia...sorry, the app doesn't like tall photos. 

We love flower season.

My low carb breakfast today

Hello, everyone.  As part of being accountable for my food choices--part of staying on the wagon--to work on the weight, I'm taking photos of food. 

Three egg omelet with the last of the jalapeño cheese spread and some guac on top. Black coffee on the side.

This will keep me feeling full until well after noon.

Lower-carb foods

Hello, everyone.  I had been slipping on my food choices over the holidays, and paid for it on the scale readings. I'm climbing back onto the wagon now, newly determined in spite of all the bad foods and drinks people push at me. 

Some new things: 

Wild caught salmon (Orca Bay frozen fillets package) cooked gently in butter with 2 eggs over medium and the garnish is some verdolaga (purslane) from the garden. That was a really tasty breakfast. 

Pork steaks, baked on a rack in a sheet pan, seasoned with S&P, tenderizer, mild curry powder that was turmeric colored, and some Tony's cajun seasoning. Garnish on top is a jalapeño cheese spread. (I took all of the seeds and pith out of the little pepper before chopping it into little bits. The cheese gentles the heat also.) Garnish is more of the verdolaga. This was a yummy and filling dinner dish.

3 eggs omelet, filled with more of the jalapeño spread--I want to use it up--with a few drops of Cholula and another sprig of verdolaga. 

The verdolaga is free for the pulling, and I don't indulge on spraying in the food garden, so it's the garnish of choice. Besides being chock-full of nutrients! Other good choices for garnish greens: volunteer dill. Parsley. Fennel leaves. Tiny little thinnings of lettuce or mustard greens. Arugula. 

Making the food look pretty encourages me to eat better.

A hint about the latest project

Hello, everyone.  Today's photo is a little tease about the latest work in process.

The squares of this item are chosen, trimmed to size as needed, laid out, and labeled for sewing into rows. 

All from stash, too! More later.

Using the scraps up

Hello, everyone.  

I'm working on a label/nametag to put onto a gift. It's not very big, just enough to decorate the box it's going on, and it actually fits my smallest embroidery hoop. 

I cut the felt a bit larger all around, and used my Spray n Bond Basting Adhesive to stick the felt on top of the stabilizer. (Also known as "floating" the fabric.) Then I thought about how the stitching will go on the felt. I really think itcwill want to sink into it. I looked around my sewingvroom and found a scrap of Sulky Solvy, left over from another project. It's just right to go onto the felt piece.

As y'all can see, I just gave it somecquick hand basting to hold it down. 

Another bit of stash is getting used up! Yay.

After 34 years, still going strong

Hello, everyone. My cactus is coming into bloom.

Thanks to the Easter rain, and the followup rain the next Sunday, a lot of plants are waking up.

 

I was going to include my Indigo Spires salvia, with its deep blue blossom spikes, but the photo turned sideways when I imported it.

This is a miniature basil plant. It's about 4 inches tall. It smells lovely.

An Easter project finished (updated to add link)

Hello, everyone.  I finished another Easter project, probably the last for this season.

This is the front. I started with a blank rectangle and imported the applique egg and the row of tulips.  (I will probably change this if I do it again. The row of tulips took a *really* long time to stitch out.)

Pages 2 and 3: Palm Sunday and then Carrying the Cross. Used without changes from the Resurrection Table Runner design.

Pages 4 and 5: the Crucifixion and Finding the Empty Tomb. Used without changes.

Pages 5 & 6: a Bible verse and the traditional Easter greeting. The Bible verse page was used without changing. The Easter greetings page is my own.

The back cover. Another page of my own.

This began as a banner/table runner embroidery pattern set. I added the front cover and the Easter greetings page/back cover to convert it to book format.

There is a lot of stitching in the rocky-ground portion of each image. I will, if I do it again, make the ground surface as an applique piece. (My Hatch software has the feature to convert a shape to applique.) This will make the pages less of a "bulletproof" experience. 

The Bible verse was digitized in block letters. I sewed it out with #60 thread, finer than the standard #40 embroidery threads. It came out a bit hard to read. (The dots on the i's were merged into the rest of the letter.) I was in an experimenting mood, so I swapped the block lettering for a scrip font for the next time. Haven't done a test prototype yet! 

The book pages ended up being 8 layers of cotton, so sewing it into a book was difficult. I suppose leaving off the back cover piece would help it a little. This one, however, will do nicely for a gift for visiting children this Easter. 

Pretty flower for Easter time

Hello, everyone.  

We have the first blossom from the new, little Desert Rose plants we got at last year's Home and Garden show.

I'm not sure which way these little pictures will be facing when it's published. The last one was an experiment to see how an extreme close-up of this large double flowered blossom would come out.

The top is a side shot to show the structure.

It's possible that another of these assorted-colors plants will bloom in a week or two. The first one, which finally got repotted into the biggest pot on hand, is also displaying some single flowered, deep-pink blossoms and a whole flock of buds are coming on.

A Fun Walk

Hello, everyone.  Yesterday we took part on a large community walk. The La Lomita walk is an annual event of Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Mission, Texas.  It is a Palm Sunday event, complete with donkeys and palm fronds.

They begin at the parish church and walk the 7 km (about 4 miles) from there to one of yhe oldest chapels in the area, La Lomita. 

Preparing to leave

The leading edge of the procession. 

The donkeys go along, but they get to ride. It's pretty warm in the afternoon at this season.

At the end of the walk.

While it's billed as a walk, accommodation is made for people who aren't able to walk. Strollers, bikes, golf carts, and even a contingent of autos participate. We enjoyed our afternoon walk with everyone.