Whoa! Another Tuesday disappeared. Actually, I was hoping to have something to show you today, but fate had me working outside the last few days instead of in my sewing room. I HAVE spent most of this morning working on Deb's NY Beauty Circle of Geese. I had forgotten how fiddly the center circles could be. After sewing most of them several times, I've decided to make a small redesign and hope it goes better. I get so few sewing days at the moment, that I don't want to spend all my time sewing in frustration.
All that to say I have no new blocks to show you. I would like to share a mini that I received this summer right in the middle of my move.
I got this beauty from @modernstitchinmama on Instagram as part of the Cotton and Steel mini swap.
Just look at this gorgeous stitching!
I have definitely had quite the run of good luck in swaps this year! However, I sure am glad that I didn't sign up for any this half of the year. I can't even seem to get poor Deb's quilt done very quickly. I would have been black listed for sure.
I realize I always seem to be whining about not having anytime to quilt. While that is true, you may be wondering what I have been spending my time doing. Honestly for several weeks there it was mainly spent moving furniture around. No lie. The flooring guy wouldn't always tell me what the agenda was for the day until he showed up. And most of the time, I would move all the furniture in a room to one side while he floated the floor, then I would have to move all the furniture over to the other side of the room so he could finish the room. This back and forth was repeated again when it was time to actually put in the wood flooring.
At this stage in our remodel, I don't often have to move furniture around, but I do spend quite a bit of time directing new tradesmen around. I feel like just when I get going on a project, I have to stop for an hour to show the counter guy where all the vanities are going, or the electricians which lights I need replaced, or just talking with my general about options for laying out the tile in the bathroom. By the time I get back to my project, it is time to pick up the kids.
While it isn't true this week, I have also been spending quite a bit of time with Reagan, our newish puppy. I try to take him on daily hikes. No, they aren't just walks around here - we have hills! He is a big boy, so I try to hike for about an hour each day to keep him happy and tired. There may also be some play time and training each day too. He has learned "sit" pretty well, and we've been working on "lay down"
I've also been building a garden. Building, you ask? Yes, building. I brought home a pile of redwood (the west coast version of cedar) a few months ago. I spent some time over at my sister in law's using her miter saw to cut everything to size, and was about to put a massive raised bed together when we had all that 100 degree plus weather. Needless to say, all my seedlings died, and it was just too hot to be lugging a bunch of lumber around the yard. Last week, things cooled down a bit and I was able to get the bed built. Over the weekend, I hauled a whopping Sixty-six 50 lb bags of soil around and filled it. My back was pretty sore. This week, I finally got my rabbit fencing up around the bed, because to say we have a lot of bunnies around here would be an understatement! Also, the dog kept digging in the planter and I needed to keep him out as well if I hoped anything would grow. I started presprouting some of my seeds today, so I hope to plant them in the bed by the end of the week.
Now, some of you might be wondering....isn't it a little late for a garden. Probably, yes. I spent nearly all summer dreaming of the awesome vegetables that I would grow the moment we moved into a house with a yard. Once that actual moving in occurred, reality set in. Not only was I busy with all the stuff above, but it was so hot around here that I doubt much would have survived. Plus, we are on significant water restrictions, so even if something didn't die from the heat, it was sure to die from lack of water. So, I'm trying out a fall garden. I planning a mix of regular summer vegetables like tomatoes and green beans, but have mostly cooler weather loving lettuces, winter squash, peas, and broccoli. According to the internet, I should only expect one day of frost for the winter, which might be more because of the "El Nino" predicted, but I'm going to take my chances. These frosty days are likely to happen more towards January or February anyway. And thanks to a couple of pre-"El Nino" showers, the rain barrels I put under our eves are nearly full and will likely keep filling the more rain we get this season. So yeah, I'm doing my garden now.
Why am I so chatty today? I don't know. I guess I'm lonely. Talking to contractors and the dog all day doesn't really count as being sociable. I also feel like I've been neglecting the blog a bit for a while because I haven't had much going on in the quilty realm, and haven't really shared anything personal in a while. I hope you don't mind.
What blocks have you working on this week? I would love to see. Link up your fabulous blocks. You put a lot of hard work into them - show them off! This free linky will stay open until the first Monday of next month, but I will repost it every Tuesday until a new month starts.
Rules:
1) Please link up only to the page in your blog showing your wonderful blocks, not just the blog homepage. Flickr and Instagram pictures are also OK.
2) Make sure to put your blog name as the description so people know where they are going or the name of your block!
3) Please grab my button and post it in your blog post or sidebar.
4) Visit other linky participants!
Thanks for reading,
Jen
(affiliate link). It has some really cute blocks and projects in it.
