Saturday, July 26, 2025

creatively speaking, this week Challenge met! The butterfly house

 

I finished the Table Scraps challenge for this month, to use purple scraps and interpret the word blossoms (English country garden)   I call it the butterfly house!
I went to the Denver Botanical Gardens butterfly house one year and it's magical! 

It started like most of my scraps color of the month pieces start, take out the smallest scraps and start sewing them to each other. This time I started with that dragonfly fabric and had 3 scraps. I had no plan. 

As I sewed I was thinking floral strips, pretty fabrics, I sewed 3 60 deg triangles together that Pat gave me in her bag of scraps, and when I layed them onto the rest, it looked like a roof.... and from there it just grew

I layered it with peltex stiff stabilizer and backing, chose metallic threads to quilt it
as I said before, no project is too small to dither over the choices... fabrics, colors, size, borders or not...
as I walked this week, I made note of purple things, and loved these flowers

quilting lines are a mix of free motion and walking foot
so I used pretty flower fabric scraps, and ones that go with the others. The binding is a purple dotted scrap that kind of reminds me of all the little bugs that swirl around in summer, or lightening bugs back east
Not being able to leave well enough alone, I pulled out some beads & sequins that might look good
I just love that fabric on the left border!
some crystal half bugle beads, some silver bugle beads...

lime green half bugle beads or sequins? 


it fits on the entry way table's easel and looks fresh and summery


I sewed the other purple scrappy piece together but now am wondering if I want a border on it... these are being auditioned. 

the fabric on the right is so pretty but reads dark... the purple swirls is so pretty but I have barely enough of it 

always a decision to make when building a quilt. Always endless projects to work on.

enjoy these videos

box corners 


https://youtube.com/shorts/LLw_qlRdvQQ?si=NpFL064sN0nnZuJX 


need to try this simple pattern, the blocks are 18" so it should go fast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo5x1bi0lLI

linking with 

Joy's challenge:





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Thursday, July 24, 2025

I Like Thursday # 461 gardens, colors, summer dinners

 

time for another list of small likes, starting with these colorful pots seen at our community garden

I've been walking a lot, early morning, and late afternoons, to strengthen my back, I saw this lovely lavender along the way

and more shots of the community garden in a minute

Sewing
I finished my challenge piece this  week, for Joy's Table Scraps, and will share photos Saturday. It's called butterfly house... 

shared this project last Saturday... hand sewn hexies
no response on my inquiry about this rescue dog, a 9 lb poodle
I am ready to love again and praying for the right pup to join our family
want to do a jigsaw puzzle with me? I like this site: jigsaw planet
https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=348e1d82ccb5

conversation starter this week: 

do you like particular foods for summer dinners? do you use a recipe or combine whatever ingredients you have on hand? 

yum, nectarines are delish even if we did order peaches! 

We tend to eat more BIG salads for dinner when it's so hot.... I'm not a fan of cooking in general, but do like to eat. 


I love fresh fruit and vegetables available in summer, like melons. 

Love the sounds of a donkey enjoying watermelon...


Watermelon! I cut it up, put it in a fridge container to snack on no mess. 

I've been known to drink a watermelon martini... or two...

Our kitchen is directly below our bedroom and heat rises so with it hovering around 100 F we bake much less dinners than we would like.

 Speaking of food, we took a walk by our neighborhood community garden this week 

there are about 20 plots, that rent for $150 a year. They have water

benches
composting area
each person decorates their plot differently and have very lush plants growing





love a colorful leggo wall divider
and my OWN backyard wildflowers are finally blooming! 
and my rose bush is finally rose-ing
they are knock out roses and lovely shades of orange but small

On TV


Watching Love Island, hunt for love, Love abroad, 90 day fiance, and bachelor in Paradise
the summer of love? Oh, not quite, watching Big Brother too! 

Listening to audio books, and reading a Molly Murphy book

 Watching on video

I liked this set of videos, the guy will purchase an old photo and then research who it is, and their lives, and I find them very interesting, and a history lesson. I've watched several and like the guy who does it, and learned some about how to do historical research from him...

 


that's it, stay cool, speak your truth, be kind to others, (thank you for visiting) 
please visit these folk to see their list of likes this week, and remember to tell me what foods you like in the summer months


now please visit these folk to see what they liked this week, and how would you answer the prompt?




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Saturday, July 19, 2025

creatively speaking, so many decisions, purple focus, a lovely gift, seeking focus

 

it's time for this week's creativity round up.... things I worked on rather than finishes this time

I take the RSC challenge to focus on a color each month, to heart. I not only pull out the purple scrap bin, but think about the shades and tints of a color, it's relationship to other colors. 


I did finish this month's hexie block in purple. It's so satisfying to finish the block press it and see it all together. It starts with choosing the shades and fabric patterns, which ones to put next to the others, moving the little basted hexies around til it feels right. Sometimes I baste the whole set and don't like how they look in the block and choose another fabric. 

no project too small to dither over

I now have 7 blocks done, and am already worrying over how to set them. Do I put black between each block? just sew them together into some shape then fill in around them to make a border? 
just on the sewing table for a picture
 will it have too much movement if just set next to each other, too much to enjoy seeing on the wall? 

And how will I quilt it? there are so many seams here. 
My granny hand quilted every quilt she made, or tied them with little tufts of thread on top. She followed the seam lines. I seldom do that, and this would be difficult to hand quilt. 

that's another decision for another day

I walk a lot lately, and on walks I often notice things in the RSC color of the month. this month it's purple so I notice what is purple on my walks.... 

clematis is purple
I started a pair of hand knitted socks, in a summer yarn, that is stretchy and so variegated

Knitting is soothing to me, and I do it at night. Stop the day's demands, slow down, turn on the TV
the colors really blend and blur with this yarn
I do like the meditative aspect of handwork. Slower, more chance to observe color, repetitive stitches add up and like in meditation my mind can ping pong or quiet down and I go with it. 
I worked on this project, curvy improve joins of tiny mosaic fabric pieces to each other, then strips to strips, tidy order made from the chaos of a pile of scraps. Like tiny pieces of glass in a kaleidoscope. 

I'm also working on the table scraps challenge to use purple scraps and focus on the word blossoms
I'll show it next week... it's turning out well so far
 

in between studio projects I turn back to just what a small shift in shade will do to this journal cover. 
 


The circle in the center was a scrap square I cut into a circle, changing the whole feel of it. 
I plan to do stitching by hand over this for a texture addition

My good sister friend Cindy sent me a box full of treasures. 
I LOVE a box of things to go through. She said they were from a studio cleanse but I see nothing but treasures. The fabrics are so pretty, so useable
she said she wouldn't use them but knew I would, and she's right. 
It's good to have a friend who knows you isn't it? 
She sent it for my birthday meaning there is a second gift in being remembered and being "post office worthy"

notions, beads, ink blocks.... needles to try, bead scrapers, a lighted "un-stitcher" and omg

 

Joy sent me a birthday box with flamingo fabric, in happy colors along with a journal in pink which lifted my spirits so much! 

Pat in NM sent a big box of tiny scraps that gave me hours of sorting fun, and some of those are in my current purple work.... it's like a collaboration between artists to receive the fabrics they chose to use, and now I will pick up the gauntlet and carry on in my own way. 

I am so grateful
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Wednesday, July 16, 2025

I Like Thursday # 460 take a walk with me


welcome to this weeks list of small likes starting with tall lilies seen on our walk. I'm 5'7" so....

yep I'm wearing socks with sandals, because something in the grass caused toe infections for me here 

Hiya! come walk with me!

two roommates enjoying the sun one morning

hi bunny-baby   better move!


that's a BIG truck you're under
uh, what? Guess they like to cozy up to the street
another Donkey-baby visit...love your eye liner baby

what kind of tree is this???
is it about to start raining?? (YEP) 
whew I need some water, it's been quite hot (with only one day of normal summer heat)
gosh but I love the color pink even in my waterglasses (IKEA)
Fine Dining
these are more like fudge candy than cookies

we tried this recipe for no bake fudge oatmeal cookies . All her recipes are small batch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H1Pz14iurk

Oh my, so good that although they made 7 cookies, I break them in half and eat like candy!!

Applesauce cake with cream cheese icing

we may cut the pieces smaller..... or not

Our wildflower seed is finally turning to flowers.... what are these? (Delicate little trumpet shapes)

these flowers are in MY garden.... WHAT are they???

Our conversation starter this week 

do you like shopping at garage sales? Flea markets? what is a really good one? Do you shop at thrift stores? 

 



Oh yes, I like looking at stuff! I especially love an estate sale in the house... so I can see the house too. 

I remember a yard sale in CT in a historic area. We were out walking around, so I stopped and found the sweetest pink serving dish to buy. 

I went to a crafter's sale, and Lordy she had everything one could ever want. I did love going through stuff and buying what I might like to use. That was in DC. I went to another crafter's sale here in Colorado and the whole house had her supplies in it. Yep, virtually a whole house craft room. Aaaaah

we have never made any money on our own yard sales, I feel like telling people, we JUST brought it out of our own house.... One person showed up asking what we would give her for free, at the start of the day. Wow. Our neighbor down the street, also doing a sale told me a woman bought a beloved doll she dithered over putting out, and on the way back to the car, tossed it to her dog that immediately began tearing it up. My neighbor was sad... 

When we were doing a big purge before moving to Colorado, my friend and bee mate said sagely, 

"first you get rid of the junk, and after a while it all looks like junk"  

my fave flea market was in New Orleans French Quarter on Sundays 

Video 

wildlife photographers have the cameras turned on them, love shared

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-6Q8CG4HTc 


now please visit these folk to see what they liked this week, and how would you answer the prompt?

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