The Crash

The better part of the week has been spent in a slump.  You see....my computer died ;-(  I still have the old desktop, but everything is so slow going on it and the laptop is where I have my computer programs.  I had been trying to learn to use my embroidery software more efficiently and I think my fried brain burned up the machine!!

It just makes for more sewing time....that's the good side.  Right???? 

There are lots of little ones starting to loose their teeth around here so Tooth Fairy pillows were needed.  I actually made four, but forgot to take pictures of the blue and green one before sending them to their new owners. 

Pockets on the back for the teeth and what the good fairy leaves in exchange.

I FINALLY finished piecing my Easy Street.  I love this quilt and it is huge.  I laid it out on the grass, but the wind kept blowing up the edges.  It ended up at 94" square.   I know it looks like a rectangle in the photo, but it is square.

There are so many fun quilt-alongs happening right now and it is hard to avoid joining in on them.  I started working on the String of Pearls and have my steps 1 through 3 completed.  This one should go up quickly.

Since a lot of time is spent in the garden these days, I thought I would share some of the flowers with you.

My gardenias are blooming prolifically right now so I love to bring them into the house.  They fill the room with the most delightful fragrance. 

The hibiscus are also pretty right now.  As you can see, they grow well in our climate.

My favorite bush.

My job this week is canning the apricots.  They are at the point of needing to be picked before the birds beat me to them.  A day in the house and they will be ready to go.

Have you ever enjoyed a "donut peach"?  Ours are also just getting ripe.  These are flat little things (thus the name "donut") and they are white in color on the inside.  Their flavor is amazing!

Lastly....our baby quail have grown up and are now as big as their parents.  We just love listening to them and having them come to the feeders. 

Have you been enjoying the Super Moon this weekend?  It is really pretty.  Makes me want to put on the old record album of  Henry Mancini - Concert for Young Lovers.   I think I'll go see if I still have it! 

Have a great week and I will be back visiting when my computer gets sorted out.

TGIF

Gosh....remember how Fridays were always such a big deal when you were in school?   Working in nursing there really was never that Friday joy since hospitals are open 24/7.   Now that I am retired the Fridays aren't that unique either, but it is a TGIF day.

Since it is also Flag Day, I will show you my red, white and blue finish.  I love the way this came out and will look forward to decorating with it over the many patriotic holidays.  Since it was my scheduled project for finishing this month I will be linking it up with A Lovely Year of Finishes.

Another project that I have been working on was a pattern tester for Emily.  I finally have a completion to share with you.  I just love Emily's border idea and I know that I will be using this technique again sometime.  Sorry about the indoor picture, but it was too big to hang on the line.  Isn't it a great pattern? You can see Emily's version HERE.

I had a dear friend, Peg, come visit for a few days.  We've know each other for over 40 years and always enjoy each other's company.  Her granddaughter had drawn a quilt design and and Peg wanted to know if it was possible to sew it out.  She arrived with her fabrics and we sketched it all out.  She does not sew, but I think she really enjoyed the process and also did all of the FMQ on it.  She was very adventurous with her FMQ designs, including special names, hearts, flowers, stick people and a Grandma signature.   The backing is Minky so it crinkled up nicely and had such a nice drape to it. 

Drawn quilt and finished quilt - the colors matched perfectly.

My Japanese x&+ bee blocks continue to arrive and my layout is growing because of it.  I really like the way it looks - so scrappy and bright.

Isn't this a great card?

It seems like I spend a good amount of time these days filling up my bird feeders.  I now have seven 4-cup feeders for the orioles and hummers that get filled AND emptied every day.  We have two different types of orioles at the feeders - a Hooded and a Bullock oriole.  The Bullock orioles are much more talkative.  The babies are also now at the feeders.

In closing I will show you what happens when you give sidewalk chalk to little ones.  I'm not sure whether the sidewalk or the bodies got decorated the most.

I hope everyone has a great Father's Day weekend.  We will have the whole gang here on Sunday.

June Goals

I have become the world's worst blogger when it comes to remembering to bring my camera.  There really is a legitimate reason (I think).  I have downsized my purse.  I have always carried a huge purse that carried everything.  I decided to go with just a small one, but I can't fit much in it ;-(  It is taking a lot to get used to it and I do have to be mindful to grab my camera.

So....I don't have any pictures of the wonderful surprise 40th birthday party we attended for our son this weekend.  I'll have to leave it to your imagination, but the food was wonderful and it was great seeing some of his old grammar school friends again. 

Since it is the beginning of the month, it is time to set some goals.  I have so many UFOs that I could work on, but since it would be fun to have a red, white and blue quilt for 4th of July decorating, that will be first on my list.  This was a block swap back in 2009 (?) and it has remained a top long enough.

Linking up with A Lovely Year of Finishes has kept my UFOs being completed this year.  I hope to get more finished this month, but this is my primary project.

June is generally our cool and foggy mornings month.  I am sure it is coming, but the first few days have been delightful.  Everything grows better with a little warmth and sunshine.  This is my strawberry wall.  It is basically for the little ones when they come to visit so you will seldom find if full of strawberries.  It's torture for them to wait until they are red enough to eat.

The pallet keeps the berries off the ground.  I like to replant it every two years to keep the berries nice and big.  This was the year for that task.