End of Summer

It's hard to believe summer is over.  The last of the grandchildren return to school tomorrow.  Where did it go?

We've had grandchildren for the last few weeks so there has not been a lot of sewing going on here.  We have had lots of fun water time in spite of an exceptionally cool August.  My August month in my Temperature Quilt looks pretty boring.  The month started out warm and then the coastal fog rolled in ..... for weeks.  We are in for a few days of warmer temps this week.

September is often our warmest month as the Santa Ana winds descend upon us so look forward to seeing some reds next month.

In spite of the cooler temps, the little ones enjoyed some lots of water time.

They had to share the water slide with the tortoise (bottom left) who insisted on climbing right in the middle of their fun.

We had a lot of fun with art supplies - including decorating ourselves in some cases......ahhh...two year olds!

I had the urge to stitch once everyone was back home.  I should have been cleaning the house, but I quietly slipped into my quiet sewing space and added a few blocks to my selvage project.  These are so quick and perfect for satisfying that sewing itch.

Somehow, my selvage stash seems to be getting bigger!  They were all nicely packed down and now they are all fluffed up and twice as big.  Hmmmm.....that wasn't the plan.

I've seen so many fun pincushions on IG this month and really NEED to make a few more.  Of course, I have the perfect excuse with the annual Perfectly Pleasing Pincushion Parade starting next week.  There are lots of great prizes so be sure to check it out HERE.

The garden has done so well this summer - finally.  Right now we are enjoying the tomatoes, beans and zucchini.  Tomato canning went on over the weekend by my husband - his first canning experience.  He did a great job too.  Do you think I can pass it on to him now????  lol

It's Official

Summer is officially over with the children returning to school.  How did that happen?  Where did it go?  I think summer needs a speeding ticket.  It has been one odd summer for us with foggy mornings continuing through August.  That is typically our May and June weather.

The garden has struggled with the weather.  I wish we could help take away some of the flooding waters in the South.  As well, we've been battling with pesky raccoons over the ripe tomatoes.   They seem to be winning.  The one thing they are not interested in is an experimental crop I tried this year - just for fun.  I had a cotton ball with sixteen seeds and tried planting them.  They all came up and have the most beautiful flowers.  The foliage is also so graceful and pretty.  I have no idea what I will do with my cotton balls, but it was fun to grow them.

We had five little ones here while their parents were on vacation.  The week was really busy, but we had a great time.  There was lots of help in everything we did!!!

There was also lots of excitement as a second batch of cockatiel eggs hatched.  Each morning the children would rush out to see if a new egg had hatched.  They are just little balls of fluff - two yellow, two white.  I'm going to link these up with the Pets on Quilts.

This is our grown baby- an only child- from the last eggs that they laid.  He is such a love - so tame and already talking.

Needless to say, there has not been a lot of sewing going on here, but I did get ahead on my September Bee blocks.....fun sewing.

The county fair was last week and the girl's pigs went to market.  They had a great time hanging out for the week in the livestock area with all of the other kids.  I'm guessing they will do the project again next year.

I've been enjoying the Olympics and am sad to see that the end is near for them.  The summer Olympics are always my favorite with the gymnastics, swimming, equestrian and volleyball.  Four more years...............

Twinkle Blocks

I've had some fun this week sewing some of this month's Block Lotto blocks.  I must say that they looked a bit complicated, but really went up beautifully with the Tri Recs tool.  I also like the black background that was called for this month.  I'd love to see these set on point in a quilt.

I've spent my sewing time this week with a pile of mending and "have to do" sewing, but it feels good to have it done.  I did get a bit of fun sewing in with a couple of trick or treat bags for the littlest ones here.

We took some of the little ones to the pumpkin patch this week and had a great time.

We continue to celebrate October birthdays here.  I had a request from one of the granddaughters for a princess cake.  The problem was that she wanted one of our family's favorite cakes which is a yellow cake with hot fudge drizzled over the top.  I usually make it in a rectangular pan.  I decided to get creative and made a bundt cake, stuck a doll in it and make a gathered skirt to cover the plain cake.  Then when we served it we just removed the doll, sliced the cake and drizzled the chocolate over each piece.  It worked out perfectly.

The birthday girl was pleased.  That's what matters.

Over the weekend we attended the children's school gala at the Reagan Library.  It was a spectacular evening for the event and dinner was served underneath Air Force One.  It was quite impressive to look up at the massive plane above the table.

View looking up from our table.  

The very talented Soma from Whims and Fancies is going to be hosting a "Trunk Full of Quilts" event on her blog in November.  Pop over and check out a way that you can share your favorite quilts that you have completed over the years.

After RNG selected two "no reply" comments from my recent Halloween Haunts blog hop, I have finally notified the winner - Angelia (no blog).  Hopefully, I will hear back from her soon.

Have a safe and happy Halloween.

Some Stitching

Although busy, the week has allowed me a bit od time in my sewing space.  I always enjoy those quiet times.

As the summer rushes past, there are several bloggy events going on right now.  One of them is Hello Sunshine hosted by Gosia.  Following the color guidelines, I used mostly shades of orange, but also have the pink, yellow and aqua bits in it as well.  I am calling this Hot Summer Days.  This little 20" mini was one of the patterns from Corey Yoder's Sweetness - this month's Minis and More quilt choices hosted by Sherri ans Michele.






As well as using lots of orange scraps, I also used a natural linen for the background.  Is there anything that says summer like linen - wrinkles and all!!!


Be sure to check out the Hello Sunshine summer quilting and join in on the fun.




On the Minion front......I have completed three more minion beanies that were requested.  These are the one eyed version.




This week was loaded with birthdays in our family.  A little summer sundress seemed like a great gift.  Don't you love gingham for little girls?



The little buttons were picked up on our recent trip to the UK.  I thought they were so cute.  Sewing them on brought back such fond memories of my visit with my friend to her quilt shop.



I’ll be sharing this for this week’s #Creative Goodness.


Of course the week also brought some fun times with the grandchildren.  We had a great "first attempt at sewing" day.  This little one loved it and spent about three hours just intensely working on her stitching.  I think she has great potential.



Just a fun little picture of the two youngest grandchildren enjoying each other....one more than the other at this stage!!!

Still Alive and Kicking

Yep, I am still here.  I just haven't had time to get a decent post off and I didn't have a lot to show in pictures either.  However, I did manage to squeeze in some sewing today that lasted more than five or ten minutes.

Blocks 66, 67 and 68 are done on my Just Takes 2 QAL.  The new set also looks like they will go up quickly. 

I've been working on a couple of blocks for an upcoming Blog Hop that I will be participating in.  My day will be on October 1st - the first day.  I rather like being first because there isn't the pressure of having seen so many wonderfully constructed blocks.  I guess it is like school when I liked to go first before someone else did an awesome job and then I had to follow.  Here is a sneak peek of my block.

I have also been working on a Christmas Tree design.  It is a fusible applique which I really haven't done much of in the past.  Cherry from Cherry Blossoms Quilting is the creator of this fabulous design.  If you are not familiar with her you will be blown away at what she designs.  I am looking forward to finishing the applique and constructing the quilt.

We had five grandchildren staying with us for a couple of days and they each wanted to make something with the sewing machine.  The boys love the embroidery machine and always have fun creating something unique. 

My granddaughter is redoing her bedroom in aqua, black and white so she did a pillow to put on her bed.  I just loved her color combination.

We also got a chance at some wonderful baby snuggles for a few days.  This little one is as good as gold and is just starting to smile.  LOVE it. 

You know it is autumn when the candy corn arrives.  My DIL showed up yesterday with a fresh bag of it for me.  Each year she manages to find a bag before I see then in the stores.  Now I know it is time to start my decorating for the upcoming season!!!  After all.....this is the last week of summer. 

The days have been a little warm here so we always open the house up early in the morning to cool it off.  I had our doors open and two birds hopped right into the house.  When I saw them I went to show them the way out.  One flew out, but the other flew into the door, breaking it's neck.  I was hoping it was just stunned (as they often are) and set it outside.  The poor mate hopped around the limp little bird for close to an hour trying to get it to jump up and join him (or her).  I felt so awful. 

Lastly....the winner of my book from the Blog Hop Party has not responded to my email nor checked my post saying she was the winner.  It has been two weeks so I selected a new winner through RNG.  This time it goes to Susan.  Susan is actually a regular follower of my blog so congratulations to Susan.  I will send you an e-mail.   

Binding Time

I am one of those crazy people who loves to sit and hand stitch the binding on my quilts.  I know many who dread the task, but it is such a relaxing part of quilting to me.  I had Mary at Quilt Hollow quilt a couple of my tops and they turned out beautifully.  She does such an awesome job and I am just thrilled with the results.  Mary is so helpful in selecting the perfect design and is such a dedicated longarm quilter.  I can now say they are officially FINISHED and crossed off of the to do list.  I have one more large one that I am currently working on the binding so it has been a binding week.

Great Granny QAL...I added a DS striped binding to this one since I did not have any extra fabrics.  I will link this finish up to Richard and Tanya's Friday finishes. 

This was a top that Melissa was getting rid of and I loved the colors.

The finishing directions for the Summer Star QAL came out this week.  It called for 8 stars, but I decided to add the ninth one and finish it off a little differently.  I like the way it turned out.   The colors are really off in the photo.  It must be our rainy day today.

The winner of my Blog Hop giveaway is Leslie.  Congratulations!  I have e-mailed you and will send the book off once I receive your address.  It is always such fun to meet so many new bloggers during the blog hops and I hope that anyone who gets a chance to join in on the fun will do so.  Welcome to all of my new followers. 

The week was a busy one with three little ones here while their mommy and daddy were vacationing in Hawaii.  The days started early and were busy until the wee ones were tucked in each night, but we enjoyed the activity and fun times.  I was a little busy to capture much of it on camera.  ;-(

3 years old with a wild imagination.

2 years old and full of mischief.

7 months old and an easy going, always smiling little guy.  It makes getting up at 5 a.m. worth every minute.

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures seem to be dropping for us.  Fall is in the air and will be in full swing in no time at all.  Our summer was so late in arriving and I would love to have a bit more of it.  I do look forward to the comfort food cooking that the cooler weather brings.   How about you?