"Wish You Well"

 "Wish You Well,” Gail Pan’s 2020 BOM top is completed!  The top was pieced from fabric I had purchased for a project a few years ago plus a few additional pieces from my stash.  As I worked on the project, I decided not to do it and set the fabric aside plus some embroidered pieces and the “shoofly” blocks.  When I saw this scrappy project, I knew it would be a great way to use these stored fabrics.  Because I had so many “shoofly” blocks completed I decided to use them for the border and only had to make 10 more blocks to complete it plus a few little embroidered pieces to fill in the gaps.  For the backing I am thinking of pieces it with the remaining fat quarters, but we’ll see.

This has been such a fun project to work on.  Thank you Gail Pan for such a delightful project.

"Minute"

 

Each day I am trying to select a word from The Word Generator to write about.  When I saw the word for today, "Minute," these thoughts or expressions came into my mind that I find or have found myself saying frequently.

 …at the last minute

…it only takes a minute

….I’ll be there in a minute

…I’ll only be a minute

…just a minute

…it’s just 10 minutes away

…the secretary takes minutes of the meeting

…give me a minute

Funny how we use minute to describe so many things or actions in our life each day and does it really mean what it says?  Or, does it really take more than one minute?

Perfect Setting

 This morning as I moved my writing outside to my patio, this was the beautiful view that greeted me of the green and blossoming spring plants.

So quiet and peaceful, only the sound of little birds.  There is nothing I enjoy more than being outside and this was the perfect morning, no wind, bright blue skies and brilliant sunshine.  It was and is an ideal setting in which to work on some personal history questions my sister gave me some years ago and that I am trying to get finished for her and for me.  I may just move everything outside I planned to work on today and enjoy this lovely spring day.

In the Nick of Time

 Yeah!  Finished block two of Helen Stubbings  "Twelve Days of Christmas" BOM just in the nick of time.  Block three comes out tomorrow, the 16th.  This one, "Two Turtle Doves," took me a lot longer to stitch, but I am pleased with how it turned out.

My goal is to finish each block in the month it comes out.  This month was cut pretty close as I am also trying to piece Gail Pan's "Wish You Well"  BOM, work on family history, yard work and other everyday activities.

Started sewing row two of "Wish You Well" and am loving the scrappy look. It is a little challenging to me as I'm really not a scrappy person.

I've also decided to get back to writing a little each day.  Several years ago, I took a writing class and we were encouraged to do "morning papers," just writing a few lines each day with no particular theme...writing whatever comes to mind.  To get me going, I've gone back to doing the "Word of the Day."  Each morning I click on "word generator" and whatever word pops up, that's what I write about.  Some days it is only a line or two and others a paragraph or more.  Who knows, maybe I'll even get back to my poetry.  When my mother was alive, we would challenge each other to write a poem and then share it.  I looked forward to those times and miss not having her here to share and push me to write.   

Well, time to get ready for my grandson's lacrosse game.  Such fun to be with family and see him play.  So proud of him and happy that he wants "Grandma" there.

It's a Toss Up

 Warm temperatures and bright blue skies certainly made the day a toss up for me.

Do I work in my yard or my sewing room?  My piecing and gardening are calling to me and there is nothing I enjoy more than being outside.

So I decided to work outside, trim my shrubs for an hour and then come inside to finish row one on my "Wish You Well" BOM.  As I have lymphedema in my arm due to cancer and removal of lymph nodes, an hour is about all I can do outside and then I have to take a break.

After exercising my arm, it was down to my sewing room.  Row one is now complete.  Yeah!~  

 I have decided not to add the squares with appliqued circles as suggested in the pattern because I have some small pieced squares from the projects I've taken the fabric from.  Am hoping that they will work to go around the top.  

Now off to do a little stitching on my "Twelve Days of Christmas" stitch along. 

Blocks one and two

Finally getting around to piecing Gail Pan's BOM "Wish You Well" stitcheries.  I've had them embroidered for awhile, but wasn't in the mood to sew them together until today.  Today, was the day!

The fabrics I am using are from a project I started a few years ago, but then decided I didn't want to do it.  So when I saw this BOM was done scrappy, thought it would be a great way to use up some of the fabrics.  Will still have much of the fabric left as the cut pieces are not that big.   

Maybe once this project is completed, I'll find a way to use the bocks that were sewn for the other project.  Hate to waste them and all the work that went into piecing and stitching the blocks.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get a few more blocks put together in the coming days.

Bride's Diary

 Ran across this while cleaning out some files and it brought a smile and chuckle to me.  So, thought I'd share it.

Bride’s Diary

Dear Diary:

Monday:  Now home from honeymoon and settled in our new home.  It is so much fun to cook for Hank.  Today, I made an angel food cake and the recipe said, “Beat the 12 eggs separately.  Well, I didn’t have enough bowls to do that so I had to borrow quite a few to have enough bowls but I got the eggs beat and the cake turned out fine.

Tuesday:  Hank wanted fruit salad for supper.  The recipe said, “Serve the salad without dressing.”  I didn’t dress.  Hank happened to bring our neighbor for supper that night and did they ever look startled when I served salad.

Wednesday:  I have decided to serve rice and found a recipe which said, “Wash thoroughly before service the rice.”  So I heated some water and took a bath before steaming the rice.  Seemed kinda silly in the middle of the week and I can’t see that it improved the flavor any.

Thursday:  Today Hank asked for a salad again.  I tried a new recipe.  It said, “Prepare ingredients, then toss on a bed of lettuce for one hour.”  I hunted all over the neighborhood for a bed of lettuce and finally found one in a neighbor’s garden.  So I tossed the salad on the bed of lettuce and stood there watching to make sure the dog wouldn’t take it.  Hank came home and asked if I felt all right.  I can’t imagine why.

Friday:  Today I found an easy recipe for cookies.  It said, ‘Put all ingredients into a bowl and beat it.  So I did that and beat it over to my neighbors.  There must have been something wrong with the recipe because when I came back home again, it looked just the same as it looked when I left.

Saturday:  Hank went out in the yard this morning and brought in a chicken.  He asked me to dress it for Sunday.  I didn’t know just how, but I found a doll dress and some little shoes and I thought the chicken looked real cute.  I wondered why Hank counted to ten when he saw it.

Sunday:  Today Hank’s folks came over for dinner.  I wanted a roast but all I had was hamburger.  So I put it in the oven and set the controls for roast.  It still came out hamburger.  Must be something wrong with the controls.

Monday:  I was going to bake bread today.  This recipe said” mix well and knead well then stand in warm place until double in bulk.”   Well if I have to double in bulk, I just won’t bake bread.  Good night!

Tuesday:  I don’t know why Hank was so surprised when he came home today and found me painting the bathroom.  He asked me why I had my coat on in the middle of July.  I told him the instructions on the can said, “For best results, put on two coats.”

Dear Diary:  This has been an exciting week.  I am eager for tomorrow to come so I can try more new recipes.