Stitching, Goodies & Something Cute

It's hard to title a post when it's a hodgepodge of STUFF.   I probably should've divided it up into different posts, but it's the weekend, and blogging time is at a premium.

A couple days ago I received a wonderful package in the mail from my friend Pam Kellogg of Kitty & Me Designs.    We've talked about our mutual fondness for vintage embroidery transfers, and in fact it was Pam that got me started on it about two years ago.    So, after finding some duplicates in her collection, she was kind enough to share!

Pam is so sweet!  She also included some trims.... and a surprise! Another fondness we share is for Marie Antoinette, and she surprised me with one of her M.A. pins.   She sells these in her Etsy shop along with so many of her other wonderful things.  Thank you, dear Pam!

We've had rain and very cool weather the last couple days, and I've enjoyed curling up in the evening with my DH and cat, a cup of coffee, and some stitching.  I've been working on a wool block for a Crazy Quilting International round robin.  Karrin appliqued baskets onto her blocks, and the previous stitchers have all filled their baskets with wonderully-stitched flowers.

This week's "Build-a-Stitch" challenge at CQI was the Buttonhole Eyelet Flower.  Kerry has links to tutorials on her blog, but I first "noticed" it on Sharron Boggon's blog and tried to recreate it from memory.  Of course, my memory being what it is (or, more acurately, what it ISN'T), I did a larger buttonhole center and cast-on stitch petals (top petals).

After discovering my error,  I tried one below it with bullion stitches, but my center was still too big.  The third (smallest) flower had a smaller center, but the bullions are all "drunken" and yukky.  My eyes were about crossed by then.  Maybe I just need to tickle their tummies...... hmmmm.   So, three versions..... with no centers, YET.  I will add the centers and post a picture of the completed block in the next day or two.  I still have to stitch some sort of "critter" to harmonize with the other baskets.  No one's done a dragonfly yet, so I'm thinking that I'll do that.

On Wednesday, I hit the thrift store again, and while I didn't get much of blogging interest (unless you want to see a picture of a display rack, butter knife and bias tape), I did score some great fabrics.  They're all gleaned from sheets, an idea which I got from another blogger (don't remember where, sorry) who supplements her fabrics for kid's clothing with vintage or vintage-like sheets and pillowcases.

That polka dot sheet was like new - still stiff with sizing - and came from The Pottery Barn.  The blue gingham with lace was one of a pair of never-used handmade pillowcases, too.  I can see some cute little upcycled girls' summer dresses here....

And speaking of cute and little girls, here is a Shameless Grandma Boast about my DGD London.

London has learned to crawl (yeah, I know.  She's 9 months old, so that's not exactly early or unexpected, LOL).  She's been crawling for about three weeks, but for the first two, this "crab-style" crawl was how she cruised around.  Her left leg is bent, but her right leg stays straight.  She got quite good at this, then it finally occurred to her  that she could bend both legs,  She trucks around now like crazy.

And this was her a couple days ago as we prepared to go shopping.  Her feet are constantly "dancing".  And that tongue!  She loves music and if it's playing, she'll bounce or kick depending on whether she's sitting or standing.  Aren't babies so precious!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Floods and Flowers

Here in the Salt Lake Valley, we went from having an unexpected late May snow to temperatures in the mid to high 80's over the last 4 to 5 days.  This has quickly begun to melt the mountain snowpack, sending it crashing down the canyons in record volumes.    We've not had runoff like this since the floods of 1983.

At Wheeler Farm, the historical working farm owned by Salt Lake County where I work, the Little Cottonwood Creek flows through our 76+ acres.  It's usually a bubbling brook, although springtime usually sees a rise in volume.  It's enough of a threat to persons and dogs that Farm employees get annual swift water rescue training.


This year,  the creek is an angry torrent raging down the mountain, bringing logs and all sorts of dangerous debris with it.  Deadly.  For the time being, the logjams are being cleared by County crews and their equipment stationed here and in other locations in Murray City 24/7.   It's helping to keep the creek from straying too far from its banks in most places, but there's only so much that can be done in these conditions.

Several acres of the farm, including the campgrounds, are under water.

Below is a picture of the creek as it usually looks in spring.

This is the exact same spot, pictured this morning as I walked around the farm before work this morning.  It's several feet higher and wider on each side.  It's muddy and loud, and even the geese are staying away.

But life on the farm continues.  Today was just a gorgeous day for the kids attending summer camp and the persons out walking with friends or dogs.  Lots of visitors and activity.   When I finished my walk and was heading to the Activity Barn to clock in, some people passed me, asking if I'd gotten any good pictures.  I replied that I had, but now it was time to get to work.  They said "Aw, that's too bad", probably feeling sorry for me, thinking I'd be hopping into a car and driving to some office somewhere.  But I said to them, "No, it's really great.  I work HERE at the Farm!"  They laughed and went from being sorry for me to being envious!   :-)

But I digress..... my walk was relaxing and just plain wonderful.  As I walked, I drank in the fresh morning air and snapped pictures of my "home away from home".  This is the Activity Barn.  It's where our office is.  We also rent it out for company parties, wedding receptions and the like.   The field in the foreground is plowed and ready for planting the corn.

Below is the same view of the activity barn from a slightly different angle.  Here I was standing in the front lawn area of the historic farmhouse.   I love the farm early in the morning.   I love to walk around and feel as though I own it; my farm.  My farmhouse.  My ducks and cows and flowers and trees.....

More flowers in the front lawn of the farmhouse.  In the background you can see the milking barn.  Yep, we milk the cows there twice a day - 6 in the morning and 5 in the evening.   Every.  Single.  Day.    Besides the Activity Barn and the milking barn, we have a machinery barn

But there are flowers that ARE mine, and the roses below are among them.  I love the color of these roses and chose this grandiflora bush for their color and scent.  No, I don't remember what they're called, but the tag is still there at the base.  Only I'm NOT going to crawl under it now to read it.   (Note to self: why not remember to do it in spring before it blooms?  And write it down!)   Part of my California poppy bush is visible on the right and an iris on the left.  This area needs to be thinned out!

And my front rosebush by the driveway.  Same story; the tag is there but I can't remember the name of it....

Front of the house with my two rose trees by the front porch (Double Delight and Mr. Lincoln!  HA!  I do remember SOME of them!)   Then there are irises - I definitely do NOT know their names.  We bought the rhizomes a few years ago at an iris society show.  They're all local hybrids, but I had a "cheat sheet" with their names on them and where I planted what.  Unfortunately, I left the sheet outside on the patio, and Mother Nature decided to destroy it with wind and rain.

Still have more annuals to plant, but everything is pretty well weeded, hoed, trimmed, fed, etc.  Summer is right around the corner, and I'm ready to relax.  BRING IT ON!!

Art Nouveau Blocks for Round Robin

Today I mailed off my blocks for the next Round Robin I'm participating in with Crazy Quilting International.  The RR is Art Nouveau I (there is also an Art Nouveau II because there was so much interest).   Here are my "naked" blocks:

This is a "Do Your Own Block" (DYB) Round Robin.  So, I've pieced six individual blocks.  Each participant chooses a block (they're 6" square) and embellishes the entire thing.

I chose to piece my blocks around the colors of the images I liked best (most, but all are the art of Alphonse Mucha).  Often, a DYB participant will piece all six blocks with the same fabrics and color scheme, especially if they're intending to use them together in a single project.

You can see that in five of the six blocks I pieced, I have just pinned the silk print on the block.  In that way, the person who selects that block to embellish can place it where it best fits in with her intended design and stitching.

These blocks will travel around the world before they arrive back home.  The six participants are in Washington, Utah (me), Colorado, Finland, Japan and The Netherlands.

This is the only block where I actually pieced the silk print in to the design.  I love the piecing (that curve was fun), but really do not like how the colors look together (even though they look good - much better than on the computer screen - with the print).  Oh well - the stitchers in this round robin could make a rag look beautiful!  :-)

And this one is my favorite.  I LOVE that print, and tried to keep everything soft to complement it.  I can't wait to see what's done with this block.

I'm off to post the new pictures on the home pages of the Crazy Quilting International Yahoo group, draw a name for the May Challenge (dimensional embroidery) winner, and announce the CQI June Challenge, which is frames & framing.  It's about different ways to frame things like the silk prints (as in my blocks above), cabochons, and other things in our work with beads, ribbon, or ???      And when I'm done with that, I've got handouts to finish for the presentation I'm giving on Crazy Quilts this Thursday evening to the non-profit arm of the Utah Quilt Guild.    Too many "irons in the fire"?!?

Happy Memorial Day

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.    Matthew 25:40

Goodness Gracious, Great Balls of ... Wool??

I try to read the weekly column that Mary Jane Butters (*the* quintessential Farmgirl and entrepreneur extraordinaire) writes in our local newspaper.    A few weeks ago she wrote about using wool yarn to make laundry balls for the dryer.  I was intrigued because their intended purpose is to replace dryer sheets with a simpler, cheaper and more natural item.

My last dryer's heating element bit the dust last fall and I'm convinced that the dryer sheets played a role in that.  We've since bought a front-load washer (which I hate) and a front-load dryer (which I like).  But like or not, I want to ensure that they will both operate optimally for many many years.  So, I decided to try these dryer balls.

The first step is to get wool yarn.  Of course, mine came from unused skeins of 100% wool that I purchased at the thrift store.   Wind them into balls that are about 2-3 inches in diameter.

Thread the ends of the yarn onto a tapestry needle and insert into the ball.  Go in and out a few times so that the yarn end is secured inside.

Toss them into a mesh lingerie bag and throw them in with your next load laundry (in hot water).    After washing, Keep them in the bag and add them to the dryer (hot temperature).  You are basically felting them.    Viola!

Here is Vanna Boomer showing the dryer balls.  Cat and pillowcase are shown for size reference.

Some wools felt better than others.  On these, you can still see the strands.  But I've had others turn out just like a felted wool ball.

To use them, throw 4-6 balls into the dryer instead of dryer sheets.  They really DO work!  Utah is a very dry climate, with average humidity less than 30%.  Static cling is a given when doing laundry.  These balls work as well as the dryer sheets. The only time I still get some static is when I'm drying fleece, but I still got it with dryer sheets, too.  When I'm done folding the laundry, I just leave or toss the balls back in the dryer until the next load.   They are supposed to last for years.  And I can live without a frou-frou scent.

I'm making these balls to sell this year at our local Farmer's Market (4 for $10).  I'll let you know how that goes.  In the meantime, why not try it yourself??  

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One final note:  Crazy Quilting International has posted the 2010 Purse Contest pictures.  To view them, visit the CQI Blog.  And while you're there, check out the wonderful CQ eye candy!

 

Estate Sales, Garden and Stuff

Yesterday (Saturday the 22nd) was a cool and cloudy day in the Salt Lake Valley, with scattered rainshowers as had been predicted all week.  So, there were not a lot of yard sales and estate sales.  However, there were some, and I made it my morning priority to get to two of them.  Neither were great for for me, but there were some little things here and there that I picked up.

In the first sale, I found a sewing box with some trim in it and some old silver.  As I accumulate this silver, I still can't decide if I want to use the bowls and plates I get for display or to sell.  Either way, I will polish them up a LITTLE.  The tarnish adds character (at least to me) and I'll have to leave some for that wonderfully shabby look.

The second estate sale was held in the wonderful old (and pricey) Harvard-Yale area of Salt Lake City.  The home itself was like a French cottage and had just sold.  It was just a treat to go in and see parts of the home.  Much of it was blocked off, and all the furniture and goods were in the main floor rooms.  In fact, the living room and its massive fireplace were set up like a bedroom, with sunlight streaming in the French doors onto the bed.  Wish I'd taken a picture!  

Anyway, I fell in love with this chest of drawers - a former jewelry box? - when I saw it.

It's about 18" tall and wide and about 6" deep.  Probably not more than 20-30 years old, but OH!  I brought it home and moved my bias tapes into the drawers, by  colors.  It all fit except my pinks, which you can see in a ziploc bag on top of the chest in the first picture.   But that's OK, once I get sewing again on aprons this spring, I'll use up a lot of it.

The floral motifs that cover it are hand painted.   And they wrap around to the sides and top.

I paid $35 for it, and another few dollars for a vintage iron (you know, the heavy old irons that you heated on the stove?!?  Didn't get a picture of that). But here's how nicely the bias tape fits:

So it was not a bad day for The Hunt.  

And now for some miscellaneous things.  Earlier this week I was cleaning out my sewing desk and ran across one of those big ol' store-bought tomato pin cushions.  You know the ones with the attached emery strawberry for sharpening needles.  Well, I often stick my sewing needles into the pincushion itself, with or without thread, and they've been known to get lost inside the sawdust of the pincushion.

I was about to throw away the pincushion (very, very hole-y) when I felt the prick of a needle.  So, I thought "what the heck".  I've always wanted to tear one of those babies apart  disassemble one in a very ladylike manner.  (ADMIT IT - you have too, right?!?)   

Well, guess how many needles I found inside?  Thirty-nine!  

Sorry for the bad picture (but honestly, how exciting is a pile of needles, anyway?).   I was just totally blown away when I kept finding a needle, then another, then two more......  And yes, they're mostly sharp, useable and will be put back into use!  

My dear hubby Bruce and I have a running joke about his vitamins.  I take regular women's vitamins.  He takes the Costco brand of "mature vitamins".  One morning he was being his usual humorous (and slightly silly) self - a trait that has added a lot of fun to our marriage.  Anyway, we were taking our vitamins when I saw his "Mature Vitamins" container and told him they obviously weren't working!   We got a good chuckle over that, and now, every time he buys a new container of vitamins, the label is "corrected" to read:

And last but not least (which you'll probably agree with after reading the previous....), here are a few snapshots of my garden.  THEY ARE SAD.  It's been such a cold, wet spring and I've had neck and shoulder issues for which I'm doing physical therapy.  But slowly, very slowly, I'm getting to one bed after another to get it cleaned up, trimmed, weeded. mulched, planted.  Warning:  not all things pictured have had their "spring cleaning" yet!  

Case in point:  Our Snowball bush really well, snowballed this year!  It's beautiful, but needs it's feet cleared of overzealous lavender (and weeds, I admit it).  And it needs a good trimming and shaping.  It's on my list for this season.

 

On the left, the planter bed under the north-facing front window (with spent daffodils) is just about to bloom with several varieties of iris.  More pictures in a week or two.  Meantime, on the east side of the house, our champagne irises are just beginning their show.

I have some of the front porch planters planted; there are another 3-4 left to do.   Some of the tulips are still blooming, and I have mulched a couple of the front beds.  And the porch posts are slated for filling and sanding and painting this year.  

  

Here you can barely see my favorite garden serpent hiding behind the bleeding heart.   To the left (front) of it is a small daylily variety and the bark is my Double Delight rose tree.    In that same bed are other daylilies, a hosta, some russian sage and a few annuals.   The calla lily died and was pulled.

We have a hole in the front perennial bed where the golden chain tree was.  I think we may plant another.  Down at the end of the bed (where the house ends, past the birdbath and rose) is where we had the #@&*! holly bush.  It's gone, praise the Lord, and in its place I'm thinking of either a burning bush OR an arbor to further extend the front facade of the house.   Wisteria?  Climbing Roses?  Still thinking on that one.  Meantime, I need to do more weeding and mulching here, and that's on the agenda for this week.  

A friend and neighbor of ours came by this week and tilled our garden for us.  We own a tiller, and let him borrow it to till his garden, too.  Win-win, since Bruce's outdoor activities are limited from his winter back surgery.  He did manage to replace all the outdoor security light fixtures, however.   So, I'll plant the garden this week.  We're also getting bids on having our front parking strip dug out & soil-treated, the sprinklers capped, landscape barrier put down and decorative gravel delivered and installed.  

Well, I think I've rambled long enough.  Hope I haven't put you to sleep!!

Wheeler Farm Spring Cleaning

You may remember that last year I told you about how Hampton Inn had an online voting contest for their annual "Save a Landmark" project.   The county-owned historical working farm where I am employed as a part-time bookkeeper had been nominated for the Western Region.  Well, thanks to you lovely people and your support, we won the voting.

Earlier this week, a crew of 50+ volunteers from Hampton Inns in the Utah area converged on Wheeler Farm and began spring clean-up and other projects.  This year it was particularly needed and appreciated, because Salt Lake County has cut our budget (it's the same everywhere isn't it?  the economy....) and we just didn't have time or money to accomplish all that needs to be done.

Well, I forgot my camera, (the above pictures were taken two years ago) but luckily there were TV stations and newspapers on hand to record the events. Check out these pictures and articles from today's Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News.   

Also, we do allow photographers on the property, although it is supposed to be for personal photos (weddings, family reunions).  Commercial entities are usually charged if they use our venue for advertising purposes.  This one slipped by us (no comment), but since her photos are lovely, I'm posting one of her pictures here.  You can see others on her blog.  Enough said.

Part 2 of this program will take place in August.  The funds donated by Hampton Inn will be used to refurbish the historic farmhouse brick and porch.

Again, thank you to everyone who took the time to vote.  And thank you to Hampton Inns for their generous donation of $10,000.00 plus all the volunteer labor.  I love it when a community works together!  I'll certainly do my part to support them in the future!