Drying Dandelions & Roses

 Have you tried Dandelion tea? I know there are some blends of herbal teas that contain it& some of mine most likely does,anyways before the grass got cut I decided to gather the dandelions from the yard,gave them a rinse in a mix of vinegar & water then laid them out on a paper towel while making coffee & giving Grace🐕 her meds then laid them a parchment lined cooked sheet & dried them  in a 175 degree oven for about 3 hours

all this rain  is making the roses petals fragile,so I did the research to see if my roses "knockouts"& "drift" fall into the herbal list & they do ,just touching them they fell off,so I gathered them up & have a good rinse, they're  up next lol

I had a bouquet of knock out roses that O was about to toss out,🤔hummm turns out since it's suggested  to air dry rose petals  for richer colors you can use your dried out bouquet as long as they haven't been sprayed with pesticides & making sure they fall into the list of roses that can be used for herbal teas 

Random Sewing

 It may be a while before I think of stitching every little section of a quilt again but I probably will🤣 I feel like I've done stitched a thousand stitches😄 determined not to go into July with this quilt 👀

 meanwhile ,I've seen a few book markers pop up & decided to give one a try

started on Summer decore beginning with a few potholders,just need to decide whether to put an X in the middle or stitch all around 🤷

Papas Locas & A Start On The Sample Quilt Top

 Papas Locas aka Mexican loaded potato, different but good,loaded with cheddar, Colby & quesadilla cheese, topped with seasoned steak ,peco Delgado & salsa Verde because I couldn't find chalupa  sauce 

The salsa verde was hotter than expected so I discovered that adding sour cream to it cuts down on the hot

I made a 6 1/2 X 9 1/2 template & got the main block cut out

Figuring out how many rows to add to make ot between the baby size & a twin

This has measurements for twin but it will go over 3" for the maximum requirements,I've never had a quilt judged before so I'm not sure it that would disqualify my main quilt but I do know I cant spend a lot of time overthinking it lol

Sunday Inspiration

 

Little Of This Little Of That

 No complete finishes just yet but sooo close! So I thought I'd ramble lol, I picked up at a few things at the Antique / Boutique shop while waiting on Grace at the vet a few days ago, didn't need this but it called me lol

I am always a sucker for books 

I passed by this little bowl so many times,I finally gave myself an excuse as to why I need it😄 the thought was itd be perfect to hold thread,scissors,pins, ruler,chalk& whatever else I'd need when I started quilting the quilt to be entered into the quilt show

they don't understand why they cant play ,no jumping or excitement for Grace ,Dr's orders, but are content to snuggle under the quilt I'm finishing up stitching the last few rows

I've been thinking about small projects to work on in-between the bigger projects ,dreaming about pillows for summer decore ,I have some apron ideasl on the back burner as well

the drift roses started out with peach ,yellows& pinks but now it seems the dominant color is peach 

More rain is headed our way,this has been the rainiest month so its just a quite  day around here 

Saving Day Lillies From Death Row & Report On Grace

  

Why you should rescue flowers off death row😄 I finally got around to tending to the day lilies I rescued about a week ago,they were so root bound I had to cut the pot off of them,pull off all the entwined roots that'd turn to straw like vines but with time & a knife they were finally free,for the price of one day lillie I saved 6 so the next time you walk past those flowers on death row in the back of the garden center, remember that the life you save may turn out to be the prettiest flower in the garden!

Sewing & quilting projects has had to take a back seat for a few days,my sweet Grace has had to take first priority 

A few days ago I noticed she was not being her normal self,not wanting to eat,not wanting her morning doggie biscuit not even take over my quilt while trying to work on it,then noticed when she went to jump up beside me she'd whimper then paceing all over the house, 6 hrs of test,blood work & X-rays revealed there's servere changes to her vertbra & arthritic changes to her spine causing her servere pain, Dr said it is typical in beagles but rare in those as young as Grace, he said nothing happened to cause it that it just happens & that she was probably born with it, for the next two weeks ,no activity,he wants her to stay as calm as possible,the muscle relaxer takes care of that but definitely no adventures for a while,no jumping ,no walking up steps , shes slept with me since she was 6 wks old so I slept in the floor with her last night not to chance her jumping up on the bed & hurting herself,shes doing good today ,the meds make her sleep a lot ,the Dr is hoping the meds will work this out & not become a long term condition ,I believing for complete healing for my baby girl❤️

Do These Colors Blend?

Im going through what fabrics I have & getting ready to make a  sample top for the paint chip quilt show ,so far I've came across these 3 that seem to be in the same color family 

I've settled on this pattern as it will showcase the birds on the original  quilt for judging 

The pattern also gives instructions for twin & queen for the challenge the minimum is 24 x 24 & the maximum is 60 x 72 ,the twin goes beyond the maximum requirements ,I think I will call & see how strict that is lol but there is room to add additional borders,Im thinking maybe a 3" border of the bird print in the original top & bottom , according to the size rules I can go as far as 6 

But I'm not gonna dare cut into it untill I make a sample & get the measurements & block arrangements ,seam allowances to the tee 😄but I wont spend the time quilting the sample as I have to the end of August to turn it in & the last day falls on a Sunday do I've already lost a day 🤣 there is 14" to play with on the sides to stay within the rules of 60x72

Ok back to the sample😄 

🤔 border decisions, white? pull one or two of these? If these work out I'll start cutting by the weekend for June will be over before I know it & I really need to  have my main fabrics cut & ready to go 

 

Little Things & Quilt Ideas

 The pink fairy's been buzzing around the sewing room pinkin things up 😄

Occasionally I'll get these tiny little silver pins used to pin a price on fabrics etc,so I made a tiny pincushion just for them,so now when they come into my procession they wont get lost lol

I went through a few of my older quilting magazines that I've had over 20 years ,I really like how the arrangement of the blocks create a circle on this one ,it is called Blue Bonnets For Bonnie

Blitzen Mix is a simple yet pretty layout 

How about Peppermint Spin

Speaking of red I think I've dreamed of making the Little Red School  House for over 30 years, I think I should just do it!😄

The 4 Patch Log Cabin looks good in shades of reds & blues

Another pretty displays of blues is the Snowdrift pattern

If I were to start on any of these anytime soon it'd be Blue Bonnets for Bonnie

Sunday Inspiration

 

The Chase Is Over 🤣

 I thought I'd be smart & finish the rustic quilt by machine,not sure if it was the needle, the fabric or the fabric I used for the batting layer but it & the tension kept having a field day no matter how many ways I adjusted,rethreaded etc  so I took it all out, folded it up & put it back in its basket 😄

Its so easy to get upset with someone wasting our time but do you ever get mad at yourself for wasting your own time?🤣

There was nothing to do to make this better but to make cookies😄 

Sadie is spending the weekend so her & Grace got in a little play time before the rain set in

Made a yummy  dinner,the recipe calls it cheesy garlic chicken burritos but I didn't have enough cheese so I made homemade cheese sauce & stretched it with pesto & roasted peppers. basically what I created was a rolled up chicken pesto pizza🤣

Today is another day, hopefully the rain has passed on by, I'll  work on finishing up the green quilt,Im not going near the brown one,not sure who I'm more mad at ,it or me 🤣🤣

So back to what I know I shoulda of done lol

Cutting To The Chase

The weekend's looking bright for a finish on the green scrappy quilt "spite the rain" lol for the rustic brown & red patchwork  midway of stitching circles in the middle of the squares 

I decided to cut to the chase & machine stitch in the ditch by machine & get this baby done!🤣

we're in for more rain so what better excuse than stay held up in the sewing room 😄

For the paint chip challenge Im leaning towards this pattern by Fabric Cafe

The bigger blocks are 6 1/2 x 9  1/2 ,I think that will showcase the birds beautifully 

I cant spend too much time "thinking" about which way to go for two months will go by faster than I think & I do want to make a sample top once I come up with  a final plan before cutting into these more expensive fabrics