We had a very nice Spring and Sir Old man worked tirelessly in the yard completing projects from my list for him. We had 2 truck loads of mulch spread over the beds to give them a refresh. the crew also planted a couple of new trees we got for Earth Day from the power company and Clemson. Sir Old Man finally added the birdhouse he built for the Bluebirds. And can you believe it is already occupied! It has been fun to watch them darting in and out or sunning on the roof. he is inspired now to build another one for the front yard.
We spent one Saturday morning adding some edging plants to the back bed. It was one trip/venture I made away from home....to the garden center nearby to select some herbs and ground covers for the back. And yea, we ran into a quilting buddy. Waving to Yvonne!
I was working on the insanity during the pandemic quilt last time I posted. It is assembled and ready to quilt. Thanks to Sir Old Man learning to pin a quilt! Without his help I would not have gotten both of these ready to quilt.
The top one is another wall hanging build around some more pre-printed panel parts. Small sections of watercolor florals frame the parts I put together. Fusing onto interfacing and simple stitching, I can handle right now.
Note to self....you are now out of both batting and interfacing. Need to order both.
Both of these are smaller so I am hoping I can manage the quilting.
We have had over 7 inches of rain in the last week.....stormy days and such. All add to the aches in the hands and wrists. So for simple stitching time.....personal therapy session.... I have been doing some scrap and crumb piecing.
I have a small basket of bits and pieces by the machine. It is easy to grab a pair and build a section like the center part here. I needed a leader/ender project while stitching the fused floral units for the wall hanging.
I decided to use the light print with and rosy vine on it for a constant thru out. I have quite a bit of the light, which I am sure I was saving for something that will never happen, and this seemed a good time to use it!
Beyond freely stitching and a light press for now, there is no real plan. I have about a dozen together , so many more to grow. I will square them up to a common size on a less painful day.
Our world is beginning to open up a bit. Sir Old Man has been doing all the shopping, and keeping me home. I am allowed to ride along when he gets gas or goes to the dairy. There are times you need to see that the world still exists. I went to the podiatrist last week but had to wait in the car until they could slip me into a room and then right back out. I was notified that another of my doctors retired......I am assigned to a new one for next month. Oh, joy....lol.
So while I chose to not blame anyone for what has happened, I do recognize the take aways during this time. Never forget how much freedom means.
Never freely give up your rights to be free.
Forever and always be thankful that we are free, and live in a wonderful country that lets us be free. Free to love others, free to be ourselves, free to walk among the world.
And today we remember those who died for our right to be free. And once again I share a favorite wall hanging entitled Remembrance.
Happy Memorial Day.
Happy stitching.
16 comments:
It is good to catch up with you Debbie. Sounds like much is happening in your yard--I'll bet it is good to get out and work in the soil.
You have made a beautiful wall hanging from the panels. It really sings!
Sometimes my leader/enders are all I can stitch--because I don't have the brain power to think about anything that takes a decision.
I am sorry you are dealing with pain. The barometric pressure changes can sure do a number on our bodies!
Your poppy wall hanging is GORGEOUS! Such a beautiful reminder.
What a great blog post, and I love the Remembrance wall hanging. I just watched the President and First Lady at the Memorial Day Service at Fort McHenry. Very moving.
Aw, Sir Old Man has been busy! Glad you got help with the mulch (ours kinda did me in!). So good to see you are getting some sewing in and are getting out a little. We're getting lots of rain as well. The last few months have been a big wake-up for a lot of reasons, for sure. Hopefully we can all learn from it and move on (and do better if/when it happens again?). My WP son's class motto is "Freedom is Not Free" which always makes me stop and think of those who have fought for our freedom.
Your quilts in waiting are so lovely and fitting for these very unnormal times. And your poppy quilt is perfect for this weekend. Simple stitching seems to be the order of the day for many of us. Lately no stitching seems to have taken hold, sadly. Sir Old Man and you have kept busy despite your heightened pain levels. The humidity and barometric pressure added to the tree pollen are wreaking havoc on our systems here, though we're happy to finally be past the snow, hopefully. We especially need to be vigilant regarding the flagrant assault on our religious liberties that is going on across the country. I keep repeating to myself Faith over Fear. We will get through this, hopefully stronger than when this nightmare began.
hanks for the update. It sounds like you are keeping busy. I don't get out much but I do go to the grocery every 10 days. Tomorrow will be exciting, we'll be doing a curbside pickup at JoAnn's. We get to take a driver - it's 35 miles to the store! Good luck with the new doctor. I do love your Remembrance quilt. May we never take our freedom for granted. ~Jeanne
I have been thinking of you as the weather has played havoc with me as well, so I know you are more affected. Small steps and stitched - enjoy it rather than rush it. Your Remembrance quilt has always been a favorite - poppies always remind me of my great grandma who was a great influence on me.
So good to hear from you, Debbie. Clearly the weird weather from winter is going to continue into summer. We had snow a little over two weeks ago and now we are expecting record heat, near 90 degrees the next few days. So my spring planting is non-existent. This may be the year my garden downsizing really takes hold. Your projects are lovely and I really like the Remembrance piece with the poppies. So timely.
Hope the rains go away for you soon. Stay safe.
Pat
Debbie, so good to hear from you. The isolation in this time is making me crazy. Although I learned and joined Zoom, it is tiring and not the same as talking to real people. We went from having the furnace on and freeze warnings to 86 degress yesterday. So now, the AC is on and the pollen is flying and landing. So good to see you working.
OOOhhh. I love that poppy wall hanging at the very end of the post. I so appreciate all that lost lives fighting for our freedom. It does mean a lot to me.
Between Mom and I, we have had to go in 5 times to doctors offices in the past two weeks. We did the "get there, call in, and wait in the car" routine also. I actually like it better than the waiting room.
I'm happy to see the beautiful projects you are working on. It sounds like your hubby is really being helpful. Take care!
It's good to hear from you again. Nice quilt with the poppies.
It was good to see your post & catch us up on what you two have been up to lately. Sounds like Sir Old Man is a real help & blessing to you. Maybe soon he will crank up that sewing machine & really get into quilting. :) After all, a sewing machine is just a power tool with thread! I always love to see your Rememberance wall hanging. It is a combination of 2 of my favorites...colorwash & poppies. We have Eastern Screech Owl boxes scattered in our yard & love watching the owls each year. Birds have such a calming effect on me. Thanks for your catch up post & hugs to you both.
the weather impacts us... cope, cope, cope... rain especially. My ear closed up last week with pain and deafness from allergies to pollen, and then a migraine! It's always something isn't it Debbie! You make such beautiful art, the poppy piece is so moving. Despite the pain, you make beauty... so glad you do, and share with us. We've done very little with the yard since we got snow June 1 last year, and I don't know where I can safely purchase plants anyway.
I think our most important American rights is free speech, and the right to a free press so we know what's going on behind the scenes. My relatives fought fascism in WW2 to protect those rights. Many of my friends went to war on behalf of our country too... and I'm grateful for their sacrifices... never take for granted.
Great to read your catch up and glad you are getting some piecing done. Love all you share. Thank you. Stay well.
I'm late to the party!! Hope you'll show us a photo of the bluebirds one day in a post to come. You obviously have a good man if he's happy to help with the pinning, I'm happy you're now able to quilt them a little at a time.
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