Marvelous Monday Update 8/26/2024

Happy Monday! The beautiful weather with 70-80F temps and no humidity has come to an end.  The forecasters are predicting 109-112F heat index for the next few days with high humidity.  Ugh!  Thank goodness for air conditioning, right?

 

What have I been up to this past week?

 

MACHINE EMBROIDERY

I made this table topper after last year's Kimberbell Day.

 

 A couple of closeups show the detail of the machine embroidery and the quilting design I chose.  Isn't that glittery spider the cutest?

I finally got around to making the quilt label for the back. So now I can finally call it a FFO!

 

STITCHY STUFF

I misplaced my Halloween issue of Just Cross Stitch so I did a deep dive into the stash to try and find some Halloween designs.  I'm hosting a Halloween Mailart Exchange on the FB group Stitchers of Mailart. I also signed up for a Halloween Ornament Exchange hosted by one of my FB friends.  I also found a link to some Halloween freebies on Cyberstitchers.

I didn't have plans to complete the Halloween Ornament in one weekend, but I did.  Whoop! Whoop!  I can't show it in entirety, but here's a sneek peek:

I hand dyed the fabric back in March when I went to the Spring Hoosier Retreat.

 

I had some random spools of Kreinik in ziploc bags so I decided to organize them into my existing storage boxes which happen to be 20 guage shotgun shell cases.

 

As you can see, I'm now up to three boxes.  I have an obscene amount of 032 blending filament.

If you're interested in seeing how I store my other stitchy stash, click on over HERE.

FURBABY LOVE

Early last week, I gave Bailey a bath because she smelled like she rolled in something outside.  I kept calling her my "Stinky Girl" LOL.

 

 

She has always had a floppy left ear.  Isn't it endearing?

 

On Saturday, both Bailey and Baxter had a scheduled spa day. I could hear Bailey crying when I entered the grooming salon to pick them up.  Poor girl. 

Both were so happy Mama came back.  They smelled so good!

 

This morning I woke up to Baxter letting out a scream at 4:50am.  I jumped out of bed and ran to the kitchen.  He was cowering in the corner of his playpen and he had pee'd himself.  I gave him a bath, he went outside to do his business, and ate breakfast. He seemed okay.  Scared the bejeezus outta me!

 

Based on what I told the vet, they think maybe he had a seizure due to low blood sugar.  They suggested I give him a small snack at bed time and journal this in case it happens again.

GOOD EATS

I tried a new spaghetti squash recipe. It had bacon, garlic, and onion in it.  The receipt called for Parmesan cheese, but I was out so I used Mexican blend.  It was so good!

TRANSPLANTS

Last year, my supervisor gave me a Kalanchoe for Administrative Professionals Day.  It had outgrown the pot it came in so I transplanted it in a larger pot. I'm hoping it will bloom again.  The tiny flowers were so cute.

Months and months and months ago... Did I say how long ago?  I propogated Sedum Morganianum (Burro's Tail) and Echeveria Runyonii (Topsy Turvy) from leaves that dropped off of a mother plant.  They were finally big enough to be planted in a pot.

This was the pot the Kalanchoe came in.  Both have homes on the window sill of my office.

Until Next Time,

Marvelous Monday Update 8/19/2024

 Another weekend gone by.  Hope yours was good.  How is that possible it's already the middle of August?!

Here's what I've been up to...

STITCHY STUFF

I've made some progress on Mrs. Martha 1776. I finished the banner, flag, and put in a few more stripes on her dress.

I'm contemplating putting on backstitching for the hat, face, and hands. It doesn't show up well on the fabric as is.

MACHINE EMBROIDERY

I finished the table topper I started on Kimberbell Day.  It's very cheerful!

 

 

I put labels on the backs of all my quilted items.  I hand draw and letter them.

 

CRAFT NIGHT

Usually the library hosts one craft night a month. This craft was originally held in July, but a Tornado Warning during craft night put the kebash on participants finishing Beeswax Wraps.  So, it was rescheduled for this month.  I didn't know this was a thing until a few people talked about it.

 

Instead of using plastic wrap or aluminum foil, beeswax wraps can be used.  Reuseable food storage and bowl covers.  Who knew?

 

GOOD EATS

I tried a new thing!  I made turkey meatloaf.  It was pretty good and will probably use the recipe again.

Are you a foodie who likes to try different foods and recipes?  Or, are you a tried-n-true, same 'ole, same 'ole safe meals kinda person?

DIY

If you've been a long time reader, you know I'm a DIY gal.  If I can make it or fix it myself, I will try.

I've had a few chairs that were in dire need of repair. Last weekend, I finally set about bringing the chairs back to life.  Here's what two looked like before:

I don't remember where I got these, but the frames are sturdy.  Just needed some new webbing, that's all.  I've been picking up webbing still in the package from garage sales and thrift stores for years... really cheap!

Fast forward a couple of hours and viola!

The pink one is my favorite.

Until Next Time,

 

Marvelous Monday Update 8/12/2024

Happy Monday!  It seems like the weekends go by so fast.  Did you do anything fun?

CRAFT NIGHT

I mentioned in a previous post HERE, my local library hosts a monthly craft night.  This month's craft was resin art.

We got to choose a silicone mold and dried flowers to make our resin art.  There were all shapes and sizes.  I choose a round coaster and set to work laying out the flowers.

 

Once the flowers were laid out, resin had to be mixed.  Had to stir very s-l-o-w-l-y to avoid air bubbles.  Resin is VERY sticky!  All the flowers had to be taken out of the mold and a thin layer of resin poured in.  Then the flowers were put on top of the resin and more resin over top of that.  If a person wanted to add color to the art, then a powder had to be mixed into part of the resin and poured over again as the last step.  I chose a blue/green color for my coaster.

 

And here it is. 

 I love how it turned out.

STITCHY STUFF

I had some time last week to work on Mrs. Martha 1776.  I wasn't a fan of stitching the tan on tan for the banner, but once the backstitching was added it looked a lot better.

MACHINE EMBROIDERY

A couple weeks ago, I posted about Kimberbell Day (here).  We started the Choose Kindness project and were to finish it at home.

I sewed all the chopped pieces together to make the quilt top.  Using the blanket stitch on my sewing machine, I quilted the top, batting, and backing together.  Once I get the binding and quilt label on, I'll show the final project.

CASITA NEWS

I finally had good weather (i.e. cooler temps, low humidity) to work on cleaning the oxidation from the Casita.  I shared the process HERE.  This past weekend, I was able to finish the top half!  I am so happy about it.  

Oxidation cleaner, Polish, and Wax... no more getting up and down the ladder a hundred times.  Now to finish the bottom half and the door.

Doesn't it look good?!

GARDENING

One of my favorite garden decor is a solar watering light that I have set up in one of my larger planters.

The lights flow downward like they are watering the flowers.  So pretty!

Until Next Time,

Marvelous Monday Update 7/29/2024

 It's hard to believe August will be here in a few days. Summer has flown by so fast.  What have you been up to this past week?  As usual, I've had a few things going on.

MACHINE EMBROIDERY

The second annual Kimberbell Day was last Saturday. 

 

It's a national celebration of machine embroidery.  Shops all over the U.S. host the Kimberbell event which is held the last Saturday in July.  This year's theme is Choose Kindness.  

I missed the fun last year, so I put it on my agenda this year.  My "local" shop (which is 45 minutes away) had us prep fabrics for the project we would be doing while watching Kimberbell zoom live on the TV screen.

 

I had my fabric and machine ready to go by the Tuesday prior!

 

Saturday arrived. I packed the car and was and ready to go.

 

 

We played games.  I won two prizes for finishing two word searches, and one a prize for spinning the prize wheel.

 

While we watched the live Kimberbell Day show, we worked on our Choose Kindness project.  We all hoped we'd win a prize from Kimberbell, but alas... none of us did.

We didn't get our project entirely finshed, but everyone made good progress.  Here's what mine looks like so far:

 

Everyone had a lot of fun the entire day. I hope to make it next year! 

STITCHY STUFF

In a previous post, I showed the ornament I made for the Patriotic Exchange.  You can see it HERE.  While in Virginia, I received my ornament from Sue V (my second mom).

She painted a wood ornament and attached the stitched piece on top of a piece of felt.  It's embellished with tiny star buttons.  Isn't it adorable?  The design is part of Olde Glory by Heart in Hand.

 

I'm crusin' along on Mrs Martha 1776.  I had one stripe on her dress almost half finished when I realized I was off by two columns.  Whoops!  I like the nubby end of the mini seam ripper to "erase" the fuzzies off the fabric.  It does a great job.

I couldn't find any of mine, so I improvised by using a small piece of magic eraser.  It worked pretty good.

No trace of red fuzzies.

 

Since I was close to Hobby Lobby on Kimberbell Day, I ran over and picked up a few more mini seam rippers.  They're only $1.99 vs. $6.99 at JoAnn Fabrics.

While watching the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, I stitched on Mrs. Martha.

DOGGY DIARIES

Bailey turned one year old a couple weeks ago. We (and by "we" I mean me, Baxter, and Bailey) celebrated with a little party, complete with a photo, doggie cake, and of course a new toy.

 

 

Doesn't she have the sweetest face?  It's hard to believe she's already one.

Baxter celebrated his 2 year birthday back in March.  Poor little guy spent almost a year with his leg in cast after he was dropped and the leg was broken. Three surgeries later, he's back to "normal".  His leg still bothers him if he walks too long.

Mr B is so adorable. Everyone who sees him falls in love with him.  I tell him he's my favorite boy. LOL

 

Until Next Time,