Tuesday, July 16, 2024

Summer so far

Needs something more on that back wall


Well, I think it's finally all put back together.  We got new carpeting and flooring in May.  It's great and I love it but why does it have to take so much out of me?  I just don't adapt well or quickly.  I never have.

The quilt in the hoop is finally done and I have it hanging on my sewing room wall.  I started it in 2004 when the pattern first came out.  I hand appliqued the gold house on the right, the whale house, the sailboat, and the house above the whale before it became a UFO.  During the lockdown I tried to finish up things instead of start lots of new things.  I finished the applique and it went into the closet in the quilting queue.

The pattern by Sue Garmen is "All Around Town".



 

As I hand quilted it I imagined who lived in the houses.  The block below was student housing.  Notice the cobwebs on the grass.  College students don't want to be bothered with mowing the lawn.  The house with the angel is "Guardian Angel Daycare".  It was fun to think about the people inside as I quilted.





The "Garden Gnome" is back to work outside.  We have shelled 1,000s of peas.



My granddaughter above was my biggest help.  The peas were picked three times a week and she would dutifully shell peas and only nibble a little.  Toward the end of their growing season I gave her one of the days whole harvest.  She took it home and ate it all.

We are currently working on green beans.  I pressure canned 6 qts. yesterday.  They are not as fun to prepare as the peas and definitely not as sweet to chew on. 



Just a couple of pictures from the 4th of July.  My grandson below is wearing noise cancelling ear muffs.




We try and get together every Thursday for a family dinner during the summer (I have no idea what I am cooking this week!)  Whoever can come, comes, and so it changes from week to week.

Last week was a hot one for us.  I didn't want to heat up the oven so we just had bacon waffles.



It's not a low calorie meal because the bacon grease gets cooks into the waffle.  We ate them with real maple syrup - yum!




I finished this little quilt for my upcoming granddaughter who is due in September.  I made this quilt using a line by Barbara Brackman called Patterns of History from 2004.  It is a very pale pink.  The outer border was ice cream cones.  They were tricky to make but I was rather please when it turned out.

When it came time to bind the quilt, the curves and valleys were definitely not even and were more work than I wanted to go to.  Knowing that even if I worked really hard the binding would still not look very good.  So I decided to do a knife edge.  After working on that for a week (it was really slow and time consuming) I threw in the towel and cut the edge straight for a regular binding.  

I learned a lot about me with this quilt.  I used to like to do things the hard way for the satisfaction of being able to do it.  I have drawn the line with ice cream cone borders.  Uncle. . .  





I call this quilt "Dainty".

Robin

9 comments:

cityquilter grace said...

aahh fresh peas...don't get them too much here in MD but they are sooo good! i love the farmers' markets and their delish bounty....lovely little quilt for your grandie...

Mystic Quilter said...

I remember shelling peas with my Aunt on her farm as a child - one in the pan and one in my mouth! Such a delightfully detailed quilt you have on the wall, mist have taken a long time to piece and quilt Robin.

Linda said...

Your granddaughter is so pretty, and how wonderful that she likes peas and helps you. My Mom and I had a memorable dinner of creamed fresh peas when I was 10 or 11. We talked as I watched her shell the peas on our little tiny back porch steps, and it was one of my favorite dinners ever. I like your new carpet and flooring. That looks like a great transition between them. Love the quilt behind the sofa, it's perfect for your room. Dainty is really lovely.

Denice Barker said...

We buy shelled peas up the road a piece. They make my hubby happy all winter.
I spent yesterday's lunch making pancakes and bacon for a day camp and one of the adults was astounded that I was cooking the pancakes in bacon grease. I told him it gives those yummy crispy edges. Blog post coming on that!

Julierose said...

"Dainty" turned out beautifully--I've never done a knife edge on my quilts--it sure looks lovely...
That was a lotta pea shelling going on there!! Cute photo of your grands....
Try to stay cool as you can--hugs Julierose

Quilting Babcia said...

The baby quilt is so sweetly vintage looking, beautiful finish! I've never pressure canned veggies, we blanch our beans then quickly cool in ice water and package for the freezer. You are fortunate to have grandchildren close by who are willing to help with the produce. We're in the middle of blueberry harvest now. My daughter and grandson are coming in a couple weeks and had hoped to pick but everything is ripening so quickly that I'm afraid the blueberries will be finished by the time they get here. She wasn't able to get any time off from work until the first of August.

Nancy said...

How fun to see your Sweet Land of Liberty hanging on the wall. It looks great.
I also wonder why big house projects leave me so tired. I think it might be my age. Your carpet is beautiful.
I love, love, love your "All Around Town." You did a fine job on it. How fun to imagine the residents of the houses. One other fun thing about this quilt is that you could hang it from any side for a change of view.
I only learned a few years ago that eating freshly shelled peas are like eating candy! Yum. I suspect I would be like your beautiful granddaughter and eat the day's harvest the same day. Great photos of your handsome/cute grandsons, too.
I've never had bacon waffles. They look delicious, especially with maple syrup!
Dainty is beautiful even without ice cream cones around the border. I love the pale pinks.

Barb said...

I love your All Around Town quilt. lovely hand quilting.
Love the idea of drop in family dinner night.
Bacon waffles look amazing!

Janet O. said...

Robin, I love the way you imagine inhabitants of the buildings as you quilt. Makes me smile to think about it.
Oh, I do love fresh peas, but I have quit growing them. I've scaled way back on the garden to protect my back. This year I only have my two raspberry beds to care for, but I may plant a little more next year. I used to have a good sized garden and all the kids would help with it. Doing it myself became too much. Hubby would help water, but weeding was all mine.
Cute shots of your grandkids.
The waffles look (and sound) delicious.
Before COVID we had Sunday dinner together each week. But after Covid we scaled it back to every other week. I don't know that I could handle weekly again. You are good to keep that going through the hot summer months!
Dainty is a sweet creation that has a delicate, vintage look. I chuckled as you described your challenges with the binding. Some challenges I want to tackle--others, I'd rather not. An ice cream cone border is in the latter category!

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