DIPPING MY TOES IN THE TDF

I don't think I even attempted to play with TDF (Tour de Fleece) which coincides with the Tour De France; a fun way to inspire and motivate me to get back to spinning!  This is some Gulf Native sheep wool that I cleaned and dyed myself.  I will finish up this fiber that has wanted to be yarn for several years!  It is very relaxing and I enjoyed the few hours I spent spinning.  

 

HOME PLEASURES

After church and a nap once home, I had made plenty of the granny squares are laid out on the floor for me to see if there are enough and the size they make altogether--I am satisfied and will be crocheting them together today!  It's a yarn quilt!  

Bill had the pleasure of seeing the greater egret yesterday--

they sure are beautiful!

 

FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA

There was a lot of red, white and blue on display 

on our ride to the southern tip of Amelia Island.

We drove through marsh/bog land and  many bridges over islands scattered between the bodies of water.

We saw so many different ships on our drive--old freighters,

and even a decommissioned Navy ship which was very cool!

Finally, this bridge brought us to

 the entrance to Amelia State Park.

And then we drove through sand roads 

that were only accessed by 4 wheel drive vehicles! 

And then we found the rest of the family and enjoyed a lot of fishing, crocheting, talking and laughing and eating!

The view was unbeatable.

Bill caught and released a baby shark,

and this needle nose fish was fascinating to see up close!

The beauty of the day was a gift from God.

 

THE FOURTH OF JULY-250 YEARS

All of the sashing strips and cornerstones have been cut

 and I even started stitching a few rows together!  

Then I laid out the completed Liberty Box blocks

 and played around with the arrangement!

There were enough left over HST's that I added them to the left side to make it wider and then tweaked the layout

 to make me happy! 

 But instead of sewing these red/white and blue blocks today, I am going to the beach for a family 4th of July celebration!

LET NO ONE DIMINISH YOUR PRIDE TO BE AN AMERICAN!

250 years is a long time to learn and grow.

I remember celebrating our 200th celebration as a new bride just a few memories ago....

 

SEW DAY

The stars were finished at the sew day yesterday.

I had some leftover HST's so I added another row to make the quilt wider.  It is now 56" wide but there are still borders to add so it will be10" wider still all around.  A good day! 

And someone misses me when I am gone so long--

a good nap was good for both of us!

READY, SET, SEW!

The table runner is finished!  Nice to see the interlocking rings! 

 21" x 52"

And I am all packed up for a QOV Sew Day today at our local quilt shop-it's gonna be a good day!

(my grand daughter is home and recovering from her surgery-she says it is nice not to be in pain and throwing up!)

 

A TYPICAL DAY

Yesterday, I made several star blocks and started arranging the blocks on the design wall.  It's a very different array of prints 

but I like it!  More stars will happen today.

I also loaded the table runner 

and hope to get some work done on it today, too.   

And this is what my grand daughter did while I was stitching away--on her way to the big hospital for an appendectomy!  

Nothing like arriving in style!

 

A PANEL QUILT FINISH

Bound, labeled, washed and dried and ready to hand in to our QOV group this week!  The quilt ended up 60 x 72" in size. 

 

Today, I hope to load and quilt that table runner

 and piece a few stars!

TWICE AS NICE!

Now both pair of socks are ready to send off to my daughter!  That Felici yarn is so much fun to knit up!  

I do not have to go anywhere today so I will get back in the studio to finish up that QOV that needs trimming and binding.  I will also do some piecing on the new Liberty Box quilt, too!

 

YARNING

My latest Corner-to-Corner (C2C) blanket is finished! 

 This was made with Hobby Lobby's

 Yarn Bee Simply Flawless yarn in Cobblestone for the main color and Teal  for the accent stripes.  

I used a size H (5mm) hook. 

 The blanket is so squishy and soft;

  it is a great yarn to work with and I highly recommend it! 

 This blanket is 40" x 48".

 

REARRANGING

I was up bright and early yesterday to change my room;

not only a slight change but some major rearranging!

 We took the big oak bed frame apart and moved it to another room and moved the tall dresser into the same room. 

 I kept just the long, low dresser.

The rug was moved and everything in the room 

was moved to a new spot but one!

Bill was a trooper;

 hauling and mauling all of the stuff I had accumulated!

After 8 hours of work, I have a new layout 

and a room that is clean from one corner to the other!

Bill even mounted the tv onto the wall which is so convenient! 

 We both went to bed with very sore backs!

Lena was very suspicious of the new arrangement 

 but after a good sniff and rub on everything, 

settled in for a good night's sleep also!

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

All of the large HST's are sewn and trimmed!  --  all 48 of them!

I sewed only one of the star blocks

 just to see a few blocks on the design wall!

And the large top is done with its quilting! 

Now to load the newest table runner but I will not get to this until Saturday because I have a doctor appointment in St Augustine! My friend, Mary, will go with me and we will make a day of it-shopping, lunch and together time!

 

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN IT IS 100F OUTSIDE?

You play in the studio!

I added another partial row to these blocks to get an idea of size, if I added sashing.  But a miscut meant that I am a block short.  

I will pick up another fat quarter this week at my LQS to make the last block! I think I will also buy some fabric for a border,

 then it will meet QOV  size requirements!

(with sashing, it is 48 x68")

I also cut out the pieces to begin work on the Liberty Box quilt!  Nice and easy cutting which included NO mistakes, I'm glad to report!

 

TWO PROJECTS

I have a beautiful stack of granny squares--I will make as many as I can with the yarn I have of the colored squares and match it with the solids to make a blanket.  They are very relaxing to make and since the migraine after-effects are lingering still, 

mindless is what I need! 

I also cast on another ball of sock yarn from my daughter

 and that is zipping right along!  

AN EARLY MORNING JAUNT

Early morning colors for Solstice--I cannot see the first (nor the last for that matter) of the sun because of the trees that surround my piece of land but I do enjoy the colors of both sunrise and sunset!

There has been enough rain to fully mature these stems--instead  of the 10" (like the little one on the right), this year the stalks are 24" and the blooms the size of your open hand!  Beautiful!  They are another type of lily, (locally known as pink rain lily or a Zephranthes)

A few sunflowers are coming up from the bird seed droppings!

Yellow elder which is a favorite stop for hummers!

This one is a creeping ox eye (Sphagneticola) and 

is a very pretty ground cover.

 

SOCKS ON SUNDAY

Why do I usually post socks on Sundays? 

 Because that is what I knit on the way to church each week during our 35-40 minute drive!  I finished this pair for my daughter and I will be mailing them out on Monday. 

 SockEase yarn and 2.5mm needles over 64 stitches, 

toe-up with a gusset heel and a 2 x 2 rib.

Enjoy the longest day of the year today!!!

 

GENTLE STITCHING

A bit of fun sewing happened yesterday; a 9 x 10" zippered pouch resulted!  I added a little Seminole piecing to the front and back and a even a tassel for a zipper pull. 

 It is quilted which gives it good body.

It is lined with a pretty lilac fabric.  

I did forget to check one thing when I stitched the sides....

I didn't match the two bands of piecing!  

Humility is good for all of us, isn't it?!

 

RENEWAL

The violet is blooming again! 

 I brought it home in April 2025 and it  has stayed healthy 

and rigorous but this is the first time it has bloomed again. 

 It makes me so happy!

I'm a bit under the weather--a migraine kind of puts me out of commission for a bit but I do have some yarn to keep me company while I rest and recover.  It's important to know how to rest contentedly.

 

TAKING TURNS

The table runner is done, I even made the binding but it will have to wait for completion until

I get this off the frame!  It looks like a lot of standing time is in store for me!