Holiday weekend!

I just had to share this magnificent hybiscus growing in our front garden. As you can see, the blossoms are bigger than my hand! Each blossom only lasts a day, but they are ever so lovely while they last.

The peach farm had a computer print out with this message on it, so I borrowed the expression to stitch onto a wall hanging. I got these lovely fabrics when the quilt shop was having their going out of business sale in early July. They had half yard cuts for $2. I miss that store, but I must say I have plenty of fabric for now.

Here's that tasty breakfast I was telling you about. Blogging makes me take pictures of things I would never have believed I would be photographing!! It's fun.

Life is peachy!

I'm always sad as summer winds down, but there certainly are some compensations. Peaches, for one!

Larry and I went back to the peach farm to get some more peaches. Mmmm. My favorite breakfast starts with a big bowl. I put a little cereal in the bottom, then cut up a couple of walnuts to put in, then slice a peach to add, then top it off with a handful of blueberries and pour milk over the whole concoction. Mmmm. You can see why I need to start with a large bowl! :>}

Whooosh!

Whoosh! Where is the summer going? Instead of doing any creating this week, I have been doing alterations for friends at work. Perhaps you remember a post several months ago when I asked how to say no to these requests. I still haven't figured it out, and I really do like to help my friends (sort of). This week I have shortened three skirts, two of them pleated, and one a dizzying plaid. I also shortened three pairs of pants and shortened the sleeves on one jacket.

Even though it is not my favorite kind of sewing, nothing beats the feeling of delight I get when I have the whole pile finished. Yay!

We have had the most glorious weather complete with blue sky, puffy white clouds, and a pleasant breeze. I was going to show you some more flower photos, but they look a lot like all the other flower photos I have shown you, so I decided not to bore you with them.

We have a friendly orb weaver residing just outside our front window. Every night he (or she, how can you tell?) spins the most intricate web, with the lines so close together, maybe 1/4 of an inch. We love to watch him (or her) at work. By the next morning the web is gone except for one central line, and the spider is doing whatever he does all day. By evening he is back to his weaving project. The morning glories have reached his territory, and we do wonder how much of a disturbance winding vines are to an orb weaver.

I hope you have read "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White. If you have, you will feel quite friendly toward this large (as spiders go) brown eight legged creature.

I wish you the very best on this most glorious day.

Third time is the charm.

I guess precision is not my strong point. It took me three tries to get it right. The first one came out 9 1/4 inches, the second one came out 9 inches - I corrected by 1/4 inch, but the wrong way! Humph. :>} The third time I went with Plan B and made a small star with a border to make it come out the required 9 1/2 inches. I like it! This is the Ohio Star pattern, which I am quite fond of, since I live in Ohio. The assignment was to make any star out of batik on any black background, creating a 9 1/2 inch block. I doubt if anyone else had to do it three times!

Funny shirt!

I love this shirt! It is for an imaginary quilting team from a ficticious college. Nice! If you have read Jennifer Chiaverini's books you will recognize Waterford College, and Elm Creek Valley, PA.

It's fun to imagine just what a varsity quilting team would work on, isn't it? The shirt came from CafePress.com and I found it through www.elmcreek.net which is Jennifer Chiaverini's website.

I wonder why I always look so much older in photos? How did I get so middle aged??

Awww. . .

Thanks, Suzanne, for this darling card! I adore the Koalas and the Platypuses, and look at that beautiful tan and brown ribbon accent. I love the Kangaroo stamp, too. It's such a great Australian gift from my wonderful Australian friend.

The photo came out a bit crooked, but you can see the batik Ohio Star on a black background. This was a request from someone I don't know for someone else I don't know. She asked quite a few of us to make a batik star on a background, in a 9 1/2" square. Well. . . you guessed it. Mine came out 9 1/4" so I am going to try again. Right after I cut out the pieces for the second one I had a "Duh!" moment. I could just make an 8" square and add a 1 1/2" border. That way it would be easy to accommodate a 1/4" difference should the need arise.

It is kind of a get well/hang in there gift for a gal who has been having some medical difficulties.
The stars are symbolic of her shining star qualities, and if you look closely you can see that the black background has silver stars on it! We were free to select any black background, and any batik for the star.

While the camera battery charges. . .

I just took a picture of the darling card I received in the mail from Suzanne (thank you!). The camera turned the picture sideways, and that is its way of telling me the battery is ready to be charged. The last time that happened I couldn't post photos until after it sat quietly in the socket sucking up electrical power for a couple of hours. I can't wait to show you her card, but it will have to wait until next time. The stamp had a kangaroo on it - cute! The card is even better; it has two koalas and two platypuses and some beautiful brown and tan ribbon to accent it.

Larry and I had another day off together and went back to the beach. Nice! We rarely go twice in two weeks, in fact we rarely go twice in the same summer. We have observed over the years that if we try to recreate a perfect experience it rarely lives up to our expectations, but this beach visit surpassed our expectations! When we arrived there was not one other person as far as we could see. In front of us was just sky and water, to each side just sand and trees way off in the distance on one side, and sand and a lighthouse way off in the distance on the other side.

We swam for a long time, then got out and walked all the way to the point in one direction. By the time we got back the beach was full of people! Where did they come from? We ate our lunch then walked all the way to the lighthouse the other way. We came back and swam some more, and then it was time to come home. Larry teaches guitar lessons, and we had kids in and out of our house the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Photos next time!

Good food and good books

This is my favorite of Earlene Fowler's books. It is filled with lovely quilt patterns and stories to go with them.

Our oldest son, Daniel, is kindly posing with a dish of fresh Ohio grown peaches. Isn't he a sweetheart?

I've been rereading these Benni Harper books by Earlene Fowler this summer. Each title is the name of a quilt pattern, and the main character, Benni, is the curator of a folk art museum.

A Day Off

I'd like to introduce you to my younger son, David. He and his dad personify the expression "You can never have too many guitars." David recently moved back home with us, after living with friends for a year and a half. We're so happy to have him back under our roof!

My friend Holly recently became a grandma! I hope baby Ben likes Sponge Bob.

Another bib for baby Ben.

Look what I found when I went to get some sweet potatoes to cook for dinner. I guess I left these a little too long. We decided to plant the one on the right since it had already started growing.

Just a note about the kind awards my friends have bestowed on me. I really do appreciate it, but . . . I am probably not going to do them justice. It takes me sooo long to do the links, and I need to drive out to the fruit farm and pick up some fresh peaches. Mmmmm! I love peach season, but the fruit farm I go to is 25 miles away. It's not too far from where my parents used to live, and I haven't been out that way since their house was sold last summer. It will take an hour and a half to do the round trip, and about 5 minutes to admire the fruit and make my purchase. I would take me longer than that to do the links required by an award!!

Good Morning!

This is for my sister-in-law's birthday next month. I got the idea from Jodie at http://www.vintagericrac.blogspot.com/. She's hilarious! She was busy making stage curtains, costumes, and even decorating shoes, and then her son asked her to make a placemat for the cat, which she did. :>} When I asked her if she minded if I borrowed the expression she said it has been around forever, and wasn't really hers. I hadn't heard it, but I like it, and it suits my sister-in-law perfectly. She is one of the busiest people I know, and is always helping someone.

I know I'm getting a little monotonous with my pictures of small quilts and flowers, but I am so in awe of these beautiful blooms. All they ask is a drink of water from time to time, and look what they do!