Fresh from the vine....

 

At last, at last!! Enough tomatoes for more than just a taste.  I have had two tomatoes for a snack two nights in a row and consider myself blessed.   I could about eat the entire bowl...I do love tomatoes that much.  When I think of tomatoes, I think of my nephew Glen and me coming in from our adventures and having two or three for a snack in the afternoon.

After vacuuming and finishing a bit of laundry...I went to the sewing room and have finished the backing for the crumb quilt.  I won't be attempting getting the layers together for a few days.  I so wish I could get in the floor on my knees but that is no longer possible.  

It was overcast this morning, then the sun shone most of the day, but now overcast again.  We need rain so I am complaining.  I am hoping to get out for a drive at some point.  I have been seeing sumac ablaze with color but always at times I cannot stop and/or not room to pull off the road.  I have in mind places that it grows along dirt roads.

For now, I will wish you all a good week ahead.  I am tickled that I got to start mine off with a bit of sewing.

From Lorelei....

 Last week they never notified Sarah that Lorelei was one of the kids exposed to the child that tested positive for Covid.  From things I have seen on the local news, if a kid has had direct contact with another student that has tested positive, the parents are notified.  We kept waiting last week, and Sarah never got any notification.  And then by the time she didn't hear anything, Lorelei does not want to come for just one night...she wants to stay two.   So we got her this weekend.  

Anyway, I have a couple pics of Kitty Soft Paws that she took...

Isn't she beautiful.

And she has the personality to match.  She really is a sweetheart.

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Now for some of Lorelei's artwork....

The above is something she looked at and drew...it was not her creation.  Not sure how to word that.  But shoot, to even look at someone else's sketch and to draw that good is amazing to me.

And then there is the above...something she drew from some game, so for sure not her creation...but her drawing of someone else's creation.

And then there is the above and below.

I think she did make them up.  She calls them her robot girls...

I think she is creative.  And believe you me, she get this part from her mom, papaw and her aunt.  And not sure about her dad and his side of the family.  I would dearly love to be able to sketch, but I am just not good at it.

Just wanted to share these....hope you guys are having a good weekend.  

Going to try explaining...

 Joy, at Joyful Quilter asked me how I made the leaf.  I made another one yesterday and tried to take photos along the way.  I know I should have taken a couple more, but going to make do with the photos I took.  This post is photo heavy, and will may be boring to some of you...don't feel bad or feel like you have to comment...I tried to write how I did it without photos to email Joy, but it is just not the same as with pics.  

(Please note, I forgot to change the copyright from Lorelei to my name...she did not take the pictures.)

I used a piece of  paper and folded it in half, and cut out the leaf shape.  

I opened the shape and cut in half from top to bottom, cutting a slightly curved edge down the middle.  As you can see I drew an angle on both pieces while they were laying face up, together.  This is a sort of guide/safety measure.  to give me a straight line to lay your first fabric strip against.  And also, this is to ensure I make halves that fit together when completed.

Above we see first fabric pinned to the paper...it is lined up on one of those lines, though you don't see the line.  I will place another strip of fabric right sides down, along this piece and sew.  Then flip the fabric open and press.  Then place another fabric on top of that. 

 If I don't like how wide the fabric is, I can bring my next fabric back away from the edge and sew.  I continue on till the half leaf shape is completely covered by fabric strips.  I used a basic 1/4 inch seam through out, but this is one part that the seam does not have to be exact.  And in a case like above, I trimmed away the excess of the fabric on bottom but that is not absolutely necessary.

I totally forgot to take a pic from the top of the piece...but as you can see, it looks a mess till trimmed.  I always prefer to lay on the cutting mat and trim with rotary cutter along the edge of the paper foundation.

Next I choose a fabric for the stem.  I want it a bit longer at the top especially, and I should have left more room at the tip than this shows.  I lay the fabric RIGHT SIDE UP and then place one leaf half RIGHT SIDE UP on the chosen fabric.

Again, use the rotary cutter and trim along the edge of the half leaf.  

Now, remove the paper from the back of the leaf and place the leaf and the stemfabric right sides together and take to sewing machine and sew using a quarter inch seam.  They look like they can never be sewn together but you just sew a few stitches and manipulate the fabric.

After sewing, use iron to press the fabric away from the leaf.  See how nice and flat it lays...

Then take the other half of the leaf and place on top of the stem fabric.   Remember both should be RIGHT SIDES UP.   I usually start at the wide part a bit over an inch wide and then angle it till it gets narrower.    I don't really know if anyone will try this, but if anyone does, if you make the vein too narrow there can be a mess with the seams being too close together.  I don't mind the little bit at the tip, but not sure if it could be made to press flat if it was that narrow all along the vein. 

 

Again, trim along edge of leaf half, remove paper, and place right sides together and take to sewing machine.

A new leaf is born!

Disappointment...

 We had to delay getting Lorelei.  Someone in her grade had tested positive for Covid.  We do not know if it is anyone she has had contact with.  I am not sure how many different classrooms there are for her grade, but there is a chance it is not someone she has contact with.  

She has been sending me pics...

Isn't Kitty Soft Paws beautiful...I think she is about the prettiest cat I ever saw.

This is funny to me...Kitty Soft Paws has so much fur, yet she is still choosing to lay in the sun.

On the other hand, if Rosie is resting, she wants in your lap or in a quilt or blanket.

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I had did some cooking earlier in the day  till I would not have to cook when we got home from getting Lorelei .  Then in the afternoon, I played a little bit with scraps of fabric. I don't really like that huge chunk of green on the tip on one side, but I was not changing it.

I think I will make a potholder with it, but that is not set in stone.  I just wanted to play with fabric a bit...and this was as far as I got in my thinking.  That is about it for now...

Pics of this and that...

 

We are really enjoying this hibiscus.  It does not have near as many blooms as the pink one.  But usually has one or two, and one day had four!

I am still have some beautiful coneflower blooms.  Love them!

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I have been cutting  2 1/2 inch squares from scraps and the triangles to go with them and played with a few the other day.  Roger really liked this block.  I have heard this block called different things, but my favorite is Sister's Choice.  I think if I should decide to make more, that I will try to not make it quite as scrappy as this.  Right at this present time, I still want to get the backing made for my current quilt top.

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My brother and his wife came down and spent the day yesterday...it had been a long time since we had seen each other to visit. 

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I got the gutter part of the front awning did today.  So glad to have it done.  Neighbors came over and set a while when they seen me sitting down for a few minutes.  We have hardly visited since Covid hit.

I had to put away the the ladder, the hose, and some tools I had had to use...and came in and was warming up leftover chili for our supper.  Lorelei texted, and wants to come spend the weekend.  What more could a person ask for!  We meet half way and get her so it is not very time consuming for either her mom or us.

I will leave you with something that will bring a smile to your heart.

The video I embedded can only be seen by watching it at youtube....if you want to watch it, it is HERE.  It is only about a minute long.

Job finished...

 Daughter was here last weekend, and came back yesterday.

We finished her curtains for her living room.  

They are 90 inches long.   She originally wanted them to just touch the carpet, but while we were making them she said she did not mind if they puddled a bit.  Good thing.

I am always afraid when making something like this that one will end up a lot shorter or longer than the other one, but my daughter did the measuring and cutting for these.  I was strictly the pinner and sewer.

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I am starting to make the backing for my latest crumb quilt top.  I make these quilt tops trying to just use what I have here.  But almost every time, I like them so much I want to buy a backing that I pick out just for them.  I finally remembered some fabric that I bought on sale and am going to use it...i will have to chose some more fabric use with it, to make it big enough.  

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I have been reading The Good Good Pig by Sy Montgomery...it was one of those I got for a couple dollars.  For the most part, it is an okay book...but there are moments that I do absolutely love it.  And some that bore me.  Still, it is fun to take advantage of the warm days and sit in the swing and read.  I try to do that some every day.  It is one of the things I miss most in the cold winters.

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I will leave you with a Jeanne Robertson video...

Who can resist a face like this...

 

Most days I go sit in the swing on the porch to read, if just for a few minutes. An most days Bubbie comes and sits beside me. Some days he just wants to be near me with me reaching down to pet him.

Other days he is a bit more into fun...here he is on the little table beside the swing.  Reaching to grab whatever is near...he is 13 yrs old and will still occasionally try to hide and jump out and scare me when I am walking in from the garage.  Not to mention that he almost always escorts us from the garage to the house...so he can protect us if there is danger.

And while I am at it, have had this for a few days...we have a new name for Otto...The Old Man.  He cannot hear...Sarah has to send Rosie to get him to come in.  He will just stand out in the yard  sometimes.  Does not hear Sarah call...so she tells Rosie to go get him and she will go poke at him and/or get right in his face and yip and it seems to wake him up to the fact he needs to come in.

He is still easy going...loving.  Absolutely one of the best dogs ever.  We always look back with laughter on some of his stunts....The trying to hitch a ride with the UPS guy one time...he got in and Sarah had to literally drag him out, another he was dragging Sarah on the school bus to be with the kids...and one time he totally loved going to Show & Tell for Lorelei.  

Jeremy also bought a Corvette one time...something was wrong with it but I forget what.  He knew it when he bought it...he bought it to fix and sell.  We were there one day and Jeremy was getting ready to take it for a test drive....Sarah told me "Watch Otto when Jeremy gets in the car!"  Oh, his tail could not have wagged any more and his ears perked up.  There was just something about that car he liked. 

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Yesterday we were up close to the swamp area so we had to go by there. 

Can you believe this much color...and there was quite a bit more. 

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I had something else to chat about but I swear I have gotten side-tracked and cannot remember what it was.   So.... 

Have to share this little video.

  

Those Were the Days...

 First a pic of me...back when I worked at the orchard...that was so much fun.  When I first started I had a crate in front of me and two behind.  They held a bushel each.  

And then I was looking through pics and found the one below.  Look close.

Do you see Charlie(short for Charlotte) stretched out against Delta?  This had to be over two years ago.  It is when Charlie was a young kitty.

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Daughter came yesterday and we worked on her curtains again.  

That is the fabric she chose.  She used it before in her house in Missouri. 

If anyone ever orders fabric for curtains, be sure and talk to someone and make sure it is understood that you want it in one length, or give them a minimum length of the pieces.  The is drapery fabric.  Not cheap even though she got it half price.  It was from a big name company.  They are in most bigger cities around here.  Even Terre Haute used to have two, but they did go down to one.  

Anyway, my daughter ordered it on line, before she even got moved, and it came.  She did not open right away.  When she did it was in pieces.  I know at least 3 pieces...and two of them are two short for anything.  But it was so much later that she opened it that she didn't really complain.  I would have been very vocal.  $25 a yard is too much to pay and get pieces.  And you don't want pieces when you order curtain matierial and  they should know that.  Especially when it is pattern that big that has to be matched.

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I have been busy all day...we even went to Menard's and picked up a few things.  Doing this and that around here.  I stepped outside to go pick the two or three tomatoes that were ripe, and the heat hit me like a brick wall.  I came in and checked the temp...it was 92°F but felt like 113°F.

Then right before dark I heard the chairs on the back porch rattling and just as I opened the door the wind tilted the wooden swing forward, but not till it fell, pick on its toes of the front 'legs'  and blew all the way across the porch...and only stopped because it hit the last post.  It blew chairs along in front of it.

I hope your week has gotten off to a good start. 

Just bits...

 I don't know where to begin...

The highlight for me was we went to this little park north of Danville, Illinois day before yesterday.  It is where I get lotus pics,

as well as turtle pics.
It is also usually where I get photos of Great Blue Herons and Swans, as well as egrets.  However everything was so grown up, it was to tall to see any herons or egrets, and the swans were no where to be seen.  The only bird I saw was one solitary Red-winged Blackbird.  So no bird pics this time.
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The main part of the place is like the above...still those lotus are way taller than they appear in the pic.

Then there is this small area of this grass stuff....the right side has always been sort of like this but usually not the left side. You could not see through it at all.  I am not sure what this grass is but it is very invasive. 
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I have been busy all week but no pics.  I did do some weeding and things look better but I need to do more.  I did the usual vacuuming/cleaning  and things of today.  We had leftover pizza  for our evening meal.
The highlight was I finally got back to my sewing machine for a while this afternoon.  It was to work on daughter's curtains, but that is fine.  It just felt good to be sewing.
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I just finished The North Runner by R. D. Lawrence.  I could not believe it when I saw it was in kindle form.  In less that 5 seconds it was on my kindle.  It is one of my all time favorite books.  I have the paperback version I got before we had children;  I have read it several times.  It is one of those books you hate to see end.

All tuckered out...

We went to Indy this weekend to see the girls and Lorelei and the grand fur babies.  Delta was never still when I was at her house, but Lorelei's little dog was.  

The above and below pics were shot by me.  Rosie was asleep in Lorelei's lap.  

The following shots of Kitty Soft Paws are by Lorelei...

If you will notice in the shot above, Otto is behind her...and he is snoozing, too.

She is about the most beautiful cat I ave ever seen.  Her tail is long and has a white tip on it.  She is so sweet natured, but will play with Rosie sometimes.  She played more when she was younger I think.

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Lorelei continues to be enthusiastic with school.  She still has not met her art teacher.  But likes her music teacher, her home room teacher...not sure what or if she teaches something else.  And likes the other teacher.  

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I have been busy as a bee today...and still did not get weeding done.  I vacuumed our Toyota Rav 4....and while out there I vacuumed the garage floor.  Or did to the best of my ability today.  It looks a whole lot better, but I did not move stuff from around the wall.  I always keep a couple jackets and a flannel shirt or two in the Rav for times when we are out and it gets chilly.  You cannot imagine how many times I have been glad to have them.  They have been in there a bit too long, so I brought them in and washed them.  I have not taken them back out.  I also keep a towel...

I made up Roger's medicine for the next two weeks...it takes a half hour at the least, and sometimes when I finish one bottle and have to open a new one it takes longer.  Usually several of them hit at the same time...

Still have things to do...I hope the week is a good one for all.