Another batch of quilts

Thanks to Pat, quilter extraordinaire, I have another batch of quilts to deliver to Dr. Kaufman. These two quilts so similar and so different due to the frabrics. She is a much more accomplished piecer, and I hope to *grow up* just like her! Actually our skills are complementary since I prefer quilting over piecing, but there is much room for improvement in my piecing. Hope this wild quilt of mine brightens some child's day! I tried to use lots of scraps, but as usual it hardly made a dent in the pile.

Fruits of our labor

It's wonderful to have help, and in two days we had four five-gallon buckets of peaches processed. What a yield! I made a batch of cordial--well at least I got the nectar made until procuring the final ingredient, juniper berries. I still had a bottle of aged cordial from 2004 which is wonderfully mellow and the best stuff mixed with honey and lemon for a sore throat or cough. Hoping to still get some apples from the local orchard to put up applesauce. It's comforting heading into winter with the cupboards full.

Peach pickin'

What a wonderful day. We headed up to Embudo to pick peaches, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. It always amazes me to see Johnnie's peach tree so loaded. His tree never even takes alternate year breaks. We got there just in time to pick lunch up from Sugar's BBQ We ate at Johnnie's picnic table with peaches periodically raining down on us. Johnnie's place is always a feast for the eyes, but at peach harvest it's also a feast for the nose with the smell ripe peaches heavy in the air. The bees were buzzing all the fruit on the ground, and I would love to find their home to sample some of the peachy honey.

Mango Man

I get up early, usually very early, like between 4 and 5. Once I'm awake, and it's morning, I seldom fall back to sleep, and so rather than toss and turn, thinking about doing stuff, I get up and do it. Usually though, that doing is sitting in front of a computer, responding to email and checking in on a variety of blogs. That all leads to an early, early breakfast, and lately I've been heading out to the sewing room after a couple of hours.

My husband, who enjoys sleeping in and getting up at a more reasonable hour, has his breakfast later. While my breakfast is the usual coffee with manually frothed milk and a slice of toast with peanut butter, his is hot cereal, which I find rather repulsive. My daughters both love hot cereal since he used to fix it for them. I'm not opposed to cooking it, just eating it, and there are a lot of foods that fall in that category like applesauce and canned peaches and pears. (Yuck--he likes the soft Bartlett pears.)

Lately his morning cereal has featured fresh mango, and since they've been large he has shared some with me, bringing it out to the sewing room. All he needs is a cape, and he'll be a real super hero. In my book anyway. What could be more super than a man serving me mango in a Fiesta bowl with a lime slice for garnish?

Lucky You!

My older daughter's fiance gave me lots of labels from his clothing, Lucky Brand, which inspired me to make some things. I made some coasters--which he covets and doesn't use for fear they'll get ruined! Silly boy!

The new love stamps gave me an idea for a wall hanging. They are decorating their bedroom in "primitive" style fortunately for me...

Plum Jam

We got home and were surprised at the ripe plums on our little plum tree. It's really quite productive for not being more than a bush.

I picked all the fruit and it was just enough for a batch of plum jam. I tasted one---yuck! Most definitely better suited to jam rather than eating. I'm hoping to score some apples and peaches in the coming month.

Wyoming rocks...

We had a wonderful camping vacation. My cortisone shot in my knee enabled me to hike and enjoy it, lasting just long enough. It's worn off now and I'm on the queue for a total knee replacement. It should be sometime after December. Picture at right is actually in the Dolores River Canyon in Colorado on our way home.


Our close encounter with a bighorn sheep, which liked to hang out in the campground and walked through our campsite. I was a little concerned that he would knock over our solar panels. Found out later that they had a pair of sheep that liked to hang out in the campground and they relocated them, but one managed to return. I was respectful of his wildness, and didn't get too close. We enjoyed cooler temperatures and beautiful scenery.

Summer in a blur

June is gone, and we're half past July. I had surgery on my right thumb, and read the month of June away with my thumb in a splint. I read the entire Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, and then went on to the first two books of the Twilight series. Now waiting for the third book from the library or paperback edition whichever comes first.

The best laid plans...my right thumb surgery didn't go as easily as the left, with an infection after the pins were removed which put me in the hospital for several days on IV antibiotics. It's now healing nicely, and I'm slowly regaining strength and motion.

Back to sewing. I made some postcards, and finished up another couple of donation quilts. Looks like we're going to take the camper out and head north, to cooler temperatures and maybe some hot springs. I need to get some more books, but my thumb is also well enough to knit.

It's raining, it's pouring

There was a nice reward this evening for the an entire day of off and on showers, an awesome, bright, double rainbow. I convinced everyone to go see it even though it was still sprinkling a bit.

We've also had a little early morning visitor. Not the greatest picture quality, but he was busy going all along the fence line checking out plants for insects? grubs? I wouldn't mind it if he found another place to hang out. They are so pretty, if only they didn't stink! We're getting lots of migrant birds now. Western Tanagers have found the oranges I put out there, and the hummingbirds need air traffic control for the feeders!


Pat is here and we are having a quilting holiday, trying to get a bunch of quilts done for Dr. Kaufman. Together we are so much more productive.

WIP Wednesday

Hard to believe another month has passed since I last posted. Spring is a busy time of year. There is so much happening outside and new birds keep arriving every day. I finished another pair of socks, and started on my third. So now, no matter whatever else I'm doing, I have a pair of socks in the works as well. I enjoy the knitting, and can knit while riding in the car or watching TV. I don't have to be fast, just keep plugging along on it.

These are both made with Panda Cotton, 59% bamboo, 25% cotton, 16% elastic nylon. I'm hoping they will wash well, and shouldn't shrink like my wool socks.

I'm trying to whittle down my UFO pile. This is a quilt I started last summer for a friend. It's a Nine-Patch Pizzazz, which I don't tire of making. While working on this one, I also cut focus fabric for a donation kid quilt. I won't bother saying I'll try to post more often. Maybe after I have surgery on my other thumb and won't be able to knit or sew as much.