Slow Sunday Stitching -- Charm Basket Blocks

It's finally time to look at my (wonky) Charm Basket quilt!  I need TWO more baskets.

My baskets are trimmed to 4.25" vs. the recommended 4.5" unfinished block due to wonkiness.  52.5" x 64.5" finished is the quilt pattern size. I'll be cutting the two baskets pieces this week!  I'll also need to cut the filler block spots for the ends.  The two white pieces of paper at the bottom is where the last two baskets will land.

 The quilt pattern is called Charm Basket by Laundry Basket Quilts.  It is an Edyta Sitar design. I also stitched circles on two Dicey blocks this week in blue (Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2025.)I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching here.

 

Old Town (Bonnie Hunter Mystery) -- RSC25

 I'm excited to show the rest of the pieces put together on my Old Town Mystery quilt!  Look at all those little pieces of orange used to assemble the sashing pieces this week!  Some of the tiny scraps I only had enough for ONE flying geese in the whole quilt.  But it was used.

The photo was taken on our bed which is a California king size.  Although it is big enough, I am going to add one more neutral fabric around the edge of the quilt.  When I longarm quilt, I do NOT like all those little pieces along the edge.  I like edges that are nice, long, and usually flat.  Doing that also helps me square up the quilt during trimming.

I'm so excited that the bin for this quilt is now empty.  Another recently loved project will get a turn under the needle.  Can't wait to see what it will be.  I still need to make a pieced back and longarm this quilt, obviously.  BUT as long as I get it done before Thanksgiving, I will allow myself to start the 2025 Bonnie Hunter mystery (which I'm hoping she will continue to do.)

Bonnie Hunter's 2024 Mystery QAL called Old Town.  You can find the pattern for purchase at Quiltville Quips & Snips here.

I'm linking up at Angela's blog, SoScrappy, for the RSC25 here.

Old Town Progress -- Wednesday Wait Loss 438

 I made more progress on my Old Town mystery this week.  All big blocks are sewn together.

I'm linking up at Wednesday Wait Loss 438.  I was super thrilled how my blocks matched so nicely.  

I've learned over the last few years of experience when I make a super scrappy quilt like this how important it is to make the unit and make make sure that the units measure correctly.  Yes, that's common sense.  But when I make my own type of scrappy patterns, I tend to just make sure that the blocks measure the same.  It makes me lazy when the blocks need to be a specific size.

My task today is to cut and attach the inner border.  It's been in the 90's here in Ohio for a few days.  Looks like the high today is still going to be 86 degrees (F).  Both my husband and son are at work!  I'm going to grab a fan and SEW for a few hours.

Bonnie Hunter's 2024 Mystery QAL is called Old Town.  You can find the pattern for purchase at Quiltville Quips & Snips here.

Old Town -- A Bonnie Hunter Mystery (2024)

 I made some serious progress on my Old Town quilt!

All of the sashing pieces were assembled.  Now all of the rows are put together.  The next step is to pin and sew into one piece!  It's getting exciting around here.

I can't wait to make the red/white checkered border.  All pieces are cut and ready.

Bonnie Hunter's 2024 Mystery QAL called Old Town.  You can find the pattern for purchase at Quiltville Quips & Snips here.

I'm linking up at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!

Slow Sunday Stitching

 This week finds one more EPP flower...

I'm going to have to start putting them all together soon if it's going to be a table topper.

I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching here.

Happy 13th Anniversary Slow Sunday Stitchers!

 

Lots of Orange to Show! -- RSC25

 I set a goal to work on at least one block a day of the Bonnie Hunter 2024 Mystery -- Old Town.

I sewed one block.  When I realized that I was just putting 9-patches together (because the sub-assemblies were done back in January) things really started rolling.  It was a rainy day.  It drizzled and poured and the sun came out and it was on repeat all day.  I decided I could be more productive sewing vs. pulling weeds.

There are over forty different orange scraps in the blocks above.  I have started assembling the sashing.  There are two tiny orange flying geese scraps in each one.  Those pieces are smaller AND more scrappy!  Hopefully I'll be able to show you my progress on those orange pieces next week.  Stay tuned.

Bonnie Hunter's 2024 Mystery QAL called Old Town.  You can find the pattern for purchase at Quiltville Quips & Snips here.

I'm linking up at Angela's blog, SoScrappy, for the RSC25 here.

Old Town -- One Block

 I set a goal to do one block a day for the rest of the week of Bonnie Hunter's 2024 Mystery QAL called Old Town.  You can find the pattern for purchase at Quiltville Quips & Snips here.

All of my sub units for this mystery are complete.  I stopped working on the QAL after school started back after the Christmas holidays (January 2025).  Now that it's summer break, I plan to keep making a block or few until this step (Part 9 -- the reveal) is complete.  

I measured the unit and it came out perfectly!!!  I need to note (on my paper pattern and here on my blog that I pushed the button to adjust my needle to the right until it read 1.5 -- SIX TIMES.). I also used my quarter inch foot.  Making notes like this is critical when I don't get every step done at once and have to pick up the project and work on it again at a later date.

Slow Sunday Stitching -- EPP

 More EPP happened earlier this week.

And yes, you read that correctly on the calendar -- LAST TEACHER DAY.  Can you tell that I used a greeting card and some junk mail for some of the cardstock paper of the EPP?

I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching here.

 

Dicey -- Orange -- RSC25

Here's two Dicey blocks in orange:

I love playing with all of these neutrals.  You can read why I started this quilt here.

I'm linking up at Angela's blog, SoScrappy, for the RSC25 here.

EPP Buds

Students had movie day in their classrooms on Friday.  I managed to sew a few EPP buds while they were gone:

These go here and there in my random hexie flower quilt.  I still haven't decided how big this quilt will be.

I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching here.

 

Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2025 -- Orange EPP

 This week I managed to sew an orange flower.

The school days are starting to dwindle down.  Students will be in school Monday and Tuesday.  The last teacher day is Wenesday, June 11.  I talked to the teacher yesterday for whom I am covering her absences.  She is returning on July 23, but she will need me numerous days when she goes with her husband for his medical journey.  I'm relieved that she will be back and that I will only be filling in for her temporarily.  

The poor dinosaur underwent a little armpit surgery this week.  He is recovering nicely.

I'm linking up at Angela's blog, SoScrappy, for the RSC25 here.

Slow Sunday Stitching -- Temperature Tree

I started a new slow stitching project -- a temperature tree.  I figured I would work on stitching the tree portion this year or 2026, and then add the leaves the year after the tree is complete.  It definitely qualifies as a S L O W stitching project.

I'm just using the pattern to get the idea of the branches and such.  My colors will not match the ones in the pattern.  Even the brown branches will not be the same.  I'm not that kind of person that can do amazing cross stitch like the others in the group where there is one little stitch of one color and then one little stitch of another.  I'm not that organized--neither is my brain.  I just like to enjoy the slow stitching process and stitch.

The little orange blip above the top left corner of the cross stitch pattern is our son in his orange sweatshirt.  He is magnet fishing on the dock.  He was there for over three hours.  I didn't cross stitch the whole time.  But I do feel that I did get some things accomplished.  I do like how the branch of the tree is starting to form.  This keeps me content, is calming, and makes me happy!

This project is going to be kept in a bag in the behind-the-seat organizer in my truck.  There is a perfect pocket for itOur son has activities planned for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for at least 8 weeks.  These activities last 1 to 1.5 hours.  If I'm not running errands such as getting groceries, I'll be happily stitching.

At school I finally had time to stitch a few hexies while I waited for students to come back from their hiking field trip.  I pulled out my green scraps for leaves to finish strong using green scraps for the RSC25 (Rainbow Scrap Challenge at SoScrappy).  

I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching here.

 

The Surgery

I managed to work on a few green hexagons while students were practicing for an upcoming performance.

Ha!  I didn't realize until I posted this pic that one day this month was "wear green" day.  A staff member is retiring.  Green is her favorite color.  

A pink flower was made too this week.

Hope I didn't scare you when I mentioned "surgery" in the title.  I only got a little green stitching during this busy week of school.

I need to remember to throw an eye into my bag to help the turtle with that too.  Poor stuffy.  He is definitely well loved.  Students in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd seem to love to "read" to him.  One student is sad that the turtle had surgery.  I'm thinking that might be the student that tried to make him into a puppet.

Here's his before photo:

I'm linking up at Angela's blog, SoScrappy, for the RSC25 here.

The Osage Orange Tree

This year in lieu of taking the comprehensive final Environmental Science exam, our son had the option to do a leaf/tree identification project.  There were about 26 trees that needed to be found.  Luckily we started before Mother's Day and completed the project a few days before school was finished.

Each photo had the dry erase board with the tree name written on it.  He had to show the leaves of the tree.  This tree is kinda the "joke" of the packet to me.  The little card says, "Thank you for your order!!"  I purchased the last tree that we could not find on Etsy!  Thank you Etsy for coming through again.

This may have been the nicest plant I have ever received that was shipped to me.  It as packaged in common materials such as a cheap paper towel to keep it moist, great soil mix, newspaper, tape, and a plastic bag in a box stuffed with newspaper so that it didn't get shook up too much by UPS.  Look how moist and fresh those leaves look!

The Etsy shop is here.  It's called BlazingStarButterfly.

We planted it in the protected area of the chicken yard.  They shouldn't bother it here since they have so many of my other freshly transplanted plants to tear out outside of the little fenced-in areas.  They really did a number on my corabells that I finally split and transplanted yesterday.  After the tree becomes established I will transplant it to a better area where a larger tree can grow.  This tree is known to us as a hedge apple tree.

School was out on Friday, 5/23.  I think it's funny that I got a text from the school at 8:15 that morning saying that it was the last day of school for some students.  Luckily I'm a mom that's on top of that stuff.  Some students still have exams this week.  Our son did the alternative projects.  I think this tree will be a nice high school memory in the years to come.

Happy Memorial Day!

Slow Sunday Stitching -- Cross Stitch Temperature Tree?

I started a new slow stitching project -- a temperature tree.  I figured I would work on stitching the tree portion this year or 2026, and then add the leaves the year after the tree is complete.  It definitely qualifies as a S L O W stitching project.

This project is going to be kept in a bag in the behind-the-seat organizer in my truck.  There is a perfect pocket for itOur son has activities planned for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for at least 8 weeks.  These activities last 1 to 1.5 hours.  If I'm not running errands such as getting groceries, I'll be happily stitching.

I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching here.

 

Slow Sunday Stitching -- And Some Flower Photos

State testing had me back in my hall monitor/runner spot for sewing.

I think I like making individual hexies and then stitching them together when I have sets vs. the "Bonnie Hunter" way.

Below are some of my flowers that are growing.  Pardon the weeds...  School has been keeping me busy.

Forget-me-nots, a poppy, cat grass, Crocosmia.  The "holes" in the "purple stuff" (possibly called clustered bellflowers) (which are just green now) are where the lisianthus of various colors are growing.  I've never grown those, but hoping for a great year.

I bought the little roots for this light purple plant on eBay about two years ago when another quilter posted a picture of her pretty mounds of it in her flowerbed.  I forget the name.  This bed needs weeded really bad!  The first year I weeded this area I forgot that I had this planted there and pulled a bunch of them out by accident.  Oops.  Glad they came back!

Foxglove (ferns and iris).  The foxglove really re-seeded itself this year.  I dug tons of little starts of it out of the driveway and inbetween the cracks of the rocks and planted them in other parts of the property.  We shall see how they grow.  It seems like they don't care what quality of the soil is where they start. I can't wait until these bloom.  I think there are a few shades of pink.

One of my favorite color of costa -- with it's weed friends growing all around.

Bee Balm (between pink and purple)

Lupines (pink I think). I had a red one, but don't remember where it is or if it survived the winter.

Phlox? (saved from the field...when we realized that some of our stuff wasn't on our property.)

Hosta, lamb's ear, and lemon mint... and some lamb's ear that isn't doing so well for some reason.

Hostas and light two-tone lavender iris

Baloon plant (lilac color) and rose campion behind it

My first poppy that bloomed this year!  This one is from the plant that I split at Thanksgiving.  Behind it is yellow things behind them... oh I forget the name of those yellow things every year.  (They often bloom when the "purple things" bloom.  LOL)

Bachelor Buttons.  Other purple things.  LOL (different from "purple things"). The reason why I have this flower is because I was asking my friend for "purple things".  She gave me this one--which isn't the one I wanted.  I have two pretty bunches of these.  They were started with just one flower on a big root only two years ago.  I successfully split them this spring.  I think the centers of this flower are pretty.

Buttercups hiding in the yellow iris that needs to be thinned dramatically after they are done this year.  I forgot what they were when they came up.  I split them to make more.  This type of post helps me document what they are for when I forget what they are next year.

I've tried for a few years to get my lilac-colored balloon plant to split or grow somewhere else.  Last year I just tried throwing the dried out flowers on the stems in the flowerbed.  It worked!!!  The pretty varigated leave is seedum with a purple flower.

Better photo of the too big yellow iris that will be thinned and replated in the orchard after blooming.

Calla Lily with a varigated leaf.  This is my first year for this plant.  I bought it and split it.  I felt I needed more things with a bright red/magenta tone.  I know I need to dig it up after the season. ... and see that baby poppy growing on the left?  Woohoo!  I've had trouble planting poppies in the past.  Again, I threw down seeds after they dried from the poppies last year.

Another gorgeous purple flower -- Columbine?  Not sure on the name of this one.

More Columbine.  The leaves are similar to the darker one above, but the flower doesn't have as many layers.  I still think both are possibly Columbine versions.

That's all for the pics of THIS "protected" flowerbed.  This is a dog kennel that my sister-in-law gave me.  I keep it in the chicken yard area.  Plants in this fence are protected from chickens, ducks, and deer.  This is where I put "cherished plants" that I haven't grown before and experiment with planting things until I am sure I can grow them.  The soil is wonderful here.  It used to be an old garden that I fenced in to raise chickens.  I have a garden hose nearby so that water is available and I don't have to carry water.

I'm linking up with Kathy's Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching here.