Chistmas Already?

That is what my crazy Christmas Cacti think anyways. A couple weeks ago I brought them in the house from the porch because we had frost warnings, and someone told me..(I remember this now).. that when you do that it will spur them to bloom. They did.
I took them back outside on a sunny afternoon last week for a picture.. the white one opened up first.. and now today this red one.
Magnificent I think. The leaves on this plant are so pretty. The white plant not so much.. and I don't know why.. I treat them both the same. But it never looks as healthy as this red one does.

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A couple weeks ago I got a surprise package in the mail from my new friend Lily Xue. These little owls she makes are so adorable. He perches on my computer screen quite nicely. She is a crafty one, and we have had fun trading some things back and forth from Ohio to Tokyo. I had won a contest over at Terry's Treasures..oh it's been several months ago now I think.. and it included some magazines that I had duplicates of which I wanted to share with Lily-Xue. When I got the package from Terry.. which I just thought was going to be the magazines.. there was also this adorable fabric collection inside!..Isn't it pretty?.. and really perfect for my new project. Thank you so much Terry.. and I'm sorry I have been so lame in not mentioning it until now.

Anyway.. lots of folks adore these types of owls that Lily Xue sent to me.. and if you are just new here, I have posted a link to my own tutorial on the sidebar to make another version of them with yo-yo eyes and jingle bell feet. They make really cute ornaments for this time of year.

Still working on the Black and White quilt. I've decided it's going to be for one of my boys for Christmas. I hope they aren't reading this. But I guess if they are, they still won't know quite for sure which one it's for.
Here is the back. I am loving the way the thread is making designs.. kinda reminds me of snowflakes.
The backing is fleece like you would use to make hoodies, which I was hesitant to use at first because I didn't know how it would quilt up, but it's working just fine. I had a lot of odd sized pieces, so I just sewed them together any which way.. red, white and gray. I'll show the whole thing once I get it done.

And I'm starting a new project which I shall blog about tomorrow.. here is a sneak peek.. lots of pink..

A Lavender Tale & Some Pretties.

Oh Little Baby Fox Squirrel, you are so cute to watch when you are running around the trunks of the trees chasing your brother, and even when you are sitting on this old feeder in the way back yard nibbling on corn and seeds..

But when you come up on the porch and start digging.. searching for who knows what in my precious baby lavender plants.. this means WAR.

There are only three out of the eleven little plants left that were growing along so nicely from seeds. I think I can salvage them. Mr Attic reminded me about the old bicycle basket that I used to keep the bunnies from eating my crocus this spring..

So even though it doesn't look so nice.. it's here. I imagined them getting too wet, too hot, too cold, too dry.. but never this!

Nothing bothers the geraniums. They must not taste very good because even the earwigs, slugs and sow bugs leave them alone.

I'm still working on a special doll outfit.. and when it is all finished I can tell the story about that.

But I did open up some of my half yards from the quilt show... dreaming of them in a quilt.. maybe something Material Obsession-ish. I am absolutely smitten with their stuff.

Or maybe some more bags. They are so quick and fun.

A Little Nature Walk

A few weeks ago we discovered a very pretty place to go for a walk about three miles from where we live. It is some sort of wildlife conservation park, with 2 miles of mulched trails in the fields and woods. Pets are welcome as long as they are on a leash and cleaned up after. Our nine year old pooch loves going!

He's a pretty big dog, sometimes very naughty, and my baby. The family thinks he totally takes advantage of me.. but that's silly.

Anyway.. today I welcome you to come along with us. First we'll follow this trail through the open fields, where usually we see rabbits, groundhogs, birds of all sorts including wild turkeys and pheasants. But not today.. because I had my camera, and we really were making a lot of racket.

These Multifloral Roses are just starting to bloom here, and smell wonderful. I could never figure out why they were called roses, because they look more like apple blossoms to me. The bees love 'em.

This is the first entrance into the woods..

Today the sun was shining so pretty through the trees..

May Apples grow thick in places. All the blossoms are gone now, and if you look underneath you can see the little fruit. I could never figure out why they were called apples, because they look more like umbrellas to me.

Along the trails someone has made lovely signs identifying the different trees. Here is the King of the Woods.. a Red Oak..

..and the Queen.. a Wild Black Cherry.

There are a lot of wild grapevines growing everywhere..

I remember as a kid my older brothers used to play Tarzan on these, and swing from trees. One time I took a ride, and it was so much fun.. but very scary!

Here are some that have new little red shoots growing out on them. I thought this looked so pretty!

Terrifying! No wonder people make up frightening stories about huge monsters lurking in the forest...

Ahhh.. a nice safe Sugar Maple..

..and some more May Apples..

All along the way there are benches to stop and rest.. and even a place to bring a picnic basket..

if you're not afraid of the wolf..
Ha. Fooled ya.

"We know there are little critters living over there under that bridge.. can we go see Mommy?"

Awe drat. I can never catch them when I'm tied on this leash.

On the other side.. a Black Walnut. Love the bark on this. But the fruit is very messy.. and it stains.

A Woodland Folk pretends to be a Beech tree..

And in this climate we learn the saying when we're very little children.."Leaves of three, Leave them be". Poison Ivy. But I can pull it with bare hands and it never bothers me.

Here is a small deer hoofprint. Looks like a "V"

..and one more little foot bridge takes us back into the field on the other side..

Here are some Indian Paintbrushes.. the yellow kind. I really love the orange ones, but didn't see any here. They have a warm thick smell when the sun shines on a whole field of them..

And here was a plant I have no idea what it is. The leaves are gorgeous, and there is some sort of flower beginning in them. I can't wait to go back and see how they look next time. The little white flowers are something else.. but I forget the name now. Help me out Ulla or Melanie. ☺

Some very pretty tall grasses..

And some purple and white flowers.. again I don't know what they are, but they are everywhere along the highways..

Back at the car, these daisies were flourishing right in the gravel driveway. Maybe I need to get some of this gravel and dump it around mine!

I know this was a long walk, and thank you for going along with us. We've been going almost every day that it's nice enough out, because we're afraid by next month the heat and humidity will fill the woods with mosquitoes and the fields with horseflies that bite. Then I'll stay home in the air conditioning and sew. ☺

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Here is that little project I was using the vintage fabrics for last week. They were for a dear friend.. and now she has them. ☺

Scraps & Hitty

Yesterday I hit a milestone of sorts. After filling both arms of the new Raggedy Ann I'm making for a little girl's birthday party next week, I realized the bag was about empty. So I went downstairs where I store all my stash and such, reached into the huge box of polyfil only to discovered I had one bag left. The last bag of polyfil. Which is kind of monumental for me because I had purchased this huge amount about 9 years ago when I was really making a lot of dolls. Then when I switched gears to just making doll clothes and quilts a while back, I thought I'd have stuffing to last me the rest of my life. This is the last bag, so I guess I'll have to start watching for a sale.

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Monday this past week was Hitty Club. Hitty is my little wooden doll that I like to sew clothes for. She has a history and everything, and there are collectors who go bananas over her. I don't really collect her per se, but I do enjoy getting together once a month with some friends to play with her, and divide up our fabric stashes. Also to snack. It is my duty to bring the tea cookies each time. I always stick to this same recipe 'cause everyone loves them...

Lots of times we have a project planned where someone shows how to make something. But this month we just dumped fabrics on the table and spent the day cutting out little dresses. The theme was Strawberry Festival, so there were a lot of strawberry prints. Of course my Betsy McCall always attends to show off watch, and she brought her new cousin Barbara..

You can see some of the Hitty dolls standing around watching too. After all.. it is Hitty Club. Those bags hold teeny tiny snaps for the backs of the dresses. I really loved some of these prints. Especially that yellow one with the little irons.. and the one above with the tiny birds.

One of the girls brought a treasure for show and tell. She found these handmade dolls at a flea market.. for a very good bargain. I forget now exactly who the figures are... but they are Liberty of London dolls made between 1930-1960. I found just a little bit of info here.

Anyways.. we were to be drinking coffee and talking/laughing and seeing what everyone brought to show cutting out Hitty dresses. The girls took care of me and cut some for me.. so I brought five of them home to sew up.

It was specified that we must all complete at least one of the dresses before our next meeting.. which is a shopping spree to Charm and Berlin Ohio at the end of June. We will each take one of our dolls dressed in a new outfit..(I know you can't see me right now.. but I am totally jumping up and down with joy just thinking about this trip!!) I chose to finish this green and black one with the little strawberry print. Think I'll appliqué some circles of fussy cut strawberries to the skirt to make polka dots. I've got the freezer paper cut and ironed onto the fabric to make the appliqués, and one dot cut.

The girls are so good to me. I know they hate seeing me dig through the trash.. so they piled up their scraps in the middle of the table in baggies for me to take home.

Lovely scraps!!! I can use them for all sorts of things.

And no one ever heard of saving selvages.. so I educated them a little bit on that. I have never done anything with them.. but I know some people who do. ☺

Tomorrow I want to show you a new park we found to take our dog for a walk. So come back if you want to see a lot of green. ☺

P.S. I couldn't leave without showing you my rose bush this morning.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend!