Category Archives: Springtime

Spring? Really?

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Well spring supposedly arrived last month. And it did for a while.

My crocus, daffodils forsythia and tulips all took their turns making an appearance. We spent time outdoors doing some spring clean up and getting excited about planting and enjoying our backyard again. Then Mother Nature decided to do a bit of bait and switch and send some chilly temps back to visit. There were even a few snowflakes sighted and even some hail. A few more warm days arrived and then poof!, we woke up to temperature of 39 this morning. Really?! Sigh I think we are on the weather roller coaster.

Looking ahead, I do see some warmer days in the near future. At least that is what the weather guessers are saying. I hope so. I am ready to spend some time sitting outside, soaking in some Vitamin D and listening to the birds singing their lovely songs. In the meantime, I’ll keep busy in my sewing room, take a trip to the library and choose a couple good books to read, watch some Yankee games and maybe watch a couple movies. Spring, and eventually summer will arrive. I have faith.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, my snowmen friends are reminding me that it is 8 months until Christmas.

Hope you are having a good day. Be well. Stay safe.

Bye for now.

Ginny

Spring is here

When we returned from our trip to California to greet our new grandson, this forsythia was blooming the best I’ve ever seen it. After this crazy, insane year, I think it knew that I needed to see that normal things were indeed going to happen again. And yes, they are. After being fully vaccinated, we were able to take that trip out to Cali. Precautions still being taken of course (will masks be the new wardrobe accent indefinitely?)

So, a new grandson, spring blooms, vaccines — hope springs eternal as they say. Just who are “they”, btw?

I just wanted to pop in here to say hi. Haven’t been here in quite a while. I wish you all a Happy Spring. Can’t wait for summer and some beach time.

Stay well. Bye for now. See you soon.

Ginny

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Is Summer Really Almost Here?

So here we are at Memorial Day weekend.  Does it feel like it to you?  With the rhythm of the weeks and months being so different this year, it is hard to believe we are at the end of May.    The weather here has not been consistently giving the signs of us coming up to the unofficial start of the summer that’s for sure.   But I was happy that over the last couple of weeks we have had some pretty nice days to tease us a bit.   This gave us the opportunity to spend some time outdoors working on weeding and getting our flowers and veggies planted.

We also had one of my favorite irises bloom as well as getting to enjoy the first rose of the season.

Last year we had a robin’s nest in a tall shrub outside our bedroom window.  It was visible from one of our windows and we enjoyed watching for those little blue eggs to hatch.  I wondered if there would be a nest again this year.  I had noticed a couple of robins spending a lot of time on the fence and on our air conditioner in that area.   Well, on Friday while working outside, I noticed a bit of straw-like material hanging down from the shrub and sure enough, there was the nest.         wp-1590272569888.jpg  We can’t see the eggs this year but we will be sure to be careful when we are in that area to not disturb the little family.

The houseplants are now in their “summer place”   wp-1590268629166.jpg   and I got my fairy garden set up   wp-1590268354710.jpg .

As far as what’s been happening in my sewing room,  well, as you might expect,  there are still masks in production.

There are some kiddie size ones,   some masks with extenders and some from my teal and purple day.    But there was also other sewing that happened too.

 

I made a couple of cell phone pillows and I have been working on my Christmas hexagons.  I’ve got 32 completed and ten more ready to go.   I think I will make a hexagon version of the zig zag tablerunner.  I am excited to see how it turns out in the end.

And yes, BFF, I have done a bit of work on the Farmer’s Wife blocks we picked a couple weeks ago.   No pressure.  🙂

And so, as I said, here we are at Memorial Day.  Today is a rainy day and I actually have been enjoying the sound of the rain outside.  I do enjoy a day with rain instead of just a day of grey drizzle.  It makes for a nice day to read.  The plans for the rest of this “long weekend” (it all feels the same to me) will be to be outside and enjoy the nice weather that is supposed to be here for a few days starting tomorrow.   We will watch the virtual Air Show tomorrow and  grill some burgers on Monday.   I will probably do a bit of summertime decorating inside.

There will be some creative time too of course.   I have been checking out things for Christmas.    After all, as my snowmen friends have reminded me ……20190605_180216.jpg …. only 7 months until Christmas.  🙂

Whatever is happening in your neck of the woods, I hope you have a good weekend.   Do something creative.   Stay safe.

Bye for now.  See  you soon.

Ginny

 

What day is it today?

I find myself asking that question each morning.   Everyday seems a lot like the day before, and the day before,  on and on.    Sigh.   How are you all dealing with the sameness?

When it is nice outside, we try to get outside for walks or a bit of yardwork.  We are really enjoying all the spring blooming that’s happening.  This forsythia makes me smile every morning when I see it.    wp-1586210392181.jpg

Inside we keep ourselves busy with chores,  small projects and coming up with some twists on dinner to try to change things up a bit.   How many ways are there to make chicken?  Apparently,  quite a few.   Did a bit of decorating for Easter.

The sewing room has been getting a bit of use too.  Not everyday.  I must admit it is sometimes difficult to get my motivation in gear.  But I have gotten some things done.

There is a thing going on about putting teddy bears in your windows or somewhere prominent for kids to see when they are out taking a walk with their parents.  It’s like they are going on a Bear Hunt.   So, I put one of my teddy bears in an upstairs window waving to any little hunters that may be passing by.wp-1586210436035.jpg

And I made a little teddy bear on my embroidery machine to sit in my kitchen window.

I am working on some bunnies for Easter baskets.  The hardest part is getting the ears pinned onto the hoop in just the right place.  The stitching only takes about 3-5 minutes.    Since I couldn’t get out to do shopping for bunnies, I just went with bunnies I had left from last year’s Easter orders.  Luckily I had enough for all 6 grandkids.

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This one was made for the newest addition.  Shhhh!  Don’t tell Aviendha she is getting a yellow bunny for her first Easter.

 

There have also been some masks being made.  Some with ties and some with elastic. I have a bunch more cut now and I’ll get to sewing on them over the next couple of days . wp-1586211571149.jpg

At night I have been making progress on the hand sewn hexis.  I’ve got 24 done, with 18 more waiting to be stitched.

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I work on them while watching tv at night.   I got a few more done last night while watching two really great Country music shows.   I enjoyed that night of music so much.

That’s what I’ve been up to the last couple weeks.  What have you been doing during this time of quarantine, sheltering in place, staying home… whatever the words are that you want to use to describe it?

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods.  Take care.  Stay home.  Stay safe.

Bye for now.  See you soon.

Ginny

Social Distancing

The phrase of the month.    I was looking forward to going to see the movie Emma last week…… nope.   We also had plans to go to a local flower show and get some ideas for this seasons garden beds…….. nope.   We luckily had done a good amount of shopping a couple weeks ago so our pantry and freezer was pretty well stocked.  Just needed a few things and our dear Kathryn braved the crowded stores to get what we needed so neither of us had to venture back there and  we are all set for a couple weeks now.

OK, no movie, no flower show, no shopping, no picking up our grandson after school.    What shall we do to keep busy?

Well, first of all, I headed up to my sewing room to clean up and rearrange a bit to get set for some extra sewing time.

Rearranged my jelly roll and layer cake storage cabinets,   hubby helped me add a pegboard  to the wall by my embroidery machine so I can hang my hoops there and then I organized my scissors and rulers and templates.   Ready to continue work on some projects.

After I got done with that,  I prepped some hexagons for handstitching while watching tv in the evenings.   I had finished all the ones I had brought with me for my “retreat” time at my sons’.   Emma was replaced with some Call The Midwife episodes and a Svengoolie movie on Saturday night.

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We didn’t get to go to the big flower show but we took a walk around our gardens and enjoyed the show our own bulbs gave us this week.

The weather has been fairly nice so we get to take walks around the neighborhood.  We are getting started on our spring cleaning,  we are trying out new recipes and I have already read two books since last week.

I don’t know how long this new normal is going to last.   I miss seeing our kids and grandkids.   I miss baseball.  I was looking forward to the start of the season.  I hope hubby and I don’t drive each other totally crazy.   Without the schedule of school pickups,  lunch with friends, the occasional trip up to see my sister and my sons and other plans that were on our calendar, the days seem to all blend together.   I am looking forward to when we can get back to our old normal again.

In the meantime,  we will make the best of it and if the weather continues to warm up, we will get to do more work outside in our gardens which will be great.  We will enjoy walking up and down blocks we usually just drive by.   We will watch movies on Netflix and Prime that we have been meaning to check out.   We will get some painting done and closets gone through.   I will finish the log cabin quilt and a seat cushion for a friend (although I don’t know when I will get it up to her).   I’ll plan my next quilt.

So,  as you maneuver through this new experience,  look for something to make you smile each day.  I know it will be harder on some days than others.  Like today was for me but the smiles did come.  What are you doing to keep yourself occupied?  Are you home with your children because school is closed?  How is that going?  I would like to hear about how you are all getting on.

Wherever you are,  be well.     We will get through this.

Bye for now.   See you soon.

Ginny    

 

 

 

 

Easter Creations

It was a busy week in the sewing room the last couple of weeks.  It was fun making all these cute critters:

 

And the baskets to go with them:

 

 

So, Easter is done, is it time to start thinking about Christmas yet?

Hope you all had a great week.   Be well.

Bye for now.  See you soon.

Ginny

 

Springtime is Here

We’ve got  hyacinths and daffodils and pansies blooming too.

 

 

And we have our seedlings sprouted on the windowsill.

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Yes, we did have some frost the other morning but I am confident that spring is here.  While we didn’t have the winter I would have liked …. more snow…… I am embracing the change of seasons and ready to focus on springtime projects.   In my last post I challenged you to guess what my minky was going to become.   If you didn’t guess, the answer is in the picture at the top of this post.  Easter Bunnies! I love this ITH (In-the Hoop) project.   Of course, I needed to add just one more cut of minky for a  bunny I need to make for a special little girl.

20190329_134544.jpg   I love this swirly pink minky.

I’ve also got some of these bunnies ready for personalizing this year too 20180331_211751.jpg                                                                                                                                               as well as these cute little baskets                                                                                                                                        Easter Baskets

 

 

 

 

 

My sewing room is full of bright, spring colors and I am loving it.   Are you ready for the change.  I am guessing that is a resounding YES!

And, how are you doing on the de-cluttering?   I must admit I have slowed down a bit but I have had a clothing donation pick-up so I’ve made progress there but not so much on my craft items.   I think I’m going to schedule in 30 minutes a week to go through something craft supply related and make some progress. Slowly but surely will get me to my goal.   My house needs to feel lighter.

That’s all for today.  I hope you are enjoying this change in the weather.

Be well.  See you soon.

Ginny

First blooms

Summer stopped by for a quick visit a couple of days last week which was a nice change from the damp, rainy spring days.  Then today, poof — summer retreated and we were back to a wet rainy spring day.   I know that we need both those rains and the bright, sunny days to bring us the beauty of flowers.   That was proven to me on Sunday morning as I was taking a walk around the yard with my visiting Grandog.  He stopped to check something out on the ground and my eye caught something bright in the rosebush we were standing by.  Lo and behold there it was!   My first rose of the season.20170521_100801.jpg

I was so happy so see it.  Roses make me happy.   But so do the rest of what is now blooming in my gardens.    I have some beautiful irises making an appearance

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With the annuals we’ve added this week, it’s beginning to be quite a colorful landscape out there.

Some of my favorites:

20170519_190730   Geraniums always remind me of my paternal grandparents.  My grandfather had a garden in the yard of their Brooklyn apartment.  There were many things in his garden but I remember how I loved the scent and the slightly fuzzy feel of the leaves on the geraniums .  My grandmother had a window box full of them by the window where we would sit and look out on the backyard.   My gardens wouldn’t be complete without them now.

20170519_190722.jpg   The smell of my petunias in the evening as we sit outside on the front porch or out in our backyard is such a welcome reminder that summer is here.

20170519_190744   And the marigolds have such an earthy smell and I can count on them to be brightening the landscape well into the fall.

So that’s what I am seeing as I look out my windows into my gardens or walk around along with some still blooming Azaleas as well as some mystery spring-blooming purple flowers that I never planted but they show up every year.  They could be a weed for all I know but they are pretty and so they are staying.   The Rhododendron bloomed  a couple of days ago and I went around and checked all the Chrysanthemums and most of them made it through the winter and are sprouting their new green leaves.  More promises of fall color.   And the Tiger Lillies are going to put on a beautiful show for us down the road.

I will be adding more marigolds and geraniums for sure and there will be Sunpatiens added to the backyard and some black-eyed Susan’s need to be replaced up front.  I want to add some Dusty Miller around the border of a flowerbed at the edge of the driveway where the Tiger Lillies are.

I hope you are enjoying your gardens as much as I am enjoying mine this year.  Any guesses on whether or not I find some different type of plant I’d like to take home the next time we make a trip to the nursery?  If I was the betting sort, I’d say yes.

Have a good week.  See you soon.

Ginny

A day outdoors!

We were awakened early this morning by very loud thunder.  But a couple hours later, the sun was there to greet us.   Finally,  a beautiful, warm, sunny day.   I stepped outside after breakfast and was amazed at how wonderful it smelled.  What could it be?  The only thing that was blooming in the back were the azaleas we were putting in.  20170429_184659It took me a little bit to realize that my lilac tree on the side of the house was in full bloom and filling the yard with a wonderfully sweet smell.20170429_184637

Earlier this week some more of my tulips bloomed.  The name of these is Wine and Cheese   20170429_184439-EFFECTS  Love the combination of the yellow and deep red.

20170429_184428  Of course, these deep, burgundy tulips are awesome too.

So, it seems that we have turned the corner and it is  definitely the time of year to start spending more of our days outdoors.   I was so happy to be outside for the majority of the day today.  Lots of clean up done, azaleas and forsythia planted, pots are ready for the annuals to arrive.   I love seeing all of my hostas unfurling their leaves.

Tomorrow will be cooler but we will still spend a good amount of time outside.  Our attention will be focused on the lawns and also the vegetable beds.  I will probably also get my herbs planted.

Summer is coming and I am looking forward to many lazy days lounging outside enjoying the fruit of all of the labor we are putting in now.

Have a great week all.

Ginny

 

 

 

 

What’s in my craft basket?

I’ve been spending a lot more time with my embroidery machine the last couple of weeks and since it is springtime (although not quite feeling like it today), what else would I have in my basket but………

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  ….. a bunch of bunnies!

It’s been a lot of fun making the stuffie bunnies.   Next I will be attempting to embroider names onto the ears of the larger bunnies.   Wish me luck.

This is also in my basket:

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I will be adding the Chenille-It this week.   I was hoping to have it done already but things just kept pushing it to the back of my list.

So, that’s a couple things I’ll be up to.   What things are  in your craft baskets?

Have a good weekend.  See you soon.

Ginny