Midnight Munchers and Other Happenings

Yesterday morning I sat down on the front steps to tie up my walking shoes and suddenly stopped... where there had been abundant Geranium blooms only the afternoon before, now there were only chewed-off bare stems!  Groan. The midnight munchers (deer) have been at it again. I use a product that works well in the perennial garden but hadn't even considered our front steps! I've never known them to eat Geraniums before either. I mixed up a batch of "I Must Garden" after our early morning walk was concluded and discovered the Hosta blossoms and the entire Clematis vine climbing up the lampost just behind it had been torn apart as well. Time to be proactive and spray around everything. The product is linked above; I've been using it for a few years now and find it to be highly effective. I just need to remember to be diligent in its use.  

So, while I am trying to repel some living creatures from our yard...

...I'm also determined to bring others back! The Goldfinch had been conspicuously absent this year; until a neighbor told me about feeding Sunflower Hearts & Chips. Well, what do you know? Slowly, a few more each day, they have returned. They absolutely love this seed... maybe a little too much! $$$!! My plan is to switch them back to Thistle seed, which I already have on hand but now I'm worried that they may leave again if I do that. I just don't know.

The Bluebirds have returned to raise a second family already.

And this, from the orchard. Our first ever apple. But, on the entire apple tree, only the one! Why? Maybe it's the same old story as I started with... perhaps it's the midnight munchers; they're particularly fond of our peaches out there too. It's hard to keep up.

Meanwhile, back inside the house... is there a quilter in this country who's not working on a R,W & B quilt in celebration of America 250 this year? Count me in with all the rest. 

Even the trimmings are patriotic!

Work on my version of the Sarah Barker sampler continues in the evenings; seemingly with no end in sight. When I embarked upon this project I had no idea it would take forever; however, it is actually larger than I had envisioned as well as a labor of love; I must say that I am truly enjoying the slow pace and the results. It's a pleasure to return to night after night. Undoubtedly, I will be sad when it's completed, she and I have become a good friends. 

I've got a surprise (WITH ATTITUDE!) loaded onto the longarm right now (speaking of projects that have dragged on for an eternity) and am eager to reveal it soon (I hope)! Someone is keeping an eye on me while I work, it's good to be held accountable. 

SEW... what's new with you?

Life is Good!

Bye-bye, July!

It's been a fruitful month; lots going on and plenty accomplished on the home front. These peaches from our own trees were as delicious and sweet as they look. The deer thought so too. We managed to harvest a few more than are pictured here but, sadly, not many. Everything was looking great out in the orchard. We checked on the peaches daily and watched them grow and ripen to perfection. I was lulled into thinking that the deer repellent that I was spraying regularly was keeping them at bay. Silly me. Apparently the aroma of these picture-perfect beauties was simply too tempting. Last week we discovered piles of pits on the ground and half eaten fruit tossed all about. It was heart breaking, I had big plans for peach desserts and putting up jars and jars for the winter months; not anymore. Mr. G is already hatching a plan to protect our maturing fruit trees and their bounty for next year. It's too late to try anything now, plus and he's too occupied with the kitchen project at hand. We hope for better luck next year. 

I've begun quilting on the Susan Ache "Gratitude" quilt from last summer's sew-along. I found a wonderful pantograph: Strawberry Fields which seems just right.  I have backed this one with the same fabric as the outer borders and I'm simply in love with the print! 

Here's the selvedge trimmings to give you an idea of why I have a huge crush on it. 

Take a look at that serged edge on the backing; isn't it a thing of beauty? Say "yes"!  I've made a pact with myself to use my serger more; "Why?" you might ask. A few weeks ago I pulled my old Bernette 334D out from the depths of the stash closet where it has resided for years on end. My son needed some camping towels to be trimmed down, "easy enough", I thought. Think again, it was a disaster! I couldn't get it to stitch, or move for that matter, without seizing up and breaking threads. It was in bad shape and I was frustrated to my core. Mr. G looked at it and made some suggestions (oil and a good cleaning were two of them). I'm embarrassed to say that I've had the serger since September of 1990 and have never performed even the simplest of maintenance tasks on it, I know better. Treat your machines well and they'll do the same for you! I ditched all of my 30+ year old serger threads and bought some new, fresh cones. After considerable work, some tuning and some good, old-fashioned TLC we're back in business.  To honor my pact with myself regarding the use of the serger I am leaving it out where I can see it, and use it, on a regular basis. It's a workhorse and it deserves to be used for what it's designed for, certainly not put out to pasture or back into the recesses of a dark closet! 

Our oldest grandson turned 15 last week, we celebrated in the Capital City with both he and our daughter who each had birthdays within days of each other. 

He's a permitted driver now! 

The Learner's Permit rules and regulations are complicated and ever-changing, but from what I can tell he'll have lots of in-car time with parents over the coming year before he's driving with a full license, even that's a graduated process. I sure wasn't prepared to see Mason behind the wheel of the Driver Ed car. Wasn't he just learning to walk last week? 

Sigh. 

From the kitchen: I baked up a batch of pretzel rolls (something completely new to me) last week. The kitchen space is becoming more and more user-friendly every day with the installation of new appliances as well as drawers and shelves returning to hold utensils and cooking/baking supplies. The rolls turned out great, soft inside and chewy on the outside.

We've needed to get new pots and pans for the induction cooktop. Along with those I recently purchased a stovetop griddle and was encouraged to read this guarantee on the box. That about covers it all, we should be in good shape!

Augie's about to turn ten months old in August and has become the best canine companion. 💗

As this month concludes we once again have forty-five nap blankets ready to go, thanks to my Bee Buddies and friends. The Pre-Ks at a local elementary school are well covered! We adopted this particular school back in 2010 and since then have donated close to 600 nap blankets to the cause; we may have missed a few here and there with COVID but that number is close. (The photo above is borrowed from a previous year.)

And so, we bid adieu to the month of July; time marches on. 

I'm not worried, Lucy Ann, it's all good...

Life is Good!

Experiments

Sourdough fail - 1st attempt

I spent most of the day in the kitchen yesterday working through the process that was supposed to yield two round loaves of sourdough bread. It was experiment; and, as I recall from high school Chemistry class, some experiments fail. This was one of those. Going back and reviewing all of the elements has led me to the conclusion that the starter isn't quite ripe enough, it didn't produce enough leavening. Back to the beginning. Mr. Goodneedle did compliment the flavor, that's something. But, the end result was supposed to be more like this ↓
and less like a pancake.I'm not giving up, oh, no! When I set my mind to something I will see it through. Let's hope that there's enough flour in the stores to supply my current forays into experimentation.

I don't usually share any customer quilts here but this one has kept me very, very busy and I'm pleased with the result; I wanted you to see it. This was a collection of hand embroideries. The owner wanted an all-over crosshatch for texture but didn't want the embroidered blocks to be lost behind thread. I proposed using a clear mono-filament on top with normal bobbin thread on the back. 

This took some time (what else do any of us have right now?) to accomplish, I'm not sure that I've ever done this much crosshatching on one quilt before; I must say, though, that the outcome is wonderful. If you've ever quilted with MonoPoly you know it's almost like quilting with a human hair, it's that fine. I shared the photo above in my last post, the crosshatching doesn't take away from the block's embroidery.

I loaded YAGOF* on the rails yesterday, this one will go much, much faster. I'm quilting Stars and Loops and should be able to knock this one out in a day and get the binding on. Fingers crossed. 

Early morning visitors, I count four here but it was a herd of six. Just on the edge of the woods beyond my perennial garden. I can't apply deer repellent spray until the wet weather clears, undoubtedly they're after my Hosta and thinking "would you please go inside, we're hungry!". 

Adapting in an upside-down 🙃world:  I'm so impressed to continue seeing creative and innovative ways that people are choosing to spend their quarantined time at home. It's times like these that really bring out the best in us; when we have to dig deeper, pull harder, and come up with solutions to problems or situations we wouldn't have dreamed of just a few short months ago. 

What else could have possibly driven me into the kitchen to perform experiments with simple ingredients that I happen to have on hand? Don't throw in the towel; hang in there-- I am!

"Since we have such a hope, we are very bold..." 2 Corinthians 3:12

Life is Good!

*You're A Grand Old Flag

May, You Say?

It's May Day today! I don't have a May Pole to dance around but I feel as though I am running in circles. The obvious question would be: "where did April go?", it honestly slipped past in a blur. I am going to be better about keeping up with blog posts. Earlier last month we traveled to New England to celebrate my Dad's 90th birthday. It was a fun time together with family.
He celebrated the occasion with a giant jelly doughnut. The weather was dreary while we were there, snow sleet and freezing rain during the concluding days of our visit. I attended the MQX show in Manchester, NH while up north; took a hands-on class; "Hardcore Heirloom Feathers" from Deborah Poole, it was a terrific experience. I hope to get some practice time in soon, while I still retain some of what I learned. When we arrived back home it seemed as though spring had EXPLODED during our absence. (Photos top left and below)

We kept our two youngest grandchildren for a few days last week. They enjoyed working for their after school snack! The results were oh, so sweet. They are growing up too quickly-- that time passing theme again. Sigh.

We had fireplace doors custom made by a blacksmith in Vermont. Luckily we were able to save on shipping and pick them up while we visited. They fit like a glove. We have removed the gas log and will burn wood going forward. Mr. Goodneedle decided that it was silly not to use the resources that are abundant on our own lot for energy savings inside when the weather grows cooler. We are forever cleaning up dead, fallen trees on our lot; there's a never ending supply right outside our door.

The neighbor's pasture that is adjacent to our side lawn has been planted in red clover, it began blooming last week and is resplendent in its crimson glory right now, the morning sun brings it to life!

Because I am woefully behind on my "to do" list and I must be held accountable, I have the April "Be Attitudes" block fused and ready for edge stitching and details. I did get this under the presser foot while it was still April; so, technically, this counts as a check in the April column.

This was the early morning view out the front window this morning. You can see why we have decided to burn wood! 😉 There are three deer in this photo, can you find them all? I need to spray Liquid Fence (non-chemical deer deterrent) around my emerging Hosta and Day Lilies; used once a week for three weeks and monthly after that, it trains encourages the deer to stay away through the repulsive scent. Yuck. But, it works-- for the most part. (Clue: the third deer is behind the one on the right, you can see its bent neck just behind the head of the deer in the foreground.)

Really-- why aren't they rolling in Red Clover? 

Wishing you a lovely May Day today, 

what beauty lies just outside your door?

Life is Good!

Twinkling Bug Jar

I would like to introduce you to M.J. (Mason Jar); he's the latest addition to the natural area just off the side porch outside the studio.  He guards the birdfeeders and the birdbath by day with his whimsical good looks and bug-eyed, rustic charm; but it's after dark that M.J. really goes to work!  Equipped with a solar collector inside his lid, which powers a rechargeable battery, the tiny string of LED lights twinkle for hours on end after the sun goes down. M.J. was a gift from Mr. Goodneedle's cousin and her husband, who visited with us earlier this month. I was hopeful that he would prove a deterrent to the ravenous deer who patrol at night to partake of our Hosta, Day Lilies and Black-Eyed Susan (you can clearly see a few of these nibbled off flowers directly behind M.J.), but so far I don't think that the deer have been fazed. Oh, well, no matter; I just love the night magic that's happening in the garden currently.  You can enjoy it too!  

Life is Good!

Springing Up!

I didn't retouch the colors in this photo... spring has BURST upon the scene in all its vibrant glory!

Remember those 'wintered over' geraniums that I had high hopes for? They're springing up too!

This "Nellie Moser" variety Clematis actually sprinted up the lamp post, seemingly overnight!

 Speaking of things that happen overnight... deer, and their appetites, are springing up too. Groan. 

I wasn't quite fast enough with the Liquid Fence this year to prevent this initial attack. I'm on it now. These Hosta, gifts a few years ago from Quiltkeemosabe, line the edge of the driveway. When all is well, these show-stopping Hosta are huge and impressive. This one, that looks as though it was manicured with a weed eater, will rebound, and spring back up. I hope. Cross your fingers along with me.

Life is Good!