Pondering Thoughts Of Autumn~

 

We had a couple of cooler days so out came some fall decorations. Still more to do with adding cornstalks, pumpkins and colorful Indian corn in the days ahead. For now we're back in the heat/humidity but maybe only for a few days as the coming weekend will have day time highs in the 60's! 

 

We're excited to have cooler temps ahead after a long hot summer.  Autumn is a favorite season for many, myself included!  I love the coolness and crispness of fall.  The wonderful aroma's that surround us and the glorious colors that blaze hillsides and valleys painting trees in oranges, reds, russets and golden yellow.  The fields are filled with overgrown foliage of wild flowers and weedy fauna.  The delightful earthy aromas, leaf mold, wood smoke, apples, pumpkins and of turned soil as farmers and gardeners ready the fields to rest for the long winter ahead. Birds gathering in flocks and geese formations flying in the autumn sky getting ready for their flight to warmer areas before the snow comes again.

 

The joys of fall are many, sleeping under freshly aired quilts with the window slightly ajar to let in the cool crisp night air, bringing out sweaters, jackets and warm slippers once more.

 

  Autumn is the beginning of slowing down after many hot, hectic summer days. Fairs and field days over, beaches and parks closing, schools opened and we say so long to summer. It's time to welcome this new season of Fall and to enjoy the abundance of it's simple pleasures!

 

Blessings

Sher     

Latest Quilt Project...

Been busy working on some projects for others. My latest quilt project is a pieced, embroidered and quilted wall hanging. I was asked if I could make a wall hanging from some children's drawings.  I assured her that I could and was happy to have a different project to work on!

I started by making copies of the original children's drawings, transferred the drawing to fabric, embroidered each block using the colors the children used in their pictures and then colored in the area's the kids had colored...making sure to match their coloring as closely as possible meaning going outside of the lines! 

 

I've nearly finished the decorative quilting on the outside borders (not shown in this picture) and have a bit more stitching to do.  I know how special this wall hanging will be to the person who asked me to create it.  I had fun with this project, it was different from what I usually quilt and I think the kids will be surprised to see their art work hanging in the office when they have their next visit!

 

Thanks for visiting!

Blessings,

Sher

What We Did This Summer.....

 

 

Yep! You guessed it, the fur kids all have napped most of the summer away!  It's been so hot/humid that they have shown little interest in being outside to play and I don't blame them. Whew! 

 

The house is nice and cool and who doesn't like an afternoon snooze or two! He hee

 

Notice kitty Dixie took a liking to the baby quilt mama was working on.  It's difficult to set a quilt in progress aside without her curling up on it to nap!  Silly kitty! 

 

Hope your summer has been more adventurous than ours, even with the weather being what it's been.  Sure looking for some nice cool autumn days ahead! 

 

Thanks for visiting!

 

Blessings,

Sher

Sharing Goodies from Misi's "Gable House Goodes" Tag Sale!

Now that my dear friend Sher of "Old Crow Farm" has received her box of goodies that I chose for her at Misi's tag sale held here in Rome, NY I can share what I did with one of my goodies.

 

Since we have a very curious kitty that loves to get into mischief, I knew the delightful Autumn potpourri had to be displayed safely.

 

This candle jar (a gift from my sister years ago) was just the thing to use. It's top has holes to let the wonderful Autumn scent waft through the room!  I love looking at it and being reminded that this heat and oppressive humidity won't last forever!

 

 

 

Since the jar wasn't large enough to hold all the potpourri, or the opening large enough I decided to string the wonderful dried orange slices and hang them in our dining area. The aroma was delightful!

 

 

Misi's tag sale was the most fun I've had yet for this summer and it was so nice to meet her in person!

 

Thanks for visiting & have a nice day!

 

Blessings,

Sher

 

Doing It My Way...

 

 

 

Showing the back of a quilt so the hand quilting is visible.  Why? You may ask.....well, I have come to realize that these days large quilting stitches and machine quilting is so very popular.  I am seeing both ways being done on quilt blogs and hearing the same from friends.  Even at our last state fair we attended the quilts were almost all machine quilted! The patterns and colors were wonderful but I wasn't thrilled with the machine quilting on any of the quilts.

 

Now, if you're a machine quilter or like that look, please know I am not knocking you, nor those who like the look of large quilt stitches.  As the saying goes, "to each their own".  I'm just saying that for me, I don't favor that look.

 

Being a simple country girl with an old fashion heart I like to stick with tradition.  The large quilting stitches are fine for a prim look but they don't represent my idea of quilting. 

Perhaps, it is because I am a self taught quilter that I feel this way.  It took me many years and lots of practice to be able to make my quilting stitches small and with each quilt they are getting better!

 

So, I guess it's just a matter of personal choice.  I love the look of hand quilting.  I like the feeling of accomplishment when a quilt is completed and I see all the small stitches.  Yes, I know machine quilting is so much faster but I'm not in any hurry. 

 

Everyday the world seems to spin just a bit faster around me.  Hand quilting requires a slow but steady pace.  It allows me time to relax and let my mind wander where it may as I work to a goal of finishing the quilt.

 

So in spite of what may be popular or the latest fad, when it comes to quilting I will continue to enjoy doing it my way! Ü

 

Thanks for visiting!

 

Blessings,

Sher



What A Find!

   

 

On our way to visit Mom, I saw this glider rocker at the end of a driveway at the roadside. Of course having always wanted a glider rocker I asked Hubby to quickly stop!

As we did a woman came out of the house carrying a piece of paper, when she neared us I told her I was just about to come to the door and ask if they were selling the glider and she said she had just made a sign for it saying it was "FREE", she was carrying the sign in her hand when she walked out of the house. I couldn't believe my luck with this find. The cushions are in perfect condition and the only thing wrong was the glider mechanism needed a bolt replaced. 

 

We got it home and I wiped it all down and shampooed the cushions (hubby gets antsy about used items from people we don't know) and left them outside to dry.  I still need to use some lemon oil to bring out the shine of the wood. Love the scroll work on the back and on the lower sides of the glider! 

 

I think this glider is a great find and now all that's needed is to find a place for it in our little house, (the wooden rocker in the corner behind the glider was a first anniversary gift from Hubby many years ago) once I find a good place for the glider it will be time to just sit back, rock gently and relax! Yep, my lucky day!!!

 

Thanks for visiting,

 

Blessings,

Sher 

Starting to Pick!

 

The start of raspberry picking has begun! This is the second container picked from our small raspberry patch with many more to come as the days go on and they are oh so tasty! 

 

Tomorrow we'll be going to a local fruit and vegetable farm where we will pick blueberries. Yum, my favorite fruit! 

We actually are growing a few blueberry shrubs in our backyard and this is the first year they have produced more than just a few berries.  Never having grown blueberries before I didn't realize the birds were even more eager than us to eat the berries, they took them off the shrubs before they were totally ripe!  Next year we will cover each bush with screening to keep the birds from dining first, but will be sure to leave some for them to feast on afterwards. 

 

It's another humid day here, just picking the fruit to nearly fill the basket with raspberries had me dripping with sweat, ugh!  As I've said before, I can take the heat but not the humidity which also makes breathing difficult.  We may get a passing shower or quick storm sometime today but we doubt it will do anything to lessen this high humidity we've been having all this month. Whew!

 

Hope it's cooler or at least a bit less humid where you are.  Enjoy the fruits of the summer, they don't last for long! 

 

Blessings,

Sher