Confession

You all know that I am a stitching fool.
And that I love to work in my garden and take pictures.

What you may not know is that I am also a total geek.
I have been a Star Trek and Lord of the Rings fan since my early days.

You can imagine then, why this made me so very happy.

But I'm Not a Dog! and Other Random Observations

The Dog Days of Summer are upon us... We are having a record-breaking heat wave here in Oregon. And before you Southerners sniff at my discomfort, please remember that a good half of our population does not own air conditioning, including myself. Our weather does not usually require extra measures to stay cool.

Now we are on day 4 of temps in the upper 90's, and then yesterday and the next two days into the low 100's, followed by another several days still in the upper 90's.

I say YUCK! I get really, really crabby when I am hot- I think I belong in Alaska.

We have quilts and blankets hanging over all of the South and West facing windows, which yesterday helped keep the house a nice, cool (insert a huge amount of sarcasm here) 85 degrees by the end of the day.

On to something a little more pleasant... a Swallowtail spotted on one of our Butterfly Bushes:


My Mama has said for years that when I was young, I was the dirtiest little girl she ever saw- she even called me "PigPen" once in a while. Well, apparently, this little apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

We have TONS of grapes this year.


Jack still says, "Re-fritter-frajer" instead of "Refridgerator", and recently was overheard telling his Daddy in a rather scary voice, "I'm the Kraken! You're out of the CLAW business!"

I would love to re-live this moment from our recent beach trip:

I am just a few days away from finishing "On the Oregon Trail", which means it will be ready for an early August release...

I never showed you the clever little latch that Matt made for our Greenhouse door... its the ball-claw foot from an old piano stool!


Speaking of the Greenhouse, isn't this a pretty little vignette?

And because of our little hothouse, we have already eaten a few of these:

an event that doesn't normally occur until at least mid-August.

And that's all I have for you today. Now I'm going to go plunge my feet into a bucket of ice water.

Golden Light

One of my favorite elements of Summertime

is the fading light of evening.

As the heat of the day wanes,

and cool mountain breezes begin to freshen the air,

it is as if every atom of Creation takes on a contented glow.

The spark of life in each living Creature

stirs to Breathe!

Stretch!

Grow! Enjoy!

We were designed for a Purpose.

Somehow I feel that Purpose more tangibly

when the light filtering through the air that I breathe

is the color of Honey.

Time for an Upgrade!

I have been using the very same single pair of little sewing scissors for 12 years. Yes, you read that correctly... twelve years. I don't typically lose things, and I prefer to use things until they are worn completely out. But these scissors have refused to wear out and haven't grown feet and ran away as of yet.

But I have been coveting a particular pair of scissors for over a year now, and finally gave in... but only because I needed new needles, and I could add the scissors to my order!

I "heart" my new Kelmscott Love scissors...


And the needles, Oh the needles! I have never purposely gone out and purchased a package of needles based on specifications. I simply use up the ones that are given to me in Christmas stockings, or that are embedded in a vintage pinkeep that I find at an estate sale.

But there has been a bit of chatter lately in blogland about needles, so I decided to give these a try...

Can I just say, I think that was easily the very best way I have spent $2 in a very long time? They are absolutely perfect for me, and I think that my stitching is going quicker now too.

Oh... the odd-sized needle in the package is what I was using before, just for comparison. I also bought a package of Piecemakers needles, which has yet to be opened, because I can't stop using my teeny little John James.

What needles do you use?

A Boy's Visit to the Sandy Historical Society Quilt Show

Rather than take my HUGE digital SRL camera with me along with both kids and all of their paraphenalia to our local quilt show, we brought my old point and shoot digital camera, which now belongs to a certain pre-schooler.

Other than the first image (I giggled when I saw this tshirt worn by another attendee, and was brave enough to ask if I could take a picture- I'll be using that quote somewhere FOR SURE!),

the photography was all his... photos taken of his favorite quilts and well, some other things...








I must comment about that last quilt- it was AMAZING! Completely made from *tiny* hexagons, and Every SINGLE corner was PERFECTLY aligned. The reproduction vintage fabrics used for the colors had tiny characters that she used in repetition, and on each medallion, they were perfectly arranged, radiating out from the center. My words don't do it justice, and I wish I had taken a few photos myself so that I could show you this work of art. I didn't even take the time to write down the quilter's info, but I did place my vote for her quilt as my favorite in the "People's Choice" category.

You Would Pause for a Moment Too...

If you had fresh Mountain Huckleberries growing at the edge of your front porch.

Someone Else Has Fresh Veggies on the Brain

First thing this morning...

Me: "Hey, that's a nice picture, Buddy. What did you draw?"

He: "Corn on the Cob!"


And a few minutes later, at breakfast...

He: "Is there any Broccoli left?"

Me: "Yes. There was a little bit left after dinner last night."

He: "Oh good! Can I have some with my yogurt and cereal?"

Seriously.
You read that correctly.
My 3 1/2 year old ASKED FOR BROCCOLI FOR BREAKFAST.

I'm so proud.

Almost

Almost Peas...


Almost Tomatoes...

Almost Blueberries...

Almost... my mouth is totally Watering for... Beans and Corn...

Almost Potatoes and Zucchini and Carrots and Oh, Everything else!

Almost "On the Oregon Trail" (tee hee, teasing you with the blurry picture)...

Another week or two and my Almost will be NOW!

What I Bought with $98

Thanks to my sweet husband, who took care of the kids while I escaped, I was able to spend part of my Sunday at a huge antique show at Portland's Expo Center. It took me three hours to make it through the outdoor booths, so I didn't even step foot into either of the two HUGE buildings full of more vendors.

Still, I came home a happy girl, because I found this gorgeous Victorian sewing basket with my very favorite Robin's Egg Blue trim...

and who could resist this vintage doggie? Not me!

An old pinkeep, hard-packed with sawdust...

some vintage laces, quilt pieces, and a little tin full of old buttons and a wooden sheep!

The frames, beautiful frames full of beautiful ladies (who will be removed to make room for samplers!)

More frames (I think I have a frame problem)!

and last, but CERTAINLY not least, the prettiest piece of fine vintage wool with some embroidery. It measures nearly 27 inches square, and is going to be used for a sampler... Of course, I will be incorporating the embroidery into my design- it is so pretty and done so well that I can't tell which side is supposed to be the front!

I Want to See your Work!

Hello everyone. This is just friendly little me reminding you that I really do LOVE to see your progress and finished Heartstring Primitives samplers.

Lorraine is *almost* done working on her "With One Accord" sampler... just one tiny little area to fill in, then it will be ready to frame.

How about you? Are you working on any of my designs? Would you like to share your progress with me? Feel free to email me: beth@heartstringsamplery.com

Summertime

Some recent sun-shiney pictures to share with you...