Nearing the End of Dark Greens

We are getting close to the end of March and that means soon all of the Rainbow Scrap Challengers will be on to the next color. Wondering what color Angela will choose for us ... Ok, let's stop dreaming about tomorrow and take a look at what was done this week.

First off I finished up my Table Scrap Challenge while waiting on hubby who was getting his hopefully final MRI performed. You can read my post about the table mat HERE.

In keeping with the GREEN theme of March, I also finished my Paragon Socks. The pattern is by Very Busy Monkey and can be found on Ravelry HERE.

Ta! Da!

Fit perfectly!

The April cross-stitch project has been coming right along also. Last week it looked like this:

Today it looks like this:

I may not get it finished for Easter on April 4, but it'll be hanging for the month of April before April 30th! Haha!

Here's hoping you have a wonderful weekend!

Linking up with Angela at SoScrappy for RSC.

March Table Scraps Challenge

Joyful Quilter's Table Scraps Challenge is a good exercise (for me anyway) to come up with a quilted SOMETHING. The rules, um ... read that "suggestions", are simple.

1. It must predominantly use fabric the color of the monthly Rainbow Scrap Challenge. March's color was dark to medium green.
2. The quilted project should be something involving a table. Examples given were table runners, table mats, placemats, mug rugs, ... you get the idea, right?

So what did I come up with? Well, since March's color was green and March's holiday was St. Patrick's Day, I started thinking shamrocks. While browsing blogs one day, someone (and I can't remember who -- so sorry!) posted all kinds of facts and freebies concerning St. Patrick's Day. One of the quilt block patterns was Little Clover by Jane Alexander for the Splendid Sampler. You can find the link HERE.

So I knew I could use up some green scraps with this one so I made my four little 4" blocks. Jane set her blocks in a swirling manner. I was about to do that when, browsing blogs another day, I got a brilliant idea after seeing Bonnie Hunter's Tulip Time. Inspiration hits when you least expect it sometimes. Now I knew for sure how I wanted to set the blocks and how I wanted to finish my project. Next step was to figure out my border width for a finished size to accommodate what I had in mind.

So here it is: my Shamrock Table Mat. It finished at 15" square and is scrappy in every sense of the word, truly reflecting a Bonnie Hunter style.

A couple of close-ups are always appreciated, I'm sure.

One little clover with hearts quilted in the leaves

Swirliness quilting in the center

Wavy quilting in the borders

Of course a picture of the back. I used up a bit more of the shamrock fabric. Note: it's starting to lose the musty smell which pleases me!

Quilting on the  back

One last photo or two from the photo shoot. I think the little mat is a beauty and it fits my table perfectly. Many thanks to my math teachers! Haha!

I'm definitely ready for St. Patrick's Day 2022!

Linking up with all the other Table Scrap Challenge quilters. You can find the Linky Party HERE at Joy's blog, The Joyful Quilter.

More RSC Green & FNSI

As most of you know, I've been trying to put in some good time on Shark Bite. It's coming along slowly but surely. In spite of what I used to believe, machine quilting is not some super-speedy wonder for quilt finishing. I did get all 484 "teeth" quilted -- that sure was a LOT of HSTs!!!! Last night I actually found the blue "teeth" fabric that I had left. Amazingly, there was plenty to make the binding ... so I did! Hurray for progress!

In the meantime, I found a little bit of green to make the other two Irish Courthouse blocks.

And here are all three of these for RSC green month.

I also put in a day working on my table mat. The top is done. Now to get it quilted and bound. It's adorable if I must say so myself. No pictures because the reveal is next week for Joy's Table Scraps Challenge. I've got a couple of ideas swirling in these few brain cells of mine for next month already ... depending on the chosen color for April. No pressure, Angela! Haha!

As for Friday Night Sew-In, I decided to pull out a cross-stitch project from a while back. These Xs are teensy, tiny so there doesn't seem like a lot of progress was made. However, I did work on it for a couple of hours last night. The tree roots were finished off and all of the green back-stitching on the left-hand side was done during FNSI.

So there you have it! Little green hills, little green greenery for flower stems, and little green stitches on the carrot quilt. I'm sure it'll be more clear once I get it 100% outlined. Did I mention that this would be nice to have done for Easter? Hahaha!!!

Thank you, Wendy, for the FNSI linky party (found HERE)

and

Thank you, Angela, for the RSC linky party (found HERE)

I Like Thurs #29

 Good thing I like rain. The pond out back has covered my neighbor's lower dock and the water is up to the base of ours. My morning view this morning.

The rain has made some of the trees fall on the bike trail. I guess the ground is so soggy the roots can't hold on. This was Monday's fallen tree.

Gracie was pretty interested in this one. It was small enough that, with a bit of brute strength (haha!), I managed to move it off the trail.

Last night's rain brought down another on our trail for today's morning walk. Mother Nature must know which trees need to be thinned.

Root Base Shown

C'mon, let's go!

The good news about all this rain is there's plenty of water in the ditches to get drinks, if one chooses to do that. Gracie likes that!

I guess someone else also likes the rain besides Gracie & me. Earlier in the week I noticed someone had secured a couple of folding chairs to a tree overlooking this little pond in the woods. I only noticed because I like to walk this far on the bike trail because I like the sound of the rushing water here. I don't know how one would actually get down to where these chairs are but I wouldn't mind sitting there for a spell either.

The rain also  brings the promise of flowers. I like that Mr. Mike has cleared the back side of his hill and planted flowers & trees. It's nice to watch the seasons change here along the trail.

Daffodils blooming

More daffodils and surprise lilies greenery

For my birthday, my hubby got me a doughnut pan. I like cake doughnuts and thought it would be fun to try making some. For my first batch, I used King Arthur's recipe. They were tasty but a little dry. I think my pan makes mini doughnuts because I got 20 out of a recipe that makes 12. Here they are all decked out for St. Patrick's Day!

For my next attempt, I'll try one of Carole's recipe from her blog From My Carolina Home. I think I've got the pan that she uses. I'll keep you posted when I make more doughnuts. I like Carole's blog. Besides quilting, she also posts recipes, flowers & birds, gardening, tablescapes, books, paper crafting, and more.

Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, I like my neighbor's yard decoration. Doesn't this pretty much say it all??!!?? Haha!

And this was the sky on our St. Patrick's Day morning walk.

And of course I can't let this week go by without a picture of my favorite adult leprechaun, my daughter. She just went blonde. We'll see if she has more fun! Ha!

Did I mention also how much I like her! Definitely one of my favorite likes!!

I'll be linking up with LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color today. I'll also be catching up on everyone else's "likes" for this week. It's sure to bring a smile to my face!

RSC Green

Today I'm sharing what I've done this week regarding green. Did you notice I changed the picture at the top? That's a start, right?

Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2021 is all about green this month. Angela gets us together HERE at So Scrappy weekly to share whatever progress we've made with the color of the month. First up is my Lotus Flower in green. I'm so happy to use up some of this shamrock fabric.

I don't know when/where I got the green shamrocks but I've got about 1-1/2 yards of it! I kind of wonder if it was on the FREE table at guild meeting or maybe an estate sale? It kind of has that musty, basementy smell about it. Not too bad until the iron hits it. Ugh! I'm hoping it'll eventually wash out!

Here it is with its friends from January (pink) and February (yellow). The gang looks good!

I made a start on the Irish Courthouse blocks. One down, two more in process.

I also turned the heel of the Paragon socks. Again, a little green!

There's also a little green with pretty colors happening in my gardens.

Purple crocuses

White crocuses, yellow mini daffodils

Spring is such a beautiful time with new beginnings and new dreams. Have a wonderful week and don't forget tomorrow -- 3/14 -- is Pi(e) Day. We'll be rainy & chilly here in the Midwest so it'll be a KFC chicken pot pie day for us! And don't forget to visit Angela's blog SoScrappy to catch up on more optimistic green posts!

I Like Thursday #28

 I'm going to get right into this post with I like going to my dentist! Got my teeth polished up, along with a good bill of dental health, this past Tuesday. My hygienist, who has the funny name for someone in the dental field of Candy, is so thorough and yet so conversational. Twice a year I feel like I'm catching up with an old friend ... and I am!

I like this time of year when things are starting to buzz. As I entered the bike trail with Gracie a couple of days ago, a woodpecker was just pecking away somewhere. Music to my ears. The geese were in the field yesterday getting the last bits of seeds. One of them, obviously the leader of the flock, honked the entire time as Gracie & I passed. I took their picture just the same!

The starlings were also active. Their chatter could be heard far & wide. I love when one of them takes off and all the others pick up and go too. It's a swirling, whirling black mass and truly fascinates me! I didn't get a picture of that, of course, but I got a tree full of them.

I like that I got Shark Bite layered and pin-basted yesterday. The quilting will begin soon. Maybe today!?!

That's my likes for this week. You can see other's at Not Afraid of Color!

March is for Green Lovers!

I love green! Pretty much any shade of green. Bring it on, I say! While I didn't start on any green blocks for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge yet for this month, I did start a new pair of socks! The pattern is called Paragon Socks and you can find it on Ravelry HERE. It's a Very Busy Monkey pattern and I know I've said it before but here goes again -- she writes easy-to-follow, beautiful knitting patterns! Here's my progress so far, with a  lot done last night during Friday Night with Friends!

Isn't that yarn full of beautiful greens!!??! Even prettier in real life!

Last week I received a package in the mail. Note the date it was mailed: February 12. I didn't receive it until February 22. Now I know what you're thinking: I've had packages take longer than that. Well, I have too but it was during the holiday rush. C'mon now, USPS, you should be adjusted to the COVID by now! 'Nough said.

Inside was some beautiful fabric from Preeti at SewPreetiQuilts. I was the lucky comment writer and received these beautiful 5" x WOF pieces. Thank you, Preeti, for these lovely strips of fabric. I will definitely be using them somewhere!

Yesterday I sewed with my friends at our sleep-in-your-own-bed retreat. I was so happy to get the call again!!!! Anyway, I'll be going over again today as soon as I'm through here. I did want to mention that  I've got a beautiful, large water mug to keep me hydrated while pushing the pedal to the metal. I got this from my daughter-in-law for my birthday a couple of weeks ago.

And because this is my blog I'll also share with you a picture of Brody. No, there's no green here, but wouldn't he be an adorable leprechaun! Instead, on that day he was a fireman celebrating his  Mommy's birthday!

While I'm not actively sewing green for RSC, I have been working on the assembly of Awesome Land which was a 2020 RSC project of mine. Stay tuned for a finished top soon!

Linking up with the other Rainbow Scrappers HERE and with all my Friday Night with Friends HERE.

I Like Thurs #27

Wow! I just noticed that last week's I Like Thurs post was titled RSC! Haha! I'll start my first "like" with I like friends that don't dwell on my mistakes nor point them out for all to see! Hahahaha!!!

Today is my daughter-in-law's birthday. Happy Birthday, Amanda! She truly falls into the "LIKE" category! I sent her this T-shirt for her birthday. It sounded like something she'd say. I'm not sure she got it but doesn't it look great on her!

(It says, "OK, I won't be doing any of that but thank you".)

Anyway, my next "like" would be that I have a happy mother. Do things always go her way? Not even close! Does she forget things and have to make it up somewhere else? Of course she does! Does she always try to smile and laugh at some of the funny things that she does or happen to her? You betcha! I hope I age as well as her. Unlikely though because we react to things so differently. She smiles, I grumble.

So Mom was watching my Nixplay (a photo frame which I also like!) run through the pictures. She asked if I could put a couple of her pictures from her purse on it. I liked that it was easy and that I could do it in a flash. I even added the details.

On the steps of their first apartment.

This was Mom's 6th grade picture. Her older sister did her hair for her and she hated it. Haha!

Dad on his way to a military career.

Baby Me (2 months old), taken in Tripoli, Libya, where I was born. Starting life as a "military brat"!

Ahhh, enough of Memory Lane. Back to reality. March came in like a lamb here in the Midwest. This morning I noticed a few of the trees showing signs of life with leaf buds beginning to swell.

One of my neighbors has the best ever decorated mail box! Happy St. Patty's Day!

My daughter brought me some Capital City Mambo Sauce when she came for a visit. I loved it! It's sweet at first taste but next comes a spicy burn. It's delicious on burgers, fries, eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, and even makes Tater Tots edible! Ha! I really liked that I spied some here in Illinois at the Scott AFB Commissary yesterday! Of course I picked some up!

Last weekend we tuned in to "Like Father" on Netflix. It's a movie, not a series, starring Kirsten Bell and Kelsey Grammer, Mom & I liked it and even Fred tuned in and gave it an OK. Here's the write-up from Netflix.

Left at the altar, a young executive takes her Caribbean honeymoon cruise with the last person she ever expected -- her estranged father. Although they depart as strangers, they soon gain a new appreciation for love, life, family and each other.

And that, my friends, is my list of Likes for this week! I hope you find many Likes in your life too!

Linking up with LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color where there's a whole group sharing their Likes as well!