August 2025

Things have calmed down to a quiet roar.   Like everyone, once I catch up on yardwork it seems it is time to make the circuit around all the beds again.  I was opting for early morning weeding and tending to avoid the brutal heat but we seemed to be in the midst of a nice cool stretch right now.   My vegetable garden has not produced that well for me this year.  Both zucchini plants got some kind of bug and withered and died before anything grew.  My green beans are doing OK.   This is the third year in a row that my tomatoes have not turned red.   A little research and I found out that when the temperature is too hot they will not turn red.  I picked some and put them on the windowsill with hopes.    My back yard is like a box - arborvitae hedge on one side, woods on a second side,  across a third side is the back of my house and on the fourth side, a story and a half out building. No air flow.    If across town, a friend says her backyard thermometer is 95, I bet mine is 103.   Highest I noticed this year was 107.    Another reason I so dearly miss my pool.   I digress……..

I was in the mood for my quick stitching gratification so I stitched the Faded Flag from October House as one of my patriotic stitches for the next year.  This is such an EZ-PZ piece to take along and work on while chatting with others.  I plan to finish this up later today and hope the flag is less lumpy when I am done.  If not, all the stuffing will come out and I will start again!

 I also stitched this pattern from the French Giraffe on Etsy. Start to finish in a couple of days.  More quick gratification.  All Smyrna crosses.   I have to decide how I will finish it.  

When I took a photo of the completed Land That I Love, something was missing.   Hope you like the idea Stacy and I can up with.   The piece is too stitch heavy to have these two empty spaces - either side of the word “America”.

I found two little projects when I was sorting about.   First, this little stitch book that I got from my Advent Exchange.   I decided to do one or two pages a day until I was done.   For the first few pages, it was easy to do.   Stitches got more time consuming as I navigated through the book and things got in the way.  Setting the goal of my September EGA Meeting to be done.

I also found this EGA project from several years ago.   We had a meeting on embroidery and the effect you can achieve with various stitches.   I hope to do a few lengths of thread a day on this one.  I really would like to have this one also finished by our September meeting.  

With going to a retreat and planning a retreat, I did not sew on my Civil War quilt in either June or July.   I had hope to make it to some sewing time in August but it wasn’t to be.   Now I am 12 blocks behind!!!   Just keep telling myself how you eat an elephant, one bite at time.   Like so many other things,  I know once I get going it will be alright.  September…..that’s it.  I will work on it in September.   Maybe dedicate Fridays to it since my Friday babysitting job has ended.  Darn that girl had to grow up and go to full day Kindergarten.  

I have been working on this stitchy piece, A Cabin in the Woods for a November Retreat  Although I should be picking up Cornwall Cottage when I am done, I am just not in the mood for work on another massive sampler right now.  

I keep pushing that “month of finishing” but somehow I got a few pieces fully finished in August.  Tiny Modernist Halloween Witch finished as an ornament to hang on my Halloween tree.

Statehood Series of Thread Milk Designs - New Jersey.  Stitch and finished in August.  Fit right into my tiered tray of patriotic pieces. 

July from A Year of Celebration, Hands on Design - fabrics picked, matte board cut and ready to finish.

 August from A Year of Celebration, Hands on Design.   It has been fun to dig through all my trims and embellishments and USE them.

And another flag - this was an EGA project a few years back - blackwork flag.  I finished as an ornament for my patriotic tree.

I am not sure but this may be a pattern from Fat Quarter Shop.   It’s out of the finishing basket and marked complete!

Mid-month, I made my second trip to the Outer Banks with two of my children and the grandkids.   It is now becoming an annual summer vacation together.  Pop pop even made an appearance this year.  And then Erin came.   We got the evacuation notice at 6 pm on Sunday night to start evacuating by 10 am on Monday.   We made the most of the rest of the day with a walk on the beach to the pier where the ice cream truck was parked. We were on the road by 5 a.m. Monday.   We had a great time in the time we were there and managed to cram a lot of fun into the 36 hours we had there.    It was beautiful when we left but there was no need to be stranded on the barrier islands if the roads washed out as anticipated.  I made sure pop pop got in the hot tub……hoping against hope that he would get  the idea to put one in our back yard.    So glad my middle daughter and I rode together so we could switch up the driving on the way home.  That is always the worst for me……tired and facing  8 hours behind the wheel. 

Get lemons, make lemonade.  The kids went to Hershey Park for the day.  We all did the Aquarium another day and finished the week with fishing and kayaking.   All and all vacation week did not disappoint.

As always, thanks for stopping by.  I do enjoy your comments and reading your blogs as well.   As a funny aside.  My last post where I talked about the Jello Museum had over 600 hits.   A lot of people looking for Jello recipes must have been directed to my blog!  Keep on stitching.