I Like Thursday #88 - Green, Growing, and Yummy!

Happy Thursday, friends!  Hope you're enjoying the week!  I'm joining in with LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color and other blogging friends to share my favorite things of the week.

Sunday I shared my "Green Project, " which I think of now as "Lime Sherbet" thanks to Mary in Peoria.  Thank you, Mary!

I wasn't quite happy with the dark green bottom strip, so after pulling it off, cutting it up, and messing around with it some, here's where it is now - 

I'm liking this better because the dark green strip is floating, like the rest of the pieces are, and it feels lighter that way.  This piece measures about 20 x 20, and will become a small wall-hanging when I finish quilting it.

I like my two container gardens - a tomato and a jalapeno pepper, and both are doing well.  

Mike has already harvested a couple of the peppers.  I think the tomatoes will take a little longer!

I like that we have lots of little apples on our tree this year!  Last year we didn't get any...

The tomatoes and apples are about the same size right now, but they will definitely have different (though both yummy) results happening in a few months time!

I like that my potted flowers are pretty and happy right now!

I like this picture Mike took of a couple of young nuthatches on our feeder the other day.  We have had a bunch of baby birds in the yard this last week - we know this by all the noise they make and the funny things they do.  

These little ones were just learning how to land on the feeder, and the one on the bottom just hung there for the longest time.  His next job was to learn how how to eat from it!

And one more "yummy" to share - have you eaten at Mod Pizza?!  We went there this week for the first time.

They have lots of choices - we each got our own mini pizza - and they charge by the size not by the ingredients.  It made a very tasty lunch!

Thanks for visiting today!

Daydreaming...

I've been continuing to make Happy Bird blocks, using 5 inch squares of fabric I have that feature different kinds of birds, with either dark or light sashing around them -

I have about half of the blocks made that I think I need.  I'm shooting for 48 - 9 inch blocks.  

Meanwhile... since these blocks are so easy to make, while working on them, I started daydreaming, and you know what that leads to, right?!

What if????

What if I took a few of these Kona greens, and the Kona Cream that was leftover from my Stash Statement project, and... started sewing?

My husband will often ask, "What are you building?" when he sees me working on something.  That usually makes me laugh, but this piece has felt to me like I really am building something.  See the progression - 

You can see I started to think about adding some pink to the mix.  The very bottom is the darkest green I have.

Maybe even another bit of pink..

Connecting the different parts together...

And then...

I'm not sure about this bottom chunk yet.  I like the spacing between the colored bits in the rest of this, so the bottom section seems almost too dark and heavy.  I'll have to think about this part some more!

I'll be back next week to show you how this finishes up - I hope!  :)

Hope you're enjoying some sewing time today!  

Sharing at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!

Bowties and Tiny Rails

This week I had time to finish up my turquoise Tiny Rails block for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge -

25 - 2.5 inch squares make a 10 inch finished block.  I have ten of these fun scrappy blocks now.

I'm thinking I'll need 20 to make a useable sized quilt - maybe it will need sashing, too, but I'm not sure about that yet!  :) I'm just enjoying using up the smallest bits in the process of making these.

I needed a few more bowties to make a total of 10 needed for that project, so got those done this week, too.

I like the variety of darks and lights, prints and solids that I was able to find for these blocks!

This one is a favorite, made out of a chunk of fabric I forgot I had, stuck underneath a pile in my fat quarter shelves!

I think it's from a line of fabric called Elementary, by Sweetwater.  I originally used it to make something for my teaching partner several years ago.  I was glad to see I still had a little bit left!

For more turquoise and teal goodness, be sure to check out the ScrapHappy Saturday link-up over at SoScrappy!

I Like Thursday #87 - A Quieter Week

It's definitely been a quieter week at our house this past week - no car races to go to, lol, and no company to visit with, but...

I did get to meet up with LeeAnna at the Berthoud Outdoor Quilt Show on Saturday!  Silly me, I didn't think to bring my camera, but maybe LeeAnna will share a picture on her post.  I really enjoyed seeing her again, and visiting with her hubby, Drew, and the very handsome Milo.  Plus, I met a new quilty friend - Sharon from Greeley - who I don't think has a blog, but who is an extremely talented quilter.  We got to look at many quilts together, but I especially loved seeing two of Sharon's quilts that were hanging in the show and have won awards.  Just amazing quilts!

It's been a week to enjoy reading, and I have two books to share that I liked.

I really like reading historical fiction, and this one was a good choice for me - it takes place during WWI, and into the 1920s, and is about a family in Philadelphia who has to deal with the Spanish Flu outbreak of that time.

I also read this one - the first novel by this author - and it is a page turner!

It's one of those books that I think would be called a psychological thriller - and that's not my usual favorite genre.  But this one was a good one, and I really couldn't put it down!

I really like how Amazon keeps track of your previous orders and you can look back at them.  If you want to buy something again, just "click!"

My new shoes are coming today - no shopping necessary! :)

I've had fun this week with my small quest to Use up all the Scraps of my fat quarter bundle of Charleston.  The last few bits and pieces turned into this little mug rug.

I felt lucky this week to receive a fat quarter bundle of a fabric line called Printology, from Benartex Fabrics because I won a drawing from Allison's blog, Little Bunny Quilts.

Aren't these fun?

Thank you, Allison, and thank you, Benartex!

I think I've shared this website before - A First Sip.  I subscribe to daily emails from it, with a poem to begin the day.  This one from a week ago or so was a favorite.

Click the link to see the actual post, which will be easier to read than my screen shot!

Hope you're having a great week, whether quiet or busy!  I'm joining in with all the "I Like Thursday" bloggers at LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color.

Using up all the scraps...

Is that really possible?  Probably not, but we can always try, right?!

This pile of leftover chunks and bits of "Charleston" -

was still on my cutting table after finishing this tablerunner in May.

I'd been trying to decide what to do with these scraps for a month now, and this was the week to make it happen!

I started by sewing together a slab of scraps that ended up measuring about 10 x 18.

I layered my slab with a piece of batting and a piece I cut off of a fat quarter for backing, and quilted the layers together with an orange peel design.

In a basket of "stuff" I found some invisible zippers that a friend gave me, leftover from when her daughter was in design school and sewing clothing for a class project.  It was one of those "Why not try this?" moments, and it worked pretty well! 

 I used it to make my quilted slab into a zipper pouch!

Did I use up all the Charleston scraps?  Not quite, but close!  I'm sure the rest will find their way into other projects here and there.

Sharing at Quilting is more fun than Housework for Oh Scrap!

More with Turquoise and Teal

When we got home from our recent trip, this pile of scraps was still on my cutting board -

So I started cutting...

3.5 inch squares, 2.5 inch squares, 2 inch squares, 1.5 x 2.5 inch rectangles, and pieces for making HSTs...  

I couldn't decide what to focus on, so I made a few of each - 

A couple more bowties - the top two are the new ones.

Some scrappy sprouts - 

And almost enough of these Tiny Rails for a complete 10 inch block!

There are still a few more bowtie pieces and Tiny Rails sitting next to my sewing machine waiting to be sewn together.  Good thing June is only half over!

That was my week in Turquoise and Teal!  How was yours?  I'm looking forward to finding out at the weekly Rainbow Scrap Challenge link-up over at SoScrappy!

I Like Thursday #86 - A New Experience

Way back in November, our youngest son told us he would really like to go to an Indycar race, and he thought the easiest one to get to would be one that takes place in June in Fort Worth, Texas.  We asked what he would think about us tagging along, and he was all for it.

So, plans made and logistics figured out, last week we flew with him to Love Field in Dallas, Texas, to go to Texas Motor Speedway and see the DXC Technology 600 race!

Despite the OMG (!) heat and humidity there, we had a great time!  Everything was new to us, so it was all interesting and a fun experience.

First view of the Speedway - they call it "No Limits, Texas!"

So much color and sound!  (We used ear protection although many people around us didn't.)

I love how the outfits that the pit crews wear match their driver's car.

This was my husband's favorite car - orange and blue - Denver Broncos colors!  This driver won the race.

I liked this one the best - 

It was so fascinating to watch the pit crews do their job - completely choreographed so that the whole stop takes maybe 8 seconds!

We did manage a few moments of quiet and relaxation.

A wander through some Texas woods - Clear Creek Natural Area - part of the city of Denton, Texas, near where our hotel was.  Lots of birds and butterflies in there, but hard to photograph!

And a visit to Grapevine, Texas, with a little wine tasting included.

I didn't know that the Texas climate would support grape growing, but evidently it does!  And they make tasty wines, too!

All in all, a fun trip, and wonderful to spend this time with our son who is a huge racing fan, and very knowledgeable about it.  I learned a lot!

Thanks for visiting today for "I Like Thursday!"  Hope you're having a great week!  Be sure to check out the other Thursday posts at Not Afraid of Color.