Slate

We all grieve in different ways...our boy with a pencil and pen...

 ...our girl with words.

Slumber 

It does not matter if you are prepared,

no times enough to stop the choke, the tears. 

I guess the streaks just prove you really cared,

and loved your cat through seventeen great years. 

There never was a headbutt of such love

than those that we received from our gray cat. 

I never tired of Dad's texts theirof

and to this day I'm glad that Mom went back:

Once we had brought his brothers to our home

Mom looked at us and got back in the car,

and sped right back so he could not far roam,

to claim the slate-gray kitten from afar. 

The years to come will never recreate

another friend as wonderful as Slate. 

We brought him back home and cried.
~d

Finish VI....final one for the Second Quarter!!!!

Yep, I can't believe it but I am done with all my WIPs  listed for this quarter of  Finish Along 2014!!!

First day of Summer and longest day of the year was quite dreary and cool (64F/17.8C) so I knew having a project on my lap wouldn't be sweat inducing!  While hubby painted windows and the boy worked on the final project for his class I crocheted!

 Now most of this basket of tee shirt "yarn" is....

 ...a 27x38 kitchen mat!!  I used a total of 26 tees and a lot of muscles to make it!

 I learned a few things:

~ Not all tees work as nicely.  Some are actually crunchy!

~ Seamless tees are the best but if I waited to have enough of those I'd still be waiting.

~ Take breaks....I didn't and now my hands are yapping at me.

~ Don't work over a freshly vacuumed rug.

~ Don't sweat the wonkiness!!:) 

~ I don't have a clue how to tie off the end.
~ I don't need my glasses with the huge yarn and hook!

After about the 7th tee I started figuring it out but I wasn't about to undo what I had finished.

Now I'm making trivets out of the brighter tees.

I still don't know how to tie off!!!

~d

Finish V and Shiny Things!

The girl has struck again.  She sees something beautiful in the most ordinary things.  We walk around our yard and find her wonder all over the place!

Bike gears, cleaned and shiny catching the light to twinkle about!

Who'd thunk it?

Here is finish #5 for this quarter.  A small wall hanging I started a couple years ago and rolled up to be forgotten.  William Morris fabrics and a bit of embroidery.

 Twinkling gears on our blooming arbor.  Everything is so green with all the rains.

Blooms on arbor inspire blooms on mini.

The girl said these are ghost children on the swings...I believe her!

Green has always been a favorite color...I am now adding purple to that list!

This is what I think "thoughts" look like churning in our minds.

This Fall the boy's girlfriend "K" will be a first time math teacher and today is her birthday....new teacher needs a pencil pouch right?  We are very proud of her!

Every arbor needs a star and this arbor has a lot of them....as do we!

~d

Finish Along IV

That is a Roman numeral #4 right?:)

(Who is that peeking at the quilt?)

I love, love, love this quilt...and finishing something!

 Hubby asked who was getting this one.  No way is it leaving our house!!

 My pal Sandie gave me a charm square pack of Tula Pink's Acacia...30 five inch squares of fun! 

I had some McKenna Ryan ombre type fabric that I cut into 5" by width of fabric strips and randomly placed 3 squares per strip.

I was a bit too random as I had a hard time laying them out so none of the squares were totally next to each other.  A little overlap was fine.  I'm happy with the final layout and went crazy with the quilting!

                            

(Doesn't that freebie chair from the side of the road look like a giant's chair?:)

I have never quilted anything as densely as this one.

 I just love the look but oh do my shoulders ache!!

So that is finish #4 for the second quarter of Finish Along 2014...almost done with #5!

(Hubby dug that rock out of our driveway...it only stuck out a couple inches!!)

I could look at this quilt forever!!  Thanks Sandie!!! xoxo

Bye the way...that's Cairn Man watching over the house and flower beds...man he has big feet!!:)

~d

I wanted to keep it!

My coworker's daughter got married. They sent this beautiful invitation to the wedding reception.

I was inspired!

 A little graft paper....a sharp pencil...the perfect fabric....viola!

 A mini quilt that captured a moment and hopefully they love it!

 I know I do and I sure didn't want to give it up.

But give it up I did.

Maybe this Father's Day weekend we'll grill more burgers and cheese!!!

Please?:)

~d

Second Quarter Finish Along III+

For my third Finish Along 2014 of this quarter I grabbed the right pile and found the perfect pattern by Anna of Noodlehead fame.  

(That little petunia in the pot was a broken piece I popped in there...just noticed in this photo that it's blooming!!)

 The 241 tote....fun, fun, fun!  This is the front...

 ....and this is the back! 

 I think Anna's Super Tote pattern is calling my name

 cause you know one can never have enough bags!

Can you get over those Dogwoods?  

They are called Kousa Dogwood and what's nice about them is they bloom way after the native Dogwood and the blooms last so long!  

Oh...and I finished another Angled Frames this time starting with a square in the middle.

The fabric is Hearty Good Wishes by Moda....finally finished for my Father-in-law three months after I gave him the top for his birthday! Oops!:)

~d