Gosh, it seems impossible, doesn’t it? The year is half gone already. I always feel like I’m about three months behind but the weather here definitely isn’t April weather — it’s hot and MUGGY. The kind where you walk out the door and break into a sweat. Ick.
I hope everyone in the states had a wonderful 4th yesterday. I was hoping to post at least by yesterday, but we were just too busy having fun. Both the boys and SweetiePie were here for the long weekend. There was lots of cooking, baking, visiting and playing around. We went to friends’ yesterday for our annual cookout and I brought my usual (upon request) — cupcakes and spaghetti salad.
Sadly now, my babies have gone back to their homes. I tried to busy myself today by dragging out an old UFO. I have so many projects that I want to start, but I’ve promised myself that I must work on a UFO or two before (or at least while) I work on any new projects. Those UFOs just drive me crazy!
So, hopefully, I’ll make a little UFO headway this week. Are you working on anything fun?
XOXO,
Anna
I’m finishing up a baby quilt with 35 pieced blocks, some pinwheels, some hourglass, some framed and of course a few 9 patches. All the pieced blocks done and now just the stop border and border, whew, the baby is coming in late August so I’m going to make it I think. Also have a old Christmas kit I pulled out a few weeks ago, sq in a sq in a sq with most of the blocks done, so I’m feeling good! Next up something new…oh and maybe I’ll dig out a half finished Christmas pinwheels I start many years for a class!
That’s why my UFOs are way up in a cupboard hidden away; that way they can’t drive me crazy! Good thinking, don’t you agree? Maybe I’m also hoping that some fairies will come and finish them while I’m not looking. Well, one can hope, right? Anyway, glad you had a great weekend with your family and your cupcakes look delicious (as always).
What a great weekend you’ve had. Whatever I work on , it has to be fun, it’s a rule. Good for you getting out the UFO.
Is your place still a wildlife sanctury or are they all converted to the religious life now?
There you are again – flinging cupcake cravings on me. Sure looks good! I just finished a quilt and am working myself up to starting another one. :) The UFO’s will just have to wait for inspiration to strike. Yours looks interesting, though.
The cupcakes look delicious and I love how you add the little decorations to them. Your quilt is looking lovely. I dont like the hot weather at all, I get hot just going to the gym and feel yuck. I know what you mean though – we get that horrible melting weather in summer too and the worst year was when the bushfires hit and it reached 46 degrees. I felt like we were going to melt too.
Wonderful for you to spend time with family and friends!! Life is good!!! Good for you working on a UFO! I hardly ever get to sew for myself and as small as the project is…I did get 6 pillowcase kits finished this last week…yippee!!! Also excited about our house remodel actually getting started this last weekend…yippee on that too. I wish you well on getting some of your UFO projects done or at least headed in the right direction.
i’m thinking you should go teach alyssa torrey how to decorate cupcakes, cuz yours always look AMAZING!
i’m scared, however, of your pasta salad.
very scared.
are those little bees flying around by the hives? i think when we pull out our UFO’s, if they don’t make us swoon still, there should be a place we can send them to that will finish them for us and then send them back completed.
i need a sister who not only cleans for me, but sews. i already have the cleaner sister, so i just need the sewer sister. i’ll be the cooker sister.
we’ll be 3 sisters. no, that’s not already take by the moda designers!
you should move to california. you can be my sewer sister.
i’ll buy you a pink karmann ghia, a convertible one.
I love the cupcakes – I want one right now …. and I’ve only just finished my breakfast! I finished the quilting on the first cushion last night, so will start the second one tonight – at least once the quilting is done it won’t take me long to make the cushions, then they will be on their way to Australia!! I’m planning to start on the next ‘row’ of my quilt today – six cute little girls. I have too many UFOs to count – every so often I have a blitz ….. but I can never resist starting something new. I’ll go and be Brigita’s sewer sister – as long as the car she buys me isn’t pink!!
Oh my it has been extremely hot here too Anna. Love your pretty cupcakes and new blog header! I’ve worked a little more on my wool garden BOM from Farmhouse Woolens and need to finish up 2 more BOMs so don’t feel bad about UFO’s, your applique looks great!
To quote RR – those cupcake look Delish! It’s icky here too!
S.W.A.K.
That applique looks gorgeous! So glad to hear that you had a wonderful 4th. Having family around makes anytime special. I’m going to make a couple more blocks for my “map” quilt, but that has to come in between the yard work!
Those cupcakes look delicious! Good to hear you had such a fun time with your loved ones.
Here we have a little break in the hot and humid weather. The last two days we finally had some cool air, but I think I read tomorrow will be tropically hot again. We’ll see.
I usually don’t have UFO’s lying around here. Most of the times I force myself to wait with a new project until I finished the one I am working at. I know myself. I have enough chaos in my head that threatens to explode if I add chaos from my surroundings to it ;-)
I look forward to seeing your finished..euhm..Object :-)
I like the way you think, Anna. I’m trying to clean out and finish up some UFOs myself. I’m also desperately trying to finish a crocheted sweater for a friend’s (end of July!!!) 50th birthday. Better get crackin’….keep cool.
I’m designing applique’ borders and working on a Lincoln quilt challenge, along with hand quilting.
Thanks for the recipes!
I can’t believe the year is half over either…It’s good tho, that means our son is half done with his deployment. I’m going to have to try your spaghetti salad…It looks yummy!
the holiday is about family…glad you had fun!
i do love your banner & the applique looks like it will be beautiful…is the finished piece for some special someone?
i am in a scone baking mode…although the weather is HOT i have been using up my fruit bounty!
…my closets are my UFO’s…& we all know how we feel about cleaning those…
My son left Sunday for Denver :-(. Luckily my grandsons are here to keep me occupied!
I don’t think I’ve seen you applique before or at least nothing this big. Please give us updates as you progress because I am learning applique and fascinated by everyone’s techiques, and I know you could teach me a thing or two. No pressure! :-)) I am enjoying the heat here because there is no humidity to speak of.
That cupcake is gorgeous and I can’t wait to see the finished object – I have been too lazy to make anything of much consequence recently – have been trying to teach myself to crochet though!
Good luck on finishing some UFO’s Anna- I am still making lists – checking them twice- just kidding-
I got the decor changed including the tablecloth- the laundry is done- some dust has been removed and getting caught up on my blog reading.
Need to choose one project to begin – probably will add borders to a couple of couch quilts and then take them to school to spray baste them so that I can quilt them up.
Was so nice for you to have your family home for the 4th. You always do such fun things together.
Sorry to hear about your flowers- those rodents were indeed troublesome.
Be well my friend,
Regards,
Anna
Have fun with your UFOs. And happy to hear you had a nice holiday weekend!
Your UFO looks beautiful! What am I working on? Oh just a few things: enamelled butterfly pendant, enamelled sweetpea brooch, a silver hare, triple fingerprint necklace, blossom necklace. Oh and one last thing, a silver pebble pendant.
Oh, I so hear you on the UFOs! I’m still stalled on quilting my ladybugs—what was I smoking , I wonder, that made me decide to hand quilt it?? But today, because it’s been pouring here, I’m finally putting my Bunny Hill basket blocks together! Yea!
BTW—that’s a tempting offer from Brigitta!
Yummy looking cupcakes you have there and they’re making me hungry just looking at your picture. I do have some fun projects going on but can’t share them yet. UFOs are never-ending, really they aren’t. I have many of those, too, but am trying to get them ticked off the list as fast as humanly possible.
YUM cupcakes.
Just slogging through some socks for the farmer. Hoped to have them done for father’s day – nope. Then thought I’d get them done for his birthday – the 5th. nope. I swear these things are like the black hole of knitting.
Cute UFO, good luck on it xoxox Clarice
Like the new header :) I am hoping to get my mom’s quilt done this year. And I’m trying not to let knitting UFOs pile up like my quilting has!
I’ve been feeling the same way … I want to start something new, but I know if I do, I may never return to my UFO’s. So I’m being good … for now!
Your 4th sounds like it was lots of fun.
I know there’s some UFO’s in the closet but I’m having fun with my new embroidery machine! I’m invited to a bridal shower in a couple of weeks so today I bought kitchen towels and embroidered the bride and grooms first names on them. If we weren’t leaving on vacation, I would have taken more time an put a cute ruffle or rick rack on them, but I think they’ll like them anyway.
Oh my goodness, Anna! I could eat both those delicious cupcakes and that divine quilt!
sounds like you had a lovely 4th July. Good luck with the ufo’s – mine seem to be multiplying, I should take a leaf from your book and get some finished!
Love the cupcakes. It has taken me forever to catchup on everyones blogs! I have been working on my very precious project, Madeline. Hope all is well for you this summer!!
I’m working on a top secret quilt for my mum and dad’s golden wedding anniversary – unfortunately their party is in a week and a half and I am still only part way through making the top! It’s definitely going to have to be given to them as a work in progress!!!
Lucy x
It’s a bit late to wish you happy 4th of July, but I do it anyway ;-)
We have a Norwegian saying that goes someting like this: Better late than never….
I can’t make out what your UFO project is, but it sure looks interesting. I hope you will share more with us.
Your cupcakes are always sooooo pretty Anna. I want you to make me some pretty ones too. :-)
What are ya working on there? Looks like applique to me.
Glad you got to enjoy your kids during the 4th. It’s always nice when they come home.
You cupcakes look delicious, like always!
I see some hives that need to be appliqued, for an adorable Summer table cloth or Summer tree skirt?
I’m working on some bags, a lovely change from making quilts.
i’m kind of in denial that JULY is here already, too. oy. so, how many wips do you have? (i realize that is much like asking a woman her age..or maybe it’s worse?) i have about 18 wips now…i think it’s at an all time high and it’s driving me crazy, too. maybe i’ll go start another one to calm my nerves….
Hope you had a good 4th July! Where is this year whizzing? Can’t believe that summer is half over – can that be true? I was surprised to read about your groundhog, have only ever seen them in that wonderful Bill Murray film!
Kimx
Glad you had a good time with your family. I’m also blessed with good kin.
Summer IS going by too quickly. The corn around here has already tassled and I saw school supplies in Walmart this week. Makes me want to crawl into a hole.
are those templates plastic???? and you can give them a quick hit with the iron????
been working on lots of things this last week………..lots of fun……….
Nice tutorial on the circles. I have used the plastic washers you can get in the hardware departments to do this sort of thing too. They are not very flexible though and can be difficult to remove.
Ah, just when you get all the kids out of the house and can start getting things just the way you like them, you have critter problems. That’s life, I guess.
LOL! Why is it so much more fun to start something NEW than to finish a UFO?! I have my share of those as well! I like the one you’re working on and will look forward to seeing it finished!
oh wow those cupcakes are to die for!!!!!!! so perfectly iced………..
Corrie:)
LOL!
We had a bandit (or pack of bandits) in our garden too, which turned out to be Bambi and his gang of marauding thugs.