December Already?

Here is the finished baby quilt made for my Angel Tree family. This was the first quilt that I have quilted on my own. Very scary at first since I do not have a long arm machine, but I launched into it with wild abandon thanks to a class I took at 7th Heaven. Thanks, you all for giving me confidence. It is finished in a pattern of rambling hearts and leaves which I just improvised on as I went along. Since I didn't have much time and took on an Angel Tree family with a friend on the spur of the moment, the quilt is very simple as you can see. Now I'm thinking I should consider starting another quilt for next year which could be more spectacular if I had more time.

September Gardening

Well, I didn't do a very good job of blogging my gardening progress last month. Maybe I'll do better this month.

September 8-28 Planted 3 gardenia bushes, 2 chaste trees, and 1 Duranta repens (Golden Dew Drops) in the backyard. Jessi mowed down one of the chaste trees thinking it was a big weed, but it surprisingly came back and is almost as big as the other one again. Then in the side yard, I planted a Mirror Leaf Viburnum. In the top garden, I planted a Ruellia Chi Chi. It has quarter sized pink petunia like flowers and is very heat tolerant. It may not like its spot because it likes full sun and the top garden is a little shady.

September 7 Although it is raining today, I did spend time yesterday unloading the top soil that I brought in to replenish the raised bed. As I wasn't able to unload it all, I pulled the truck into the garage so that I wouldn't have a mud pit to deal with when the storm hit. Glad I did.

Spetember 5 Mowed the front lawn.

September 3 Trimmed the front and pulled out the spent impatiens.

Owl Apron

Kate and I were out to lunch when we spotted a cute owl apron in the restaurant's gift shop. Kate said how much she liked it except for the colors. She doesn't like orange. So thinking that I could be like the designers on Project Runway which is one of my favorite programs, I went home and cut out an apron, hand drew some owls, and here is the outcome. I can't wait to give it to Kate!

September's Reading List

The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory - Margaret feels that she is destined by God to be able to sign her name Margeret R (Regina) and spends her life plotting against the Yorks in the hope that her son Henry can return from exile to claim the throne from Edward and then from Richard. She serves in the courts of both kings and their queens conniving all the while against them. At the end of the book Henry finally defeats Richard who is killed in the battle. I am hoping that she will write a sequel to her two novels about the War of the Roses as everyone has heard of her grandson, Henry VIII but it would be interesting to read a novel about Henry's father and early childhood.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - Katniss becomes the Mockingjay and joins with the people of District 13 to crush the rule of President Snow and capture the capitol. With Gale and Peeta, she battles to an unexpected conclusion.

The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin - Joe comes to Maine scarred by WWII and begins a new life restoring a run-down fishing camp. His son, Joe, takes over but flees to Canada to escape the draft. This is the story of Joe, Lucy, and their daughter Kate as it intermingles with the life of Harry Wainwright who has visited the camp most summers since he was nine.

Diva Purse Top Section

Here is how you construction the top section of the Diva purse.

Sew the zipper unit onto the purse side, right sides together and leaving the lining loose.

Unzip, turn purse inside out and sew on other side. Note: It might be better to not stitch across zipper so that you can keep it more open allowing for it to be easier to sew. I stitched across too soon which made it harder to get things together.

Now measure the half point that is about 2 and 1/2 inches about bottom of flap.

Center snap anchor and mark the slit lines. Snip on slit lines being careful not to make them too large.

Push prongs of snap through and smash flat.

Lay other flap on top and mark center. Then repeat last step so that other side of snap is in place.

Now these flaps can be sewn onto the ends of the purse. Since I was using demin, it was necessary to sew some of this by hand. Also before sewing on the flaps, be sure that your lining is turned under at each end and sewn down or tacked so it will lie flat under the flaps.

August Gardening

My goal for this month is to spend 30 minutes in the garden 5 days a week. Here is my progress report.

August 2 - Monday I worked on the back garden fence area. I had weeded half of it on Saturday so I began on the second half. The honeysuckle that I planted several years ago has taken over in one corner and is trying to choke out the Texas sage that is planted there. I liberated the sage while noticing that the soaker hose that I installed before going on the cruise certainly has done wonders for the plants on the fence. The crape myrtles, knockout roses, and trumpet vines are all in bloom. The butterfly bushes needed some pruning.

August 1 - Sunday is usually not a day to spend in the garden. After taking Sookie for a walk, it was time to get ready for church and by the time I returned home it was way too hot for gardening.

August's Reading List

212 by Alafair Burke A bodyguard for a powerful businessman is gunned down in his boss's apartment. The murder is called in by a mysterious woman who then disappears. Megan and her roommate Heather are attacked after threatening posts on a campus gossip web site. Megan dies. Katy Battle (aka Miranda) is found murdered. Is there a connection between these cases?

The Last Patriot by Brad Thor Was there a last instruction omitted from the Koran? Was Mohammed poisoned? Was Thomas Jefferson really studying Islam and realizing the impact it was going to have on our history? How historically correct are the "facts" presented here? This book reads like a Dan Brown novel but has my attention and the desire to find out these and other questions.