Want a Peek at My Fairy Garden?

I have waited all summer to get this Fairy Garden to come to life..First, I waited for the tree stump to get transformed into the Fairy House. It still isn't painted but that will come eventually.  And I am waiting for the window frames to get made and nailed on. Gotta have windows, right?   I waited to plant/make the garden until after the roof was made and installed as I was afraid the garden would get stepped on and messed up. And then it was soooo hot, that I knew it would be useless to plant or transplant the foliage, we have finally had some cooler weather...So last week a friend came over and "we" planted, designed and fussed around and the fairy garden came to a reality!! Yeah, I'm so happy!! I have been collecting little things for several months and have been gifted with a few of the items too. Once you start thinking about something like this, a person is always on the lookout for "stuff" to go in the garden. I finished it off with coco bean hull mulch, oh yummy, that smelled like chocolate for the first several days and then I put the rocks around the border. I had a few rocks but had to beg a few from a friend and she was gracious enough to let me have some of hers.  Aren't friends the greatest? I still have a few more things that I want to do but there is always next year, I hope. Sew until next time, I hope the fairies are dancing in our gardens and I hope everyone has a Stitches kind of day...

Notice the 3 gazing balls,birdhouse, birdbath and the big ceramic mushroom

My fairies enjoying their garden.

More mushrooms, the mill, covered bridge and the abalone shell pond

Overall picture

Four O'Clock's, I Love 'em

Have you ever planted Four O'clock seeds? I hadn't planted any for years and I am loving them. Except my Four O'Clock's are time challenged!!  Burpee Seed Company says they are fragrant trumpet flowers that open late in the afternoon, hence the name Four O'Clock, I presume.  My flowers open early in the morning and are closed up by afternoon, I guess they dance to a different drummer!!!  I have to go out and smell them everyday,,,ah, they have that subtle, sweet fragrance that I so well remember, how have I gone so many years without Four O'Clock's?  My Grandmother always had a long row of Four O'Clock's at the edge of her garden and I loved them. I also remember gathering the seeds so she could plant again the following year. The hummingbirds and butterflies like them too, another plus for these old heirloom plants. And they come in lots of beautiful colors too.  The seeds are large and very easy to harvest and I plan to do that this year also.  Have you ever grown Four O'Clock's?  Do they bring back pleasant memories for you as they do me?? Have I enticed you to put Four O'Clock's on your list for next year??   I hope so as I know you will enjoy them even if they open in the morning instead of the afternoon, it's okay with me!!!  Sew until next time, have a Four O'Clock kind of Stitches day.

Little Basket's

I had been wanting to make a basket quilt for sometime and found this little basket pattern in a book

at the library. It was used in an Advent Calendar but I really liked it especially because of the rounded edges and attached handle. So I started making them and didn't know how many I would make, just kept making them until I felt like I might have enough for a small quilt. The blocks measure 4" finished so they are pretty small.  All of the fabrics are Civil War repo's but the background is something that I have had for "many" years.  Then I decided it needed something in the border so I drew out a little rabbit, similar to many that I found on the net. My original rabbit had 2 ears, and 4 legs but simplified it to include just one ear and 2 legs.  I'm hand quilting it  and enjoying that a lot. I will show it to you again when it finished, which could be several months as I want to keep this project something to just pick up and work on when I need it..  I'll be back soon with pictures of my Fairie Garden, it's so cute!!  I love it!!  Sew until next time, have a Stitches kind of day.    

A Really Good Read!!

When I go to see my daughter in Nebraska, I usually go to the library and pick up an audio book to listen to. This time I chose "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt" by Beth Hoffman. First of all, it's Beth's first novel and I like to discover new authors and their first written novel. It was a very good book and I didn't want it to come to an end!! It was so descriptive and I love that in a book. You can read a summary of it here: Beth Hoffman.  If your library has it, I highly recommend you read it. It was sad, funny and just plain a "good read". Let me know if you have read it and if you enjoyed it as much as I did. Sew until next time, have a Stitches kind of day.

All is Well Again

Whew! I got my computer back over a week ago and so far I have managed to keep it "free" from any nasty virus".  My computer gal says it probably came from a pop-up and attaches itself to ones computer. I don't usually click on any pop-up's so who knows?  I now have a Malware program plus my virus protection so hopefully I am covered. She had 4 people call with in just a few days with the same thing I had . So all is well again at my house. I have been working on some unfinished projects and hope to show you some progress very soon. Sew for today, have a Stitches kind of day.