Quaker Christmas is finished and a new kitchen!

I cannot believe that it has been over a month since I last posted, the weeks are just flying by, can you believe that we are at the end of May already???

 

Quaker Christmas is done, sorry for the side view sometimes this new computer just defies me.

Aside from all the yard work I have been doing, my stitching has gone to the wayside, but we have moved forward with the kitchen remodel. 

Here is a photo of the new island with a farmhouse sink.  The color of the island is a dark cranberry red with a black glaze.  The granite is a beige base with various brown/tan/redish markings. 

Instead of a smooth shiny granite surface, we went with a "leather" finish which is still smooth but not totally flat - has a bit of texture to it and the shine is dulled down quite a bit.

 The cabinet maker thought it would be a better use of space to put the refrigerator in the corner and boy was he right on with this.  We ended up with more cabinet space and good walking room and very little wasted space behind the refrigerator.  The cabinet to the left has slanted separators for my  cookie sheets and jelly roll pans.

 Now off to the yard - DH really liked weeping Japanese Maples especially this one which is a Red Dragon.

 Below is just some photos of the back yard.  Still have lots to do, but the rains have been frequent so the yard is just growing away.

 The yard actually backs up to a 40 acre parcel behind us of all foresty/woody area.  We go back quite away, but we only clear out just to the back of the gazebo.  Some day I will push back a bit further.

 Next year would like to put a fern garden just past the archway.

 Lost another tree last year and once again the tree fell to the woods versus towards the house, you can see the stump just to the right of the arch.  Thinking about putting a large potted plant on the stump.

Well, if you made it this far, thank you for staying with me and for visiting me.  I keep saying to myself, self you need to be more diligent with your blog posting.  Maybe that will happen once the hot weather sets in and the yard work will be greatly curtailed.

Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Thank you for stopping by ------------------  Roberta

Spring has Sprung and some stitching

Hi all, just a few stitchy things to show you.

This is a project bag I stitched for a friend for her birthday.  there is a small 'orts' bag and a pinkeep with thread holder rings attached.  Her initial is done with fabric pen and ink on very fine muslin.

 Here is Quaker Christmas - almost done -- the plan is to be finished by the end of April.

 Below are some photos of my back yard - you will notice that the Cherry trees are just about done blooming, but the Dogwoods are blooming and my white azalea's are in full bloom.

I have been working and planting in the yard trying to get all ready for summer - once it gets too hot not much yard work will get done!!!

Hope you all are enjoying some spring weather or in some cases Fall.

Have a great week - thank you for visiting.               Roberta

Some stitching and springtime in the yard

It has been a busy couple of weeks, what with a Rozashi Workshop, teaching a mini workshop, working in the yard, getting the house ready for a kitchen remodel and of course some stitching!

Below is a mini workshop that I did with my stitch-in group (part of my EGA).  We made pincushions to fit into these little Mary Engelbreit boxes - we also mad pins using straight pins and beads and glue. 

 

This is from my Rozashi workshop with Margaret Kinsey, the fabric is a silk RO which is stitched with silk floss/thread.  This was an extremely interesting class learning a bit about Japanese culture and the fine art of one of the styles of Japanese embroidery.  I do apologize for the upside down photos, not sure what is going on with the computer.

 

My yard is starting to wake up after a crazy warm/then cold and rainy winter.  Here are my window boxes that will go up onto my back deck.

my little dragon will miss having the flowers sitting with him.

My daffodils

some violas

Below is various photos of the Cherry Trees that are in the yard plus views of the leafing out of the trees in the back yard.  The trees bloomed a bit late this year so they where not out during the Cherry Blossom Festival.  This past week here in Macon, was just gorgeous with these trees in bloom all over the city and county.  It is said that we have the most Cherry Trees in the country (yes, even more that Washington DC!)

 

Well, back to my stitching - it is a nice rainy day here today, hoping to get back out into the yard this weekend.

Happy Spring everyone - thank you for visiting.          Roberta

Hi all, this is a non stitching post - it has been a busy week -- Book Club on Tuesday then the Annual Cherry Blossom Festival which opened yesterday Friday.  So the Friday newspaper is printed on PINK newsprint paper.  Unfortunately this came out upside down and I tried to get it right side up - to no avail!!

I spent most of the week planning and doing designs for the Ikebana exhibit that will be placed in one of the historic homes in Macon, Georgia.

 Below is my final designs.  I used pine branches and Protia flowers.  I did the mantel and the fireplace.

There were about 23 of us that did one or two designs on Thursday in preparation for the Festival which will last for about 10 days.  We all take turns going to the house to water the designs and to make sure that they are still looking good.  If there is an issue the original designer is called and they go and fix up their design.

 

                                        My design in the fireplace in the front music room

                                              The view of the whole fireplace and both designs

                                                     A close up of the mantel design.

Thank you for stopping by - hope to have some photos of my cherry trees in my yard soon.  They still haven't bloomed just yet!!!

Roberta

Some stitching and where I stitch

Good Morning all,  Thought I would show you where I do my stitching, knitting and magazine reading!

Below is in my sewing hideaway (please ignore the mess!!!)  This is where I stitch things in frames, also do my beading here as well.  I also listen to my audio books in this room and will sometimes watch - actually listen to the television.

 

In the foreground is Dorcas Haynes and Quaker Pincushion is where the high black chair is.  In the background stacked in plastic boxes are my multiple WIPS.

                                            Here is the Quaker Pincushion stitching area.

                                                 This is the start of the second pincushion.

                                                    Here is the start of Doras Haynes.

 Below is where I knit and read my magazines while watching the Television with the family in the evenings.  Sometimes I do sit here during the day reading as well - depending on my mood.

 This is a sock that I am knitting at the moment - I am in catch up mode with my knitting projects!!  It is bad enough that I have multiple stitching Works In Progress - I do not need to have multiple knitting projects as well!!!  I also, try to keep my beading projects also up to day

 Here is my morning and sometimes dinner cooking stitching area.  This is where I sit in the morning watching the news, drinking coffee and getting everyone off to work.  My faithful companion is my sister's cat Jazmine, who is about 14 years old.  She usually sits behind me (as I am pushed to sit on the very edge of the chair) while I stitch and then takes over the whole chair when I leave!!

Well, that is it for this week, next week will be a bit busy, Book Club in at my house on Tuesday evening - I chose the  Tales of Hill Top Farms by Susan Wittig Alberts.  It is mostly fiction with true parts regarding the life of Beatrix Potter when she purchased Hill Top Farms.  It is a darling story and so very different that what we usually read but I wanted to do something light and easy to read.

This week is also the start of the Cherry Blossom Festival here in Macon, Georgia - it is a big event.  It is said that Macon has the largest number of Cherry Trees in the USA, more that Washington DC!  I have 5 trees in my yard - will post a photo next week of my trees - one of which has already bloomed and is getting ready to leaf.

I belong to an Ikebana group and we put arrangements in one of the historic homes during this time - so most of my time will be practicing my design - not much stitching I afraid!!!

Thank you for stopping by  --  see you next week - I will probably be a day late in posting.


Roberta