No-brainer

The Sandbox is mighty crowded these days.  With the addition of the Singer 301 machine and cabinet it became an unpleasant place to work.  I felt trapped by stuff!

I don't know why it takes me so long to figure out what's bothering me.  It's a no-brainer really..... CLEAN UP!  Heh.  So I've cleaned up and rearranged and removed some of the furniture and it's soooo much better.  :-)  I will have to take a picture tomorrow while it's still neat (relatively).  

This 301 and cabinet are still where they landed near the front door.  

After doing some more online research we decided to buy these specialty screwdrivers from The Singer Featherweight Shop as well as a tube of motor lubricant.  On a warmer day when I can open the back door for ventilation I can start refurbishing my "new" machine and cabinet.  What a bonus to have the proper tools.

In the "plant room" I'm still battling mealybugs on the african violets.  I need to go over the plants again and separate out the ones who still look buggy.  (Ha!  One way to repurpose a table that came out of the sewing room.)  In other plant news, the amaryllis bulbs I saved from last year are finally showing signs of life.  I didn't kill them.  Yay!

The last of this year's batch to bloom is absolutely spectacular.

Five huge flowers on the stem!  Nice.

Since I was sorting out the sewing room the only actual machine sewing I've accomplished is making this quilt into a curtain for the laundry room.  The double doors were very awkward to work around and it's a big relief to have them gone.  This quilt wasn't doing anything useful so it got pressed into service.  It's a Bonnie Hunter Mystery quilt from a few years back called Orange Crush.  Mom pieced this top and called it Tutti Frutti Crush.  :-)  I added the borders and quilted it, and we gifted it to The Tramp because of his love of bright colors.  Since the laundry room is near the desk in his study, and the quilt is just about the right size for the opening, it was a no-brainer.

Nothing fancy.  I just sewed on a strip to attach the clips to.  The top of the quilt flops over so there are safety pins involved as well, to stop the flop.  Not elegant, but it works.

I'm working on a rosette for La Passacaglia.  I've finished all the blue star points and have moved on to the next row of pentagons.  Another photo I need to take!

Today, sadly....very sadly....we made the decision this big old oak tree has to go.  Sniff.

When we moved in a year ago we had the tree trimmed for safety.  The tree was also covered with large poison ivy vines and a huge grape vine.  We cut the vines to about six feet up and it took months for it all to die off.

You can see how thick the grape vines were with my foot for comparison.

I have taken many photos this year of the lovely greenery against bright blue sky and cheddar house from my chair on the deck.  This was in the spring.

In summer the viney stuff finally turned brown.  It's ugly, but the birds like to perch in it.

I'm going to miss this view.

This was Thanksgiving morning.

And a few weeks ago in the snowstorm.

 On the weekend I was quite annoyed with Maisy.  I'd call and call her and she wouldn't come in.  And I couldn't see where she was!  Turns out she was digging behind the tree next to the fence.

Or rather....she was in the tree!  I'm wondering what was living in there that caught her attention.  Do I want to know???

Today I got down and took a proper look into the hole.  Oh my.  I poked my yardstick in there and almost lost it in the depths.  The tree is hollow!

North Carolina had two hurricanes come through in the fall, record rainfall last year, several snowstorms in the year we've been in the house, and each time I worry and worry about this tree.  In particular, it looms over our master bedroom.  Three sheds, several fences, and more importantly at least three homes are at risk if it falls.  So with our discovery today (thank you Maisy) it's a no-brainer.  It has to come down.  :-(  

MOSQUITO!!!!!!!!!

Sorry.  Just had to get that out of my system.  I'm just sitting here at the keyboard MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS and a mosquito was working it's way up my arm.  Grrrrrrr.

Anyway.....   I will type in spite of the intense itching.  ARRRGGGGHHHH   (What did we do before Benadryl Spray??)

The Viking and I have been spending most of our time together out of the house it seems.  Finally we've been able to relax and enjoy a few days at home.  He's getting quite good with scissors.  We dig through the paper recycle bin and my fabric scrap bin and he cuts and cuts.

He's getting quite creative with the shapes that appear.  This day turned out to be all about horns.  He wouldn't rest until I taped horns on his head.

Then he taped horns, beak, wings and tail to his sippy cup and proceeded to give it "horn cuts" instead of a haircut.  Too funny.

A fun photo of Stardust ready for a field day at school.

And a first photo of grand #8, as yet ungendered and unnamed.  :-)

In my last post I complained a bit about my selection of quilting presser feet and had just altered one to be non-hopping.  With fingers crossed, I ordered another Janome foot in hopes it would fit my Juki.  Some do and some don't.
 

Also that day, came the forget-me-not fabric.  Now I have several fabrics from the same line for the Quilting Babes challenge quilt.

Much to my relief and excitement....it fits!!!

The needle is perfectly centered.  Yay!  It works like a dream.  Yesssssss.

So I finished the quilting and then constructed the second tote bag.  This one is for the guild swap.  My partner likes blue and green so I hope she likes it.

 I came so close to running out of the quilting thread.  (King Tut, Mint Julep)  I just squeaked in some stitching on the handles.  Phew.

I also finished another rosette for La Passacaglia.  I'm trying to get away from the purple stars I started with.  I decided it would be much more fun to just go crazy with color.  We shall see.

 Last Wednesday The Tramp and I went to a concert.  Yep.  That's Paul Simon!!  The show was fabulous.  I consider it a testament to his greatness that he and his sound people realize you don't have to make peoples' ears bleed with the volume.  I didn't even have to put on my ear plugs.  It was a joy to listen quietly, sing along with the crowd, and even dance a bit.  Almost 2 1/2 hours.  Wow.

Everyone was prepared for rain, but it didn't happen.  Instead we were treated to a sideshow of the almost full moon dancing with the fast moving clouds.  Pretty neat.

Along with all the usual weekend errands, on both Saturday and Sunday morning, before the days heated up too much, we did some heavy gardening.  At least these days I find it heavy going.  ;-)  I've been wanting to plant something on this bare slope beside the driveway.  In the backyard there is a patch of mondo grass which the dogs haven't managed to kill.  I figure if it's that hardy, it might survive in this somewhat shady spot.  The "soil" is rock hard clay.  Like cement!  We planted plugs until our backs gave out, mulched, and installed a soaker hose above them on the slope.  We shall see.  If it works, maybe I'll try some hostas and possibly a shrub or two.  Living in hope.  :-)

We picked up some rosebushes, blueberry bushes and a nandina from the clearance racks at the back of Lowes' garden section.  We planted three roses bushes in the spot I tried to grow tomatoes last year.  Fingers crossed they are more successful.  Amazingly, buried up against the garden border was this enormous goose egg!  I suppose the thief who raided the first nest buried it here for safekeeping.  What a surprise!  I wondered why we didn't see broken shells all over the place when the nest was raided.  Now I know.  The eggs were cached.

In the backyard we planted the blueberry bushes and pegged down and mulched over soaker hoses in the three gardens.

No more eggs I'm afraid, though I did run across this interesting spider with an unusual web, settled in the clump of daylilies up against the deck.  A little research tells me it's most probably a female banded garden spider, Argiope trifasciata.

"Females are large, silvery spiders with legs banded in black and yellow. Look for this species in late summer and fall in fields, prairies, gardens, and meadows. The circular webs are built close to the ground amid tall grasses and weeds, often with a zigzag band of silk running through the center."

After such a busy weekend I think we earned a little rest time on the porch.  :-)

Waiting

Much anticipated is the imminent arrival of The Sailor Son and his lady.  With an hour and a half more until they arrive I realized I have time for a post.  How about that!

Evil Step-Daughter sent another photo of her quilt, now finished with the binding.  The recipient is going to love it!

I finished my four pairs of jeans.  I'm very pleased except the blue ones are a bit tight.  This body needs a blue denim with more stretch.  Sigh.  ;-)

I think I've figured out that all my frustrating sewing machine problems when making the first two pairs, striped and grey, were caused by the very heavy Guttermann topstitching thread.  The black and the gold threads are Coats.  Much better!!

A simple pattern with real back pockets, but faux fly and front pockets.  The soft knit waistband is a big plus in my book.

I also spent some time making a Captain America experience for The Viking.  He was thrilled.

 Even more exictement when we stopped, in costume, at Target for the shield.  He wore the outfit everywhere we went for two days and is looking forward to showing off for The Sailor Son tomorrow.

In anticipation of our visitors I've been doing some spring cleaning.  Always a chore is removing the pollen.  You could write your name on everything on the back porch.

The sandbox cover.  Ick!!

After a long session with the vacuum I managed to get most of it.  Of course I'll have to do it over again soon, darn it.  So looking good.....for now.

The water level on the pond is being lowered in anticipation of some repairs to the dam.  We've realized that not only is wind and water our enemy, but muskrats as well.  Nasty little buggers apparently.  The water has to be lowered four feet and this is how it looks at the moment, down almost a foot.

The boat is on the edge waiting to be used to go out and re-open the valve to let out more water.  The dam work is scheduled for next week.  It should be interesting.

Thankfully, not all of our azalea flower buds died from the cold.  I was so pleased to spot these starting to open today.  Lovely large flowers with that interesting leopard spot pattern.  Beautiful!