Quilting and Gardening

This is what I was working on today. Christmas decorating is almost done. I'll show you some more another day

It is such a beautiful day that I thought I'd take you outside on our back deck and enjoy the sun while we have our tea. We won't have this mild weather too much longer so let's take advantage of it. You can have a cup of tea while I tell you about my day. I am just using my blue willow teapot which is my everyday china. Nothing fancy today, just mugs and still no cookies!

My friends who are cat lovers always choose the mug with cats on it, so pick whichever one you'd like. I am a cat lover and this is the first time in my life that I am without at least one cat, since the kids took the three cats when they moved out.

Now that I've poured the tea let's chat. I love everything about making a quilt except the machine quilting. I am not very good at it and I just find it tedious. But I was determined to work on it for a couple of hours this morning. As you can see I like bright colors!

When I got tired of quilting I went to the Goodwill store and found a great hardcover book Called HEARTS "The Art of Making Gifts of Love and Affection." It is filled with lots of beautiful photos and instructions to make things that are heart shaped: pillows, paper mache, beaded pin cushions, stationary, cookies and tarts etc. It is a beautiful and inspiring book. I love a heart. It is such a wonderful shape and symbolizes so much.

Just before I got our tea ready I planted a bush called Edgeworthia( paper bush). It is the neatest bush. It loses all it's leaves in the winter and then flowers come out. Right now it is filled with buds that will bloom sometime later this winter. The tag on the plant says it is used to make high end paper products in China...interesting.

Well I didn't get as much sewing done as I wanted to so I guess I need to go back and work a little longer. Hope that you have a great weekend. Got any interesting plans?

Rhondi xo

Time For Tea

It's 3:00 which is a good time to stop for tea. I've boiled the water and poured it into the pot with 2 teabags and let it steep for 3 minutes. I like Tetley British Blend tea because it's much like the tea you get in England. I've poured us each a cup. Do you take milk or sugar? I take milk. My husband insists on having the milk poured in first. I don't have any cookies so I can't offer you anything but tea. I thought it would be nice to put the tea on my wicker tea trolley.
Now where shall we have our tea? Perhaps we could sit by the tree in the kitchen.
Perhaps we could go outside. It is a lovely day and I think that if we wear sweaters we will be warm enough and we can sit out on the porch and enjoy the afternoon sun. Now what shall we talk about? There is something about sipping a cup of tea with a friend and chatting. It somehow helps the troubles of the day fade away for a short while.
When we've done our tea I want to sit at my sewing machine for awhile and do some more quilting on my lonestar quilt. The sooner I get it done, the sooner I can start on a new project.

Rhondi xo

It's Beginning to Look a Little Like Christmas

Today I put on my Christmas CDs and began the decorating, starting with the mantle in our TV room. I took down the picture that usually hangs there and put up these green plates, some greenery, a string of bright red apples and Mr & Mrs Santa which were painted by a friend of my mother's and I really cherish them. It will look very cosy when we have a fire and light the candles. Here is a close up so you can see some of the detail in the painting. They each sit on a box that is a music box and when you wind them up Mrs. Claus plays Jingle Bells and Santa plays I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas.

I have a teapot and cups and saucers that match the plates. Sometime in the afternoon after I finish trimming the tree in the kitchen I'll put the kettle on and we can share a cup of tea together. See you then!

Rhondi xo

Time to Decorate

On Sunday the kids got all our boxes of Christmas decorations out of the attic and today I was going to start decorating. However when I walked by the green wicker chair that I had just moved to a corner of the kitchen it seemed to need a red pillow. So I designed and sewed this pillow today. I love red and white. It is so crisp looking.
My little doll Madeleine seems to like it too. She looks like she was made just to sit there.

I listened to Christmas music all day. I love the Christmas CD s by Kenny G and Josh Groban.

Well maybe tomorrow I'll start decorating.

Rhondi xo

After Thanksgiving

We're back from Florida after a lovely Thanksgiving with John's sister and her family. I decided to take my lonestar quilt and work on it while everyone was watching the endless football games. My plan was to set up my sewing machine at the kitchen table. They have a big open kitchen family room. I could still be part of the activity while sewing. It was a great idea except that I forgot to bring the foot for free motion quilting!!

So now that I am back home I am going to do some sewing today. The quilting is my least favorit part of making the quilt. Hopefully some day I will be able to pay someone to do the quilting for me and just create the design, choose the fabrics and sew it together. But in the meatime off I go to sew.

Rhondi xo

Another Beautiful Day

Another beautiful day. Sunny and a little windy which is causing a downpour of leaves outside my studio window. My fern that came inside yesterday is very happy in its new locations.

Today I pinned together my Karen Stone lonestar pattern quilt, so now it's ready to quilt. I have a new Baby Lock Espire which I just love, but I am still getting to know it, so I feel very unsure of my ability to quilt it.

Rhondi xo

Kids Have Gone

The kids moved out! Barb bought a townhouse and Dave has moved in with her. So I feel like I have my house back. Today I happily cleaned sorted rearranged and organized. What is it about getting things organized that is so satisfying?


It was a beautiful fall day, so I opened all the windows and let the fresh air flow through the house. I gave a fresh coat of paint to some wicker and brought a couple of ferns inside before the frost gets them.

Rhondi xo