Checking In

 Just so you know I haven't checked out altogether. We're about a week away from Scrap Happy Day (on the 15th) and my last post was for Scrap Happy Day last month. I have done almost nothing in terms of quilt making since then. Completed the binding on the quilt I'm calling Sticks and Stumps...

But I haven't laundered or photographed it yet. (I just bound it with more of the sashing/border print.) 

I have been doing a little bit of needlework, keeping up with the #52tagshannemade project. Without going back to where I left off with that project, these are the most recent ATC's I've made in response to the weekly prompts.

Week 32, lazy daisy stitch

Our area was thirsty for rain during week 32 so I stitched my hope for the heavens to water the flowers.

The originator of #52tagshanndmade is Anne Brooke. She lives in the UK where I gather they are fond of stringing bunting on various occasions. The prompt for week 33 was "flags."

Week 33, flags

I tried to stitch a windy background for my flags. The flags are loose on the vertical string. There's not really an official casing but the stitching I did on the flags creates the same effect.

Most folks are fond of a cup of tea or coffee (or two or three!) during the course of a day so for week 34 Anne had us make ourselves a cup or mug. She used raw edge applique. I chose to simply stitch around an image I found in a print I had on hand and add some embellishments.

Week 34, a cup or mug

 An awful lot of us textile people tend to hoard fabrics and things we love and are reluctant to cut into or use. The challenge for last week was to cut into a precious fabric for our tag and decorate it with three buttons.

Week 35, a precious fabric and 3 buttons

It took me a surprisingly long time to identify a precious fabric. I have silks and velvets that others would consider precious but I couldn't face messing with them. In the end I pulled out a hand dyed cotton from long, long ago and cut a 2.5" x 3.5" rectangle from it. Then I also cut the corner off of a vintage tea tray cloth and layered that on top of the cotton. Cutting up vintage linens is a brave new step for me, it was hard to do. I used some of the painted perle cotton thread I'm so in love with to tack the sheer tray cloth in place. I did not stitch on the cotton except to secure the perimeter. I chose three of my favorite antique mother of pearl buttons to showcase on this ATC. 

It's been a difficult month for me what with all the setbacks caused by poor air quality, heat, and disturbed sleep. Luna, our little dog, has been suffering from seizures this year. I strongly suspect the flea treatment we had her on as the cause. She is getting older too. They were happening about every 21 days until recently. For some reason she had two within ten days. They come on suddenly, so there's no preparing for them ahead of time really. Inevitably I have a mess to clean up afterward as she loses control of her bladder. When she recovers it's like she's had a hit of adrenaline. At four in the morning I'm in no mood to cater to her increased energy. I keep hoping the effects of the flea treatment will wear off but I'm afraid this has become the status quo. She seems to have lost her hearing to a great extent, and some vision as well. She has not lost track of her meal and treat schedule though!