New project

 

Hubby was off on a fishing trip…..I had uninterrupted time in my sewing room.  First I made the appliqué for a cousin sewing lots of stops and starts, going slow and turning lots of corners like driving around town.  Getting to the sewing on this buggy barn pattern was like hitting the open highway in South Dakota where the roads are straight and long with a full tank of gas or rather a freshly oiled machine the roar became a hum.  I also found a new use for my knitting blocking tiles…..put the buggy barn piles on the tiles and I can slide the tiles away as I sew the big segments together, everything stays in order.  Another little trick I learned long ago was to put a sticky note just below my markings on my big square up tool so I cut every block the exact same size—no oops.  Those white spots are the reflection of the ceiling lights. —Ann—

Finished

It’s ready to be mailed! I’m going to let my cousin finish this, she can either make a pillow which is what I was thinking when I started it or make a small wall hanging.  Easier to mail small.  Savoring the memories of Ireland. —Ann—
 

Progress

 I like this better……and then as I was clearing my table to clear my head I found some more greens that play better with the other greens than the little patches at the bottom corners. My first stitching in months, I started with the presser foot then switched to the free motion quilting foot so much easier and fewer puckers. I also layered a sheer yellow piece over the black and white buildings, toned them down. 

I had a productive day.  —Ann—

Small steps

Look at those little shoes!  Each little part was a small step. I worked on one person at a time, I think I found the perfect fabrics for each. The hair was found in a pheasant print. A light spot between the barns was perfect for the sunlight on the boys hair and the tall grass was perfect for blond pony tails.  The shoes were fussy because the parts were so small.  It fuses best if I remember to remove the paper from the back.  It’s been a long time since I used the fusible.

Still not ready to stitch but close, I see some things I might want to change I see little things in the photo that I don’t see as I’m working on it.  In the actual photo ( previous post) there is a little ridge in the grass on the left side, I can duplicate that ridge if I cut an “up” curve. I’m not sold on the lightest green in the foreground either. I’ll think on it before I stitch.  —Ann—

Another no sew summer

 

My no sew summer has come to an end. So far I am just choosing fabrics and enlarging the figures but soon I will be sewing. My monkey brain has been all over the place, work on the background then on the figures then I see I haven’t changed the calendar in my sewing room jump up and then stand there….what was I going to do?  Go back to the table look around ahha the calendar! Cutting these parts out isn’t so hard……oh time for coffee……maybe write a blogpost haven’t done that for awhile……maybe the caffeine will help me focus.

I’m making a pillow for my cousin in Ireland that’s her daughter and grandkids.  They took me to the beaches around Portrush.  Savoring summer memories—Ann—

Ireland

 

I call all of my relatives cousins in Ireland it’s to complicated to identify first cousins, second cousins and then the removing bit…….we all have the same great grandparents however to a couple they were grandparents. This is the house my grandfather grew up in, there were 11 children in a good Protestant family. The house is no longer in the family someone bought restored and modernized it the sky lights in the roof are new.  The moat was dug out on the lower level, some windows had been covered because property taxes were assessed by the number of windows in a house.  The house is probably 300 years old and was originally an abbey. We just walked around the outside, a young family lives there now we were invited in but I didn’t want to ruin my memories of when I was there in 1981. 

This is the only family photo of them all together probably the last time they were all together, my grandfather came to America a short time after the photo was taken, he is standing between my great-grandparents.  They were all dressed up for the occasion the dresses and shoes the girls are wearing are beautiful.  I met seven of the eleven siblings many years ago. Two of grandpas brothers, Harry and Robert, (second row left and right) came to America a few years later they also farmed. A sister, Jess, (sitting on left) came to America she worked in office jobs and was actually a roommate with my grandmother which is how she met my grandfather. That great aunt also worked as a nanny in South America it’s rumored that she sent cheerful letters home keeping the higher ups abreast of Americas preparations to enter WWII. We will never know for sure.  My great aunt Elsie ( standing on bottom step) is the one responsible for my love of wool. She came to America for a visit in the mid 1960’s and knit a sweater for me I’m sure I wore it to school every other day.  The youngest boy, my great uncle Sandy, came to America in 1968 and stayed for almost a year he visited all the American relatives he talked about the big snowstorms for decades. I met Sam ( boy sitting) in 1981.

Scenery along the coast

The monkey puzzle tree at a cousins farm.

A walk up the lane at another cousins farm, I walked all the way up that hill 44 years ago. The terrain looked a lot wilder this time, maybe the sheep had grazed it shorter years ago.  I saw a couple golden hares one struck a pose on a stone fence.

A cousin took me to the local yarn shop I found some treasures.

A trip to Ireland isn’t complete without a couple pints of Guinness.  —Ann—
 

Where have I been………

 I will give you a hint……

The shamrocks

The Open at Royal Portrush on the north coast of Northern Ireland what I know about golf could fit in a thimble but it was exciting and amazingly well organized to handle 48,000 or so people a day for 4 days. I went opening day hubby went all 4 days.  I spent my days with my cousins and had a wonderful catching up.

That’s Rory McIlroy on the first hole.

 

We went to some beaches some were sandy with sand as fine as sugar others were rocky and my little cousins fished for golf balls with their little nets. On other beaches we gathered shells and sea glass. It was just fun watching them be kids. 

We had lovely days at the beaches —Ann—