Pop! - Part 3

Dale was doing his volunteer stint at the planetarium today, so I had hours and hours to myself. I took a nice long walk, watered some plants, then sat down to cross-stitch while listening to podcasts.

I was able to complete all the stitching on this little design and added the star stud. Looks good!

Now to figure out how I want to do the finishing work. One idea is to put it on a dowel and use it as a decorative plant stick, something like this.

We have a small plant in the entryway that might display it quite well. I'm going to mull that idea overnight.

Pop! - Part 2

Very small update for a very small project.

I started this July 4th project on the red fabric scrap as planned. I stitched the word. But it wasn't going well. The fabric was stretchy, or something. It wasn't holding its shape and the weave was too small. So I ditched it.

I didn't have any other red ground cloth. So I thought about, perhaps, perforated paper or plastic canvas. But, no. No red in my collection. None at the store I visited, either.

So I switched gears. I went with this white perforated plastic. I switched out the white thread for some red thread. This is SO much easier to stitch on. I don't even need my glasses! Here's what I did this afternoon.

I believe that I will complete the stitching by the 4th of July.

Now to figure out how I want to display it. I'm thinking ... frame it. That's the simplest and most straightforward finishing technique. Or maybe back it with felt and turn it into an ornament for the little tree in our entryway.

Ah ... I'll figure it out as I stitch.

I Did a Thing!

OK. This may not be the most exciting thing for readers of my blog, but it's pretty exciting for me. I did a handy(wo)man thing. I installed some reflective film on the windows of my Studio.

The thing is ... I did it all myself. Dale didn't even have to help me. 

(Well, he tried, but I didn't get enough sleep last night, so my temper started getting a little short with him. I asked him to go do his own thing so I could figure this out without getting in a fight).

The window in my Studio faces directly west. This room turns into a sauna in the afternoons, even with the blinds down and the air conditioning on. I wanted a way to block some of the heat without blocking too much light.

I had the idea. I did the research. I talked it over with Dale. I did the measuring and ordering. I did the entire installation. And it's not too shabby for a first attempt.

The thing is, it's transparent, so there's no way to actually show the window. But it's 5:45pm on a 90 degree day, and I'm fairly comfortable. The reflective film works!

And did I happen to mention that I DID IT ALL BY MYSELF! ??

Dale is impressed. We're now considering adding some of this reflective window film to a couple other rooms.

But I might have him help with those.

Tuesday Travels: 700!

Dale and I headed out into the countyside south of town again today. We saw a nest of 5 geocaches that were fairly close together. We were able to find four of the five.

In one small geocache attached to a guardrail on the edge of a gully, I found this filigree heart charm. It's about a half inch across at the widest part. Another delicate heart for my collection!

Best of all, I reached a landmark with my 700th geocache find!

We came home two hours later with lots of sparkles in our brains. It's heartwarming to get outdoors on a beautiful Oregon summer day, follow a map, and find hidden "treasures". One of the best treasures is the time Dale and I spend together in the fresh air with a shared mission, leaning on each other's strengths, and enjoying each other's company. 

Volunteering with Parks and Rec

Last week I had the opportunity to help Jodie at her job. Her department was preparing for KidFest. Our part was to make Dori hats for the staff and volunteers who were working the event. I donated my crafting skills. You know that if the project calls for a big pile of googly eyes, this is going to be a fun afternoon.

Jodie and I work really well together. We divided up the work of tracing patterns onto felt and cutting them out. While Jodie attached the eyes and mouth to the hats, I constructed the fins and tails made of craft felt and chenille stems. 

Lickity-split ... twelve fishy hats completed.

Behold the models - me in my official Willamalane Volunteer t-shirt, Jodie looking as cute as ever. 

What a team!

First Flowers For You - Part 8

Fini!

The circle-on-octagon idea worked. I'm pleased with that.

After I attached the stitchery to the background, it needed a little som'in-som'in. So I added the picot edge green satin ribbon.

I finished the back with a perfectly-matched piece of embossed scrapbook paper, and a label.

Ta-Da!

It took longer than expected, but it's ready for next Spring. Now on to Pop!

The Snows of Summer

Crazy for Cottonwood

:: sing along to the tune of Raindrops are Falling on My Head :: 

Fluff is falling on my head

But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red

Claritin's for me

Cuz

I'm never gonna stop the fluff that is flyin'

Or allergies

Nothin's worryin' me

First Flowers For You - Part 7

Latest update? The stitching is complete! 

I'm so glad I changed the greys in the bunny's fur. It was worth the effort. The backstitching pulls it all together.

Jodie and I went to Joann Fabrics and scoured the shelves to find a coordinating fabric. I wanted a pastel blue or green or coral, but nary a pastel was to be found. Strange. 

We did find a fat quarter green plaid that we kept returning to. The colors in the fabric are very similar to the green leaves in the stitchery. The scale of the plaid seems to work well, too.

I plan to finish it very simply, much like I did Pumpkins and Blackbird. It's a super quick and easy finishing technique. I'm considering mounting the bunny on a circular base, then making the plaid background either a square or octagon ... because why not make a simple thing harder than it needs to be, right?

I'll need to use some brain power to figure this out, but it's good to put the grey cells to the test every now and then.

Coming In for the Landing

Both the plane and the day.

The most dramatic sunset so far this June as seen from our home.

Pop!

Since I'm nearly done with my bunny cross-stitch, I thought I'd increase the chance of finishing it if I have another cross-stitch project ready to go. I kitted up this very small 4th of July design. 

Pop! by Lizzie*Kate. 

It's only 38 x 38 stitches square - the size of an ornament. As long as I can see the holes in the fabric, it ought to be a quick stitch. Done in time for the 4th? We'll see.

I think this is an 18ct scrap of red aida fabric. Here's the floss toss. I'm using the red only to bind the fabric edges to keep them from fraying. That metallic gold is the weight of perle cotton (a bit thicker than regular 6-strand floss). The gold star is a stud I had on hand rather than a button as called for in the design. 

This could be a nice addition to the other summer items I decorated with yesterday. If not for this year, maybe in 2024.

Park ... Playground ... Purple

Swing!

Bounce!

Summer of P continues with more purple

Summer of P: The Bee

Getting some nourishment from the purple Rhododendrons.

Coyote Creek Bridge

Dale and I ventured into covered bridge country to search for geocaches.

Coyote Creek Bridge is one of 20 covered bridges in the area. 

Oregon's landmark bridges offer history buffs, photographers and sightseers a look at a well-preserved past in the beautiful setting of the Pacific Northwest. 

I've seen quite a few of them now but it's the first I've visited this bridge. I enjoy walking through them and marveling at how they're built.

I was able to peek around the corner to see a bit of Coyote Creek. The sound of it gurgling along is soothing.

This is a one-lane bridge. We stood aside so the cyclist could continue on his way.

Bonus! We found the 2-inch geocache container buried a tree's branches on the other side. It was tricky because of its size, the coordinates were off a little and there were tall grasses with prickers that we had to wade through.

Today's Phrase

 Let's be part of the courageous, the steadfast, and the just.

Summer of P: Purple Pansies

 

Eugene Park Tour: Wild Iris Ridge

Dale and I have visited 5 parks in the last month. I'm behind the times in sharing them because I took a lot of photos and wasn't in the mood to edit them. So I'll share them out of order, starting here at the Wild Iris Ridge Trailhead.

We were there on a bright sunny day, but only had 20 minutes before an appointment. We barely scratched the surface.

I was wearing sandals - not even walking shoes. This is a proper hiking trail. It's a rock-covered dirt path winding up a fairly steep trail to the ridgeline.

This is part of the long Ridgeline Trail System in Eugene. Dale and I have bumped into a couple other pieces of this system on earlier park travels. 

This Forest Legacy funded Conservation Land is protected from current and future development. The USDA Forest Service and the State Forester, worked together to conserve this land in perpetuity for our benefit and for the benefit of future generations.

The path is bordered by pastures, groves of old moss-covered trees, and fields of wildflowers.

The view from the top must be amazing on a clear day like this. Perhaps one day I'll get there in the Spring and get to see all the wild irises in bloom. But not this day. We didn't have enough time, energy, or the proper footwear.

We did get to see some wildflowers, though.

And some small buggy wildlife.

We also met a few other travelers. There was a mom with a two year old in a baby backpack that passed us on her way down from the top. And there were these two good ol' boys enjoying a romp.

I hope that as Dale's stamina returns in the futre, we'll get to hike to the top.

Throwback Thursday: It's Been a Day

I worked hard today. Got a ton done. I'm tired. 

Throwing back to two years ago.

Lost and Found

I went for a walk at a park that's fairly new to me, so I don't know the trails well. I got lost. 

:: sigh ::

But I ended up walking along a long, tall hedge of bushes with these white flowers.

Google tells me the hedge might be wild black cherry. Very delicate.

When I get myself in a pickle, I might as well keep my eyes open and enjoy the surprises along the way.

Look What Showed Up Today

Throwing back to this date in 2020 

I like my "on this day" photo app

Summer of P - Purple Iris

A couple weeks ago I wrote about "Designing My Summer" and taking the theme The Summer of P:

Patio - design our patio space this year to make it more welcoming and usable
Parks - continue our Eugene Park Tour
Picnics - take a simple picnic lunch along when we visit the parks
Past - visit a couple local museums each month
Purple - be more attuned to the color purple and take photos of what I see

Some purple iris caught my eye ... growing in a big clump and glowing in the sun.

This soft tint of purple is combined with a full-throated yellow. Stunning.

Say, "Ah!"

First Flowers For You - Part 6

I had the pleasure of devoting several hours to stitching this morning and made wonderful progress. All of the cross-stitch is done.

The backstitch is started.

It looks good. I feel refreshed and accomplished. I hope to give myself the gift of several hours of stitching again this week.