Early Morning Projects
No matter how I try or how late I stay up, I usually wake up bright and early- with the sun.
This summer I decided I didn’t want to get up and try to be productive.
Instead, I head out to the porch swing to stitch in the quiet of the morning. The birds sing. It’s cool and quiet. Much better than doing something I have to do.
I’ve been working on and am almost done with my “Make it Do” embroidery project from Sarah Jane. When it’s done, I might shed tears, I’ve loved every dear stitch.
I’ve changed the colors from the pattern to fit with my kitchen. The colors make me happy. Color can do that to me. When I’m done I’ll be looking for a wonderful way to frame it and hang it in my kitchen.
The other thing that makes me happy:
My girls are early risers too.
They love to wake up early and come out on the swing with me. We all sit and swing and talk and stitch. I’ve become an expert knot detangler… but for some reason a knot on porch swing just doesn’t have the power to aggravate like a knot anywhere else might. They are working on “Cleaning Elephants” a free pattern courtesy of doe-c-doe, a site brimming with lovely free embroidery patterns.
It is such a simple thing… a time that is otherwise lost in sleep or mundane routine… that has become a balm to my soul. I carry the peace and tranquility I get from that brief time out on the swing with my girls like a talisman long into my day.
Next project I would love to work on… if I can piece it together quickly…
I’m going to make this for my family room sofa.
This is the stack of fabrics I’ve been collecting for the quilt. Most of them out of my stash or my mom’s. (Thanks for buying so much Old New, Mom… I’m sure you had your daughter, aka the Fabric Thief, in mind when you bought it.)
I’ve been thinking that I would hand quilt it… because having it machined is so pickin’ expensive… and because it might keep me happy on my porch swing all the nice days into the fall.
What a great way to spend time with your girls. Love all of your projects!
Your project looks very nice! That made me laugh about the knot being aggravating ;) lol
Like you, I’m an early riser. I love those early mornings. My boys are NOT early risers but neither are they stitchers so I spend most mornings with my coffee in my sunroom feeling very peaceful.
I adore the quilt you want to make. I might have to join you in that endeavor. I just got finished sorting my scrap basket into colors and am thinking that quilt might be a perfect use for all those lovely little pieces. Hand quilting is my preferred method of quilting but it does take soooooo long. Which is good and bad at once. I can’t wait to see your progress!
I love your colors! I can remember working on cross stitch projects as a kid while sitting in the bleachers at my dad’s baseball games with the church league. My girls and I work on making jewelry together, and it is wonderful to see what they come up with.
it’s so cute!
i’m glad we got to meet last night … that was fun!!
It looks beautiful. Instead of machine quilting your new quilt, you could stipple it yourself. I have a tutorial you can check out at http://candidly-kate.blogspot.com/2011/04/tutorial-free-hand-quilting-stippling.html. Good luck with those early morning projects!
What a great way to spend precious moments with your girls. And I think I prefer handquilting, as tedious and time consuming as it can be. I feel like I really connect with a project that way :)
Does your Mom hand or machine her quilts?
What a sweet mental picture of you and your girls swinging n stitching!
I love the projects and I love the idea of taking that time for that type of “work” even better! Thank you for sharing it, I plan to do the same when I get home, only I’ll be knitting (the same thing, really, isn’t it?) Thanks again!
I love sewing with my girls as well. And now that my oldest daughter is quite competent on her own, she has moved on to teaching my youngest daughter, who is 4, to embroider. It is such a joy watching them together.
I dearly love this post. I’m sitting in a hotel in Manila, Philippines, and all my stitchin’ supplies are sitting in a box on Guam. I’m SCREAMING-dying to stitch something. I told my husband, “Tomorrow I’m going to buy some fabric, thread, a needle and a pair of scissors and I’m going to make YO-YOS!”
“Honey, your favorite cross stitch store’s on the third floor of the mall. We could WALK there.” {Only 25 million people are milling around in that mall.} Nah. All my tried and true supplies are waiting for me in that box on Guam, so making yo-yos will tide me over.
Your stitching is wonderful, and I will tell you, I believe every single word of that phrase, girl!
I love the Make it Do embroidery. My favorite motto lately has been “Make Do and Mend.” I’ve put denim patches on jeans and sewed up the casing on my bras when the under wires poke out as well as sewing up countless ripped seams in clothes.
You inspired me to pick up my hoop and sew. I produced a little mushroom from the doe-c-doe patterns. I was so pleased with myself, I am looking for my next project.
When I saw this at market I thought immediately of you.