Rose and O'Reilly

The roses are finally blooming and I love this David Austin rose so much that I have made greeting cards with it. They will be on the etsy site soon. Roses have always been a part of my garden. I think I inherited the love of them from Mom. At times we have had upwards of 50 rose bushes in our yard. I think the count is around 30 now. They are so beautiful and make wonderful cut flower bouquets. From now until November they will bloom, giving off a yummy scent as well as their variety of colors.


O'Reilly is still growing I think. Here is a picture of him after the last training class... he is curled up at my feet while I work on the computer, and is one pooped pup! Right now he is curled up on my lap. Puppies sleep a lot. He's all warm and cozy and has his little nose tucked into the crook of my elbow. It relaxes me to have him here and I suspect it is lowering my BP as well. What made me think I could get along without a dog in my life?

New Purse

So here is my first attempt to design my own purse pattern, and I think it turned out pretty good. You may recognize the fabric from the field bag I finished last week. I had enough scraps for my new creation. I am really interested in incorporating my embroidery into my sewing and I am happy with the results on this bag, I would like to make a few improvements before I offer this bag for sale on the Etsy site, but for my first ever pattern design I am thrilled.

My Fabulous Husbands Fabulous Uncle is coming to visit us on Friday. He is a retired Priest from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Texas (depending on the time of year). He has not been to our house for at least six years and we are thrilled at his visit. My wonderful husband was an only child and Father Don is his only living relative. Fr Don is only staying for the weekend, but we will make the most of our time with him. It is also a good excuse to do all that spring cleaning I have been putting off. I needed to get the purse done so I could pack up my sewing dining room and use it to eat in, so I will have to wait at least a week to attempt another bag. So I am off to scrub and shine and will check back in soon.

Photo Cards

I'm thinking about the Etsy site and will be offering these greeting photo cards and many more. They are blank inside, waiting for your special message and there will be envelopes included of course. I love photographing flowers and my kids are always telling me to stop, and take pictures of people! I do that too, but the beauty of flowers from my garden and scenes from my travels should be preserved I think. What better way to share them than with a greeting card?

The flowers are roses and iris from the garden and the shore cards are shells, rocks, a pier and a lighthouse.

Friends and Flowers

A friend that I have known since high school asked for more garden pictures. I love the garden, and try to spend lots of time out there; weeding, cutting back, planting, dead-heading, and generally tending. I have a lot of perennials, and they bloom at different times, so there is always something to admire. A few annuals here and there, and in containers is fun.
I also love just sitting and enjoying the flowers and birds while O'Reilly runs madly about or sleeps at my feet. A cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea... or lunch on the patio with Mom makes it practically perfect. It would really be perfect if my friend could be here for lunch as well!

Dishtowels and Cloths

I am thinking "spring", so this dishtowel I embellished, and the hand-knitted cloths (two in each be-ribboned package) seem a good way to perk up my kitchen... or yours, once Pam and I get our Etsy site up and running. I love the knit cloths, which are nine inches square, and could also be used in the bathroom. I never have enough dishtowels, so am always looking for excuses to make more, and spring seems a good motivation.

I must say that our puppy O'Reilly did better in class this week! Not perfect, but better. We will keep working with him. It takes a lot of time and effort, and he is still a puppy. He has grown so much that we decided to get a larger crate for him, and he seems to like being able to stretch out in it for his snooze.