I have been

 a little bit busy. Mainly outside, but in the sewing room, I have been working on a few projects.

I am trying to plan ahead and have started working on fair projects for next year. 

I have finished this little Christmas tree ornament. 

It is wool. I like Snowmen. I don't do much seasonal decorating anymore so this will most likely end up on a card for someone else to use as decoration.

I have been working on a six-inch block.

This is Litte Bits - Itty Bitty Feathered Star by Cindi Edgerton. When I checked it looks like she has retired and her patterns are in limited supply. This one is not available on her website, but you may be able to find it elsewhere if you are interested. The pattern is paper pieced on tissue foundation papers. There are papers included to make six blocks. 

I also started a new project. I have been collecting men's ties for a long time. I wash and dry them to see how they hold up. The ones that do not go in the trash. Most are silk, but a few are polyester. I have sorted them by fabric content. I am deconstructing them and fusing lightweight interfacing to the back.

Of course, I had a helper.

I made one block just to see how it would look. The pattern is S'Mores by Jo Morton. This will be a long-term project.

I did get to enjoy a sew day with my quilt friends last week. Remember this block?

 

The fabrics came in a five-yard bundle. While I like the fabrics, these just don't have enough contrast for me. So I dug around in my stash to come up with two fabrics that I think work better. 

The pattern is Hopscotch by The Quilt Factory.

To see what other quilters are up to, go to Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

I have done a lot of outside work. It is way past time for my flower beds to get some much-needed attention. I decided I would concentrate on one area at a time. The first area I got to work on is the flowerbed right out my front door. These pictures were taken in early June.

 

This area is surrounded by the wheelchair ramp and the front of the house. It is open to the driveway. Wild daylilies had taken over. I got some of them dug out before they started blooming. I just couldn't keep digging while they were in bloom. But now they are gone!

 

Well, they appear to be gone. I know some will come up again next year, but they will be easier to deal with. There are several other places around my house where I will be letting the lilies continue to grow. In place of the lilies, I have planted some beautiful Echinaceas, Gaillardia, and Rudbekia.

It looks a little sparse now, but hopefully, they will be moving some Hostas and plan to add more plants in the spring. Now I need to work on the area on the left in this picture. Some unwanted plants and weeds need to be cleared out and some Hostas moved. I plan to add more to this area next spring also.

I have several other areas all around the house that need attention, but this space was needing the most work. Hopefully, the other spaces won't take as long.

Stay safe and well.

Happy quilting!