Solstice Dream - Nest Building and Big Bloom

I took a week off from stitching September Fresh Cut BOM, I was able to finished blocks 9 and 10 of Solstice Dream.
Nest Building

I always go a bit crazy stitching drizzle stitches, I love to just pack them in.


I fell in love with the colors of Morning on the Seine silken pearl which was used to stitch the cast on bullions and crested chain around the cotton appliqués on the petals.



Just had to post latest picture of Lillie. She is getting bigger everyday. Lillie is 17 weeks old and now about 25 pounds. She is getting too big for a small dog bed but she did manage to curl up small enough to fit this morning.

This might be a problem

Yes, this might be a problem. I definitely think this is a problem as I do not know where this wire came from!



Do you think this angelic face might be responsible for the current problem?


Katie and Molly vote GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!

Solistice Dream - Woven Petals and Pollen Gathering

I have been stitching quite a bit lately, I have more projects started than normal and I want to finish Solstice Dream before the end of 2017. I finished stitching Woven Petals and Pollen Gathering. I now have more than half of the blocks are completed.


The woven petal block has feathered chain stitch in the leaves which adds an interesting look to the leaves. I sewed blocks one through eight together, these blocks are 18" by 24".

My three girls

The girls got groomed on Monday which is always a good time for a poodle photo shoot. It was not easy to get 2 poodles posed and I was thinking posing 3 poodles might be impossible. I actually got some great pictures of Katie, Molly and Lillie.

2 black poodles and 1 white poodle equals a poodle Oreo cookie!

The girls were amazingly cooperative of posing for me however Lillie did decide that she needed to climb over Molly.


Lillie is now 15 weeks old, she seems to get bigger each day. She weighs 22 pounds and is 15 1/2" at the shoulders. Lillie is a sweet puppy and keeps Katie and Molly on their toes.

Solistice Dream - Thorn Birds and Bees

Trying to stay on track, finished block 6 of Solstice Dream quilt. The block is 12' by 12" finished size.

This blocks used a variety of threads which always adds interest to the finished block. Rousseau Ric Rac is appliquéd in place then thorns, pistil stitches, were stitched with Painter's Rousseau pearl cotton. Painter's Kadnisky shimmer floss adds a beautiful shimmer to the bird wings and tail. New to me was the Feathered Chain stitch on the 4 larger leaves, adding a small in the chain really added a lovely touch to the leaves.

Turkey work is never my favorite stitch, I did preserve and stitched the 4 bee bodies using Thread Gathers Sheep's Silk. I used a Bunka brush to fluff up the cut stitches. The Bunka brush is a notion for turkey work which makes the fluff so much easier.

Lillie of the Moon Valley

I have not posted for a while, web site needed a major update plus I have a new puppy.

Lillie was born on June 4, 2017 and I brought her to my home on Saturday, August 12th when Lillie was almost 10 weeks old.
Chrissy, Lillie's mother, is Molly's litter mate, so Molly and Lillie are aunt and niece. Molly had a tough time excepting Lillie as a new sister but after a 5 day snit, Molly and Lillie became friends. After 5 weeks, Molly and Lillie are now almost inseparable.



Katie, who turned 11 years old on September 2, 2017, leaves most of the puppy sitting duties to Molly but still has accepted Lillie as a permanent member of the family.

Cactus Collage update

I attended the second class for the cactus collage today. I spent many hours this past week trying to finish 9 of the cactus.

Thursday night, I bonded the 9 cacti to the background. I also traced and bonded over 30 pads for the prickly pear which will be the full length of the right side of the quilt. Today, at class I cut out all the prickly pear pads an a few more flowers for embellishment. This weekend, I am hoping to get the prickly pear cactus bonded to the background. The left side of the quilt has a large saguaro cactus so I still have quite a bit of work to complete.