Relax and Rejuvenate

I have to say, I'm ready for some down-time. Life has been so full of excitement in a short period of time I've felt anxiety welling up inside :(

Of course, what always helps is hand-stitching, my personal "yoga".

The last few days I've worked on a flower for the border of FlowerGarden. The long stem is basted on but I thought it would be fun to do the occasional flower. There are some beautiful flowers on this border. This one involves reverse applique....which I find a little tricky but the effect is worth it. I started by doing the reverse applique "off the block"...

....and a bit more...

...and, done....

I'm taking part in the SummerSolstice QAL with Happy Quilting. It started Thursday, so still plenty of time to join in. There will be two weeks between segments, this week was all the cutting. I've decided this will be a baby quilt for grandchild #5 due at Hallowe'en. I've been inspired by some of the Modern quilts I've seen lately and have chosen to work with Kona solids...

Does this happen to anyone else?.....every time I put a new blade in my rotary cutter I realise just how dull the old one was. I'm sure I've been using the old blade long after I should. Then the new one goes in and it seems like a revelation every time as to how sharp the blade should be! 

So far, I'm on schedule with the cutting done....

Puppy report

Up 'til now, Cooper has been leery of the pups and Minnie hasn't really been friendly about letting him near. 

Now that the pups are getting their "legs" things have certainly changed....

Something that's come in handy is the basket I bought at Quilt Canada. Great for taking the pups out all at once to play outside...

Actually, that is a picture of them all tired out after being outside. At three weeks old it only takes 15 minutes of playtime for them to conk out again!

Saturday evening it was so nice the we decided to eat outside....and we fed Cooper and Minnie out there also. Olaf decided that something smelled good...

Maybe it won't be long before the pups are eating puppy food!

On a hot day I do like to sit outside with a cooler and this year there is a new flavour. I give it two thumbs up!

It looks like another hot day ahead....so maybe some outdoor stitching is in order. I do have the binding to finish for our new grandson, but I don't fancy sitting in the heat with a quilt draped over me! Maybe a bit of catching up on my daily hearts.

I am linking up with Happy Quilting with Melissa for my Summer Solstice, and with Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework for Oh, Scrap (for my scrappy FlowerGarden). Because I've added to the stash, I am linking up with Molli Sparkles!

I'll also be linking with Kathy's Quilts where Kathy is celebrating a fourth anniversary of Slow Sunday Stitching!

Have a great Summer's day!