End of June and a Birthday Celebration

How I started my birthday out. I had the day off so during the morning I put the Fusible Interfacing on the back of 4 of the Nine Patch block that will be used for my Fleur UFO. 

When I reviewed the strips to make the remaining Nine Patch blocks I discovered that I was short enough strips for 1 Nine Patch block so I cut the fabric for those, then sewed the strip sections together so when I am ready I can put the remaining Nine Patch blocks together.

While Bonni and I were on Jitsi I watched the Biggest Bumble Bees I have seen in years enjoying the Lavender as well as the Pansies and Carnations in the barrel on the back deck.  I am happy to see they are enjoying the flowers in the back yard. We only had one set of Cone Flowers come up this year to bloom. We believe the moles ate the roots of the other ones we had or the ground hog did. Either way we will need to plant more for the Bees and Butterflies. 

We celebrate birthdays no matter how old you are in our family. We have everyone create a list of items they would like to receive, then we pick from them. In the evening we celebrated my birthday with a wonderful light dinner, spice cake with vanilla ice cream and of course cards and presents. My family knows how much I love to craft so they bought somethings I had put in our Amazon account to purchase at some point. They also purchased some clothing that I had also wanted. 

Nikki embellished the heck out of my birthday card this year. She is getting so creative. My husband Rick said he didn't even do anything special to his. He didn't think he could compete with all that Nikki had done to hers. I loved them both. Bonni had sent a card with different purple flowers and a dragonfly on the front as well as the inside. 

Well that is all for today. I am on a stay-cation until July 8th so I am going to get back to working on that Fleur UFO.

Enjoy The Walk

Susan

 

Learning EQ8

 

So I have decided to get serious about EQ8 I have been watching You Tube and have found some really good tutorials. Yes I know they have them on EQ8 and I will get to them as well. I like how on You Tube I am able to save a Playlist and watch them in order or skip around.

I created a lap / throw size quilt that will be 58"x58" then I realized I didn't add the sashing between the blocks. So I am going to create a 2nd one with the sashing to see which one I like better. Wish me luck! This is a snippet of the quilt. Let me know your thoughts.

    

Something else I tackled today. I updated my blog so the print is all black. I was having a hard time with the different shades of print so I decided to make it black. I think it is easier to read.

      Well that's all for today. 

     Enjoy The Walk 

     Susan

Time Slips Away So Fast. Where Does It Go?

 I haven't looked at my blog in almost a year . So many things have happened since my last post in July of 2023. There have been many changes as well. 

I have been working on myself a lot this past year. I realized how hard I was being on myself trying to make others happy. I realized that if I am not happy it doesn't matter if everyone else is. 

My thought process has changed. I am doing what it is that I like to do. I have started stitching again thanks to a dear friend. Yes Bonni that means you. 

A sweet friend Jodi has started her own You Tube channel Quilt Squirrel. You should check it out she is an amazing quilter, so very talented. 

Another dear friend was recently married, what a lovely celebration of their lives. I can't wait to see all the photos when she returns. 

I have chosen to buckle down to learn EQ8 so I can get ready to begin Dear Jane in January 2025. I will be posting how my journey goes here. 

Enjoy The Walk

Susan

Well so much for staying on top of things. Have you ever noticed life has a way of doing that to you? 

I have been dealing with some health issues and have just not felt like blogging. I have not given up, I will keep trying to blog more often.

I bet you can guess, I haven't been stitching either. I think I tried to do too much at once, which caused my frozen shoulder issue. After that things kind of went down hill. A few days ago I started having issues with a pinched nerve or bone spurs reeking havoc with my left hip. I'm telling you I am walking more and trying to exercise but it just doesn't seem to be working out for me. I think I must have pinched the nerve or irritated the bone spurs when tossing the cut logs to my hubby to stack. I should have known better (she says to herself while shaking her head).

I have a great friend who keeps my spirits up and lets me know it is okay and that I will eventually get back to where I was. I am hoping to get back on track soon. I hope you have someone to support you when things are not going the way you thought they would. 

On a positive note, I was working on loosing weight. June, July, and August are hard months due to a lot of birthdays and celebrations for our family. I have lost weight and have not gained any back since last October, so I am happy with that. Now if this hip would just cooperate! 

We are looking to move to a property with a minimum of 2 acres, I would prefer 5-7 so we can have chickens, rabbits, and possibly a milk cow or goat. We are still debating on the cow or goat. I may just find a farmer to barter with to get the milk from.  

We looked at 2 houses this weekend, both in one day. One had water in the basement with a dry sump pump not a foot away, the 2nd had mold in the basement and the attic. Needless to say we didn't make an offer on either. 

That's the latest with me. I hope you all enjoy your 4th of July holiday, be safe!

Enjoy The Walk

Susan

I need to work on my squirreling. I think I will set a timer for 20 or 30 minutes for things like Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram. If I could cut it down to only once or twice a week, that would be great! 

Do you have this issue as well? If so let me know how you tamed the rabbit hole I seem to get stuck in.

I finally finished cutting all the 4" strips for the Gathering Stars on FB sew along. These are the colors I decided to use:

I have uploaded Basket of Flowers from Needle Spot so I can print the applique patterns off. I am using it to show Nikki how to do applique.

I am currently working a Blackwork Embroidery that is a Sew A Long (SAL) on Facebook from Peppermint Purple SAL Group. I have provided the link:

 Peppermint Purple SAL Group 

This is what I have done so far, I still have to finish stitching the filler for block #1. I'm happy with how it is turning out as this is my first Blockwork Embroidery project.  

 

I am at the point where I moved my project boxes containing my UFO's so I can start working on them. I just have to pick a day to place them on my crafting / quilting calendar for accountability. 

Well I need to get back my stitching and enjoying my Sunday. Hope yours is going well. 

Enjoy The Walk

Susan

CHANGES IN 2023

I have made a few changes in 2023. I have changed the name of my blog and YouTube from QuiltingSusie to A Walk With Susan. 

My decision is based on my life being filled with so much more than quilting. I help my my husband with the garden. I am learning to preserve our harvest by canning and dehydrating. 

I'm getting more involved in preserving our harvest. I have some wonderful people on You Tube that I follow, Here are a few that inspire me:

Leisa @ Sutton's Daze 

https://youtu.be/gOUqAcLydUw

Constance @ Cosmopolitan Cornbread 

https://youtu.be/_f-ux4WYrgo

Rachel @ 1870 Homestead

https://youtu.be/PMMZgPWTqvk

Leisa Sutton hosts a yearly Canuary and Crocktober. Leisa invites hosts from different YouTube channels to join in an effort to show you how to preserve food. I enjoy watching them all. 

Keeping my blog and planner current is another change that has happened in 2023. So far, so good! Yes, I know it is only January 8th however, this is my 2nd blog posts in 2023.  

Another change is walking and watching what I am eating. I am doing well so far. I began this journey in October. I have lost 9lbs. and didn't gain weight back over the holidays. I am very excited about that! 🙋

Well it's time to post this so I can let everyone know about these changes or no one will know were to find me. 😉

Enjoy The Walk

Susan

Happy New Years !

What does the New Year mean to you? Some will dread it and some will embrace it.  

I have decided to embrace it, by reflecting on the changes that will bring less stress and more joy into my world. That will require my being more creative.

I have decided that this blog will receive more of my attention than it has in the past. It means that you will be hearing regularly from me. I will be sharing what I am working on through out the year.

I hope that you find happiness and peace in the New Year. 

Enjoy The Walk

Susan