Just Peachy (Macro Monday)

Last Thursday

at the end of a particularly arduous day

I stirred up a Peach Buck Spritzer

And relaxed the evening away

While experimenting with my camera,

although focusing on the bubbles

I thought the shadows were just as interesting.

 

Hope your week is too!

Linking to 

Whirl Win

First the Whirl:

I finished the second Whirling Star block for Wintermint.

This red almost looks solid until you're up close.

I love the flowered print.

Four blocks done so far.

And now the WIN!

I had a bit of luck a couple of weeks ago

over at Annie's Ruby Slipperz, Mystery Monday

 I won five fat quarters and got to choose my colors.

I chose red....not for Wintermint

but for the sashings and borders on my Raggedy Ann quilt.

Still trying to come up with just the right sashing pattern 

to frame the embroidered blocks.

Anyway...if you'd like to try being a winner and see a really

sweet blog, be sure to visit Annie for Mystery Mondays!

For now, TGIF and have a great weekend!

Stop and See the Daffodils (Macro Monday)

In my city, there's not a whole lot of natural beauty that jumps out and grabs one's attention.
But every morning, I pass by a small business park and just beyond the buildings this spray of yellow catches my eye.

And every day it reminds me of the saying "stop and smell the roses",
meaning don't miss the beauty that is there.

So last Thursday, I grabbed my camera on my way out the door
determined to get up close and personal!

And I followed the path.

Which turned out to be a nicely landscaped trail head leading
to a walking/riding path along one of a few waterways here,
that I easily forget about in the rush of everyday!

The soil is dry and hard (and the sidewalk dirty) but in the morning sun it was quite a peaceful little place.

And as I stepped back, I looked out beyond the flowers to the trees and realized what I'd been missing as I passed by each day.  What a sight, on a busy street, next to a business park...on the banks of Dry Creek. Who'd a thought?

My personal challenge in the weeks to come...
take time to stop and see the Daffodils...up close!

 For more Close Up photos, follow this link:

Finish It First - Lighthouse XStitch

My cross stitch UFO is now an FO.

I started this piece about 15 years (yes that says years) ago and finally

got the cross stitch bug again, long enough to finish!
Soon it will be matted and framed and residing above my mantel.

As I shared bits and pieces of my recent progress
I received comments about the backstitch "outlining" in some projects.
Here's the difference in this one...

...adding just a touch of definition!

Lighthouses fascinate me and I never get tired
of photographing them and capturing their images in
my quilting and needlework.

Here's a few more pics from a recent day on the coast.
First up is my favorite and my link to Foto Finish; few words can describe scenes like these:

It was sunny but WINDY...

which made the water the most beautiful blue/greens...

and the waves crashing all around.

Churning up foam on the sand...

And holding off the fog...

 And of course, the light on the hill...

A great (much needed) getaway for me and my good friend, Char.
Did I mention it was WINDY?

Anyway...Happy Stitching!

 

P.S. I'm crossing this off my Finish It First list

hosted by Heather. 

Update: Also linking to

NewFO Not Quite

I haven't posted in a while because I haven't made much progress on my NewFO list and didn't want to keep posting the same old thing. But I'm linking to the NewFO group at Cat Patches so here's what I have for February.

I added one more Circle of Geese block to

And stitched a little on this

Hoping to get started on another NewFO during the month of March.

Linking to