Buttermilk Basin Summer Blog Hop

Summer in Portland, Oregon - City of Roses

Summer Fun!

Thank you for joining me on my day of the Buttermilk Basin blog hop! 

I like to spend my summer days in my backyard watching the plants grow, the birds flit about, and soaking in a little sun.  Yes, it does get sunny in Portland, Oregon!  It actually can get too hot for me, but nothing that a cold beer can't handle. Last year we had a record breaking 29 days in the 90's.  I live in a little brick bungalow and by the 10th day it was resembling a pizza oven.  I can get a little cranky when I overheat.

My neighbor calls me a "Lady Gardener", because all I like to do these days is light pruning and picking a stray weed here and there.  I can also be tempted to harvest our fresh raspberries.

My favorite summer fruit!

When it comes to "farmer" type's, I leave the heavy labor to my 80 year old Mom.  Seriously!  I just talked with on the phone the other day and she was spreading 2 yards of mushroom compost.  Now that lady has a green thumb! 

Mom's front yard

 Summer is also our time for family traditions.  We spend a week with my husband's family in Black Butte, Oregon and a week with my family on the Oregon coast.  It's a fun time filled with lots of laughter and eating way too much good food.  My sister-in-law always seems to introduce me to a new temptation or two.  Have you ever tried s'mores using Reeses Peanut Butter cups? Fab.

My favorite go-to recipe for get togethers is one my mother-in-law gave me 30+ years ago.

Click HERE to download this recipe

One of my favorite summer days is the traditional pottery painting day I have with my nieces.  We have been doing this for at least 10 years now and I look forward to this special time I get to spend with these girls.  

Tweet Home

Most of the stitching I do is embroidery which I can do anywhere.  If it's a beautiful day you will find me in my backyard stitching away and listening to an audio book.  The last one I finished was Watership Down.  I even stitched up my rendition of Hazel for an upcoming project!

Outside of my studio window

The stitchery I designed for this Blog Hop was inspired by a bird's nest outside my studio window.  I love the care that bird's put into crafting their homes.  I decided to add a birdhouse instead of a nest, but it's still home. I hope you like it!

 This free pattern is called Tweet Home and it measures 3 1/2" x 8".  For a free PDF 

copy of the pattern click HERE.

One Stitch at a Time

One Stitch at a Time design - #1 June 2016

If you enjoy stitching up quick little projects you might be interested in my new One Stitch at a Time subscription club.  It's only $2 a month, start and stop whenever you want.  On the 1st of every month you will receive, by email, a new PDF design.  For more information click HERE.

The design pictured above is from June 1st.  Although it has already been sent out to the subscribers, it is available for individual purchase HERE.

Prizes

UPDATE!

CQ4fun won the book!  Congratulations.  

Thanks to all who left comments, they were fun to read!

As a thank you for reading through this rather lengthy blog post I would like to offer a chance to win a  prize!  Simply post the name of your favorite flower in the comments and I will draw a winner on July 20th.  The winner will be notified by email and they will receive a signed copy of my new book Stitches from the Garden. For more information about the book click HERE.

I hope you had a fun time visiting my blog!  Tomorrow jump on over to The Cottage at Cardiff Farms blog  and find out some fun summer facts about her and see the great project she has created just for you!