Thursday, June 1, 2017

May is in the Bag

May is now finished and "in the bag".  Welcome to June.

June means another 16th birthday for one of the granddaughters.  As I have said in the past, several of the girls have asked for a grown up quilt for their 16th birthdays.  I guess that means they want to tuck those baby quilts away.  As hard as I have tried to keep them little, they are not listening to one word of my begging.  ;-)

So....this is the newest 16th birthday quilt all finished except for the label.  I love the texture that the quilting adds to a fairly simple design.  I used a lavender thread and quilted a pantograph with birds, butterflies and flowers - perfect for a young lady.






We have slipped into our June Gloom weather pattern here which means overcast mornings and sunny afternoons with a very monotonous temperature - mid 70s.  My temperature quilt is reflecting the boredom.  We had a couple of warmer days mid month, but there is not a lot of excitement towards the end of the month.



I even added  a little turtle this month on the day when our momma tortoise laid her eggs. 


This is what the year looks like so far.  I hope the reds start to become more frequent visitors. 



I don't know about you, but I am always wondering the best technique for washing quilts where I worry about the dyes bleeding.  I recently came across a method that sounds really interesting and I think I am going to give it a try.  Here is a link to it.  Has anyone else tried it, and if so, what did you think? 

We spent a couple of days last week at the beach with my sister, brother and their spouses.  While there we took a walk around the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens.  The gardens showcase all of the native plants and it was a great time to see so many in bloom. 





I loved this scalloped rock.



We also visited a local nursery and enjoyed seeing the orchids and begonias.



My sister and BIL brought along a box of the local chocolates.  Aren't the pieces fun?  They are all handmade on the premises and you can watch them making them.  Is life like a box of chocolates???  They say "you never know what you're gonna get".  I could make bets on a few of these. 


May was a crazy month and I welcome a, hopefully, quieter June.  Happy June to all!


27 comments:

  1. Happy June, Mary. You made a very lovely quilt for your granddaughter. The colors are my favorites.

    We try to visit the local botanical where ever we go, it doesn't always happen. So far my favorite has been San Diego's Balboa Park Gardens. Interesting architecture and beautiful roses.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love that granddaughter's quilt--good for you for keeping up with all your offspring and getting another quilt finished for them! Beautiful gardens in Santa Barbara, but those chocolates! Especially the lips! What fun to try something new and interesting--where are they from?

    I prefer to label "June Gloom" as "Calm Before the Hot" as we get scorching out here in the summer, so I'm enjoying the slow morning start to the warmth. I know that it's not fun for your area, though. Love that turtle--you are incredibly clever!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'd love to sample a few of those chocolates.
    Looks like you had a nice trip.

    ReplyDelete
  4. weeks are flying by! wish they would slow down a little

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love thaat 16th birthday quilt! And your flowers look delicious. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your quilt is gorgeous. Your geese strip is great also. I like the turtle. Wow those are beautiful flowers.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love going to the nurseries and seeing the masses of flowers like that. I hope you get some warmer weather soon. I think we are getting your weather this weekend, 80s for 3 days in a row.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The grand daughter is going to be quite pleased with this beauty of a quilt :-) I checked out the link about quilt washing....Argggh, that sounded involved! I use to prewash everything and check for dye loss. I used Retayne on it if it did. But then with pre-cuts and...laziness :-) I pretty much stopped. Now I throw a Color Catcher in when washing it the first time and so far have been lucky. I recently posted about using too much water to remove some disappearing ink and had fabric dye run just from getting wet. I washed with synthropol which was mostly successful. The part that was still there for fortunately not too noticeable on a busy quilt backing fabric. I'm tempted to go back to pre-washing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your grandaughter's new quilt is beautiful, and the quilting pattern you used makes it appear so soft and inviting. I haven't tried the washing method described in the link. I always prewash my fabrics with synthrapol and that has worked well for me - so far. But then I tend to avoid working with white fabrics so it hasn't been an issue yet.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your GD 16th quilt is lovely and you did beautiful quilting on it. Do you do it on the domestic machine or a longarm?

    Were having gorgeous sunny Winter days but cool in the evenings, we really could do with some rain.

    A fabulous trip to the gardens with sew many pretty blooms.

    Will be interesting to hear how the Quilt Washing went...

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's so nice that your grandchildren ask for "grown up" quilts. The one you finished is perfect for a 16 year old. The flower photos are gorgeous. I love seeing the different flowers that grow out where you live. Happy June!

    ReplyDelete
  12. OH Mary...I am loving that quilt, and the quilting! Looks so fresh hanging like that. You take the best pics of flowers too!!! Enjoy your day .

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a lovely quilt! Those fabrics are just gorgeous, and the simple design lets them shine. I've been really lucky that none of my fabrics have bled yet, although I was really worried once on a Christmas quilt. After washing, it looked like the green had run, but it turned out it was just showing through the white at the seams when it was still wet. The white was almost transparent when wet, but looked fine when dry.

    I use the color catcher sheets, and they always pick up something, usually reds/purples. I also pull the quilt out of the washer as soon as it's done, so the dark colors don't sit squished up against the lights in the machine. I've also used Dawn blue dish soap when I was really worried about washing an antique quilt; I learned that trick from timquilts.com. So far, so good!

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a wonderful quilt. She will love it.
    As for the month of June.....come on sunshine!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lucky Grandchildren to have a talented grandma. It's wonderful they want "adult" quilts and I'm certainly they'll love them as much as the baby quilts. :o) I LOVE the addition of the turtle to your temperature quilt. May reds and oranges be upon you soon. Gorgeous gardens. Hoping to visit a beauty myself this weekend. Vicki is so knowledgeable about these things. I remember reading this on her blog a while back (I've lost track of her of late). It's how I first learned that Dawn made an unscented soap. I've used it ever since in the kitchen but have not tried her quilt washing method. Thanks for the reminder.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your quilt is gorgeous! What a lucky grandchild! Your temperature quilt looks like you've had a nice warm month, a little different than the weather we've been having. If I made a temperature quilt, it would be all blue!

    ReplyDelete
  17. ummmmm I'd like a box of chocolates... where are they from? My husband could order some for me hint hint
    LeeAnna at leeannaquilts at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  18. The quilt for your granddaughter is so pretty, gorgeous colours . I find the weather quilt quite fascinating and I really enjoyed seeing the flowers from your visit to the gardens.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Happy June! I love this quilt!

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a beautiful quilt for a new 16 year old! And I adore the turtle in your temperature quilt! The weather is warmer here in Texas...we even got a bit of moisture this week. :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Happy June to you too!!!! Love your quilt, the quilting looks perfect for it.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I so enjoy visiting your blog and seeing what you are doing. Lovely "grown-up" quilt for your Sweet 16 Granddaughter. I especially love the actual quilting patterns you did. I have such a soft spot for Santa Barbara and miss it. Lovely visits you had. Life is like a box of chocolates. I have never tried any process on a quilt...especially color dye issues. Wonderful June Dear...<3

    ReplyDelete
  23. love the tortoise...so cute!! mmm chocolates
    love the granddaughters quilt

    ReplyDelete
  24. That is a BEAUTIFUL quilt, Mary! Love the colours and perfect quilting. Happy 16th birthday!! The turtle is adorable in your temperature quilt. What a great way to remember. I have gotten lucky so far with washing quilts. Whatever dye bled, Tide has always come through. The flowers are so pretty. The orange ones look like an alien plant. Looks like you had a busy but wonderful May!

    -Soma

    ReplyDelete
  25. What a beauty of a quilt, your grand daughter is so lucky! Those flowers are just stunning :) Inquiring minds want to know what lips shaped chocolate tastes like!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Great quilt Mary. I'm so behind on reading and writing blogs. I've had company for 5 weeks. Now I'm leaving town. Sigh....

    ReplyDelete
  27. love your quilt, just beautiful. Our quilt looks great from a distance but I for one can't hand stitch worth a flip. and we each one did a block and hand stitched it

    ReplyDelete