My BIL is so good about saving his shirts for me when he is finished with them, As a small token of thanks to him and to my sister I used some of his shirts to create a scrappy quilt for them. The pattern is a variation of a Bonnie Hunter freebie, Scrappy Mountain Majesties.
The gals in the family are in charge of a big dinner dance and auction tomorrow night. They asked if I would make a table runner that reflected a "vintage-y/romantic" feel to go with some dishes they also have. I added a hint of lace without the real lace by stenciling a lace motif on the linen looking background fabric.
This month for our Spelling Bee Carla requested words that had a knitting theme. She has just opened up a knitting shop and wanted to reflect her love of quilting and knitting. These are the words I sent off to her.
A dear friend whom I have known for years came up for a few days visit. We had such fun reminiscing and visiting the Reagan Library.
The gardens continue to bloom beautifully. My orchids and Epiphyllum (orchid cactus) are the show this week.
lThe other excitement in the garden was the arrival of the tortoise eggs. She laid them a month earlier than normal, but I assume it is because of the warm winter we had. This is an all day process.
Wow! You have the most interesting(and beautiful) garden! You certainly don't want me around....I have a black thumb! We have the turtle eggs on the beaches around here and there are all kinds of laws that go along with them. Really interesting...and you have them right in your garden! How long do they take to hatch?
ReplyDeleteTortoise eggs in your garden, how fun! Your orchids are so beautiful, my DH loves orchids but we've not been terribly successful at getting them to rebloom. Your runner fits the soft romantic theme perfectly, love the quilting you did on it.
ReplyDeleteHello Dear. I understand the busy time of Spring. How fun to create a quilt out of shirts. Lovely Table Runner for the auction. Beautiful flowers in your garden. How very sweet to have Tortoise eggs to watch hatch. Today is Earth Day and we are having lots of glorious rain! Embracing Spring Bliss...
ReplyDeleteI love that quilt made of shirts. What a pretty pattern. Your table runner is beautiful. I like your stenciling idea. It definitely looks vintage/romantic. I like all the pretty flower pictures too. Enjoy your busy Spring. I would rather be too busy to blog than bored.
ReplyDeleteI understand your busy time as it has been like that for me too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous quilt you created for your BIL from his shirts..
I bet the girls where happy with their beautiful vintage table runner. Nice to have a clever Gran...
Sew nice to spend time with your dear friend and your flowers are all blooming beautifully Mary.
Great words for the knitting lady..
Will all the turtle eggs hatch?
I love your photos and your quilty bits. Sounds like you're having fun with all the family - enjoy.
ReplyDeleteLove your BIL quilts and the runner. Your garden is beautiful! Wow, tortoise eggs, looks like a lot of them. Do very many hatch?
ReplyDeleteHow fun to have tortoise eggs in your garden! And your flowers are beautiful. I love the stenciling on you table runner - I may have to try that sometime. And you can't go wrong with a quilt made of shirts. Perhaps DH will give me more of his shirts soon. I had fun with the last batch!
ReplyDeleteI love the Delectable Mountain quilt, it is so striking! Such pretty flowers it is fun to see the things you can grow there!
ReplyDeleteI have turtles that lay their eggs in my garden, too, but usually don't realize it until I see the shell fragments. It's so cool. Your quilt and table runner are beautiful! How clever to stencil the lace onto the fabric. It adds just enough "vintaginess" to it. Your BIL shirts look great in that design. You have been very busy!
ReplyDeleteWow, Mary...the shirt quilt is just lovely. I adore the quilting you did on the runner! I wish my flowers looked like yours!!!! Not out of the ground here...lol. You know, ice never seen a live tortoise lay eggs, that must be so neat!
ReplyDeleteAll of the blooms are beautiful. There is such a variety in the blooms of orchids. Tortoise eggs, wonderful....and you were able to get a picture without scaring her.
ReplyDeleteGosh where to start...I LOVE the shirt quilt. It's really awesome. You are so creative and talented. The addition of the lace stencil is such an unexpected yet perfect touch to the romantic/vintage table runner. The tortoise eggs are such a wonderful peek at nature at her finest. I always really enjoy catching up with you.
ReplyDeleteLove that shirt quilt and your posy shots are amazing!! Wow, for real - a tortoise!
ReplyDeleteNeat quilt, and the table runner is gorgeous. Envious of your blooms and your tortoise.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see your tortoise is doing well :-) What pattern did you use for that cool quilt you made with some shirts? It's great!!!
ReplyDeleteSpring is a busy time. Love the scrappy shirt quilt. I'm sure your sister and BIL will appreciate it. The stenciled lace is a nice addition. Makes for a romantic fee.
ReplyDeleteThe time with family is very important. I think you have had a lot of fun with your grandchildren, Mary :)
ReplyDeleteLovely quilts !!! Your table runner is awesome !!
You really got a lot accomplished in spite of the family commitments. I love the quilt you made for your sister and brother in-law. Your garden is looking fantastic, the colors are so pretty. The tortoise eggs are exciting indeed.
ReplyDeleteLovely post - I love the Delectable Mountains quilt you made for your BIL, perfect fabrics for it. And a very lovely table runner - lacing it up with the quilting was a good idea. What a fun idea to make the knit words - your friend will have a unique quilt for sure! It's lovely to see your floral show but it is amazing to see those turtle eggs - wow! Thank you as always for visiting my blog and commenting... for some reasons your comments don't come through to my emails (not just yours) so I don't always get to reply - I do appreciate your visits :-)
ReplyDeleteLove the lace stencil on the table runner--genius idea! And even in the busy springtime, you still are able to observe nature (tortoise and garden), make a quilt for your family member, and help out with watching the grandchildren so a busy even can go forward. It's such a delight reading your posts--don't worry about their pacing!
ReplyDeleteHappy Spring to you, too!
Elizabeth
Your quilty projects are beautiful! Love the scrappy quilt!
ReplyDeleteStenciling the lace on the runner was a great idea. It is so beautiful! Tortoise eggs...fun!
ReplyDeleteGosh I can relate to the "bad blogger" comment.....I can't seem to get it together lately to blog.....I really love the shirt quilt for your BIL and what a great idea for the stenciling on the table runner! Our box tortoises have been showing themselves a bit now that it has warmed up a bit but still haven't figured out where the female might lay her eggs.......The cacti blooms are especially beautiful this year.....
ReplyDeleteI know the feeling. I have hardly posted this winter, not from desire, just life events and wondering what on earth to post on now that my holiday photos are finished and not been the weather to be out and about. Also computer problems AGAIN - bought a new one and I'm sure you know how long that takes to get up and running to what was before!
ReplyDeleteNice photo of you Mary.
Your orchids are beautiful! Love the scrappy quilt. Clever quilting, very pretty. The weather looks wonderful there. Enjoy Spring!
ReplyDeleteSuch a plethora of beautiful and interesting things in this post. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat great BIL and your quilt for them looks fabulous. The way you arranged the colours look great with the design. Stencilling the lace motif was brilliant and beautiful quilting too. Nice blocks for Carla! Your garden is so pretty, Mary! You are such an inspiration for me. How exciting about the tortoise eggs!! Thanks for sharing the photo.
ReplyDelete-Soma
Such a lovely, diverse post! I enjoyed reading it with my coffee this morning. I'd be pretty excited about those tortoise eggs! XO
ReplyDeleteMary, your garden flowers are so beautiful. So you have a tortoise who come around every year to lay eggs? Is that as unusual of a thing as I think it is?
ReplyDeleteWhat a great Delectable Mountain scrappy shirt quilt you made! It looks so fresh and lovely in the outdoors!
I really love your idea of stenciling white lace onto the linen fabric! The effect is delicate but artsy and looks so much nicer than real lace often does.
I'm glad you are having a busy and wonderful Spring!
That's a beautiful quilt made from old shirts. I love that idea. You're not the only one struggling to keep up with blogging lately. I've been really tardy this month. Life happens though and we need to enjoy the moments when they arrive.
ReplyDeleteClever you to stencil lace. I love my words by the way ; )
ReplyDeleteI've not been very good at posting either. Likely because I fall into bed pretty early these days!
Enjoy those little turtles when they hatch. Very cool
What a neat quilt for your sister and brother-in-law! I am sure they will get a kick out of seeing his shirts....once again! Your table runner is beautiful and I'm sure everyone loved it. It is so neat to see your tortoise again and eggs.....the grand kids will have fun with this!
ReplyDeleteWow - that must have been fascinating to see the turtle laying her eggs! Love your knitting words blocks. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could actually visit Carla's new knit shop? Love seeing all the lovely flowers in your garden. My peonies are in full glorious bloom and the knock-out roses are knocking themselves out, but that's all in my yard right now. Hoping to see the Asian Lillies blooming soon - they are always amazing!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy seeing what you're up to regardless of your blogging frequency and truly totally understand! Life- in a nut shell.
ReplyDeleteLoved that you captured the egg laying ceremony in your garden though I do know they can be a nuisance it's sometimes nice to allow nature to run it's course.
Your quilt is fabulous. Enjoy whatever life brings your way and always continue to smile.
; )
Jane
I was perusing your blog after reading your Crafted Applique blog hop post and was so happy to see the Reagan Library. I used to live just up the street from there and climbed Mt. McCoy with my toddler daughter at least twice a month. Great memories!
ReplyDelete