Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Blooms All Around

This is always such a busy time of the year for working in the gardens.  Sewing and creativity seem to take a back seat.  It feels good to get "in touch" with the soil, but I must admit to missing my sewing time.  Sewing is also much kinder on the body!

The roses have been gorgeous this year with all of our winter rains.  As I pick the various colors, I keep thinking of which would I choose as my favorite.

Would it be these...




or some Hot Cocoa.....


or faithful long stemmed yellows....
 



or classic pink???

Maybe it is just a mixed vase.....





I missed my last link up with my BlooM blocks for our SAL, but I have continued to work on them.  I'll have three new blocks to link up this weekend.




The completed blocks so far, in no particular order.



With the new month just a few sleeps away, a new Gridster Bee queen has given us her block choice.  It's looking like Christmas sewing in May.



I was the lucky recipient of one of Cindy's beautiful pincushions that she makes with her selvages.  I just LOVE how she personalizes them.  She has a great storage system for her selvages.  You can read more about that and see some of her gorgeous work on her blog.  It looks so pretty in my pincushion basket. 






We had a blessed Easter with a family and friends.  Several of the college grandchildren were not able to make it home, but we managed to get a group shot of the ones who were there.


We had six of the grandchildren over the weekend while their parents were away for a wedding.  The dogs were in their element with all the snuggles.


We are at the start of strawberry season in our area.  The berries have been so juicy and large this year.  It's a shame that we can't enjoy them year round, but we probably wouldn't appreciate them as much.

Until next time....

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Be a Diamond Blog Hop



Welcome to my day to participate in the Be a Diamond Blog Hop, hosted by the amazing and talented Carol at Just Let Me Quilt blog.  The goal in this hop was to create a "diamond" project.

On a recent trip to Italy I saw some gorgeous bags created in leather.  One that particularly caught my eye was one with diamond shapes.  If it had been a bit bigger, it would have been coming home with me.  The design made me think of the upcoming hop and was thus my inspiration for the hop.



I had originally thought of doing a tote with the design, but after piecing it up I opted to create a table topper.




While it is not officially a "diamond", setting the framed squares on the diagonal does give the impression of diamonds.




Be sure to visit the other bloggers this week for more diamond projects.  I know that I am excited to see what is being shown.


April 22

April 23

April 24

April 25

April 26

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Inside and Outside

We have been enjoying such lovely spring weather and it has drawn me outside more and more.  The weeds are plentiful after all of our lovely rains this winter.  Sigh!  It seems like an endless job.

The amaryllis that live outside are all blooming now.  I do enjoy bringing them inside when they bloom so I grow them in pots.  These are a few of my favorite.





The Clivia are also in full bloom.





Of course, yard work does not come without heart attack risks when one comes across something like this.



Thankfully, it is a non poisonous gopher snake, but it is the biggest one that I have ever seen and hope to never see it again.

One other garden news is that my big prickly pear cactus has a cochineal infestation on it.  I am so excited about that as I am "dyeing" to try some eco-dyeing using them.  Yesterday I harvested some of the insects and although I have not yet ground them down, the water turned such a pretty color when I boiled them before setting them out to dry. 





There has been a bit of sewing going on too.  The Gridster Bee block for April is a patriotic one for Nancy at Patchwork Breeze.



My turn for being the bee queen is coming up in June so I have been thinking about what to do.  I played around a bit with this block.



Together they form stars in each corner.  It might take some organization, but I do like the way it is growing.  The pattern can be found HERE.



I am late in getting my BLooM block done this time, but done it is.  The next one is due this weekend.  Better get going on it.




Next Monday I will be participating in the Be a Diamond blog hop.  That project is finished and I am excited to see all of the upcoming diamond projects.



Look at these cute carrot cakes.  Wouldn't they be fun (and delicious) for a sewing party?



I hope all who celebrate have a blessed Easter.