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....

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

Needled Mom

Keepsake Moments

Kathy’s Quilts

Kathy's Kwilts and More

Color, Creating, and Quilting

April 23

Ms P Designs USA

Vroomans Quilts

Marjorie's Busy Corner

Melva Loves Scraps

Storied Quilts

Words & Stitches

Clever Chameleon Quilting

Songbird Designs

April 24

MooseStashQuilting

Beaquilter

Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting

Creative Blonde 

Selina Quilts

Bumbleberry Stitches

Two Maker Chicks

Quilts By Joanne

April 25

Patchouli Moon Studio

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Hill Valley Quilter

Mageez Room

Websterquilt

High Road Quilter 
Seams To Be Sew

April 26

Creatin' in the Sticks

Cynthia's Creating Ark

Days Filled With Joy

For The Love Of Geese

Quilt Fabrication

Stitchin At Home

Just Let Me Quilt

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.

Up, Up and Away

We have a granddaughter who is studying in Florence, Italy this semester so we took advantage of that and went to visit her, taking her mom and dad along with us.  We had such a nice time and finished the trip off with a couple of days in Lucerne, Switzerland. 

Although we have visited Florence before, we never tire of the beautiful sights and food found there.

Ponte Vecchio bridge in center of photo.

View of the Ponte Vecchio

The Duomo in Florence

Italy has some gorgeous leather and there were so many beautiful and unique purses.  This one made me think of Soma who does such lovely photography and has a terrific Wandering Camera post on her blog HERE.

Some sights from the Mercato Centrale.

One of the days we traveled by train to Venice and spent time touring the city and enjoying the sights. 

Lucerne is another city that we have visited in the past.  It is such a gorgeous city and one of our favorite places.  The weather was incredible while we were there so we were able to enjoy walking the city and spending time sitting by the lake.  It's a bit early for the flowers on Chapel Bridge, but it is beautiful anyway.

The bridge was built in the 1300s.  Although there was a fire that destroyed 80+ of the 118 paintings on the inside of the bridge, the remaining paintings are beautifully maintained.

As are the paintings on the buildings throughout the Old Town. 

Lake Lucerne with the snowy Alps as a backdrop.

The Dying Lion Monument

These look like wild primrose growing in the lawns.

The top of Mt. Pilatus

While in Lucerne I had the best time meeting up and visiting with a long time blogging friend of mine.  Linds, of Rocking Chair Reflections blog and IG Linds56, happened to be visiting her sister in the area.  She lives in middle England and we have been blogging friends for over ten years.  We sat out by Lake Lucerne and chatted away, having the best time.  It was so nice to meet in real life.

Adjusting to the time since we returned home has allowed some VERY EARLY morning stitching.  What else does one do when they are up at 3 a.m.?  Thank goodness that the sewing studio is on the other side of the house.  More Bloom blocks can be seen on Cheryl's BLOG.