Hurray for the Red, White and Blue

Decorating for the Fourth of July is great fun.  First I pull out the patriotic quilts.  (This little quilt has been around so long it thinks it is an antique)

Red is one of my favorite colors

Add flags.  Thank you Jan for making this little rug a reality.

 Patriotic redware

More flags

Red, white and blue for the dough bowl

Even the flowers show their patriotic spirit

My plans for the Fourth?  Turn these pieces into a flimsy, eat some barbeque from Jim and Nick's, watch the fire works from Greer Stadium and order the new Summer at Hollyberry Farm.

The Little Quilt that Grew

Remember this little quilt, my patriotic red, white and blue quilt? 144 HST (half square triangles)

It now looks like this and it is still growing!  360 HST (half square triangles)

One of my on-going goals is to utilize and reduce the amount of fabric in my stash.  As I was stitching the "little quilt" I realized there were more red, white and blue fabrics in my stash along with several more sheets of 1 3/4" HST sheets and I just kept sewing.  If I am doing the calculations correctly, there should be an additional 144 HST's.  504 1 3/4" HST's.  AppleJack thinks I might be loosing it.  He might be right!

  

These are the fabrics for the borders.  The gold and red fabrics are from Primitive Gathering, the blue stars is a mystery fabric.  

When I am not sewing on the "little quilt" on steroids, I have been weeding.  Here are my rewards:

The Turkey Trot

Radnor Lake is one of our favorite places to walk.  Last week, AppleJack and me were taking a nice walk around the lake and we heard this loud commotion.

As we walked closer, the ruckus got louder.  Rounding the trail, we saw the source of all the noise--it was Thomas, the wild turkey!  He was strutting his feathers and making all kinds of turkey noises.

At first, we couldn't figure out why, Thomas was so filled with a sense of urgency and then we saw Miss Tina Turkey hiding in the under brush.  She was being very shy and coy.  Let's just say Miss Tina Turkey did not have the same thing on her mind that Thomas had on his mind or else she was playing hard to get.

Seeing Thomas and Tina Turkey at Radnor reminded me I needed to get started stitching on "Thomas" by Notforgotten Farm if I want to have him completed in time for Thanksgiving.  Seeing them also reminded me I am thankful the eagle was chosen as the national bird instead of the turkey.

Finishes

The Goode Housewife

Two Pinkeeps

Betty, the finisher called on Saturday to say she had pieces ready for pick up.  Telephone calls from the finisher are always exciting.  As always, Betty did an excellent job making the flat piece of linen three dimensional.  My favorite part is the wide rick rack.

Plum Street Sampler

Halloween Ornament from Just Cross Stitch 2012

Apologies for the less than idea photo--thank goodness the finishing is excellent, the photography needs  work.

Time for the Daylilies

The daylilies are beginning to bloom.

After dividing, transplanting and fertilizing, I was unsure about the results.

Mother Nature has been kind and generous this growing season.

The gentle rain and abundant sunshine have made for ideal growing conditions.

The astilbe are also thriving

The Flowers of Next Year (the garden)

Rain Lily (Zephyranthes)

Two of her most endearing qualities:  her happy flower and low maintenance

Stella de Oro Daylily
Another low maintenance plant, and a faithful repeat bloomer

Plumbago ground cover.
This is my first try with this plant, we'll see how it survives the summer heat

Spider Daylily (a shared plant from a friends garden)

A plant full of promise--

Miss Oak Leaf Hydrangea--you make me feel like gardener

Ideal growing conditions--rain, cool nights and days filled with sunshine.  (Yes, the weeds also love these growing conditions)

Little Quilts

I love little quilts!  Thankfully the internet and blogs are overflowing with ideas and tutorials.  The above quilt is from Kindred Quilts blog.  This quilt is called Nellie's Nine Patch and uses Minnick and Simpson's Indigo Crossings fabric. 

Here is the beginning of my version of Nellie's Nine Patch.  Yes, I raided the fabric stash in search of blue fabric.  I found this tutorial on Pinterest to help with making the nine patches.



Since July 4th is a few weeks away, I found this red, white and blue quilt from Kim's Big Quilitng Adventure.  The quilt is made from HST (half square triangles).   Since I had some left over HST, I thought this was a good way to use up some more stash.

Here is my start.

This is a quilt I saw on Rogue Quilters blog using the Primitive Gatherings tiny tumbler template.  Another great way to use stash fabric and decorate for the fourth.  I also saw a zig zag quilt using HST. I have some  30's prints which could be utilized for making a baby quilt.  So many ideas, so little time.


Someone recently asked me "what do you do with all those little quilts?"

• table runners
• table toppers
• layer at the foot of the bed
• display in cabinet
• seasonal decoration
• hang from an old ladder
• hang on metal rod and use as window treatments
• let children play with them
• make a quilt wall
• gifts--Christmas, bridal, baby, hostess

The Spring Tonic

Remember the Beverly Hillbillies?  Remember Granny Clampett believed in spring tonics?  I gave Next Year (the garden) a spring tonic and I am becoming a believer!  This is Jackmanii clematis, dozens of blooms and dozens more on the way.

Miss Oak Leaf Hydrangea is also enjoying her spring tonic (fertilizer).  She also has dozens of blooms.  The birds and bees are singing her praises.

And the yarrow, an abundance of flower heads to pick for drying and enjoying later in the season.  The daylilies are just beginning to bloom.

The kiss of the sun for pardon

The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than any place else on earth

Dorothy Frances Gurney

Seeing Double

Last month I attended a class on borders and bindings.  The class was held by one of my local quilt shops and the teacher/shop owner introduced me to a new quilting tool--a binding tool.  I don't think handymen or fishermen have any thing on quilters--there must be a tool or gadget for every technique.

In addition to using the tool to complete neat bindings when adding the finishing stitches to quilts, the teacher had made a table runner using the binding tool.  Her table runner was so neat, I thought I would try to make one for myself.  I found a tutorial by Missouri Star and watched and re-watched the tutorial until I felt confident with the instructions.

The tutorial is called scrap buster, an easy way to make a table runner using the binding tool.  WOW!  The tutorial was easy to follow, it was a great way to use scraps from my stash and the runners were not time consuming to make.

The runners were so easy to make, I made two--the yellow one to use in the fall with pumpkins and candles and the red one because the fabric is French General.  The runners are so fast and easy to make I am considering making more and giving them as gifts--Christmas, hostess, bridal shower.

On Monday, the shop is having another gathering and I can't wait!  New tools, beautiful quilts, delicious food and sharing with quilters--does it get any better?