Sunday, June 17, 2018

Still Spring

Churn Dash (set on point)
Jo's Little Women's Club 2017
Fabric by Fig Tree

The calendar says summer begins June 21 which means there are a few remaining days of spring, the temperature gauge says summer is already here with temps in the high eighties and nearing ninety.  Let's don't even speak of the humidity.  This churn dash quilt is one I started last year, I wanted to add more spring seasonal.  The green color reminds me of new grass and leaves, the yellow is the color of daffodils and forsythia and red are the tulips.  Oh those miniatures they are such foolers--their diminutive size  is misleading, I allowed my quilting ambitions to overload my quilting skills.  I thought the quilt would be much more interesting if set on point.  The quilt is approximately 18" x 18."

Last Saturday (June 9) Linda Stoltz (Erica Michaels), taught a strawberry finishing class.  Learning to  make/finish strawberries has been on my bucket list for a long time!  Linda gave great instructions and shared tons of ideas.  All those scraps of wool, lace, pins and  charms will be used in embellishing strawberries.  These are my practice berries made from left over toile fabric.

The raised bed garden is growing and blooming.  Due to a late spring with unusually cold temps, the garden was not planted until the first weekend of May.  AppleJack and I are hopeful for a late harvest.  The very hot days require constant watering which gives us an opportunity to check on the progress and for any potential damaging insects.

At the back of our property line are two long perennial borders.  Each time we look out the window, the day lilies and coneflowers make us smile.  Oh,  there is also an abundance of weeds--I consider it good exercise, the sunshine and fresh air are a welcome change from staying indoors.  AppleJack and I consider the beauty of these flowers our reward for working in the garden.

Miss Oak Leaf Hydrangea's blooms are beginning to turn.  Isn't she a show stopper?

The blooms on the day lilies this year are huge and vibrant.

Stacy Nash
Rose Garden Sewing Basket
from the 2017 Nashville Needlework Market

Three of the four panels for Stacy Nash's Rose Garden Sewing Basket are stitched, panel #4 is in my hoop.  Another nice addition for my spring seasonal.  For me, spring is always a sign of renewal, hope and potential.  Pulling weeds, struggling with the mathematics of setting a quilt on point and stabbing away at flower panels for a sewing basket are gentle reminders of the beauty of spring.