Earning Stripes

I have to put this Stars and Stripes quilt on hold till next month.

I've been desperately clinging to a quilting budget and April's allotment has run out so I have to wait till May to finish this one off.

It's so hard to wait though.  Once the red stripes were added on and the blocks ironed back out I was so pleased with it that now I'm aggravated that I can't just go and buy the rest of the fabric today. There's still backing to purchase and the top still needs a blue banner across it and then...then I can baste this project, quilt it a bit and bind it all up.

So close to being done and being able to give it away!

The Garden Blooms

If I had thought better of it I would've taken pictures of each stage my Spring bulbs have opened.  However, the daffodils did not seem to fair too well with the insanely warm March we had so they dwindled very quickly.

But the tulips are flourishing and thanks to some careful reading and a bit of planning I planted a few varieties that bloom in the later part of Spring and they are very long lasting apparently....

as they've been opened since the end of March!

I'm very pleased with these and hope that I can squeak out at least 3 good years before they need replaced.  As any bulb gardener knows, tulips don't last unfortunately.

The peonies and daylilies are also coming along very well though I don't think either will bloom this year. It's good to see that the stock was good.  And my Siberian Irises that I divided last year are really taking off and ready to open soon.  If you ever wonder how perennials grow just remember this saying: The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, the third year they leap!

If gardening has taught me anything it's that plants will grow on their own time and no one else's.  Lots and lots of patience.

Remembering how to quilt

I sometimes forget how to do a certain technique and it takes a bit of practice and several errors before I can get back into the swing of things.  Quilting is one of those, so is binding, but binding is another story.  I'm just happy to have such an updated sewing machine that all my thread tensions are lovely and just tight enough.  Definitely been getting more into machine sewing these days and the creativity is evolving tenfold.  The sketch book is filling up once more!

The Pregos

Over the weekend we were supposed to be down south helping at our annual kite fly event, but it got rained out.  Seems like it's rained out nearly every Saturday each year.  So here's a picture from last weekend when it was sunny and beautiful.

My youngest sister Sarah snapped this picture of my other sister, Rachel (in stripes) and I (in pink) over Easter.  It makes me giggle.  We'd both refused to do a posed "belly shot" picture so Sarah snuck in and got one of us being pretty normal.

It makes me laugh.  I think non-posed pictures are the best.

Rachel is due July 9th and I'm due August 10th.

It's like dueling banjos only with babies.

Tease

I've been playing around with jellyrolls in bright colors lately.  While I can't show you everything I'm making with this set just yet I can tell you I plan to at least make a small baby blanket out of the strips I have leftover.

I also went a little crazy and have a few new yards of assorted flannels for burp cloths and bibs.  If you can't find what you want in a store try making it yourself!

Sewing machine work out

With the weather oddly cooler this month than last I haven't been as tempted to cavort in my garden just yet.  Which is a good thing as my project list is growing steadily.

If you've read my Sewing Tips posts you'll have seen this wall hanging in various states of progress.  I've finally got the layout I want and now am nearing the final stages of completion!

This is just the general layout of the star blocks which all measure 8 1/2" square all around.  Something I'm VERY proud of because it's such a pain to get nicely squared blocks in the end.  There's still more to do on it.  There's red sashing that will go between the rows and along the sides.  Then if I can find what I'm looking for a navy blue bunting to go along the top.

While it may be hard to envision the finished product right now it's going to look lovely once everything is quilted and bound up.

Easter Roundup

The funny thing about families is they grow.  They grow-up, grow old, grow bigger, grow smaller and eventually out-grow houses.  Such is the case with my Grandma's house.  I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters, we all either have children or are going to have children (very soon).  Then I have cousins and aunts and uncles who come over for the Holidays and my cousins are starting to have children of their own.

You get the idea.

Grandma's house is no longer a fun, cozy place when we all gather in one area, but we continue to do it.  Not sure when we'll have to move on to another house or find a bigger location, but it makes me realize how much can change in a year.

Benjamen Easter 2011 (my youngest sister's 1st)

Benjamen Easter 2012

(this kid makes me feel so much older because I only see him in person 2-3 times a year)

But overall Easter was nice despite the crowd ^_^  The weather couldn't have been better and all I can say is thank goodness people are still allowed to have large backyards.