I wanted so much to share a finished quilt...but as I was about to pull the quilt off the frame I spied a bad area of tension on the backside. Quilting with black thread on black fabric is very tough on the eyes. It was so frustrating to not notice the problem until I thought I was done!!! It was an area of small circles...or pebbling. It took me 6 hours over three days to carefully rip out the bad areas.
Done venting.
I do have a tip. With regular blackboard chalk I sharpened in a manual pencil sharpener, I drew a white chalk outline around the remaining good areas quilted in black thread so I know where to fill in with my pebbling.
Mostly, I've been working on my landscaping project.
I have planted the blueberry bushes and three currants, red, black and white. Lots of new leaves on all the plants. So happy! I pulled all the flower buds off as advised by the University of Alaska Fairbanks agricultural program. No berries for the first year...just getting established.
I have one span of ground left to fill...
more metal bins.
This has to be my signature landscape prop.
I am planning to fill the metal bins with perennials like bleeding hearts, ferns, astilbe, hostas, ligularia, and columbine. Mostly a shady area but it does get some sun.
Below is my metal bin retaining wall...still looking great after three years. We had a really cold start to our winter with no snow cover...very tough on perennials and shrubs. I replaced five of the shrubs that looked pretty bad this spring, which means I might give a little more attention this fall to mulching the plants to give them some added protection.
And a set of free-standing tubs. Annual flowers love these metal bins. This set of metal bins have been in use every summer for over 15 years. Love them. Recently, I have only been able to find nice large bins sturdy enough to sit outside at Home Depot. They sell for just under $20 locally. Some of my older metal bins came from Walmart and Lowes giving me a bit of variety in sizes. FYI, I drill four holes in the bottom for drainage.
I have been so sparse in posting on my blog this summer.
Since I use my blog to help me keep track of my progress I need to say that I had to get another 12,000 pounds of fractured rock for my landscaping project...
and now I am needing another load of gravel.
I have one more area I want to tackle before closing up the 2018 growing season.
It's a pretty small area...as long as I don't get carried away...
you must have some strong arms to get all that landscaping done and I know you do most of it yourself - that is great - love how it all looks.
ReplyDeleteSorry you had problems with your quilt - that is not fun ripping out
Your landscape is really looking great! I love the look of the tubs with the granite. After moving all of those rocks, your muscles must have muscles!
ReplyDeleteMy goodness you've done a lot of heavy landscaping work this season - talk about a workout! But it does look good and I see from one of your photos that you have 2 assistants to keep you company!
ReplyDeleteGood idea to use chalk to mark the area that needs re-doing on your quilt. It would be disappointing to discover that thread problem when you're thinking you're all done quilting. I can sympathize with you.
The landscaping is coming along so well...I love watching the progress and seeing the finished product....and the quilting is really gorgeous!
ReplyDelete