It finally feels warm outside…no coat required! It was a cloudy and chilly spring. I did not plant my garden until June 2nd. That’s one week later than I have ever planted and two weeks later than I usually plant. I was in good company with friends who were also late getting started due to the chilly temps.
The chilly weather helped me get a quilt finished. This quilt is 69 x 87-inches
I was waiting for some nice weather to snap an outdoor photo. The pattern is, “Tapestry,” designed by Tamarinis. Two new techniques with this quilt. I machine stitched all of the binding...no hand stitching. And I am now concentrating on less intense quilting designs.
A fun pattern. I would make it again.
I had never worked with Kaffe Fassett fabrics and after attending the quilt show in Houston last fall I was inspired to work with his fabric. I work almost exclusively with batiks so I didn’t like the loose weave of this fabric. I learned I should starch these fabrics heavily in the future.
I’m about halfway through quilting a second quilt with Kaffe fabrics.
In May I attended a. 3-day quilt retreat at my local quilt shop. I am preferring this style of retreat…a lot of fun and much less time prepping compared to the retreats at a B&B. I like sleeping in my own bed and the quilt shop is only 15 minutes away from my house.
On day one, I finished stitching blocks together to complete, ‘Weekend Fun,” a free pattern from Connecting Threads. It takes 21 fat quarters. I had a set of 20 fat quarters and easily found a fat quarter in my stash to make it 21. Here is the link to the pattern.
The next two days I worked on making blocks for three quilts I am planning for my granddaughters.
I’m designing as I go on this project. I finished the 27 blocks that I need for the three quilts.
In the evenings I have mainly been cross stitching. I am working on using my left hand more.
These shamrock patterns are a free series I found on Pinterest. I’m stitching them on 14-count Aida. I think there are 10 patterns in the series. I am only planning to stitch two more. Right now I think I will finish them as little pillows with the green mini pom pom trim. Mindless stitching is always good to end the day.
I'm getting a nice little selection of spring displays. I was waiting on a bright green pom pom trim and love how it looks around the Scattered Eggs piece. It's my first flat fold finish and I will be make more of these. Easy to display and store.
I’m so happy I have been feeling better. I had an MRI on my neck which confirmed the obvious…my body is aging. I’m thankful for no bad surprises from the MRI but my project laden mind is frustrated I am going to have to slow down.
Just a little note about healthcare. I am 62, not eligible for Medicare. My husband is retired from the Air Force Reserve and the main reason he stayed in 20 years was the healthcare benefit, Tricare. I am so glad we have this option…which is the least expensive option right now. Most of my doctors take Tricare…but Tricare does not cover Chiropractic treatment. Bummer! When my symptoms were lingering we decided I should get an MRI. I was able to use the hospital on Elmendorf Air Force Base. I had to wait three weeks for my appointment but my chiropractor said he had a patient who was on a two-week wait list with several civilian imaging places….seems MRIs are in great demand right now. Anyway…when my chiropractor got the results he mentioned to me it was one of the most detail results he had ever seen. Sometimes the military medical system gets a bad rap but we have had a good experience.
Back to the fun stuff.
It is gardening season!!! I am so thrilled I have invested a lot of time…and money…into lots of perennial plantings. Despite my slowdown in activity…my plants look great and flowers are starting to bloom.
I planted this Blue Moon Woodland Phlox two summers ago. This is the first year it has bloomed.
Love the color! The flowers are about 18-inches tall.
These bright pink flowers are a rock garden plant, Rockcress. These flowers are only four or five inches tall.
It has been thriving for years and is the first plant to bloom every year.
It obviously loves this little niche where it gets full sun.
We kicked off the garden season with a hose bib pipe break…which flooded down the ceiling beams of my sewing room!!! Lots of drama for a few hours but no damage once everything was cleaned up and fans were blowing for a couple of days. It’s one way to get that spring cleaning done.
Critter photos! This moose was here on May 12...when plants were just starting to grow after all the snow had melted.
If you look closely you can see his antlers budding on his head
A couple of days ago I chased a black bear out of my garage. Hard to tell from a photo but it was a pretty good sized black bear. He was happy to leave quickly.
