A very good week!

What a nice surprise it was last week to go to the mailbox and find a package of blocks from that floral swap. Remember I made blocks for a friend? Well, apparently I was not the only one who wanted to make sure she got her blocks, so there ended up being extras. The swap hostess sent me a set of them. Aren't they lovely? Thanks, ladies!

The men went on their annual fishing trip last weekend, so I had four days to myself. You'd think I'd have gotten a ton of quilting done, right? Not so. I spent much of that time in the gardens. The little flower seedlings I grew inside have been growing like mad since I put them outside and the tiny bit of soil in those starter pots doesn't hold much water. So they need to be in the ground- or larger pots! I have been planting furiously. I had more plants than spaces, so I am squeezing them in everywhere. It should be a grand display when they grow up a bit more. I don't have before pictures, but you can bet you'll see the "after"!

Here are a couple of my favorite perennials, though.
The Dianthus keep coming back year after year, both old plants and new babies. They have always been a favorite of mine. I used to grow carnations when I was a kid! These are in my shade garden. This is also where the clematis is with the bird's nest. She has four eggs now and I expect babies any day.













The Lupines are what make this my favorite time in the big bed out back. They are just glorious. I like to sit on my little garden stool near them and watch the bumblebees collecting the pollen!

When it gets too hot- or my back starts to ache- I get cleaned up and head to the sewing room. This weekend I was working an a gift for a swap. I made another patchwork tote (did I post a picture of the one I made in February?). I'm getting better at getting the colors where I want them, but the seams still do not line up very well. Hopefully the interesting quilting I did will disguise that. :-)




I also managed to get a table topper made for the table on the screen porch. I used the last of this piece of fabric, so I couldn't center the flowers. Nice how even by accident there's one so near the center!










I am grateful for:
Time alone once in a while, and then
having family around me when they return
Time with nice ladies in my class last weekend!
Shady spots on hot days
Hot dogs on the grill