So I'm pretty sure I mentioned that the May UFO had misbehaved and had
to go into a time out in my last post (or the one before?) Well, it
cried for a while, then came out and apologized and then we were able to
work together.
What really happened was I was trying very hard to find a faux pantograph design I liked for this quilt, since I didn't want to spend days and days doing something fancy that wouldn't show because of all the different prints in the fabrics. I had thought of circles to soften the squares, but nothing seemed right until I stumbled across a design doing a google search, that led me to doodle this design. It's not actually circles. You start with a sort of four pointed star and echo the arcs in each square of the block unit. But then it looks like circles when you do the blocks adjoining it! Aside from still having trouble getting the tension to behave when I sew backwards, I am very pleased with the way this came out! As usual, I don't know who it's for. I may save it for the next quilt show, then decide what to do with it.
I know I've mentioned before I have a collection of mostly small/ wall quilts looking for homes. I posted a bunch of them on a facebook page named Bits of Merth. If you can find it, and something calls to you, let me know!
This time of year I am mostly spending my "creative" time in the gardens. My gardens aren't planned, as much as I love the neatly arranged ones with space around each specimen and no weeds. That is just not going to happen in my garden. I'm a plunker. My philosophy is to plant aggressive perennials and let them battle it out- and battle the weeds. You can guess how well this works for me, right?
Here's an example of what has happened. The yarrow and feverfew are battling it out with the lizard tails and salvia, but mostly the little morning glories are taking over any space they can get. (which is very hard on the self seeding plants like forget-me-not!) So a couple of years ago, I started putting down rock paths in an effort to reduce the area I am trying to care for, and maybe keep some of the plants in their places. Yeah- that doesn't work at all. 
So I am upgrading the rock pathways a bit this year. First I dig out anything I want to save, and at least break off the weeds. Then, I lay down my new "Garden Fabric"- the empty bags from kitten fostering. I go through a lot of kitty litter and buy the kitten chow in large bags. These bags are like plastic burlap. Very sturdy. It's always seemed sad to have to throw them out. I've seen tote bags made from them- for grocery shopping I guess. I have found they make a pretty good weed preventer! 
See the blue and yellow peeking out between the rocks? I'll fill that in with smaller rocks as I find them. We'll see how well this works. Thankfully, with the corn field out back, I have an almost endless supply of rocks!
In the front bed, the hollyhocks have taken over this year. My gardens rarely look the same way twice- it just depends on what has decided to grow in any given spot. So I can't say this is what I would have chosen in this garden, but the Hollyhocks are happy. I just wish I had more colors. 
My reuse of the litter bags keeps them out of the waste stream (and the ocean), but the world is still drowning in plastic. Just a friendly nag- er, reminder- to choose a reusable alternative whenever possible (Can you hear me morning coffee people?). Opt for simple packaging when possible. Every small change we can make could have larger and long term effects!
I am grateful for:
A husband who is happy with almost anything I set on front of him at dinnertime.
A new family is enjoying my old car. I hope they love it as well as I did.
ice cream, especially those Magnum double peanut butter bars!
I got to send two kitties home with people who were just thrilled to get them this week!
A new opportunity- a chance to be less bored at work.
