Back to the Garden

 The weather has been pleasant enough this past week or so for me to get back out to my gardens.  They have been quite neglected since the heat arrived in late June! 
I allow many annuals to self seed, but usually try to contain them to the beds.  This year, they had invaded the walkways so enthusiastically, I couldn't bear to remove them.

This is the front walkway filled with snapdragons and asters, along with the odd Johnny jump-ups.

 This is the back stairway to the porch (or "veranda" I am told, since it goes around the corner of the house).  Pardon the cord which powers the tools building our new garage.  The artemesia of a sort I have forgotten, and the blue ajuga have filled in nicely between the paving stones. The snapdragons have made their way here as well!

 These are two of my favorites- all volunteers! - the purple is zebrina malva and the blue is convolvulus.  Don't they look lovely all blended together?















We have our annual visit form a neighborhood frog to the rain barrel.  I cannot imagine where they live near us as there is no water near by and this summer has been exceedingly dry. Yet, there he was this morning.  And a good thing, too since the rain barrel is filled with mosquito larvae.






Thinking green this week gives me a chance to mention the paper that can be saved by receiving bills electronically.  (with apologies top the postal service!)  If just 20% of American households switched from paper to electronic bills, we could save 1,811,275 trees and avoid 2 million tons of greenhouse gases.

I am grateful for:
My sweet new kitten, George- who is finally adjusting to her new home.
The peace I find in the garden.
Comfortable routines.
Sleeping under a quilt with the windows open on cool summer nights.
Fresh, crisp and juicy apples!

A mushroom story, and class with Mary Diamond

 When I was a little girl, my Grampa told me that if I would sit very quietly in the evening before the dew fell, I could watch the fairies play under the toadstools in the back yard of their house.  I spent many an hour waiting for them to appear- and stayed out if his hair in the process.  (wasn't I a gullible child?)

      So when I created my perennial bed, I had a thought in the back of my mind to find a big toadstool of some kind and  some fairies to play under it.    I have finally done it.  The mushroom/ toadstool (I wonder if there's a difference?) is made from an old version of our satellite dish and a length of chimney tile.  The top is the  non-woven "utility" fabric they sell at Joann.  I stitched a few layers together in the hope it will survive more than one summer out there. 

 The Museum Quilt Guild welcomed Mary Diamond to our meeting on Saturday! What beautiful work she does!!!  I had seen a couple of her pieces previously in  Lancaster, but I got to hold them and inspect them up close this time!






After the meeting, some of us stayed for a thread painting class.  These are the samples of what she teaches.  You actually make your own composition using floral print fabric- so no 2 are alike!

Some of Mary's fluorescent thread collection.  I have GOT to get some of these!

My piece as of the end of class.  It's only pinned to the stretcher, since I'm thinking it might need some greens and maybe some beads in those open areas.














A small thing you can do to make a difference to the planet is to recycle those tubes from your toilet paper!  Add it up some time to see how many you are throwing away.  Just toss them in with the cardboard and cereal boxes.  ( NOT in the abitibi paper bins!)

I am grateful for:
The weeds in the garden, which allow me to be in my happy place, watch birds using the water dishes I have set out for them, and enjoying the summer mornings before the sun gets so hot!
A really good book I don't want to put down.
A big job behind me!
Getting away for a day to play with friends.
28 more days until I see Guy!

Moving outside for the season!

 This is my front porch- my outdoor living room in the summer.  The only time it's not  wonderful out there is late in the afternoon when the sun is shining directly in your eyes.  That's usually the time I'm cooking anyway.

 This is along the walkway to my back door and the deck.  I need more old shoes if you have some.  :-)

 Look who I found near the perennial bed out back!  If she hadn't set up a ruckus when I walked by, I'd have missed it.

 I couldn't see how many eggs without sticking the camera back in there.

 Even Mr Bunny is happy to be outside enjoying the fresh air!

 Meanwhile, here's what I've been working on in the studio- which is a complete mess these days.

Pieces for the May calendar quilt.  I cut back the number of ants.

 A scrappy donation quilt.  I love this pattern, Romantic Rosy by Kaffe Fassett in his book Quilt Road.  The nine patches use  scrap therapy size squares!!!

 At the ArtCGirlz meeting last week, Sarah Terry showed us some beading techniques. 

I've been practicing feathers, inspired by the book "Dream Feathers", on this scrap quilt- also intended for donation.










Thinking Green this time takes me to the garden. Often when I'm working out there, I find worms and larva and other yucky looking creatures- like the little green worms who ate all the leaves off my Columbine a few years back.  Before I spray them with pesticide, I try to find out what kind of creature they are.  That pesky little green worm might become a rare butterfly if you don't kill it.  So take a few minutes to learn about the creatures you share the world with before you exterminate them!

I am grateful for:
Magnets and arnica
the chance to help a friend in need
sharing a private joke with a friend
gentle breezes and warm sunshine
Tiny newborn kittens

Caught in a time warp!

Sunrise on a foggy morning, May 3

I guess I stepped into a wormhole or something because I didn't realize it had been two weeks since I last posted!  My brain has been turned off lately, though.
 It finally feels like actual Spring here.  Not too hot, but nice enough to be outside.  I have spent enough time in the gardens the last few days that I'm sore, my hands are all scratched up and at least one of my beds looks like a garden rather than a spot we didn't mow.

Taking a short rest before continuing the journey.

We enjoyed being on the path of the migration of Red Admiral butterflies last week.  I have never seen anything like it!  They were everywhere.  The yard was alive with them- every flower and branch.  Sadly, there were hundreds of them killed along the roads, too. 

Jack (in the pulpit) in (one block) Wonderland

Since I'm so far behind, I can show more sewing stuff.  Good thing, too, because it has been days since I've been in the sewing room. I'm starting to get the shakes! 

 I got the borders on the one block wonder I have been working on with a fabric Jane's "Sunshine and Shadows" collection. I would really like to have this finished for the show in October!  I need more practice with the quilting design I want to use first, though.

 I got the May calendar quilt finished.  Not looking forward to doing ants on the next one.  Not that I dislike ants, but the satin stitching is going to be a killer!

 I'm trying to figure out how to finish this piece from the mosaic "workshop" Kathi led at an ArtCGirlz meeting last year.    I wanted to make a sort of larger sunset behind the part with the trees.  But I didn't have much of that same fabric to work with. (the bit sticking out the sides is part of the strip set I haven't cut up yet.  I found some neat batiks to play with, so the whole thing may look different next time you see it.

I tried some curvy piecing after seeing it on Kathryn Schmidt's blog last week.  I bet she teaches a great way to do it easier than what I did, but it came out ok and was kind of fun!









My green tip this week is to remind you that how you drive, as much as the car you drive, affects the fuel efficiency of your car.  I am a lead foot, so I have to remind myself it's not really important how fast you get up the hill.  You save gas by letting your speed decrease a bit rather than accelerating up those hills.  There are other things you (and I!) can do.  A few of them are here!

I am grateful for:
The beauty of a sand mandala I was able to witness last week
Meditation
A very understanding and supportive boss
An exciting baseball game!(which I always thought was an oxymoron)
A mild sunburn- to remind me to bring sunscreen

The joys of country living- and a sewing day!

Welcome to July! Not that the flip flops aren't cute, but I wonder why no one can think of interesting motifs for the summer months???



 I have been asked for updates on the critter story.  The raccoon has not been sighted since there was a very loud noise aimed in his direction last week around this time.  (actually I think it was a momma and babies).  I didn't do it, but it seems to have worked.  The red squirrel is going to meet a similar sound very soon.

The robins are trying to build a new nest for the second hatch of the season, and think my front porch is a prime location.  The ledges above the doors and windows are all of 2 1/2 inches wide and the darned birds keep hauling in dry grass mixed with mud and leaving a mess.  So I started by employing my dress form, who I call Ethyl, to stand guard.  That worked,but Ethyl is not made for rain.  Once she came inside the robins came back.  Plan B- used cd's and plan C wires sticking up to prevent them building were not effective at all. (In fact , the wire seems to have made nice "rebar" for the foundation of the nest).

So I pondered a way to make the ledge smaller and hit on a solution that is working so far.  Yup, Cheerios boxes cut to bow out and block the ledge. It's a lovely decoration as well, don't you think?
There are bunnies everywhere, but I haven't found any babies so far.  I hope we don't find them with the mower!!!
I hope no one gets the impression I don't like sharing my habitat with the wildlife!!   I love watching the bunnies frolic, having the occasional frog in my rain barrel (which is sunk into the ground), and especially things like the Yellow Warbler's nest we discovered last weekend!
The destructive ones just have to be shown their boundaries.  :-)

OOPS- forgot to rotate. 

Meanwhile, during the week of rain we had, I found time to sew!!!  I had an actual sewing day, where I wandered from one project to the next with merry abandon.
This is the project I worked on at the Guild UFO day- my first One Block Wonder.  I never got around to putting the top together once I got the block laid out.  This is a long skinny quilt that will either dress up my new office or warm my side only of the bed when it is needed.  The borders are a nice purple that I would not have chosen but for some friends who made me see how perfect it was!

Just some random bits made from scraps and strips.  Not sure what they'll be yet.

I learned to make "Kanzashi" flowers last week. The first one matched this bag I made last year, so I moved into the bag to show it off.

"Posey Tote" with Kanzashi flower

This is from a "Liberated Quiltmaking class I took with Janet Root a year ago April.  I made my blocks into a cover for the little shelves in the studio.  The Patchwork looked so nice there I have never had the incentive to quilt them, but decided it was time!  I'm playing with fillers and straight line quilting for now.

I just remembered a looming deadline, so I will have to put this aside and do that in my next sewing session.



I am grateful for:
How much Jake loved his quilt!
Lunch with some friends and a nice break in my road trip.
Magnum ice cream bars (double chocolate!)
Cool nights.
My deep blue funk has passed for the moment.

Spending all my time in the garden

  I have lots of frogs and toads in the gardens- little resin and pottery statues.  None of them hop around and scare me half to death, though.

I was watering the baby plants and found a squatter in the flower pots!   I guess I don't have to worry about bugs eating that one.

This  Clematis is right off the screen porch at the back of my house

I think they were JUST hatched

I had planned to trim the clematis when I was first able to get out to the gardens, but look what I found.  The robins squawking in the tree confirmed who this belonged to.  It had one egg in it the day I found it- somewhere around May 18. I haven't worked in this flower bed since making this discovery, except to peek in the nest when I knew the momma wasn't there.  I kept hoping every day to hear the tweeting of baby birds through the open window.  Finally, on June 3, I peeked in and saw babies!
Judging by their color I think they were fresh from the shell!  Only three of the four hatched, apparently.

I go out every day and annoy the parents by peeking in the nest and taking a picture.  I'm amazed at how fast they are growing!

Day 3

Day 4

Today, June 9

I won't dare to keep doing this much longer for fear of scaring them out of the nest prematurely.

Other than gardening, I enjoyed going to the "Diamond Jubilee" quilt show held by the Genesee Valley Quilt Club last week. We went to cheer on Kathi, who took part in the "Iron Quilter" event- and WON first place- a new Bernina sewing machine!  I am also proud (and jealous as heck!) of my BFF, Mary, who won a third place ribbon at the show! (See her picture here)

I am grateful for:
Being able to be outside to enjoy the "neighbors".
Air conditioning in my bedroom last night!
Talented friends to inspire me.
Not needing to watch the clock at work anymore.
Ice cream with peanut butter sauce

Too much time and too little to do!!!

Check that, and reverse it, of course!!! :-)

Bleeding Heart in my shade garden

Well, finally!  We have had a few days of gardening weather and therefore that is how I have been spending my time!!  I am thrilled to have flowers greeting me when I visit the gardens now.  With the flowers, I am also happily enjoying some of my favorite summer birds.  The other day I heard the Oriole singing out back so I rushed to put out some jelly for him.  I had to improvise an orange flower. I guess it was pretty good because not ten minutes after I hung it out there- he came to have a taste!!



I have been focusing my energies on my big perennial bed this weekend.  It has been far too wet up until now to even set foot out there.  It is still too wet for much other than basic weeding and cleaning up.  I have made some interesting discoveries, though!

I love moss.  This one is VERY soft!

 

 

 

 

 

A type of Euphorbia I think.  I never knew it was blossoming at this time of year!!!

I am thrilled to death that for the first time in several years- maybe since we planted it!- the frost has not killed the Magnolia blooms!

In the sewing room, I am stuck on the layout for my patchwork jacket.  I am teaching this as a class very soon and fear I will not be able to show the students the next step, as I will not yet be there myself!

The jacket is designed around this lovely mola I got from Priscilla Kibbee

 This is the back of the jacket, which I think I am satisfied with.  The fronts are what have given me trouble.  At present they are nothing but a pile of patchwork in a random heap ( in other words, I got frustrated and threw them on the floor)

It's always nice to have a friend give you a second opinion when doing this type of work!

 

 

I am grateful for:
New challenges at work, and nice people to help me with them!
Fabulous weather!
Hotdogs on the grill ( burnt!) and macaroni salad.
The waiting is almost over!
Being able to listen to the birds sing!

Something new and something sort of old

This is our new boarder. I discovered him "squatting" in the old enamel tub we collect rainwater in for gardening. Except for the driest parts of the summer, there is always water in it. Apparently this froggy thinks he found himself a private pond where all the skeeters are for him and him alone! Little does he know the "pond will soon have to be drained. Maybe he's a she and she'll come back in the spring to make a home for some little froggies??? Wouldn't that be fun!!! I believe this is called a Northern Green Frog, by the way.


Last weekend, a busload of Guild members headed up (or down?) to the Chautauqua Institute's Quilting Around Chautauqua event. I hadn't been before and was under the impression it was more or less a quilt show. Not so- it's kind of a regional quilt show and vendor mart. I don't know how many vendors there were. I was there to see the quilts, to be honest, and was glad when I finally found the rooms where they were hanging. They weren't labeled well and there were no programs, so I cannot credit makers or patterns. I have posted a few of my favorites at snapfish.
Kathi was taking a picture of the quilt on the railing here and in true Best friends fashion, MaryLee and I got in the picture doing our best Kilroy impressions!










This is the something sort of old. I pieced this quilt in 2007 or 2008 using mostly bits and pieces I pulled out of the "orphan blocks" box. It felt like I was digging through the old quilts graveyard, so I called this project "Frankenstein's Monster" It's hand quilted. This is in the upstairs hallway- which I call my quilt gallery. In just a few days it will be hanging in the quilt show!!!!




I am grateful for:
Sewing time!
Spending a great day with friends.
Fewer hot flashes!
Fall colors.
A new project to play with.(coming soon)

Meditation in the gardens

Yesterday after dinner I picked up the camera and headed outside. I pulled a few weeds along the way, deadheaded the pansies and lupines, watered the potted plants. But mostly I was there just to find inspiration. To look and the gardens in a different way. To SEE the gardens. I have spent too much time lately reading books that encourage you to create an inspiration journal. To find things that please you on some level. And to be "in the moment". And I suppose this was a result of all that. But what joy I found! This butterfly was a brown shape on the rocks. I stopped and looked because I thought how odd that leaf is sticking up like that. But then he opened his wings for me! Clearly he's been in a battle of some sort, but he survived!

The moss that grows in the shaded ares fascinates me. I can't begin to say why.







This is Lady's Mantle. People would think it's my favorite plant since I have it everywhere. In truth it spreads quickly and makes a nice border in the garden, so I plant it where ever there's a space. (want some???)









The whole collection of pictures is here (assuming the link works this time!), but this one is a surprise even to me. It's the bud of a purple cone flower! Isn't that texture fabulous????










I am grateful for:
Getting close to being done with my "spider quilt"
Lazy summer days- they are SO rare!
A dress that doesn't need to be ironed
Really bad movies (you can't beat this one!)
Good music at Pandora