May Day

Another May day already!










Time to find some unsuspecting folks 
and drop off some little flower bouquets on their doorsteps!
I have lots of daffodils and grape hyacinth right now
so I'll share those. 
Does anyone else leave May Day baskets anymore?

Also, I've seen the first arrivals of the hummingbirds back in my garden!
That's always exciting to me
catching them flitting around the flowers and shrubs.

This week, I've been working on another UFQ,
stitching together some little, seven inch pot-holder blocks

that I've had finished for a year or more.
(I'm afraid to check to see how long they've really been a work in progress!)
Thinking more on it, I know I started making them 
as take-along samples when I was teaching at
the local reproduction fabric shop... 
so I guess it's probably more like they are two year old UFQ's.
Anyway, after finishing the bindings, 
can you see (above) that I have them safety-pinned into place
and readied for whip-stitching together?
I have a couple of groups of them stitched together and they are table topper sized.
I may, though, stitch the small table-toppers into one bigger quilt.  
Haven't decided yet.

I have my day dedicated to finishing a little boy's quilt 
for a baby shower this weekend...
I'm using my new favorite go-to pattern: 
X-blocks with 16-patch blocks,
(also known as Good Night Irene...)
as it makes a good Eye Spy, I think.
Which is great for little kids.
And great for using more stash & scraps!

I'm off to stitch;
Hope your weekend is wonderful, and
that you, too, can do a little stitching.
Or playing in the garden flowers!

No, "May Day" was not a call for help in this instance

No, I am not in Quilter's Distress.
Well, any more than normal :)
Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy May 1st...

Evidently, I alarmed some folks yesterday with my
May Day, May Day, May Day post title.
My thought?
All caps and BOLD:

MAY DAY - MAY DAY - MAY DAY!!!!!!!!!!

would signal alarm.

(If I ever type three, bold, all caps-May Days,
you know then that I'm distressing!)

But going back to read yesterday's after-the-fact post,
I can see now, my mistake.

 

I'd tried to pull an

old-fashioned tradition into this current time-period.

To top it off,
evidently, only people
"above a certain age"
know that the May Day tradition
of leaving little bouquets of flowers on doorsteps
is a sign of friendship and of welcoming Spring...

And, guess who's above a "certain age" ?
Me.  I'm claiming it.

Anyway, Happy May!

and here's another little floral bouquet picture for you -

this time in fabric, too:

Maybe next year I'll introduce
the May Pole dance tradition back into society! :)

p.s. Sorry about you folks that were hit by a snow storm for May Day.  That could have sent up the MAY DAY alarm :)

May Day, May Day, May Day!

Happy May Day to you!

Peonies budding in the foreground,
red bud bush in the center, 
and in the background, the cherry tree is full of blossoms!

 

I'm so excited!!

The sun is shining here,
it's going to be almost 80 degrees today,
and there are no storm clouds on the horizon.
AND, the blooms have exploded!

I'm not doing my usual May Day tradition
of leaving a small bouquet of blooms
on the neighbor's door steps...
That tradition may have gone by the wayside with most folks,
as I was afraid they would call the police 
if I dropped some flowers, rang the doorbell and ran! :)

So instead, I'll just leave you this photo and
wish you a happy 1st day of May!

Happy May Day

Happy May Day wishes to everyone!

A day late, but better than not at all, I suppose...

I didn't realize it was already May!

Did you ever participate in the old tradition of May Day?

You know, leaving flowers in little baskets on your neighbors' doors?

I know I did a few times...

And I really liked it.  I may have to start doing this again...

some of the neighbors already think I'm off my rocker, so what the hay?!

Anyway, I can't believe it's May already...

that means graduations and weddings and reunions and all that fun stuff is coming up shortly!

I finally did a little more spring cleaning.  Why is that not so fun? 

Is it because there's always soooooo much to do? 

I know that I "save" it up and do it, well, try to do it all at once.

Maybe it would be better to do it more consistently?

Probably, but not my style, I guess. 

Give me a deadline, and I will whirlwind through it.

So, in the spirit of "spring cleaning", 

I did a little hanging and rearranging of "stuff" aka decor.

This is the finished (!!!) "Easy Catch"

 from the BlackBird Designs book "Small Favorites for All Seasons"

(blog link here if you want to see what else Alma and Barb have going on).

I like it a lot... a whole lot. 

The dog-tooth border is my favorite border now. 

 (Subject to change with the next project!) 

I used an old wool camp blanket for the fish - don't you love his belly stripe? 

I used new hand-dyed wool for the flag blue ground and red stripes. 

The rest is cotton from the kit I purchased at Good Wives a while back. 

Now that this is finished, I am allowing myself to start another project...

which one shall it be???

So exciting! 

I think it will be from that new book "Summer Gatherings" by Primitive Gatherings. 

And you may remember, that I cheated and already started one from this book...

when the blue wool  jumped out of the wool bin and onto the cutting table, along with Blue's cousins white and green and yellow?

Remeber the daisies in the Mason Jar...

it just needs stems and framing or quilting.

I think it will go on the wall with the "Easy Catch"

I think I will start filling this wall in the great room with small projects. 

Small, finished projects! 

Or maybe I should stick to the spring cleaning thingy?!

Happy May to you!

and may you have baskets of flowers on your doors!