flower fun and another meandering

I recently saw this great display at a local nursery, 
and had to share the smile:

Makes me want to go round up all the old wagons I have stashed in the barn, and find a place to hang them! :)

Also, I got to meander over another baby quilt,
this time for Bev:
 
I think she chose great colors and prints along with a whole bunch of white-on-white fabrics.

I really liked the fabrics and colors and will have to remember this color scheme for a later date!

Thanks for visiting!
Hope your day is great!

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!

signs of almost Spring...

"It was one of those March days
when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold:
when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

That may be my favorite quote ever,  

and that's exactly how it feels outside this week -

a sign that Spring is surely around the corner!

 

So, other signs that Spring is around the corner?

• when the decor changes from snowmen to bunnies and flowers! :)  I love this string quilt of some of my favorite, Civil War reproduction fabrics.  For those wondering, I used a half-width of muslin for my foundation-piecing of the string-work, so each of the four blocks started at about 22 inches square, then were trimmed and made into a four patch; I quilted it in uneven, concentric squares.

• a sure sign of the coming Spring is when the snow melts off the back deck and my poinsettia 'blooms':

After years of trying, I still don't have the 'put the plant in the closet' timing down, and my plant always blooms for Spring.  :)

• Grand-kiddos still want to sled, but there's no snow left:

.

 so the sleds come indoors. :)

•  I've sent off my Spring-y small-quilt for the swap:

 and liked it so well that I know that I'd like to make one just like it for myself! :)

• it's too muddy to go out to the barn without your boots, and the remedy is a wheelbarrow ride:

Spring fun!!!!! Don't you love the smiles? And the blue/white ticking cloth they found to line the barrow? :)

Hope you're getting signs of Spring, too!

supposedly Spring

Though the calendar says that today is the beginning of Spring,
it sure doesn't feel like it here.  And more snow is predicted this week.

On my daily walk down to the mailbox and back,
I'm on the lookout for the first flowers of the season
pushing their way up through the earth.
This week there are a few crocuses popping up,
which is a sure sign, snow or not, that nicer weather is on it's way.

After all of my treks back and forth to the mailbox, 
I finally found flowers IN the mailbox -
as Karen sent me a quilt to meander over,
and just look at all of those flowers!!:

Isn't it a beauty??!  I love it!

A few close-ups of  flower pots:

Karen said she did this as machine applique before she started doing hand applique.

She does gorgeous work, and it was a pleasure to quilt it for her.

And it was nice to see flowers again! :)

 

Happy first day of Spring and

hope there are flowers in your day, too.

 

 

announcing the new MLQ

From my last post, I only had three comments, so not quite enough support to justify changing this nations'
"Great American Pastime "
from baseball to quilting. 

But, really, imagine what could be accomplished in quilting in the time it takes to watch a major league game!!   How many games a season? 
We may have to create the MLQ...

Major League Quilting.

We'll have to work on making that change, won't we?

Quilting is what I have been working on, though.
Here are a few pics of customer quilts:

The first is a great baby quilt that is Julie's - for her first grandbaby!

I quilted with waves, 'cause there's some of that great Hawaiian themed fabric in it and as the backing.

Then, this is my Great-Aunt Mary's.  String pieced stars that is humongous! and just great colors - so patriotic!

Next up is Mary's.  This is a Bullseye quilt...all of those circles are raw edge, so she is now working on binding and then washing it so all those circles on circles will become fluffy.  I can't wait to see this one all washed and crinkly!!

Then, last, but not least, these two are Carolyn's.  The star one is a mystery night project, I think.  I love the stars and then how the green fabric creates a secondary pattern within the block and the quilt.  And then the adorable leaping frogs!  I quilted loopy meandering with random dragonflys.  I think the recipient will love all the bright, jumping frogs!

And, finally,
a picture of my front flowers...

the jonquils and daffodils are now loosing their blooms,

but these purple things are blooming nicely above the grape hyacinth.....I purchased these "hanging head" bulbs many years ago when I took my mama to Williamsburg, Virginia. 

I can not remember what they were called (let me know if you know what they are), but wish now that I had quite a few more, as they bloom for a while and after the color is gone from all the daffodils. 

Please don't notice how badly this bed needs a cleaning after that winter we had...

Just know that I took the time to smell the flowers today...

have you?