What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Last year we extended the perennial garden to increase the potential for additional plants needing more sun exposure. The "new" section was mulched and this spring I added Peonies and some groups of Lily bulbs. The Peonies were doing great (I had planted four) and then, all of a sudden ,one was dying- and FAST! I tried to baby it, dug it up to replant it and then discovered that the roots were

Last year we extended the perennial garden to increase the potential for additional plants needing more sun exposure. The "new" section was mulched and this spring I added Peonies and some groups of Lily bulbs. The Peonies were doing great (I had planted four) and then, all of a sudden ,one was dying- and FAST! I tried to baby it, dug it up to replant it and then discovered that the roots were

Rain every day this past week has brought out the flowers in the garden and on the veranda. Almost every early morning, the valley and mountain ridge was heavy with clouds. The morning air was cool and almost fall-like, but more humid. Rain brings out the lush green, and everything is growing.

My garden has made progress, strong tomato plants and lots of basil mean freshness yet to come for the table. Squash came up that I didn’t expect, and the parsley is showing promise as well. I have a good number of flowers, and even some tiny green ...

I've been piecing Moda Love Quilts

It is another quiet weekend with lovely cool mornings spent on the veranda, a nice place to read while enjoying the quiet and a hot cup of coffee. Sometimes it is hard to get going with it being so nice outside as it is so tempting to linger a bit longer. The haze from the Canadian wildfires hasn’t been too bad this week, and it is mostly cleared now with a southerly wind pushing it back north. In the garden, my pretty day lilies are starting their blooming season. These flowers only bloom for one day then fade. I ...

It was mostly a quiet week here, with not much going on. I piddled in the sewing room pulling fabric for the swap early in the week, stared at the quilt on the frame with no idea how to quilt it, tidied up a bit, and generally spent days doing next to nothing. I read a really good book, and another that was good but not great. I’ll have reviews on those soon. One morning, My Sweet Babboo called me to the window to see two deer at the edge of the forest where it comes up to the ...

I am finished with orange for the rainbow scrap challenge in May.  I made 3 orange stars from batiks to add to the stars I have been doing this year. I made them this morning. I am just getting up too early any more.

This has been the weirdest year, with temperatures too warm through the entire winter, then just about the time I should be planting, we get overnight freezes. And while my vegetable crops did well from seeds in the basement, they didn’t survive when transplanted. I did harden them off for several nights, then put them in the planter where I usually grow tomatoes. Then we went on our MINI adventure, and the rain we were supposed to have that week didn’t come. So, off to the garden center to get the annuals for all the pots, and a ...

 FOOD

I'm currently at the beginning of a couple months where I will pick asparagus every day.

I made 25 orange fish school blocks for May's rainbow scrap challenge. I am aiming for 320. I am a 2/3 of the way there.

dryads saddle

it was little chewy, but tasted great

And we lived to tell about it.

I am linking to:

rsc23 super saturday
oh scrap
wednesday wait loss

Once again this week, I have several things to chat about. Spring is warming up and it puts us in the mood to get outside, change things around inside, and do a little digging in the dirt. Warmer weather also means our car clubs are getting out on our mountain roads for some driving. The MINI club was first up this month with a drive. The red one on the left is ours.

The day started out partly cloudy but warm. Of course, we put the top down, then started out going north from our meeting spot to a road ...

I began piecing this apple core quilt top

in Jackson, Wyoming in 2009... 

 Hey Quilty Friends!  Yesterday was a quilting bust.  I didn't even step foot into the Studio.  The morning was spent relaxing (surfing the internet).  Then as soon as it was warm enough to get outside it was time to start working in the garden.

It was overcast several days this past week, but those days were the only ones I had to try to get some wildlife photos. I sat on the veranda for a while, quiet and still until the birds felt safe and came back to the feeder. I watched the bluebirds go in and out of the house building a nest. This was so fun to see.

The male sat in the oak tree for a photo, then few off to help gather nesting materials.

The house is in the redbud tree, hanging from a lower limb, but high enough off ...

I finally got some time to do some sewing this week, finish a book, and take some photos of the garden. The daffodils continue to produce more blooms, such happy faces. I now have three separate areas in bloom, with a fourth one on the way.

This one next to the retaining wall is doing well.

In the front, these are in the hosta bed, and are the first things to come up.

In the front flower bed, three little hyacinths are trying to put on a show. The creamy yellow one looks pretty, and smells so good.

Near the ...

It has been a warmer than usual winter so far, with a few cold days here and there. We usually have two snows in a winter, but there hasn’t been a single day of snow this year so far. It makes me concerned that we will get a late freeze that will damage the local apple crop. Anyway, the warming afternoons have woken up some bulbs. I first noticed these coming up around the dormant lemon tree that is in a pot. The pot was in the Carolina room to protect it from freezing. I actually don’t remember ...

Baking your own sourdough bread can be a fulfilling and delicious experience. On and off for over a decade, I have been making sourdough bread. I recently decided to start milling my own flour. This is a new experience for me and I am excited to share the journey and insights I have gained in the process. With the help of some organic hard white wheat berries, a healthy homemade sourdough starter, and a few simple steps, I have been able to produce artisanal, homemade sourdough bread with unique flavors and textures. I have made almost a dozen loaves of ...