I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Farmers' Market Strawberries, Blueberries

Hi guys!



Ha! I thought I'd come home today from the farmers market with a wonderful picture story about luscious juicy bright red just-picked strawberries. But NO! Seems the crop is very late because of the chilly spring.

But I do have strawberries and blueberries for you, in my etsy shop.



Made from a single Civil War [?] era quilt square!



The faded rosy red print looked like strawberry vines to me.


sold


Some patches were soft sage-khaki. Another square in this group of old blocks shows the calico print pattern was once pansies. sigh. I didn't cut that block up.


sold


Strawberry gelato, creamy/ tan and pink now, 150 years later.




Blueberries--or should I call them blue strawberries?



This one has lots of black, with tiny pale pink-y flowers.





sold


This berry is all cadet blue, obviously a stronger fabric or dye here. [And its presence makes me think these blocks are worked on through the late 1800s?]


 
 

 
 
This quilt was my photo prop today. I wanted to show it to you---it too is a rescue quilt, from my flea. For some reason any quilt that appears there is unloved, tattered, dirty. I feel compelled to bring them home and save them.


''postage 9-Patch'' or ''Single Irish Chain''


Like the blue polka dots quilt I showed you a few weeks ago, I intended to sell this baby but just look at the adorable tiny 1" pastel squares.


 And fine if simple quilting.



Too sweet to end up a ''cutter'' on eBay, right? (I say that as my quilts cupboard bulges like a fat guy at a pie eating contest, lol. I have taken to hanging newer purchases in my winter coat storage closet. The coats can go to storage at the dry cleaner....)

Back to the market: asparagus is still very in season. I made fresh pasta with asparagus, lemon and feta cheese for dinner. Just those simple ingredients , no recipe. Add some butter, lots of black pepper. Yummy on a foggy night.

And peonies were the flower of the week. Peony season---just a short week or two in early June.

 
The display was very creative, all kinds of old milk bottles and pickle jars. My thrifting heart just went a-pitter patter.

 
I loved her twig chair.

 

This grower's flowers were so beautiful, though pricey at 15.oo for 6 stems.


What's blooming in your garden?

love

lizzy

gone to the beach......



still waiting June 4, 2014


piping plovers doing a mating dance

15 comments:

  1. Very sweet strawberries and blueberries. I can see why you wanted to rescue that quilt too--so lovely! Some day I intend to have a peony plant in my yard. So many fond memories at my grandmothers.:)

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  2. Love the strawberries and the little quilt. It will be a week or two before my peonies bloom. Everything is about 2 weeks behind here.

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  3. Fun strawberries! My rugosa's are on the verge of blooming and my mock orange has started blooming as well. Not much else, still having cold nights.

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    1. I bet you have gorgeous roses, it s a fairly temperate growing zone way out west where you are, isn t it?

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  4. Your strawberries will last much longer than fresh ones! I like the dark one with the bright blue stripe. I love the quilt, too, and would hate to see it cut up since it's in such good shape!

    We had a week or two of very warm weather and it blasted my tulips and my peonies, they only lasted a day or two each. Now I have yarrow and my wild geraniums blooming, and the nigella is starting. I was looking for the seeds I scattered and discovered I have a bumper crop of elms and maples coming up in the flowerbed, ugh! THAT'S going to be a pain.

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    1. I thnk my nigella you sent me is growing! I am seeing the ferny leaves, in my deck planters, not in the seed pots. That must be the cranesbill.....And I have 2 sunfllowers, about 5" tall. Yay. Seeds are so fun.

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  5. My grandma has masses of lily of the valley that she brought from Alsace as a young bride. I wish I had some of her plants. I loved the tiny flowers growing under her big pine tree.

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  6. The peonies at my neighbors' garden only have tight buds. Only one of their peonies survived H Sandy. But I think the farm growers get theirs to bloom faster somehow. And of course it is warmer away from the ocean.

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  7. Huh. Blogger is acting up, replies are coming out as comments. But you ll find them, right?

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  8. Love your berries! Great way to use the fabric. It seems like everything is blooming all at once. Roses, Sib iris, mountain bluet, lily of the valley, and dogwood. It smells incredible! Have a great week ! Kit

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  9. Oh, I LOVE PEONIES, such happy flowers. Just when you think can't possibly open up anymore, they do. I'd love to have some in my yard, but I don't think they'd grow out here. I was in MD last week and dug up some lily of the valley from my Dad's yard to try out here....again. Fingers crossed, but I'm not expecting much. Hydrangeas and geraniums are blooming here, but not much else. The lilacs and iris have come and gone.

    Kel

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    1. Hi! I had missed you! Maryland must be beautiful this time of year, hope you had a wonderful visit.

      Let me know if the lily of the valley takes hold, I tried three times this spring and nothing grew. Yet my neighbor has a big spread of LoV in his front yard, so they must grow here....

      lizzy

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    2. Huh, maybe the spring was too cold, but that doesn't explain why your neighbor can grow them and you can't. And yes, MD was very pretty. When we were in Ocean City we stayed in a beachfront hotel, it was a little long in the tooth, but the view was worth it. --Kel

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  10. Love the quilt and flowers and little berries you make. I keep thinking I should send you my stash of vintage material. Maybe someday you will get a surprise package in the mail. It's so hard to part with as my grandmother gave me these scraps to use in a quilt but I never get around to it. My peonies are out and my roses too. Thank God I don't have to purchase them….. Keep enjoying your flea markets Lizzy. They are such fun aren't they…….

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  11. I am going to send you a link for a quiltalong, the blogger is using her vintage fabrics. Maybe you ll be inspired! The pattern is a pdf downlaod and looks really fun.

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Hi! I'm allowing comments from everyone, even anonymous for awhile, to see what happens. With comments moderation. Hopefully the awful porn spammer has gone elsewhere. Or you can always email me! I love to hear from everyone.