Out and About ~ Welcome Summer

 

Hi everyone! Summer has arrived! We went from down jackets to shorts in just a couple days. [or is it just a cruel hoax by evil Springtime?]. My friend L has the best birthday, always Memorial Day weekend. We went out earlier this week for some fun shopping---she is such a sweetheart, so good-natured, she indulged my choices, albeit packed in a two-hour window of time.

First returns to Old Navy! All the shorts and the gauze sundress I was so excited about were waaaay too big. Girls, we'd all fit in that dress! Then Trader Joe's for potted herbs. But no tarragon or rosemary or lavender.

Instead I got cheeses, peonies, and rainbow radishes.

Yum. They will be a maybe inspiration for the next [faux] Sarah Sporrer hand app'ed block.

The peonies are so beautiful! And stock. More on this later.

Then we went to the little, not so little? church flea market.

It was very well stocked, halfway between thrift-shop and flea.

They let us in! I thought it opened at 2 PM but nooo, new hours are 5-7 pm. It was lovely with no other shoppers. L just left cash by the door for her find. I didn't buy but had so much fun looking. [notice the interesting ceiling in the old rec hall, like a reverse Viking ship, w teak buttresses etc!]

Lots of china...

I loved the teapot with the white-on-white dimensional flowers, below/ center far left.

Interesting linens.

Once I'd have snapped up this jar of buttons but as the years go by, I want less not more, sadly.

Sometimes good things are shoved under the tables, like these ironstone platters. I like the square ones to hold quilt blocks in work.

Holidays! Have to keep an open mind, they do nice booths for pretty much year-round cast offs. Halloween ~

love both matte punkin and BOO mug.

Thanksgiving~

Turkey platters

Nice pink transferware Woods platter, scene of Pilgrims and Indigenous people at First Thanksgiving.

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Back home I arranged my flowers. 

They almost look like a bride' bouquet.

peonies don't last long but just once a year they're a  must for me.

The pretty bouquet inspired me to begin the switch to just blue and white for summer.

I left this photo, even though Mo, left home alone, made chaos of the cushions, because you can sort of see my big widows and how they look right out to the dunes and ocean.

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I worked hard all week, here is an update on Silent Night. Its main body is put together and oh my goodness, even without the borders it is enormous. A monster quilt. I'll make the borders as narrow as possible but the applique prevents much trimming on three sides. It's just so much too big, sigh.

                                                                     ...............

Mo had his annual ten years old checkup. He got a good report! We had the really nice vet who understands Pugs, but I was still worried sick all week. But good news, "in good shape for ten!" Yay, Mo.

Tomorrow is planting day, I hope. My back and hips are so painful. Then I have one more week til June 1 to finish Giant Night, its new name.

Google pic. These red clover have returned with the coreopsis. 

Have a great weekend! Welcome Summer of 24.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

Mid-May / Spring 24 ~ Some Bramble Berries , Some other Quilts, Pansies, Asparagus.

 

Hi everyone! Another grey and dreary day, more November than May. [except November here is beautiful] I read a weather story and it said, if I got it right, we have had only 3 sunny days so far this year?! No wonder I crave bright colors!

25 mph gale blowing too. My pansies are struggling wind damages their delicate petals.

I remember the first year I lived here. I excitedly filled my then-extensive crock collection with red geraniums, rosemary and lavender. I had this very Med theme in my head. I planted in early May, on KY Derby Day, as my dad always did all my life in the Midwest. By June all the plants had rotted off and were done. This year my coreopsis is flourishing though. Years of experimenting and lucky choices of mixed seed packs have helped my little garden adapt and grow.

This week I worked diligently on Silent Night! I may make my deadline of June 1st! Tho prob not the backing. 

I find I am loving the deep blues again, inspired by the current curated group of quilts on Instagram's Flying Geese.  @_flying.geese_ 

 All her quilts are inspiring, as is her dedication to donating a portion of sale proceeds to charitable causes, focusing often on women's needs. Here is the Flying Geese website, for those who don't do IG. The sale is I believe this Thursday, May 23? click HERE 

and archive of beautiful ''sold'' quilts, for an enjoyable online quilt show: archive HERE

This fabulous stack [all hand washed!] makes me wish I had only bought indigo quilts all these years! Exquisite one at a time, stunningly beautiful in a stack.

This week I purchased Jan Patek's Noah's Ark Quilt pattern, on sale for around 5.oo. I've always wanted to make a red and white Noah's Ark quilt! But seeing these blues, I wonder if it should be blue and white instead? ...Or, realistically, made in Jan's original prim colors, as my vision is to reduce the size and display it with my wooden Noah's Ark, carved and painted by my parents, gifted over many years. [a new pair of creatures! maybe more!---every Christmas. 33 pairs!]

Anyway it will be one of my sit and sew projects for the coming summer when Mo and I have our outdoor hour together each afternoon. ( "rain stops July 1, Mo, I promise!")

                                                     pattern pic, below/ vintage original by Jan Patek

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This week I had a huge positive breakthrough with Bramble Berries [Bramble Blooms1]. After losing out on wonderfully right vintage blocks 

a few weeks ago, persistence paid off and I won an auction from the same eBay seller @ebay.evintage. Only 12.50! Nice and clean, no musty smells or stains--always a bonus.

The Plan:

It arrived Monday after my medical treatment, but I couldn't wait to open it and I was so filled with joy. It is so perfect! 

Yes it's very bright and very wonky. Yes!  Wonky is so good! And improv-ish. The energy of a creative impulse. I love wonky. I rarely fix the oddities of the old quilt tops and blocks I use. 

Lizzy colors!
  

I even found, gasp! polyester doubleknit squares.

There's one damaged section but easily removed or reworked.

I hung it up to just look and enjoy. I love the wonkiness, the movement the exuberance. 

It took me until today to discern a pattern or plan. It seems to actually be a strip quilt. There are rows of Four Patch / Nine Patch blocks in an Old Italian Pavement setting; separated by bright solid sashing. Then alternating rows of wide sashing and Nine Patch blocks. I'll explore this in a future post, it's okay if you can't see that. And it's fine if you're horrified by the  wild colors and crazy piecing. Because...it is exactly what I imagined, even though BB1 is improv, I always just ''knew''.

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Meanwhile, in the kitchen: this past week I ordered asparagus even though I never cook after an IV treatment, too groggy to cook safely.  A bundle of the oddest skinny stalks arrived, about the size of worsted weight yarn, I mean 3/16". Eeeew. Like eating grass trimmings! 

But I can't bear to waste food, and the fresh veggies don't keep forever, so I chopped the spears and sauteed them in butter and olive oil with sliced lemon and garlic, added a dollop of fat free Half and Half cream and some leftover bearnaise sauce I found on the fridge shelf. Lots of black pepper and tarragon. Tonight's dinner, tossed with pasta or fresh ravioli, perfect for yet another rainy night.

Mo says Hi! and it's time for his walkies. 

Have a lovely week.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

surfing beach, not this May.