Posies etc. A Bright and Happy Quilt

 

Hello! What a gorgeous day to welcome the weekend. Memorial Day , last week, was a rainy washout, but this looks so good! The wild roses are thriving. Honeysuckle and sweetpea should add to the perfumed air this coming week. The scent of early summer, if we could capture it  and bottle it somehow.

And the beaches are actually open, if not very utilized.

And! We have whales. Young ones , fairly close to shore. [these are local news screenshots, I didn't see them myself].

I like whales but not sure I want to actually swim with them, tho I am told they're gentle. They just want to play!

Lots of baby birds. This pic is from a friend as he golfed the other morning. 

Mostly I did house chores and sewed on Boardwalk. Inspiration pic to remind you, below. I was esp pleased to complete the odd fill-in vertical bars on the left. They actually set up the entire central portion, so they were essential if not interesting.

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The weather forecast for the next few weeks looks good! And  I always  like to have some handwork to bring out on the deck. Sadly carrying on without my little Mo to keep me organized. 

I cut more Posies and pieced a few.

I' ll needleturn the big center circles. I had planned to do solid cheddar centers, but how boring is that. Instead I pulled an assorted group of batiks. Nice hand and  visual textures. Most will be this cheddar.

I also found enough chartreuse polka dot fabric for the leaves; my leaves are bigger than JP's pattern leaves. 

And--Yes the fabric choices and colors are getting crazy.

Here is the original inspiration crib quilt. I may still make it someday, I do love it.

Here is the inspration bundle.

And most will be used. Really. 

But lots of fun other prints are sneaking in. Why not? It's an homage to a time of great joy for me, replacing tears with smiles. This quilt is commemorating my small but loudly colorful deck garden and my many hours years spent sewing there with Baby Mo.  So the colors are exuberant. Eye popping. Trust me, they'll work! 

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I also pulled out an unfinished Lighthouse block, maybe it's time to finish these? Ancient.  90s? early 2000s? I used to make a block every August when I'd go ''home'' to Cape Cod. Only lighthouses I actually visited were allowed. This is Cape Cod Light, also called Highland Light. It's on the east coast just north of Nauset Light.

 Ok! That's a few days' work planned.

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Last night, last minute, I decided my new little drinks basket-tray needed a liner. Full moon tomorrow, will it be a Full Moon Cheers/ Welcome Summer night? Or should we wait for, um, July?

First version---Ooops. Rushing. Sewing at midnight, my happy time.  Roughly patched together batting remnants made for lumpy ugly results. It seemed like a Fail. 

I set it aside and was going to toss it or make a mug rug....

...but today I added a lot of machine quilting--the only freestyle  quilting I do at all well. Waves aka Wavy Gravy.

Yes! So cute and so nicely scrunched after a good wash w the day's laundry. 

It will be trimmed to fit and edged with either the red gingham bias [too picnic?] or crisp white ric rac [too cutesy?]. No one but me will notice or care.

Unlike BW that I labor over, this is a true improv piece. 

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A ''big'' summer sew on the  deck/beach plan has been  the intention to sew the bindings on quilts I sent last winter to my wonderful quilter. [Noah's Ark, Jack o Lanterns, Grey Baskets, Christmas mini: all of 2025's work]. But life happens, there's a delay and at this point I am fine with waiting til the time is good for Lori C. Her work is well worth any wait.

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Garden is doing well, two or three weeks in.

Today these beautiful blue flowers appeared.  Volunteers or reseed. I think they're Flax, but the  phone plant id app says "Baby Blue-eyes" ? 

Hope your weekend is wonderful, enjoy!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

this time, last year....

Random May

Happy Friday!  Memorial day weekend took me by surprise.  We had the first thunderstorm of the summer yesterday! It was a rare brief very hot day, maybe 80* away from the waterfront, brilliant sunshine. My friend came to visit and we were so admiring the gorgeous summer day--think down parkas the day before--for our thrifting expedition.

Then-- B decided to leave early and 2o minutes after she headed out, this rolled in!

The sky got green even--to this midwestern girl, that says tornado! But no. This warning aired today--better late than never?

Shopping was a great big fail, I felt so bad. Around January we started seeing IG posts about enticing locally new ''thrift shops". We were so excited, only for me to discover last minute that these aren't thrift shops but fancy schmancy ''vintage", [think 90s, 2000s] clothing shops. Curated, omigosh. How pretentious is that! 

I don't want second hand Chanel, I want Ralph Lauren plaid shirts/ $5.oo that I can chop up for my quilts. A used Chanel bag, a Givenchy dress, size 0 / hundreds of dollars price tag, are useless to me.  Primped and curated offends my treasure hunting soul.

An apologetic about the new style of thrift shops, if you're interested  HERE snippy. entitled, no fun

We then decided to make the long drive to the only Good Will here. Luckily I checked. ALL Goodwills in SE NY have closed. For those not in US, GW is/ was a for-profit thrift shop. Good finds, very random. We went to Home Goods instead . 

I always enjoy looking. This is the year of strawberries and cherries. On all the summer clothes catalogs too. Who decides these silly fads? We've had pineapples, mushrooms, flamingoes, pumpkins, I forget what else, lol. Garden gnomes?

Imagine this--repro Strawberry Shortcake. How silly is that.

I loved this glass thing. I thought it was a fountain, quite large, but maybe a solar patio lantern?

Stripes were ''in'' also and junky coastal seashell prints on towels and table cloths. Do they stock coastal in Kansas,? Idaho? or just here. I wonder. Again, a No.

I got a few little things: new silverware to replace my mismatched supply, a cute little tray w darling scallops for drinks and snacks on the deck. Pretty boxes: one for letters and journals I refound and one with Mo's keepsakes.

We were hot and tired, so picked up our fabulous Italian dinner takeout  here and headed home. Since Mo's passing, my friend is able again to enjoy coming to my home for dinner or visits.

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 I haven't done any quilting this week. I did make a birthday gift. One of my signature winter sweater  storage sachets made using a favorite real vintage [1920-30s] fingertip towel. 

And just now I made a Teach Me How to Sew dress for my little friend. 

                                                        

We hope to do some lessons this summer. If anyone has any advice, I need it. I was an early sewer, by 6  I could make fairly elaborate Civil War era dresses for my Hitty-style peg doll, and piece small quilts. I don't remember really learning to sew. Just first embroidery lesson and helping sew the curtains for my ''big girl'' bedroom. Both sessions w my dad. We even to a fabric outlet in the city for the curtain fabric: violets on creamy chintz/ lavender, purple, and aqua sprigs. We painted the walls same way, aqua w a lavender focus wall, shiny white moldings and doors. And I got a purple plush rug! Maybe was 4? Not sure how to teach this child, who has maybe never even seen a needle. But I know we will have fun.

Here's the most basic dress I could design. For 14" American Girl doll.

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I've mostly gotten my garden going. Look what is sprouting just one week in! 

Ladybug got new paint. She's still looking for MoMo tho, as I am.

The big wildflower pot is thriving unaided by me. Most of the greenery is coreopsis which self seeds. A favorite.

And look what bloomed. Russian Wallflower in a perfect Lizzy cheddar. Outstanding in a tiny wildflower sort of way.

 I remember it from a Botanicals wildflower pack but it never bloomed. I now see it's a biennial, so ignored by me it is blooming on its second year.

Rain this holiday weekend, then it'll be June. June can be cold and wet or hot and sunny. It is our sort of nod to spring.

Have a great weekend.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

the roses are less but the storm survivors are valiantly in bloom.

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PS If I'd had more time at Home Goods, I think I'd have bought these pretty classic books. Below beloved Anne of Green Gables was a lovely copy of Little Women. I'd reread them this summer then give to my little friend when she is older. Maybe I ll get back soon.