Songbirds and Flower Seeds

Hi! It is Friday---again. Today was the first warm day of the year, with mainland temps in the 70s and here in the low 60s. But very beautiful bright sunshine. It's been too cold to plant but as today is May 15, it is getting to be a now or never kind of thing. I had been so happy to find not only the white envelope with zinnia seeds but another manila envelope with many seed packs.

Ha, joke is on me. I  had forgotten that I saved the empty seed packs from previous years as I experiment with growing from seed instead of buying pre-grown plants.

Almost all the packs were empty! How disappointing.

And what I thought were zinnia seed heads is one zinnia and one small undeveloped sunflower head. Not going to get much from those.

I did find a full package of the Save the Bees mix, from when I gave the packs away with my Bees inspired lavender sachets.

The last of the love-in-a-mist seeds from Mel. I added them to the mix.

The three big pots were all prepped with weeds pulled and new soil. One pot got the elephant ear bulb and bulbettes, from last summer, plus the amaryllis plant that I'm recycling.

One pot has  red lilies planted a few years ago; they have increased and filled the big pot,along with the volunteer coreopsis, back again this year, though less volume of plants. I put some of the zinnia seeds around the edges of the lilies because once they bloom, they die off quickly. My hope is that the zinnias will fill in.

And the last big pot got the rest of the zinnia seeds, the sunflower head, and the Bees seeds and nigella. That will be my main growing garden this year. I eliminated all the extra and smaller pots, I just could not keep up with toting three large watering cans out there, twice a day, from May to November. Too much work, the weight of the watering cans hurts my hips. If I'd known however that I'd be here isolating all summer Id have chosen otherwise I think.

I sill would like to find a solar fountain.

After the seed planting, Mo and I sat out for an hour of sewing.

He is still being bad mannered and hypervigilent.

''All'' the people going by, talking, laughing, biking, even scootering!---it is so different from the quiet winter days. I bought this gadget, a high frequency noise maker that is supposed to interrupt a dog's focus and stop their barking. But I'm afraid to use it, what if Mo finds the sound painful? I wouldn't hurt him for the world, better to put him inside to nap instead. I don't think his barking is so bad--he is, after all, just  protecting me and his home--- but I have one neighbor who complains asap at the very first yap.

I stopped today's deck clean up in favor of the sewing; the wind really picked up by  afternoon.. Too windy for my table and umbrella to be out. Gale off the ocean, maybe 35-40 mph.

You may recall Mo is afraid of wind. He also didn't like the flickering lights as the electricity hung on/off by a thread. So he built himself this little fort/ nest on the sofa that has its back to the big window wall. Out of sight , out of mind, he napped away the sunset hours.

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

This week I made the Songbird pincushions using the embroidered state bird blocks I found on FB Marketplace.

The embroidery is so beautifully done, shame the quilt was cut up [not by me!].

The Bluebird is for me,

The cactus wren is for a friend in Arizona. I'm picturing her bringing it to her weekly applique sewing group [how fun is that!] when that resumes. My friend's grandma made beautiful state bird embroidered quilts, so I hope she likes my idea and finds it useful, along with sweet memories.

I added a vintage celluloid acorn to the wren's beak. I don't think they have acorns in AZ, but I love the button, have saved it for years.

I have small metal bar plaques that say something like Creativity is a Gift, not sure if I'll add.

The backs are this favorite brown fruit print.

I filled the pincushions with  fiberfill and some plastic beads for weight, because my friend has allergies. I'd like to try the walnut hull filling someday, but that is for next time, I suppose.

Earlier this week, after I wrote about this FG project here on my blog, I decided I better get it started in case I needed a hand work project soon.  My version, below, so far only fused. [wow, awesome fusible!. I'll add the name of the fusible later, and/ or it is mentioned on the FG website in my previous post.

The design went together really easily. There were only the 5 needed large flower pairs available , so there wasn't much to think about. Added some little ditsy daisies to fill in. The left side especially looks a little bare, but it will get embroidered buds and there's also the antique button flowers that will balance out the composition, I think.

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

As your state and county reopen, I hope you all will be cautious and stay well. I know I won't be safe for weeks or months and was so sad today as I cancelled my early June thrifting date with B and my birthday dinner planned for L.  I sure miss my friends, good thing I have you guys!

Have a good weekend!

PS I must show you blog friend Julierose's tiny Blue Baskets. I had sent her some scraps, including blues form my Blue Basket. [quilters love to swap fabrics, such a treat.]. Aren't her little 7 1/2" Baskets just darling. She has such a unique style always.  Julie's blog

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.....



2015

April into May Quilt Update

                                     

                                       French General kit ~ fabric collage

Hello, hello! It's Monday and so begins Week 11 [12?] of the coronavirus staying home times. Today I have a little round up of quilt projects worked on in April and on now into May. The year is almost half over! What have I accomplished? Well. January and February were okay, but March was pretty much a dazed and confused loss for me. The uncertainty is appalling---will I get the virus, will my friends and family? Will we die? It's hard to maintain that level of crisis though and by mid-April the days seemed lonely and quiet but  more normal despite the tedium of making masks, masks, masks.

 I thought Mo's dog walker would resume her visits by now, I thought I'd be able to run essential errands---but I guess NOT. 

So I narrowed my world down to my little projects. I treated myself to this interesting kit from French General. here

It wasn't cheap! And it arrived wadded up in a ball, all crumpled. When I contacted FG, the response was, Let us know if anything is not usable. 

Well, again, I ''can'' smooth things out and use the contents, but I like things looking new and nice for forty bucks, I think $50.oo with shipping. Color me sad. Let down, disappointed.

Their logo is so darling. A scooter made of safety pins!

The blue, "French Blue" is outstanding.

                                                

The Basket block is authentically antique and very pretty, with fine quilting.

The applique fabrics are beautiful and generously sized.

There were  couple reasons to try this kit, beyond I want it.

The  applique fusible is one I have never used, so  an opportunity to try it out. And the threads supplied are a brand often mentioned in quilt and embroidery groups, but are very expensive and not readily available here. This is a chance to try the threads out .

Included is a backing, a new to me fabric Moda's Sashiko cotton canvas. hereThe indigo threads mimic the hand sewed lines of Japanese stitching called sashiko and also have the feeling of boro [Japanese mending] and Indian kantha quilting, all interests of mine. Opinion, the fabric is lovely but very perfect of course; it lacks the handmade charm of its inspiration crafts.

I also wanted to see French General's new lawn fabrics. here Lawn is an expensive, fine but sturdy, thin cotton, originally used for nightgowns and infant clothes, blouses sometimes nowadays. The fabric enclosed is, I think, their regular quilting cotton, actually more appropriate for applique anyway.

And look at these darling antique buttons.

                                                 

I'm trying to get past the damaged wad it arrived in, and hope to have the project set up soon for deck sewing if the sun should deign to appear this year.

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

Next has been cutting 2 1/2" squares for the It's Yellow quilt. On days when  feel stressed and unfocused I can still manage to sit and cut the squares.

Now I am wondering what I should use for the main background of the quilt? Lori asked me if I have cheddar yardage, and yes I do. It is a truer mustardy cheddar, not brown as the photo appears, on the left.  I also have chrome yellow calico yardage, on the right.

Not sure which I prefer.

When I showed this fabric online awhile ago, I got a snide comment, Oh I remember THAT one from the 80s  [when calicos weren't ''authentic'' was the unsubtle message]. Well yes  or no but it's 30 or 40 years old and I love it.

I don't have enough maybe of the vintage-y chrome yellow yardage but I have a bunch of chrome yellows from the "Hideous'' project [Jamestown] that I could mix in. I have three yards of the vintage yellow, six of the cheddar. (School bus yellow is chrome yellow / cheddar is chrome orange. The nicknames are modern affectations.)

Or...isn't this the most beautiful perfect repro blue? Found online. [if the photo doesn't show, it is faded indigo with tiny white moons and stars.]

It would be so cute with its celestial motifs, to go with the moons and stars of the borders. But. I've been choosing my scraps---you know I don't do scraps---I guess with the yellow in mind and I'm not thrilled. Photos are very useful design tools for quilting ideas and decisions. What do you think? Which yellow? Or blue? A blue quilt would be so much more useful.

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

First three Stars for Blackbirds project.

pattern envelope

pinterest, by I think Lorraine Hoffmann
I like her version with more crows.

Mine will of course be far brighter, because that's just me....

Do I redo the large star's background that is wonky and wrinkly? It is actually square/ rectangular but the shirt I used had cut darts that skewed the lines and made ripples.

Vintage blue velvet from my friend B.

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

I fibbed, there have been a few---3?--- sunny days. I finished the December block of Year in the Country.

I eliminated the ant-like deer and focused on Peace.

And today we braved the wind and sat out.

I finished all but two snowflakes on November. The pink moon will always remind me of the pink supermoon moon in that May of the coronavirus and the snow we had in that same May, the other night.

That block is the final block, so exciting! Why is that this block, my very favorite, is the last laggardly block? I loved it to much to let it go or what?

                                                      

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

And a couple sneak peeks.

Blue Baskets!

And 18 Baby Pineapples finished yesterday.

                       

                                   

That's all for now.

   

love

lizzy

gone to the beach................

...........

 PS This is another of the FG Baskets. Aren't they a delight!  I love this one, love red and brown combo.

HERE