Road Trip!

It is finished, packed full of little goodies for the grandkids, now just awaiting my carriage. And here they are!

When I love the fabric, the work flies!

I was super busy planting my vegetable garden the second week of May. All of the indoor plants got hardened off and were getting too big for their britches, so happily into the garden they went. Seeds shared and ordered were lovingly poked into their little beds. This after Mike dug rocks out of the dirt. Last year I dug out rocks, about 6-8 inches down. Tough going first time down. We tried rototilling, but broke the blades twice. Too many rocks. This year, Mike dug every space not filled by perennials or early stuff. He went down 18 inches to 2 ft. He got 64 wheelbarrows of rocks, about 200 lbs per load. Hauled them down to the edge of the driveway. Then we dug in 2 truck loads of aged horse manure from the neighbors, and also stirred in fertilizer and peat moss, and lime in some spots to offset the clay. Phew! Now I have time to sew, in between weeding and watering my big garden.I had 3 Operation Kid Comfort quilts to finish, and was not feeling very motivated, but I got them done. It is part of my paying forward, and felt good to send them off in the mail today. Then I tackled the living room curtains. I had ideas, but an unfinished room... Auditioned several different fabric colors thinking I'd coordinate with the slate tile pattern under the little black wood stove. Or, maybe to go with the corrugated metal wainscoting. Or, the paint chips Mike had picked. Terra cotta. No, no, and no. After tossing stuff around and hauling fabric up and down the ladder to hold it up over the window, I got the Eureka moment! No photo yet, I'll edit it in, but it is a blend of black and white African print, and some wonky Amy Butler edging.. I realized again that when I love the fabric, the work flies.

Admiration

Perusing blogs on a lazy Saturday evening. I was reading quiltinspiration.blogspot.com and saw some of the incredible work of Ann Feitelson, who is a published knitter "Fair Isle Knitting" as well as an award winning quilter. I was impressed to read that her quilts take several months or longer in the design process. Good stuff doesn't just happen. Here is an example of her work: It is entitled, "Swiss Chard."

May Start

My May goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes is my Sue Spargo tote. In April I blogged about the class. Here is the work in progress. If you are making one of these totes, be forewarned. I did not have spray fuse, so I quilted the lining to the batting. Fine on the sides, but NOT on the base. My error was quilting all 3 layers of the base before sewing it to the sides. I will make do by hand sewing the inner base edge. There is one pocket on the outside (with the handles stuck into it for now.) I added two pockets on the lining, a small one for a key, and a larger one for tools. What tools are indispensable for your tote?

May Day Mischief

As a child, May Day was a celebration of spring. We made little paper baskets at school the day before, and had instructions for early on May first. We were to get up before dawn, fill the little baskets with flowers, leave them on neighbor's doorsteps, ring the bell and hide. Since our mom's perennials were not blooming yet, we picked the neighbor's flowers. Mrs. Geisler had lovely borders of pansies, petunias, marigolds, and primrose. I wish I had a photo of Pam and I in cahoots, in our nighties, tip-toeing through the yards. The morning dew was cold on our bare feet, and the little baskets were so darling. Yesterday I went for a walk with our dog, Abby. A vacant lot is full of spring perennials, so I picked a few to celebrate May Day and spring. We had snow flurries during the day, a reminder from Mother Nature that spring is capricious. Here is the sunset looking south from our front door. What memories do you have of early spring mischief?