Garden update

I haven't posted a whole lot about the garden - yet.

We did very well this year getting things started indoors - we've been harvesting windowsill lettuce since before Easter, and just took the "indoor greenhouse" down and packed it away.  The seedlings have all been planted - tomatillo, heirloom tomatoes, peppers, and soybeans all found their start in my dining room, and are now thriving outside.

Potatoes are sprouting, strawberries are berrying and I even have a small crop of blueberries on 1 of the 2 bushes we planted last year (the deer nipped the blossom tips off the other one).

Flowers are flowering...

Rubarb is ... well ...... HUGE!!!

It is looking to be a good year - so far.

 

Dick and Jane and Hexagons - oh my

I have been having more fun with the Dick and Jane fabrics, and the Jaybird Quilts Hex-N-More ruler.  After finishing the baby quilt last week, I had some bits and pieces left over.  I had intended to make a quilt for the faculty/staff appreciation luncheon at my son's school, and as they had learned about hexagons in 2nd grade this year, I thought the shape was a fitting one to use.  The Hex-N-More ruler made it easy for me to cut my scraps into half hexagons for quick assembly, and I added some shirting and a wide panel of the Dick and Jane word print fabric to make this a nice throw size.

For the backing, again I chose to not cut one of the fabric panels, and brought it out to the width I needed with some more of the Dick and Jane text.  A soft yellow star that was included in all 3 Dick and Jane quilts formed the rest of the backing -and with this project I pretty much used up the last of it.

Quilting this was fun.  Jill had brought a selection of different threads with her for me to try, and had a great golden yellow/orange variegated that worked nicely - not overpowering the fabrics but popping nicely to show some quilting detail.  I did some moderately heavy straight lines through the shirting and word panel, then followed the hexagons in a great zig zaggy pattern that shows up nicely on the back and adds some nice dimension to the whole project.

I finished the whole thing with a dark indigo blue/white binding.  I just love the vibrant colors on this.  It will be a door prize at the event - so it could go to anyone at the Munchkin's school.  Last year's quilt was won by someone who works in the cafeteria.  It is a great way to thank ALL the staff that make the school run so smoothly.

 

Design Wall (and floor) Monday

 I've been working on a specific project - and playing a bit.  Two weeks ago, I taught a class at Chestnut Bay Quilting using the Jaybird Quilts Lotus pattern and Hex-N-More ruler.  This was my FOURTH Lotus quilt - and the first time making the twin sized version.  I think I am going to need a bigger floor - it got a little bit tight laying this one out.  This pattern goes together so quickly, though - I started cutting this on May 17 - and as of last night I have 4 of the 6 rows assemble and attached together.  This quilt will be a Christmas gift, so I have a bit of time to figure out the backing and the quilting, though I do have some good ideas.

Using the same ruler - I decided to try my hand at a one-block-wonder.  I had previously done a kaleidoscope technique, and from the reading I had done on OBW, I figured that it was not all that difficult.  With the Hex-N-More ruler, and some great floral I picked up at a bargain basement price, I set to work stacking and whacking.  I was cutting 3.5" triangles, and these little blocks were from the leftover tails of each strip - not wide enough for the 3.5" so I cut out a 2.5".  I think I will put this together into a tote bag panel - perhaps to put the final quilt in?