What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

    Thank you for all the wonderful comments on yesterday's post. My intention was to encourage current quilters and remind other quilters about the power of the quilt so they can engage in this activity. Many are discouraged and feel like there is nothing meaningful one person can do. Creating and giving enlarges you and makes a difference to  others.

     I have a very small lot. I would love more land. I try to make the best use of it and this year I bought some standing planters (thank you Cathy for encouragement) so I could have lettuce, tomatoes, peppers ...

Summer of 2024 has settled around us here at the wooden house. What is a garden without weeds. You can't have one without the other. I've pulled a bushel and if only they were worth something! A very tall thin plant infested the beds in the front but offered no resistance to the pulling out, roots and all. Horseweed took up residence in the backyard beds-unfortunately not so easy to pull. I've been favouring my right hand...the stitching hand, so the left has had a workout. Ah well, small price to pay for the enjoyment the ...

 Mid July and it is still all about the outdoor gardens both wild and tended, for me these days. To think that just a few short months ago this was all buried under a mountain of ice and snow! And I still hold a strong awe and wonder about the whole wee seed to beautiful blossom process. But I'm thankful too to keep my indoor plants alive and doing well.

 Like the beautiful Ardisia or Coral Berry below I received for Christmas. I took it outside just for a portrait in July sunshine. It has tolerated the eggshell/banana ...

Young robin, pond bathing...

 For some reason, I was really in the mood to sew this week.  It was too hot or rainy outside so I spent my time in my sewing room, playing with fabric.  I finished hand quilting my Put a Ring On It wall hanging, trimmed it and added the binding by machine.  I will work on hand stitching the binding tomorrow. I can't believe how much I enjoyed hand quilting this project...maybe I will have to do some more hand quilting again soon. 

I also finished the cross stitching on my Lupins project and I have started the ...

Bloom where you are planted. I do not remove these when they pop up in spots like this till the blooming is done.

This little guy kept popping his head out. He's living in the tunnel under the back terrace plus has inherited what I imagine to be an elaborate tunnel system all over the property made by groundhogs that came before him. 

Another busy week! I continue to do some hand quilting on my Put a Ring on It quilt most days. I have developed a callus on my left pointer finger... the mark of a hand quilter.  I think I am a little over half finished with hand quilting this wall hanging. 

It was a great Spring for the Lupine...

They make me happy each time I pass by ...

Writing outside this morning. 8 am and already 25 C. We have a heat wave warning but it is very pleasant just now. A little breeze is blowing too. I must be a pessimistic gardener. In front of me is a Blue Beech tree I planted here years ago with little expectation that it would grow. 

Summer has arrived, and with it comes activity with our car clubs. This past week, the British car club held a drive up to the Blue Ridge Parkway with lunch at the Pisgah Inn. Stopping at an overlook on the way home, we couldn’t resist getting a photo of our MINI with the mountains in the distance.

The day started at a local grocery store parking lot where we gathered for the drive. It was good to catch up with friends not seen in a while.

Up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, we motored along. There are 8 tunnels ...

Everything is about the garden these days here in our tiny patch of the world. I tried to think of a word to describe ours and came up with lush. I was exclaiming how the heat has encouraged so much growth; the front area is full and almost overgrown looking so early in the season. Tony pointed out that I've been adding to it each summer for the eight years I've been here. Of course, everything has grown taller and wider over those years. At this point, I won't be adding any more plants/trees to the ...

It's a beautiful time of year right now, there's color everywhere. . .and the quilt blocks under the needle in the sewing room are no exception! I'm still plugging away on the Barn Star Sampler, playing catch up for time missed.I'm back at it again today, stitching blocks. It's hard, though, when I'm distracted by the wonderful world of color that surrounds me just outside the door. What

It's a beautiful time of year right now, there's color everywhere. . .and the quilt blocks under the needle in the sewing room are no exception! I'm still plugging away on the Barn Star Sampler, playing catch up for time missed.I'm back at it again today, stitching blocks. It's hard, though, when I'm distracted by the wonderful world of color that surrounds me just outside the door. What

Making more Pillows...

So are the rhodies on the ...

 I just flopped into my chair feeling a little bit winded. I just cleaned all the baseboards here in the main area and while that was not hard, being on my knees and all the getting up and down was. That is definitely getting to be more of an issue with me. Can't tell you the last time I did them so thoroughly. Such a good feeling to have that satisfying chore done. Some small dust loving creature could have been making a home anywhere here. And a few spiders definitely did!

I made myself a little snack. I ...

Although I didn't have solid plans for yesterday - there was a quilt to trim, applique to cut, etc. —I got none of that done. 

Instead, I was repaying a favor, and someone came to use the long arm, so I spent the day helping with that. WAIT—that was the easy part. She also brought a wonky quilt that we attempted to square up. Hmm—that was quite the mental exercise, and before we knew it, it also turned into a physical one. 

I will say (and I told her) that I disagreed with the construction method, and something ...

 When my friend, Christine, asked me what I was sewing at the guild sewing day, I told her a little white lie.  I told her that I had worked on my sew together bag and that I had finally finished it. She asked me to send her a picture, which I "forgot" to do, until today, when I actually finished it!

The reason why I was not working on my Sew Together bag is because I was making one for Christine for her birthday.  I took her out for a birthday lunch on Friday and gave her the bag, and ...

It's Tulip Time

here in Western Oregon

Winter is behind us ...