May Goal

My goal for May is to sew together the 25 blocks pictured here.  They are part of my version of Bonnie Hunter's Grassy Creek mystery.  I had stalled out when we got to the part with sewing all the strings.  I am still unsure I want to sew all the strings, so I set this one aside.  I decided a good way to decide what to do is simply start assembling the parts of the blocks I like and go from there.


I'm also working on a project made almost entirely from my scraps.  Here is a literally very small piece of the project.  {The only thing I purchased was backing fabric specific to this project's recipient.}  Bonus points to me for figuring out how to draw up and print my own foundations in EQ8.

Of course I am also quilting.  I returned two quilts to their owners over the past few days and worked on a few others.  

Here's a sneak peek of a guild project.  I forget which charity this will fundraise for. I chose to quilt it with the Curlique pattern.  I always wonder if this one should be pronounced "cur-leek" or "curlicue". 

I also put one of my own on the frame and quilted it yesterday.  My daughter helped me with layout and we wanted it to have beachy vibes.  The quilt pattern itself is called "Under the Sea" by Sue Pfau.  I quilted it with Star Lights. This pattern made me think of star fish and sea shells.

I'm still working on removing all the foundations from my For the Love of Geese quilt top.  It's going a bit faster than I expected; however, I'll still be glad when that step is done.

I am happy to report that I have filled a book box with quilting books, patterns, and other assorted things that I will donate to the Treasure Shop fundraiser for the other guild that I belong to.  There's one box less stuff in my room. Progress!

I am really happy that I was able to spend the weekend buying flowers.  It was really relaxing and rejuvenating and I'm glad I took the time to go outside and do something I mostly enjoy.  Here is my haul from one of the four places I went.  Also, did you know you can buy sugar at Menards?  You'll pay a premium, but it's there.  

I also couldn't pass up these beet plants (bought two, only one pictured).

Part of the process that I don't really enjoy is pulling weeds.  I wouldn't mind it that much other than we have a major spearmint infestation in our lower garden.  We planted one of those little square containers and it went insane.  I do not use chemicals in any of my gardens or my yard, so pulling the spearmint out by hand is the only way to get rid of it.  We all worked on it as time, the weather, and, for two of us, our out of shape, middle-aged bodies, would permit.  We made a good dent, but there is a lot more to go.  We found that using cultivators to loosen up the mulch really helped with getting down to the roots. If you ever feel the urge to plant spearmint, don't!  The only good thing I can say about it is that the deer don't eat it.
If you have really sharp vision, you might see all the milkweed coming up in the photo below.  It makes the garden look a bit sloppy as summer goes on, but we can host monarchs.  Last week I saw a sparrow eating dandelion fluff in my lawn.  That was a new one.

All the irises are starting to bloom.

This one is called Batik.  It looks really good this year.  I'm not seeing many buds on my ultimate favorite, which is Crater Lake Blue.

I saw my first hummingbird Saturday (hence needing to buy sugar at Menards).  We have a few orioles, though not as many as last year.  We have a few grosbeaks as well, again, not as many as usual.  We have found a robin nest up on our back yard flood light; a bluebird nest in the box on the veggie garden, complete with five babies; and several house finch nests.

Over all, it's been a pretty good week.  I'm excited that my teenage son will soon be eligible to get his vaccine.  He's been home this whole school year, but will need to go back to in-person next year, so knowing that he'll have some protection is a relief. Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to get your vaccine.  🙂

Linking with For the Love of Geese and My Quilt Infatuation.


3 comments

  1. LOL on the spearmint and deer! Wow, your irises are beautiful! You're ahead of us, flower-wise. Bluebirds in the box, another wow!!! Beautiful quilting, too, of course!!!

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  2. Yay for you, printing foundations in EQ8! That's my favorite feature. Your gardening sounds so exciting! I used to get excited about buying plants in the Spring, but I've grown disillusioned after too many years of watching them wither and die in my garden. The only flowers I can be trusted with are the ones made of fabric!

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  3. You've had a very productive week and I chuckled at the lone sugar in the cart. Your flowers are beautiful, wonder if spearmint would be good ground cover for the north side of my house where only hosta will thrive. Love your and your customer quilts.

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