Catching Up

On Friday, we came home from camping, and are still catching up. I'm thankful that we left before the holiday because Dale Hollow Dam Campground was beginning to fill with barking dogs, screeching kids, and rowdy people. 

I like it much better when it is a quiet shady retreat populated with old folks like us. We're done for the summer; happily abandoning campgrounds so that families with kids can enjoy them.

Obey River: Dale Hollow Dam Campground

Our weekend was spent doing laundry, yard work, and unloading the Sabre. It's nice to settle into our regular routine, although I do enjoy taking a break now and then for impromptu adventures. 

Some much needed quilting time is ahead for me, beginning today. My backlog of projects has grown since I sewed more blocks and designed five new quilts on this trip.

Whether you're catching up, taking a break, or staying with your routines, have a meaningful Memorial Day!

Road Trip

When we were camping in April, I pieced a bunch of four-patch squares in random color combinations. Once we were home, I added a few signature blocks, resulting in this cute 29” table mat called Road Trip. The bright yellow and white dot backing and binding gives it a happy look. It's quilted with bright yellow thread in a diagonal pattern.

I enjoy sewing in the camper, especially using scraps from my favorite quilting projects. When a small scrap basket fills up, I schedule some cutting time with my AccuQuilt cutter. It's much better than my former system: a huge hamper and boxes stuffed with wrinkled fabric odds and ends. Cutting pieces into commonly used sizes keeps my scrap piles neatly organized and gives me plenty of inspiration.

Starting somewhere 

now

is better than

starting somewhere 

later

Blooms For Mother's Day

These gorgeous flowers always bloom in May, and they remind me so much of my mama, Sam.  Jerold's mama also loved flowers, so every Mother's Day we bought them pretty hanging baskets for their porch and patio. A spring and summer of colorful blooms brought them more joy than a couple of days of expensive flowers in a vase!

Sam liked digging flowers nearly as much as she liked fishing. She'd stop by the side of the road to get a wildflower and never, ever passed up a plant sale. She generously shared cuttings and bulbs that I still enjoy today. Quite a few of them came from her mother's flower garden, especially the iris. I often gave Sam pots of perennials, which we planted together in her yard. I hate that I didn't get to dig up any of those daylilies and ferns before her house was sold.

Apparently my love of flowers must be genetic; I have an old fashioned rose that came from my great grandmother and a blooming shrub from my granny. 

This Mother's Day, I'm buying hanging pots for myself, and planting a few perennials in memory of the women in my life who passed on their passion for flowers and digging in the dirt.

Flowers...

are sunshine,

food,

and medicine

for the soul.

~Luther Burbank

Poolside

Poolside

Now that our weather has warmed up, I want to share a quilt I finished in March. Poolside is 60” square, made up of lovely 12” sawtooth star blocks framed in white sashing. Pool green and navy prints accent the crisp white stars. It's a modern version of this tried and true nine patch pattern.

I used Accuquilt 4½” square and 2½” HST dies to cut the pieces, and 2½” strip die for sashing. Cutting and sewing was a breeze! The backing is made up of four large framed squares in the same navy and pool green colors. I quilted in a scallop stitch, 1½” apart with white thread.

I love this color combination for summer! Stay tuned for another quilt made with fabric left over from this project. The top is already pieced, but I haven't quilted it yet. There are just too many ideas and not enough time. I have four finished quilt tops waiting for quilting, and dozens of them designed in EQ8 begging to be made.

Project count is up to 18 for 2018, and it's only early May. What a challenge to balance my sewing time with house work, yard work (those weeds!), laundry, daily walks, camping and fun with my sweet husband. It's sunny today, so I need to get in a few chores before sewing.

Relax, unwind

get in a

FLIP FLOP

state of mind