Hi Everyone. Hope that your week was good – the weekend is nearly here! We had a bit of a crazy week here. It started with a storm which was welcomed by all. Easter was rainy and cold. Then on Tuesday we actually got snow. Such extreme changes; we went from 75 degree afternoons to snow! It was a treat though as we haven’t had any snow this year. It melted off by the next morning and we are already back in the 60’s. Just a crazy spring storm.
We are still dealing with a horrible drought though and because of this, my husband and I decided to forgo our usual vegetable garden this year. It doesn’t make sense to use so much water in that way. I will also skip planting annuals and will not be planting any summer flowers in my deck pots. We are really in conservation mode here. We have three acres and much of it is grass so come summer, we will let some of it die back. Normally we irrigate a great deal of it but this year we will have some brown patches. It will grow back the following year. Hoping next year brings a monsoon our way.
Our garden is definitely pushing blossoms everywhere. The clematis is gorgeous.
Roses are blooming.
Artichokes will be picked soon.
Peaches are already the size of small almonds. I do love spring!
I worked on a few fun projects this week. I finished the vintage linen pillow that I was hand quilting last week. It is so cute. My stitches certainly leave room for improvement but I loved doing the hand work. I will definitely continue to practice. I used Aurifil because I really wasn’t entirely sure what I should be using and I didn’t want it to stand out too much since it was my first attempt at hand quilting. Next go around, I will try something with more heft; maybe a Perle cotton? Suggestions welcome here!
It is certainly harder than it looks! Tricky to quilt tiny stitches of a consistent length. Overall, I am pleased with my first attempt and it will be a good reminder of where I began.
The pair of pillows work well together.
I also made one of the tablerunners this on my ALOYF goal for this month. I used two Joel Dewberry prints that I won a while back. It is a basic chevron with a tiny pop of turquoise bordering it. I am quilting it with straight lines on the chevron and pebbling on the white triangles. Hopefully I can get that finished and bound this weekend. (This picture was taken inside, in the evening, which never makes for a great shot.)
That’s it for this week! I know I skipped writing a gratitude post this week, but if I were to choose something I am especially grateful for, it would be the storm we had. It may not have fixed our situation, but it sure didn’t hurt!
By the way, if you are an Instagram fan, have you been enjoying the “twenty things about me” posts that are going through the quilting population? I love them. I have read so many fun things about some of the quilters I admire. It has been fun to follow these posts! Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.
Linking to my usual: Let’s Bee Social, Crazy Mom Quilts, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Also linking to TGIFF which is hosted by Lorna this week (at Sew Fresh Quilts.) All of these links are located at the top of the page, under Link Ups.
Very pretty pillows!! so sweet. Your hand sewing looks good 🙂 The best thing to do to get tiny stitches, is practice!! It takes a lot of practice, lol.
Hi Dorian, I definitely need to continue to practice. I need to make a mini just to be able to hand stitch it. I don’t think I am ready to do a bigger piece yet.
Thanks for stopping by.
Happy Weekend!!
Bernie
Your new pillow is so pretty! Love those dainty stitches and delicate florals. Thanks so much for sharing those gorgeous photos of the flowers and other growth in your yard. Our snow is just now melted and I am so looking forward to some warm weather and signs of spring around here!
Looks so delicate and perfect on the bed! Love your garden. I tried growing Clematis in our Irish rainy weather and they did not like it at all!
That makes sense with the clematis. We live in a dry area and have had drought conditions for the past three years!! However the clematis is so happy!
Have a great weekend!
Bernie
Beautiful pillows, and gorgeous photographs. So that is how artichokes grow – I love them!!!
Artichokes are really dramatic in the garden. The plants get huge. We love them too.
Happy Friday!!
Bernie
They look lovely – good work!
Thank you Jen! I appreciate the compliment. Have a wonderful weekend.
Regards,
Bernie
I love your table runner! And your garden looks divine! We still have feet of snow on top of our garden, so nothing is growing out there yet. Granted, we also have no shortage of water, especially with the extra snow that fell this winter. I’m hoping it melts slowly so that we don’t have horrible mud pits and wash outs.
As for hand quilting, Aurifil has a great 28wt thread made especially for hand quilting. It’s luxurious 🙂 I’m slowly getting into hand stitching, and I think much of the charm comes from the fact that the stitches are not perfect. It’s a labor of love, done by HAND! 🙂 Enjoy!
Thanks for the tip Kitty. I will get a spool and practice with it. Always fun to learn something new! Glad you stopped by!
B.
Your pillows with the patchwork and hand quilting are beautiful! I love them!
Awww… Thank you Susie. Glad you like them. Definitely want to work on another project to practic hand quilting.
Take care,
Bernie
Lovely flowers and pretty subtle cushions!
Thank you Vera!!