The week is starting out with a bang! Yesterday I was scheduled to have some dental surgery today and I really, really, really wasn’t looking forward to it. Imagine my joy when the dental office called to reschedule my appointment (hopefully in another decade, another century, as far out as I can schedule it!) Anyway, Ray had taken the day off because he expected to be driving the patient home and rolling his loopy wife out of the car and into bed. Since we didn’t have to do this, we opted for a drive up to Downieville and a hike.
These poppies are just everywhere. Last year when they all went to seed, I collected tons of seed pods and tried to start them in our garden. Not one plant came up. I am not sure why but I am going to give it another try this fall. I know they are grow happily up here as they are just covering everyone’s yards and hillsides. I love the drama of these vivid red poppies.
Really deep and crystal clear, the river is running so fast. Ray and I are curious to see how high it remains this summer. Last year, with the drought, it ran quite low. I suspect this summer will be a different story. Monday was a totally different day than the one I expected. Hurray for small blessings like dental appointment cancellations!!!
This weekend I was able to catch up on the FMQ quiltalong that I have been doing with Lori at The Inbox Jaunt. This project just gets cuter and cuter.
Those sailboats make this whole project shine! I love them and kind of want to make something for a child that features the boats. I think they are just adorable. It is with mixed feelings that I watch for today’s post from Lori. This week we will be quilting the last row and adding some finishing touches. Overall, this was a fun way to practice my FMQ.
In support of the May is for Makers theme this month, I purchased my second indie pattern of the month. Yikes, it was hard to choose. It sort of reminds me of when my youngest son was little. (Ok, even now at 25 years old, he is still like this.) He had such a hard time making choices – picking out an ice cream flavor took such a long time. The donut shop was even worse. When he grew to be a teenager, I dreaded the hours we would spend shopping when it was time to get new shoes. It looks like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Here I was, shopping for a pattern-just for fun, no parameters. I was buying a pattern only because I wanted to support someone in their creative efforts. And I just COULDN’T DECIDE! Finally, I made my choice and bought a newly released pattern from Kirsty over at Bonjour Quilts. It is called Fleur.
This mini finishes at 11″ square though she also sells a pattern for a jumbo size Fleur which works into a queen size quilt. I am thinking this mini would look great with four blocks so that it finished at 22″ x 22″. It is a sweet, summery look and will be fun to put together.
Finally, guess what! I am working on my first tutorial for Sew Mama Sew! I am excited about it and a little nervous because I really want to get all the details written up clearly and concisely. The tutorial is for something I have made so many times that I can do it without thought. Now I am making a few of them and trying to take good notes of the steps necessary. It posts in three weeks so hopefully I will have it all worked out by early next week.
I hope your week has started out as happy as mine!!
Linking to my usual favorites. Check them out at the top of the page, under Link Ups.
Craftsy Update: In a continued celebration of their birthday, Craftsy is offering some of their most popular classes for 50% off. Sale begins Wednesday, May 18th! Check them out. I have taken some quilting classes purchased at Craftsy and feel that that the caliber of the classes is first rate! (I am a Craftsy affiliate, meaning if you click through my link and make a purchase, I will receive a small payment.)
Lucky you! And how neat that you were able to make the day into a mini vacation in Downieville. Those poppies are gorgeous (and another reason to like orange). What a cute pattern you chose from Bonjour. I could see a whole quilt of those–maybe in orange.
It was just like a mini vacation. In fact, Ray took another day off and stayed up there to work on a few things. It was just so nice up there and he felt motivated to get a few projects finished up.
I keep looking at that picture with the poppies and the old shed in the background. It might be nice as inspiration for an art quilt. Hmm…… 🙂
Oh, what a much more pleasant way to spend your day than having dental work done; I am glad you made the most of it. And congratulations on the Sew Mama Sew tutorial; let me or another quilting friend know if you want a set of eyes on it before you submit. 🙂
Good morning Yvonne. Thank you for the offer to give my post a quick look. I would love to take you up on that. I will send you an email later on. You’re so kind. 🙂
Congrats on the Sew Mama Sew tutorial! Not so much on the dental front though… hope it goes well.
Thanks Diana. It will be fine. I have had so much dental work done. My teeth must be made of chalk or something. So while I dislike it completely, it is an all too familiar experience!
Have a nice Tuesday!
I wanted to say thank you for introducing me to the Inbox Jaunt. I loved your quilt along sampler above and couldn’t stop reading all those great FMQ posts!
Oh, I am so glad you are liking the site. Honestly I just can’t say enough about Lori. She is generous with her time and her tutorials are wonderful.
Isn’t our spring this year beautiful? So nice to see water flowing again in all the rivers and the lakes full as well.
Hope your dental surgery goes well, whenever it is. May the Floss be with you. Ha Ha!
I love your blue quilt too!
Yes, we have had such great weather this year. (Supposed to be pretty hot today and tomorrow tho.)
The surgery is the other half of that grafting work that was done about 18 mos ago. I have been putting it off – It has been long enough tho. ;-( I am sure it will go fine – just not a very fun thing to do!
Have a lovely day.
B.
Those sailboats are adorable, and you did a great job! I love hiking, and I can’t wait to get out more this summer – hurray for unexpected time to enjoy nature!
What a nice surprise to have a hike instead of dental work! And from your pictures it looks like the perfect day for a hike. Save the dental work for a rainy day. Your quilt along piece is turning out beautifully.
Sounds like a better weekend than the dentist! I love the little stitched sampler, it’s so cute. It would make a lovely baby quilt, too. A little bigger, though! Perhaps when you do get the dental work done you can distract yourself by imagining how to combine those poppy colors and the little pattern you just got. Wouldn’t that be cute?
Yes, the poppy colors would be great for the Fleur pattern. That poppy picture is actually making me think about doing an art quilt, using the picture as inspiration. Not sure but maybe…
A hike does sound far better than dental work! Fleur is a cute pattern, oh the possibilities!
Ha ha! Yes, hiking trumps dental work any day of the week!! I agree with you on the Fleur pattern – cannot wait to create something with it. Thanks for stopping by Sharon!
Lucky you getting out of a dentist appointment! And it sounds like you had a wonderful day too. That’s awesome! Love those sailboats, you did a fantastic job free motion quilting them! I can see how you’d be a bit sad having that series of FMQ come to an end.
The dentist never bothered me before, but as time goes by…I really don’t like it! They told me last week I need to get my wisdom teeth out…all four…after all these years! Congrats on the SMS tutorial. I know how hard it is to write a tutorial, especially when you want it to be perfect and easy to follow. I think it’s harder when it’s one you have done a million times!
Hello Bernie,
What a great day out, and the quilting is gorgeous. I am in love with the little yachts, so much so that they are being featured on this week’s linky. Thank you for linking up with Free Motion Mavericks!
Love, Muv.
Thank you Muv!! I am glad you liked the boats – they were a fun project!