My Monthly Goal for June

I'm afraid I didn't get as much done as I had hoped.  I still have a few more blocks to finish. 

My goal was to do a block a day.  I managed to complete a total of 42 blocks.  But they still have to be put together.  So I will continue to work on this for another month.

Linking with Elmstreetquilts.

The Garden in Spring

My first early irises are in bloom.  

I love this purple colour.

Here is more purple.  I wonder if this is telling me to get creative and make a purple quilt.  

This is Lunaria.  Its common names are honesty, money plant or silver dollar plant.  In the summer this plant produces round seed 'packets' that look like coins, hence some of the common names.  Lunaria is a biennial, much like Forget-me-nots.  I usually don't let many of these plants produce seeds.  They provide a great deal of colour in the garden in spring.  But if I let them all go to seed my garden would soon be overgrown with them.

When they have finished blooming I pull them out, leaving only as many as I think I will need to keep this plant producing each year. 

The interesting part of Lunaria is that it can come up in white.  

My neighbour gave me a few seeds many years ago.  The plants have never failed to inspire me.  

Originally the flowers were all purple.  Then one spring I had a couple of white ones.  

I guess it was a dormant gene or something.  

Now I pull some white ones out, but always remember to leave a few to go to seed.

I sprinkle the seeds from both varieties in the garden during the summer.  They will start to grow, producing little plants.  Then the next spring they reward me with lots of colour!

I think the reason I have so many this year is because last year I was not able to look after them properly.

The following plants are a kind of Euphorbia.  This is a very large genus of plants. 
There are about 2000 members.

This is Euphorbia polychroma.  It's common name is Cushion Spurge.

The gorgeous yellow colour is not produced by flowers.  They are actually bracts.  Other plants in this genus are Poinsettias and Crown of Thorns.

This lovely hint of purple is my garden chive.  The interesting thing is that it is not growing in my garden.  It has actually taken up residence in a crack in the patio.  I have tried to move it but have had no luck digging the whole thing out of the ground.  So this is where it is going to stay.

Hot. Hot, Hot

But at least it gave us a chance to finally get outside.  My daughter came over to bring me some plants for the garden.  She also brought me some seeds.  I am slowly filling up my vegetable patch, AKA my Victory Garden.

Since my DD was here, I had her help me hold up some quilting I have been working on lately so I could takes some photos.  The first one is a scrappy one that has kept me busy for several weeks.    DD is holding it sideways because she didn't want it to touch the ground.  It measures about 52 inches by 74 inches.  I think I will add a few more rows and call it a flimsy.  William couldn't resist photo bombing the picture,

I also finished a scrappy charity quilt. 

It was hot!  There is not much shade later in the afternoon.  Although DD and I were social distancing William was busy with some toys he found in the shed.  There were not many things that were age appropriate for him.  He really hasn't been over here for a long time since I spent last summer in a hospital.  Unfortunately he got a bit bored.  After kicking a soccer ball around and playing in the sandbox he decided to run through the sprinkler.  But even that did not hold his attention.  So he decided to wash his little red tricycle.  He wanted it to be clean so he could give it away.  Get a load of those white legs!  First time outside since last summer.

He also watched some ants.  Studying insects is a favourite activity.   He stopped washing his trike because there was so much water on the patio and the ants were drowning.  He thought they should have had swimming lessons.  

Here's a riddle for you straight from the mind of a 5-year old.  

What did the cow do on his day off?  

He went to the moooovies.

Stuff

In the blink of an eye our world changed.  I'm not sure if I am dealing with it well.  I am writing and sewing and doing a bit of gardening, but not much else.  My place is a mess.

My charity quilt is coming along nicely.  I still have several rows to attach.  There are many more blocks in my stash.  I may have to make more quilts.  But that's okay.  These quilts are always needed.   They bring comfort, especially in this trying time.



Many quilters on the internet are making face masks.  A wonderful,  caring activity!  I thought I would make some too.  But e=they weren't much fun to do.  I really wasn't enjoying myself.  Too much like a task I guess.

I didn't even know if they are beneficial.  There has been a lot of controversy about their effectiveness.  Theresa Tam has now done a total about face.  She had originally said that they would not protect anyone from catching the virus.  Now she says they are a necessary part of leaving the house.  Who knows?

So I will make a few more masks in the next couple of days..  The problem is, I can't find my elastic.  It's somewhere in the mess I call my sewing room.  I used bias tape for a couple of them.  But I am almost out of that too.  Oh, well.  I'll do what I can.

In the Garden

I planted some tomato plants yesterday.  I was kind of worried about them because I heard lots of scary raccoon noises last night.  I hoped they hadn't pulled my plants up.  So I went out this morning to have a look.  Yay!  Everything was fine!

I was quite relieved.  I took another photo of one of the plants.  This variety is Early Girl.  Can't wait to harvest them.

I took a few other photos.  Here is my Bleeding Heart.  I love these.

Another blue flower.  I love blue flowers.  But I have probably said that before.  This is Mertensia virginia, Virginia blue bells.  When this plant comes up in early spring its foliage is a dark reddish colour.  Then by the middle of spring it has blue bell shaped flowers,

Here is a close up. 

The flowers turn pink after a few days.  By summer the plant has gone dormant.  It totally disappears.  Kind of like the fall crocuses.  I have to remember where it was so I don't dig it up and plant something else in its space.


It sounds like my time outside was good.  But nothing could be farther from the truth.  After I had taken the photos everything went downhill.  I pulled the hose up to the tomato plants.  I was able to water them, but I was not happy with the way the water came out of the wand.  Then I watered a small area in the back garden where a few catnip plants had come up.  I wanted to moisten the soil so I could remove the plant.  But then my hose broke!  It just split near the wand end, sending a cold shower all over me.  I turned the water off as quickly as I could.  Then I tried to dig up the catnip.  But the soil was still too hard.  I managed to get it out in pieces.  I hope it survives.  My daughter wants some for her garden because her seeds aren't working.  I will try to fix the hose this afternoon.  Or maybe I'll take a nap.

Feeling Like a Black Panther

Not having a good day.  I am exhausted.  Maybe all the things I did in the garden yesterday, weeding and digging, were too much for me.  There is no quilting going on today.  Pity.  My brain is not cooperating.  All I want to do is sit in my recliner and veg out.  Maybe watch some TV.  Even that seems too stressful.  Not much sleep happened last night.  My arthritis is acting up.  My hands are stiff and painful.  Perhaps it's the weather.  It rained, but I don't think it was as bad as the weather guy had forecast.  It will rain all day today too.  I can hear the wind.  I think I will feature William today.  He wrote a story about a black panther who is good at camouflage.  I can relate to that.  Feeling black and wanting to hide from the world.

This is his story.

The black panther 

is my favourite.

They are the 

best at camouflage.

In the Garden

We are in the middle of a long weekend.  Yesterday and this morning were nice.  But we are expecting lots of rain tonight and tomorrow.  I decided to go out and photograph my latest quilt top in the garden.  The concrete ducks are holding it down so it doesn't blow away.

I know it looks very much like my other scrap quilt, but this one is made with longer strips.  Whenever I had those I used them to create a block that measures 5.5 inches square.  This is also a leader and ender project.  I have no idea how big I want to make it or what I will do with it once it is done.  I am just enjoying the mindless sewing.


While in the garden I took a few more photographs of my flora.  There is not a lot going on yet, but I do have a few interesting plants.  One of them is Pulmonaria or lungswort.   It's a perennial and blooms early in spring.  I love blue flowers!

This is my autumn crocus.  It comes up in early spring with many beautiful, lush, green leaves.  The leaves die down during the summer.  Then in the fall beautiful pick blossoms come up straight out of the ground with no leaves at all.

More blue flowers.  Forget-me-nots.  These things are more like weeds.  They come up all over the place.  After they have finished flowering I pull them up and shake some seeds over the garden.  They are biennials, so little seedlings grow that first year.  They come up the next year and flower and the whole process starts over again.

More to come......

Monkey!

Sometimes, when life gives you self quarantine instructions, you have to make the best of things.   You nay have to be creative to keep boredom at bay.  Plant a garden.  Read a book.  Paint a picture.  Or climb a tree.

A monkey in the lilac bush.

Another School Activity - What my Animal Needs to Survive

Instructions 

Choose an animal.   List the four things your animal needs - air, water, food and shelter.

My animal is a lion.
He needs air to breathe.

And water to drink.

He hunts for food like antelope and deer.

He lives on the grasslands.

Construction - Roads Railways and Quilts

Construction of 16 patch blocks.

I'm still experimenting with fabrics.

  Think I will make one or two of these blocks every day.

Construction of the first charity rail fence leaders and enders project.

I have run out of blocks.  I think I want to add a few more rows.  Right now it measures about 30 in. by 35 in.  This is still my leader and ender project, so I think my lack of blocks should be remedied soon.

With the 'Stay Home' directive, there is lots of time for road and railway construction.

Nice work William!

Wordless Wednesday

Stop to smell the roses magnolia.

Some of This, Some of That

It's freezing out!  We actually broke a record for the coldest morning today.  I have been staying home.  Not that I had anywhere to go anyway.  But staying home means lots of creative stuff.

I finished a few dishcloths.  I was following the instructions that said to increase until there are 49 stitches on the needle.  Then Wanda from Exuberant Color said she only goes to 40 stitches because she doesn't feel the need for such a large dishcloth.  I agree with her.  So I have started to make a few with 45 stitches.  I'll show those another time, because they aren't finished yet.

I also finished a couple of cloths that I had put away many years ago.   At that time I belonged to a group that exchanged dishcloths on a monthly basis.  Since I no longer belong to that group, I decided to finish them and add them to my own linen closet. 

I have lots of other projects right now.  And I really shouldn't be starting anything new.  But I think I am suffering from ADD. or else it's the boredom of social isolating because of Covid-19.  But I saw Wanda's 16-patch  quilts.  (see her blog as mentioned above)  They are so beautiful!  I had to try making some blocks.  So last night I got started.  Since I don't have bins full of 2.5 inch strips, I had to cut some.  The first two blocks took me an hour.  But now that I have figured out the measurements I think things will move along faster.

Sorry if my photos look a bit blurry.  I dropped my camera a couple of months ago.  It was expensive and took lovely shots, so I am still using it.  I want to buy a new one.  Maybe when the world gets back to 'normal' I will do that.

May 's Monthly Goal

I found a box full of blocks that I have made over the years according to the colours that were suggested by SoScrappy.  I think I want to finish this.  So I am linking up with One Monthly Goal.

Now that I have made this commitment I might be able to get it done.  The flimsy at least.  Here it is.  Wish me luck.  No, wish me Happy sScrappy!

Again having trouble linking up.  I think I have until Friday to do so.,  I will try again.  And even if I can't figure it out, I will work on this a few blocks every day.

I think I was able to add my post.  How come I never had problems with stuff like this in the past.  Am I getting old?  Don't answer that!

More School Work

William's lesson from his teacher this week was to chose a favourite recipe.  Then write down the ingredients and prepare and bake it.  William chose to make a pie.  His mother took photos as he worked on his task.

Way to go William!  That looks Yummy!

William was kind of sad today.  Ordinarily he is a very social creature, but with all the Covid-19 self isolation stuff he misses his friends.  He was fine while he was playing out in the yard.  There was lots to keep him occupied - pulling weeds in the garden, chasing squirrels and chipmunks and riding his bike.  But when it was time to go inside he asked his mother if he could go on the computer and watch videos of kids playing.  He misses having other kids around!  How sad is that?

I am publishing this in an effort to cheer him up.

What's Happening in the Garden

There is lots going on in my back yard right now.  Daffodils, Tulips, Hyacinths, Scilla siberica, Violets, Hellebores, May apples, Lovage, Rhubarb, Bleeding hearts and more.  Another thing I seem to have plenty of is garlic mustard and other weeds.

It was very sunny so it was difficult to get good photos.  I'll just show you two of them.

Bleeding heart

Rhubarb

More to come in the future.  Stay safe, Stay inside.

STAR WARS DAY

A journal quilt.  This is what I plan to work on today

Slow Stitching

My energy level has been kind of low lately.  In addition my sewing machine is giving me woes.  So I thought I would do a bit of knitting this morning.  Easy knitting,  A couple of dishcloths.

I am linking up to Slow Stitching with Kathy.at kathysquilts.blogspot.com

I wasn't able to link up with Kathy.  Sorry.  Haven't blogged for a long time.  Maybe I'll figure it out for next Sunday.