After the rain, again..

June 10, 2013, Monday. Yes, its after the rain again, for a day, maybe two. It gets hard to do gardening and even get pictures when the flowers are drenched and drooping. Looking at it on the positive, at least everything is getting well watered. The white blossoms that are cascading in white balls is the Wild Raisin shrub that we have in the back yard. This shrub is a great addition to our lot with its many blossoms that will turn into deep purple berries in the fall for the birds. I always like to include shrubs that will do double duty for beauty and fodder for the wildlife.                                                                                                                                                                          

 I noticed that the roses are just starting to peep out. It almost seems so soon for them, but the garden season keeps marching on whether I have the gardens ready or not. I suspect by next week I'll be showing these bright fellows.

The bachelor buttons are taking their turn as they do every year. They don't last very long but they can put on a good show while they're here. These plants grow with very little care and are so hardy.

Our quilt for today is one of my favorite patterns. Who doesn't like a nice Nine-Patch? The blue and red colors in Carol's quilt makes me feel so nostalgic. These were the old reliable patterns used in the quilts of bygone years and are still favorites today. This quilt is 87x98 ' just a nice size to be used on today's beds and it is quilted in an allover pattern called "Spring Lei"at 6 inches. Its hard to see the stitching on the back unless you are looking right at it but this quilt is very attractive. Nice job Carol!

Stars under a Spring sky.

Every garden has their star performers and in my spring garden I would say my Aliums and Iris take the spotlight. Below is the start of an alium(Purple Sensation)  just forming its blossom. Eugene has taken a series of pictures of it until it became to a complete flower. I love their big fluffy blooms and although they are not the giant ones they still make a great impact in the garden. These flowers are really loved by the bumblebees and put on a great show.

The large blue Iris are now in bloom. They love to show their star power in my garden as well. The blooms are very light and airy as they blowin the breeze. It seems that June in the garden displays a lot of blue and purple flowers. I have always loved my Iris's and have many different types.

This Iris is the first Iris to bloom in the spring. It is a short compact Iris and is a real star in the garden for appearing first and lasting long.

Lucky Stars

While we are talking about Stars today, let me show you Barb's quilt. This quilt is called "Lucky Stars" and was presented as a Retirement quilt to Barb. Lucky girl! Its a beautiful quilt measuring 60x75 and is quilted in the pattern called "Flowing Feathers" at 7". This is a nice all over pattern for this quilt as you can see below. We enjoy doing these special quilts for our customers and hope that you are enjoying seeing them. Don't forget, dig out those unfinished projects and make them into stars for yourself or someone you love. We are always here to help you complete them the way you like. Until next week enjoy your gardening and quilting and making your own stars.

Spring Chaos

Monday, June 3,2013

I can't believe that its June. So much to do between gardening and quilting as of late. I put in a good size vegetable garden this year for the first time in years. It was hard to do between all the rain storms, but its in. We'll have to wait and see how that turns out, I will show you it later when things start to come up. The crabapples and the bleeding hearts are almost finished now , and the ground is covered with blossoms. I have most of my annuals in also, so really I haven't done too badly. Later this week, I will be showing you the first of the Iris and Rhododenrons. The garden is forever changing.

Our quilt for today is a lovely big quilt made with an assortment of Bali's. Gail has done a nice job on her quilt and calls it "Organized Chaos", something I can really relate to this time of year. This quilt is 97x98 and is quilted in the pattern called "Ocean Froth". Gail likes to use variegated thread on her quilts and the colors look so nice on this one. The quilt has Dream Wool for the batting so it is sure to be fluffy and warm. Great job Gail and what a great way to use Bali fabric!

One Block Wonder

Thursday, May 30, 2013.

The sweet smell of lilacs is in the spring air as they put on a fantastic show as well. The hawthorne bush in our yard is not to be outdone, it puts on a beautiful white show. The alliums in the garden are in full bloom at this time of year replacing the tulips that have passed from view.

Toni's "one block wonder" is another burst of colour. Toni has chosen a feature fabric with a big print. The print is then made into hexagons with no two hexagons the same. We quilted this quilt with the pattern called " Falling Leaves" at 8". This quilt measures 88x98 and will look great on any bed.

Toni has placed separate hexagons in the corners of her border. You can see the quilting pattern really well in the pictures below.

Jellybean fun

Monday , May 27, 2013  It's been raining jellybeans all week. Look at the beautiful colors. The gardens areloving the rain but I think its time to stop now. My robin has built her nest in the lilac tree right beside our deck. I can look right down and see the two pretty blue eggs. What a sweet smelling location for those birds with the scent of lilacs all around.

 

Just like jellybean raindrops we show this quilt by Jeanne Kaye. She calls it "Jellybean Surprise". The colors in this quilt do remind you of jellybeans, so bright and colorful. The quilt is 60x70 and is quilted in the pattern "Cotton Candy" This is a lovely fun little quilt that someone is going to enjoy.