Crazy weather! Crazy Quilt!

June 27, 2013, Monday

June is almost over and we have been having typical Maritime weather, "if you don't like it, wait a minute" and it will change. We were lucky in Charters Settlement and missed much of what our neighbours in Fredericton received this week. Many lost their power, which kept the power commission workers busy. I hope everyone is back on the grid by now. Tuesday was a roaster with all the heat and humidity.Now you know why I say "Crazy weather". The quilting is coming along nicely and I have a authentic Depression year "Crazy Quilt" to show you. The many fabrics I see in this quilt are now reproduction prints that I have been working with. It is nice to see the real thing. This quilt  belongs to Kathy and she thought she would get it out of her closet and make it useful. I stippled this quilt all over with an 8 inch stipple because it made a crazy path and helped to showcase these fabrics. This quilt is 72 x 85 and turned out so soft and cuddly. Bravo to Kathy who now has a completed UFO {unfinished object} that she can now use.

Eugene was watching the thunder storms roll in over our house last night and snapped this picture. As my 7 year old grandson would say the sky is ominous. The weather has beeen great for the gardens, no need for watering. I have an update of my new garden for you today, hasn't it grown. Gwenda has to get out there and get it weeded!

Pictures of my garden, you can see the peonies starting to form. The blue sapphire  flowers below are my perennial sage. I love their color. Until the rain has finished its work, I'll be in the quilting studio catching up. Happy Quilting!Gwenda

Flowers on display

June 24,2013, Monday. It's our last week of June and schools are letting out for the summer. I can't help but think of all those years in the classroom when I couldn't wait to be outside in the gardens and fields. Now I spend much of my time quilting and gardening which I never get tired of it. I know that many quilters are also garden lovers and with all the color out there right now, its great. Look at thie beautiful quilt I have to show you today. This quilt is called "Daisy Patch" and made by Patricia. I love these big, colorful flowers and I couldn't help take the picture overlooking some of my gardens. This quilt is 59x76 and was quilted in  the pattern called "Festive Daisy". You can see this great pattern on the back side of the  quilt in the following pictures. Enjoy these pictures today and see below my featured flowers for Monday.  

Overall view of the gardens from my front steps in the early morning. The sun is just shining through the trees.

The Tiger lillies are just coming out.

This big German Iris is called "Stepping Out" It is a very showy iris and I love having it in my gardens.

Last day of spring 2013, the last month sure has been wet!!!

June 20, 2013, Last day of Spring. I'm sorry to see Spring go, its my favorite time of year but time must march on. Today the flowers pictures, from my garden, are samples of some bright cheery colours. There is no particular reason for showing them to you other than the beautiful colors,they go nicely with today's quilt. Such a cheery sight for our last day of spring. The bright yellow Tuberous Begonias are very hot in the spring garden. This annual will be showy all summer.

These two specimens are called Columbines, they come in many different variations and are so dependable to come back every spring. They are a nice little perennial.

You can't get much brighter than this lovely shrub. Its the first year for my garden and it is an Orange Northern Light Azalea. Imagine the colour that it will have as it gets bigger. Don't you love these bright colors to close out spring and you will find these same colors in the great quilt below.

Today I will introduce you to Jeanne Kaye's quilt called "Adam Rib". This quilt is 58.5 x 76 inches and was quilted in the pattern called Van Gogh at 8". What magnificent colors she has chosen. I love the swirls in the quilting pattern and they show so nice with the geometrics. A very cheery and fun quilt Jeanne Kaye. Let summer march forward and I will show you more summer fun flowers and beautiful quilts that are being done all around us. I hope you are at least enjoying my blog, and if so let me know once in a while so I know your still interested. See you next week! Gwenda

Father's Day Weekend





The Japanese Tree Peony is magnificent in my garden this week. These pictures show you as it is budded out until it breaks out into a beautiful big flower. This peony is two years old and I wasn't sure if I could pull it through' not one winter but two no less. It is the first year to bloom and has three large blossoms on it. The full bloom on this one is about 8 inches across, absolutely breath-taking. It is called Renkaku. Such a lovely present for Fathers Day and Eugene has enjoyed snapping pictures of it. Hope you have enjoyed visiting it.

 "Singing The Blues" but were not really. This is what Jeanne Kaye calls her quilt. It is a very pretty blue and white quilt that measures 58.5 x 76 inches. She has selected the pattern "Van Gogh" at 8 inches for her allover design. That is one of the advantages of bringing your quilt to us, you are able to select your pattern and thread choices. We will put your pattern on the computer screen so you can see what the finished pattern is going to look like. Now how great is that? We also have many colors of thread to choose from including a good selection of variegated thread. Maybe you are a person who doesn't want to select patterns and thread and that is alright too. We are happy to plan everything for you to the finish.Check our Home page "Gwenda Quilts" for contact information and appointments.

A Garden of Plants and Quilts

June 13, 2013 Thursday. Its still raining, I thought I would show you a little glimpse of my gardens today since I have been sharing some of my flowers as they come out. My gardens are very large and so they take a lot of work to maintain. The weather has not cooperated very well so there is edging, mulching and a lot of weeding still to be done. I am balancing it around the quilting we do, so it hasn't been too bad. This picture shows the front gardens . You will see the fountain and arbors in the next picture. You really can't see many flowers in these pictures but you can see some of the general layout. These gardens are bordered by Austrian Pines on one side and Red Pines across the end. They make a great protection backdrop for the many perennials I have and are also home to many birds.

 I told you I put in  a vegetable garden this year after 12 years absensce. I just managed to plant it a couple of weeks ago, between rain storms. Its been raining and cold ever since but the plants are starting to come. We installed a chain link fence around it to keep out the groundhogs and rabbits. It also makes a good place for sunflowers , sweet peas. and scarlet runner beans to climb; which are all up. Hopefully it will warm up and things will grow better yet.

I titled todays posting "A Garden of Plants and Quilts", and this quilt is a garden of many fabrics. It is a beautiful old Churn Dash pattern that Carol has completed. Carol calls her quilt "A Splash of Dash", and that it is. It is 94x104 and is quilted in the pattern "Honeysuckle 8". I love the colors in this quilt and the all over quilting pattern looks very nice. This is another cozy, and charming quilt done by Carol and will be cherished for years to come.  

Check out the lovely pattern on this quilt. It shows very well.