FLOWERS INSIDE AND OUT

As dead as most things are in the yard's plants,

 it is encouraging to see some things that flourish!  

The wisteria is full of blooms and buds and smells delicious!  I keep working on cutting back the dead branches 

and hoping more things come back to life.

Inside, I had to rip out to fix the one block I saw, and my daughter spotted another block I had set in wrong! ( I still have nightmares about the other QAL that Alycia did and I goofed on one block and didn't spot it in time and quilted it in place in all its wrong-glory! ) 

I also made my last changes to the Dahlia bloom 

and will get it attached to its background fabric next week!  

 

WASHINGTON OAKS STATE PARK AND GARDEN

For several years, I have scheduled and rescheduled a trip to this state park for years!  A friend who has lived here for years had never seen this park--it finally worked out! 

 The azaleas were stunning!

There were several roses to sniff--

though the best month to view them is May.

Still, it was wonderful to enjoy the smell of old-fashioned roses!

Is this not the epitome of a rose?!

This Live Oak tree is hundreds of years old!  Just magnificent.

The original building on this site was in 1715--a hundred years later, one of our first President's grand daughters married a man who lived here and thus the park was so named.  

This is a view across the intercoastal waterway.

The sun was deliciously warm but not yet cooking hot!  Perfect.

This whole area has a foundation of coquina just a few feet below the surface.  Great for building upon but a bit tougher to grow crops.  An interesting history was enjoyed among the flowers!  The frost damage was evidenced here, too, but it won't take too long before the sunshine and summer rains will heal the plants and flowers accordingly!

We popped across the street to see the ocean--it was a red flag day because of the current.  Nice for walking but not so great for swimming-that and the fact the water is still only 65*! lol

 

OLD AND NEW

I was so happy to put the blocks together and then when I looked at it this morning, I saw one 4-patch was misbehaving.  

I will have some ripping to do!  

And I pulled out an old project that had gone awry and figured out how to save it--now I have to sew all of the strips together!

 

ONE DONE, ONE BEGUN

I washed and dried the baby blanket made using the Grace blanket pattern.  It is 38" square.

I am using the last two skeins of this gifted yarn to make a rectangle granny square baby blanket. This is my sanctuary from the world...a lot of creativity percolates here!

 

HELP FROM A FRIEND

I had added some March-ness to my welcome sign.

Some shamrocks and a pot o' gold!

My table runner went out on the first of the month-when I change it each month!

Mary picked me up for another short trip Shop Hopping-she does all the driving which makes it possible for me to go. 

 It has been a hard couple of days for me.

I found lots of goodies to help finish off projects.

 

BUSY TIMES

We are having a Bible Conference at church so it has been a lot of away time.  I do unwind with the paint by number time and knitting in bed when I get home!  This turtle isn't finished but almost is...just time for me to enjoy the tweaks that will make it mine now!

 

A DAHLIA

It took hours but I sewed those new pieces for a center that pops.  The other sections are more yellow than they show here...but it looks more like what I wanted.  I think this is one of those patterns that I will have to try again in all brights to make me happier!  I was trying to capture the look of the Dahlias my Dad used to grow with this one!

I have pressed the 1/4" all around the last row of petals so that I can applique them to the background color. 

 Soon it will have my attention again. 

 

MEETING GOALS

All of the blocks are made and in their general placing on the design wall!  A good feeling.

As I was looking for some UFO's that need either finishing or repurposing, I pulled out the Dahlia quilt.

I was unhappy with the center as soon as it as stitched, so I unstitched the whole thing and will try again with some new colors-

I bought these new colors when Mary and I did a half-day of 

shop hopping in St Augustine. 

I cut out the new pieces and will play with piecing them ,today to see if I can make it look like what I pictured in my brain!

Mary and I had a good time as always--it is a blessing to have an incredible friend 'who loves at all time'!

THE JOY OF YARNING*

I have the yoke done and have separated the sleeves and body stitches;  12" of stockinette is underway.

The neckline and front bands are done after I complete the body stitches.  I am enjoying the pattern immensely! 

 (Flower Child Cardigan by Wool & Pine )

The baby blanket continues to grow and I am into my second skein of the Mandala Ombre in the Harmony colorway.  

*yarning is what my first grandson called knitting or crochet; 

it made sense so the phrase stuck! 

A GOOD DAY WITH FABRIC

I caught up on the prompts for Alycia's QAL;  a very good feeling since she will post the next HW today!

And I also put the binding on this little quilt and have it washed and dried and ready to gift!  It is 40' x 50"--nice for a wall or a lap!

 

TURNING YARN TO A BLANKET

I didn't make it into the studio yesterday--so I reclined and started a new baby blanket;  

the Grace blanket that Betsy has often made.

As soon as I laid out the 18" blanket center, Lena appeared for a bath.  I'm hoping today will see me upright and functioning in the studio!

 

ANTICIPATION

This is what I will be working on today!  

The usual start-of-the-week chores will get done but playing with quilt blocks will be the fun part of the day!

 

BEAUTIFUL SIGHTS

Look at this cloud we saw on the way home from a church family gathering yesterday!  It was so unusually shaped and we could see rain falling in the center but the sun was shining all around it--quite incredibly beautiful and majestic!  

And when we pulled in the driveway--I was so surprised and pleased to see the first of the amaryllis has bloomed!  

This is the first of many clumps we have in the front yard!  

 

AHHH, STUDIO TIME!

I loaded the quilt top I made on QOV sew day to get that quilted up.  I also volunteered to quilt a top from the group on Thursday, so I need to be disciplined to have them both done by next meeting in a month.

And to prove I can follow directions, I present to you, several new and corrected star blocks! Once I knew I understood what to do and that it worked, I cut out all of the pieces to make these blocks!  I hope to catch up with the gang from Alycia's QAL soon!  And I am aware that she has also only instructed us to make the red blocks so far, I was worried I didn't have enough of the specific colors so I cut to find out now instead of later! lol

 

HUMILITY HAPPENED

So how did Sew Day with QOV group go?!

 Well, all I can say, in my defense, is that I still have island breezes blowing through my brain!  I was supposed to make blue stars with a white background and I made it in reverse.  Then after I had made 4 of these blocks, I realized that they were big--12 1/2" big and NOT the 8 1/2" size the pattern called for.  

What in the world?  How long have I been quilting?!?!?!? 

 I READ the instructions again and realized my error--the center block is correct at 4 1/2" but the other squares around it were NOT 4 1/2" , too.

 Oh.

 I put these blocks away to become another project someday.  

 Then I bought some more fabric and will make the catch-up blocks today!!!!  The 4-patches Mary made were just right! 

And we had a great time with everyone!

I also needed some fabric to make the red stars.  I can see that having the group meet in our local quilt shop can become a budget buster! lol  

And as long as we were there, we bought our ALL FLORIDA SHOP HOP TICKETS  and some new fabric to get in the mood!

And I am a sucker for  patriotic panels; 

this one will be the seed for another QOV!

A very good day!

 

 

A NEW QOV SEW GROUP

Today I am going to our local quilt shop to join in with a group of ladies who sew for Quilts of Valor.  This is the kind of star I will be working on and the red version is all cut out also!  I am bringing Mary to join in and have some blocks cut for her, too. 

 I'm excited to join in for some group-sewing 

which hasn't happened in a long time!

I also finished the wall hanging/lap quilt and will apply the binding soon so that this old UFO is ready for its day in the FO photos!

 

A SEA TURTLE

I'm still in the Caribbean frame of mind! 

 This is my latest paint by number is a sea turtle! 

 I built the frame for this one--a few false starts but I got it 

eventually and I even remembered how to use my nail gun to secure the mitered corners! lol

 

CARIBBEAN DISHCLOTHS!

The colors of the sunrise and sunset--if only I had a few more shades I could do them with exact colors of the mornings and evenings!  I will rectify that lack on my next HobbyLobby visit! 

I remember when this zig zag pattern was all the rage; 

everyone had an afghan on the back of their couch !