2019 Color Challenge - Orange

This month's flower inspiration for June's 2019 Color Challenge by Jen at Patterns by Jen is the Sundaze Blaze Starflower.


It is bight and sunshine-y and cheerful.  

And the Card Trick block captures the essence of the flower wonderfully!

Once upon a time... I used to love gardening.  It was something my Dad taught me.  

He grew up on a farm and enjoyed the outdoors and cultivating not just farm crops but helping his Mom with the garden.  He learned to operate heavy equipment during his time in the Army and that eventually became a large part of his work history.  

When he retired after his first by-pass surgery in 1990, he needed something to keep him busy.  He and his brother started a lawn care business.  It offered exercise to both of them as they push mowed their client's yards.  He also had a very large garden.  It was much larger than he and Mom really needed for just the two of them.  Much to Mom's chagrin... but Dad was willing to assist with any canning or freezing of the the produce and he was happy to share the excess with his brothers and sister and others.


As I stated, I used to enjoy gardening.  When we lived in Illinois we had a very large garden.  I would can quarts and quarts and QUARTS of tomatoes - enough to last us for the year, bags and bags of green beans, potatoes, cabbage and zucchini.  We had a small section for salads that included carrots, radishes, lettuce and spinach.  

And salsa... let's not forget the salsa!  We grew everything required, the tomatoes, of course, jalapenos and a variety of peppers and onions.

After moving to CO we gave up the garden.  We had been too spoiled with the rich black dirt and the ease of which the garden grew in the mid-west.  The growing season here is too short for tomatoes, the nights too cool and the soil too hard.  And we had a fixer-upper of a house to be concerned with.  

So my dad helped me plant a few flower gardens.  I would get up early and do the weeding and watering before it got too hot and before the noise of the day started (ie, children demanding attention).  It was my quiet time... and the plants flourished.

As girls grew older and they slept later, the early hours came later and more convenient... and the weeding happened less frequently. 😕

Now I can barely be bothered with weeding...  I'd rather quilt!

When you started quilting what activity got pushed to the wayside?

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear that I am not the only one to give up one thing or more so that I can quilt!

Quilt Happy!

Melva

P.S. - We actually purchase all of the produce to make our salsa now... it is SO much better than purchased salsa and worth every penny!

Melva Loves Scraps - Home of the Quilters Through The Generations series

Linking with:

BOMS Away at Katie Mae Quilts
BOMs Away at What A Hoot Quilts
Sunday Stash at QuiltPaintCreate
What I Made Monday at Pretty Piney
Main Crush Monday at Cookin’ Up Quilts
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt
Moving It Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag
Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts
Colour & Inspiration at Clever Chameleon Quilting

Mid-week Makers at Quilt Fabrication
WOW at Esther's Quilt Blog
Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts
Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter
Magic Crafts at Ulrikes Smaating (1st Wed of month)
Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Off The Wall Friday with Nina Marie
Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
Brag About Your Beauties at From Bolt to Beauty