We have had a subtle change in weather for the last few days and I am tempted to believe that the extreme summer temperatures are (nearly) a thing of the past. Oh, I know that we will have another short spell of warm hot weather, but the evenings are becoming much more comfortable at an earlier hour. I am very excited!
I am also excited to share the winners of last week's mini-quilt give away in celebration of the 1-year anniversary of Sew & Tell.
#1 Andrea___ @___.com
#2 Nan Hohenstein
#3 Jocelyn
#4 jgsowin@___.com
#5 Kim at The Purring Cottage
#6 Kathleen
#7 Brenda
#8 Linda
#9 Alycia
As I collect the addresses, I'll get them sent out. Thank you to everyone that participated!
After returning from our time away, my back had improved... but it was not really happy that I sat at the machine to finish the T-shirt quilt to finish my customer's Florida quilt. You can see the photos here.
After having a relaxing day on Saturday as I binged Heartland and slow stitching, it is better (again), but I'll certainly be scheduling a visit with my chiropractor before starting the 3rd quilt for her.
I finished a block with a bell (it is really the Liberty Bell) for the many bells we saw in Ogalla, Nebraska in June. There were bells at the fire station and at several churches.
I turned my attention to a new mini-quilt challenge ~ #32/52... This little thing finished at 5"x7" and has a Dresden pieced sun and butterfly. My original idea was to have the butterfly much smaller... and include a cone flower. The sun was the first piece I made and after seeing the size, I decided that I didn't want to go any smaller. The sun rays and the flight path made my smile grow as I got closer to the finish of it. The brightly colored fold-over, raw-edge "binding" gives the impression that there is a beautiful flower garden in the surrounding area.
Once-upon-a-time... I used to enjoy gardening. It was an easy, no-brainer experience in the Midwest with good black dirt and more moisture. My Dad helped me to establish a few flower gardens when we moved to Colorado in 1995, and I maintained them while the girls were still in school. I would get up early in the morning and tend to them with weeding and watering... mostly because I knew that I could have some uninterrupted time to myself. As they were leaving the nest, I was ready to take my hobby of quilting to a new level and make it more of a career. That was when the flower gardens easily became overtaken with weeds and grass.
This summer, actually, I have taken a tiny bit more time to care for them... Dave and I both hate weeding, but when you do it together, you have company to talk with and it gets done twice as fast. By a bit more time, I mean that they have been weeded twice, instead of just once... You see, my reasoning was that if they accidentally got so overgrown and I couldn't see if there may have been a snake or some other critter or insect hiding in the weeds, I wouldn't touch it.
So... you see, I'm doing much better! LOL... no really!
Are you a gardener?
What is your favorite part of gardening?
How much time do you spend caring for your plants?
Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you.
This week's featured quilter is Jocelyn the Happy Cottage Quilter. She showed off her sweet quilt, Moon Glow.
Nice job Jocelyn!
Let this week's party begin!
Keep Piecing,
Melva
Linking with:
m
I used to have a large garden and lots of flowerbeds. The garden is gone and the flowerbeds are minimal here at the new house. My knees just can't take the weeding anymore. I do have several large pots of flowers growing that I make sure to keep watered. Happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Melva for the feature. I appreciate the shout out.
ReplyDeleteI am in the midwest and gardening is a natural part of life. I love the hope in the spring, deciding what and where everything will go. As I am getting older, it seems the hard parts are more uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited about #8!! Your butterfly mini is beautiful. I like your reasoning about an overgrown weeds and critters. ;) My favorite part of gardening is when the veggies get the first real plant started. Weeding, not so much, but we used cardboard this year and are going to do it again next year, because it really helped. Our volunteer morning glories were actually the worst "weeds" this year - they were everywhere and quickly took over, but I like the shade the vines provided to my pepper plants! Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteLove your new mini - the butterfly is gorgeous!!!
ReplyDeleteand glad your back is getting better - thats an important thing to take care of!!!
Gardening.. I can all the produce... but I am not allowed in the garden if we want it to live ( so I do the animals!!)
yes, i am a gardener. like you, it was my original hobby, but is now my business. i plant and weed for those who can not. it is hard on the back, but i do a lot from the knees (crawling included- no pride) to save both back and knees from bending. it is very therapeutic for the mind and body (yup, stretches it all out). as a bonus, i love being in tune with the outside. somedays, i feel worse in the back if i have spent it quilting. who knew it was another hobby not easy on the body!? oh well, as they say, "love what you do"
ReplyDeleteThat butterfly and sunshine mini-quilt is soooo cute! And I'm excited to have won one of your quilts. Thank you! I am a gardener/homesteader and find that it helps my spirit to get outside and I love the flowers and the fresh vegetables.
ReplyDeleteOh I wish that was the end of the hot days but I don't think we're going to be that lucky!
ReplyDeleteI have always been fanatical about weeds but this year my hands/arms just won't let me--likely from so many years of doing it (many flower gardens, an herb garden and a huge veg garden). I guess the days of my perfectly-tended gardens are over!
Love that little mini! Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2023/08/09/wednesday-wait-loss-340
So glad to find another linky to add to my list to take part in.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Party!
DeleteI just adore your mini quilts, Melva. You come up with some of the most creative ideas.
ReplyDeleteThank am not a gardener, but we have a huge garden for food. This year we Sabbathed it, and the plan was to get ahead of the weeds…June was a bust, so now I am attempting to find the ground before fall hits. We have had so much rain this year that the weeds are monstrous! However, I am making progress, and maybe will have things marginally under control by frost!
ReplyDeleteLove your butterfly mini! Your size selection is spot on.
ReplyDeleteLove your new butterfly mini, Melva!
ReplyDeleteHi Melva, I really like your butterfly mini with the Dresden wings and the zigzag binding from the back. It looks great. I may have to try that binding method, especially for things that don't get washed. Thanks for linking up to Free Motion Mavericks.
ReplyDelete