A Blooming Good Time

In the garden.....

Magellanica Anemone

Tree Peony blooms .....

and  hexagon flowers for the month of May.

So, here it is, the last Wednesday of the month and the day I have selected to report my One Flower Wednesday progress.  I must say how inspired I am with all the beautiful flowers being made.  So inspired, I see a 1930's flower garden and one with a rich green background, in my future.

For the month of May, I exceeded my one flower a week and made a total of 9 flowers.  I am using a mix of Withering Heights and Mistletoe Manor, or so I think they all are!  As you can see, in the photo, my lilac blooms overtook my hexagon blooms, but I thought it made for a pretty neat picture.   I plan to piece my garden together with no separation between the flowers, very busy and kind of Monet inspired.

Welcome to the following new members: Sue, Judie, Tineke, Angelika, Pauline, Gayly, Auntie Em, Anita, Gerda, Sam, Nancy, Bente, Jeannine, Marianne, Joke, Gerda, Corrie, Sarah, Marlise, Cheryll, Martina, Yvonne, Heike, Marieke, Marion and Steffi for a total of 78 members.  Dianne (D. Kellock) please e-mail me your blog link so I can add you to the Garden Party list.

Members, if you have not seen my previous post about the Sign In sheet, please read.  With so many blogs to visit and not enough hours in the day, I'm hoping this will make things easier for you.  With so many beautiful flowers to see, I would not want you to miss a one!

If you need more hexagons in your life, check out:

Hexagon Charm Quilt Piece-Along

Look Diane, I was able to cut 123 clamshells out of your leftover Kimono quilt scraps.  They are just beautiful and I thank you for your kindness!  The Clamshell Club is scheduled to begin June 1 and by the end of the week, I should have around 800 clamshells ready for piecing.

100 Klosjes Completed

19 made last week

Here are a few more klosjes made from Miss Jump's Scrapbag.  It doesn't seem that long ago when I pieced together my first klosjes and look how many I have made now!

I read an interesting post on Vivian's blog about Moose Muffins, and the first thing that came to mind was my Postage Stamp quilt.  I'm a recycler and have a hanger full of Quilters' Compost waiting to be turned into tiny squares.  My box of squares will soon be full and when piecing begins on this quilt, I will have myself a Moose Muffin.

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

The Pumpkin Patch

"October's the month

When the smallest breeze

Gives us a shower

Of autumn leaves.

Bonfires and pumpkins,

Leaves sailing down -

October is red

And golden and brown."

October Country Calendar

Last week flew right by and I never had the chance to wash and iron all my new fabric. I noticed my Quilters' Compost bucket was overflowing, so I worked on that. I also stitched the October Country Calendar block, prepared and pieced another Dear Jane block and prepared and started appliqueing the September A Tisket, A Tasket Basket. Then, I did a little more shopping! Off to the Creativ Festival, in Toronto and a side trip to Sew Sisters and Cock-A-Doodle Quilts. Would you like to see the goodies I came home with?

Some black and tan fabrics for Over the River and Through the Woods. More fabric is needed, but this is a good start.

Two pieces of Asian fabric, three 1930's and three pieces of Westminster Fabric.

And, last by not least, some more reproduction fabric. The bundle is Jo Morton's new line called, Toast II.

The green fabric show above (in the middle) is what I purchased in Pennsylvania to surround my POTC blocks. What you see placed around the green fabric is my finished blocks. The green fabric appears a little duller then it is, in the photo, but you can see it better on my previous post. It's in the shopping bag and also at the bottom of the pile of fabric. Each block would be outlined by a round of green fabric, and then separated with an accent colour. Any ideas for the accent colour? Or, maybe I should be considering something other then the green to surround my blocks? I have yet to look through my stash for possibilities. In the meantime, I still have eight more blocks to hand piece.

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

Quilters' Compost

One day as I was deadheading in the garden, I looked down into the pail and thought, that even once spent, the flowers and stems still look beautiful. I have a large compost bin at the back of my yard, so nothing goes to waste. My offerings turned into something wonderful, I can return to the garden next Spring.

That is not the only kind of composting I do. I also make Quilters' Compost. All the bits and pieces of fabric left from quilting projects. What to do with them? Sure hope you don't throw them in the garbage? Shame on you, if you do!

This is what I do with mine. They are placed in my compost pail for recycling. I try not to let my pail get too full before I recycle. In my pail, along with the scraps of fabric, you will find three templates. The first template is to cut 1.5 inch squares, that will eventually turn into a Postage Stamp quilt. The second template is for 2.5 inch squares. I am not sure yet what I will be making out of them and the third template is a tumbler block for a Charm quilt. Now, Charm quilts are not to have any repeats in fabric, so I have to pay close attention when cutting them out. I have also offered smaller slivers of fabric and batting to the birds, in Spring, for nest building. Or, if you are making something that needs a little stuffing.....children's toys, pet toys, pillows, pincushions, etc. I then store my cut squares and tumblers in decorative craft boxes.

So tell me, what do you do with your Quilters' Compost?

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen