Summers End

Summers end is not only marked by the shortening of days but also by the kids heading back to their lives.  One to her senior year of nursing school and the other to his internship out west.  The desire to knit becomes greater as soon there will be a nip in the air.  I spot color in trees and also in the garden. I had some company when I was weeding the other day and I sat down on the stoop and watched this frog for awhile, mesmerized by the suction pads and the colors.  While the days are still hot, the nights are cooler, a breeze filling the air.  Change is on the horizon bringing one of my favorite seasons, autumn.

Summer Stitching

When the heat cranks up outside, the sewing cranks up inside!  I really need to be outside in the flowers pulling weeds but it's just too hot.  I made the little star quilt from a kit I purchased from Brenda.  I just love it!  The Mouse House Doll quilt is from Amy's book, Sweetly Stitched Handmades.  When you "open" the door you discover little mice.  It was so fun to make!  The flowers are going bonkers in the this humidity and the colors are so vibrant this year.  Hopefully the colors will drown out the surrounding weeds!  Have a lovely day!

Happenings

It seems like I blinked and now it's June.  May was such a busy month for me.  I've joined an Instagram sew along called #SweetlyStitchedSAL.  A group of us are making six projects from Amy Sinibaldi's new book, Sweetly Stitched Handmades.  My first project is the "Modern Color Block" quilt.  I don't normally use solid fabrics and it was really fun to play with these colors.  I paired it with many Japanese florals as well as yellow gingham and cherries.  I'm going to hand quilt this one. I just love how it turned out.  The garden is really blooming nicely this year. Yesterday marked two years since we've moved in this house and the changes I made to the flower beds are really showing. I still haven't planted my beloved Peonies but I'm so happy that one of our local markets carries them as cut flowers to purchase.  They smell divine!  I hope you are having a good start to June!

Getting Caught Up

Though the weather has been hot to cold, spring is certainly here.  Our tree has bloomed and the pansies are reappearing.  I love this time of year!  I hope that everyone had a good Mother's Day.  I've been getting caught up on projects now that I've got the Quilt Market samples off to their booth.  I bound the Bubbles Quilt and washed it, so now it's all crinkly, wrinkly, just the way I like it!  I'm caught up on my Farm Girl Vintage blocks and completed my blocks for Erin for the Sew Sweet Bee. We were to make our favorite block.  My favorite is a nine patch but because it's so simple I decided to include one more favorite which is Cross and Crown.  They were a lot of fun to make.  I hope you are squeezing in some sewing time and enjoying the spring weather!

Back at Home

I had a wonderful week of doing genealogy research in Letchworth, New York with my Mom-in-love and Sis-in-love.  My MIL's Great Grandfather and his family lived in Gibsonville, NY back in the late 1800's to early 1900's.  Gibsonville is now one of the vanished cities, out of five, that are in Letchworth State Park.  The park is called the Grand Canyon of the east and it's quite beautiful.  I still have photos to upload from my phone so I can show you.

I came home to my garden in full bloom.  I still have lots of landscaping to do around this new house but it's fun to take it slowly.  The daylily is new to the garden and is called "Until my sweetheart returns".  I got it for the name almost more than the color!

I got caught up today on my bee blocks.  The first one, the Dutch Pinwheel is for Kerri.  It was a lot of fun to make.  Equally as fun was the block for Missy.  I haven't made a basket block like this before and I really enjoyed it.

This last picture is a Robin's nest that is in one of my hanging baskets.  Not only were there Robin's eggs but also Cowbird speckled eggs in the nest.  I don't know if the Robin's will make it but I hope so.  All that fuzz represents 5-6 birds in the nest all huddled together because of the strong winds we had today.  It's so much fun to watch them!  Have a great day!

Blessings,

Surrounded by Flowers

Good Morning friends!  I have been away for far too long.  I've been doing quite a bit of traveling the past three weeks and have missed being at my sewing machine and have missed being here.  Right before the traveling began I came across a set of blocks that I had forgotten about.  I made them sometime in the past couple of years.  I don't have any memory of what the pattern was.  I know that it was a sampler along, and some of the blocks were paper pieced.  I used Lecien's Flower Sugar as well as Princess Rose and some Old, New 30's.  All I had to do was put the sashing on and drop it at the quilters.  I just got it back and I am in love.  I know that it's quite floral and bright and a bit busy but I love it!  I hope that you are having a good start to the week!  Blessings!

Xoxo,

Tilda & Tea

We had quite the thunderstorm last night.  I stayed up late enjoying the flash of lightening and the following roll of thunder, so glad that it wasn't snow.  Today the grass is greener and I can hear the birds chirping in the flowering trees.  I'm so thankful for spring and the hope and promise it brings.

I was so pleased to receive a pink envelope in the mail yesterday all the way from the UK.  I finally decided after months and months of wrestling with myself to give in and buy the Tilda Quilt Collection that I've had my eye on.  What was holding me back was my imagined cost of shipping.  When it came right down to it, eight 1/4 yd. cuts and one 1/2 yd. cut with shipping from the UK cost me $34.95.  I didn't think that was extravagant at all.  I have had some favorite lines that I love and this one is no exception.  We need to figure out what how to get Tilda fabric in the states.  For now I'm so glad it's available on Etsy, thanks to Caroline of Love to Sew and a handful of other ladies.

Yesterday on a bit of shopping with my son I purchased the most beautiful tea.  The name is Summer Bouquet and is a blend of chamomile flowers, rosebuds, cornflowers and orange peel.  Made with a spoon of wild blueberry sugar and a bit of milk, it makes the prettiest shade of lavender grey.  The tea looks as if it was made to go with Tilda fabric.

I am so thankful Whole Foods was offering these beautiful peonies and tulips.  The flower beds at this new house only produced the five daffodils.  I am hoping to transplant some flowers from my mothers beautiful garden so that I can be surrounded again by flowers.  I'm forcing myself to resist the urge to make a trip to my old home to see my garden, knowing it wouldn't make me feel any better.  I hope the flowers there are blessing the new owner.

Have a lovely day!

"The grass withers and the flower fades but

the Word of our God stands forever."

Isaiah 40:8