Is This Cheating?

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day. I took a little break to get some things done and did not even turn on the computer for 3 days!

Here is one of the chairs on my porch. I redid the cushions last year. They really get a lot of wear and tear with the pollen and dust that filters in on the porch. This year when we got them out I washed them and they disintigrated. Even the zippers fell apart.

Voila! a new cushion made in 10 minutes! I used home dec fabric and instead of sewing it I wrapped it all nice and pinned it to the bottom with safety pins. I figure if I am going to have to change them every year I may as well make it simple. We sat on them all weekend and they held up just fine.

It sure brightens things up! I am planning on redoing the wicker as well. My son is going to stain them black for me, my Mother's Day present. We have had this set for about 22 years and it has held up well but is a little faded.

This is pretty much what I looked like Saturday and Sunday. The mulch is almost all down only 2 more beds to do. Yesterday we spent a lovely afternoon with friends in Chesapeake City, MD eating lunch on the dock restaurant. It was a nice break from all the back breaking work!

Kelly

End of May

I can't believe it is the end of May! Time is just flying by. I am still working the gardens and it is taking forever. This is a shot of a giant pot I have on my front porch, there are 2 of them side by side. In  it I have Lipstick impatients, caladium, Sangria and Black Dragon coleous and in the center I will be putting a Maiden Hair Fern. It is a no fail combination that works on my shady porch.

Sea Holly, love the spikeyness......

Lamb's Ears or as the grandkids call them Bunny Ears. I am digging them all out! They are taking over and I am just tired of them. If you like them and want to plant them make sure you get the nonflowering ones!

I really like the contrast of colors and texture of the Creeping Jenny and Stella D'oro daylilies.

My front is shady which has it's challenges. I love this hosta (I think it is called Guacamole) in the shade is vibrates!

I have resisted the Knock Out Roses but am going to give it a go.....I needed something "pretty" for this spot. If it blooms all summer as promised I will be a happy camper.

The purpley pink flowers that look like flox are called Queen of the Prairie. I really like them and they spread slowly. Once they stop blooming they look a little raggedy if you cut them back sometimes they bloom again.

This hosta is huge, much bigger than I ever thought it would be. I like how it frames the pot. The color of the Black Dragon Coleous against these leaves should be beautiful.




White violets in the middle of my hosta

The best garden tip I could ever give...never, ever, ever plant white violets anywhere near a garden. They are so invasive and impossible to get rid of....in a naturalized setting yes, they would be beautiful.

Not a good picture but we had a great success rate with our seedlings. They will be in the garden this weekend.




Elliot and Maddy

Preschool graduation for Maddy yesterday, Elliot got to go too.


So I am sure you are sick of hearing about my gardens....A little sewing is going on, notice it is red and white....it will also have some green. I hope to get to it this weekend if we get a thunderstorm.
Have a great weekend as we remember all who have given us the freedom to live in a great country!

Kelly

Wordless Wednesday

Beyond The Cherry Tree

It's a beautiful day here today, I will be in my garden.

Kelly

Rainy Monday

I have decided not to put the little circle centers in these flowers, I like it better this way. I am also toying with not embroidering the little stems and just let the flowers float out there....

Today is Elliot's 4th birthday!

It was a pirate theme in case you didn't know...

His brother Griffin....

Cousin Maddy...

Cousin Fallon...

Friend Abby...

It was also a costume party because when you are 4 you can have a birthday party and a costume party.

Mommy and daddy cutting up the cake...

Daddy and Elliot

And a baseball game with all his new birthday gear. Happy Birthday Elliot!

Kelly

A Little Sewing And A Little Gardening

This is a UFO that came off the top of the pile!

Here is a detail of some of my machine quilting. I decided this was an opportunity to try some "fancy" quilting. With a piece this size it is a lot easier to do more precise quilting.

I am not as thrilled with the design I picked for the leaves but it will do.

This is not a good picture but I like the loops I did in the pink part. I am trying to learn to let the piece decide the design and not try to make something go in there that does not work. I am still trying ot decide what to do in the background. I would like to try something other than meandering....any ideas?

A little touch of blue in all that pink and green. Originally there were 4 blocks, but one is still unfinished. I decided not to make a quilt but to turn what is done into a runner.....another UFO out of my pile. It's a good thing as Martha would say!

I have also been working on my sort of red and white quilt. It is going to be bed  size and it's for me and my husband. I really like half square triangles.

Now for the gardening part.....here is a really "green" way to plant. Save all your egg shells, it does not matter if they are pretty or not. Save the cardboard container they come in. Fill the shells with potting soil and your seeds. Mine have zinnias, nasturtiums and sunflowers.

Spray them using a spray bottle with water and cover with plastic wrap. Set on a sunny counter, keep moist and remove wrap as soon as you see sprouts. Now you can place them EXACTLY where you want them, shell and all in your garden. My tip for growing great zinnias is epsoms salt. I sprinkle it all over the soil, work it in  and plant either the plants or seeds. I think you are supposed to test your soil first, I did not but it worked well. You can also use it for tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.
Even though it seems late to be starting warm weather seeds indoors, the secret to gardening is warm soil. It does not matter how early you get plants out, they will not really start to grow if the soil is too cold.

Kelly

Very Random Monday

My life feels like this room looks, scattered and a mess! Nothing has been going on in here because I have to clean up before I can even think of sewing.



Sage and Jasmine

My niece, Jasmine had a graduation (Bloomsburg University)/engagement party this weekend. Her sister Sage is also graduating (high school). Her party will be at the end of the summer and she will be attending Shippensburg University, where 2 of my kids went.

I still have seeds to plant, I am really behind...

Do you ever do this? When you are driving around and see some landscaping you like, snap a picture? I do.....

Some sewing is getting done. I like this block and it is pretty quick. Tonight I am going to make the cherries and get it done in the next couple of days. At least that is the plan.

If anyone is interested in an I Spy Swap go over to Carla's blog,  Lolly Quiltz and join. It is open until May 31. This is a great way to get some good fabrics if you are thinking of making this quilt. I know there will be more grandchildren so maybe I will get a head start....yeah right!

My Blogger First

Okay so for the past couple of days blogger has been out and now I know the frustration other people have been talking about! But now it is back and I can tell you about Amy's Creative Space Spring Quilt Festival. It really is fun so check it out when you have some time to sit and see some very awesome quilts.

This is the quilt I am entering called "Sunshine Flower", for no other reason than I just like it and I love the colors. It is not large about 18 x 24. One of the best things about this quilt is that I did not labor over what to put where. I tried to work more intuitively and just enjoy the process. I did stress a little when it came to the machine quilting because I didn't want to ruin it!!! I decided to just quilt it the way it might look in nature, simple  and not complicated, mostly straight lines and a few curves. The center dots were made with a paper punch my Martha Stewart. MUCH easier than trying to cut them all out by hand and I wanted them very round. It is all hand dyed fabric which is what give the petals that very realistic look. This is completely fused which added to the fun and relatively fast completion. Try it!
I hope you all enjoy this quilt.

Kelly

More Cherry Trees

I really like this block and did not mind the little "fingers" behind the red flowers. I am really enjoying working on this quilt.

Kelly

Still No Sewing...

Saturday and Sunday were spent outside. The weather was beautiful, low 70's, sunny and no humidity. This is my front garden that is over grown and in need of some cleaning out.

I have really disliked these bushes for a while and decided it was time for them to go. Gardening is much like quilting, some things work and some don't work.

Lucky for me I have a husband who loves to do this kind of "gardening".

A large John Deere tractor is a wonderful thing!

We ended up pulling out 9 bushes that were overgrown and damaged by the winter snow and ice.

There was even a little helper.

The porch got scrubbed, the pollen is really bad this year. It was everywhere!

She likes to clean and garden!

My husband even cooked dinner, surf and turf. What a great guy!
I hope all you moms had a great day.

Kelly