Some of This; Some of That

                               It's mailed so I can show you the top:
My DIL made the top at our last sewing retreat.  I took it home to quilt and bind.  It's going to her best friend.
Here's the label:

I like to thread sign my labels.  This one's on the front (lower left). You can see the back and quilting in the previous post.

Seen during our last week's cooler weather in the garden:

First of the Spider lilies

A surprise amaryllis-thought they'd all bloomed in April.

A volunteer Mexican Milkweed - it's a tropical and don't know where it came from in all this hot weather.

I've also started back up on a UFO from several years ago. I fell in love with Jen Kingwell's My Small World, got the pattern, started it (just barely), then life got in the way.  So I was so happy to find out about a Sewcial that has just started for like minded quilters to work on this quilt. Yeah.

This is an Instagram based project and you can find it here .  Here's my first month's blocks done:

Got a long way to go.

Okay then, now to the hand sewing - prepping some hexies for my Bliss.

 The one that's got a purple half hexagon is already whipped stitched. The one to its left is half done. You can see the tape I have on it to keep it in place while assembling that hexi.

I hold it as shown - flat to do the stitching. Not my technique - Julia Wood's. You can go to her video and see how she handles curvy lines in hexies.

Please visit my tab for linky parties above to go to the fun other quilters are posting. PS:  I use invisible thread to hand stitch my hexies. And yes, that needle in the photos is threaded. I sit before a lamp and the thread is visible. This will be my slow Sunday Stitching for tonight's TV time.

Bye for now.  Blessings,

I'm Late, and Later Still

to post for Thursday and Friday - ah, me - such is life. But I've been puttering along in this very warm August in SoCal, and now it's Sept 1.  Some say I have it good - at least I don't have humidity with our 95-100 degrees like some parts of the South. And I'm praying for all in the path of Hurricane Dorian.

On the quilty side, I've been struggling to make the pieced units for my applique quilt. Yes, there are four - one for each corner and so far I'm struggling to make them the right size - 3 1/2" unfinished. I need nine for each block. I made a sample block with cut pieces - didn't come out too hot - when I sew them together I would lose the points - ugh.

I made it in the fabric I want to use for the blocks, but since this didn't work, I'm changing to scraps. 

Tried smaller seams - not working.   Then I decided to foundation piece the teeny pieces .

One came out nearer to 3 1/4" unfinished size and the other I don't know what went wrong - look at that top triangle on the right - Sighhh.

Why wasn't this working.  Sat back and started to think thru the process.  I went to print another sheet of templates when I noticed that my printer property was set to Fit to Frame. Could the setting be causing the problem?  So I printed one with this feature off and one with the feature on.  Made the units above - still not 3 1/2" square - arghhh.

So went back to where I made the templates - EQ6.  I brought up the square and printed the templates from the program instead of saving the page to a file.  There!  It worked!  I made the square and got my 3 1/2" unit.  WOOHOO!  And here it is:

Since I had measured the side of one template and it was 3 1/2" I was pretty sure it was going to work so I used the actual fabric for the block. One down, four to go.  I have a different unit for the four corners.

To keep me sane I kept looking at some photos from my last trip - something soothing, flowers of course.  I was going to show you these Thursdays, but that didn't happen.  Hope you like them.

beautiful tuberous begonias

lovely geraniums

gorgeous dahlias

giant hibiscus

sunny and bright - all from CSU's Test Fields in Fort Collins.

This one's from my kitchen garden. These 8 naked lady stalks followed the sole one two weeks before.

I'm linking to Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop?, I Like Thursdays, and Oh, Scrap! Go on by, gentle readers.

A late I Like Thursdays and a Friday Finish

Wednesday was getting readY for some library lesson presentations and story times at the library.  Thursday was presenting the lessons and a surprise story time. By the time I got home I was exhausted.

Enough excuses. I did finish a baby quilt:

All it needs now is binding.  I love the center dogie fabric!

All of this flannel fabric wAS leftover from previous St. Anne's quilts. I used the cotton fabric on the back. My flannel medallion was too cute not be front and center.

Throughout last week, I spent more time at home except for my assignment. It was just too cold for me. However I did take a walk with DH and saw our neighbor up the hill had installed a fascinating windmill.

The merest of a breeze would make it turn.

I like what he did for the base.

To the left of our hill is Cucamonga Peak again covered with snow from the last two storms.

The right side of the hill has a view of the easterly mountains. They are spectacular, but I haven't had a chance to take a photo. 

We have sightings of new flowers in our yard.

The geraniums have begun blooming.

We found our first Bird of Paradise

Our Christmas poinsettia is still as beautiful as when we got it in early December.

I'm linking to Finished or Not Friday, Can I Get a Whoop, Whoop, Let's Make Baby Quilts, and Free Motion Mavericks. You'll find them in my Linky Parties tab under the header.  Blessings!

Some of This; Some of That

First, the giveaway is open until Thursday.  You could win a book.  See the previous post.
I'm back to working on my hexies.  This will be my hand stitching in front of the TV for the week.

Onto stash report:  What with leader and ender blocks, a Stars and Stripes sampler block, and two baby quilt tops and one backing, plus a charity bag, I used 3.45 yards from my stash.  The YTD total is now at 43.40 yds.

I leave you with a view from my garden.  These are Mexican primrose that despite my neglect came up and bloomed for me.

Blessings on this second week of Eastertide.  Christ is risen! Alleluia.

Keep lighting your Easter candle during this season.