a "Little" goes a long way

Hooray!  Our scattered bunches of snow-in-summer have bloomed.

The magnolias, too, are magnificent...and they haven't even reached their peak yet!

And other beauties...

At home, it's all bouquets, all the time.  Bringing the outside in is a concept much celebrated around here.

I love seeing all the new growth.

Speaking of new growth, how much fatter can this cat get?

Clotilde is so sweet and she's got me wrapped around her paw. I love seeing her little face when I'm working outside.  I am never out for more than a minute or two before hearing her little meow.  Although she impedes my progress by wrapping herself around first one ankle and then the other, I wouldn't have it any other way. 

I'm also feeding a feral cat I've named Blackavar (from Watership Down).

At first he refused to come onto the deck until I'd closed the doors, but now he comes running when I bring food.  He still won't come too close, and thanks me with a series of growls and hisses, but he's definitely coming around.

The newest arrival is Rook.  I originally chose a Finnish (or Danish?) word for spirit (or smoke?) that rhymed with rook, but I kept forgetting it, so Rook stuck.  She's very friendly, but only comes at night.  She seems well-fed.  I wonder if she has a home?

I've been working on my quilt in my free time, and recently splurged for a new fabric collection.  It's called Little by Jenny Lumelsky.  I chose my five favorite prints from the line and ordered a yard each.  It's the most I've ever spent on yardage ($16/yard!) but the patterns are so dreamy that it made the decision easy.  Birds, deer, and rabbits?  All in that peach color that I like so much, with navy accents?  Sold, sold, and sold. 

I got an extra yard of the center blue fabric, since the color is an element of each print.  I'm also going to look for the perfect ivory white shade (Maybe Moda Bella Ivory?) to stretch this project even further.  Six to eight yards of fabric are needed for a full size bed, so I just need a yard or so of ivory (and the perfect pattern!) and I'll be ready to go!  After all, it's about time for a new quilt around here.

Have a great week! 

green convenes

Now is the time when exciting things are happening outside.

I, who used to be so indifferent to spring, am now a convert.  The sweet fresh air, chorus of spring peepers, and tiny green things unfurling everywhere have made me a believer.

I can't stay indoors and not even the rain is enough to keep us inside on the weekends.

Oh, the anticipation!  The magnolias are going to be glorious in a couple of weeks.

Old friends have returned.  I know to expect hyacinths, hellebores, and early-blooming daffodils right now...

Meanwhile, snow-in-summer, forsythia, the bulk of the camellias, redbuds, dogwoods, and azaleas will be right around the corner.  What a delight to daily check their progress!  In the interim, I enjoy the appearance of other new arrivals...

...which is not limited to flora.

In Indiana I would not make the "spring switch" until mid-March or perhaps a bit later, depending on the weather.  But here in South Carolina, I brought spring indoors on February 15th.  All red throws, tablecloth, napkins, placemats, pillow covers, and general accents were put away.  In their place, lots of cream, green, and light blue.  Bird nests were returned, filled with real and ceramic speckled eggs.

Simplicity.

Bouquets all around.

The quilts are still out for cool mornings...I think Bosewichte would strongly protest if I put them away! But at least I'm using the "cool colors" quilt. 

It feels so good to make this seasonal switch.  Since we don't really have four distinct seasons here, it feels like a needed acknowledgement. 

I've also been working on several projects.  I quilted an autumn wall hanging/table runner, but it was accidentally washed with an ink pen.  What a mess!

You'd think that it was ruined, but repeated applications of rubbing alcohol and Grandma's Spot Removal took care of all but one small spot.

I'll gradually bleach that out.  I think I've decided on "table runner" for this project and will use some of my batiks for the autumn wall hanging that I've been mulling over.

I've also been slowly working on my big quilt.  I've completed twelve 15" blocks, and need at least twelve more.  I hate to say it, but I'm not enjoying this quilt.  I am not a fan of making flying geese, and each 15" block needs 20 geese.  This means that I'll have over 500 flying geese for the blocks alone, not to mention the sashing that will go between each of these blocks.  I love the way it looks, but I am going back to a sampler quilt after this, I think.  No more geese for a while! 

I've been knitting a tiny bit, literally.  Having no desire to knit any more socks, hats, cowls, or gloves, and not ready to commit to a sweater right now, I've started knitting miniature things to hang on the Christmas tree.  These tiny mittens will have a little braided cord to connect them.  Although the pattern had directions for a 4-stitch thumb, I decided that it would be a little too fiddly for me. 

Otherwise, work, regular life, and cupcakes.  :)

Have a great week!

grey day, and bombs away!

I love getting outside when there's a light, chilly rain.  If you're properly bundled up, it's easy to ignore the wet and just enjoy the brisk air.

We were almost completely alone at the nature preserve this weekend.  It was quiet except for the gentle pattering of rain and the chorus of tree frogs in the background. 

Since there weren't any other people around, we saw many more birds, including a snowy egret...

...and, of course, the omnipresent geese.

I was so excited to see that every single heron nest in the center of the preserve was occupied!

I had a macro lens, not my zoom, so I just couldn't get a close shot.  But at least you can see their silhouettes.

I love how rain brings out the fungus...

...and the flowers!  Since it's regularly dipping into the 70s now (75 by mid-week!), the bulbs are all coming up.

Hellebores are unfurling.

The camellia shrubs are either bud-laden...

...or drooping with blooms!

Perfect timing, because it's almost VALENTINE'S DAY!  💗  I don't really think of myself as a romantic person...I think I'm too analytical/logical for that.  I don't feel like I need a special day to appreciate my loved ones and look a bit askance at the commercialism of it.  But I do love holidays and any excuse to be festive.  Thanks to my handy dandy planner, I knew that February 12th was the day to pull out decorations.  I've already had my advent calendar up!  I've done one every year for a while, re-using the same background sheet but doing different "themes" with the days. This year is funny pictures from the past decade that combined to make a long, rambling Valentine's sentence.

Garlands MUST go up.  They were all waiting in my HOLIDAYS!!! box, so it only took about 15 minutes to festoon the rooms in which we spend the most time.

And camellias are pink/red, so every room is bursting with bouquets.

I normally bake treats to send out, but lack of time coupled with a desire to decrease my sugar consumption resulted in me cribbing an idea from Pinterest.  I ordered a case of Rolos, wrapped them in red paper, and printed out tags.  Tied together, they looked like dynamite...

You're the BOMB, Valentine!  And no leftover cookies to make us feel sick.  Hooray!  I sent out cards to people abstaining from junk food and "bombs" to those who make an exception for holidays.  I'm preparing to make a special two-person dessert tomorrow, which I'll post about next week. 

Otherwise, we've had a series of sleepy days here...

Looking forward to experiencing more chilly hikes and cozy, sleepy days - as much as we can before the heat and humidity set in.

Have a great week!