Goldblum Boom

Although it will be 70 degrees here by Wednesday, it's been cold, and we recently had snow flurries.  Very light...just enough to fill up the spiderwebs that have started appearing in the garden.

The flakes were so light that they themselves were caught suspended in the debris, looking like a tiny snowstorm frozen in time.  

Even with a couple of deep-freeze days, I wasn't worried about our bulbs, and they're continuing to grow with no issues.  Inside, growth has been even better.  I have to pull out my old Jeff Goldblum meme...

...because despite my many mistakes, my ranuculus are doing just fine.  Last year, I left them in the field too long.  Then, after finally digging them up, I left them out to dry for FAR too long...weeks!...and in a freezing cold barn.  I finally brought them in, soaked them, but without much hope.  They were desiccated and gnarled, but I went ahead and stuck them in my cold, dark attic anyway.  Two weeks later...LIFE!!

Ditto with my sweet peas.  After a couple of weeks in the attic, they're up and looking great!  

My little indoor grow area is quite crowded now.

Soon it will be warm enough to move out to my barn potting area!

I'm seeing so much more activity outside now, too.  Every day, herons stalk the bank of our front pond, looking for (and catching!) small fish and frogs.

A group of turkey vultures played a game of tag on a nearby hill.

After a mini-hibernation in February, the muskrats are bustling about, repairing their eroded roof.

I, too, have been gathering materials.  As my physical therapy draws to a close, I'm starting to dabble in quilting again.  I cut my Tilda fabric, layered with Kona Cotton Snow, into 1 3/4" strips.

The next step is sewing these colored strips into rows, alternating with white...

...and then cross-cutting these strips into 1 3/4" sections.

These will be mixed up in a random assortment (more random than this!) and sewn into blocks...

...and then the blocks will be joined and make up the final quilt top, like this one from Red Pepper Quilts.

This method is SO much quicker and easier than sewing each tiny square together.  In just a few minutes, I have a finished block!

I love the scrappiness of of the Red Pepper quilt, and I've worried that there's not enough color variety in my Tilda fabric...but I've got plenty of scrappy quilts, and I love the cohesiveness of this color line.  We'll see how it goes!  

I'll continue to work on this as the season progresses and time allows.  It's going to be very busy here soon between work and the growing season duties.  In just one month, the garden will be fully awake!  I like to look to past years for clues...

photo from mid-April 2019

photo from mid-April 2020

photo from mid-April 2021

I can't wait.  Have a great week!  

[winter s-]Oh, Yeah!

While cats stayed warm and cozy this past week...

...I got to work on a major project - winter sowing.  First, I drilled holes in the tops and bottoms of 57 one-pound plastic tubs of spinach.  Yes...57.

I mixed together potting soil, peat moss, and perlite in my wheelbarrow.  The latter two improve soil drainage, which keeps seeds from rotting.

I dampened the soil mixture and then started planting.  It took an afternoon to fill 26 of the plastic tubs with seeds, also adding a plastic marker for identification.  Then I set them on the ground next to the barn.  Todd later added some concrete blocks to keep them from blowing away.

These are tiny mini greenhouses.  They will get wet, and they'll freeze.  They'll warm up on sunny days.  Eventually, the temperature will rise enough to cause germination.  Once I start seeing green, I'll take off the lids and let them get some air.  As soon as the ground is warm enough to work, I'll start planting...probably in late March or early April.  I could get up to 300 flower seedlings from this group!  I ran out of soil before I could fill the rest of the containers, but most of the remaining flowers are so easy - cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, and sunflowers - that I don't need to bother with this method. I can plant the seeds right in the ground and they'll come up.

I got these done just in time...

...because a crazy snowstorm whipped up this week.

I took a quick video.  The flakes were falling thick and fast!

Just like the week before, though, the snow was completely melted in a few hours.  So strange.

Inspired by some of the quilts at my local quilt guild meeting...

...I spent quite a bit of time working on small sewing project this week, despite the fact that my shoulder and neck have been unusually sore.  I lightly quilted a baby quilt, using the Alice and Wonderland fabric I mentioned a week or so ago.

It's a simple half square triangle quilt.  I'm attaching a mustard-colored binding for a nice contrast, which I'll hopefully get done next week.  Bosewichte was a huge help, as usual.

I'll post a picture once it's done.  I also cut up fabric and made half square triangles for another quilt...

...that I'll probably do in an old-fashioned pinwheel style.

Annoyingly, I ran into a wall with my yellow log cabin quilt, but at least I learned a valuable lesson.  I ran out of the white fabric I'd been using to construct my blocks and needed to order more.  However, I wasn't quite sure which white I'd started with.  I always use Kona Cotton...so I ordered a yard of Kona Cotton White.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but White is a much brighter and cleaner color than what I need.

Must be Snow, I reasoned.  So I ordered several yards of it...and discovered that I was even further off.  Snow is more of an off white, like french vanilla ice cream. 

It's all right...I'm going to pair all of those yards of Kona Cotton Snow with this bundle lot I ordered recently.  Most beautiful pastel colors ever!  This quick iPhone photo doesn't do it justice.

This is the quilt that I'm going to make.  Isn't it gorgeous?

In other sewing news, I made a couple of tiny squares for practice.  Note to self:  tiny squares are awfully fiddly...

...but really are a great way to use up little fabric bits that are too endearing to throw away!  Saving every little 1" scrap...I think that's how every impressive hoarder begins, right?

Have a great week!

fabric therapy

Lately, the sunsets...

...and sunrises...

...have been gorgeous!  It's one of the benefits of getting up at 5 a.m. and getting my day started.  By the time my workout is over, the sun is coming up!  I still like to get in at least one good hike with Todd every week...rain or shine. 

There's a lot of standing water left over from the recent flooding, and these ducks are taking full advantage of it!

I love seeing mating pairs.  It means that soon we'll be seeing...ducklings!!  I am definitely missing our "goz" this year and am looking forward to seeing the local 'littles' a bit later this spring.  Meanwhile, we saw signs of other creatures around.  Lots of beaver activity around the water.  They're loving it! 

I'm thinking about relocation more than hikes and pretty sunrises, though.  Our temporary stay in an apartment has stretched on for many months, since we haven't yet found the right property.  Being in such a small space is tough, and being without my 'extras' is even tougher.  One thing that's extraordinarily hard is not sewing and quilting.  My fabric - and machine - are in storage, and I'm starting to feel a little surly about it.  Buying new fabric helps. 

Recent favorites include May Belle fabric from Penny Rose...

...Guest Room by Moda (the pinks are not nearly as bright as they appear here!)...

...and Garden Variety, also by Moda.

Check out this amazing quilt made with Garden Variety!

Not only have I been purchasing bundles, but I've been picking up random fat quarters at a steady pace.

More than any other color, I have accumulated a lot of mint.  But I've also been drawn to reds and navys, which will make an amazing quilt someday.

Our apartment is so full that I'm resting my feet on sacks of fabric while I work at my computer, so I'm trying not to buy too much more until we move...but I can't resist a thrift store, and I definitely have a fondness for strawberries.  This bone china cake plate was MINE for $3.

I think it's so cheerful for spring and even early summer.  I can't wait to put it in my (future) kitchen!  That day cannot get here soon enough!

The cats don't mind our cozy quarters one bit.  They always seem to find room to stretch out, usually in my lap.

Every day, Tabitha snuggles in for "biscuits and gravy" - kneading and sucking - usually on my arm.  She hasn't changed much.  The photo on the left is from her kitten days...the one on the right is from last week.  ;)   

My sweaters all have little yarn snarls at the inside elbow bend, because she kneads vigorously there for sometimes 10 minutes at a time.  I don't mind, though.  Totally worth it.

Have a great week!