Simple Pleasures and Slow Sunday Stitching

(This photo has been altered to correct the color. I messed around with the settings on this photo so I could focus just on the center bloom, and while that part worked, for some reason it faded out the color on the bloom and foliage, so I hit the enhance color button to correct the color.)

Isn't it funny how one little thing can make or break your day? Luckily, it was make my day today. This odd spring weather we have had has made my Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) bloom before my neighbor's wisteria for the first time in fifteen years. That's right. For fifteen years, I have smelled nothing but wisteria while my laurel was blooming, but finally, finally, finally, I got to smell nothing but the sweet smell of grape bubble gum wafting across my yard. It didn't hurt anything that the laurel is covered in blooms this year too. I guess that's from all the rain.

And to top it off, two Red Admiral butterflies (Sophora secundiflora) were visiting the blooms along with several honey bees and bumblebees.

My Texas Mountain Lauel:

The neighbor's wisteria:

Na na na na boo boo! hehehe

With all the rain we've had recently (over four inches this week), I should be out pulling weeds and mowing the yard, and I did do some of that yesterday, though it's too wet to drive the lawn mower. But today was really windy, so I stayed inside and did some slow stitching. Actually, I did some of it yesterday while we were driving, but today, I put the flowers together.

Linking to Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts.

March OMG Goal

Just one goal this month because I think it's going to be a tough deadline to complete. I want to finish the Summer Crossroads quilt. The picture below is one I posted in early January and I am farther along with it now, but everything is also packed away right now. That's just one of the reasons it is going to be a tough goal. The other one is that we are well into spring and soon I will be spending hours every day in the garden instead of the sewing room.



My goal is to just get the pieced top finished. At this time, I am planning on doing some applique on the borders, but that could change after the top is pieced also.

Speaking of the garden, we both spent all day doing yard maintenance and didn't begin to make a dent in the work that needs to be done. Hopefully, we can get some tilling and planting done tomorrow, and then it's supposed to start raining. Talk about deadlines!

Linked to:
Red Letter Quilts OMG, It's March!

Around the World from the Couch

Began 2015, Finished 2016

Leaders and Enders Project

Cathy at A Quilting Chick has a monthly linky party for leaders and enders, which is going to be added incentive for me to use up those boxes of scrap fabrics I have everywhere. I have found that it is easier for me to make simple, mindless blocks for leaders and enders. When I try to make pieced blocks or follow a quilt pattern, I spend more time on the leaders and enders than I do on the quilt I'm trying to make, and then start making mistakes on both of them. So nothing outstanding here, just simple string blocks. Brown is February's color for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge but I've been sewing bags lately and that doesn't work well with leaders and enders because of the thread and foot used. Hopefully, I'll get back to my Crossroads quilt soon so I can finish more brown blocks. I need six of them for the end project I'm thinking about.

The block in the top right is paper pieced. I wanted to find a simple leader and ender that would work when doing paper piecing and using a regular foot and think this is work for that. I just need to remember to save some of each color to finish them. My goal with the Rainbow Scrap Challenge is to use up those boxes of scraps.

Linking to:
Leader/Ender Linky Party at A Quilting Chick.

Living for the Moment and Design Wall Monday

The other day, I had to run to town for something or other. As I was driving the same dull road I drive every time I go to town, I noticed a car next to mine. It wasn't the car I noticed as much as the passenger in the car, a black dog with hair so long it covered his eyes. The window was down and the dog's paws were on the door and his face into the wind, long hair flying, and an expression of pure joy on his face. It was probably the same road that the dog had been on many times before also, but for him, the thrill of the ride hadn't diminished over time.

It made me smile to watch the dog enjoying his ride, and reminded me that it doesn't take much effort to enjoy the simple things. I get so busy getting my work done that I forget to stop and enjoy what I have right now. Who knew you could learn something from a dog?

Ok, enough deep thinking for one day. On with the design wall, or floor in this case.



I'm still plugging away at the Summer Crossroads quilt, but since it doesn't look much different than it did last time, I'm not going to show it. I've made a few string blocks, mostly in brown since that is the color of the month chosen by soscrappy for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge. Last month was blue, and it put me on such a roll that I not only made my blue blocks, but I cut up all the remaining blue in my box for either future string blocks, EPP, or half square triangles. I'm happy to say that I no longer have a blue scrap box taking up room on a shelf!

I hope I can say the same thing about the brown scraps next month, but my momentum definitely slowed over a hill this month, so we'll see. When I put these brown blocks down to photograph, I noticed that I cut one wrong, so I really only have two finished.

I also wanted to show progress on my English Paper Pieced stars. I had one block completed before Saturday, but this is what I completed during the three hour Storm Spotter class Saturday afternoon. Doesn't seem like much when they are laid out does it? During the morning class, I worked on hexagons.

In my excitement over eliminating a scrap box, I almost forgot my stash report. Or maybe I almost forgot because there's not much there. Except for one strip of white muslin, I haven't used any fabric from my stash this week. Everything else has been from fabric already cut.

That's it for me. I hope you check out the links below and see what wonderful creations other quilters have come up with this week.

Blessings,
Marti

Linking to:
Monday Making 16 at Love Laugh Quilt
Design Board Monday at Bits and Bobs
Main Crush Monday 18 at Cooking Up Quilts
Moving it Forward 8 at Em's Scrapbag
Oh Scrap! 20 at Quilting is More Fun than Housework