Flower Friday: May 10, 2024

 

Happy Friday and Happy Mother's Day weekend!

Lots of rain and some heat and the garden is really taking off this week!  Oh how I love spring!

Do you like butter?

Lovely wild buttercups that a neighbor mows around her property. I love that.

Weigelia and the rhododendron is beginning to bloom!

Azalea in full bloom!

Catmint is putting on a good show and is actually a great favorite with cats!

One of my favorites--forget-me-nots!

What's happening in your garden?

Have a safe and happy weekend!

Weeds

 

Happy Thursday!

Tomorrow is Flower Friday but this post is a preamble of sorts.

Lucky and I have been working in the garden as much as we can these days.  Well...Lucky contents himself with the ball most of the time.  He does take a few breaks to try to steal my gardening gloves. 😄

I had to do some investigating this week.  My mother had a plant that was all abloom in her front yard and I don't remember ever seeing it before.

My brother referred to it as "weeds".  After investigation, I realized that it was just a vinca with a unique leaf coloring and standing tall (unlike mine which is more a carpet look).  It has filled a good portion of her front yard and is holding it's own against the ivy.  No one knows how it got there or how long it's been there but it's pretty and I think it should stay.

Years ago, I saw a pretty plant at an old house we visited for some kind of quilt meeting.  This week, I saw it again at the park:

This morning, I found some blooming in my backyard and had to research it.  It's a plant called "Star of Bethlehem" and is considered an invasive plant in Pennsylvania.

It's growing among my painted ferns which means I'll pluck it out.  I really don't need anymore invasive plants.

How are things going in your garden?  Send us photos at allentownquilter@gmail.com for Flower Friday tomorrow!

Have a safe and happy day!

Finishes

 

Greetings friends!

It seems like forever since I posted a finish.  In fact, this one I finished the last piece of binding over the weekend:

If it looks familiar, I've done about 4 of these quilts and even have one more top to finish.  This one will go to one of my nieces.

Another finish is this baby quilt I made from leftover pinwheels and the bird fabric that keeps on giving.  Also may look familiar to you because I did a bigger lap quilt size for my neighbor.

And then there is the other one.  I had to take apart a bunch of blocks for this UFO that I found in late summer/early autumn.  I disliked my original layout and took apart the blocks and remade it.  Sometimes you just have to please yourself.

So now I have three finishes for my guild's UFO challenge and a nice stack of quilt gifts to give at a later time.

Life is good!

Have a safe and happy day!

Aloha

 

Aloha friends!

May is Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage month in the USA.  

I thought I would dig through the newspapers to find out more about Hawaiian quilts.  Many of the earliest quilts referenced were Hawaiian Flag quilts.  This motif was chosen often after 1893 when settlers removed the monarchy and Queen Lili'uokalani was forced from her throne.  It was a symbol of loyalty to the queen.  Below is a flag bedspread from Etsy:

Similar motif from a 1949 article:

One of my favorite images of these flag quilts is here at the Smithsonian website.

Queen Lili'uokalani was also a quilter and made an amazing crazy quilt while imprisoned.  The best photos I have seen of this quilt can be found at whipstitch here.

It's touching how many Hawaiians still pay deference to their queen.  There is even a quilt pattern that refers to her favorite flowers (see here).

Most sources indicate that missionaries taught quilting to native Hawaiians as early as 1820.  I love that the Hawaiians made quilting their own by using motifs of their own life.  

Since we have a whole month to celebrate these wonderful quilters, I'll have more later this month.

Have a safe and happy day!

Flower Friday: May 3, 2024

 

Happy Flower Friday!

Most of us are diligently working in our garden:  pruning, weeding, moving plants and getting a bit sore in the process.  😪

Last week, Lucky and I walked in temps in the low 30s.  I often thought to myself that despite the cool temps, we were having a lingering spring and that was something to celebrate!

Alice's Wood Hyacinths are in full bloom!  Most of the older houses in the neighborhood have this flower in as well.  It's a hyacinth I can enjoy because it's not too fragrant!

My neighbor's dogwood put on a splendid show!

Another neighbor's lilacs fill the air with their perfume!

The bleeding hearts are fading fast...mostly because we had temps this week in the 90s on Monday and in the high 80s the rest of the week:

What's happening in your garden?

Have a safe and happy weekend!

Quiltmania

 

Happy Thursday!

Quiltmania Ceases Publication

I have collected sewing magazines for decades, like the one above.  I'm just not sure there are going to be any left soon.  This week, everyone is buzzing about the closing of the Quiltmania magazine.  

This magazine was a big favorite with quilters.  I think that most of us are shocked by this latest closure.  Quiltmania often had unique quilt patterns that were very popular with a lot of my friends.

There are still a few quilting magazines available out there but I think these are probably most popular with new quilters. 

Copies of the latest issue is available for free here as well as other patterns.  I'm not sure how long the website will be up, so take a look while you can.

Tomorrow is Flower Friday and if you have any images you care to share, please email them to me at allentownquilter@gmail.com

Have a safe and happy day!

 

Good morning!

Yes I took a break a little longer than expected but we all needed a few days to regroup.

Janet's funeral and memorial was beautiful and sad.  So many people came out to celebrate her and it was a day that started with grief and ended with gratitude that she had been in our life.

My brother is trying to keep himself busy still.  It appears to me that he is struggling at times but he is changing his daily routines to involve myself and my mother.  The one thing he wanted most was to see the little ones.  Remi (almost 2) and Nora (almost 3 months finally met.  

Remi saw Nora's little fist and gently gave her a fist bump which made us all laugh.  

We were happy that Maggie, Matt, and Remi spent Saturday night up here so we could play with Remi the next day.  I finally got to give Remi her doll bed, doll, and accessories I had made for the baby doll.

She loved the whole set-up and then (as I expected) explored the doll crib up close and personally:

Better try that bottle out:

Lucky and Remi also got to meet and although we kept Lucky muzzled as a precaution, things went well between toddler and puppy.

So it's back to life again.  But we take some sweet memories of the weekend with us.

Have a safe and happy day!