Using antique quilt blocks and other projects

Artist and fabric designer, Kaffe Fassett likes to incorporate antique blocks with his wonderful fabrics as backgrounds. Here, he adds some hexagon pieced "Grandmother's Flower Garden" blocks onto a busy background fabric.

When Mother moved in with us, she brought a lot of sewing items, including a basket of blocks which her mother had pieced. After seeing what Kaffe did, I got her started on appliquing the blocks in a similar manner onto a green print background. She sewed them on using a blanket stitch with embroidery floss in various colors. I wish I had taken a photo of her working on this, but I didn't.....

 

Here is the family quilt top, inspired by Kaffe's quilt.

 

Now it has a border of pale green paisley fabric............

 

 

.......and I am quilting it with utility quilting stitches using #8 perle cotton.

To condition the perle cotton and help it to glide through the fabric, I use Thread Heaven....which comes with sparkles on top and is in a little blue box!

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Other projects this week.....the dreamsicle quilt for a guild member,

Two more blocks arrived in the mail today and are now in the quilt top! (sunbonnet sue and the string pieced with pumpkins). Many guild members have made these blocks and I have a volunteer with a long arm machine who will quilt it for us!

I should soon be finished with piecing this Scrappy mountain majesty quilt ( pattern available, free on Quiltville blog).....

And I have a kit for this top also....."Lorna Doone " from Glorious Color fabrics (from a book by Kaffe Fassett).

I just love the aqua and the florals!

 

The last day of Enchanting April brings hope!

These are the containers from last summer's failed and frustrating attempt to grow tomatoes.

So SAD! Gray and brown and weeds taking over already!

Today was glorious, and finally the time to make a change in the pots.....planning to do flowers this year...easier! Fewer fungus and insect problems!

So, off to the garden center.....fill the backseat of the car.....

 

...African daisies with purple centers, snapdragons, marigolds, lavender, basil, rosemary, tarragon.
Delightful!
I feel I am having a Rosemary and Thyme  sort of day!  Birdsong is all around!

Pull out the old plants and rubbish.....in with the new....(of course, I know that it is better to use fresh soil....but too hard to find a place of all of the soil in these pots and then $$$$$ to replace....).  Recycling is it is worth a try!

What kind of fertilizer do you like for your flowers and vegetables?

 

These flowers and plants will look great for at least a few days ( Our daughter Laura is coming from Georgia to see her grandmother.  Mom is in long term care and hospice is helping us now.) and the flowers and vegetables may even thrive and make my summer more joyful!

 

 We are expecting cool weather again in a few days....the snapdragons should like that!

 

I also  gambled on some vegetables, 4 cucumber plants, one "Merlot" sweet purple bell pepper, and one "old German" tomato.....we'll see!

 

Now, to read the booklet from hospice on the stages of dying.  Interesting, and. Like Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme, pour myself a glass of wine!

 

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I am also sewing when I have energy.  This is the string quilt with selvage strips on which I have been working!

 

 

Oh, and several knitting projects have come along too!  later a post on those!