Spring: it's coming again

Actually it came and went.  I wrote this post last April and just finished it.

Okay -- maybe not here in Wisconsin.  But for most of the northern hemisphere, it is.  My guild, Lodi Valley Quilters Guild, has a spring challenge each year that coincides with Quilt Academy.  A choice of three classes are offered from a long list of possibilities; it's a really big deal.  I'm on the committee (I redesigned the brochure this year) so I felt more than obligated to finish my challenge for the quilt display we did with it.

The challenge fabric was this floral.  

 Totally not my style.  But I had to use some of it.  On the front.  Hmmm...

So I got this idea of spring animals frolicking in the flowers. I ironed fusible web to the entire fat quarter.  Then I sat at a meeting and later in front of the TV and cut out individual flowers.  I made it easy on myself and used textile glue to fasten the sheep parts to the background for quilting.

I pinned a thin cotton batt to the back and stitched all the lambs' wool with Aurifil thread.  Here are the finished lambs before I cut away the batting and layered it with the final wool batting.


I will post a photo of the finished piece in a week or two after the show on April 5.  I might have some fun photos of the guild members then too.

Okay, this is not true.  I will post the finished project sometime this month.  OK.  I lied again.  It has been nearly a year and here it is!

Design and Flowers

On my design wall today are three blocks for my latest bag.  I finished this much of the appliqué on the leftmost one.  It still needs a center and a bit of embroidery, then I'll be able to make the bag.

 And while last night the temperatures plummeted from lovely spring to late fall, I have an assortment of pictures of spring flowers.

These seem really early this year -- no doubt a result of record-breaking March temps.

 These irises greeted me this morning.  Last night, they were tightly budded.





I love the ferns as they're preparing for their final unfurl.

 And the stupid fake fruit tree is in its week of glory.  It is covered with these masses of white blossoms.  I cut off all of the low hanging branches last summer so we could mow the lawn without decapitation worries.  The branches that are left have gone out of their way to make up for the missing limbs.

And because I haven't posted one in a while, here is the gratuitous dog pic.  Rosie loves the snow, but she enjoys spring mud also.  This is after the bath.

There are other design walls here on Judy's blog.

Spring's Coming Up All Over!

 I've been waiting seven years for these to bloom.  I liberated them from my previous house when we moved.  Every year they come up and withstand the onslaught of basketballs, soccer balls, and bouncy balls.  And every year, beautiful green spiky leaves, but no flowers.

I fertilized, watered, and sang (really!) to them, but no flowers.

Imagine my delight to see buds shooting up through the leaves this spring.

It has taken weeks, or at least it seems like weeks, for the buds to bloom.





I think they're spectacular!

The peony was all buds yesterday, and today, almost all the buds opened into flowers!


The poppies are looking gorgeous!

And the columbine are sweet.  We had almost no spring this year.  The weather went from cold to hot.  We had frost warnings last week and this week it's almost 90 degrees.  I am lamenting the loss of spring -- I love those 70 degree days and cool nights.  But I LOVE these hot temps.  Even with the humidity.  Although, I'm guessing the mosquitoes are coming soon.  Sigh.