Sunday, June 1, 2014

Spring planting plus more…...

Yay!  The weather has finally gotten nice here in southeastern Wisconsin….nice enough to plant and replace shrubs lost by our awful winter.  I must show you our newest purchase.  A little bitty tree….only about 4 feet tall right now, but I have great hopes!  In a few weeks it should be filled with double white blossoms and gorgeous (I hope.)  It's replacing a shrub that did the same thing:  "Rose of Sharon" is the formal name and they come in all sorts of colors.  Hardy in zones 5-9.


Then, I had hubby plant some herbs, flowers, pepper plants and two tomato bushes under the kitchen windows.  These too should fill in nicely in a few weeks.


The QT swap is over for another two months and I received this beauty from my partner, Staci, (theconfusedquilter). If you can believe, this little mini is only 9 1/2" square and each tiny square inside measures only 1.5 inches.  Yikes!  The theme was log cabins, Chinese coins or pinwheels.  She really outdid herself!  I can't imagine how difficult this was????


I made two for her because I couldn't decide which one to send.  Both reflected my take on log cabins.  The first one measured 8.5 x 9.5" and the next 8 x 10.5".  I love making the smaller quilts.  Too bad the QT swap changed its perimeters now to a minimum of 9 x 9" to 18 x 18' now from the  6 x 6" to 12 x 12" it used to be.  When I look back, many of mine have had one side that was only 7.5" so we'll see if I will continue to play with them.  lol



Of course, I sent out some envelopes this week.  In fact, I might have to set aside a few days this coming week to make some more.  I'm getting low…….




And, of course, the week wouldn't be complete without a few books.  Lately, it seems, I haven't been reading anything super good even though the Goodread.com reviews thinks they are.  lol  It's probably about time I break out some of the softcover ones I bought months ago instead of running to the library for the latest releases, huh?

"The Three"                                            by                      Sarah Lotz
"All the Light We Cannot See"              by                      Anthony Doerr
"Before We Met"                                    by                      Lucie Whitehouse
"The Keeper"                                          by                     John Lescroart

By far, the best one was "Before We Met" by Lucy Whitehouse and surprisingly enough it was the one with the fewest pages at only 276.  It's a psychological thriller that had me reading way long into the night.  I'm only half done with the last one, so who knows?  I've read John Lescroart before and his stuff is usually good, so time will tell.  Funny how we all go back to the tried and true when disappointed in what we're reading.

Until next week then……….enjoy what you're doing!  I plan on it!

7 comments:

Susan said...

as much as I love your drawings...its nice to see a quilt or two - my favourite would be the top log cabin - but I'd be happy with either...your work is also such fun.

Ellyn said...

I too love that top log cabin quilt the most but both are awesome! love the quilt you received as well. what a treasure!

Annie said...

I wouldn't be able to choose a favorite. Love them both as well as the one you received. I can't even imagine "wanting" to sew that tiny!

Createology said...

My goodness...those tiny little squares would try even my patience and love for all things miniature. Your quilts are beautiful...received and given. Loving your envelopes! Creative Summer Bliss Dear...

Outback Crafter - Debra said...

Oh those mini quilts are adorable.

kiwikid said...

Love both your mini quilts - beautiful and I love the colours! Enjoy the summer and I hope all your plants do well!
xx

Olga PGov said...

Dear Carol, I loved the star quilt made ​​with solid colors! My favorite!
Hugs from Brazil!! Olga