Busy weekend

It was Rob's birthday weekend and on Saturday, he wanted to go to a real nursery.  Not a home and garden center like Lowe's or Home Depot.  He wanted to go to a real nursery to look for more unusual plants.  We did that and shopped for large pots and had a nice lunch and spent the day together.  Not working.  Just enjoying ourselves.  Unfortunately, our nearest nursery is closing this summer, but they still had lots of wonderful plants and we picked up several things to grow in pots.

Yesterday, I spent all morning in the yard, then we went out for lunch and then it was chores, like cleaning the aquarium and a little cooking and cleaning.  I don't have anything to show for any of it.  So, I'm going to show another set of tree blocks.  I'm up to 12.  Six more to go.  I wanted to lay them out to make sure I'm getting sufficient variety, and I am.  This quilt would also be beautiful with seasonal trees that flowed from left to right across the quilt.  Brown on one end, then brights, then some greens, then flowing to reds and golds.  But, I'm not taking these apart to make that happen now. 

You  might notice that they don't look ironed.  And, you'd be right.  I'm not doing any ironing as I go, just finger pressing.  Sometimes, it's easier for me to make points match if I just finger press as I go.  A hot iron changes the shape of blocks, especially blocks with bias.  I made the first block in class without an iron, and it went together perfectly.  I was home for the second block and used the iron and that block was harder to piece together.  So, I stopped ironing them.  But, I am being very careful with seam allowances because with these blocks, they could really build up quickly and I'm not going to want to run up on a really thick seam allowance when I'm quilting. 

I make a lot of quilts, but I also have quite a quilt collection.  Not a valuable one, just a collection of vintage quilts and UFOs that I like, many handed down through the family.  But, I buy things I like, too.  You saw a star I picked up a couple weeks ago.  I also picked up these blocks.  They're embroidered and I think they'd make a beautiful little quilt. 

I got them for a song and whether they ever get turned into anything, or if they just get washed and cared for correctly until they pass into the next set of hands, they're mine for now. 

I've noticed recently that Sydney and I are really getting along.  It started last Tuesday, my first day back from my family visit.  When she got home that evening, I was making a tree block and she came in and watched and talked to me.  Rob left us to talk and she rambled from subject to subject.  And, I just listened.  I got in a word once in a while, but this was about her, and I guess about her missing me and wanting to fill me in on her weekend.  Yesterday, I was working in the yard and she came by with the recycling and I called her over to help me move the bird bath.  She didn't like the new place I'd picked, but instead of saying that, she talked about how Rob wasn't going to like it.  I told Rob what had happened in passing.  At lunch, she tried to throw me under the bus by saying I wanted to move the birdbath to a place he wouldn't like and she stopped me and made me move it back.  So he wouldn't be mad.  But, I told it like she made me move the birdbath even though ai didn't want to, but I knew he wasn't going to like it, so I made her help me move it back.  Rob played along.  We laughed and laughed. 

Everybody have a great Monday.  Hug a kid.  Smile unexpectedly.  Take a walk around the neighborhood.  Enjoy the spring.  Be expansive. 

Lane