Beginnings

I've been quilt marking.  I don't really enjoy quilt marking, that's why I learned to free hand quilt.  But sometimes, nothing will do but marked quilting. 

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do in this quilt.  I've studied and deliberated on it.  And, then I started to draw.  I've used a damp cloth to blot out a couple blocks as I figured out what works.  And, this pattern that radiates out from the center toward the corners was what I liked best. 

I hope that shows up better when it's in the machine.  I'm going to quilt lines in the print fabrics and then FMQ in the white backgrounds.  I'll fill the borders with something curvy and non-directional.  I just need to get motivated to do some marking.  And, then find the time to do it. 

The baby birds have hatched.  I keep trying to get a good picture, but so far, they are just a dark smudge in the nest.  They started as a pink smudge, now a dark smudge.  I look for those changes to make sure everything is okay.  Like it's any of my business, right? 

And, sometimes I catch the mother sparrow in the nest.  Thankfully, she is not bothered by me. 

 

This moonflower bloomed the other day.  I thought we had lost track of our seeds last year and would need to buy a new one.  Rob did buy a new purple one.  But, this little volunteer showed up and this is the second bloom.  I'm pretty sure I lost the third bloom to the heavy rain we had a day or two ago.  But, that's nature, right?  There will be more.  This little plant seems hearty, so I'm hoping for great things.  But, I do need to find the time to get it in a bigger pot. 

 

My great grandmother grew Moonflowers like these on the back corner of her house.  They're not the vining ones that grow like morning glories.  These are an annual stemmed plant that gets about 3" tall and round.  My grandparents would take me to help in the vegetable garden and we would drive up to the back of the house and there they would be.  I don't remember there being many flowers in that yard, other than these.  I come from very practical people who grew things for food.  When I was young, maybe 12 or 13, she gave me a seed and I asked my Mom for a place to grow it.  I grew a nice plant, and then like young boys are supposed to do with things that just sit there, I lost interest and didn't harvest seed for the next year.  When I moved here, I started to see them in the nurseries again and I've tried to keep one ever since.  I grow the solid white ones from my memories and Rob grows the purple. 

I scrolled back through the pictures on my phone and that's really all the new fun stuff happening around here.  There's plenty needs doing, just not much of it getting done.  And, I started a new piece of needlepoint for TV time...because I needed something new and distracting.  Sometimes nothing will do but a breath of fresh air to make me feel motivated.  And, I'm going to start taking a kitchenaid mixer apart soon to see if it needs lubricant or a new worm gear.  Yeah, listen to me, right?  Like I know from a worm gear.  But, I've been studying and watching videos and it doesn't look all that different than the inside of my Bernina sewing machine, except there are less gears in the mixer. 

Have a wonderful weekend!!!  We are staying strong and holding together as a family.  Everyone sharing the load.  My next feat of cookery magic is orange-cranberry scones.  I just need an orange.  And, some cranberries.  And, a recipe. 

And, some time.

Lane