Inspired weekend

Saturday was cold and windy.  So, we worked in the yard.  Sunday was beautiful and sunny.  And, we stayed inside and recovered from working in the yard. 

I got a lot done.  The roses are cut back and the dead growth on the perennials is cut back and out on the street.  Things have been fed and the last two plants that found their happy homes in the garden last year have been planted.  Lots of houseplants got replanted and some got moved out to the greenhouse for a refresher.  The Christmas Cactus that the squirrels ate the roots off of have been planted and I hope they will take root.  In short, the garden is ready for 2019.  And, I'm ready for this year's garden.  Hoping it will be my best so far.  I have one more large project to clear some space for another sitting area and there's no rush for that. 

I also spent some time working on the triangle quilt.  I got another border finished and added to the quilt.  One more round of four inch squares and I will be done.  It's not the right dimensions for me to add that border and I "should" add another round of 3" squares first, but I decided I'd do something different in the corners to make it work, so soon I'll be sewing the last stack of triangles into squares and hopefully wrapping this one up. 

One of the things I did on Saturday was to change the tablecloth on the dining table.  And, I decided I needed a table runner.  So, I pulled out an old table runner top, thinking I'd just quilt it up.  And then I realized why I had never quilted it.  It was huge.  Nearly a table cloth.  So, I did the only possible thing and took it completely apart.  I even broke the blocks into their 9 patches and put them back together again because there were a lot of mismatched points and I figured if I was going to do it, I might as well do it right.  So, I took it apart and made these two.  The top one is the front and the bottom one is going to be the backing.  And, it might even be reversible.  It's not really as bright as that picture looks.  To explain how big this was before I took it apart, the only thing I added is the pink borders on the backing.  All the rest was in the original top.  And, I have a small stack of blocks left that didn't get used.  I plan to quilt it in an all over vine with rose leaves.  Maybe.  Or, maybe not.  Who knows.  It's pin basted and ready for me to start quilting. 

But, it's so pink and flowery and, well, it probably won't be on the table very long every year.  Summer maybe?  So, I needed a spring one.  And, I had the fabrics to make a blue and yellow one.  These blocks were leftovers from a block of the month my LQS had in 2011 and I bought them from the scrap bin.  I bought three pair.  The blue and yellow ones weren't just alike, so I made them similar so they can be used together.  And, I got this far last night. 

Looking forward to putting these together and getting them quilted and on the dining table.  This was supposed to be a really quick project.  But, I think I can have it ready to quilt this weekend and it will have a back from a single piece of fabric, so it will be easier to quilt.  I can quilt using the block lines and filling where I want to.

Friday was my birthday.  I am now 57 years old.  The older I get, the quieter my birthdays get.  A few cards and some well wishes.  Dinner was steak and a baked potato and a salad.  And, it was delicious.  I picked up a half of a cherry pie at the grocery and ended up eating 3/4 of it myself over the course of the weekend.  Oh, well.  I'll only turn 57 once, right?  I have to say that I feel like one of the youngest 57 year olds I know.  Still active, still interested in life, still learning.  Life is good.  And another year older doesn't change that.

Everybody have a great week!  I plan to be sewing table runners for a while. I enjoy having them on the table...bright spots that I can see when I walk by and change at my pleasure. 

Lane