Yellow Hibiscus

Most of my flowers are winding down and it's time to cut or pull them, except, my yellow hibiscus! It has grown over 7 feet tall and a couple of days ago, I counted 26 blossoms! And there are over a 100 buds on it. I know the first hint of a frost will be it's demise but I am really enjoying it right now.  My sister started it from seed and it was tiny little thing when I planted it last spring..

Sew until next time, have a Stitches kind of day.................

My Grandiose Amaryllis!

"We" are back again, my amaryllis and me!!  I can't believe this plant..after the first 4 blooms expired, it started to send up another shoot. I thought it was probably a leaf. But it wasn't and this one has gone crazy and it has so much fun to watch it grow. These blossoms are bigger and better than the first ones AND it has 5 blossoms on it..AND this morning I measured it and it is 29"or maybe 30" tall..I think the bulb will just shrivel and die when it's done blooming. (not really) Well, enough of this chatter, I will show it to you..

Can you see the 5th bud in the back?

Crazy, huh? And this was taken several days ago..

It's tall!

Maybe the frog added the fertilizer  ;-))  The enjoyment has far exceeded the $4.99 that I paid for it...Such a bright spot in my kitchen...I love it....Sew until next time, have a Stitches kind of day.....

Is It Cold At Your House???

 My red amaryllis has brought a bright spot to my house this very bitterly cold morning. My indoor-outdoor thermometer isn't showing the outside temperature for some reason but I know it was supposed to be below zero this morning and our high today somewhere around 7 or 8!!  I bought this Amaryllis right before Christmas for $4.99 and it had already shown some growth. It has exceeded my expectations already. There are 4 lovely blooms and it's really pretty, the picture doesn't do it justice. I think it is rather strange that it doesn't have any leaves yet. I hope you are warm and cozy today, I know that I am staying in and perhaps get some sewing done.  I am working on a wool applique project and I will show it to you soon. The sun is really bright and that helps everything in my book!  Sew until next time, I hope you have a Stitches kind of day................until next time...

Norma's Beautiful Flowers

Yesterday, our mini quilt group had a brunch at Norma's house and I just couldn't pass up a good chance to take some more pictures of her beautiful flowers. Norma is an artist, she paints portraits, landscapes and whatever she desires. And her paintings are gorgeous. (Why didn't I take some pictures of them, duh!) I think she is an artist in her garden too. Let's see what you think!! I consider it a very large cottage garden and so pretty!! (click on the pictures to make them larger)

My Wistful Wednesday & 100th Post!!

I don't even know where to start....I am so upset with myself.  Last night about 9:45, a friend called and wondered what happened to me..then a lighting bolt hit me!! I had missed our guild meeting!! OMG, it never even crossed my mind yesterday at all, how could I have forgotten, especially since we had a great program to look forward too. Our original program cancelled a couple of weeks ago and I had the name of Carlene Buck as someone that might be a possible program. So Jill called her and she said she was free and would be happy to come..I was told that it was one of the best programs that we have had over the years and I MISSED IT!!  I was told she had some awesome quilts, including her Holocaust Quilt that has a sobering story that she tells about it. She had stories about all of her quilts and was very entertaining. I am going to see if she is giving her program anywhere in Iowa and I will go!!! I know I have to get over it but I need help. I think I'm going to eat a dozen of the cookies I baked a couple of days ago, maybe some candy that I bought for the grandkids, a dish of some ice cream and if I could find a glazed doughnut that would be good too..yeah, it would be so good that I would get sick from all that sugar but at least, I wouldn't be sick from missing our guild meeting, it's over and done and I just have to accept it...p.s. the picture is just to make you click on this post and sympathize with me (grin)..really, the photo is a red sweet potato vine and I have never had one bloom before, I think it is a pretty little bloom though..sew until next time, I hope you have a good day....not a Stitches kind of day!!  :-(

More Civil War blocks #20 thru #25

I'm gaining on my conquest but some days it seems like 2 steps forward and 1 step back!  Does anyone else ever feel this way? I think I am getting so close to being caught up and Wham!!! another Saturday arrives and Barbara posts another block!  These weeks are just flying by too darn fast for me!  So here are 5 more Civil War blocks and actually I have a few more done but don't have pictures taken of them yet.  I really enjoy going on Flickr and looking at so many of the blocks and all the different color combinations that others have used. It makes me wonder just how many different fabrics there are out there in the quilt world, it has to be mind boggling!!

#25 Calico Puzzle

#24 Ladies Aid Album

#23 Illinois Roads



#22 Blockade





#21 Underground Railroad



#20 New England



The yellow lily picture is from my garden a little earlier this summer. I call it Lemon Lily, it was here when we moved to this house almost 40 years ago and is still blooming nicely. Aren't lilies just the best? You can always depend on them and they become like old friends, very trustworthy and stable...I just love them!! That's all for today, sew until next time, my wish for you--have a "Stitches" kind of day.



Bugs? Have you seen any BIG bugs lately???

These are my lilies..Chicago Apache

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Reiman Gardens at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.  Our first reason for going was the quilt show at the gardens. I have posted pictures of the quilts on another blog, if you would like to look at them, the link is Piecemakers Quilt Guild.  Three friends and myself left my house at 7:30 a.m. and headed for Ames.  We left early so we could be there shortly after the quilt show opened but there were several quilt shops along the way and they just seemed to get in our way!  Our best intentions went right out the window but we had all day so it was no big deal. Right? When we got to Ames, we were all starving so lunch had to come first before the show...we got to the Gardens between 1:00  and 1:30 p.m. so we made good time (not). ;-)  After viewing the quilts, we tramped around in and through the gardens in the misty rain and looked at the "bugs". There is a display of wooden bugs, that are 10x larger than life sculptures that were designed by  New York artist David Rogers and will be on display until the end of August. Enjoy the Smilebox slideshow and let me know what you think about the bugs!!!

This slideshow design customized with Smilebox

I am working on my Civil War blocks feverishly again too and will get a few posted in a day or two..gee, I think it is time to quit for today. Sew until next time, have a "Stitches" kind of day.

it was a week to remember

Beginning on June 4th, it was the beginning on National Clothesline Week 2011. I just wanted to show you that I participated--- with my bedding and nighties...oh, I love the smell of clothes after drying them outside. I usually do try to hang out my bedding but don't go much further than that, the dryer is just too handy.

                       

On Monday, the 6th, I went to my Dad's house and my sister and I interviewed and recorded him and his cousin for a couple of hours about their childhood and basically their lives.  I sure hoped the video recorder worked, as when we got all done, we weren't sure it did it's thing..time will tell.  It was interesting to hear them tell stories about themselves when they were younger and older!  Dad will be 98 on June 13th and his cousin, is younger, he is only 89!!

On Wednesday, the roofing company called at 7:00 a.m. and said they would be here in about 30 minutes to start re-roofing my house. Do you remember the hail storm that I blogged about back on March 29th? I have really hesitated about doing the roof until Fall but decided to go ahead, after talking to them several times about protecting my plantings so they wouldn't get damaged. I knew if they would be damaged that the plants would stay that way all summer and didn't want that to happen.  Well, you can imagine what happened!! They started tearing off the roof and throwing it down without putting plywood up against the house to protect my plantings..I was livid and when I got them stopped and they put the wood up, it was too late for a lot of things. It was like closing the barn door after the horse got out. There were 17 boys/men working here for the day and it was like a beehive. The above picture is what the hosta's and ferns looked like and below is what this area looked like after having shingles thrown on them and then stepped on for hours.

This is what is left of a Butterfly bush after the day was over.Then after the day was over and I got over my Madness, I had to hit myself along side of the head and tell myself, that it wasn't life-threatening or fatal..Right now in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska, we are dealing with the worst flooding that we have ever had. Many, many people have had to evacuate their homes and possibly will never be able to go back to them as they will be destroyed. "They" say the water will be here for not just a few weeks but could be here for months..It is really devastating for so many people, their farms and many businesses. The interstate is already closed between here and Omaha and makes getting to work very hard for so many people, including my family. The whole situation is mind-boggling as it is a deliberate flood because the damns north of us, in South Dakota and Montana,  have so much water in them, that they are releasing the water to keep the damns from failing. Some places have had a much rain in May that they have for a whole year and the snow melt is still happening in the northern states, filling the dams to dangerous capacity..it's just a really, really sad situation for so many families. So to put things in perspective, I will live with my damaged plantings and probably do some transplanting and make the best of it, I feel guilty even complaining about it!! My son came by the day after and said "they don't look as bad as I thought they would!! I gulped, and then he said, "you can't kill a hosta".  Whatever!!! He is not a hosta lover, this I know!!

Now on a lighter note,  doe ra me!!  Granddaughter Abby called a few minutes ago and told me today was "PIE DAY".  She is making a Rhubarb/Strawberry Pie and a Key Lime Pie, (it's not really key lime as we don't get them here) and invited me up for a BBQ and Pie around 4:00...I will be there, with bells on, she didn't have to ask me twice. In the meantime, I think I will go outside and plant a couple of strawberry jars and get busy...I hope to have a 'Stitches" kind of day after all  and I hope you do too!!! Sew until next time.....take care and keep our flood victims in your thoughts and prayers...Stitches

It's Good to Be Back!!

     Greetings to all of you and Happy May Day!! Yes, it has been over 2 weeks since I have written on my blog, whew, I can't believe it!  I really have been busy but I know the rest of you have been busy also. My oldest DD had back surgery on the 19th of April and that same day but in the evening, I had a trunk show at my guild..It was a long day for me to say the least. I am happy to report that DD is getting along okay but I think she is trying to do to much to soon, guess that might just be the mom in me! I think our cold, rainy weather the last couple of weeks didn't do a lot for energy levels, I really needed some sunshine and have finally gotten it the last few days. Thanks be to God!

     First, I want to show you my progress on the Barbara Brackman Civil War quilt. Here are 3 blocks that I made on April 15th. All on one day!! Whew, it must have been raining again!  Here is mine called North Star.

This is Texas Tears.

    

And this is Kansas Troubles. The picture looks rather faded but it is a light lavender background, not grey.  I also have my Seven Sisters done and will post it soon too. I hate to admit that I have 2 plastic bins (big ones) full of civil war reproduction fabric now, I think scrappy civil war quilts are on my agenda in the future. But you have to buy when you see something you like or it will be gone, never to come back, right??  That's my theory and I'm stickin' to it!

I had looked at these books for several weeks and finally decided to take the "bull by the horns", (that would actually be ME) and ordered them. I have really enjoyed looking at all the projects in them and can see several quilts that I want to make. I want to make some doll quilts for a doll stroller that belonged to my mom and her sister. And then I have my doll cradle that could use some fixing up and TLC and that would include a quilt or two. I also joined the group on Yahoo and have enjoyed reading on it.  But, and this is a big BUT, now I really would like to have this book.

The price is $28.00 and I just don't know if it is worth it, books are getting really expensive, don't ya think? Does anyone have this book?? Do you really, really like it?? I wish you would let me know what you think about the book and the projects. I hate to order a book and not know what is inside for projects. I hope to hear from some of you about this book.

Lastly, I want to show you a couple of pictures of my Lenten Rose. This is about the 3rd or 4th year for it and it has really made a spectacle of itself. There are easily over a hundred blossoms on it right now. Mine happens to be a dark purple color and they don't show up real good against the dark green foliage. It started blooming back in March and still is getting buds on it! Way to go, Lennie Rose!!  I think on that note, I'm going to call it quits for this time...Sew have a great "Stitches"  kind of day...see ya soon!!