I popped up on Father’s Day to visit my Dad, and of course, check in on mini Winnie. She’s still tiny (though she’d gained three ounces since her first vet visit), her cold has completely cleared up and she’s a spectacular little floofy ball of fire.

I’m back to the office a couple times a week now so I needed train knitting. And it was definitely time to get moving on another On the Go Design. So…

Here’s the start of Union. Sadly, by the time you see this, it will be completely frogged. I love  the rusty orange of the Celtic Cat, but the flecks of the tweed are interfering with the texture of the pattern.

I’ve pulled a plainer skein from the shop, and should be back on track soon.

The garden centre is doing it’s clearance but I’m happy to say, I was very reserved, and only got a few plants.

Of course, that’s mostly because I don’t really have much room any more! I was really just filling in a few holes where things didn’t come back.

This little Stonecrop went in the sidewalk garden. At the front of the garden, I have alternating Stonecrops and Hens and Chicks… but the stupid squirrels keep digging up and running off with my Hens. They leave the Stonecrop alone, so I filled a hole with this. It will bloom a nice bright yellow very soon.

I’d never heard of Leopard’s Bane – apparently it’s part of the Aster family – it’s got a nice new home in the front garden now.

There was a little blank spot in the side garden behind some Sedum and Lily-of-the-Valley,and it’s now filled with this double bloom Susan. You may recall I’ve had these twice before – but they never come back. But third time is a charm, right? Plus, it will add some nice late summer colour to that garden.

And last… I found another peach Foxglove to replace the one that didn’t come back (it’s in the same spot.) Even if I have to buy Foxglove every year, I will – I absolutely adore it!

It happened again. I was happily sewing borders on the Superstar quilt top, when the clock struck four. I only had two strips left to sew, so I figured I could just keep going. I got the second to last one on and went to iron it…

Yep… I sewed the stupid thing on with the wrong side out. No idea how I didn’t notice… it’s not exactly a small piece of fabric… but … I plead pumpkin brain.

And to top it off, I’m about four inches short of purple fabric for the last border strip. I was sure my math was right… but apparently not.

I was fretting over what to do… the purple is from Missouri Star – I could order more but this quilt is on a deadline, and by the time the fabric got here, and I got  it on, Mom might not have enough time to quilt it…

I considered cutting the borders in half lenghtwise, and using the cut fabric to give me enough, but then the quilt woudn’t be large enough, so I’d have to add an extra border – I might be able to get more of the dark grey floral at Lens…

But then Mom came up with a better idea! Cornerstones! I have enough of the dark grey floral left to make cornerstones. I just have to get my measurements right, but it’s definitely doable!

I’m determined to finish this one and get it to Mom by the end of the week. I just have to do it before 4 p.m!

 

 

After I got my first tattoo two years ago, I said I wasn’t getting another. It wasn’t that I didn’t love my tattoo or had a horrible experience – quite the contrary. I just didn’t really feel the need for anything else.

Then last year, I saw pictures of some dandelion tattoos on the internet… and an idea started percolating…

Then last month, Samantha (my partner in ink) told me she’d booked an appointment for some new ink. And that really got the wheels rolling.

She was able to get me in with her, and last Thursday, we had a little playdate where we both went under the needle(s)

Everyone told me the wrist (my first location) was one of the worst places to a tattoo, so I figured this wouldn’t be as painful… boy were they wrong! It hurt like the bejeezers…. but in the end, totally worth it

I know have my own little wishing fairy!

Samantha, as usual… handled the pain much better than I did. (Though her’s were much smaller…

She got her mantra on the inside of her bicep.

And the cutest little spider on her ankle.

And that’s enough ink for us…. for now at least 🙂

Blue Girl is blooming! Isn’t she pretty. She’s not really blue, but a pale mauve.

Garden Party has opened up too, and she’s a stunner. Beautiful cream, which just a hint of blush.

Ebb Tide has bloomed and it is satisfactory. It’s actually not quite a purple as the picture shows (more a very dark wine), but I can live with it. Unfortunately, it’s a shrub rose, so it’s not great for cutting (a lot of buds on one stem) but it’s a lovely addition to the yard.

I was starting to think the dark pink Armeria wasn’t going to bloom (it usually blooms the same time as the light pink one), but it finally put up a few flowers.

The Lavender is just starting to bloom too. I love it because it will bloom all summer.

And last – a little mystery for you. My peonies have bloomed at last, but something strange has happened. You may recall that these were transplanted from my father’s garden a few years ago. It’s taken them all those years to finally bloom here… but here’s the mystery… my Dad’s peonies are DARK pink.

How the heck are mine LIGHT pink???

How the heck did that happen? I’m not going to complain – they are beautiful, and I actually prefer the lighter shade… but can ANYONE explain???

Most of my sewing has been in a bit of a limbo the past little while. As you know, I have five project boxes, and I don’t allow myself to start anything new if they are all full.

The current projects are:

• Superstar
• Dragonfly Gallery
• Disappearing Hourglasses
• Scrappy Cabins
• Leaders & Enders Four Patches

Superstar is awaiting fabric for borders (it’s been ordered and is on its way). I made a bit of a boo-boo with Dragonfly Gallery – I made too many blocks. While it means I’ll end up with a nice large quilt, it also means I ran out of the plain green Honeybun fabric, which I need for the sashing (again, more is ordered and on its way). Disappearing Hourglasses is going nicely, but I can’t do more than a few blocks at a time, or I get pumpkin brain. And of course, Leaders & Enders can only be worked on when sewing something else. So that just leaves Scrappy Cabins.

The plan was, like the Hourglasses, was to try to sew up a few every day or so. I’ve sorted all my scraps into like colours, and each block is neutral/cream/white on one side, and a colour on the other.

This means I’m going to need A LOT of the neutrals. And I just didn’t have much. I didn’t want to make too many blocks, because I want to be sure there’s a good mix in the neutrals throughout the whole blanket, so the cabins have been a bit neglected.

That is until Mom came to the rescue.

She let me raid her scrap bin and add several new fabrics to my cabin stash. So the other day, I sat down and stitched together a few pink, and a few brown cabins.

It’s definitely going to be one heck of a scrappy quilt!

BONUS STITCHES:

You should be seeing a finished Tuxie Love quilt soon. Since it’s just going to be a kick around blanket for me, I told Mom she could absolutely use it as a practice quilt on her new machine. As soon as she’s done with it. I’ll get it all bound and photoed for you to see.

MORE BONUS STITCHES

Here’s little Miss Ro with her vintage Singer 99K.