Though May definitely didn’t give me as much time to sew as I would have liked, I’m glad I still found time to finish up the May block for the Spring Blossom quilt-a-long.

I’m doing mine totally scrappy, and I’m having fun matching up fabrics from the stash. Like my pinwheels, I’m trying to pair fabrics that really pop against each other.

We’re not even halfway through the quilt-a-long (there are four months left), but Relic and Burton are very happy with the way this garden is growing!

This is it… I dyed up the last bag of yarn. Ten skeins of Fluffy Cat Light.

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Like my previous dye session, I kept to simple semi-solids – Light Periwinkle, Dusky Green, and Cape Cod Cranberry.

Each of these has enough yarn for a big shawl or a light cardigan.

We had a lot of fun with our dyes, and while part of me is sad to say goodbye, I definitely have more than enough yarn.

Now, I’ve got the dye and all the tools up on Kijiji, hoping I can find them a good home, and some one new can have a wonderful dyeing adventure.

It’s dandelion season here.

I am one of those people who just loves dandelions (so much so that I have a dandelion tattoo). I grew up in the country, and I have very vivid memories of fields just solid with happy yellow flowers.

The other day I was reading about the benefits of dandelions, and it got me thinking about other “weeds” in the yard.

Because I plan on digging all my perennials up for the move, and reseeding the garden areas back to grass, I haven’t really worried about doing much weeding. As a result…

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These are just a few that are blooming. Clockwise from top left: Oxalis (or shamrock), Common Mallow, Hop Clover, and Ground Ivy.

One thing I can say – there definitely won’t be any pesticides used at the new place!

Meanwhile…

The Iceland poppy has started to bloom. This one is so much fun, because I get four different colours from the one plant (red, yellow, champagne, and white).

My oriental poppies are blooming.

At first I was worried. I had white ones too, but none seemed to be blooming. I thought maybe they white ones didn’t survive last year’s garden reorganization.

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But finally one bloomed, and I hope there’s more on the way.

The dark purple irises are done…

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But the burgundy and yellow ones are still going. I suspect these will be the last of the blooms for them though.

The lilacs will fade soon

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But they’ve been spectacular this year. I really hope I can get some cuttings to root!

And last… I keep forgetting to show you…

This is the happiest African Violet I’ve ever had. She’s about a year and a half old, and started reblooming this month. I used to have a really hard time with African Violets, but I seem to have gotten the knack now. I just hope she’ll be as happy in the new house!

Another week down!

We’ve earned the rest!

I know I just said I was hoping not to have to spend any more time in outdoor “waiting rooms” aka … my truck but then Dave went and chipped a tooth….

He could have driven himself, but he doesn’t really like driving any more. 15+ years of daily commuting through the worst congestion in the country has really taken its toll, and he doesn’t drive unless he absolutely has to. I commuted too – but for fewer years than him, so I really don’t mind driving. And I had the morning free anyway.

So while he was getting his tooth fixed, I was stitching

As a result, I’m through the leg and ready to start that heel! Woohoo!

Amidst all the craziness in my life right now, I’m trying to take one day a week to get up to Mom’s and do some quilting. Not only do I get to spend time with her …

(she pieces while I use the longarm on the other side of the room -and Chevy keeps an eye on us both)… I also get away from the stress of the move.

This weekend, I picked the largest quilt to finish – Around the World in 256 Days.

That night, Rupert helped me with the binding, and by morning….

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It finished up at 72″ square, so it’s perfect for a small bed, or a couch snuggle. Since I made it as a Leader/Ender quilt, it almost feels like it came together from thin air.

The pattern is called Around the World, and it’s a great pattern for scraps.

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You can use a pile of disparate fabrics, and it’s not until you step back that you see the pattern emerge between the colours and the neutrals

I had this beautiful dark olive green floral for the back, and I’m happy to say I’ve got quite a bit left. It will defitely feature in another quilt.

But for now… this one is in the shop and ready for a new home!

With the closing date on the looming, I feel like I’ve barely had to time stop to breathe. There have been emails to answers, calls to make, and never-ending papers to sign. When I cast on for the caiman socks, I didn’t think I’d get very far on them.

But then I had an hour or so waiting for a new exhaust to be put on old Dory

Thankfully it was a lovely day, because with everything still in lock down, I couldn’t wait in their waiting area (it was already full). I found a nice patch of grass under their sign and stitched away.

Then I had an hour wait at the hospital to see a specialist.

(Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious, just an ongoing issue that is being managed). Because of the lockdown, you text/call when you get there to let them know you’ve arrived. Then they text/call you to let you know when the doctor is actually ready to see you, so they don’t have a pile of people in the waiting room, all breathing the same air.

Then a few nights of stitching here and there and….

A finished first sock! And I absolutely love how it worked up. I used my favourite formula for man socks – One-one rib for the cuff for 10 rows, three-one rib for the leg, and plain stockinette for the foot.

The other one is already underway. I hope I don’t need anymore work on my car, or visits to the doctor, but with a little luck, I can finish this pair in no time!

I’m not normally a big fan of red, white, and blue colour themes, except when it comes to nautical prints.

Especially when they are as cute as this one… pirate whales???? Who could resist? I certainly couldn’t so I bought a fat eighth bundle late last year. I’ve been dying to make something with it since then!

Unsurprisingly, work and house stuff has kept me pretty busy, but the other day, I found an hour or so to throw together a couple blocks while I was waiting for a colleague to send me what I needed to finish my work.

Sea and stars – what could be better?

Sea, and stars and Burton, of course!

One of the great things about our upcoming move is the timing. We get the keys June 1 (Just eight more days!), but we keep our townhouse until July 31. (By law we have to give 60 days notice to vacate – and it’s 60 days to the term – i.e. end of month).

That means we can take our time. As soon as we knew we had the house, we started packing up stuff we wouldn’t need for a while.

In addition to packing, I’ve also been trying to organize things better BEFORE packing them, so that when we unpack, it will be easier to set things up nice and tidy right from the start.

A while back, I bought Dave a label maker. I decided to snitch it for a bit and can I just say… it’s a life changer!!!

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All my fabric drawers got reorganized, tidied and labelled!

I got some nice big totes for my chunks of yardage and backing fabric.

I wish I had bought just one more, so I’ll watch for them to come on sale again.

I also got some smaller containers to for my scraps. I used to have these in varying sizes of cardboard boxes.

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This is so much better!

And before I go – we did our final walk-through on the house. We found a few more things to add to our to-do list, but it’s an old house so that’s not surprising. I did want to share some better pics of some of that carpeting.

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Two of the bedrooms have this type of carpet. It’s a shame it’s so ugly, because it’s actually in really good condition.

There’s some very frufru wallpaper throughout.

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And talk about frufru…

My bathroom mirror has curtains!

At the start of the week, the lilac bush looked like this.

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A few days of warm sunny weather later…

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Oh how I wish you could smell through the computer. My backyard smells absolutely amazing now!

Most of the spring bulbs have faded, with the exception of these dark purple parrot tulips

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I have them throughout the gardens and they are just so pretty.

The irises are are also blooming

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Those pretty dark purple irises are mixed in with my Lily-of-the-Valley

And they are just amazing this year – look at all those little white dots

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This side of the yard smells almost as amazing as the backyard.

The Columbine doesn’t have a smell, but it’s just as pretty.

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I want to collect ALL the colours! (It comes in A LOT of colours!)

My Globe Alium is blooming, in all it’s purple glory

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And last…

I showed you my pink bleeding heart, which I’m going to give to my neighbour before we leave. But I also have this little white one. It’s not in the best spot right now, so it only puts out a few little hearts each year. I’m looking forward to giving it a better home and seeing it really flourish next year!