Monkey Grass is blooming!

I have a lot of this monkey grass in my flowerbeds. It's sturdy and green. It multiplies, so there's lots of it. It's there, even when the perennials fade. And, from time to time, it blooms!

This stuff is super-easy to take care of, easy to divide and transplant, and it's almost impossible to kill. 

Like I said, I have lots of it in, and at the edges of, my flowerbeds!

And it's got sweet little lavendar blooms.

And, like I might have mentioned before, I love it when the light hits things in an unusual way.

A bird in the rocky grass

When we were mowing the grass recently, my daughter came across this bird in one of the rocky areas of the lawn. Fascinating. According to our (online) research, this bird is a killdeer. I love that Wikipedia states that the bird is "named onomatopoeically after its call." (When do you ever get to use a word like "onomatopoeically"?! Love it!)

Can you see the little eggs on the right side of the picture?

This mother bird was protecting her four eggs with an impressive display of determination/bravery/dedication.

Gingham French Braid quilt blocks

One of the fun things about playing with my gingham fabrics is that I decided to try some quilt block styles that I haven't made before.

I've made quilt braids before, but not the kind with the little cornerstones. I think that's what makes these French braids. Something like that. 

 The little white cornerstones work well, since I'm trying to keep plenty of white in each block.

These were easier than I expected.

I decided to try a "warm colors" block and a "cool colors" block.

Pleased with how these turned out.

This brings the Gingham-Block total up to four. 

 

 

As usual, more are in the works!

Gingham 36-Patch

A little more gingham patchwork ... made of the gingham colors I've been saving up.

Just a basic 36-patch in lots of colors.

I like it.

It'll finish at around 12 inches.

And, after the Mosaic block got trimmed, it turned out nice and neat:

More blocks in the works ... stay tuned!

Dandelions - just because!

I love it when the sun hits ordinary things in extraordinary ways. 

Need I say more?

So, yeah, sometimes my grass is clothed with dandelions. But they look sunny and happy, and the kids like to pick them. And sometimes I think maybe the Bible was talking about dandelions in verses like the one below ...   :-)

Gingham Mosaic

The other day, I mentioned trying out a new idea, in gingham and white (my Flying Geese Circle). I've been collecting ideas for designs that would look great in gingham. (Already have ooodles of quilt-y inspiration on my Pinterest Quilt/Sewing Ideas board ... and my Pinterest "Likes")

My oldest daughter suggested that I try making some sort of sampler quilt top. Great idea! Something where every block is different, and I get to pick what to make. And I get to try out some new techniques, and make some old techniques look awesome in gingham and white. Super!

So, this mosaic look is an idea I've been wanting to try. Kind of a stained-glass, crazy-quilt, made-fabric sort of thing. It's like what some blogs call "Mod Mosaic" (though I'm not sure whether I used the same exact process, because I didn't download the Mod Mosaic tutorial.) 

I had a lot of fun with this. It's sort of random and mosaic-y and colorful and a little weird. It still looks a little messy in the picture below, because I haven't trimmed the edges, but this thing measures nearly 13" square, so I'll probably trim it to 12" or so. And add some white around it. Fun! I like it.

Stay tuned for upcoming adventures with gingham. 

A Quilty Music Note!

The combination of two of my favorite things ... Sewing and music!

The other day, while working on another project, I tried out an idea real quick. I figured if I can make quilty letters (see the sidebar label called "Quilts with Letters"), I can make music notes. Right? Why not? 

I have no idea what to do with this cute little thing, but it's a start, and it proves I can do it. 

Half a Circle of Flying Geese - in Gingham

Yesterday, I mentioned getting some gingham ready to do something ... So, here's the latest edition of that idea ...

I love looking at pictures of flying-geese-in-a-circle. (Or is it geese flying in a circle? Circles of flying geese? Round flying geese? Anyway ...)

Every version of this design that I've ever seen involves paper piecing. (Not the "English" kind of paper piecing.) Some day, I might love that kind of paper piecing, but for now, my one paper-piecing experience was a little tedious, and not really that impressive. 

So, I got out my handy-dandy quilt notebook, and started penciling a way to make round flying geese without paper piecing. Rulers, angles, pencil marks ...

And, since I was in the mood to sit in my rocking chair, I made my first attempt of this pattern with scissors, needle and thread, instead of my usual rotary cutter and sewing machine.

I'm really pleased with how this turned out - even sewn by hand and not yet pressed. It's not bad, although I know where I need to make some adjustments now.

Once I tweak the method a little bit, I might even make a picture-tutorial on how I did this ... Stay tuned!

Gingham colors ...

Last summer, I got inspired by some quilty bloggers who were doing gingham projects. 

Lots of inspiration pictures from other quilters at this blog post!

Even though I didn't join their "Project Gingham" last summer, I started collecting gingham, just in case I might be able to turn it into something cool.

Still not sure what I'm making, but it's looking like lots of gingham and white. Probably more than one project. More pics later ...