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Mid week garden tour

 Finally! The Oriental Wedding Poppy has bloomed and it's a stunner! The picture doesn't do it justice. It's huge (about the size of my hand) and the the purple in the centre is so deep and rich.

 My Foxglove has bloomed too. This one is Candy Mountain, and it's a much darker pink than I expected. I'm not complaining though. It's beautiful! And it will really bring in the bees.

These Columbine were started from seed the first year I was here. The plant has been moved a few times, and it's now in the Sidewalk garden, and it really seems happy there. Just look at those blooms.

While I can't capture the true colour of the Pink Pincushion plant, it's blooming up a storm. The purple one I have in the Butterfly Garden is covered in buds, and it's going to give this one a real run for its money.

The Iceland poppy continues to bloom. All of the flowers have been white, but this little yellow one popped up the other day. There's lots more buds coming, so maybe we'll see some red too.

The sage is just starting to bloom. I almost bought a pink version this year, but I didn't have any room. Too bad, because it's so delicate and pretty.

The second year we were here, I bought a few Dianthans. They were supposed to be annuals, but year after year they've come back. And once they start blooming - boy do they put on a show. I have them in several different shades and they are fantastic for a bright pop of colour almost anywhere in the garden.

Superstar

It didn't take as long as I thought it would to sort out the mixed up blocks in the starburst quilt. And once that was done, the quadrants went together like nobody's business!

Now that centre is perfect, and all this top needs is some borders. Then it's up to Mom's for quilting. The long arm machine arrived last week and she's been practicing since then. I think she's been looking forward to having a real project to quilt!

Thick and quick

The first Father's day sock is done and dusted!

I love how quick these socks knit up. The yarn, from West Yorkshire Spinners, is new to me and it's lovely. It's a DK weight BFL and it's so soft.

This colourway is called "Owl" and I love the combination of neutral shades. The heels, toes and cuff ribbing are a different yarn (same company) and it has a little bit of nylon in it. It's not as soft, but it should be more hard wearing.

I've already started the second sock, and from the looks of it, I may be able to get both socks out of one ball. If so, I think I may be making myself a pair of these!

Star quadrants

There's a self-imposed rule about sewing in this house. I don't sew past 4 p.m. This is partly so I don't push my back muscles too hard (sitting for long periods leaves me in a lot of pain), but also because after 4 p.m., my brain apparently turns into a pumpkin.

I can be having the best sewing day, 4 p.m. hits and things start going sour. Every. Time.

So I really should have stuck to my rule last weekend. It was already 3 p.m. when I started, but I realized the deadline for the Starburst quilt is creeping up. I really needed to get moving on it. I figured I had enough time to sew together one quadrant.  It went together fairly well, so I thought, 'I really should do the other quadrant and sew all four together. It's only 16 more blocks, then three long seams.

I looked at the clock...

It was 3:55 p.m...

...

I thought, 'To heck with it - just get it done. Then you can go shopping for border fabric during the week and finish the whole top next weekend.'

So I sewed. And sewed, and sewed some more. And I got to the point where all four quadrants were done, I just need to sew them together. I laid them all down on the bed in place...

Can you see it?

 I messed up the placement of these two blocks. Total pumpkin brain. They are the same print, but one is a lighter shade background. And it's VERY obvious. And unfortunately, it's not as easy as just ripping that row off and swapping the blocks. I have to rip back almost all the seams, and redo it.

Sigh...

I'll still go shopping for border fabric this week, and I'll probably still be able to get the top done by the end of next weekend... but gee...

Always follow your own rules. And beware the pumpkin brain.

Friday Felines

It's just been baby animal central around here lately. After the great Bun Incident of last week. I woke up to a fledgling robin on my patio chair. I wisely kept Relic in until Mama and Papa Robin had shuffled him down a couple of houses.

Then later that day, I rescued this little guy from Krista's recycle bin.

I released him down by the fence line, but he found his way back up to my back door. I know most people think I'm crazy for saving a baby mouse, but I don't mind them, as long as they stay outside. If they get in the house, they have to contend with Miss Peno, and that never ends well for them.

After the bun incident, you'd think outside would be dangerous too...

But Relic's been sleeping on the job.

Bloom time

It's the most exciting time of the year in the garden. Almost every day, there's something new to see

The chives have fully opened and they are pretty. Useful and pretty, and I love that!

One of my Oriental Lilies didn't make it, so I found this gorgeous light mauve clematis to fill the corner. I've wanted a Clematis for a long time, so hopefully this is a good spot for it.

It will still be a bit until any of the roses bloom, but we've got another new addition.  When I bought the clematis, I found this one. Ebb Tide is a rose I've been looking for for a while, so  I was thrilled when it turned up at a local garden centre. I expanded the side garden so this beauty could have a nice warm sunny spot.

It's been a few years since I first planted the Lily-of-the-Valley, and it's really doing well now. I'm probably going to have to start splitting it up.

Once of the Columbine in the Sidewalk Garden bloomed, and it's a stunner.

And the Lilac are in full show. And of course, smell absolutely amazing!

The Lupin are blooming. I got this pretty purple one last year too, but the seeds were mixed colours, so I was hoping for something else as well...

... and I got purple again, but with a white base. Oh well.

Three more stars

I had big plans for sewing while I was on vacation, but other than trying out some free motion, I really didn't touch the machine much. I was planning to finish the top of the Dragonfly quilt, but that's a fairly big job and I just never got to it.

Instead, all I have to show are three Disappearing Hourglass Blocks

And they are three very pretty blocks! (I really think Moda is my fav fabric company). These three bring my total count so far to 13 blocks. I'm planning on doing at least 40 blocks, so I've still got quite a ways to go. But star by star, this quilt will be built!

Yarn noodles

Just before vacation started, my 8mm needle came so I cast on again with the Bernat Blanket from Yarn Canada.

I've only knit a couple Feather and Fan repeats, but oh my what a difference! It's still a tricky yarn to keep an even tension on, but it's much nicer to knit on the bigger needle. It's hard to see, but I'm already into the third colour of the stripes. It's a lighter green than the first, but only a shade.

I'm trying to put a full repeat (four rows) on this each night. Hopefully it will grow quickly. It's only a baby blanket, so it doesn't have to be too huge, but I'd like to use up all the yarn (three balls) if I can.

FO: Doodle Pig

Quick note - Blogger isn't sending your comments to my email right now. Please know, I am reading and enjoying them all. Hopefully the issue gets fixed soon.

While on vacation, I took a day to hang out with Mom and get a lesson on free motion quilting. While she will have the big machine in a week or so, I thought it would still be good to learn on a smaller machine, for smaller projects I want to quilt at home.

Mom just happens to have a machine just like mine. So she set me up, gave me a quick demonstration, and let me at it. And let me just say... it's MUCH harder than it looks! I knew it would be tricky at first, but I didn't realize how tricky.

Mom sandwiched me up a few fat quarters to practice on and I covered them in a mess of free motion stitchery.

I got to a point where I was able to keep my stitch length fairly even, though I still struggle with direction and keeping in a pattern. Most of my quilting looks like it was done by a drunk three-year-old.

Still, after a while, I wanted to tackle a "real" project. I'd brought the piggy square and decided to turn it into a pot holder.

From the front it doesn't look too bad, because the stitching mostly disappears.The back is another story.

When I showed it to Dave (who is familiar with Mom's beautiful work) he said "Yep, definitely looks like you were sewing drunk."

I guess I better get some more practice in.

Gotcha Ru-Ru

It certainly doesn't feel like it, but it's been two years since we brought our favourite Ginger Nut home.

That's how he looked when he first arrived and he clearly wasn't amused. He was eight months old and those eight months must have been pretty traumatic for him, because he was not at all thrilled with the prospect of human contact. But little by little he warmed up to us, and has become more relaxed and trusting.

But he definitely remains my little Enigma Cat. Dave says he's just bi-polar. One minute he can be sweet and loving, the next he wants nothing to do with you.

He's also the most jealous cat I've ever met. The easiest way to get Rupert's attention is to pet another cat where he can see you.

Then he's right in there like a dirty sock, looking for his share of loving. He gets along well with both Peno and Burton

But his relationship with Relic is still rocky. Though I often find them sleeping close together...

...Rupert still has to grump at Relic every time they make eye contact. He's definitely a little cat (6lbs  6 oz) with a BIG attitude.

He is an absolute sun worshipper - if there's a sunbeam, he's in it. Sometimes I wonder if it's because of his small size. Maybe he just can't generate enough body heat on his own. He certainly seeks out cuddles much more in the colder months. I think he's just using us for warmth.

And though he frequently looks like Mr. Serious, he's definitely go a playful side. He's obsessed with the red dot - if I so much as jiggle the tin we keep it in, he'll appear from out of no where.And every night between 10 pm and midnight, Ginger Nuts mode kicks in and he starts zooming from one end of the house to the other. He especially loves it when the Fluffer Nutter (Burton) joins him.

While I don't think I'll ever really understand him, I'm happy to have him as part of our home, because he's just so much fun to try to figure out.

Hopping to Grasshopper

There's a place, about 40 minutes from here that I've always wanted to visit, called Grasshopper Imports. It's been there for years, and it's on the way to my brother's, but I've never stopped. My neighbour and friend Krista (Wren's Mom) told me I just had to go, so on Thursday we made a play date and headed off

They have all kinds of textiles and decor from around the world, but we were there for the garden pots and statues.

 They have a whole yardful - at least an acre (or more) in size. Pots and statues of every imaginable type. It was so hard to choose.

In the the end, I got this silly little garden snail. I found a nice little pink lavender bush to fill him with.

You may not know it, but I have a think for chickens, so this lovely little hen came home too. And what better to fill it with than Hens and Chicks?

And I definitely couldn't leave without a cat! So this sweet little Siamese joined us.

The day was hot, and I got a little bit sunburnt, but it was well worth the trip!

Friday Felines

Maybe we should have called him Rollin' Relic...

Bountiful

As mentioned briefly in yesterday's posts, I did manage to the main thing on my vacation to-do list; the gardens.

Though I have a small property (maybe 25-30ft wide by maybe 60ft deep, with a townhouse smack dab in the middle of it), over the last five years, I've managed to cram a lot of gardens into that small space. I have nine garden spaces in total (the Butterfly Garden, the Butterfly Expansion Garden, the Big Bee Garden, the Little Bee Garden, the Berry Garden, the side Garden, the Front Garden, the Tree Garden and the Sidewalk garden), and they all needed to be weeded, top-soiled, and mulched.
It took me two long afternoons to tackle it all, but I managed it and I couldn't be more pleased

Weeding probably took the longest, but it was adding fresh topsoil and mulch that was the hardest part. I probably should have done it all a few weeks earlier when the plants were smaller, but oh well - it's done now and I just love how the mulch looks.

This pic shows the Little Bee garden (foreground) Butterfly and Butterfly  Expansion Gardens, (back and middle) and a bit of the Berry Garden (right). They have to most colour so far because they get the most sun. I also added a few marigolds and snapdragons to perk things up until the blooms really start coming.

The Big Bee Garden, also in the back yard, won't see blooms until mid-june. Then the daisies go crazy.  Soon after the Blue Delphinium and Purple Bachelor Buttons will bloom, followed by the Cupid's Dart, Echinacea, and Black Eyed Susans which last until Fall.

Out front, the Sidewalk Garden, still has some filling out to do. It's the newest garden (dug last year), so it's going to take a bit to catch up to the rest. This year it go a couple new Stonecrops and some Hens and Chicks at the bottom edge, but it's also got Tickseed, Coneflower, Speedwell, Columbine, Pincushion plant, a few Dianthans, Liatis and a couple roses (cream and pale yellow). Sadly, the Cardinal Flower did not pull though, but we'll start seeing real blooms in this garden in the nest month or so.

The front garden is a bit of a mix - the back half of it was well established (I put in orange daylilies the year we moved in), but I expanded it last year, nearly doubling the size. Now it has pink, peach, burgundy, purple, red and yellow daylilies as well as the orange. This year it got and Astible for the shady corner, and has a mishmash of other plants including Campanula, Dianthans and my favorite little Toad Lilies (though they don't bloom until Fall).  Come July, this will be spectacular with all those daylilies in bloom.

Last but not least* the side garden. It's another mixed bag, but a good chunk is Lily-of-the-Valley and the Black Irisies. Both have really multipliedand are putting on a good show this year. But there are Asiatic Lilies too for summer blooms, as well as a Speedwell and a little bit of Bee Balm. And Sedum for fall. But the thing I'm really excited about are the peonies. They will FINALLY bloom this year.

So that's it for the over all picture - here's a close up of some of the newest developments

 My red Iris has bloomed.

 My Oriental Wedding Poppy is finally going to bloom.

 I am not 100%, but while the Peach Dalmatian Foxglove died, I think it might have re-seeded itself. These little guys started popping up in the general vicinity, so I'm going to give them a chance and see what happens. I'll know pretty soon if it is Foxglove. If has a very distinctive leaf.

 The chives are really blooming too. I don't know why, but love chive flowers.

 My strawberry plants died off over the winter, so  I got some new ones and these one have pink flowers!

And back from the dead is the Butterfly Bush. I had given up on it and had shovel in hand to dig it up, and just as pused the end of the spade in, I noticed this little bit of green right at the base of the bush. I've read that in colder climates, they die right back, so maybe our early spring cold snap made her have to work a little harder this year. I'm glad she's still going. She really is a butterfly magnet.

 And the lilacs  are just starting to open. I love how the buds are purple, but the flower in full bloom is pure white. It adds such dimension.

And FINALLY, after three years of waiting, my Shaker's Prayer Siberian Iris has bloomed. Isn't it so pretty? And there are more blooms coming!

*I didn't show you the tree garden (though you can see a bit of it in the Sidewalk Garden picture) - it's very low maintenance, full of creeping sedums. I'll take pictures when the mini-gnomes take up residence for the summer again.