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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.