Aidan's Army

I've decided to skip the stash reports unless I have some changes in it.  There are too many weeks where I don't buy and don't use anything.  This week, though, I did buy AND use fabric.

Used this week:  1  yard (made a pillowcase)
Used year to date:  39.5 yards
Added this week: 2.75 yards
Added year to date:  21 yards
Net used:18.5 yards

Today was the Race for Hope in Washington DC.  My family participates in honor of Aidan, my five-year-old  nephew, who has a brain tumor.  The day started out cloudy and sprinkling, but by the end of the race, the sun had come out.  My sister's team raised  over $11,000 this year.

Is This a Weed?

I have several plants in my flower beds that I can''t identify.  Is this a weed?

It has little white flowers, but it isn't a very pretty plant.  Maybe it is an herb?  I don't remember planting anything this ugly!

What about this thing?  It has pretty leaves.  I got it from the backyard plant sale, and it is growing in full sun.  It has never bloomed in my yard.  I have 3 of them, but I don't know what they are.

This is also an unidentified plant.  I had two. One I planted in the shade, and it died.  This one is in full sun, and it is bordering on invasive.  It gets small whitish pink flowers that are kind of spikey. Let me know if you know what it is. 

False Indigo has been blooming in my yard for about a week and a half.  I love this plant! 

The columbine is also still going strong.

Coping Strip Blues

Somewhere in between March 25 and  April 10 , my 'Pineapple Blossom' quilt morphed into 'Pineapple Passion' in my head.  The name of this quilt is really Pineapple Blossom. (I think a true 'Pineapple Passion' quilt would have red and black in it, not orange and yellow).  This quilt is a free Bonnie Hunter pattern.

 I finally completed the top yesterday!!!  This was a bit of a struggle for me because I miscut the coping strip.  Originally it was 2.5 inches instead of 3 inches because I made a beginners mistake:  I forgot to add seam allowances.  And I didn't notice the issue until I got all 4 sides of the coping strip stitched to the quilt.  I thought about it all week:  I could make the pieced border smaller and trim down the coping strip to match, or I could do it the right way and take off the blasted coping strip, cut it correctly and start over.  I hate to redo anything, but ripping it off and starting over was the right thing to do. 

Because I  decided to recut the coping strip, I used up more  of my bright green blenders than I intended, and the outer border is creatively pieced.  I didn't want to buy any more fabric for this quilt.  The whole point of making it was to use up my scraps.  Are you tired of seeing the same old quilt?  I am!  I like it, but it's time to move on.

This quilt is 85 inches x 85 inches.  It will be going into the floppy quilt pile.  It doesn't bother me at all to have a bunch of floppies.  If they never turn into quilts in my lifetime, that's ok too.  My heirs can get them long armed just as easily as I can. 

Used this week: 6 yards

Used Year to Date: 38.5  yards

Added this week:0

Added year to date:18.25 yards

Net Used: 20.25 yards

Scissors and Fob Exchange

My online stitching group has exchanges every now and then.  Today I go a package from Gaby who lives  in Germany.  I always get a little excited when I get a package from another  country.  I've been out of the country only a few times, and I've never been to Europe.  Here's what Gaby sent me:

(I've tried several times to get this picture oriented right, but it won't turn.)

I love the shape of the scissors handles.

I like the way Gaby wrapped the seed beads around the cording.  The back is pretty too.

If you don't embroider by hand, you may not know what this is.  It is a holder for skeins of floss.

Yellow Irises

My yellow irises opened overnight.

These irises were given to me about 15 years ago by my husband's Aunt Linda. I split them several years ago and gave some to my mom.  When we moved into this house, my mom split hers and gave some back to me. The best part about these is how quickly they multiply.

I only have a couple of these ruffled irises. They are fancier than the others, but they don't multiply as quickly, and they didn't bloom last year at all.  I got them at the backyard plant sale in Ashland, VA a couple of years ago. (backyardplantsale.org)

My false indigo is just starting to bloom.

My pincushion flowers look pretty good. I started with 3 plants, but I only have one plant left. The flowers are a light purple, not blue as in the picture.

Stash Report Slacker

You may not have noticed that I've skipped stash reporting the past couple of weeks.  It seemed like a waste of time since I haven't added or used anything in a  long time.  I worked hard this week, hoping to get my Pineapple Passion quilt done.  I made a little progress, got the inner border on and got the half square triangle borders made but not sewn to the quilt.

Used this week: 0 yards
Used year to date: 32.5 yards
Added this week: 0  yards
Added year to date: 18.25 yards
Net used for 2012: -14.25 yards

More Flowers

I haven't taken pictures of my flowers in over a week.  The second wave of azaleas has bloomed.

The purple-pink azaleas always bloom about a week and a half after the baby pink ones.  They look a lot better now that the big tree that was shading them has been cut down.

These are dark pink ones are  getting old, and I've had to cut off a lot of dead branches this spring.


This has been a good year for columbine.

Most of my columbine came from my friend Brenda's garden.  I took seeds from her plants and sprinkled them in my beds.  This is a hardy strain, and the plants are very sturdy, not delicate like a lot of columbine.

Just a few of my Dutch irises came back this year, and they are all white.  Last year I had yellow, and 2 shades of purple too.

I'm not sure of the name of this plant, but it looks better this year than it ever has.

I can't remember what this is either, but it usually blooms in June, not April!