More rainy weather

We have not had a weekend without precipitation since December, and this weekend is no exception.  It is another gloomy day, but I do plan to get out into the garage and pot up some impatients for the front stoop.  Maybe I'll even transplant some houseplants that need larger pots.  Everyone is tired of this gloom, but the rain does make everything look lush and pretty.

Yesterday I sewed the binding to the back of this little table runner.

It's about 10" x 20" and made of scrap purples.  The focus fabric and the pattern came from the quilters auction at the state guild.  My friend Tess wrote the pattern, and I bet she put the fabric in with it.  I will send her a picture soon.  I chose to make the smaller size, but the pattern has instructions for a larger one, and I just might make that one, too.   These are just my colors.

Tonight, we are going to the opera downtown - La Traviata - put on by Opera Vermont with a soprano from Italy.  We have been invited to a "meet the cast" reception beforehand which should be fun but will mean a very early dinner.  And, as usual, I'm wondering how dressy it will be.  Vermonters don't dress up much, so I probably could wear almost anything at all.  And that's probably what will happen tonight.  

In just another week we'll be heading to Colorado for a week with my mom and sister Jenny.  I'm beginning to pile up things to take along.  Mom's 103rd birthday is on June 27, so we're visiting early to have plenty of time with her alone.   We like to spend time chatting on the back porch, so I'm taking the kawandi piece I started last weekend.   She's looking forward to going to brunch at Denny's with us, and I'm sure we'll do a little sightseeing, too.  Chris likes to shop at the Coors Brewery, and I have to go to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.   We're hoping for sun in Golden.

Little bits here and there

We have had amazingly beautiful weather lately, calling for time outside in the garden or just soaking up the rays.  I bought a bunch of plants Monday and have slowly been getting them into the ground.  There are still some petunias to plant among the tulips that just stopped blooming.  I need to buy some impatiens for the flower boxes in the front of the house and also a couple of bags of "Moo Doo" to spread around.  Hope to do that today or tomorrow, with Paul's help.

My Fat Quarter Shop order of foundation papers came, so I made one of each this week.  I love the way "Double Date" came together and plan to make a few 6" blocks in green and cream each month until I have enough for a quilt.  Paper piecing seems the only way to make this block accurately.

"Wensleydale" makes a much bigger block and seems perfect for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I may hold off on that one until 2026.  I did try out a block in reds for a new sampler that's starting to develop.  The blocks end up at 7" x 9".  

I've decided to focus on one or two colors and work on quilts from just those tubs for a while.  Hence, the red and cream/white sampler and the green "Double Date" blocks.  I'll be making a few red/white blocks in different sizes this summer until I have enough for a Bags of Love quilt.  I will alternate green and cream backgrounds for the green quilt.

So far, I've made just a few red/white blocks, but I'm enjoying using those scraps in different ways.  I need to make some "filler" blocks next.

Friday I got out the fabric and table runner pattern I "won" in the quilters auction at the state guild meeting.  As is typical of designs by my friend Tess, there are tiny pieces, but I did manage to get them all together and even quilt it.  

Now I need to hand sew the binding down, and then I'll need to decide whether to try to sell it or give it away.  I have two birthdays coming up in June, so if I don't find something for one or the other, I'll give them away.  I have plenty of the focus fabric left so may just make another to sell when I get a chance.  I noticed the fabric came from Joann's, a store I am already missing.

And finally, yesterday I went to our little Saturday quilt guild meeting to learn "Kawandi" quilting from Sarah.  It was fun!  I plan to take my project to Colorado in a couple of weeks to work on while we sit with Mom on the back porch.   Here's my work in progress.