7/8/19

Hello Hydrangeas!

The first thing I needed to do yesterday was to get out and water the flower pots and fill the bird feeders. Since my last visit to the garden, the hydrangeas have stolen the show. The variegated one has several blooms on it.

 
Its neighbor to the left was the first to bloom. The bush is small, but the flowers are big.


This pink one is on the same plant.


To its left is the largest bush, and it too is flowering now.


Sometimes it produces flowers that are half blue, half lavender, or half pink.


Around front, the darkest wine is blooming now. We're still puzzled by the brown foliage on this one. We can only think it got too dry at one point, or possibly the week-long spate of hot weather in May burned its tender new foliage. Fortunately, the flowers were not harmed.


It is covered with flowers...its best year since we planted it.


Not to be outdone, the echinacea are making a strong showing. All three plants are covered in buds.


The tallest pink is nearly fully opened.


In veggie land, the cherry tomatoes are opening. Yes, I know that tomatoes are technically a fruit, but you wouldn't put them in fruit salad, would you?


Also, there are huge blossoms on the zucchini plants now. I have some recipes stowed away to try them stuffed with cheese and fried. They're supposed to be good that way. I kind of get stuck on the "stuffed with cheese" part. Oh yes, and then there's the "fried" part. Sounds like a diet killer, and I save the killer slots for desserts.


Here's the zucchini associated with the flower, and there are more coming. I've learned that each flower has a little baby zucchini behind it, but they only mature if the flower is pollinated. Come on, Pollinators!


When I was finished outside, I got to work top-stitching the Dancing Chickens and Flying pigs quilt block. This one has a little quilt on it, as did the last one. The little squares are added individually, and so I feel a need to "quilt" in the seam-lines since they aren't lined up perfectly.


For my reference only, I've noted the settings for the "quilting" stitch. This is stitch number 308 on my Bernina 750QE, but I've shortened both the length and width of the stitch for this purpose.


It took more than two hours, but I managed to get all the machine top-stitching finished. Now it just needs hand-embroidery. This will be next when I finish the barn block for Appalachian Memories. I was thinking about the design of this block. It's created by Anni Downs, and I believe she's from Australia. See the fence below the rabbit? Is that the rabbit-proof fence?


Smitty gave this quilt block his stare of approval.


I took a little break after that, but before too long, it was time to get back at it. I was determined to get a start on the Solstice to Solstice quilt. For weeks, I've been mulling over whether I should quilt each block individually. In that case, I would use different colors of thread on top and one color on the back. Orrrrrr.....I could do an all-over design. In that case, I'd quilt the whole thing back and front with grey thread. Then I remembered these pre-wound bobbins of grey thread my friend Ila sent a while back, and that helped make up my mind. I've never used pre-wound bobbins before, and so it seemed a good time to give them a try.


My quilt is large, and so I'm not sure five bobbins will be enough. If not, I have some grey thread that is nearly the same color. If I run out, I doubt anyone will notice the difference in color, including me.

Being a large quilt, it's the first real opportunity I've had to try out this quilt suspension system I purchased a couple of months ago. This is a system designed by Patsy Thompson, and you can read more about it right here. The problem with my sit-down machine is that the bulk of large quilts will often fall off the side of the table. It makes drag as I'm trying to quilt, but in the moment it falls, it also yanks the quilt off to the side as I'm sewing. So this system of arms, bungee cords, and clamps helps keep the quilt from falling off the table.


The one complaint I've had about it is that this hook is too large. When I maneuver the quilt, it can get raised up enough to come unhooked, and then the whole point of the contraption is lost.


Enter a Man With Some Pliers, and he squoze (yeah, "squoze") that hook together so that it won't come off any more. I wondered if there would be a time when I'd want it to come off, and there might be. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it because it wasn't working the other way.


So time will tell, and I'll have more to say about whether this is helpful when I've finished this quilt. For now, I'm just getting started, and I'm using a motif my friend Marei often uses on her quilts. I always love her quilting, and so I decided to give it a try. Marei helpfully pointed me in the direction of this video to see how it's done. It's called the "Double-C." If you can't see the video, then click right here.


And I was just barely getting started yesterday, but here's how it's looking so far.


And that's pretty much how I'll be spending my day today. I'm hoping to get well along...more than half way at least...by day's end.

This week is going to get a little busier since we'll get getting ready for our camping trip next week. Of course, housework is always part of the equation, but I'll need to do some laundry, do some grocery shopping, get my hair cut, do some food prep, and get packing. We're hoping to have our boat back for this trip, and we've been told we'll have it by Friday. Fingers crossed. If not, we've got some other ideas about how to spend the time by the lake.

11 comments:

Julierose said...

Your "C" quilting looks so good! Your hydrangeas are so lovely--mine haven't even bloomed yet...we had cut it back drastically last Fall and i think it may still be holding a grudge;000 hopefully buds will set pretty soon...
You have a really busy week ahead with all that and prepping for your trip...hugs, Julierose

Debbie said...

Great garden tour! Love those colorful blooms. Your quilting is going great! What she calls "c's" I call swirls. Great all over pattern that you can't go wrong with.

gpc said...

Everything is coming along beautifully. You will either love or hate the pre-wound bobbins -- they are the bomb, or else complete disasters. I am guessing that it's a brand quality control thing, and once I figure out which are the good ones, I'll indulge more often. And not to worry about the suspension system -- Mike can undoubtedly un-squoze it any time you need him to.

Sandra W said...

I'm anxious to learn how you like your contraption. When you mentioned it before I looked it up and thought it might be useful. Do you think it makes any sense with a regular machine? I have a Bernina 770--not much different from your 750.
Will the kitties join you on your trip?

Quilting Babcia said...

Thanks for the link to the video. It's a great overall design, and I'm thinking strongly about trying it on the next quilt to go under the needle. Though I've yet to master overall designs, always boxing myself into a corner. It will be interesting to see how you like working with that contraption to hold the quilt up and keep it from falling off the table. I remember when Patsy Thompson was first blogging about creating it. Your hydrangeas are gorgeous. Still waiting for buds on the one Den got me for my birthday. Wondering what color we'll have here.

quiltzyx said...

What a nice walk about the garden - those hydrangeas are beautiful. I've seen on TV or read about cooking the zucchini flowers. I wonder what they actually taste like?

Hahahaha - rabbit-proof fence! Right!

Looks like your "c"s are working out well for you. Just remember to keep your shoulders down & away from your ears & not get stressed!

piecefulwendy said...

A couple years ago, when I was visiting Missouri Star Quilt, I kept seeing this woman that I recognized, but I couldn't place her. It was Marei. She was there with a tour group, I think. Love your hydrangeas. Ours haven't even decided to bud yet. Any news from Coyote Man?

Natureluvr57 said...

Our hydrangeas have been blooming about 2 weeks now. A Flosstube woman mentioned how to keep the color from fading (a florist told her). I'm trying it and so far 1 week later and it's still blue as can be. I believe she said or I read the color is good for 3 weeks then you can turn them upside down and dry them. Anyway the trick is to cut them as usual, I ran it under some water, dipped about 1/2 end of the cut stem into Alum-yep, the stuff for pickling. Just Google it and you can read about it....if you like to cut them and dry them. Zucchini!!! I used to grow it without any issues. Last year mine was attacked by squash bugs and I had to eventually dig it up, bag it and get rid of it and the bugs. This year all my fruit is turning to mush like it had blossom end rot. Apparently that's what happens when the female flower isn't pollinated. I always have a few in the beginning but this year I've tossed about 20. Yesterday I took a soft brush and swiped the male flowers (the one with no little fruit) and then swiped the pollen onto the one female flower (the one with the fruit at the base of the flower). I don't know if it will do the trick. I've only seen one little bumble bee but Saturday the Japanese Beetles started coming out feeding and fornicating on my zinnias! I hate those bugs so I've been dropping them into soapy water to kill what I can. Last year I fought the Cicada Killer Wasps which are huge. Take care

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

Those flowers are so pretty! I use machine stitching for embroidery as well, to speed things up. Your little piece is so pretty and whimsical.

Vivian said...

I love your garden tours! The hydrangeas are gorgeous, the colors are so intense! I will be following your quilting of the double c on your sewing machine with interest because that's what I quilt on. By the way if you are looking for a recommendation for pre wound bobbins, try Sulky brand. They work very well and they last a long time. Superior to use in my mind anyways.

kc said...

wow! the hydrangeas are spectacular this year! squeezing that hook looks like it will do the trick just perfectly, you can worry about maybe needing to undo it down the road, should the need ever arise. I'm sure it will unsqueeze just as easily.

we used to feed our beetles to the chickens - maybe that's what you need! of course, you'd need a sitter for every campout...but we always had our beetles under control...