Some Warm Weather

Our day is supposed to be a hot one. It was lovely yesterday. I was able to do some catching up in the yard, hoeing the vegetable garden, and pulling a few weeds. I filled the bird feeders, but didn't do any watering to speak of. I'll need to do that this morning before it gets too hot.

My first stop in the garden yesterday was to check on the peony. It was still in the shade and wasn't quite open. Still, I had high hopes for a big reveal later in the day.

On the opposite side of the house, I noticed the clematis blossom is fading, but a new one is opening down below. I haven't checked yet this morning, but it might be open by now.

When I'd finished my outdoor activities, I went to work finishing up the "fat cat" block. I needed to add the black flange and to piece together a sashing. This one is going to use a lot of red scraps.

Here are the three blocks I have for this quilt so far.

By that time, it was late in the day, and I checked again on the peony. It was open! This is the Garden Treasures peony.

It was the last bud to form on the five peonies I planted last fall, and it's the only one on this plant. There is still one more peony that has yet to bloom. It will probably be at least a couple of weeks. The buds are still small, with the largest only being about the size of a marble. Its name is "Joker" and when it blooms, it should look something like this:

Okay, so I did my slow stitching this morning already, and I finished off the 7th block for Dancing Chickens and Flying Pigs. This one is called "Bright Ideas and Plum Jam."

These are the other blocks I have for this quilt so far:

Next, my slow stitching will take me back to hand quilting the Mulligan Stew quilt. It's been a while since I've worked on this, and so I'm hoping I'll have some energy to make more progress. When I left it, I had the areas inside the pink line all quilted. 

My goal for this go-round is to finish off one of the corners and one of the borders before I put it aside. I might take my friend Pat's advice and take it out of the hoop. The hoop is awkward and it's a pain when I have to move it. Possibly this would be easier to do with the quilt loose in my lap. Next up in the sewing room is to work on the cat panel I showed you in yesterday's post.

I've been auditioning fabrics, and I have a design in mind, but honestly, I haven't made any decisions about where I'm headed with it. We'll all be surprised to see what I end up with.

Today I'll be doing a little more work in the yard. There's always something to do this time of year. For sure, I need to water the flower pots. I'll be doing laundry and a couple of other small housekeeping chores. Mainly though, the sewing room is going to be the coolest spot at the Three Cats Ranch. I'll get to work on the cat panel and see where it leads me.