Bloomers

Good morning, my friends. We've had a couple of days of warm and beautiful weather. This morning we're back to cloud cover. It's nice while it lasts, and we took advantage of it yesterday. There was time in the morning to finish off the Spring Flowers embroidery before I needed to get ready to leave. 

For now, I'll set this aside. Already, I've selected some fabrics to finish it off. 

This morning, I'll take the first stitches on the 10th of 12 blocks for Grandpa's Bridges.

I left around mid-morning to get my pedicure. Afterward, as I was getting back in my car to head for home, I noticed these pretty bluebells across the parking lot from me.

And as I walked back to my car, my shadow self insisted I take a picture of her. She was miffed because I made her wait outside while I got my pedicure. Honestly, she's such a whiner. I hope she doesn't act like this when we go to Alaska.

Back home, I took a walk around to check on the flowers. The lilacs are trying really, really hard to open.

We're seeing more azalea blossoms every day.

This one is near the front door.

The wild strawberries are dotted with little white flowers now. The bees are busy here.

And the last of the daffodils has bloomed. This is the Poet's Daffodil.

The purple clematis out front surprised me. While I wasn't looking, it started blooming. This clematis was planted by the original owner/builder of our home, and it's been a faithful bloomer year after year.

The dogwood tree is forming flowers. We get mixed results from this tree. I'm hoping it will have a good year this year.

The plum tree is fully in bloom now. I'm hoping we get a good crop of plums this year.

The tulips continue to be safe from the deer. I suppose there's safety in numbers.

It was late in the day before I made my way to the sewing room. I sewed the last half square triangles for the Lightframe quilt.

And then I cut all the strips I'll need to complete the blocks.

With all the cutting done, these will go together fast. I'm hoping to have a finished quilt top by the end of the day.

But it was time then to start thinking about dinner. Mike grilled some steaks, and we had this Grilled Ribeye Steak Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette. That recipe is from Giada DeLaurentiis, and it could hardly be easier. It was warm with virtually no wind, and so we enjoyed a leisurely dinner outside for the first time this year.

Today we need to make a quick trip into town. We'll probably get lunch while we're at it. There should be plenty of time for sewing this afternoon, and so I'm hoping to finish off the Lightframe quilt top. If there's time, I'll start on the final two pieced blocks for the Girls' Getaway quilt. I'll be making two of this block called "Double X." This is the image from the pattern cover.

By finishing Lightframe and the final two blocks for Girls' Getaway, I'll be opening two slots on my WIPs dance card. At least one will be a scrap quilt, but I haven't made any decisions yet. Mr. Random might need to help with this. We'll see what I come up with.

So there's plenty to keep me busy today, as usual. I have one housekeeping chore, and I want to bake some muffins. Hopefully, I can fit it all into the allotted time slot. And if not, there's always tomorrow. If it weren't for tomorrow and the last minute, nothing would ever get done.