Ready for Binding

Good morning, my friends. It was a very nice day here yesterday. It's still too chilly to be outside, but the sunshine was very nice. It gave me a chance to get out and take a look at what's what in the garden. Of course, the heather has been in bloom for a long time. We planted it because it is a winter bloomer.

A few daffodils have opened…the white ones with a yellow center. Last fall we planted some unconventional colors, but they’re all still in tight buds.

The flowering plums lining our driveway are starting to open.

All five of my peonies have shoots coming up. One of the peonies was replaced a couple of years ago. Since we were gone last year, I haven’t yet seen the new one bloom. That will give me something to look forward to.

All four of our blueberries have buds coming on. 

The blueberries had their best year ever last summer. We weren’t here to enjoy them, but our neighbor picked them and shared the image below. It’s been about five or six years since we planted the blueberries, and up until now, their yield has been paltry. This year…this year will be our year to enjoy them.

The Edda clematis has survived another winter. (I believe our winter was fairly mild this year.)

It had its best year ever last year too. Here’s another image our neighbor shared while we were traveling in Alaska.

There's some progress to report today. Happily, the quilting for the Painted Ladies is finished. It's ready for binding now.

Here’s a peek at the back.

With that finished, I went back to work on February’s Inverted Star. Sadie helped me with that. She was giving me tips on how to remember to use the leaders and enders. I’m still only remembering about 10% of the time.

She also helped me trim them to size.

It didn’t take too long, and I had February’s green Inverted Star finished.

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

Today I have a few non-sewing things to do. For one thing, I need to make some tomato jam. It’s one of my favorite condiments and, tragically, I’m completely out of it. Fortunately, it’s a small batch recipe, and so even with processing time, it won’t take up too much of my day.

From there, I’m really hoping to get the Fantastic Felines quilt sandwiched for quilting. If I can get that done, I’ll get busy sewing the Gumballs into a finished flimsy. 

While I was out yesterday, I despaired about the weeds coming up. Especially the hairy bittercress. It is terribly invasive, and so I try to pull it all up before it has a chance to bloom. When I was out yesterday, I noticed some already has flowers, and so there’s no time to waste. Also, I need to cut the dead stuff off some of the other flowering shrubs. It’s too cold to be outside just yet, but we’re hoping for some warmer weather toward the end of the week. 

Tomorrow’s post will probably be late. I have an appointment to see my PCP. It’s just my annual check-up, but I’ll have a chance to whine to her about my shoulder issue. She might be able to grease the wheels if she also orders an MRI. One can only hope. Also, the orthopedist was going to send her a note about whether a calcium supplement and Vitamin D alone are enough for my thinning bones. My last bone scan showed osteopenia. Since I’ve already suffered a shoulder fracture, he expressed some concern about it. So…lots to talk about with her. We’ll see how it all comes out. I’ve always considered it a privilege to grow older, since I know so many who passed on much too young. Nevertheless, I could do without these age-related issues.

If you’ve enjoyed this post, you can thank my dedicated editor, Smitty, who’s been reading over my shoulder as I type.

It’s Sunday morning pancake time, but Mike has gone back to bed. He woke up too early, watched his Formula One races, and now he’s back in bed. Pancakes might not happen today.