Lots of squares

 I finally finished sewing all my little squares together and it is now on my dining room table. I pieced the backing yesterday using a yummy ice-dyed fabric in a blue-green. I went way overboard with dyeing fabric when I started this project, so I had two three-yard pieces to play with. I will show you the back after the quilting. I will spray baste it today and get the the quilting done soon. 

Wising everyone a happy Memorial Day weekend. The weather promises to be fair to middling for today and tomorrow, but splendid for Sunday and Monday. I'll take that! 

I am linking up with Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.

Stitching, gardening and Covid.

 A good friend from High School emailed me. She was worried because I had not blogged since I said I had Covid. Very sweet of her. Thank you, Judy. I am feeling better, but I still have a cough. I may call the doctor to see if that's to be expected. I felt very bad on Saturday and Sunday when I had the worst sore throat ever. It felt like I had a burning coal in my throat and when I coughed, which was often, it felt like someone was putting a metal rasp down my throat. Not fun. 

I thought at first....five days at home. I'll get a lot of sewing done or at least a lot of reading. I did neither. I was mostly vegging out in the couch. I watched 5 seasons of Grace and Frankie, so age appropriate for me and very funny. I had seen the first two season way back when and now I have seen it all. Jane Fonda, who is 84, looks incredible. And I loved her clothes! Lili Tomlin was also great!

I did finally sew all my little squares together. Now I face the onerous task of basting the backing on and quilting it. I am not using batting because each square is backed with flannel and that will be enough. As I said in my last post, I will quilt it on my dining room table, giving me lots of room to spread it out. Since I rarely use the dining room I can leave it there until I'm finished.

Here are a few of my favorite combinations.

I finally got out to the garden on Wednesday and Thursday, taking advantage of the cool, dry, sunny weather. Perfect for just about anything outside.

I'm very fond of New Guinea Impatiens and really loved the color of this one, that I found at Costco. They came six to a flat and I bought four flats. They must have just gotten them in because the soil was so wet, making it easier to plant.

I planted them along a section of my front walkway and they should spread and fill out to make a solid mass. Those are not weeds in the front, but the leaves from my grape hyacinths. They will eventually fade away

In the big pot at the corner of the walk I planted one big Dipladenia. It is a relative of the Mandevilla, but this variety is not a self twiner. It will just cascade and hopefully get bigger. I usually plant a blue Scaevola there, but thought this was a nice change. The Scaevola will go elsewhere on my front porch. I put in some links in case you are not familiar with some of these plants, but they are among my favorites.

I still have a lot of gardening to do, but it is still early in the season.

I am linking up with Off the Wall Friday.

Stitching and Stuff

 I have the first half of the quilt sewn together and just have three more rows to do on the second half. I had thought I was going to quilt it in two sections, but changed my mind. I have often quilted large quilts in sections and then sewed the quilted sections together but they did not involve matching seams. This has a lot of seams. so I am going to quilt it in one big piece, which will measure eight feet by 42 inches. I did quit another big pieced quilt a few years ago, Brown Planet, a collaboration with Kathy Loomis that was the same size. I did it on my dining room, table which gave me lots of room to spread out. That one was done with free motion quilting and this one will just be straight lines a quarter inch from each seam using the walking foot. So hopefully it won't be too formidable.

I almost always have fresh flowers in the house, being so readily available at the super market. I also love tulips, but am dismayed by the fact they they only last about 5 days. I saw these faux tulips in Amazon and can't believe how realistic they are. They are called Real Touch, Faux Latex Tulips. They even feel real. They come ten to a bunch and I bought two bunches of each color.

The white ones in the living room are in a clear glass container.  I put water in the vase because you could see the stems. The stems are totally encased with the latex so I don't have to worry about them rusting.

This glass basket was my mother's and  I always use it for tulips. For these bunches I cut about 3 inches off the bottom. No need for water because you cannot see thru the basket. 

I ordered two other bunches from a different company and sent them back.

And on a less cheery note, I have Covid. Yes, I have been triple vaxed . I started feeling bad on Wed. afternoon. My cleaning lady was supposed to come on Thursday morning and I had an appt. at the hairdresser. So I took an at home test and it was positive. I don't feel good, but I don't feel horrible either, pretty much like a bad cold. Very sore throat, achy, coughing. I had a viral visit with my doc and he said to quarantine for 5 days at home and then for the next five days, wear a mask and social distance. 

My sister, who lives two houses down from me, also has it. I think she feels worse than I do. So just when we thought we could let our guards down, I guess we can't. I haven't been wearing a mask for awhile except at the doctor's office. 

So not much getting done here. I vegged out on the couch all day yesterday, watching TV and reading, same today. Things for which to be grateful.....this is not 2020, when you had to stand in long lines to be tested and then wait two days for the results and then quarantine for 14 days if you were positive. I did not have to go the hospital and this, too, shall pass.

I asked my doctor if I should do another test and he said not to because these tests are very reliable.

Cancelled plans for the weekend...a party for a neighbor couple moving away, Friday night dinner out with the "girls" and Mother's Day dinner with my sister and her daughter. 

Anyway, Happy Mother's day to all the moms out there.

I am linking up with Off the Wall Friday.