I am thinking FLOWERS...white flowers...wink

I wanted to put something up while I am away, to get you into the mood for spring and summer...
And thinking FLOWERS ( Say it with Flowers blog hop next week)

Our garden is flourishing...I had my DH in the garden all weekend, digging and planting more 

bushes and flowers...Me, well you can see what I was up to lol

You would think I would grow up...still playing with Barbies for goodness sake....Not happy just to dress them up now, I have to have one on a vespa...Thought you would enjoy some smiles...
I bet that other lady does not have a vespa wink? I know she has the same Barbie...

It seems the only time T-cup our main coon does not object to me

taking photos of her is when she is cat napping...

She's on the bench on our deck on the most comfortable spot

she could find all cuddled on her cushions...( writing this early Sat morning)

She stayed there for 2 hours while I was busy taking shots

of the garden...

And as you will note this one Sumatra ( rag doll)
is not camera shy...She still has her winter coat...
I have been brushing her and the hair has been coming out
enough to make her a coat for next winter lol
She is manning my bacopa's which will be planted
in planters this week...
( she is not fat, that is alllllll hair)

When we built our home here 4 years ago. where you see the middle tree,
we had a globe maple. It was a tree we planted in every home we ever lived.. These trees would grow
into a perfect umbrella.. no trimming it just grew like that...
WElll last year, with our frost spell that damaged many fruit trees here on the escarpment,
we lost our tree to a fungus. We tried nursing it but the fungus got to her root ball.
When we purchased it, it was
already 20+ years. So it was a fairly large one!

Our local nursery advised us not to plant a similar tree, in fact we were
to stay away from the family of acers...( all maples) as the soil would still have
the fungus in the soil that would attack all maples... So we decided, ok, I decided
on European Viburnum, it was shaped into a tree....Got 2 of them... they are about 6 feet tall!
One is at the back of the garden, where DH is digging up the whole back
yard to have another 60 x14 feet garden....

Our whole garden has nothing but white flowers ( some people call it a moonlight garden)
...it starts off with our tulips,
all white, then viburnums which are green now, but in a week or so they will be
filled with white popcorn balls ...... our white lilacs are in bloom,  our pear trees
had white blossoms, they have already dropped their flowers,
then the peonies will come up,
and the bridal wreaths, and black eyed susans that are all white,
and some climbing hydrangeas as well as snowball hydrangeas...
we even have some award clematis, they too are all white...
all Summer long something white will always be blooming.
WE even found some Italian sunflowers that will grow up to 9 feet tall,
they will be all white too...

My DH did not think we had enough garden...lol 

he decided to dig up back there...where you see the beams on the ground...

as our yard slopes to the forest...( which is till not in full bloom yet, 

that tall tree on your right is about 80 feet high...it is always the last

to bloom and the last to drop its leaves in the fall...)

The tree by the red chair is a Beech Nut, it is about 30 feet tall. 

The Beams will be in a trench so as not to lose all our triple mix 

to the forest....it will act as barrier...So he tells me wink...lol

WE have another Viburnum to plant in there and I  have 6 bushes

of snowball hydrangeas and bridal wreath already planted..

I will be scouting when I return for some white annuals...

I am sure I will be able to fill it up within weeks ....

with of course nothing but well you know...

Every home we had we have had white gardens....

I have this thing about 3 colours...in my home, in my quilts

and now my garden....What is with that? lol

Our neighbours always called it a Fairies garden...

I called it Fairies in a Tea Garden, because at night

hundreds of fire flies come and visit the flowers...

It  really is a spectacular event...

They look like Fairies coming out for tea!

Next Monday our Say it with FLOWERS
begins, with Carol cheering us all on.....

See you then...

Special Announcement! for JULY blog hops!

After much deliberation and taking into account

so many of us have JULY PLANS....

I would like to propose postponing 

our JULY blog hops...

Christmas in July - to Christmas in August

and 

Take 7 and call in the morning ( hexes)

To the month of AUGUST.....

WE will announce signs up for  mid JUNE

for August and since you already aware of these

hops, you can all plan accordingly too...

I personally have a special engagement in July 

that requires my attention and seeing

all I have to do to get ready for this,

I was wondering where I was going to find the time..

So Solution...I know many of you will be disappointed..

but think of all the things you can caught up with:

clean up sewing room

work in your gardens

visit with wee tots, grandchildren

travel

REST

Gratitude for understanding..

our next hop with Carol cheering us all on..

Think Spring, Summer, FLOWERS!

To a Blossoming showing! 

ohhhh and we added 2 more days to the hop....goes till JUNE! 

PUT your STAMP on it Blog hop for mid June, .... SIGN UP NOW!

PUT YOUR

What will your STAMP look like?

If I had a stamp for my letters ( you know those things we mail out occasionally)
 it could look like this...

I would appliqué some birds on it, ADD my country CANADA

I like the currency of 12 cents... so that is what I would add.

( in Canada on March 1st 1977 that is what it cost to send a letter)
Today to mail a letter in Canada 63 Cents! 

I may even make something else for this hop...

but I wanted to give you all an example.

Ok, so here is what you will need for this hop...

A background for your stamp...

Here are some to choose from...

Choose any one of these or make one up of your own......

print out and custom size it

to your preference. 

You could design a mini quilt stamp  4 x4 inches or 14 x14 inches..
or even 14 feet....Ok, I won't be doing that ....lol

Your stamp requires the following:

____________________________

1. A theme

it could be dogs, cats, wee tots, trees, owls, foxes, chickens, ducks, cows, pigs,

 funny looking ladies with pompoms, 

cups, food, chocolate, wine, beer,  tea, dress, baby, quilted bolts,

sewing tools, a word, a quote....

2. Your Country in the corner...or CITY or TOWN!

3. And Your currency...( from your Country)

___________________________

Now I did mine on black just so you could see it...but you 

can choose any background colour...

I thought what I would do is trace out my stamp, use wonder under from Pellon,
 cut out my background stamp

and place it on a rectangle or square background so the edges would show

but I would not be binding around corners... It would give an illusion

that my stamp is all curved...get that? 

So to summarize YOU will be creating a MINI QUILT STAMP

Something that would represent and reflect your passions from your country

and your currency, value....

And who will be cheering you on...

Thearica from Pig Tales and Quilts...

She did a fabulous job in keeping everyone together 

and on time for Shake your POM POMS, she earned her

cheerleader's rank for all you FUTURE STAMP DESIGNERS! 

STAMP ON IT Blog hop...

She will need the following from you:

Name

email address

blog name ( if you have one)
and URL ( sometimes they are different) so please include
both name and link! 

mail this info with the subject LINE 

I want to be a  STAMP DESIGNER

to 

Thearica's email! ( link here for address)
or go to her blog 

Sign up BEGINs THIS FRIDAY!

100 participants will be accepted...
Given you all notice....

( I will have the button ready tomorrow) 

It will be in this post! 

LINK HERE to be reminded of 

 why your commitment stands for something here...

#1 If you commit, commit!

#2 We all want to cheer you on for your project you created for this hop...

( stay focused) lol 

#3 Have post ready at midnight the night before your post date

#4 TURN OFF Word Verification so we can tell you how wonderful you are!

#5 MOST IMPORTANT...be a cheerleader for those in the hop..
YOU can  make these ladies world- ROCK! 

If you drop out for any reason that is not an emergency

you will be placed on the LIST, you do not want to be on the LIST...

Ever, never, EVER! 

By they way the last 3 blog hops since the Spring Cleaning announcement

was made...everyone has been 100% committed...So darn proud of YOU!

No really I am....Let's continue that climb....that is where the stars are...
YOU! 

WE already have a sponso too ...

RED ROOSTER FABRICS 

with Tokyo 4 x 4 squares 101 colours...

Each winner will receive 3 of them! 

( photos later too) 
among other giveaways that have been pouring in!

The next blog hops that will be announced

will be next week...

HO HO HO it's Christmas ( Christmas in July) 
(Carol yes, that lady who.......well you know
she will be cheering you on)

Take 7 and call me in the morning ( HEXIES) 
( and Jane, another familiar cheerleader
who is soooo into hexes will be cheering you for this one) 

Let us know if interested in any or all hops..
just to get an idea of course....

Apologies for not getting back to everyone from
yesterday....I was busy getting this ready
and the next 2 blog hops announcements for next week....

There is always soooo much behind the scenes
that require some attention wink.

WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Congrats to the following...
They will all receive bundles from Clothworks,
Thread from Aurifil,
Pattern book from Annies...

Carla for top 3 of the day
( the duck project)

Karen O for participating
( bird wall hangings)

Jenny for comments left
( she was a bird watcher) 

P.s YOU all know how much 
I love Gingham...with our Tammy
Bag coming up and Riley Blake Designs
being our sponsor....
Welll this says it all..
What a great video...The STAR is the owners
son....He has that Gingham STYLE

If this does not have you thinking
"Where can I get me some GINGHAM, right NOW? 
I don't know what will! 

Gingham Love! oh oh it is a spreading...the gingham fever!

For the last 2 days, I have been making ruffles for WHAT?

Well  wee totT-Shirts that you add ruffles too and of course some kind of appliqué....

The red one with a longer ruffle will be a dress for an almost 2 year old..

The pink one with NO, will be a top for a pair of denim jeans...

What 2 year old does not hear that often...?

NO! 

I used to make these all the time when my kids were young...

Even then I was into gingham....You could say I have

GINGHAM FEVER that has lasted decades....

So next time you are thinking what can you make for any wee tot...

Purchase some T-shirts, make your ruffles while adding your 

additional piece to hide seams, and there you have it an instant girlie dress..

How I made the ruffles...YOU can check out this Tutorial 

I did for RBD with of course their gingham...

I have now finished all of my projects for others...

now it is time for ME! 

I am going to work on my cosmetic bag/make up kit,

with you guessed it Gingham and laminate.

I also will be cutting out some DUCKY fabric too 

for yet another Tammy Bag...

( this one I will be selling to the highest bidder 

for additional funds for our Quilters Fund)

Donation button on side blog! 

We almost have enough for our 5th machine...

Thanks to all who are rocking the world for others! 

YOU are all blessings!

To those who know you, to those above

and to those here who are mirrors of your kindness! 

Thought you would get a kick out of this.....
The winds are warm and high today...so it's a perfect day
to put out some laundry..

Here are some of  my favourite HOME WEAR
because this is where I wear them...at home!

( you know loungers...I wear my velours at night
if it is cool, ( blue and red) the others are just soft cotton jerseys...
Perfect HOME WEAR for sewing lol

My DH said I should be doing ads for Newfoundland...
It's a beautiful province in Canada -they love colour..
YOU often see many coloured homes like these
in their towns... Not sure I would want a lilac or turquoise
house.. For now I will just wear their colours......lol

As much as I love colour, in our garden everything is white...
These tulips look yellow, but they just opened this morning,
they will fade to white by tomorrow..

Within a week, most of our perennials will be blooming in cascade of white
pompoms.... will take photos next week!

It's for THE BIRDS...hop is ending but another will soon be announced and started...

And yes here we are the end of our It's for the Birds blog hop....

Have you enjoyed the VIEW? 

I certainly have and we could not have done it without our
Mary from I piece 2

keeping us together as a flock of eager participants..Thank you Mary

you are one BIRD that has flair.

I am sharing my day with all these delightful BIRD Enthusiasts too..

So let's cheer them on and have them fluttering!

Wednesday, May 15

http://cariboucrossingchronicles.blogspot.ca

www.notionnanny.blogspot.com

http://crookedgulleyartquilts.blogspot.com

http://Karamino.blogspot.com

http://celticthistlestitches.blogspot.com

www.sewmolliesue.com

http://devotedquilter.blogspot.com

http://mystitchin-n-stuff.blogspot.com

www.quiltscapesqs.com

http://kocanquilt.blogspot.com

http://createinthesticks.blogspot.com

http://terrysquiltingtime.blogspot.com

http://Sewwequilt.com ( here you are with me) 

As many of you are well aware by now...I have this affinity for THE BIRDS,

the Alfred Hitchcock version. Although my quilt design may appear frightening,

to me it is rather welcoming. I love black birds, always have, crows, ravens, red wing

black birds ( especially) have always struck a cord with me. 

I am thinking it's because I am somewhat of a rebel....Perhaps mellowed

in my seasoned years, but still a rebel with a cause..lol

In this case, my cause was to create something that I could wrap myself

in while viewing  THE BIRDS for the next 100 times...

The Birds font, is not graphics btw...I copied the actual

font of The Birds and drew it out twice, to create the depth in the 

font on the quilt... one in black material and the other a perfect

match to Tippi's green suit. 

Months ago, I embroidered the border with Melanie Daniels, The Birds,

Tippi Hedren, for what seemed miles of stitches....

I used variegated Presencia Finca perle cotton in golds and yellow

and it gave it that finished look I was seeking...

I never measure anything, ( the rebel in me I suppose) so I kept stitching

till I thought enough was enough....

When I began cutting my materials, again never measuring...

and when I completed the topper, I began piecing my border.

I had exactly what I needed with 1 inch left over....

I had it spaced perfectly all the names fit 

- no cropping, as if I calculated it all before hand...which I did not lol

How I do that ? Have no idea....My DH says

I have photos in my head like Temple Grandin,

I see everything in my head before I ever create anything,

already knowing what it looks like before I even start...

( We met Temple Grandin a couple years ago...the room

was filled with hundreds of people, she comes up to me and said.

" You see pictures too, don't you?" I was so perplexed I just nodded

and "I knew it" she said in quite an enthusiastic pitch

 and she walked to the stage...

YOU could say we connected! )

Now where was I? 

Oh yes, you know that other woman, who competes with me....YOU know her don't YOU?

the one who created this?  

and the lady who started it ALLLLL was Kris from Kris Loves Fabric...

with her quilt for her son.

Kris had created this last fall for our wicked blog hop....I immediately contacted her

found out what that fabric was... She even sent me some so I could make a

coin purse, I called her Melanie after Melanie Daniels...love this, I use

this coin purse all the time! 

( think I will make a Tammy Bag with this fabric too, I have enough for at least one) 

So anyway, I connect with Carol... 

ME: "did you see Kris's quilt?"

Carol: "Yep, I want to make it..."

Me: "So do I, what are you thinking of making?"

I shared what I was going to make, she shared with me..

Neither one of us did what we said we were going to make...

What transpired well as you will note..., we were visualizing the same thing...

Now what does that say about US?....I think it says, we are competive....

well not ME ..but HER for sure! lol

I haven't had enough time to quilt it...this I will be working 

on  her over the summer( if it ever gets warm enough to sit outside)

....since I hand quilt everything, I need

a couple of weeks of QUIET to do so....

( I also had another BIRD project I had to complete for RBD) 

today...2 in one day...which is why this one is not completely done...lol

Ohhh again, forgot to mention...while I was taking photos of my quilt by the forest

in our backyard, over to my right, we have these bird feeders that are on post

about 14 feet above the ground.....

I started to hear some rustling of feathers while I was snapping photos..

All of sudden I took a look up and with camera in hand...took this ...

Scared the "P: out of me...lol

The only reason I was scared was because in my head

this is what I was really seeing lol...

( get it ?) 

Okay onto my second project this is for 

RBD ( Riley Blake Designs) every couple of months

as part of the design team I am to come up with ideas

for uses of their product line...

As I have fallen mad over heels in love with their gingham-

I thought I would share this cafe curtain for indoors or outdoors

that can be made for less than $30.00.

Go here to see the Tutorial...lot's of great tidbits a La Mdm Samm. 

Budget Conscious?

Try Burlap  with any of your STASH choices for your next HOME DECOR! 

check this out

My Burlap guy! check on rustic weddings...all the burlap is there...

Ohhh and I had enough time yesterday to make a Butterscotch Pie....One of my very favourite

treats...it just goes so well with gingham...Simple ingredients creates a lovely setting! 

I will be serving between 11-3 pm today....let's have Brunch! 

So that is all I was able to get done for the BIRD hop....I was trying to complete

my so called Ducky bag....but it is still in pieces...I did get it cut out lol

So what are you waiting for ....let's dig in ....

OUR TOP 2

Love this lady's idea of seeing the birds to match their morning melodies...

a perfect valence against the setting of our trees....

What a view inside and out!

A great shot of seagull with lighthouse...a gentle reminder

of travels. I just smiled as I should of added seagulls to my

quilt too....I will be happy to have this reminder...well done...

and most CREATIVE

WEllll this is just ducky in my mind....LOVE the ducks..and I did 

not even know I liked them till I saw this lady's impression...

her quilting well when you see it up close is just fabulous....

She took a pattern, well you will read about it...

Isn't the shot just picture perfect....thought so too..

And to all those who participated in this HOP

WELL DONE! everyone showed up..we had

a couple tardy ones...but they were up early enough

with the birds that we forgave them...

I LOVED that YOU ALL FLEW IN

and brought along your creativity..

SAD to see this one end...

WEll onto our next one...wink !

Who will be winning these?

From our sponsor Clothworks...

there will be extras added always are....

* Tippi Barbie Doll is MINE...

she stays lol

winners announced this FRIDAY...

 Our next hop is .....

Carol is cheering this one on....

and something special for Mary...

I was still working on it late last night...

Her very own embroidery piece to remind her of our hop...

( sent you the file for this) Thank you Mary..

your very own wee tot birdie!