A Lengthy Post About Summer Finishes and Other Stuff

Okay, wow! This is exhausting trying to learn a new photo editing program. I'm not very good with new techy stuff at all. Or change. In fact, I think this is probably going to be a new chapter in my life all the way around. The new normal is well, just a bit different. My family keeps urging me to continue on with my quilty blogging in spite of the fact that I feel it can't possibly be done 'right' these days.

Some new finishes..

So I'm going to try and lower my expectations, just blog when I can. Not worry about how consistent I am or who might be disappointed. If I disappear for two {or three} weeks then that's just my present life--c'est la vie! Maybe there'll be times I can surprise us all and get in a couple posts a week too. 

Low Volume Scrappiness

Or maybe I'll combine several posts into one, like today. Three finishes this summer! Wowsers. And I thought there was little to no quilting going on. But here they are. The scrappy 'make-piece' quilt was a fast one. Relatively. The quilt top was finished a couple years ago, but the sandwiching and machine quilting only took a couple days. The blocks were all  made strictly out of my scrap bin in a low volume experiment. Then I was scratching my head trying to figure out what to do with them. Aha! Put more color with them obviously! And I adore the country, happy look to my quilt. The organic straight line quilting looked better towards the end of the quilting than the beginning. For the first little while I was gritting my teeth and feeling positive I had made a huge mistake. Thankfully it worked to the good and I'm happy as can be about the end result.

Very snuggable, huggable and lovable....

And I'm just thrilled to have my own bow-tie quilt finally all completed and being put to use. You remember all that was left to finishing this one was the binding? This Bow-ties quilt is all hand pieced quilt block and then machine sewn into rows. Sacrilege to the earnest hand piecers but it's what made sense to me at the time and I don't regret it. Here's my original inspiration for those who have chided me lately about not giving credit where credit is due. As if any quilters anywhere {no matter how famous or art school learned they are} ever truly come up with brand new ideas without years of quilty influence. Seriously folks, we don't have to defend their precious creativity. It really should be able to speak for itself if it's truly original! And most of us homegrown quilters do link back quite a lot actually....

The Bow-Tie quilt is done!!!

I did see some bad hand piecing areas when I was doing the hand quilting tho. At first I thought to fix them as I went and then decided, no. Not necessary. This is the first hand pieced quilt I've ever made. and I'm gonna love it, mistakes and all. Besides, working on this quilt helped give me the confidence to make....

Hand quilting texture is the best....

This quilt--my Cactus Basket quilt. I would never have had the courage to sew so many of those diamond shape pieces before the bow-tie quilt. Once I figured out how much simpler some piecing is with hand piecing, well, I was raring to play with a long loved block.

The Cactus Basket Quilt

Learning, growing and trusting in our desire to create takes us many places in quilting. I was able to finish this one quickly even with the chaos in my life because, drumroll.... I first machine quilted in the ditch to stabilize it! Yep, I'm learning to ask first if it's even possible. Honestly I'm not terribly thrilled about the details of where the 'in-the-ditch' stitching meandered out of the ditch, but it's just what it is. This folksy quilt feels so very 'me' regardless. Sometimes I get away from those quilty elements that speak the loudest to {and of} me in my pursuit of something I can't even properly name. Taking this blogging {and piecing} break has given me a much needed new perspective once again.

Loving the lollipop flowers so much.....

It's actually quite refreshing to come back and look through the different quilty projects in all their odd stages. What was I doing here or there? Do I still like it? Does it feel important. Worthy? Will I love it even after it's finished? Am I excited by it or possibly challenged? That can be enough sometimes.

Finally believing --If I can see it, it can be made.....

This break has been good for me in a lot of ways. I'm sure things will be different from here on out, but hopefully not in a negative way. No quilt shows this summer, not a one. I'm still a process quilter at heart and I want to focus more on the in's and out's of  how it all comes together--sometimes magically and sometimes not so much. Working with color and fabric really makes my world a happier place. How about you?

Hand Pieced Bow-ties Quilt Top is FINISHED

Wow! Blogger is moving slow today. I finally loaded my pictures from Picasa which seemed to speed things up considerably. My hand pieced bow-ties quilt top is completed now, although it was a bit of a struggle clear till the end. Always something to make me appreciate my quilt even more than before! If you click on the picture below you can see where I circled a block--that's the one that I ended up making extra.

The arrow points to the new block

Uh huh. One more block. For some reason, I had a black block there--no picture because my camera battery was dead at the time. Check me for a fever, but yes, I got out my seam ripper out and carefully removed that particular eyesore. Two dark-ish blocks practically side by side act as a magnetic mine field to the eye, no matter how you I try to justify the scrappy look going on in this quilt.

Hand pieced bow-ties quilt

I didn't dare leave the quilting room until my new hand pieced block was cut out, sewn together and pieced back into the quilt. Maybe a little afraid that I might rebel and stuff this quilt away forever unfinished? After it was all together and laid out on the living room floor for inspection, I heaved a big sigh of relief. Yes--now it looks properly balanced, color-wise and size too.

How I was working before....

Great lesson to learn though. The whole thing happened because I only had that much room in the quilting room (see previous photo) to audition the final row of blocks next to the rest of the quilt. You know, because I was being lazy about tromping up and down the stairs. Not. Gonna. Happen. Again.....

Hand Piecing the Last Bow-tie Blocks

Wow! What a weekend. State basketball games three days in a row and our girls came home with a 3rd place trophy! Yay! Lot's of emotional ups and downs, but overall a very happy ending. Always a relief when things end on a good note.

Perle Cotton

I had fun during the down times doing a (very little) bit of shopping. Came home with a stack of Perle Cotton thread and then after I was home admiring it, I realized that most of it is #5 thread instead of #8! Such a let down. Not sure if the #5 will work for hand quilting as it is definitely thicker than the other but I will try anyway. Not like I have a lot of options as the store is 3 hours away from our home. lol

The last 5 hand pieced bow-tie blocks

The only hand work I brought was the bow-tie blocks. I know my restless hands when there is idle time in a motel room! It doesn't matter how much I am dreading and/or avoiding a project, if it's the only one available, I'll pick it up and get right to work!

The 15th row ready to sew together....

Once again, I realized how much I truly enjoy simple hand piecing. Quite a relief as I was starting to wonder after my previous frustration with sewing the rows together. Now there is a stack of blocks ready to sew the entire 15th row together and then this quilt top will be done. I can't imagine putting a border on this quilt unless it would be a narrow border of the solid 'mermaid' green? Time will tell. I'm linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching and then hopefully catching up on my blog reading!

Sometimes You Just Need to Follow Your Muse

I'm was being very, very good, getting my bow-tie blocks all cut out, prepped and ready to go when I suddenly went off the rails.

Prepping my bow-tie blocks

Yep, the baskets finally overpowered me. It was bound to happen, you all know that. And, well... I might have already had a couple of the blocks cut out. Maybe. Not gonna admit to anything incriminating here though. And I figured hey! If I couldn't even focus properly on other stuff, might as well dive in and get these little 'ol baskets out of the way. A girl has to do what a girl has to do.*wink

Baskets Galore BOM

A couple little tips for those that haven't started this Basket BOM yet. Don't sew the curvy piecing on the middle basket upside down. It really doesn't work out well in the end. Just saying! And the basket that is second down on the left? Hmmmm... lets just say that when my husband brought home roses that evening (a very, very rare occurrence in 20+ yrs. of marriage), it couldn't have happened at a better time. Ahem. (Working for 1 solid hour on a single block apparently turns me into a raving lunatic.) The puckering on the Cactus basket proves that in-set seam piecing still does not fall under my area of expertise and I have wonky handles on the triangle basket etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. I'm adhering to Lori's motto and enjoying my 'humble' blocks regardless of any and all error. What's not to like about baskets?

This Quilt Top Was Hard to Sew Together

I sewed rows of Bow-ties together off and on all weekend. It was challenging for me because I so wanted to work on something else (anything else actually). I'd sew a few rows, take a break, come back later, sew some more until eventually I got the whole quilt top together. This one was not fun to sew together at all.

Sewing the rows

Way too many seams to match up {that didn't want to match up} because the seams from the hand sewing didn't come all the way out to the edge of the block. Even with supercallafragalistic pinning, the fabric would sometimes slip and move, making besties of me and my seam ripper. Agghhh....

My oldest daughter came up to the quilt room on Saturday evening to sit on the floor and cheer me on. Ha. As if. Mostly she just wanted to chat about the dramas of teenage life and being a senior in high school. Do you remember those days? Feeling so surreal that high school was almost over! And did I tell you that her basketball team won #1 at districts in our league (for the second year in a row)! Now for the stress excitement of Regionals and then if we win, state? I tell you, my kids are so athletic, I'd sometimes wonder if they were adopted if I didn't remember the exact moments of their birth.

Nevertheless, her company helped me stick to the details until I had a finished quilt top. I am so glad now that I stuck to this particular lay-out instead of the classic look of the bow-ties. It's exactly what I wanted to achieve when I started this particular project! Kind of a scrappy vintage-y look that reminds me of picnics at the lake or other carefree summer days.

Bow-ties

My bow-tie quilt is 13 rows by 14 rows which makes it barely a rectangle by any measurement. Since I'm a 'give me a square quilt' or 'make sure it's an obvious rectangle' kind of gal, I'm thinking I'll go ahead and make another row. Just one. There are 8 blocks already sewn together, which only makes for 5 more to get cut out and sewn up--not too terrible a proposition, right? I can DO THIS.

A closer look at Bow-ties

If I was in the mood to do it. Which I'm not. *Note to self: Don't jump ahead with sewing a quilt top together before all of the blocks are sewn together ever again. For some strange reason the motivation to continue on drastically declines along with the last seam.

More Bow-ties

I thought I'd get the cutting part out of the way yesterday evening, but alas, I had a houseful of company. Wonder how many other excuses I'll come up with before I do the right thing?

Oh yeah, one other thing I wanted to mention--there are no true puckers in this quilt. It just hasn't been ironed yet. We'll call it bad blogger etiquette and just leave it at that.*wink

Why Having Several UFQ's Generally Works in My Favor

I don't consider myself to be {naturally} creative. My mind gets full of the busyness of life and I go to the quilt room to escape. When fabric and color work their wonderful magic on me, everything gets better in my world almost instantly! Instead of having to start from scratch (cue the panic!), lots of times it's better for me to dive into something that I know exactly what to do with.

The Pickle Dish/Wedding Ring quilt

Even when I'm not comfortable with the process or it's not my favorite piecing method. (ie: foundation piecing) there is still a plan of action to follow. It's usually just a matter of deciding what I want to work on that particular day and getting on with it.

Here's where it gets interesting for me. When I'm practically numb from sewing my 4th or 5th foundation piecing arc (or whatever other tedious sewing I'm doing), my mind starts doing calisthenics trying to convince me that there are other more fascinating things to be sewing. 'Hey, what about making a few Goose Track blocks--you know you've wanted to make them forever!!' And so it goes.

Geese Tracks

However, when it gets to the point that I feel like I'd rather chop off all my fingers than sew another set, I make myself sew another set. I know. Very perverse of me. But I try to ensure that whatever brilliant idea going on in my head is not just from the fugue state. Think of it as a two-fold preventative measure: 1. Play time has to be earned and 2. There's plenty of time to wake up and think while being tortured.*wink

Partial St. Paul blocks

So.. when I finally pack that project away for the day (big sigh of relief), I often take a moment to look at one of my unfinished quilts. Hmm... What to do? It's nice to check in with where I'm at in the process occasionally. Does it need sashing or another border? Am I stuck over making a fabric/color choice? Sometimes I take the time to audition a few ideas and then, more often than not, I put it all back in the tote without doing anything physical to the project at all. Yep. I know what you're thinking. All I did was look at it, play a little and think. Ha! Not so fast with the criticism there! Now it's very fresh and clear in my mind. What do you think my very curious and puzzle-solving subconscious is going to be doing the next several days while I go through my daily routine?

Random Sampler

And yes, there are projects that are waaay back on the back burner. I check on them occasionally too so they know I still love them. It's good to reassure myself that I'm still feeling the love for the fabric. Hmm... Project ideas? Maybe some more basket blocks, you can never go wrong there. Hey, what about that Basket BOM from Legend and Lace? Can I combine the two projects? Hmm... something to think about although those baskets probably deserve a quilt of their own. I wonder if I'm doing too many medallions right now--maybe this quilt should be more of a puzzle-piece type sampler? Ugghh... so not in the mood for that at the moment. Move on, move on, leaving the decisions for yet another day!

Flowers and Flying Geese

There are projects that I know exactly what the next step is going to be. I even have it all prepped and ready to go, especially in the case of applique work. Just waiting for the right mix of motivation and time.

Muddy Creek

Once in awhile I notice that my applique projects are piling up on me and still there's no burning desire to find the time to do the work. That's a very dangerous area for me. I've noticed that sometimes it takes a brand new project to jump start finishing the work for another. Uh huh. I make deals with myself that I can't start on the NEW work (applique, piecing etc.) until I finish off what needs done for an older project. Talk about brilliant reasoning--you have no idea how much that can motivate me!

Happy Flowers

Ahem. That's how I started my Happy Flowers actually. I wanted to make them soooo much that it made perfect sense to me to do some other applique work that had grown a little tedious to me. What's ironic is NOW I have the Happy Flowers projects hanging out in the wind all because I can't make up my mind about the setting triangle fabric. What if I get it wrong? Then they won't be happy anymore. It's a dilemma.

Hand Pieced Bow-ties

There you have it. Me and my wonderful justification for having a whole lot going on in the quilting room. Most of the time if I'm whining about not starting a new project (because of all the UFQ's piling up), it's because I know I'm procrastinating about something. Seriously, it's rarely about the number. The decision has probably been made, the fabric is no doubt available, and I'm just being a cowardly lion. lol Oddly enough, working on several different projects at once allows me to be more creative as the ideas seem to bounce off of each other, project to project as I work. Whatever works the best, I'm all for it!

Lots and Lots of Bow-tie Blocks

I'm back and still trying to settle in properly. It feels so odd to leave the routine of my life for a couple weeks and then come home only to view things from a fresh perspective. My youngest sister had an unexpected sewage problem that ended up with some major master bath/laundry room remodeling issues. Oh and it was such perfect timing too seeing as she was two weeks or so from her due date! All is well now thank goodness and she has a 8 1/2 pound little boy named Jagur. Sweetest little guy ever and I miss him already.

A stack of bow-tie blocks to count

In between the hundreds of trips to Home Depot, the laundry mat, etc. I somehow managed to squeeze in some time for hand piecing. It certainly didn't feel like I had much time for hand work, but really, everyone deserves to sit and rest in the evenings don't they? lol

I was so shocked to see how many I had finished up!

I admit to desperately wanting to work on another project after a very short while, but it feels good to see the results of forced project monogamy! Mostly I was just thankful to have something to sew together. Anything! I think it greatly helps my frame of mind to be more positive during these odd stressful moments in life although I doubt I would have been satisfied with something like mending. Okay. Let me rephrase, it definitely needs to be some form of quilting for me to properly benefit from the doing!

A very sweet gift from Diane!

It was too much fun to finally get home and then see this magazine and very large 'scrap' of fabric waiting for me! Diane of Butterfly Threads was kind enough to send it to me as she has a very cute pattern in the current issue and had an extra magazine or two hanging around! Her scrap of fabric is a whole lot larger than what I would personally consider a scrap, but I gleefully accepted regardless. Quilters are continually amazing me with their kindness and generosity. Oh, and btw, I am way behind on my emails and blog reading, but look forward to having the time to catch up!

Nibbling Away at a Few Projects

It was a pretty laid back weekend.  I felt like I just kind of nibbled away at a few projects and didn't really get much accomplished.  Then I had to reconsider the thought.  Even a little bit can go a long way toward completion if it is done regularly or even consistently!

More finished bow-tie blocks

Like these bow-tie blocks! Eleven more finished blocks to add to the stack and already it's time to do more prep work.  We had company over the weekend so I was glad to have the small hand work ready to go.  It seems easier at times to visit when my hands are busy with something that isn't taking up half the couch. My kids are totally used to me and my projects, but that probably does seems a bit unwelcoming to someone unaccustomed to a quilters way of life!

Hand quilting on #2 in the 9-patch series

Later on I was able to get in a little time on my hand quilting and it's amazing how much better the sampler blocks look with the hand quilting to add in some texture.  Nothing fancy going on, by my-oh-my do I like them a whole lot better!

Another block done on the #2 in the 9-patch series

So glad I didn't go ahead and machine stitch over the sampler blocks. This is definitely something I will be looking for more opportunities to do too. I can already see that this quilt is going to move out of the hoop super fast! Which is good. I already have plans for it.*wink

My kids idea of dessert...

And because I couldn't resist, I just had to show a picture of my kids impulsive Sunday evening dessert.  They asked if they could make pancakes, but that doesn't look like any pancake I've ever seen. lol  You can't see it in the pic, but the pancakes even had chocolate chips in them.....

Inspiration and Slow Stitching Sunday

I found this picture the other day on Pinterest!  It is obviously the initial inspiration for my Quarter Circle project although I don't remember seeing the quilt in it's entirety.  I must have though because I've definitely lurked there at least once before! lol  If you go to the International Quilt Study and Museum and click to search the collections, there is just one block of this quilt showing on the header. I LOVE that one block.

Quilt made by Elizabeth (Betsy) Cave

Anyway, that little tiny sliver of Elizabeth Cave's quilt completely captured my imagination and eventually led to me starting my own interpretation of her beautiful quilt. Funny the things that we find inspiration in isn't it? The whole quilt is fascinating for sure, but the one block is what made my brain cells start dancing.*wink

A few more bow-tie blocks for my Forever Project

It's been a long time since I've linked up to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching and you all know I'm a dedicated slow stitcher woman! Sixteen more hand pieced bow-tie blocks finished up and only about eight or so are responsible for my crook neck.  That's what I get from trying to sew in the car (in terrible lighting) while waiting on an airplane.  We should have just went and waited at the airport, but then we'd have had to pay more for parking! Oh well.  Next time I'll know better. Really, what's a couple extra dollars if it means being able to hand sew in (relative) comfort? hehe I already know how my husband would answer that question!

Piddling Away at all the Prep Work

If I had to decide what to write based on what I thought people would mostly likely want to read about, I'd be a dead duck.  I just piddle away at way too many projects, playing with my oldish fabrics and thinking it's a way cool hobby. Look at this basket handle fabric for instance.

Choosing a background and the handle fabric for my Scrap Basket.

It's hideous.  Really.  I pulled it out of the totes on a whim thinking that maybe I could better understand what my basket handle needed to look like if I tried using fabric instead of flat looking paper for the auditioning process.  The reason I chose this fabric particularly? It was one I've almost thrown away so many times I've lost count.  I mean, look at it! It's an early 90's calico that never should have made it's way home with me.  So if I waste a big chunk of it just playing the what if game, who cares?  Nothing to lose.

Playing with some applique ideas....

Except wow.  I'm so impressed with what it does here! How exactly does this happen? I am super thrilled at finding the perfect basket handle and it was a complete and total accident. Needless to say, I did not take that tack with the flowers.  I refuse to validate that mistake by duplicating it in any way.*wink

And a little bias for stems.

So much prep work before the fun begins.  I found a green fabric that seemed to work well for bias stems.  I don't usually do anything fancy for bias.  Easy peasy is my motto: Cut lengths on the 45. Sew long ends together. Fold in half and sew as close to the edge as you can get away with (I move my needle over to the right a couple clicks.) Next I fuss with the bias until the seam is directly in the middle but on the bottom side of where I want to iron.  Finally I iron it all perfectly flat.  The end.  Like I said, it's nothing fancy, but it does the job and I don't have to try to force an metal bias bar anywhere it doesn't really want to go. hehe

Necessary prep work for the hand pieced Bow-tie blocks.

I'm also slowly chipping away at some more prep work for the hand pieced bow-tie blocks.  It's not difficult, but it all needs to be properly done and put into my handwork bag for random piecing moments.

My least favorite part.

My oldest son is coming home from college this weekend for his four month internship and I want some hand work ready for the trip over to the airport in Spokane. We haven't seen him since January so I'm sure we'll leave extra early in all our excitement!

A Little Break From the Normal Routine

Last Friday we left town and headed down to Eugene, Oregon to attend a couple of graduations.  It's the first time we've been able to get that far south in well over a year.  So much fun to hang out with family and enjoy the good times together!

More bow-tie blocks to add to the finished pile!

I had a post all prepped and ready so I could post while I was gone (cheating!), but I didn't exactly want to announce our absence to the entire world.  My intentions were to re-stock my hand-work bag before I left town, but somehow that fell by the wayside and I just grabbed what was ready to go.  Yeppers, that worked out just fine as I managed to piddle away at my bow-tie blocks here and there until I completed 19 more blocks.*big smile!

A little bit of fun...

On the next to last day before we left town, I talked my husband into taking me to two quilt stores.  I am so fascinated with new fabric that if my husband hadn't been napping/reading in the car outside, I probably would have maxed out all of my credit cards (which wouldn't take much these days).  Can you just imagine the buyers remorse I would have had? Eek!  I have been feeling seriously deprived of late.

The first store I went to in Springfield, Oregon is called 'Something to Crow About'.  It's a very lovely store that I've been in and out of for about 10 yrs. whenever we chance to be in the area.  Normally I head right over to the homespuns and grab whatever is new, but this time I spent most of my time drooling over the reproduction fabrics in an agony of indecision. There is never enough money....

The next store my husband took me to in Eugene is called 'Piece by Piece'.  I've only went one other time almost two years ago, but it is a fabulous store if you want modern fabric.  So much eye candy that I was dazzled once again and I'm not 100% sold on modern fabrics if you know what I mean.

In both stores I stuck to the fat quarter selections and only bought according to 'in the moment love' instead of looking at a list of what I might happen to need.  Today I finally had a chance to look at what I bought and play with it up next to some of my stacks-of-lovely-fabric-intended-for-future-projects.  The ten fabrics I laid out in front are ones that key in very well at least one of those stacks! Some of the fat quarters are the exact piece of fabric that makes the whole entire stack of fabric sing!  Isn't it amazing how that happens?  Honestly, I just bought what it felt like I couldn't live without.  Yay for the early anniversary present!  Can't wait to play a little more after I get this stuff washed up and put where it belongs.

Looking at Some Quilty Goodness!

It's good to have a break from the quilting room, but oh, it's hard too.  I wandered up there yesterday thinking I could maybe squeeze in about half an hour of sewing.  Huh. The upstairs was wall to wall sleeping bags including the quilting area.

More bow-tie blocks!

Gotta love having all the family in town for end of the year activities/graduation though! I ended up back on the couch clutching my hand piecing bag which, honestly, has been my go-to for quilty restlessness the last couple of weeks. Whenever I have a little bit of down time and know positively that sewing in the quilting room is out of the question, I've been grabbing some bow-tie pieces and trying to get a few stitches in.

Every now and then someone asks about what I'm doing, how many blocks I intend to make (did you know that saying 'I only have a 100+ blocks left to sew makes people repeat the word ONLY in a very loud and odd way?', how it all works, and yeah, if I'm crazy too. My kids and husband however, think it's time to worry about me when I'm sitting without anything at all in my hands to work on.

Starting to get a nice little stack of quilty goodness going!

They are scary smart, that family of mine! They totally get the difference between crazy and creatively obsessed inclined.

I knew the finished bow-ties were stacking up (I even stitched a few while we were camping last weekend), but I couldn't believe it when I started counting. 26 more completed bow-tie blocks to add to my growing stack!  Yay me!  Who says a forever project actually has to take forever? hehe

Slow Stitching Through the Week and a Little on Sunday

I still have a wretched cough, but it doesn't stop me from doing some hand work when and if I want.  I'm still plugging away at my Vintage Reproduction quilt several evenings a week.  Progress seems very slow, but even one frame an evening eventually adds up.

Quilting round & round the Vintage Reproduction quilt.

I never know exactly how it will be quilted before I actually get to the section in question.  It's not uncommon at all for me to be making the decision right as I'm sticking the needle into that particular part of the quilt.  'Okay, lets see if this works!'.  Borders that aren't pieced are my special nemesis.  My brain seems to freeze in agony at making a decision about what to do with those.

Detail of the hand quilting.

The hand piecing on the bow-tie blocks has been a bit confusing at times.  Some days I seem to have it all figured out and just breeze through them.  At other times, I end up with puckered corners and terrible looking y-seams.  Does it really just come down to what kind of mood I'm in?  I thought hand piecing was supposed to take care of the funky moods with all the needle in, needle out repetition?  Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching post today made me smile with the reminder to just enjoy every stitch.  lol

And a few more hand pieced bow-ties.

Mostly, I AM enjoying working on them.  Really.  The fabric in particular has been a good choice for that I think.  Very fun to jump from one print to a completely different one and see how they look against the teal background.  Well, Moda wants to call it Mermaid something or other, but over 20 years ago when I got married, it was called 'teal' and I thought it was the best color ever.*wink

Our lovely dandelion patch.... 

On a completely different note, my daughter decided to take some pictures of our ratty looking yard from an shameful interesting perspective.  Last year we had a sprinkler problem and the yard got terribly neglected.  Enough so that the dandelions got a stronghold on our lawn--obviously.  If we didn't live on a dead end road, our neighbors would probably snub us for making them look bad!  Oh well.  Maybe after the kids are raised and life slows down, we'll have more time to dedicate to the yard....