Another Finish

I have been finishing quilt tops at an unprecedented rate during these days of social distancing! Here's the latest. I originally prepared all the blocks to take with me on a trip to the northeast in early April. Of course that trip was cancelled, so I just stitched it together on my machine. And now it is in my stack of tops to be quilted when I once again have access to a long arm machine.

I've also been spending a lot of time outdoors, enjoying springtime's bounty of wildflowers in central Texas. Most of the year this cholla cactus is notable only for its spines, but when it blooms it puts on quite a show.

Once the bluebonnets have faded, the most prolific flowers are Indian blankets, also known as fire wheels.

They can turn an entire field into a sea of bright orange.

There are also many flowers which you have to look harder to find, such as this little cactus,

and this American basket flower.

I hope everyone is healthy and able to get outdoors to enjoy the springtime.

A Day's Jaunt in the Texas Hill Country

In the middle of August when central Texas temperatures reach well into the 100s, it is nice to look back on May's 80 degree days. Having been to San Antonio for an evening event and overnight stay, rather than brave I-35, we took the long and scenic route home to Austin. Our first stop was the General Store in Bandera where we picked up coffee, since it was too early for ice cream.

Just across the street I spotted Lavender and Sage Stitchery, the first yarn and needlework shop I've ever encountered with a saddle on the rail out front.

Naturally I had to go in for a look. And found this hand dyed yarn by Savvy Skeins, a Texas company.

The color, called "Boyfriend Jeans" contrasts nicely with a leftover from my stash, TeenyButton Studio's hand-dyed "Patisserie Party." And so I have been knitting these socks using the Flora Knee High pattern from Barb Brown's book, "Knitting Knee-Highs." This is the second sock, so I should be finished by the time cooler weather sets in.

But back to our little jaunt. Next stop was Comfort where we saw the tiny Gothic revival Comfort Community Church,

as well as the 1866 Treue Der Union monument, memorializing 68 men who remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War.

The monument is fittingly located at the edge of a lovely park graced with beautiful live oak trees including this giant.

In the main part of town, we strolled along Main Street, which has a couple blocks worth of interesting old limestone structures.

I found Comfort's history as a center for Freethinkers fascinating.

Ready for lunch, we stopped at High's Cafe & Store, where we had a deliciously fresh meal. It's definitely on my list of places to visit again.

Our last stop was Old Tunnel State Park. The tunnel, used by the Fredericksburg and Northern Railway until 1942, is now home to millions of Mexican free-tailed bats and became a state park in 2012. Since we were there during the day we didn't get to see the bats emerging, so this is another place we'll have to visit again.

The other nice thing about a drive in central Texas in springtime is, of course, the amazing wildflowers. Here's a shot from Travis County to give you an idea of just how spectacular it can be.

Wildflowers

It is springtime in central Texas and that means wildflowers. Now that the bluebonnets have faded, Indian blankets have taken their turn in the spotlight, filling meadows with waves of orangey red blooms.

This year I've had fun playing with a macro lens and a 100-400 mm lens to zoom in on details. If you get close you can see yellow petal tips on Indian blankets.

If you get even closer you can see who likes to nibble on those petals,

You might also find other flowers, like these tiny mountain pinks, hidden in their midst.

By getting close you can really appreciate how saturated wildflower colors are. This bloom is from a six-foot tall cactus.

There is also a surprising variety of lavender and purple flowers, such as Texas skeleton plant,

horse mint,

American basket flower,

prairie verbena,

and Venus' looking glass.

I've had my share of color in the sewing room too. I stitched up a wall hanging with the blocks I received last year though Barb Vedder's broken dishes block swap. The colors are every bit as varied and saturated as spring-time wildflowers.

I added a sawtooth border,

and quilted it with a simple geometric pattern on the long arm machine. If I were to do it over again I would use red thread on the top rather than white.

Still, I'm pleased with how it turned out and it certainly brightens up my sewing room.

Wishing you a happy spring!

Slow Sewing

2017 has gotten off to a slow start in the sewing department, but I count that as a good thing. I've had some nice distractions, such as houseguests,

and beautiful weather for being outdoors. We've had some great sunsets

and meadows full of wildflowers to enjoy.

I did finally finish this little quilt. I pieced, quilted and bound it entirely by hand.

I quilted the 16-patch squares across the diagonals.

For the solid blocks I used a vine and leaf design

inspired by decorative painting on walls of the Forbidden City in Beijing, which I visited last summer.

It is destined to keep my legs warm on cool nights when we watch movies at home. Aside from being a convenient travel project, it gave me a chance to use up a few of my scraps and some practice hand quilting before I take on a more important project.

A Flower Filled Spring

I've said before that spring is a wonderful time to be in central Texas. This year was no exception. In fact, it was the best wildflower year I think I have ever seen. Thanks to substantial and well-timed rains from winter through spring the flowers got just the right mix of water, sun and warmth for spectacular shows.

Texas Mountain Laurels, a small evergreen tree, bloomed in February. This one attracted dozens of Pipevine swallowtail butterflies.

Bluebonnets, or Lupinus texensis, the state flower of Texas provided the first no-holds barred show of meadow flowers.

I love how they glow in the late afternoon light.

These cactus were, for once, more flower than spine. I still wouldn't advise that you try to pick them.

Just as the bluebonnets were fading, these little yellow flowers, brown bitterweed, opened up.

And then came Indian blankets, acres and acres of orangey red.

Even the deer seem amazed.

Up close you can see how the petals vary from red with yellow tips to entirely red.

The other nice thing about being at home for a while this spring was that I made so much progress on my various projects. I finished knitting the Calza shawl I was working on during March's cruise. (The pattern is available through Webs here.) Manos del Uruguay Serena hand-dyed yarn (60% baby alpaca, 40% cotton) is a delight to work with and results in subtle color variations. The finished shawl is light, soft and drapes beautifully.

The simple short-row pattern is worked in garter-stitch with a ribbed cable on the long end so both sides look exactly the same. Ta da! Completely reversible! I have gotten lots of use from it already, finding it great for airplane rides (remember the days when they offered blankets for free?) and over-air-conditioned restaurants.

On the quilting front, I finished piecing and quilting my Cookie Tree quilt. It awaits a binding.

I also finished piecing and quilting this broken star quilt for my younger daughter. It too still needs a binding.

I quilted the star's diamonds using an orange peel design and the background in a radiating pattern of alternating wavy and squiggly lines. I added up my quilting time and was amazed that it came to over eight hours!

I made a set of placemats out of some blocks leftover from another quilt. They were a fun way to practice freehand quilting on my long arm machine before I attempted the star quilt above.

I finished enough sixteen-patch blocks for a quilt and started putting them all together.

And finally, I have kept up with the "Westering Women" block of the month. Month four, Lone Elm, has so many pieces that it is naturally a very busy looking block. I think my use of only three fabrics helps to alleviate that and makes the overall tree design stronger.

My next post or two will be about China so I hope you'll visit again soon!