Wednesday, July 6, 2011

My Growing Garden


Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are good is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.
 ~Dennis Wholey

I had an incredibly crappy day yesterday.  It didn't help that I started the day out tired and being aggravated by stomach troubles.  It was just one personal thing after another.  One of those days you wish you could start over and reprogram to be better.  It started on its slippery slope downhill about 8:30 and slid non-stop for the rest of the day.  Luckily I hadn't planned on any heavy machine operation or detailed cutting - it just wouldn't have worked.  It was one of those days where you would like to throw something at the wall, close the drapes, pull the covers over your head and just go to sleep.  But sleep wouldn't have come either.  It was just one of those crappy kind of days.  I'm ready for a new day and it's here - so let's take the day by the horns and get started!
 
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PHOTO FACT OF THE DAY

Postcards

Today in history, the first picture postcard was made.  Cards with messages had been sporadically created and posted by individuals since the creation of postal services. The earliest known picture postcard was a hand-painted design on card, posted in London to the writer Theodore Hook in 1840 bearing a penny black stamp. He probably created and posted the card to himself as a practical joke on the postal service, since the image is a caricature of workers in the post office.
The first commercially produced card was created in 1861 by John P. Charlton of Philadelphia, who patented a postal card, selling the rights to H. L. Lipman, whose postcards, complete with a decorated border, were labeled "Lipman's postal card." These cards had no images. In Britain postcards without images were issued by Post Office, and were printed with a stamp as part of the design, which was included in the price of purchase.
The first known printed picture postcard, with an image on one side, was created in France in 1870 at Camp Conlie by Léon Besnardeau. Conlie was a training camp for soldiers in the Franco-Prussian war. They had a lithographed design printed on them containing emblematic images of piles of armaments on either side of a scroll topped by the arms of the Duchy of Brittany and the inscription "War of 1870. Conlie camp. Souvenir of the National Defence. Brittany Army". While these are certainly the first known picture postcards, there was no space for stamps and no evidence that they were ever posted without envelopes.  The first American postcard was developed in 1873 by the Morgan Envelope Factory of Springfield, Massachusetts.  The first postcard to be printed as a souvenir in the United States was created in 1893 to advertise the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
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FLOWERS

The only peace I found yesterday was working on hexagon flowers.  For today's One Flower Wednesday, I made two flowers - just because I could.

The first flower was made using some Debbie Mumm fabric I had in my stash.  I really like the cherries and little checkerboard squares.

And then I created this flower from the left over scraps from the Loving Hands quilt backings I made over the weekend.  The center has more of a pink cast to it in person and matches the butterfly wings almost perfectly.  I like how the butterflies almost glow with the green highlight around them.

After making the two flowers, I then made about 20 stepping stones.  These took no thought whatever and I could lose my mind in a senseless TV show.  I was then able to add the stepping stones and four flowers to my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt....

You may remember these flowers from earlier in the year.  I had forgotten about the little flower with the embroidered center that I made to bring in 2011.

And, so grows my garden.  It now measures 55 inches long.  I think I will add another four flowers to the length before I decide exactly how wide I want it to be.  I haven't decided if I will be making a lap quilt, a twin size quilt, or a full sized quilt.  Decisions, decision, decision - lol!
If you would like to see other flowers around blogland, check out Karen's blog, Journey of a Quilter.  She provides a linky to other blogs where beautiful flowers are being created.

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TODAY'S GOAL

Today I will make a Bee block for one of the July hostesses in Let's Bee Together.

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GIVEAWAYS

Silly Stitching is having a giveaway to celebrate her 200th post.  You could win  a fat quarter bundle of Minick and Simpson's Christmas Past.  This giveaway ends Sunday, July 9, at 9 pm EST.

Sew Crafty Jess is having a giveaway.  You could win a GO! Baby Cutter and 3 dies.  This giveaway ends Thursday, July 7, at 11:59 pm EST.

Jaybird Quilts is having a sponsored giveaway.  You could be one of two winners of an Amy Butler Quilting Solids Fat Quarter Bundle from Fat Quarter Shop.  This giveaway ends Thursday, July 7, at 10 pm EST.

Lily's Quilts is having a giveaway.  You could win a FQ Good Luck bundle or a FQ Happiness bundle.  This giveaway ends Tuesday, July 12.
McCall's Quilting is having a giveaway.  You could win 1 of 3 prize packages, each including a Simplicity® 6 1/2" x 24" Simpli-EZ™ ruler, Graphic Impressions novelty tape measure, Simplicity® 4" curved blade scissors, and 14 fat quarters of fabrics from the Quilt Diva collection by Amy Bradley for Moda.  This giveaway ends Monday, July 11.

The Jolly Jabber is having a giveaway.  You could win a copy of Scrap Book Sensations by Kim Brackett.  This giveaway ends Tuesday, July 12.

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FINAL THOUGHT

I've been thinking about finally starting another full size quilt.  It may end up to be a lap quilt.  But at least it will be something more than one block a month, a bee block, or a swap block.  It will be simple quilt.  I think I need simple right now.  I love all of the hand work I'm doing but sometimes it just seems to move along so slowly.  I also need to start back up on the hand applique of the Baltimore Blocks.  I probably have too many  irons in the fire projects going right now and it all seems a little daunting.  Sometimes you just need to simplify and I think I'm there.  What do you do when you have too many projects going on at once?

The greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go.
~Steve Maraboli


39 comments:

Linda said...

Gosh I hope today is a better day than yesterday. All the best Linda

Maria said...

Hope you are feeling much better.

Love your hexies especially the butterfly one. I am stitching my while we travel.

sunny said...

Wow - I could have written that post. Just think, today HAS to be better than yesterday - nowhere to go but up. Your new hexies are beautiful. I haven't made a quilt in ages. I spend all my time making hexies, swap projects, bee blocks, exchange blocks. Now that I'm not working, that's all going to change! A quiqlt will be coming soon. I hope you have a really good day today Linda!

krisgray said...

Yesterday was very unproductive for me!

I have way too many projects started. When I don't know where to start I tidy up and tell myself how great it would look to have a finish on my stash report! I usually get bogged down with the actual quilting. I love to see my projects come together but it isn't as easy as it is to just keep piecing and choosing color combos. After a little talk with myself, sometimes it's easier to get back to the UFOs.

Nancy said...

Hi Linda,

I hope today is a much better day for you. Thanks so much for posting my giveaway. Love to read the comments.
And I love your Debbie Mumm hexie. So happy and bright.

Teresa F. said...

Hope you're feeling better today.you're flowers didn't suffer as they are gorgeous. your garden is growing beautifully.

Barb said...

I guess bad days were just in the air, I spent a good portion in the bed or laying around.....up and at it today.

Love the hexies and how you fussy cut them.

Karen said...

I just hate those crappy kind of days! I'm glad working on your garden made things a little better. Boy do the stepping stones make the flowers pop, so very nice.

Needled Mom said...

Where would we be without postcards? Look how far they have come too.

Your garden looks beautiful. I love all of the fussy cutting you are doing with them.

I hope it is a bit cooler for you today. It is definitely the humidity that is killing. We are having those high clouds too, but they are dark and almost threatening looking. I would not be surprised to see some showers today.

Cheryl said...

We all have too many projects going! As always, love your fussy cut hexies. Hope today is a better day.

Sandra :) said...

I hope today is better than yesterday!

When I get overwhelmed I tend to stay out of the sewing room for a few days to calm down, then I go back in and make a bit of a plan of action - I have no problem getting rid of projects I'm not enjoying (or moving them WAY DOWN the To Do list, lol) - I try to reduce the number of things I need to work on and pick the most important ones to keep on my table. Remember that even 15 minutes a day will eventually get a project done!

Impera Magna said...

Some days... nothing goes right but I'm glad you got to make two beautiful hexies. Hope today goes wonderfully for you and that there are many, many more wonderful days ahead!

Julia said...

I sure hope you have a better day, today!!!! I just hate it when a day starts off like that! Your flower garden is beautiful!!! I can't wait to see the whole thing completed!

Seams to Sew and Quilt said...

Oh goodness Linda, sorry to hear you had such a bad day. Hopefullly today will be much better for you.
Your little flowers are adorable and the garden is growing beautifully, I'm jealous ;-).

Lynda said...

Hope it's a better day today! Your flower garden is amazing.

Sometimes I go through my "started" projects and decide I just have to finish something NOW! It is always fun to see a completed project or the smile on someones face when you give them something homemade.

Melissa Corry said...

Your flower garden looks beautiful!! Hope you feel better :)

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Yesterday must have been THE DAY - half of our sewing class didn't show because of BLAH! Your flowers didn't suffer - maybe they comforted - love the butterfly. HAHAHA - too many projects. That's how I work sweetie. Finish one and add two!! But there does come a time to do simple and fun.

quiltzyx said...

Your flower garden is indeed growing & flowing with beautiful flowers! I always like to see what new hexie you have to show us on Wednesdays. :D

Hope today is much better than yesterday. Heat, humidity & tummy troubles are the worst. Take care of yourself. :D

corina said...

Your garden is so pretty. What a difference it makes to fussy cut the fabric! I had way too many projects on the go, and was bored with all of them. Needing a quick fix I made my first string quilt in black/white and a shot of lime green. Seeing it come together and finish so quickly gave me a boost of energy to continue with my other projects. P.S. - thanks for posting all the giveaways. Because of your list I won a little giveaway!

Sandie @ crazy'boutquilts said...

Sorry to read you had such a crummy day~ I hope today is much better! Love your flower garden!

Megan Harmeyer said...

I hope today is better. *hugs* Your hexies are really cute and I like them both...especially the cherries.

Birdie said...

Sorry you had such a crappy day, but it did help you produce some beautiful hexies. I always have way too many projects, but what the heck, I never run out of things to go. Hope you feel better.

Anonymous said...

Sure hope that today is a better day! But I love your hexie flowers! The cherries are my fav!
Jacque in SC
quiltnsrep(at)yahoo(dot)com

Raewyn said...

Hope you have a really good day today and yesterday is well and truely behind you. Your new flowers are very cheery and the bouquet you have sewn together is gorgeous.

Talin's Corner said...

I love the way the butterfly fabric was fussy cut to make the hexagons. Your garden is growing beautifully. This will truly be a masterpiece.

Sheila said...

It really must have been something in the air as yesterday was not so great for me either but today is slightly better .Hope your day is better ,love your hexies , especially the butterflies !

Pat said...

Your butterfly flower has got to be the prettiest I've ever seen!

Anne said...

I hate those kind of crappy days! I had a similar type of day last Friday. I couldn't figure out why I felt so bad until my stomach troubles started. I think I had a virus. My aunt had expected me to drive an hour to visit her that day, but I just could not make it. Sometimes our bodies just say, "No!" Reluctantly, we are forced to stop and rest when that happens.

I hope you had an amazingly wonderful day! Love those hexie blocks, by the way. Your work is so precise and well-executed!

Linda said...

It often seems like all the "bad stuff" happens at once! So sorry for your bad day!
I am currently feeling like I have too much going on. I end up just putting something away and getting to it when and if I can. I learned a while back that I seem to have a limit on how much I can work on at once. It is not as high a limit as some people have, but more than others. I just do what I can at the time. If I have too much going on, I have a good cry, my sweet husband tells me what I need to let go of, and then I fell better and move on from there.

Christine M said...

Hope you're feeling better soon Linda. I just love the two hexagons flowers. The fabrics are fantastic. Hugs, Christine

Anonymous said...

Hi Linda,
I hope that you will have a better day tomorrow..and that you will be feeling much better...Sometimes I take on too much and just have to make a list on paper, then cross it off as I finish things..it always lets my brain settle down..

Anonymous said...

I sure hope today went better for you. Whenever I have too many projects going (work, quilting, anything) I do one of the 'quick finish' projects. Just getting something, anything, finished seems to perk me back up. VermontPines@aol.com

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Sorry your day was so bad. Your hexies are cute! I always have too many irons in the fire. That's probably why I don't seem to get anything finished. Oh well,

Miss Hillbilly said...

I hope today was better for you. Lots better! And that butterfly hexie is WONDEROUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WoolenSails said...

I love the butterfly hexagon, great fabric for fussy cutting. They look beautiful against the white.

Debbie

Staci said...

Sorry you had a horrible day! Don't you wish they could all be cancelled? I had a really horrible Wednesday, and I am sincerely glad it is over. Not sure Thursday is going to be too great either, but as long as it is better than Wednesday was, I'm going to just be thankful and try not to complain!

Love your flowers. I've been so busy doing binding lately my garden is getting neglected.

Vesuviusmama said...

I love all your fussy cut hexagons! And what do I do when I have too many irons in the fire? I concentrate on only one at a time, even thou it kills me to do so, until I get past being overwhelmed. I prefer to have many things going at once, though.

Quilter Raised in the South said...

wow! what great fussy cut flowers, one looks like perfect little nine patches and the other one alive with butterflies! I bet you felt much better after sewing those! thanks for the choc posting. I am addicted, no matter what medical science says.

LethargicLass said...

I have been searching for that Debbie Mumm fabric forever! Would you have any scraps I could purchase from you?

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