more green and a winner

 

I couldn't resist to post a few more pictures of the garden greens - false forget-me-nots doing lovely in their shady corner

But yes of course - the winner needs to be determined - I wish the number would have been lower it, so Iwouldn't have to count all the way to 96.

And No. 96 is:

AlidaP

Love them and need them! thanks for the chance!!

And for a green finale - a very special litle green splot - that is a very hardy very sweet grape from granny's garden, we "borrowed a few cut offs in autumn and waited for months to finally see this.

Leo

Spring

So far spring has been a more or less sewing-free time. But I did some gardening oer Easter ... sort of the spring high-light so far.

I dug a planting hole thingy for the newest garden-addition - a peach tree that's supposed to not mind the cold winters - well you see patch of land is in the valley, close to the river so ... you can dig about 10 inches until you get to the old rier bed - I guess - it's all pebbly and not nice to work with ...

But I also got to enjoy the early spring blooming things - theese blue hyacinths more or less grow wild all over the garden, there are also a few white/slightly pink ones that smell absolutely fantastic, if you liek the smell of hyacinths that is ...

Leo

Last minute gardening in the old year ....

The night from the 25 to the 26 of December it started snowing - made for a very interessting drive home from the grandparents (well more a crawling) over the mountains home including some detours - Yes I can understand them not keeping those backroads open during the holidays ....

lot's of hairpin turns to get down the brim ... and not all get cleared in winter ...

The next day was much better ... driving towards the next mountain range (home is in the valley) - there was a lot of snow but it was not snowing anymore. But no worries it started again ...

... and that was the indication to go and dig around in the garden - it doesn't snow when it's cold ...

I'm looking forward to the planiting season next spring ... we made a master plan ... sort of

And of course I did think about the things I did last year - and somehow I have less to show than I imagined ... too much bee sewing maybe and not finishing those quilts ... generally not getting past the finished top stage...

Löni

pre Easter gardening

Please excuse this so not sewing related post - it's going to be about spring and fun and a first sunbur. But let's start at the beginning. This is what it looked like around Christmas when the second half of this years onion bed was created ... uhuh digging into a perfectly upkept lawn (but really who needs grass when thy can get a year's supply of onions).

We have a straggly climber at the rigth of the garden shed thingy and a rose arbor with a sad excuse for a rose - I guess there once was a "grafted" rose but that at some point the base took over ... anyway the decision was - the stuff had to go ...

The scraggly climber was the first to go - I can't say I really tried cutting it to take it off it's climbing help ... I just pull-pushed-struggled it off in hone go (you can see the handles of the things I used, some rakes and a hoe) - it was far easier to just cut through the bases and drag the whole thing off  and then do a sort of bon-fire. Which brings us the the rose arbor, a nice idea but hmm not beautifully executed, but surely planned to hold for life.

By now I'm an expert in undigging metal poles, posts and everythign else made of metal you can get at least 50cm into the ground like reinforcing steel (they stuff they put in the beton in buildings) the previous owner was especiialy fond of that. The secret is - water it very very ery well, dig down deep and then you start to wiggle and pull and press and you learn to be quite creative in cursing whoever did dig the stuff in .. and then eventually the thing will give and you can sort of drag it out and enjoy a well deserved break ...

Now so you don't think all I ever do is undo things ... I do actually do new things too ... like dig out the place for a new compost heap - had to get some drainage under it, because a soaking wet compost heap is no fun ...

So after digging and cleaning up (and planting a few things that don't like freezing temps - rosemary, some salvias ...) you can almost see that the garden is slowly becoming a garden. But there is still sooooooo much to do ..

Ohh yeah and in case you wondered - there are flowers in the garden ... we have several tulips and daffodils and muscari growing below the "Schönemann" raspberries (they have the fruit on the year old shots/twigs, they taste great and they usually offer quite a good harvest) - we also have some "Bliss" which are great because they keep blooming and putting on new berries until the temperatures drop below freezing ... we also have some yellow ones, they are really early ....

Löni

back in the game

It's almost midnight here - and I'm done with the last paper - Yeah!!! Holidays!!!! (and it's cold and rainy and gray outside)

And of course I dove head first into some sewing therapy - ignoring the dishes and the laundry and well everything really...Well may I introduce you to probably the most ugly fabric I own. I started cutting it into strips for the One Block Wonder QAL. (see the mess at the back? papers are not good for my environment)

Ohh and I'm a week behind on my Broken Herringbone QAL blocks - The Red Herring Quilt - but you see I'm planning on getting caught up soon - that are strips for guaranteed 15 blocks - maybe I get a third one out of each set that would make it strips for hmmm 23 blocks

Yep I have a little something for tin boxes ... and yes that's just a tiny part - and if you ever wondered where your cards and notes end up you send along on swaps or bees or whatevers now you know.

The loooong garden to-do list is waiting for me! ... hmm yeah there aren't really any vegetables or other things edible waiting for me. That's what the July hail did to the stuff - poor blue cabbage ... (or are the English part of the strange group that say it's red?)

Löni

a warning and a ranting

contrary to the title the ranting comes first - I do do do do do hate train travels - no matter how relaxing it is not to drive yourself it's really no joy. Innocent me arrived at the train station after a torturing seminary on Kettler and gets the first shock "EC* 7 - canceled" - yep they canceled the train to Basel SBB via Mannheim where I need to change arghhh ...

But do some talking to the rather stressed out station personal and everything looks brighter - there is a fill in train same platform. Hurray! - you think everything is going to be fine. If it only were so - nope that fill in train had 15 then 20 minutes delay and we finally left the station 25 minutes late.

But don't despair, you only have 8 minutes to change but asking for "what is the next train then" you are told that the ICE* you had already given up on is having a 30 minutes delay and you think your day is saved you truly do. But oh joy you arrive in Mannheim and what do they tell you - it's 60 minutes late and counting. So you start quizzing the stressed out and unfriendly-ish personal again "What train do I take instead" - And oh joy the IC *to Insbruck is running late too - 15 minutes so you just have to wait 10 for that one.

Well the end is instead of 1 o'clock you arrive at 2:30pm - your pick up from the station couldn't wait because it had to work so you have to figure out a bus and you are really trully mad at why the never manage to be on time. And there's really just one thing that can brighten the day after that. A surprise left in the cellar:

now I have Strawberry fields by the Beatles playing in my head ...  

* EC - Eurocity train - a fast train stops in big cities and crosses EU borders, is operated by various countries train company/ies, IC - same thing but without the border crossing, ICE an even faster train, only stops in the really big cities (can cross borders)

Now to the warning - I know you have been getting used to my English by now - it's sometimes a little make-shift and open for all sorts of interpretations. Well I just wanted to let you know that I joined a German version of the Farmer's Wife QAL and therfore there might be some German appearing on the blog. Maybe I will set it off in a different colour - you don't need to try to make sense of it. It will really be a different language and not me writing messy English.

I have I think 2 or 3 German readers (that are perfectly abel to read English) ... but I guess those already know about the QAL but hey a button to show is a buton to show:

Ohh and I wanted to show you all the posty goodies that I finally get to enjoy in person - they have either been re-routed or intentionally been sent to "home home" (I wonder when I will stop "driving home" for visits to my mother) so the wouldn't get lost while I moved halfway across Germany.

2 swap mini quilts, several bee blocks and a few FQ treats

 Leo

The usual suspects that I link to

another all in one post

I remembered rather lat that I hadn't written my NewFO post yet, I also haven't done anything about the May review and of course I forgot any other occasion to write for because of this:

 (that's us beating the Great Britain National Team, both days)

Ok but to the sewing stuff now: I did start a Quilt in May and I also finished it in May but I didn't get it send off in May - that is planned for tomorrow:

 That's it with my lovely toes as size referece - it's a swap quilt and we were supposed to do "not the usual shape". I will need to get soem nicer "daylight" pictures of that one tomorrow morning.

Now I think I did a lot of things in May ... I was mostly catching up on April though

March doll quilt        -     BeeBiased block     -        NewBee block     -        April doll quilt

        Walk the line [done!]    -                my month as queen: some 6.5" trial blocks                                      

 

     D9P [done!]     -          Newbee blcok (May)   -   using up scraps      -      BeeBiased block (April)

And as conclusion a picture of the garden ... everything is several weeks behind here - it's been quite cold and rainy. I have been waiting for the phone call to start the strawberry harvest for 3 weeks now ... and I'm told they are still mostly green.

 Leo

The usual suspects that I link to

almost 200

I just realised that I have almost reached the 200st post - now if I had a sponsor they would probably hand over something nice to have a give away. But yeah I sponsor myself - so I will wait until I figure something out to write the next post.

I had a lovely easter time at home - I even did some sewing, but do you think I remembered to take pictures?

I got rid of our cherry tree though - and dug out that old windowsill - and just left it there until "someone" finds the will to place it as path for picking raspberries.

As far as my plan goes - this is going to be my new sewing place, there is just the tiny problem that I'm too scared to fill the rack with fabric - because it might be a little to heavy for my DIY-rack and the hangers. Well I won't risk it - time will tell what things end up in it.

I finished putting my name on the lists for the lectures - let's hope I get in everywhere. So now I have time to start on my "I moved - here is my new address"-mailing, unorganised as I am I still remembered to get stamps after registering at the town - that makes my now an official resident of "Rhineland-Palatinate" (I wonder how you pronounce that one).

UDATE: I just realised I'm never ever going to be a fan of Hershey's Milk chocolate.

Leo

what I start with

That's what I did last time I was playing around in the mudd (that was between the years) - well I dug some new beds, and also finished that one - it's now wating to get some sort of path laid through it - big stepping stones (I'm sitting in fron of the gate to the back where the wood shed and compost heaps are) as a short cut - sort of.

And I thoroughly I cursed whoever put in those metal stakes to hold I don't know what - but they did a pretty thorough job at making sure it wasn't easy to dig them out again.

but hey I got them all out - no chance getting me to defeat in the garden

The post is scheduled so still no sewing - but as my train travelling home usually takes quite a long time I should be able to show something, well at least a pair of potholders.

 Leo

Newest Arrival

Today my August Doll Quilt arrived. My partner missed part of the street in my address when she send the first quilt. So it never arrived here and she generously offered to make another one.
Which arrived some time during the weekend - I jsut found the notice card to pick it up this afternoon (hence then "in the dark" pictures). Well I like it very much, freash summery colours for a dark time.

And hehe yes there are some nerds - I blame Dawn, she send some of them when the DQ-Swap started, and I sort of like them a great deal. They just taste like nothing I get here. Ehh I just need to figure out how to open the box.

Ohh and of course I had a wonderful time at home ... doing a photo shooting with the (can I still call it) birhtday kid in the garden - ehh yes before the serious work began, there is no earth on the quilt:

And now the reason why I constantly complain about the lack of mountains in the area I live in at the moment

Leo

The usual suspects that I link to