Welsh Beauty

Progress has been made with Welsh Beauty, another swath across the quilt has been hand quilted.

The photos are from left to right then back again. They are the large size. Hopefully you can click on them to enlarge. I was afraid they would take too long to pull up on the post if I made them extra large.

It's rather exciting to see more and more of the center motif as I roll. There is more cross hatching between the sides and center but I didn't want to show photos of just cross hatching.

Here is a link to the first post I wrote about Welsh Beauty if you want more details.

The Amaryllis I showed you last week is now blooming and it's a white one! It stalk got a little floppy so it's staked with a dowel rod.

Two other bulbs are also blooming. The variegated one I purchased several years ago, the soft orange one is an oldie. I so enjoy the flowers.

The pictures aren't cooperating as I try to place them correctly, Blogger! 

Someone asked last week how to care for the plants when they're not blooming. Keep on watering them until it's warm enough to plant them outside in a flowerbed or your garden. I just pull them out of the pot, cut the leaves to about 6" then plant them. Crumble the soil a little so the roots spread out from the clump. 

Water them well and mulch them. If it gets very dry in the summer, you should water them if it's more than 3 weeks without rain. Make sure the soil is well drained though, you don't want them standing in water.

Let them grow until fall when the temperature starts cooling off at night. That's going to be different for where you live. I live in northern Indiana, just south of the Michigan state line. I pulled them the middle of October, washed the soil of the roots then let them dry in the garage. I have a mesh garden wagon so I left them in there.

The first of November I trimmed the roots then potted them in the cellar. Make sure to add a small rock to the bottom of the pot to help with tipping. I watered them well then just left them there in the dark until the first of December. They don't need light right away because it's the roots that are developing. I brought them up to the main house level. My plants are in full sun. Be careful not to over water them but as leaves and buds develop, they do need to be watered more often. 

After the flowers are finished, take a knife and cut off the flower stalk. I do keep track of some of the bulbs as to what color the flowers are. I had marked the white bulb because that's the only white one I have. It does have a couple 'baby' bulbs this year. Depending on how big those babies are, I may remove them next fall when I pot the bulbs. 

If you look at the picture of the three plants, you may notice behind them there is a pot full of baby plants. There are 7 babies in there, eventually they'll mature and have flowers. The variegated bulb also has a baby. 

My siblings and I take turns hosting a family Christmas reunion. This year was my year (I was actually supposed to host last year but postponed a year). I had a box with 10 potted Amaryllis plants to give away which were raised from babies.

My Christmas cactus was in full bloom when I returned from Phoenix.  She's still blooming! Love those pink flowers.

Linking to Kathys Slow Stitching Sunday, Stitching Stuff, Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Handmade Monday, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away

Blue Stars, Starting the Center

After I rolled the last time, just to change things up a little, I quilted the left side borders then the left side block.

This is a closeup of the fussycut center of the block.

Then I moved my chair to the right side of the quilt and quilted the right side quilt block then the right side borders.

A close up of the fussycut center of this block.

Now for the exciting part I've been looking forward to, I started quilting the center of the quilt. The quilting design was given to me years ago from an employee of a quilt shop. She just gave me a printed piece of paper, I don't have a name for this design, I call it curved triangles.

The quilting lines are marked with a light gray pencil which doesn't show in the photos. This looks so nice with the variegated blue thread. The blue thread is Sulky 12 weight and the white is YLI regular hand quilting thread. I am quilting on a Grace quilting frame.

Most of my Amaryllis have quit blooming but this beauty just opened. It's bud had 3 flowers and is a little darker red then the other ones I've shown you.

There is another Amaryllis which will be blooming for the first time in March. I'll show you that one next week.

Some commenters have asked about the embroidered quilt in the background. This is Grandma's Embroidered Blocks and you can read about it here.

Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away

Amaryllis in 2021

Nothing about quilts today, it's about flowers which are brightening up my day during this cold weather.

I have a lot of Amaryllis bulbs and this winter has been the best ever for their blooms. I've already shown you several that were blooming earlier, here are the ones that are in bloom now.

This is the only one that has ruffles. The white really sets off the red. There are two stems blooming but I can see way down in the center, between the two stalks, there is a third bud ready to pop up.

The pink and white Amaryllis is definitely considered a Apple Blossom Amaryllis, I think the light salmon/pink colored ones are too. Their sharp brilliant color is so pretty!

There are several more pots to bloom in the coming weeks. These flowers make me very happy.

Some people have a problem with the plants tipping over because they become top heavy when blooming. I solved this problem by picking up small stones in the summer. You want stones a little smaller than your fist. I washed them, let them dry then set them in a small pail downstairs in the cellar. When I potted the bulbs last November, I put a stone in the bottom of each pot before adding the soil. That took care of that problem.

I also have a Christmas(?) cactus that bloomed last October then again the end of January. I like plants that bloom in the winter.

Linking to Peacock Party, Whoop Whoop Party, TGIFF!, Finished Or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday

Blue Stars Around the Garden, Quilting the Blocks

I started quilting the blocks of blue Stars Around the Garden. I decided to not custom quilt the individual blocks but quilt them using an overall design. Here is the quilting from left to right.

The bottom corner applique is finished. It will be stencil design quilting until I am up to the top of the quilt.

You can see the texture of the grid quilting on the quilt blocks. I could reach a little farther then the center. I'm pleased with the way the grid looks.

The right side border, again the applique has been quilted. Stitching in the ditch around the applique just makes it pop.

The stencil is called Baltimore Grid and was purchased from the Stencil Co. It measures 16" and is #SCL-268-16. 

Two Amaryllis started blooming this week, happy bright red. Their picture was taken in front of Grandma's Embroidered blocks wallhanging.

Linking to Patchwork & Quilts, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching,  Link Your Stuff!, Oh Scrap, Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away

Blue Puss in the Corner

Over the last several years, I've been making the grandchildren new quilts for their beds. This year the oldest two granddaughters are getting their quilts.

The oldest granddaughter's favorite color is blue, did she inherit that from me? I pulled all the blue 2.5" strips from strip box and started making blue 8" finished puss in the corner blocks. I had enough strips for 38 blocks. I'll sort through the blue box for small cuts of fabrics to make the rest of the blocks.

I've displayed a few of the blocks on the display wall. I'll do a better job of arranging the blocks when I actually sew them  together. There will be dark blue 2" finished sashing in between the blocks with light fabric cornerstones.

The first Amaryllis plant has been blooming for a week with both buds opening at the same time. There are 8 lovely flowers to bring some color into the dreary overcast winter days. 

I took the picture in front of the Infinity wallhanging I made 2 years ago. I smile every time I look at this wall quilt.

Here is a link to Twist and Turn Bargello Quilts where you can find the Infinity pattern.

Linking to Peacock Party, Put Your Foot  Down, Whoop Whoop Party, TGIFF!, Finished Or Not Friday, Off the Wall Friday, Brag About Your Beauties, UFO Busting, Oh Scrap

Another Week, Another Row

Another week of hand quilting and this section of the Pastor's Attic quilt is quilted.

I quilted across the row I started a week ago and here are the pictures.

Block 1. There are a lot of in and out curves on this block but it was fun to quilt and didn't take as long as it looks.

Block 2. This block quilted fast!

Block 3. More details to be quilted around on this block but there weren't any tiny circles.

I also quilted the left side border but it's all triangles. You can see it above in the long picture.

I've rolled, the seam line is the start of the top border. I estimate there is at least 5 weeks of quilting before this quilt is finished.

The Amaryllis went crazy this year, I've never had blooms like this before. This white Amaryllis had 3 flower stalks. The first 2 both bloomed at the same time. Now stalk 3 is blooming and these are the very last Amaryllis flowers of winter. 

If you're wondering why there is a plastic spoon stuck in the pot, I'm going to try to keep track of the colors this year so I know for next winter. We'll see how that goes.

Don't they look like Easter lilies? 

Linking to the Peacock Party, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, HQAL, Bambi's Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away, Moving It Forward

Hand Quilting and Lucy

I was busy piecing with my sewing machine this week and didn't get much hand quilting accomplished.

The right side border has been quilted.

The first right applique block has been quilted.

I've started this block, it will quilt fast. I just need to stitch around the outside of the applique. 

Lucy was a priority last week, all the sections have been stitched together!

I need to baste 30 more of the elongated hexies. I know I had said it was 40 before but thankfully it's only 30. I'm not sure when I'll get those basted. As I said before, I'm so happy that I decided to not make the full sized quilt. I love the way she looks but I haven't enjoyed the process like I thought I would.

I have more Amaryllis blooming. They are such a bright sight this winter. We haven't had a lot of sunshine this winter.

I have another Amaryllis with 5 blooms!

See in the center, the 5th one is just opening.

There is also a another plant that is just opening, I can see it has a teeny, tiny flower bud in the center too!

I guess these bulbs just needed last winter to rest, they sure are doing well this year

The large green planter holds all the 'babies' that have unattached from the large bulbs when I transplant them. I planted them all in one large pot. Someday they'll be big and have blooms too.

I used to have a group of the 'intermediate' sized bulbs but I gave those away. Some of those might bloom this year, but eventually they all will.

Linking to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, HQAL, Oh Scrap, Bambi's Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away, Moving It Forward

Lucy, the Attic & More Flowers

Lots to tell you about this week so this is a long post with varying subjects.

I finally got the last of the boring sections stitched for the Lucy project. Now I'm starting to sew the sections together. She's looking so nice, I'm excited about her again, but I am very glad I decided not to make the whole quilt. 

I have had several people email or comment saying they'll never finish their Patchwork of the Crosses because of the other sections that need to be made. Everyone seems to enjoy piecing the larger fussy cut sections, it's the more mundane, tedious sections that bog everyone down.

Update - When I was sewing with Lucy last evening, I realized I need some hexies for the outside, 40 of them. I'll baste those when the already prepared sections are sewn together.

Even though I've been EPP'ing on Lucy, I haven't stopped hand quilting. 

The pictures of the quilting this week are a little dark. If I turned on the over head light or used the flash on the camera, the quilting wouldn't show which is the whole point of showing you the progress.

I've quilted to the center of row 4. I'm reaching in to about the center of the blocks. 

Left side border.

Block 1. This block quilted fast, just needed to stitch in the ditch around the outside of the applique. 

Added a little extra quilting into the center circle.

Block 2, this block and the center block took awhile. It takes time to quilt around all the little ovals.

The ovals are supposed to be wild strawberries and have embroidered french knots on them. I french knotted 2 ovals then decided I didn't like the french knots and removed them.

Block 3, the center of the row. This one really took awhile. I could only stitch one stitch at a time around the little circles. And then there was that lattice in the vase to be quilted.

More Amaryllis are blooming. I've had 2 salmon colored plants and a true red open this week. The plant in front is just starting to open it's bud. So far I can see darker red, I won't know until it's open more exactly what color it will be. Part of the fun of having Amaryllis plants is seeing what the color of the blooms are.

I also have the large 'Christmas' cactus blooming again. The first blooming started at the very end of October. It kept blooming through all of November and most of December. Now it's blooming for the second time this winter. I'm very happy to have the flowers, a touch of summer in winter.

I know it looks like bright sunlight in the background of the cactus but trust me, it's not. See the sky in the tree photo below, that's what it really looks like outside except the ice and snow have melted.

Several weeks ago on Sarah Lizzie's blog, she showed several beautiful projects she's working on. 

One of them was a basket quilt and she showed the older book it was from, A Bouquet of Quilts edited by Jennifer Rounds & Cyndy Lyle Rymer. I wanted that book. My local DIL checked around and found a used copy for me from Better World Books. I received the book in Friday's mail. I love it! 

Last Monday evening, we had freezing rain. Everything was coated with ice. The electric went off once during milking Tuesday morning. When that happens you just kind of freeze, is it off? Or will it go back on? Fortunately the power switched at the  sub-station and we were able to finish chores without anymore drama. 

(These gray skies are what we see most of the time this winter.)

When I was washing the breakfast dishes around 8:30, the power went off again but stayed off this time. 

This means it's time to hook up the generator. The  milkman was coming, he needs electricity to pump the milk into the tanker, then we need the electric so the automatic washer will wash the bulk tank. And of course the cattle need to be able to drink water. It's also nice to have the furnace running in the house and I did have soup in the crockpot. And, I need my OTT light so I can see to quilt! The electric came back on at noon and the generator was put away until the next time we need it.

Happy stitching this week everybody! 

Linking to Peacock Party, Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap, Show & Tell Monday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, BOM's Away, Moving It Forward