Monday, May 16, 2016

The Weekend Wrap-Up

 

 
I’d have to say that it’s time for a Weekend Wrap-Up. 
 
The weekend got off to a busy and productive start with the semi-annual one-day retreat.  I was humbled by the enthusiastic greeting I received from my retreat and guild friends. The next quilt on my must-make list is a two-color blue-and-white kaleidoscope quilt.  I had thought about starting it during the retreat, but it would have helped had I actually done more than think about it ... I knew that I have plenty of reproduction blues but alas, I didn't have enough of a suitable white nor of the purer blues I’m hoping to use.  I’m planning to hang this quilt above our bed and am trying to incorporate more of a beachy feel to our décor, so I’m going to go with purer blues and white, none of which I have enough of in my stash.  (Yes, I have some shopping to do today – woo hoo!)  So instead I worked on what has been my retreat project for at least a couple of years now, my indigo/neutral pineapple. I got almost 4 blocks pieced ... I had one block about 1/3 done, I pieces two complete blocks, and I got a good start on a 4th block. 
Lest that seem like I was slacking, those are almost 14" blocks. I should have, if I recall correctly, a total of 10 finished blocks.
These are a few finishes … the one on the left is quilted and bound while the two on the right are just at the flimsie stage.  Unfortunately I failed to make note of whose quilts these were.  The retreat went until at least 9:00, but around 5:00 I started to tire.  I did manage to stick around for another couple of hours (a girls' gotta have dinner, right? - especially when it includes Italian cream cake for dessert!). Needless to say, I was exhausted when I got home and slept really well that evening.
 
Saturday was a slower day ... which is just what I needed after an exhausting Friday.  I managed to do some tidying up around the house, got caught up on our financial recordkeeping, supervised DSIL’s setting up our new TV, and had some fun with T#3 and #4 while the rest of the family went to the movies with friends. 
 
Sunday was a fairly slow day as well.  I finally got around to pressing the bedskirt for the new daybed bedding set … when we moved in, I couldn’t find a daybed bedding set that I liked at all, so I “settled” for standard twin-sized bedding.  It didn’t take long before I realized that it wasn’t really working and that I didn’t even care all that much for the bedding set I’d chosen.  

I also finished putting away my supplies from Friday’s retreat and spent some time working on my ongoing hexie project (this and that pineapple project feel like they’re never going to get done - ha!).
(Pay no attention to that “old lady hand”.  Ugh)  While it wasn’t nearly as warm as I would have liked, I did get outside for a walkabout … and I noticed that my hydrangea not only has a good number of buds, it’s actually started blooming! 
That light green flower in the center is the flower just opening … this hydrangea blooms white, so the flowers appear to be a very light green when they first open.  You can also see lots of little buds above and slightly to the left of the flower.  My iris are also blooming.
My azaleas are still blooming, too. 
Our garden is doing fairly well.  Our tomatoes are doing well, in spite of the colder weather we had over the weekend.  Our lettuce will be ready to pick in a few more days.  Alas, like last spring, our green beans (the few that sprouted - grrr) seem to have been a tasty meal for some critter.  We haven’t seen any signs of the raccoons that feasted on them last spring, so I’m wondering if it was the rabbits.  DH replanted more green beans … and I was finally able to persuade DH to plant some cucumbers. 


And of course, the most important part of the weekend was watching the Blues win Game 1 of the conference finals.  Let’s go Blues!!

I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy ... have a great day!
Kathy

14 comments:

  1. your azalea are so pretty and mine are just a memory - even the browned dried up flowers have now fallen off. Love springtime and it is always so pretty. Sounds like you had a good time with the quilters. I love pineapple blocks but they always seem to take forever to make. Enjoy your new tv.

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  2. I love to see you still pushing on doing all the things you love even in the midst of treatment. You are amazing. & I love your choice of colors on all the blankets. So beautiful.
    Yippee for new blooms. I was afraid the frost around here was going to kill ours.

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  3. Glad you're feeling well enough to attend the retreat and enjoy the spring! Love the things you're working on. I live in south central Illinois and have to say 'GO BLUES!'

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  4. Beautiful flowers and beautiful quilts. I'm looking forward to see the material you pick for the new blue and white one. Beachy colors are my favorite.

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  5. Sounds like your retreat was a wonderful break for you, and those pineapple blocks are positively gorgeous. We had a touch of snow on the roofs and deck this morning. We had covered the blueberries but the apple and cherry blossoms are probably gone.

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  6. What a great weekend! Love that you were able to get to your retreat. And now, you have to go shopping - fun!!! Glad your garden and the Blues are doing well! ~Jeanne

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  7. Wow! how great that you got to attend the retreat. I know your friends were delighted to see you. So, so glad that you are doing so well. Happy week!

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  8. Sounds like you had a really nice time at retreat - and really, who can complain when Italian Creme Cake is involved??? So happy to see you up and about and doing normal life again!

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  9. Your retreat sounds like it was the best medicine. I love those indigo blocks. Glad you had such a productive weekend as well as fun time with the T's.

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  10. Good morning! Missed this yesterday somehow. I am so glad you got to the retreat, and I LOVE the block you worked on. I am always going to try to get to one of these retreats, but never seem to pull it off. I am anxious to see the one you indeed to do in blues..I have a feeling it will be gorgeous! Your flowers are all looking good. We have had kind of a mild spring for us and so lots is still in bloom. Wish that meant a mild summer is on the way, but I doubt it, lol. Have a good week Kathy!

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  11. Hey there, Kathy! So happy you had a such a fun retreat...I know it did you good! I wish my azaleas were still blooming, but they reached their peak a few weeks ago, sadly.

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  12. Glad you had the energy to enjoy your retreat. Your pineapple blocks are lovely.

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  13. I'm glad you were able to enjoy your retreat. Really beautiful quilts. Our spring has been kind of unusual, wet and cool. No hydrangeas yet, Im afraid the last frost may have nipped some of the blooms this year but we shall see. Hope you have a good week, happy to hear things are going well.

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  14. I'm always in awe of seeing your quilts!
    Spring is such a beautiful time of year. It seems the dogwoods stayed in bloom much longer this year...more time to enjoy them!

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