It is the green season right now. Amazing how the earth renews itself and I am equally amazed by the transformation every spring. But amidst the greens, little spots of colour also so welcomed. The tiny violets are popping up in the back garden too thanks to the sunny days this week we've enjoyed very much.
Coincidentally I came across this beautiful painting by artist, Paul Wolber, called
A Mother's Day Bouquet.
You can see more of Paul's work here.
Also appearing in the back garden and equally small, lungwort, which I wish we had more of.
We had our silly robin return, the one who battered himself against our windows for two springs now thinking his own reflection is a competitor. This time he was relentless and when I covered the large window he started out with, he moved on to hit the other windows around the back of the house.
He actually drew blood on the patio door. We had one of our spring snowfalls and very cold temperatures for the next week and he finally disappeared. We wonder if he is okay.
Here he is at the sewing room window. Poor fellow. Luckily, with the overhead lights on, he would leave this window alone.
Another successful year for the
Indiana Barred Owls. The three little owlets have left the nest and are hopping about in the nearby trees still fed and monitored by both parents. These owls are amazing parents. I see them and wish I could pet them. Here are the two oldest who branched first in a photo from the
All About Birds site..
Striving to lay good stitches on my cross stitch piece.
Beautiful silk threads came with this pattern and I'm finding them persnickety. They snag easily (have to keep an emery board handy) and they also don't lay like the DMC floss. For instance, the old rule of twisting your needle a certain way as it's pulled through the fabric in order for the thread to lay untwisted doesn't work with this kind of thread. I only just realized that the ice is forming a heart; duh- it is the February block.
So happy to have the Book Club QAL blocks all done and on the wall. You would not believe how long I stared at these blocks and rearranged them to finally get this arrangement. These colours and fabrics were out of my
like zone but I do like them all better now that it's together. I thought I might try some element from one of the blocks to use for a border. Still experimenting. This is an angular design overall-more curves would make me happy. I did learn that I find black jarring in that it stands out so much when you use more of it. But yet, I do admire black and white quilts so much!
I used my Marti Michel templates for several blocks so for those I had to "size them up'.
Here is Amy at Diary of a Quilter's post by Leila Gardunia on how to resize blocks. I agree with Amy; it actually adds interest to certain blocks when that has to be done.
I've been gardening- raking and pruning. It made my whole body ache a bit. I think the bending, getting up and down. But it was a good tired like I knew I had used my body and it's also a good feeling knowing work had been done. Learning to pace myself too especially in warmer temperatures. Always thankful that I can do this myself.
Thankful too for linky parties like these:
Not Afraid of Color,
For the Love of Geese,
Wendy's Quilts and More,
Kathy's Quilts,
Viewing Nature With Eileen,
Quilting Patch,
Floral Friday Foto and
Paying Ready Attention.
38 comments :
I'm so glad you are getting warmer weather and can be enjoying gardening. I hear you on the aches and pains - it hurts but a good hurt knowing you are doing something and can still move around. Sorry that bird keeps hitting the window - sounds like a bit of a dumb bird!! The owls are lovely - I so rarely see owls it is always nice when I do
I, too, love the green season, and am always so happy when it is here. Your dandelions and violets make a pretty picture, Jocelyn! The cross-stitch project looks very detailed - it's fun to see the shapes emerge in thread. I like your hand-pieced blocks so much! The pops of yellow are my favorite part.
Your blocks are beautiful. Hand pieced? wow...
That robin seems to have a death wish. After a while they seem to realize that their "rival" is not going away and learn to accept it. Actually as long as they stay away from the window the rival does go away! Spring is finally here I think - and very welcome it is too!
Does silk floss have a grain? Try using it in the other direction.
Hi Jocelyn! I can't say I've ever used silk thread. Now that I ponder that, I think it's odd as we owned a cross stitch shop back in the 90s. I may have done some crewel with silk but it was so long ago that I cannot offer any suggestions. Did you try a Google search - someone may have some tips. That darn Robin! I would be worried about him as well. Goof. Thanks for all of your likes this week. I enjoyed your post so much. ~smile~ Roseanne
This is soooo lovely to see the owls and I can fully understand why you wish you could pet them. I hope this little bird will be fine throughout the summer ans will understand soon what a window means.
Nana
Those flowers are so bright and pretty. Dang, that is one goofy robin.
We have the same problems with the robins that visit a tree in our front yard. No idea what the tree is but it has small red berries. After the robins have been there for a while at least one or two will hit the front windows. We thought they might be get drunk on the berries.
That's a marvelous photo you got of the owl babies, congratulations!
Spectacular floral pictures - and those baby owls are SO cute! They do look pettable for sure. Oddly enough I had never heard of a robin attacking windows and now you're the second person it's happened to that I know of. Silly birds! It nearly drove my aunt and uncle nuts because no matter what they did the robin would be out there every morning starting shortly after 6. Not a fun wake-up to hear a bird pecking at the window!
We had a cardinal peck at the window for two years in a row, all during the mating season. Once that season had passed, he quit. He thinks he has a rival, so he is defending his territory. They can harm themselves doing so; you are doing everything right. I can check with my scientist daughter to see if she has any further suggestions. Those owlets are cute, and your stitching is lovely! I wish I had joined in on the book club sew along; I just tried hand piecing and have found I really enjoy it.
It seems once those Robins start they can’t stop. WE had one years ago that attacked every window and when I discouraged that he went to the mirrors on my bus.
That poor bird doesn’t learn. How sad. Those blue and yellow flowers are so sweet growing together. Never heard of lungwort before- good thing it’s pretty cause it sounds weird. Haha. I’ve never used silk thread before. You have more patience than I to struggle with silk thread. Those book club blocks are so different you could make many designs!
Oh, silly robin. I like your solution. That bouquet painting is pretty. Lots of little cross stitches.
The owlets are sweet. Your goofy robin is back? Love the blooms and that painting is lovely. Have you tried thread conditioner? Sometimes when I have a thread that is difficult you drag it through and it works wonders. I want to say the used to use beeswax. Your book club blocks are lovely.
Again, you've filled your blog with lovely treasures, Jocelyn. I especially liked the dandelions paired with the tiny violets; the lungwort and of course those fluffy barred owlets. One can imagine them marvelling at their first time sightings through their big, forward facing eyes. I like the previous comment of using a little beeswax on those silk threads. I keep a small jar of Clapham's Beeswax Salad Bowl Finish in my sewing machine cabnet for taming unruly threads.
My friend shared an interesting video that she tried (with success) about the birds flying into the windows, just google "incredibly simple tip to prevent birds flying into windows." The man is British I think and she had success with this method. Like you, my friend lives in the woods and has this problem yearly. I love your projects! The book club blocks look fantastic and I'm just gaga for your cross stitch project! I hope you have a fantastic week full of more colorful flowers!
hello nature nut! Me too. Where did the name lungwort come from, what an awkward name for such a pretty flower! Poor robin wants to come in, maybe have a wee bath, eat a few nuts, have a cuppa.
forgot to say, I watched a cool video on how to cut a short haircut that was just what I want, but then I thought about the hair falling in my eyes all the time and that wouldn't do... thought about you and your self haircut. Mine is self cut but not as stylish as yours
Your robin is persistent though confused. I love the picture of your owls. Wow. I haven't worked with silk floss, but your piece is looking pretty. I am not picky about twisting my floss to have it lay a certain way. I think that worrying about that would ruin my joy of stitching. I am happy with the way all of my stitching looks any way.
Your quilt arrangement is lovely. Each of those blocks is fabulous and look amazing grouped together. We sometimes get birds tapping at the window....strange really. How disappointing the silk thread is causing you trouble. I must say all those greens in your garden with the pops of colour is a delight to see. Also, that fellow's painting is glorious. The flowers look so lifelike....such an amazing talent he has.
Those owls are so adorable! Love the violets too. Great projects you have going. I have never had that trouble with silk thread, but haven't used silk floss, silk thread to applique though.
The owls are GORGEOUS! Glad they are at your house. Owls are big predators on chickens. Your stitching is perfect. Stitch on.
Love the mothers day bouquet! I can just picture a little boy giving that to his Mom with such pride =). Those owls - that would be so fun to watch. A very persistent robin too - I do hope he is ok. Your BC blocks are lovely in yellow. It will be fun to see how you decide to set it. Me - I still need to prep and stitch the 8th one. Curves still scare me! Have a wonderful Sunday.
Hello, you are busy on the cross stitch and quilt blocks, they all look beautiful. Pretty flowers and painting. The Robin is crazy, hurting itself over seeing the reflection. My Cardinal does the same thing here. No blood though. Love the cute owls, I will check out the link. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week! PS, thank you for the visit and comment.
I love the blocks for you Book Club QAL. The blocks look so good all together. I hope the robin is okay! The owls are so pretty! I love your pictures of all the flowers. This time of year is the best!
Gorgeous and colorful photos. Obviously I am a fan of owls!
How interesting about the silk floss... I haven't tried it but it certainly looks beautiful and tempting!
Thank you for linking at Patchwork & Quilts ;))
At first I thought those tiny blue flowers were forget-me-nots! Those violets are sure TINY.
Just witnessed a red squirrel stealing eggs from a robin's nest. Could have been the problem your robins encountered in a past year. My little red culprit is feeding babies and no doubt is very hungry. I feel sorry for my now very upset Robin parents.
Jocelyn - I spent many hours in the garden today, and I am so happy. My knees? Not so much. Actually, it is the muscles on the outside of my knees that let me know I overdid it. I need to get in the habit of kneeling rather than squatting.
That is very curious about the robin. Hope it is OK!
After your initial link, my daughter and I followed the barred owls religiously. So exciting when they hatched, and amazing to watch mama feeding them. And how FAST they grew. The day the first owlet fledged, I freaked out at first - given our time zone, I saw only two in the box - it took me a little while to figure out what happened! Thanks for the recommendation!
It's been too wet and rainy here to do much garden work. Love your garden flowers and the painting too. Your Book Club blocks look great. The pops of black keep your eye moving across the layout.
It's going to be pretty when you are done and you have used the right amount of black. The poor Robin. Have you tried black nylon or maybe its vinyl screens? When we purchased our home there were aluminum screens on it. When they needed replaced all the had was black so I purchased it and now I wouldn't go back. We have not had a single bird fly into our windows since. Occasionally a swallow will land on the screens though. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down, I hope you'll come back and share your cross stitch as you progress.
I really enjoyed catching up on your blog this morning Jocelyn! Some lovely flowers blooming around you, and your handwork is inspiring too. :) Your hand pieced blocks really do look nice all together. You may be out of your comfort zone color wise, but you made great choices, it is balanced and lovely!
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