Needlework, Birds, 2020 Wild and Planted Garden Growing

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.