A Rose by Any Other Name

In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet states, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Thanks to the Mister, we have roses! He picked up a few here....and there....then took me to the nursery where we picked up a few more, and now they are in my front garden, waiting to be planted!

You can see a few roses that I plunked down in their pots, 

testing whether this is where they need to be planted, 

or not.

I now have a few more.

(And doesn't the front porch look more inviting without it being hidden by shrubs?)

We had a lovely, sunny, warm day. So many folks came out to the nursery. I heard a lot of conversations about replacing plants that suffered from our 2 weeks of arctic weather. I am still waiting to see if some of my plants will come back from the roots. 

Here are a few shots from Anson Nursery....everything looks beautiful!

This group of plants were adopted by us, and came home to our yard.

We tried to avoid tropical plants that might struggle if we get freezing temperatures next winter. But, now the big problem is getting everything planted...and then, making sure that everything gets watered.

There is much to be done. Both to deal with plants that might have survived the freeze, and in planting and caring for our new plants. We will be busy!

I managed to plant the roses and a few bedding plants. 

The pots on the right contain flowers that made it through the winter,

but would probably prefer a new home with more appropriate light conditions.

Does Size Matter?

The Mister loves "Big Boy Toys".  He had the opportunity to use this excavator to remove some shrubs. It's not a very big excavator. It's called a "plumber's" excavator because it can dig trenches and get into tight spaces.  But it does/did the job!

Then, Al came by to do some work around our yard, removing concrete and grading the area around the new garage building.  He had the "BIG" toy! 

But wait, does size really matter?

This is my grandson with his "excavator"...

(Several years ago)

...and this is what he accomplished! 

I'm thinking that size has nothing to do with what is accomplished! 

This is like the "Little Engine that Could,"

It's the size of the heart and the drive that matters. 

Whilst in the Mood to Clean

 I decided I better give Millie a good cleaning. The nook assembly area collects lint from the fabric and batting when I sew the quilts. It's recommended that you clean it out after every 2 or 3 quilts. Oops....

Well, she's clean now.

She got WD-40 bath, took a spin to spread the WD-40 around, and I collected the drips of WD-40 and bits of flotsam and jetsam that came out. 

I used a microfiber cloth to wipe all around the hook assembly area, and even took the thread plate off to clean WD-40 off of the underside of it. 

I replenished the oil, and ran the machine without thread to spread the oil around, and then wiped off the excess.

She should be a happy camper stitcher now!

It's My Fault

 On Thursday I ventured out of my playroom (aka sewing room) to get my hair cut, lest I be mistaken for a vagrant. We have an unbelievable hair cuttery near my house. It's a busy place - always!

This salon has at least 8 stylists, although they all might not be in house at one time. They offer cuts for men, women and children - for $10! If you want a shampoo, that's $2 extra. I feel like I have gone through some sort of time warp when I step up to the register to pay. I have had my hair cut by 5 of the stylists. I have never been disappointed by any of the cuts, but then again, I am not all that particular. So, if you are coming to visit me and need a haircut, be sure to call ahead and get an appointment - walk-in spots fill up quickly and by early afternoon, there's little chance of being fit into the schedule. 

From there I turned south. There's a carwash there. I hadn't washed my car in .... well, it hadn't had a bath since .... maybe since I had it serviced, a long time ago?! I pulled in to the car wash. What?! $15!!! (and how much more than my hair cut was that?!) But, I said, my car is half the size of that SUV ahead of me....The attendant smiles and replies, "yeah, but we still use the same amount of soap and water!" (Good answer!)

So my car is dragged through the car wash and gets the soap, the rinse and the drying. Then we are out and I pull into the vacuum area. At $15 I am going to make sure I take advantage of the "free" vacuum, multi-use cleaner and towels. 

I cleaned everything. Even the drink cups were wiped out. 

I vacuumed the nest of leaves that were under the hood.

Then I was off to WalMart to pick up a few items.

As I was shopping, I began to hear the drumming sound of rain on the roof. 

Crap!

It's all my fault!

I was the one who had her car washed!

But...we are so far into drought that I welcome the rain.

Maybe I should make a habit of getting my car washed 

so that we can have continued rain!

Milt

Yesterday was Quilt Guild day. I got to solicit, appeal, whine, wheedle and cajole members to participate in the annual CHALLENGE! I wanted to make a "Big Book" and read it to the ladies as if they were in Kindergarten (because that's how some of them behaved last month!) But I lacked the resources to craft such a thing - large paper (a trip to Hobby Lobby would have solved that) and the art skills (no amount of practice would've helped me out there!) 

Sew.....what's a gal to do? This self-proclaimed PowerPoint Queen of yesteryear stepped up to the plate and opened Apple's equivalent, Keynote, and turned my Big Book idea into a slide show. 

This was the beginning of my Keynote presentation:

Here's the text of the "book":

I am Milt, I am built!

I am Milt and I like to quilt.   

I like to quilt while wearing a kilt,

And I buy fabric and have no guilt.

 

I can make quilts here and there,

I can make them in my underwear!

I can sew blocks as singles, or pairs,

But how ‘bout you? 

Do you dare?

Step up to the plate, take this challenge to heart.

Show us your talent, show us your art. 

Draw a state’s name from out of the hat,

And make some sort of quilt about that.

Showcase that particular state,

And make a quilt that can’t equate.

A quilt like no-one else will sew,

A quilt that makes folks gawk and say, “Whoa”!

A quilt that such extraordinary emotions evoke,

A quilt that is worthy of any show!

Oh, come on now, and join the fun!

Your joy in this challenge has just begun.

Pull a slip from out of the hat,

And make a quilt using that. 

How can you miss this chance for some fun?

This is the State Challenge….and the fun has just begun!

I used images from the Internet to illustrate the presentation, and doctored a few of them to fit my needs!

I closed the presentation with the rules for the challenge, and included this slide:

That is a real quilt covering a minivan. A friend from my the quilt guild I belonged to before I moved made this 'quilt' to advertise that guild's quilt show. She asked members to bring in 'orphan blocks' and she put them together, with some help from other guild members, and made this cover. The quilt would adorn her car whenever guild members were selling tickets for the show. 

The women enjoyed the presentation, and a few more signed up to participate. I know not everyone will do it. Some folks don't care for challenges of any sort (definitely not me!) Others have a lot on their plates already. 

I have picked the state for my challenge quilt. I won't say what it is here, just in case any of the guild members stumble on my post. I have my plan for what I'm going to do. I worked on designs using EQ8 to play with options, and think I've settled on one that I like. I've collected some fabrics; I picked up some in Berkeley on my recent trip. I found another piece I might use in a town just north of where I live. I ordered something on eBay, too. And, a blog reader, Barbara, suggested some fabrics and is sending me one. How exciting is that?!

Can you tell that I love challenges?! Here's a little secret: If you want me to accomplish anything....just present it as a challenge. Just say, "I bet you can't....." and fill in the blank!!

 

New Neighbors

 We will have neighbors! We have had 5 male Eastern Bluebirds (more?) show up scoping out the housing for their prospective women. Apparently it's a common occurrence with bluebirds and a few other species. We are used to seeing male Robins in our yard very early. When we lived in SC, and here in FL they are just passing through. This year our robins came through in early February. They definitely got some bad advice as to when to head north with all of the cold and snowy weather the east coast has seen! 

Back to the bluebirds: We received a bluebird house as a Christmas gift this year. The Mister bought another and recently put them up in our yard. He was very thoughtful, putting them in locations that I can see from my sewing room. The past few days have been very entertaining with the 5 males. The congregate around one birdhouse, taking turns perching on top. One will flutter down from its vantage point and check out the interior, then another male will swoop over to sit on top of the house. There's not as much aggression as we thought there'd be. Maybe when the females return that will change. 

The fence in this picture is about 5 feet from the birdhouse. The birds line up on the fence, looking for their opportunity to oust the one that is sitting on top. I can't tell the birds apart, so I can't tell if it is always the same male that has claimed the house. 

The Mister was considering moving the house, until he saw the birds. He thought it might be too close to the fence as far as predators are concerned. The other house is in the open. I haven't seen any interest for that one from the birds. I'm thinking that maybe they like the fence being nearby!

Of course, now that I want to post about the birds, there are none to be seen! 

Inch by Inch

Inch by inch, row by row

Gonna make this pretty quilt grow

All it takes is a needle to sew

And the pattern that I found

My apologies to Dave Mallett who wrote "The Garden Song" in 1975, which begins in the manner! But, inch by inch and row by row is such an apt description of putting a quilt together!

I started working on this quilt just over a week ago. I wouldn't say it is my new obsession....but I have spent a good deal of time with it. Each time I finish a section I want to move on with the next section just to see how it will work. 

Here is a link to the post I put up on Feb. 21 that shows my first step in piecing the quilt. And, here is what the pieces look like now:

I think one of the greater challenges will come when I have to sew the 8 sections together. But, I still have a way to go before I get to that stage!