Spring Garden

I'd like you to see what I see when I'm out in my garden right now, and this is the time of year that I am out there alot. My dark and light pink peonys are almost finished for the season, but my white ones are still in budding stage.

So soft and fluffy, just like a powder puff! Kassidy took this close up of her favorite peony. I could learn a thing or two from her, she is a natural at photography. Everytime I try to take a close shot it comes out fuzzy...I don't know how she got this one!

Some of the Daylilies are starting to open up their blossoms to sway gracefully in the breeze.

Periwinkle blooms cheerfully peek out amongst the varigated foilage. They are happy in the shade of the giant snowball bush.

This tall flower is actually an herb called "Angelica". It grows in my garden to about 5 feet tall. It doesn't really have a scent but I think the white flowers are beautiful.

These Strawflowers have always been a reliable early spring bloomer. It's a perrenial and has nice rounded shape also and grows about 3 feet tall and wide. The foilage always looks fresh and green even when it's not in bloom.

"Lamb's Ears" are a mainstay in my garden and are scattered throughout the beds.

It's a very old herb and I love it for the silvery gray green leaves that actually are shaped like a lamb's ear and feels very fuzzy and soft just like lamb's ears do.

I know because I spent alot of time feeding and playing with lambs in the spring as a girl. My Dad has always raised sheep. I do not like the flower at all and cut it off as soon as they bloom. I grow this only for the foilage.

Another note of interest about this plant is that it is told it was used for bandages for soldiers in during the Civil War as they ran short of medical supplies. It is very thick and hard to tear and as I said, soft. I can see how it certainly could be used that way!!!

This is Johnsons Blue Geranium. I have several of these and you can see for yourself why. The bright blue blossoms are a rare color in a flower and they look stunning next to my yellow daylilies and pink Jupiters beard.

This is another herb that I grow alot. It's called Sweet Woodruff and makes a lovely groundcover for shady spots. I love the way it skirts around my hostas and boxwood in my front yard garden.
In the spring it gets these cute little white flowers and the rest of the season, the foilage stays bright green and fresh looking.

These are the luscious flowers on my snowball bush that is in a corner of my front yard. It's about 12 feet tall and several years ago I planted a purple clematis at it's base and it grows up through the shrub nicely. It's almost ready to bloom and I'll try to remember to take a photo to show you as it is worth seeing!

I have alot of old fashioned flowers and "pinks" are some of my favorite. Sorry the pic is a little fuzzy.

One of my Hosta's after a good rain.

And last of all, the pride of my garden are my David Austin Roses. They are just beginning to bloom and I have several varietys so I'm sure this is not the last you will see of them.

This pink one is Gertrude Jeckel. All of the David Austins have a strong old fashioned rose fragrance but each variety has it's own scent, from sweet to lemony or citrus. They are pure heaven in the garden, let me tell you!!!

I can't remember what this deep purpley pink rose is called but I know it's a very old variety english rose that dates way back. It might be called William Shakespear. It is always the first rose of the season and I can count on having it to cut and place on my grandpa's grave June 1st for his birthday.

I hope you enjoyed seeing a few of the things that I see and smell in my garden so far...I really love this time of year and being able to get out and work the soil!!!

I am leaving in the morning on our first family camping trip of the season. The trailer is packed, and we are off to the canyons for a long weekend...

First Blocks - "Paper Doll" Quilt

Here are the blocks that I will teach this month in the first class of my new applique club, "Paper Dolls" at Material Girls in South Jordan. (801-495-4290)

One must have scissors to cut out the paper dolls. ( remember, don't run with scissors)...

And one must also have the perfect pink and red polka dot fabric to applique words...

And don't forget the "special" instructions on cutting out your dolls... follow them carefully!

I am still working on the paper dolls themselves and they are almost complete. There will be two paper dolls on one large block, that go inbetween these first two blocks that I'm showing you. They will be taught in July which is the second class of the club.

All of the clothes and accessories will come in the following months ...they are going to be so fun to do, I can't wait to get started on them...Nadine at Material Girls has the most wonderful selection of yummy fabrics and trims to play with for this quilt, it's going to be very scrappy and very vintagey (I know that's not a word, but I still say it alot!)

I'm really excited about teaching this quilt and starting a new applique club. I love teaching at Material Girls, I am there alot and it's only 5 minutes from my house. That's where I just finished my "Comforts of Home" applique club.

I will soon be adding a button on the right side of my blog that you can click on (under my "Family Reunion" applique club ) to give ongoing updates and info about the club.

Anyone is welcome to join...the more, the merrier we say! Nadine also ships the kits monthly for those members who live out of state...what do you think of the first blocks?

I hope you like them...

Vintage Monday - Bloomer Apron

It's probably time that I start to show you some of my aprons that I have collected over the years. I'm going to start today with the most unusual in my collection and my most loved. I love it because
1. It's an apron!
2. It's red & white (my favorite kitchen colors)
3. It's polka dotted
4. It has ric-rac
5. It has embroidery on it
6. It's well made
7. It's quirky and kitchy
8. Linda gave it to me

My friend Linda no blog gave it to me for my birthday a long time ago. She knows what I like and we go treasure hunting alot together. She has a good eye and she saw this at a garage sale and bought it for me. Boy, was I happy when I opened it.

I just love it and I think it's so unusual. I have never seen another one like it. This apron inspired one of the blocks that I designed for my Apron Club quilt.

As you can see, if one side wasn't cute enough- it's reversible. How cute and creative is that!!!

I think the maker of this apron was very clever. Her use of the fabric on both sides is adorable.

The embroidery on it is equally charming. The patterns for the embroidery are vintage iron on patterns. A few years later I bought the patterns at an antique shop downtown.

I believe that there are seven in a set with cute sayings like these two on the apron;

"Quick as a Bunny" and "Happy as a Lark" I happen to have three vintage dishtowels with some of the patterns in this set embroidered on them.

I'll go through my vintage dishtowels and iron on patterns and hopefully show them to you next week....