Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Spring Nesting & Sewing

                                       Rexton enjoys sleeping on the pet pillow on the sofa.

                                                 Until the birds start chirping quite loud...

                                           She's now awake & will take herself to the front door.
                            She now listens to the commotion of  loud chirping, coming from the birds.

                                       It's the making of a nest for a spring hatching of sparrows.

 These little birds sure made a lot of noise as they gathered the pieces like little whips, they come from fallen bits from the black walnut tree that resides next to me in the neighbours yard.

 They're like long skinny sticks, the birds worked all morning bringing pieces & chirping.

The bird house has occupants in it, so this was an opportunity for a new home in the neighbourhood.
You can see the new nest in the background.

 The wind would come later in the day from the north & all the sticks would not stay secure & everything fell apart. I think the one bird knew & that's what all the chirping was about!  lol
We've never had a bird build a nest on our house before, not this year either! There's many tree across the road, maybe that's were they are now.

A New Birdhouse!

 This is a handmade beauty that I purchased from Heirloom Nursery on Fanshawe Park Road in London, ON.
 How sweet & mystical is the birdhouse! This is the back door but it could be the front of a Fairy Garden House. Just love the shape of the wooden door on this cement clad wee building.

The door lifts for the spring cleaning...if needed. I just love how this house was designed for the birds! It's quite heavy so I'm hoping that the winds from the water will make the east coast birds feel cozy & safe as they nest inside. I'll post photos once it's installed at the cottage.

 Here's the front door, it's made of blue stain glass, as well as two side blue stained glass windows, installed underneath the eves!

 It has a rustic look with the bark roof & bark ground cover that the stone house sits on.
Thank you Deb for 'hand delivering me' to the store! lol
And Bev for seeing your inspirational birdhouse on your front porch, greeting all those that come to visit! Such a charming unique piece & they're crafted by a husband & wife team. What fun they must have playing with designs as no two are alike!

                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Newest Quilt

 This is the newest quilt that I've put together. From the left- to right---flannel backing, outer border, inner border, body of the quilt that's done in a Irish chain. I made the body in 2010 & did not like it for the snowman quilt, that the center blocks were to be appliqued. I was thinking primitive style...

But instead ended up with a quilt top that said 'Green beans, yellow beans, & potatoes'! All great in the garden but not for what I was trying to do. So into my studio I went & played with the stash & was really surprised to come up with a fishing trip quilt for my guys. I used the flannel that was purchased for their comfy pants...now the back of the quilt. I'ts with Liz my longarm quilter & should be done this week. We chose round bubble quilting to quilt it together & I think that it will pull the fishing theme together. A plaid binding in the backing colours will finish it off. I'll post it when it's done & back from Liz. The UFO pile is coming down...who am I kidding, it's not even a dint! lol
I know why I wear a mouth guard at night, my brain doesn't have the ability to shut off even then!
Must stay focused...


Playing with Blocks----


After such a masculine colour with the Fishing Quilt, I needed spring again! So I played with the old stash from the BOM Flowers. I had some scrap yardage from years back & this block is called 'Memory Wreath' & 21 pieces later...Voila!
This is the back, I used the May fabric scraps from a table topper that I gave to my May born granddaughter back in 2010. I just love lily of the valley, the way the little flower bells look & smell.
 I chose a pink batik to bind this little quilt mat with. I made two & did different backings on them.
 This is the backing on the other. How sweet & happy is this spring print?!

The baby quilt I've been working on is finished! I used the brown/white stripe for binding to pull the monkey colour in. Liz did such a nice playful meandering star & circle quilting on it. :)
I've cut out 3 burp pads in the monkey flannel from the side scraps, burp pads are much needed with new babies & easier to wash than clothes after a spit up! lol

Cottage Garden Quilt---

 Back from Liz, my longarm quilter, she did small meandering in the embroidered block & boy did it bring my handwork to life! The body of the quilt has a larger more open meandering to hold the quilt together. It looks great Liz, thank you!

 The binding is now on & it's so garden like. I'm pleased at the way it all came together & will enjoy seeing it in my new potting shed at the cottage.

Tommy saw this photo shoot as an opportunity to climb into the quilt for a cozy snooze. What is it with cats & quilts?! lol

Thrift Store Finds!!-------

Deb & I went on a hunt, she for wool to make into applique for quilting & me for the perfect outside summer chair. Deb really dislikes shopping & me...well I could make it a full time hobby of it,  just looking at things & getting ideas from colour & texture. We both had a great day in the Goodwill thrift store!

                                 I love robins & get excited every spring when I see the first one!

Someone did a beautiful job on this wool piece. I'm admiring it as it sits on my counter & I smile every time I see it!


I feel in love with the colours in this piece. This was so much work & it too is done beautifully!
The colour is more somber here but you can see it in its entirety. It's a long body pillow to sit on the back of the blue denim coloured leather love seat at the cottage. It will add a cozy feel in the fall.
So many hours, weeks, months...doing such a project. It was a great find & well worth the $20!

Here's the find I was looking for & found it the first five minutes there for $5!! The openness of the rattan allows it to dry out, if left outside. As you can see it's inside in the lounge as we're having April showers & I don't mind bringing it in as it's as light as a feather!

Boris has been doing very well & I had him out walking & in the park, he too is so happy with all the wonderful smells of spring. And to socialize with other dogs as I talk to their pets. lol

The weather here is doing the yo-yo, warm on day cold & wet the next but the bulbs are up & the snow is gone. Spring is well on the way!

Thank you for stopping by & have a great spring week!

Saw this saying & it gave me a chuckle...

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.








3 comments:

  1. You really got lucky with that chair. I can't believe it was only $5.00. It's such a beautiful style, very charming.
    Your quilts are so pretty too and the rest of your find is fabulous.
    It was worth your trip to the thrift store. I imagine you could find endless treasures if you went ever day.

    Boris and Rexton are still living the life I see. They bring you so much joy.

    We'er having rain today but I managed to clean some flowerbeds in the last couple of day since I didn't got it done last Fall. Things are starting to grow but we still have snow in the shade. The River is on the rise but it looks pretty good so far. Keeping my fingers crossed. There was flooding in Pert Andover because of ice jam.

    I'm taking a break fro calculating 3 months of HST for the farm.
    Take care,
    Hugs,
    JB

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  2. Hi Cynthia, thanks for your positive comment. About my Hoya plant, the secret is simple. They will only bloom in the sun. So move it to a sunny window.
    The plant in that pot came from a slip I planted about 5 years ago, for a friend and she never came to pick it up and she is now in poor health and her husband has Alzheimer and so I kept the plant. I made sure I planted in a large pot as soon as it started to get big.

    Also once your plant starts to bloom, it's important not to cut the stems where the blooms came from as they will keep on re-blooming from these stems. They are not in direct hot sun but they get plenty of sunlight.

    Once in a while I give them a bit of Miracle Gro along with my other plants but I'm not really regular with my care of plants. I usually do something when I see they are getting neglected. lol... I chopped down a monster vine that had taken over my sunroom and just left a stem coming out. It got neglected and has lots of brown leaves when I got so busy with sorting out my ceramic molds for two months last Fall.

    You probably can find more information on How to care for Hoya Plants on the web. You must have a lot of sunlight at your house in the Miramichi.

    Take care. Hugs,
    JB

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