Purple Power

I recently got another special order, this one a baby quilt for a childhood friend's first granddaughter. She asked for a pink flower quilt like I made for my neighbors down the street when they had their second baby girl. I actually have another Spoonflower panel similar to the first I haven't used yet, but I'm almost out of pink stash for the backing and binding!

When I dug out the second of three pink flower panels, which I designed with flowers from my garden, I wondered why I haven't done a purple flower panel. I don't think I'll ever run out of purple stash!!! I would have plenty of backing fabrics and scraps for a purple flower quilt!

So I made a new collage with my purple flowers. My friend's granddaughter still gets a pink flower quilt. But one day I'll be able to make another garden flower quilt to use up some of my purple stash, and I'm excited at the prospect.

I made a small version, too, because I thought the purple would look awesome in a dress. Then I saw an advertisement with flowers swirling from the bottom of the skirt diagonally up into the bodice. Back when I was in high school, I used to design dresses while I was working the graveyard shift for my parents' answering service. One of my favorite designs would feature my own embroidered butterflies swirling from the bottom of the skirt diagonally up into the bodice and completely covering the sleeve. Somewhere in my basement is one of those envelopes of 100 butterfly embroidery designs from the '70s because I always intended to make that dress one day. Somewhere in my basement is a book of 1,000 embroidery designs, with a whole chapter of butterfly designs.

I got this crazy idea to make yet another purple flower fabric panel with flowers from my garden along the bottom of the skirt and going up to the waist. It took longer to create this new collage with the flowers properly placed on the fabric than it took to do the entire first collage. I still don't know if I lined everything up right. But I ordered two yards so I can see how far off I am. And to make a dress, or a skirt if there's not enough fabric to make the dress. Now I just have to wait for the fabric to arrive. And I guess, the time to sew...

I asked AI to create such a dress (because my photoshopped mockup is so amateur; I could have drawn a better rendering!!!) so I could have an awesome image to help illustrate this blog post, and I accidentally forgot to specify I didn't want a video. The accidental result is so entertaining, I have to share it here!

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Veggie Paradise

I've had a multiplying mystery plant flourishing beneath the spigot on the north side of the house for years. I finally dug up and replanted in a pot the nearly two dozen separate plants – bulbs – last week. Once it appeared they survived the trauma, I did the Google photo search and discovered I have a very healthy crop of garlic chives. I must have planted some in a pot on the nearby porch when we first bought the house, before we received permission from the HOA to transform our front and back yard into gardens. I don't even remember a harvest, but I'm sure there was some homemade spaghetti sause in there somewhere. The seeds must have blown to more fertile ground. I will try to harvest the seeds and put them in the raised bed gardens this fall.

Most of my tomatoes got a very late start this year, but they are making me so happy now.

My pepper plants also got a late start, and only one plant is tall enough and bushy enough to produce blossoms so far, but none of the buds made it to pepper. A second round has begun. Fingers crossed for at least a few homegrown this year. But, I did buy some roasted Hatch chiles last weekend. And spent about four hours skinning and freezing all but about six, which promptly went into scrumptious meals.

Even though we've been in a heat dome for about three or four weeks, my sugar snap peas – cool weather plants – have produced enough pods for a meal (for two!!!) for my first time ever. We've typically split a pod or two or three times each new growing season. Our first real pea harvest!!!

Green beans were another first this year. These are from my first harvest a few weeks ago. I think we'll have a fresh new harvest in a few days, and it will be enough for another meal (for two!).

The spoon tomatoes have been the garden sleeper. I didn't think the seeds were any good because they took so long to germinate. Now all nine plants are exploding with blossoms.

Some of the blossoms are beginning to turn into tiny little tomatoes!!!

And some are beginning to mature! I think I'm going to have luscious salads every day very soon!

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Wordless Wednesday

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Wordless Wednesday

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Oops! I Did it Again!

(affiliate links to my designs)

I came up with this adorable floral rainbow collage a few weeks ago.

Actually, I've done a few floral rainbow collages in the past. They are so fun.

Last week I created a blue floral collage for Spoonflower. Last weekend I had the urge to do it again, this time using all the colors in my garden. Green was a challenge. But I got creative in my interpretation. I'm pretty tickled with how this turned out!

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Blue Me Away

(affiliate links to my designs)

I think it's been a long time since I created any new Spoonflower fabric. Kind of fitting, I guess, since I haven't had time to sew anyway. And I already have so many Spoonflower cheater panels in my stash I haven't even begun to put together as quilts yet.

I did finish a new floral Spoonflower cheater panel AND baby quilt last year for my then newest little neighbor. I incorporated photos of pink flowers in my garden. I've wanted to create a similar quilt top using my blue flowers ever since.

I tried my hand at a blue flower collage back in 2017, and I had a couple of yards printed by Spoonflower. I thought it might look cool as a dress or skirt, though. Not a quilt. Haven't finished that project yet either. Perhaps that yardage now can become the quilt back to go with my newest Blue Heaven cheater panel, once I'm able to get it printed.

I wanted to jump for joy when I finally finished my newest panel. It has many more flower photos than my previous flower fabrics. I think the blue flower collection will make a stunning quilt. I get so excited every single time I look at it. My chicory is in full bloom right now, and I think it's just about the prettiest shade in my garden. Of course, I would say that about my delphiniums, too, if they were blooming right now!

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Wordless Wednesday

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Wordless Wednesday

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A Different Kind of Yum

I've been trying to make all our bread homemade for the past month or so, and for the last couple of weeks, I've wanted to try pizza or calzones.

Calzones won on Saturday. I didn't have enough homemade spaghetti sauce left, and I didn't want to buy grocery store tomatoes. (I've got my first two tomatoes in my garden, but they are way too tiny, so I've been buying a few tomatoes every couple of weeks at the Farmer's Market. Oh, are they yum!)

I did have about a cup and a half left of homemade green chili chicken (with my own peppers (from last year), onions and cilantro) we've been making into burritos, so I decided to try southwest calzones. Added in some grocery store corn and black beans. Drizzled with grocery store green enchilada sauce.

Oh, my gosh! We are in heaven!!! I can't wait to try this again!!!

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