Project Progress

Here is a little peek at a large embroidery project I am totally lovin' workin' on. Yesterday I went through my embroidery basket and found this little lady. I think I have some other characters that match... but maybe I will just use her on her own. Um... not sure yet, which probably means she'll end up back in the basket. Nah! I gotta use her ...soon.

Do you remember these cuties?

The one on the right has hair and a name now.
Here she is... Gemma.

Now she just needs a skirt.
Ah... there she goes.
Now she just needs a test wash and she's ready for a new home.

Chasing Spring

The crocus have bloomed! These little beauties are the first plant to bloom in my garden every year so they hold a certain excitement even though they are diminutive and unassuming.

I adore the soft blue, it reminds me of white linens rinsed with bluing.

Two days ago my garden looked like this...ugly, very UGLY but beautiful to me.The snow is melting and there is plant life poppin' up all over. The Crocus from above are just to the right, outside of this photo, they are there... believe me. They are very small.

This morning my garden looks like this...

Just a slight set back ;-(

To combat the disappointment I took a few photos of my "inside" garden.

The tomatoes are incredible.

Tomato flowers...

Biker Billy Pepper flowers...

I hope your April has been greener than mine.

Perfectly Patriotic

Hello all,

This week I have been preparing the Pasquali Rumpus Shop for Independence day . I guess Mother's Day and Memorial Day are our next holidays, but I feel like getting a head start on the 4th of July so I need to get busy now!

I had cut out these 3 1/2" squares last week...and they inspired me to make this perfectly patriotic pillow. My favorite part of making any patchwork project is the "arranging", deciding which square goes where (hey, that rhymes;-) is the highlight and then the work begins.

This is the finished pillow in all it's Glory, both sides are handquilted with white embroidery thread. I think it belongs on someones front porch, maybe sitting on a white porch swing in Americanaville U.S.A.
We have added a few flag waving Tie Dyes too! These two are currently For Sale in the shop ...

but this one I kinda messed up...

I dribbled some blue down at the bottom. This may become my Independence Day shirt. I am thinking of reconstructing it into a more feminine shape, we'll see.

I have almost completed an embroidery project that I cannot wait to show you but right now I need to build a fire it is freezing in here!

OH Boy!!!

Look what I found this morning! Yipeee!

I can already taste the summer fruit we're gonna have. ;-)

Still Freezing

As you can tell from the photo above we are still freezing here but inside my FloraLight it is warm and very green. My tomato plants have dozens of sweet little yellow flowers that will soon become juicy tomatoes. The plants are pressed up against the light bulbs and I can't raise the lights any higher.

My cabbages are the size of soccer balls...

and look a pumpkin flower!

I saved some seeds from our Jack-O-Lantern on Halloween and planted it, I have never tried to grow Pumpkins before. I really don't live in the right climate for growing squash but I adore the way the plant spreads, it is such a gorgeous viney plant. I don't really care if I actually get pumpkins or not.

Here is a shot of the flower before it wilted. Don't you just love the color?

Today is going to be a warm sunny day so I plan to work on digging out my garden, 'cause my plants need to move out!

Hope you are having a sunny warm day. :-)

April Showers

April showers? Showers of Snow that is!Easter Sunday Evening was a very stormy and we were blessed/cursed with a few more feet of snow. While my hubby spent his Monday relocating the white stuff

I made this...

I can't believe how sore my fingers are from pushing and pulling that thick thread through the three layers. I love the hand quilted effect but I am really bruised now. I have an assortment of thimbles but I can't seem to get used to using them. The fact that I cannot feel my finger tips forces me to avoid the thimble and I end up using other areas of my finger, defeating the purpose entirely.

I will have to find a different project to work on for awhile, but I want to make more. :-(

So today I am doing this... and this.
I think I will cut out squares until my wrist aches and then maybe let my sewing machine do the work for awhile, I am on a roll.