Showing posts with label Tulips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tulips. Show all posts

Monday, April 21, 2014

Tulips Are My Favorite

And tulips, children love to stretch
Their fingers down, to feel in each
Its beauty's secret nearer.

–Elizabeth Barrett Browning, A Flower in a Letter.


I'm not quite sure what it is about tulips that I love so much, but they are my favorite of all the flowers. Whatever it is, I think they are a miracle. I thought I'd take you on a little garden tour and show you what is blooming in my yard. These pretty pink ones are Apple Blossom tulips. The pretty burgundy foliage on the left is a peony, which I also really love.

These are parrot tulips, although I'm not sure of the variety because I ordered them in a grab bag. I love the pretty daffodils, rimmed in apricot, behind them, but again, they came from a grab bag so I don't know their name either. On the left is a bleeding heart, which has gotten really big. Does anyone need a cutting?

Once upon a time, I knew the name of these pretty purple tulips, but I don't remember now. The red parrot tulips are also from the grab bag, but I think they are a different variety than the others. It is hard to see from the pictures, but the color isn't quite the same.

This one is called Blue Diamond.

I love orange flowers. This one is the Donald Duck tulip. It was bred for his 50th {I think} birthday.

A neighbor brought me this bulb, so I don't know the variety, but it is absolutely gorgeous. The picture doesn't quite do justice to the beautiful apricot color.

I thought I'd try something a little artsy-smartsy here. Not sure it worked out how I wanted, but I love these delicate pink tulips.

The bulbs are getting a little crowded. For the past several years, I keep thinking I need to dig them up and spread them out, but then these beautiful groups of a dozen or more tulips come up and I can't bear to separate them because I know it will be a few years before they will multiply enough to grow in pretty bouquets again. I think that it really needs to be done this year, though. The tulips won't last much longer so I'll enjoy them while I can, and when they start to fade I'll make a little time to rearrange them. It will be fun to have a new tulip show to see next year.

Monday, May 7, 2012

The Tulip Festival

And tulips, children love to stretch
Their fingers down, to feel in each
Its beauty’s secret nearer.

–Elizabeth Barrett Browning, A Flower in a Letter

Every year, Thanksgiving Point holds a Tulip Festival, adorning their 55-acre gardens with over 250,000 tulips. It is a sight to behold. The Festival lasts about two weeks and I went at the mid-point this year. I got there just after the gardens opened and was surprised at how many people where already there that day. It was a beautiful day out, so who could blame them, right? Armed with fresh batteries in my camera, copious amounts of sunblock on all exposed skin, and a map, I set out to enjoy the gardens. It was so amazingly beautiful.

If you right-click on the photo, you can choose to open it in a new tab and you can look at it close up, or you can see the individual photos on flickr.

Every year they sponsor an amateur photography contest. I meant to enter, but missed the deadline by a couple of days. If I'd have had my act together, the uncropped photo in the center above would have been my entry. Below is as it was taken, no cropping or digital tweaking. I'm a little disappointed I missed the deadline. I don't pretend to be any great photographer, but this photo really makes me happy and it would have been fun to enter. The winner gets a season pass to Thanksgiving Point and their photo goes in the next monthly mailer. I'm trying not to think about it.


Friday, April 13, 2012

Favourite Things Friday: Simple Gifts

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
–Confucius


My favorite thing for the past several weeks is noticing and finding joy in the simple things. Here are some of the highlights.

Trees that bloom pink.

Beautiful old houses

Spring Flowers

Music


Today's post brought to you by:

Monday, May 9, 2011

Various and Sundry Monday: Vol. 6

What this world needs is a new kind of army — the army of the kind.
–Cleveland Amory

Another Rainy Monday Music Spot: Rhythm of the Rain
I think I finally put my finger on why I love rain so much. Utah is a desert state and it doesn't rain much here so I see every single drop of rain as a miracle. Since miracles don't happen every day, it is nice to have a front row seat when they do. Today is another lovely rainy Monday. Actually, it's been raining since yesterday afternoon and I've been really enjoying everything about it. Here's another of my favorite songs about rain.


Change Is Bitter-Sweet
I mentioned yesterday that I was released from my calling in the Primary Presidency in our ward. We kind of have our own vocabulary :lol:, so if you're wondering exactly what that means {or even if you're not}, this is the scoop. All service in our church is voluntary, from the top on down. Unlike most volunteer jobs, you don't get to choose what you do. I guess you could say that we volunteer by assignment. Each assignment is called a calling, and just as you don't get to pick what you do, you also don't get to pick for how long. I've been in Primary {the children's organization} for about three years now, first as a classroom teacher and then as a member of the presidency {leadership organization}. And I have grown to love it so much. I've worked in Primary before; twice as a teacher, which was hard for me because I didn't have kids of my own yet and didn't know all the tricks that you get to know when you live with little people. I was also the pianist for the Primary in the ward we live in now for a couple of years after we moved here. I really enjoyed that, but this last three years in the Primary have been the best. I am really going to miss the children and the wonderful feeling that accompanies them.

It is sad to say goodbye to something that has been such a big part of my life for the last three years; a service that has been a pleasure to me and more of a blessing than a sacrifice. I feel kind of like a cast-off. Yes. I will miss Primary. Knowing how I felt, and not being able to be with me much after I found out {they let me know a few days in advance} because our work schedules are opposite, Mr. Bug had the most beautiful roses I have ever seen delivered to me on Saturday afternoon. I'm going to pretend I didn't see how much they cost. The note said, Happy Mother's Day! Congrats for "graduating" Primary. I love you. Mr. Bug always knows how to put things into perspective.


Is One of These Things Not Like The Others?
Last week I showed you my list of current projects. The list only covers projects I'd like to finish by June 30th {which keeps creeping closer and closer}. That is probably why I didn't include the Sudoku quilt I'm working on. It is a longer-term project but sill something I'm working on right now. It is pretty much the only crafty thing I've worked on in the last two weeks. Work has been really overwhelming the last few weeks and I haven't had much time at all for anything creative. I did some {more} sorting of the polka-dot fabrics, and I got all nine of my fabrics cut to their 4½" squares for the Sudoku quilt. I'm going to be teaching a class on it for a group of women at my church. I'm really looking forward to it.

I asked Mr. Bug what he thought and he said they go together pretty well. Then he said that the flowers on yellow {thanks, P. :wink:} kind of made him think, one of these things is not like the others. I think it is the two prints on either side of it that make it not quite fit in. Admittedly, this quilt did not go in the direction I was planning. I was thinking more mellow-and-yellow to set off that beautiful floral print, but I like this color combination really well. The modern-ish prints on the turquoise and green fabrics contrast with the vintage feel of the florals. I still think it works pretty well, so I don't think I will go stash diving again :lol:.

I {still} ♥ Tulips
This is what is blooming in my yard today. Most of the buds are closed because of the rain, but they are still exceedingly beautiful. {Right} click on the photo for a closer view.

The End of the Tunnel
I'm starting to get Carpal Tunnel. The heels of my hands had been bothering me for a week or so, and so last week after being woken up and not being able to go back to sleep because they ached so much, I went to the source of all knowledge {the internet} to see if my symptoms matched Carpal Tunnel. Sure enough, they did. It must be all that texting I'm doing lately :rofl:. I'll be getting new keyboards for work and home {probably those funky, split, ergonomic kind}. And I've started doing exercises to hopefully prevent further damage. I do them while I'm eating breakfast. I do them sitting at stop lights on my way to and from work. I do them while I'm laying in bed at night trying to go to sleep. They seem to be helping a bit.

I'm thinking it kind of sucks when the old equipment starts wearing out. I've been putting off going to see the optometrist for eight or nine months because I can't read small print anymore — yeah, it's time for bifocals :rolleyes:. The really hilarious thing is that somebody out there has got me on a 55-and-older list because I keep getting flyers and postcards in the mail for retirement communities. There's nothing like being told you're past your prime when retirement is a good 30 years off into the future.

Much Ado About The Doctor's Socks
David Tennant, my all time favorite Doctor was on a British talk-show promoting his latest Shakespeare performance. Along with him was his Doctor co-star, Catherine Tate, who is also performing in Much Ado About Nothing with David. They got onto the subject of little OCD things that you have to do and I could totally relate to David's OCD tendency towards matching socks. But what was absolutely brilliant was his solution. Catherine's is a bit weird but she's first, so if you want to skip to David, go 36 seconds into the clip.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

I ♥ Tulips

Why don't you take a picture? It will last longer. –Pee-Wee Herman, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

Today's post is all about tulips. Here's a little music to set the mood.


I think that of all the flowers in the garden, tulips are my favorite. There are many reasons why I love tulips. We had them in our garden when I was a child. You plant them once and they keep coming back year after year. They are the sign that the long, cold winter months are finally over. They come in such rich colors. The petals are amazingly soft and beautifully intricate. But I think the reason I love them so much is that they make a brief appearance, lasting two weeks at most once they bloom, and then they're gone for another 50 weeks. They really know how to work the less-is-more angle.

It seems just a little bit silly to take a picture of flowers in a vase, and even flowers in a garden. But these tulips are just too pretty not to share. I took these to work to share with the people there and I wanted to share with you too.

It is hard to capture a whole garden in a picture. It just isn't the same as seeing it in person. So, I've focused in on a couple of groups of flowers. These are my favorite orange tulips. They are called Donald Duck and were cultivated in honor of his 50th birthday {or maybe it was his 75th birthday :confused:}.

And I absolutely love these pink Toronto Tulips. The color is so amazing and they have a gorgeous shape when they are open.

The tulips haven't opened as early this year as they did last year, so I'm sure I'll have more tulip pictures soon.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Various and Sundry Monday: Vol. 4

We’re caught up in the crossfire
Of heaven and hell
And we’re searchin’ for shelter

Tell the devil that he can go back from where he came
His fiery arrows drew their beat in vain
And when the hardest part is over we’ll be here
And our dreams will break the boundaries of our fear
The boundaries of our fear
–Brandon Flowers, Crossfire

Friday Night Sew-In: Sudoku Quilt
I got a late start to Friday Night Sew-In this time around and didn't get a super lot done. As a matter of fact, I signed up on Friday night right before I sat down to do a little sewing, so I didn't even post about it beforehand. Even though I didn't get much done, as Angie pointed out, a little sewing is better than a lot of cleaning! :rofl:

A little over a month ago, P. made a Sudoku quilt for a friend of hers. I fell in love with it and got the pattern from Sarah. I rooted through my stash and came up with the perfect combination of fabrics for my own Sudoku quilt. In the meantime, P.'s already finished a second Sudoku quilt top. She's awesome like that. So, I decided that I'd work on my Sudoku quilt for FNSI. Technically, I'm not supposed to be starting any new projects, but does it really count as a new project if I didn't buy any of the fabrics {except for the outer borders, back and binding :mischief:}? Anyway, I got all my fabrics pressed and then I got four of the nine cut into 4½" squares. I think that's a good start on the quilt, and not too bad for the small amount of time I worked on it Friday night.

Tweet Tweet
Friday was the first day last week I did any actual sewing. It was a topsy-turvy week. The Little Bugs were home for Spring Break and Mr. Bug and I had to juggle our work schedules with only one car. Also, I was just plain stuck on this little Tweet Tweet quilt. After I got my rows of coins together last weekend and decided it was pretty scary, I asked for opinions on several layouts and then incorporated them into several more layouts. This quilt didn't come out how I'd visualized it and I just did not like it when it came together. The solid pink coins just threw the whole thing off, so following Amy's suggestion, I made a pass with the unpicker and pulled out only the fabrics I really loved and put the rest in a discard pile. I laid the coins out again and still didn't love it. I made another pass through the discards with the unpicker, pulled out some more coins and rearranged the layout. I still didn't like how they looked together. So then I pulled some more coins out of the discards and incorporated those into the layout. By Friday evening, I was still debating about how to do the sashing and not loving how it looked. I was thinking that I would just put this project away for a little while, but Saturday morning I woke up with this quilt in my head.

I decided to go with my original plans for the sashing fabric, with Vicki's added suggestion of adding a narrow strip of solid on either side of the sashing. It is interesting in this layout how much the greens stand out. I think I like it. And I've got an idea or two for quilting, so I think this quilt might come out after all.

I ♥ Tulips
Spring is officially here. The tulips have started blooming in my {north-facing} front yard.

I've had tulips along the border on the south side of my house for a couple of weeks, but tulips in the front means spring is here. I went out to the back yard and cut some tulips in a little area I planted specifically for cutting. It is on the west end of the house and it is blocked from view in the front by a fence and if you want to see it from the back of the house, you have to walk over there. I have a really hard time cutting my flowers to bring into the house. It puts the balance off on the 'arrangement' outside. And once you cut them they start to die, which is sad. But no one is enjoying the beauty of these flowers at all, and that is even sadder, so I brought this little vase-full in. The three hyacinths make my kitchen and living room smell heavenly. I think I'm going to cut a bunch to put on my desk at work.

Monday Music Spot: Crossfire
This morning, I heard this song on the radio and just loved it {while Charlize Theron totally rocks, the video is a little weird so you might just want to listen to it. Brandon has a truly lovely voice}. It just seemed to kind of fit me, to fit my life right now.


Today's post brought to you by:

Handmade by Heidi

Monday, April 4, 2011

Various and Sundry Monday: Vol. 3

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. –Mahatma Ghandi

Three of anything is a collection, so VSM gets its own tag because I have a lot to say today :lol:.

Sick Day
LadyBug stayed home from school sick today. Mr. Bug is gone for most of the week for a new employee orientation, so I'm holding down the fort and stayed home with LadyBug. Unfortunately, I didn't get out of work. It is the beginning of the month, which means invoices which must be done. It is a really long process with a deadline, so I packed all the stuff I needed here and had my first ever telecommuting day. Technology is great, but in certain situations {like when you want to skive off work and squish up with your sick Buglet on the couch} it is possible to have too much of a good thing :lol:.

LadyBug is one sick little Bug who won't take her medicine. It seems that for her, the cure is worse than the condition. I got her to take two doses yesterday, but by the second dose, she was fighting it pretty hard. I threatened her with hospitalization and an I.V. today and she managed half a dose, but won't take any more. I wish I knew how to help her better. She hasn't had much of an appetite and her fever is so high. I keep bringing her drinks she only sips and offering her different food choices she declines.

Finally around 1:30 she asked for some Mac 'n Cheese, which we happened to be out of. I told her I'd go to the store for some and she asked for some chocolate cupcakes too. I swung by the bakery and grabbed the cupcakes and then headed for the freezer section for her favorite Mac 'n Cheese. They were out. I put the cupcakes back, hopped into the car and went to another store. They had the Mac n' Cheese, but no cupcakes at all in the bakery and LadyBug didn't want anything else. I bought the Mac 'n Cheese, hopped in the car, went back to the first store, picked up the cupcakes again, and then waited in line for 10 minutes :rolleyes: to pay for them. When I finally got home, LadyBug's desire for Mac 'n Cheese had passed <\:faint: and she ate less than half a cupcake. I hope she gets better soon.

Mr. Bug's Navy T-shirt Memory Quilt
I got the top finished. I'm doing a little happy dance :clap:. I liked the quilt with the other sashing, but I like it even better with the sashings made from his work shirts. I'm going to do an embroidered tag again, and this one isn't going to be concise :crazy:.

Snow
Yesterday {April 3} we woke up to 5 inches of heavy, wet snow. It was surprising. The view from my front porch.

Still looking out from the porch, LadyBug tree.

This is the back of our house. There are tulips buried under the snow there.

This is looking out from the back of the house. The snow has to be really wet to stick to the fence like that.

School play
Today's grand finale is all about Grasshopper. This year he tried out for and made it into the school play. He sung Happy Birthday to You for his audition :lol:. They did a musical revue of popular songs through the last century. It was a 25-minute production called On The Radio. Between each song, there was a little skit introducing the era and what was popular at the time. He got a speaking part in the section that introduced popular music from the 50's. Here he is doing his best Elvis impersonation.

Here he is cutting Footloose.

This is the cast after the performance. He loves to make goofy faces for the camera.

Having this experience has really had a positive effect on Grasshopper. I love that. Besides the feeling of accomplishment he's gained from working hard at something and seeing it through to the end, he's learned that he's got a greater capacity than he thought he did. I can see it in the way he responds to what is going on around him. I'm really proud of him.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Cat's Twilight Block of the Month: Block 3

It didn't matter to me that we were surrounded by our extraordinarily dangerous enemies. As the clock began to toll out the hour, vibrating under the soles of my sluggish feet, I knew I was too late – and I was glad something bloodthirsty waited in the wings. For in failing at this, I forfeited any desire to live.

The clock tolled again, and the sun beat down from the exact center point of the sky.

–Bella Swan, New Moon, pages 1-2


I haven't worked on anything Twilighty in a while. I've been listening to the audio books lately while I have been working on other things, so I thought I'd dust my paper piecing skills off and see what I could get done. The April blocks {yes, I know I'm waayyy behind} are representations of the New Moon book cover. Everybody is scratching their heads over the parrot tulip that graces the cover. It is a really far stretch to relate it to anything in the book, so I won't even go into that.

I'm doing all my beginner's blocks at 3" {I reduced the pattern to 60%} and I want all the images to really pop, so I'm using my stash of Fairy Frost. I scanned the block, so some of the shimmer is lost. I used Hollyberry for the red {I also used it in the apple for my beginner's block one} and Snow for the white. I really like this stylized version of the tulip. The pattern is really fast and easy, too. I finished it in about an hour.

The advanced block is a more literal recreation of the book cover. I got to be Cat's pattern tester for this block. You can see my first block here. The finished block comes out at 5". The dots {while awesome for other stuff} are a little distracting and my seams pull just a little. Then I reduced the pattern to 80% {see also: ideas-that-sound-great-in-my-head-but-are-a-little-tricky-in-the-execution :crazy:} and made four more of these to use in our quilt for Stephenie Meyer. I did three other parrot tulips blocks {enlarged to 120% for a 6" finished block}; one for a book cover banner, and two more for my own twin Twilight Quilts {have I mentioned ideas that sound good in my head but are a little crazy in real life?}.

I know I've posted about this block before, but since it's been a while since I've done anything Twilighty, a re-run will have to do.

Here is a little index {mostly for me} of each of the blocks that have been released to date. I've got a little catching up to do :lol:.
Block 1, February: Twilight Book Cover
Block 2, March: Charlie
Block 3, April: New Moon Book Cover
Block 4, May: Edward
Block 5, June: Bella {with bonus pattern}
Block 6, July: Jacob
Block 7, August: Edward & Bella
Block 8, September: Edward, Bella & Jacob