Snow

it was just snow soft and white / it was just snow falling so light / it was just snow / soft and white / falling so light, / falling last night

-Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband

Can you see my little garden? I can't either. Just four short days ago, I was out there soaking up the sunshine, even getting a little bit of a sunburn (I hope my dermatologist isn't reading this -- I'd be in big trouble for not wearing sunblock!). And now I can't even see the tippy tops of the flowers that had started to bloom. Silly spring bulbs!

My Twilight Quilt: Jacob's House

The Black's House was vaguely familiar, a small wooden place with narrow windows, the dull red paint making it resemble a tiny barn. -Bella Swan, New Moon, page 130

The first block that I completed for my Twilight quilt was called "Where Bella Rests Her Head" and had a little representation of the four places Bella spent a lot of her time in the book -- Charlie's House, Jacob's House, The Cullen's House, and the little cottage where she and Edward lived after they were married.


It was a most marvelous idea and I held onto it through the first and second incarnations of my layout. It was the very last of the original blocks to go. It was too small to fit into the third layout, and so I either needed to add borders to it or re-make it to fit. I decided to keep the ideas in this block but discard this particular layout of it. I kept the Swiss Flag (now a Shield) and turned the four empty corners into more useful space; a couple of the spots going to forest*, and the others to blocks my layout was missing. I replaced the simple houses with fancy ones, starting with patterns from EQ5. I tweaked and re-drew the patterns until I had the perfect houses for Charlie, The Cullen's and Bella & Edward's Cottage.

This is Jacob's House. I'd originally planned for this to just be a house because it only occupies one 6" x 6" area. But there was a bit of forest* by each of the other houses (they occupy a little more space in the quilt) and I really wanted this house to have a little forest* in it too. So with some encouragement, I altered my pattern, scaling back the house and adding a tall, skinny tree*. I think they both fit perfectly in this spot -- the house isn't too small and the little bit of forest* makes it fit right into the setting. The current tree* count for the quilt is 7494.


I love that the tree is a little wonky, that it leans a little. The tree in the other block (remember, I'm making two of these quilts) is a little straighter, but I liked the crooked one for sew-and-tell.

Here's the layout filled in with all the blocks I've completed so far.


Up next? Charlie's block, I think.

*Key: 1 Paper Pieced Tree = 500 Trees in the Forks Forest
1 Raw-Edge Appliqué Tree = 150 Trees in the Forks Forest
1 Raw-Edge Giant Cedar Tree = 6 Giant Cedar Trees around the Cullen's House
1 Paper Pieced Palm Tree = 147 actual Palm Trees on Isle Esme

My Twilight Quilt: The Cullen's, the River & the Cottage

Edward took my hand . . . and darted through the backyard to the edge of the river. -Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 409

[Alice] dropped my arm, made two lithe bounds, and leaped over the river.

'C'mon, Bella,' she called from the other side. -Bella Cullen, Breaking Dawn, page 474

I haven't worked on my Twilight Quilt much as of late. I was a little discouraged with the floating porch on the Cullen's House. So, I've slowed down my pace a little and worked on other things. I finally decided it was time for some renovations. I added supports under the pillars, which hopefully anchor the porch. It wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be, but who really relishes the task of unpicking anyway?

I had all the other pieces for this panel put together and so I only needed to put them all together; the Cullen's House, a bit of forest*, the river, more forest* and Bella and Edward's cottage. Click on the photo for a closer look.


This panel occupies the space for three blocks, plus the sashing in between.

The Cullen's House Pattern

*Key: 1 Paper Pieced Tree = 500 Trees in the Forks Forest

Pinwheel Sampler Quilt Along: block two

I was so excited Saturday morning when I realized that block two of the pinwheel sampler would be up some time that day. I had lots going on, including a nice evening out with Mr. Bug, and so I didn't get to it as quickly this time. Never-the-less, here are my two new blocks, using the instructions for block two.




Can't wait 'til next Saturday! Thanks Rachel!

Instructions for this block can be found here: p.s. i quilt: pinwheel sampler quilt along: block two.

The First Signs of Spring

Snowdrop

Last week I covered you with dirt,
To slow your calm assuming
That these warm days and sunny skies
Should instigate your blooming.

Now here you are, your petals wide.
But, how could you know
That March is cruel and he will fool you
With his ice and snow.

I've scolded you, but every year
I watch for your display,
For right behind your early start,
Spring is on it's way.
-Eva Carson
February 1980

A friend of mine suggested I might be ADD. It's possible. I am always going in six directions at once. I have Mount St. Laundry to fold, dishes to put away, block 2 for my pinwheel sampler to finish, my Twilight quilt to work on and a stack of UFO's the size of the Empire State Building. But today, I had to take time to go outside for a little bit and enjoy the sunshine, because I have flowers peeking up out of the dirt.

Last fall I left the flower bed clean-up undone. I was up to my neck in New Moon quilt blocks because I ended up filling in for someone at the last minute. I figured the gardening would wait, and would probably be easier to do in the spring. At any rate, it certainly would be less to haul to the green waste yard. And so I spent this afternoon outside playing in the dirt. First, I gathered the proper tools; a trash can with liner (keeps the back of the SUV cleaner on the way to the green waste yard), dustpan and brush, pink garden clogs, weed digger-outer tool, pruning shears, foam kneeling pad, favorite gardening gloves, and pink iPod with lots of great songs to me keep on-task.

I chose a bed in the front of the house to start with. We face north, and so the two beds closest to the house still look pretty dead. But signs of life were showing in the bed out by the sidewalk.


As I worked, I uncovered a treasure-trove of tender green nubs pushing their way out of the soil. Spring bulbs are my favorite and I always think of burying treasure when I put in bulbs, with the added bonus that I don't have to dig them up again to find my treasure -- it just presents itself to me every spring. I love the sort-of blank canvas that my flower beds are in spring. In summer, they are overflowing with beautiful flowers. In the spring, everything is pulled back to bare bones and the potential is mind-boggling.


I love gardening. It is very calming to me. Sometimes I work alone in silence, sometimes I put on my iPod and enjoy two great things at once, and sometimes my kids come out and garden with me. I love the things they talk about while we work together in the dirt.


I went out in short sleeves and enjoyed soaking up a little sunshine. Several neighbors passed by and we chatted for a minute before they went along their way. I think it was an afternoon well spent.