Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Spring's arrived in Michigan!


I have been trying to get back to blogging but family members' illness, work and my illness has kept me hopping. It's been a long 6 weeks!
I did spend the first day of Spring at the Lake finishing the handwork on my bee skep wall hanging. A couple of hours of stitching at the lake is like being on a micro-mini vacation.


The green houses in our area are almost ready to open.
Our garden club had our last meeting there. What a blessing to walk in and feel the warm humid air around you and smell the flowers and soil. It's wonderful after the long, cold winter.
Everywhere carpets of flowers.



More primroses.



Thousands of geraniums.



We each planted our own container. I used a new petunia variety called "Night Skies".  The petunias that were blooming looked just like a night sky, deep purple with white specks scattered all over it.
 


I dyed this wool scarf for my daughter last summer using dyers chamomile.
She put it out as a Spring table runner. I took it home and machine quilted it for her, 



adding a binding.



I went on a weekend quilt retreat with my one quilt bees, just a short one to celebrate Spring.  To get ready to go I put on the dye pot, boiling black walnuts to dye the back ground wool for the project I was going to work on.



We rented a beautiful little cottage on Lake Michigan.


Not as big as our Fall cottage but roomy enough.

With a gas fire place in the corner which we did enjoy.
 



Cute bedrooms tucked upstairs.



Coming down the stairs,



a black & white graduation quilt being made by grandma.



Mary, who loves paper-piecing worked on a miniature quilt with scraps left from a large version she made.


Our son bought a new house last Fall. At quilt retreat I designed, dyed and cut out his house block to go into the Family tree quilt I'm making.
As soon as I get this house stitched into the quilt I'll take a picture of the full quilt.


The pieces are just laid out on the fabric ready to be stitched on and all the details embroidered in. All the personal information will be embroidered in the yard. Birth, address etc.



(Forgot to flip it around)
The lattice strip will show all his hobbies etc.



I finished stitching on the binding at camp.






































3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love, love, love the bee skep!! It is sew cute! and all those spring flowers really make me long for warmer weather!! The waves are great, I have been to the beach once or twice, without my sewing, but next time, I will have it for sure! Spring blessings and good health to you and yours! Deb C

Deb Hardman said...

Wow so many good things! Why don't you come to Port Townsend with me in 4 weeks & we can have a retreat!.

I miss playing with you!

Kathy -MIQuilter said...

Thank you, Deb C. See you at the Lake:)
I will meet you in Port Townsend, it just will be in a couple of years:)

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