Thursday, December 13, 2018

Multitasking............

I started out the morning in the basement doing laundry and starting to load the backing for this quilt.  Then I made 2 batches of Chex Mix and then baked muffins.



Then I went back down and finished loading the backing and batting and laid the quilt top on it and chose my thread.

This is the backing fabric.  It is 40" wide and I bought it in the late 1970s.  It is the first batik I had seen and the store had it marked down to a couple dollars a yard so I bought all of it.  I have saved it all these years and now I decided it looks great with the African prints in the half hexie quilt.

I had to stake the Amaryllis.  The first stalk had finished blooming so I cut it off and then the rest of the plant just flopped over.  I propped it against an outside corner of the wall but knew the other 2 flowers were going to open soon so I needed a permanent fix,

Questions about my cactus:  Do I do anything special to them?  No.  I don't have a place to put them outside for the summer where I can keep the squirrels away so I gave up on that.  Basically, once the days are shorter they are getting less light and I rarely have lights on in my living room and that is where most of them are.  I keep the house cool at night and they like cool and dark to set buds.  I fertilize them a couple times, right after they are all done blooming (late April) and usually once more in the middle of the summer.  The reason I have so many blooms is that I have 18 plants.  I lost 3 over the summer, probably due to over watering.  Two are Easter cacti and they didn't bloom in the spring this year.  

8 comments:

patty a. said...

I love the fabric you used on the back of the hexie quilt! It is fabulous!

Lesley Gilbert said...

My cacti have gone now - think I over-watered them so will try again next year with 'new' ones. Some of my Fuchsia are still in flower - thought the heads would have dropped off by now, especially as the days and nights are colder now. No snow as yet but forecast for end of December. I'm still crafting every day and home most of the time, which suits me. Hope your health is staying good and back to normal :)

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

my amaryllis's are very tall this year - one has 3 buds and the other 2 for now I will have to stake mine too they are taller this year then I remember them getting. I didn't have any last year. Thanks for the hints on the cacti -

Tami Von Zalez said...

Be still my heart, I love your quilt even more now with that retro 70s batik backing. *sighs*

Linda Swanekamp said...

The backing is perfect! Can't wait to see it done.

Panto Pam said...

I keep my Christmas Cactus in my sunroom year round and they bloom multiple times each year. I never put them in a dark/cool room.

JJM said...

Your fabric from the "70's" looks perfect for your African piece.

I'm still deep into trying to get ready for Christmas, it is getting to be a bigger chore every year. Aging has a lot to do with it, I reckon.

JJM

Hedy said...

One red bloomed yesterday and has a white center, it’s very different. I also have a similar piece of fabric like your backing. I bought it at a thrift store, only 2 yards.