More stars?............

The star layout got a lot of votes yesterday so I decided to start another star below it.  Now my options are: 2 stars with 3 rows of zig zag on each side and 2 rows on top and bottom OR 4 stars with 2 rows of blocks on top and bottom, maybe a zig zag, maybe some other configuration.  Since the star is 30" and 60" is my preferred width of throw quilt 2 stars across and 2 stars down would work.  Then to make it 80" long the added rows top and bottom are necessary.

My Hardy Geranium with the fuchsia flowers in the back garden is a tall mound now.  There is a Coneflower on both sides of it plus some other plants trying to come up in the middle of it.  I need to work on that section.

I have Evening Primrose here and there in several places.  After they bloom I might move a few that are crowding this Stained Glass Hosta.

I'm actually enjoying the pretty Spiderwort blooms this year.  It dies back early in the summer so I'll probably try to pull some more of it out so it doesn't multiply too fast.

Why is that the commenters with all of the questions are NO REPLY, meaning their email is not enabled in their settings?

 

Tryouts..............

The triangle squares were auditioning for the new quilt's layout last night.  The star would end up 30" so 2 of them plus more triangles placed as borders would complete a 60" x 80" quilt top.  

My original plan was to make a zig zag quilt, either horizontal or vertical orientation.  

Then I decided to try the on point settings both horizontal and vertical.  I need to cut 8 more light triangles and sew the last blocks before I can get serious about the layout.

I mowed the front yard grass yesterday afternoon while it was still 59 degrees.  Today will be closer to 70 and I need to finish the side yard and mow the back.  The weatherman said 39 degrees for our area overnight last night so I felt hopeful there would not be a chance of frost after all.

 

Masks again.........

I'm going to blame my lack of energy yesterday on the weather: 45 degrees after high 80s just a few days before.  We gained another inch of rain so that was good.  I continued working on masks, this group for the guys.  Other than this a load of laundry is all I accomplished.

They are talking a possibility of frost overnight tonight.  I have too many plants to cover so I will have to take my chances that it doesn't happen.  I'll be watching the prediction tonight on the weather show and hope it is too warm to happen.

Masks again...........

Some family members are going to be traveling so I have started making some new masks for them.  Some places require them, some don't so they will be prepared.

The tomatoes are growing on the Early Girl plant.

I bought some new taller cages for some of the tomato plants along the edge of the driveway.  I put 2 pots of Petunias on the ground between some of the plants hoping that will bring more pollinators to the tomato plants.  It might be too crowded to leave them there as the tomato plants fill in. 

My pansies were asking for some spotlight time.

This is the first year I have so many yellow Pansies.  I usually buy an assorted pack and maybe only one or two have blooms on them so I'm not sure what I will get.

In a smaller pot I have a different assortment.

I bought this group for the orange ones.  They are the scented ones.

 

More blooms..............

 My white peonies by one of the bird feeders all popped open after we got 1.25" of rain from 6 p.m. Tues. into the overnight hours of Wednesday.  We had an 8" deficit of rain since the beginning of the year so this is a start of recovery.  More rain predicted today or tonight.

This is my backyard neighbor's white peony.  It is in the background in the photo above.

About half of the buds are open on the pink with fluffy yellow centers.

The red Weigela bush is just starting to bloom.

I had to bring in this pink Peony because it was down behind another plant....and because it was pink....and because it is just so pretty.

I got more triangles cut yesterday and sewed a few.  I still need to cut about 10 more light triangles.

I got this great fabric postcard in the mail yesterday.  Vicki Welsh had made a series of them using up her scraps from a quilt recently made.  She immediately thought of me and my love of zebras and really of most wild animal prints.  If you haven't been to her blog, this is the week she is giving away assortments of her hand dyed fabric every day.  You might want to get in on the drawing.

Getting close................

 I have 160 triangle squares sewn now.  I had planned 180 for a 12 x 15 layout but I have enough dark triangles cut for 192, a 12 x 16 layout.  They are 5" finished squares.

The backyard baskets are really filling in with blooms.

This is a closeup of the left basket 

and

a closeup of the right basket.  One group of Petunias had no blooms when I bought it and it just said mixed on the handle.  The other group I bought were the royal purple.

The Dianthus which is considered an annual has come up for the 4th or 5th year in a row.

The tall Garden Heliotrope is in bloom and it has a scent like lilacs.  Between the lilacs, Heliotrope and Peonies, the backyard is smelling pretty fragrant.

It's all about the peonies...............

This is the Peony outside my kitchen window that I mentioned yesterday might bloom in a couple days.  It just took one hot sunny 87 degree day and the first bud has opened.

This is a close up of the bloom.  I love the fluffy yellow centers on this one.

This one was always one of my favorite medium rose colored Peonies.  A Redbud tree planted itself right next to it about 30 years ago so I wasn't able to dig it out and move it.

At the far southwest corner of my lot is this single Peony.  I think I have 2 colors of single petal Peonies but most have lots of petals.

I can't decide if this one is white or very very pale pink.

So for all of the buds that I though would take 2-3 days to open, all of those were open after one hot sunny day.

First thing this morning I saw this bunny lounging in the cool grass just outside of my kitchen window.

I know you wanted a closer look.  I think he/she will be happy when it gets rid of all of that extra winter fur.

 

Triangles and peonies............

 I have 110 triangle squares sewn now.  More cutting is needed to make the remaining 70.  They are stacked in piles of 10 so I can keep track better.

This is still the only Peony plant that is blooming and this view is from my kitchen window.

This plant is right below the kitchen window and has a few more days before blooming.  It is supposed to be mid 80s for the next 3 days before we go into a cool spell.  I expect a couple more colors to bloom before Thursday.

This is the Coral Bell plant that I showed yesterday and I thought it would come out in 3 pieces.  Well it came out in 10+ pieces.  I will plant a couple pieces in pots and try to get the rest in the ground.  It was cloudy yesterday so it only got up to 79 and was a better day for digging.

Outside............

Yesterday morning I finished mowing the front yard and decided to mow the back too before it got too hot.

Later in the day I planted a lot of small pots with Begonias, Petunias, Coleus and Calibrachoa.  I have a few Dianthus to plant in the ground.

The Annabelle hydrangea has little buds.

This Coral Bell is the next plant to dig out of the front garden.  After I took this photo I pulled the thistles and milkweed out of it.  I think it will break into at least 3 parts.  It has green leaves in addition to the purple leaves.

I sewed another 21 triangle squares yesterday and will cut more light prints today so I can continue on it.

7 stacks of 10.......

 I'm up to 70 triangle squares sewn now, 5" finished.  I will need a minimum of 180 squares so I have a few more days of cutting and evenings of sewing before I can go to the design wall.  The temperature is going up each day so I might be doing less outside.

My backyard floral baskets are wave Petunias this year.  I have had trouble getting them to wave but this group was the healthiest I have ever purchased.  I have great hopes they will be draping over the edge soon.

This pesky obnoxious plant is in its glory right now with lots of blooms.  The grassy part is already dying back.  It is impossible to get rid of it.

I spotted a couple late Jack-in-the-Pulpit blooms in my walk through the garden.  The leaves are about 20" tall on this plant.

My pot of Pansies is looking really good.  We had frost warnings a little over a week ago and now we may reach 90 degrees on Sunday.  Pansies like cool weather so they may be wilting by the time we get through this unusual hot spell.

It cooled off late yesterday afternoon so I got most of the front yard mowed.  I will need to finish it this morning before the heat sets in.

5" triangle squares....................

I have a box of 5" finished triangles that I die cut a couple years ago.  I always figured I would make another Kaffe zig zag quilt since I sold the first top that I made back in 2010.  Here is the post when I had just sewn it together.  That one was a charm quilt, only one piece of each fabric.  This new quilt will have duplicates as well as being a Kaffe collective group of fabrics and not Kaffe exclusively.  I'm going to add in newer KF fabrics too.

I have 41 sewn and another 12 paired ready to sew.  They won't go on the design wall until I have all of the pieces sewn.

I saw one Peony bloom around 2 p.m and by 4:30 there were several blooms.

These are the deepest red Peonies that I have and they always bloom first.

The porch pots are filling out nicely.  The bright yellow flowers are scented.

I love the pale yellow Petunias.

Speaking of scented flowers, my lilacs are blooming and they are right outside of my bedroom window.  They aren't very pretty lilacs but the scent is wonderful.