New fabric....................

There is a new line of Marcia Derse fabric, just released.  I had to have a few new ones to mix in with my older lines.  The line is called Sketchbook 21.  Chris at Dye Candy Fabrics was the first to send an email that it was available so I ordered from her.

This is my favorite print in the new line.

And here is my second favorite.

I always love circle fabrics mixed into a project.

These 3 have possibilities so I didn't want to leave them behind.  I didn't get any of 3 of the new prints.  Maybe later.

The Yellow Coneflower is doing well.  There should be several flowers totally open in a couple days.

I got 21 more Broken Dishes blocks pieced last night and pressed the batch from 2 days ago.  Also I sewed all of the rest of the triangles into squares.  I think I will have 120 six inch blocks when all are sewn.

 

Still hot..................

It's been too hot for me to think about a new project so I'll just continue sewing these squares for Broken Dishes blocks.

With all that I sewed yesterday and Thursday, I have plenty to start sewing into blocks.  I pressed all of them so I would be ready for assembly last night and today.  I sewed 32 blocks last night and added them to the 39 already sewn.  They are 6" blocks.

I watered the tomato plants and then went to the front garden and watered the bushes.  This is the Zinfin Doll Hydrangea finally starting to bloom.  They will go from this green to white, then pink and lastly a raspberry color towards fall.

The Black-eyed Susan plants don't mind the hot sun.  These are the first blooms.

The second plant had a few blooms too.  These photos were taken in the bright sun so the greens have a yellow-green cast.

This Hosta that gets shade the earliest is still looking good, with many blooms.

I watch the weather on 2 different channels, WGN and ABC.  One says it will be 82 Monday and no 90s predicted for the rest of next week.  The other says 86 Monday and 90 both Tuesday and Wednesday.  How can they interpret it so differently?

Miscellany..................

I quilted another tiny table mat (left) yesterday.  It's the same size as the one from the day before.  The piecing was done a few years ago, now layered, quilted and ready for edge finish.

 A few Broken Dishes blocks were sewn, not pressed yet.

I cut several more light fabrics and sewed some more squares for Broken Dishes blocks.

This is the second batch that were sewn.  I'm going to have to turn on the iron today.

I think this is one of the ugliest variegated yarns, a sick green in few values.  It's kind of the color of pea soup.

My 5 year old great-granddaughter painted a plaster turtle for me to put in my flower bed.

As I was setting up the time for this to post, I realized today is my Blogiversary.  I started my blog in 2007 with a little help from a friend.  I really didn't know much about blogs at the time.  This is the 6796th post.  I didn't know anything about labeling my posts in the beginning and now there are 1904 posts under the label Nature, more than anyone would want to look through.  Oh, well, there are more pressing problems in the world than that.

 

Teeny tiny..........................

I pieced the squares into this little top a couple years ago.  This heat saps my energy so all I was able to get done was layering and quilting this.  I will finish the edge soon.

I had this piece laying with the top so I guess it was meant to be the back.

A couple days ago I took this photo of the Creeping Bellflowers.  They are getting closer to the time to be pulled out.  These are actually in the grass along the edge of the flower garden.

I watered my tomato plants and then tackled one area where lots of volunteer trees and bushes were growing in the back side of a bush.  I didn't get all of them but probably 3/4 of them.  Now they are saying our dewpoints will be in the low 60s as we go into four 90 degree days.  All of the forecasters had been saying very humid so we will see which it will really be.

 

Less humid, still hot..................

The first shaggy red Coneflower is fully opened now.  After losing the first one of these plants, I'm happy to say this one has survived 3 years.

I should have a bunch of blooms soon.

The yellow Coneflower is taking its time blooming.  I think there will be several blooms at the same time on this one too.

The Blackberry Lily is blooming now.  It is in a deep shady green area so the bright color is welcome.

The first flower is blooming on the Speedwell or Veronica plant.  The front garden is so burnt from the hot sun and I'm not sure much is going to survive if this heat wave continues.  Today was cooler by a few degrees but still hotter than predicted.

I helped my neighbor get cages around her tomato plants and later in the day I planted 2 of the volunteer tomato plants in larger pots.  When the sweat drips into my eyes, it's time to come in.

This Purple Coneflower is in a sunny area and the petals are a lot lighter color than the one in the shady area that I showed a couple days ago.

The Begonias I over-wintered in the garage are blooming.  At first I was surprised that there are 3 different color blooms, but then I remembered it was a mixed package that I planted in that pot last year.

I picked a couple more tomatoes that were turning color.  The largest one is the size of a golf ball so they are getting larger.  I ate the first tomato on a tuna sandwich so this is numbers 2, 3, and 4.  They are all from the 4th of July tomato plant so they are right on time.

 

June 2025 monthly recap...............................

 There were 3 finishes in June.  The Crooked Cobblestone wall hanging took the longest to quilt and it is 36.5" x 57.5".  It used up most of the cobblestone blocks I made several years ago.

In the center is a quilt spanning about 20 years for all of the parts to finally come together and be a cute baby quilt.  It is 35" x 44".

The baby quilt at the right is 34.5" x 45" and was cut with the Bow Tie quilt block dies.  The fabrics are all Kaffe Fassett collective except the flannel backing and the binding.

I didn't complete any quilt tops in June.   I have a Tilda triangle top in progress, waiting for its border(s).  

I made 2 table topper pieces.  The one on the left is 9.75" x 14" and the one on the right is 14.5" x 38".

This is all of the quilt tops made in the first 6 months of 2025.

This is all of the finished quilts for the first 6 months of 2025.  Four of them are from tops made this year so they appear in both collages.

A day of playing with stash............

I didn't do much yesterday, another day over 90 with high humidity.  I picked the first tomato rather than leaving it to be completely red and to be squirrel bait.  I had a golf ball to use for size comparison.  Tomato plants like temperatures 72-80 the best and we have had high 80s and low 90s.  The tomatoes haven't grown much but the number of days to ripeness was here.

There are a few sunflowers growing in the area of the bird feeders.  This one is about 3 feet tall and has a bud.  The squirrels sometimes climb them and break them off so whether I'll actually see a bloom is in question.

The first Purple Coneflower bloom of this summer!  I took this photo just before sunset so the color is vivid.  I'll have to check tomorrow to see if any are blooming in other areas of the back garden. 

I'll work on the monthly recap today.  I could have done it yesterday, should have done it yesterday.  Instead I just looked through stacks of fabric.