My absolute favorite garden flower

Is the Four o'clock. Especially the kaleidoscope mix, but my bed has a variety of kaleidoscope and standard old time variety which makes it even more interesting. Considered an annual here in my Zone 5 backyard, but I would consider them more of a biennial, reseeding themselves every year for most zone 5 gardens. I will let you in on a little surprise I got this spring, I have mine planted facing South, so they get as much sun available year round. This spring I planned to plant a small shrub to the end of the bed and started to dig my hole for it and found 8 to 10" long Four o'clock tubers! So in addition to the seeds that fell from last year, I had established tubers already in the ground. Bonus!

I remember Four o'clocks from my childhood, trying to remember to go look at 4pm because I was sure I would get to see them magically pop open at 4pm, after all wasn't that why they were called Four o'clocks??? And we would pick the largish black seeds and shoot them at each other through straws, my sister would secretly stockpile them up so when we played I might have more hot air for velocity (What a shock! :-) but she had way more ammunition.

You can read a little more about Four o'clocks here if you'd like.

And here are some shots of mine, they're a little bedraggled looking right now, they've just been through a tough Japanese Beetle season and since I have decided to go pretty much earth friendly as I can, I didn't use any pesticides on them this year. (You should see my poor Harry Lauder's Walking Stick...pitiful! I need to find a replacement for the Sevin I always used.) Hope you like! And if you do, let me know, I will have tons of seeds this year, I'd be glad to share, just let me know!

Tarot Card

You are The Wheel of Fortune

Good fortune and happiness but sometimes a species of
intoxication with success

The Wheel of Fortune is all about big things, luck, change, fortune. Almost always good fortune. You are lucky in all things that you do and happy with the things that come to you. Be careful that success does not go to your head however. Sometimes luck can change.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Unconscious mutterings 7/7/07

1. Happen :: stance


2. Terribly :: ill


3. History :: channel


4. Master :: mind


5. Petrified :: rock


6. Moan :: and groan


7. Attack :: from behind


8. Picture :: this


9. Students :: lessons


10. Potter :: 's Field

Not what it looks like

Judging from the look of my blog I haven't been sewing anything. That's not quite true, I have been sewing a bit, just forgetting to take or post photos as I go along. Now don't get me wrong, I have not been a quilting wonder lately either. I'm not sure what's got me in the funk, probably my to do list is choking me to death. In fact I haven't completed anything for quite a while, like 6 months! I haven't sewn anything just for fun lately, its all been swaps or challenges or robins and quite honestly, I'm sick of it. Oh well, lesson learned, cut sign ups by at least 75% next year. So what are my plans to get out of this commitment whirlpool I'm in? Suck it up, do what I have to and ride it out until January 1st when this years commitments will be done. :-)

So here are the few things I actually remembered to take photos of:

Canada Day mystery at www.jofigure.com

Antique tile swap at Mailblocks
Fourth of July Lotto blocks for Ronda in IL

Unconscious mutterings 7/1

1. Partner :: ship


2. News :: flash


3. Foam :: shaving cream


4. Paycheck :: next week


5. Me :: and you


6. Eight :: lay them straight


7. Dairy :: of a madman


8. Exciting :: news


9. Hockey :: puck


10. Socialite :: debutante

Unconscious mutterings 6/17 and 6/24

1. Riding :: crop


2. Actress :: blonde


3. Flowers :: weeds


4. Making :: bread


5. Robot :: metal


6. Enjoy :: life


7. Identify :: with


8. 22 :: years old


9. Busy :: life


10. Forward ::next

1. Compulsion :: need


2. Spiritual :: connection


3. Spray :: can


4. Compatibility :: test


5. Pursuit :: of happiness


6. Fake :: jewelry


7. Mobile :: phone


8. Ceremony :: wedding


9. Ribbons :: and bows


10. Mozart :: somber

Unconscious Mutterings 6/10

1. Acoustic :: ...cal ceiling


2. Sanity :: scream


3. Mambo :: #5


4. Session :: bitch


5. Hound :: ...stooth


6. Cat :: ears


7. Coward :: ...ly lion


8. Trunk :: junk


9. Hold me :: closer tiny dancer


10. Psychological :: evaluation

To play along visit: http://subliminal.lunanina.com/

Faux Log Cabins

Another swap at Mailblocks, Sandra suggested we try these Faux Log Cabins in purple and yellow. http://www.geocities.com/quiltfrenzy_archives/faux-logcabin.html They are the easiest blocks to make and have a really great look when put together. Since they are 10" blocks, if I make two more I will have enough for a 50x70" center when they are swapped and returned to me.
I am thinking now about making a dark blue/green and light blue/green in king size for our bed. They woudl make a really great quick and easy baby quilt also.

Row Robin Center

I joined another Round Robin with RowsandRobinsandMore at Yahoogroups. The almost overwhelming to-do list and scads of UFO's and tons of fabric in my stash just wasn't quite enough to keep me busy I guess! :-) We were to choose a season as a theme, create a 24" center and send it off to being its journey.

I love autumn, so it wasn't hard for me to choose a season I would like to have represented, but it was hard for me to choose what to do in the center. Then I remembered this piece of toile fabric I picked up last after last Septembers retreat. DH loves toile, of any kind. He says it reminds him of his grandmother and since she was so very important to him when he was growing up during a rough childhood, I regularly buy it. This fabric was different, the third gold color of the moon set against the black and off white was very dramatic and striking to me. I had no idea at the time what I wanted to do with it, but a yard came home with me. So I knew what my center was going to be, and I needed some 4" blocks to finish out my border. I had a setting in mind (the third picture down) but after playing around and bringing DH's discerning eye into the mix, we finally decided on the first layout.

I thought I'd post photos of the different designs we chose from.

Uncoscious mutterings 6/3

1. Savage :: beast


2. Warrior :: sword


3. Daisy :: chain


4. Schedule :: itinerary


5. Rock, paper, scissors :: shoot


6. Medical :: journal


7. Jade :: green


8. Elevator :: doors


9. Drain :: plug


10. Goldfish :: bowl

Remember to play along : http://subliminal.lunanina.com/