Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Spring!

 Well, I finished the hand quilting on this little runner runner/coffee table quilt for the coffee table I maybe will have someday...snort!!  I put it on the fireplace for this picture.  Hey, speaking of the fireplace, we have raccoons in the chimney again with babies.  A nursery.  The mother talks to her babies, and the babies purr and coo back to her.  I love to hear them talking!  Our little poodle, on the other hand, does not like it one bit!
 The back side of the runner, showing the quilting better.  I appliquilt the leaves and flowers in place...meaning, I blanket stitch them into place after the layering is done, going through all three layers.  I heard the term appliquilt some years ago, but it was demonstrated with straight stitching...blanket stitching does the same thing.  Just thought I would try it.  I love the little puffy leaf shapes on the back!
 Some pretty blossoms outside our door.  Are these dogwood?  Come on you southern ladies...I know you know what these are!  Will you share?
 The iris are blooming again...pretty!  This one just emerged.  Many of the iris I dug up from my MIL's home before it was demolished and the city paved over the property for a parking lot...I am so glad I took the time to save Mama's iris!  We have enjoyed them for years and years.
And a heart rock!!  A little one, about an inch in diameter...it is a good one!!  Do you collect heart rocks too????




Have a great day, everyone!!

Julie

27 comments:

Vicki said...

Yes, indeedy: Dogwood...Pink Dogwood to herald the Spring! How lovely!

Vicki said...

(I forgot...I'm in Virginia!)

Leeanne said...

Love your little coffee table/fire place runner! I too have done the appliquilting.
Raccoon's how sweet, I have heard they are a pest? they seem ever so cute though.
Iris are my fav flowers! I too have some of my Mum's, they have moved with me every move.....Love them!

Caryl @ cinnamon holiday workshop said...

Super cute quilting. It makes me want to find something to quilt by hand!

hetty said...

Cute little runner! A nursery in your chimney? My husband keeps checking our air vents and chimneys for any signs of critters. Love your pink dogwood!

Angie said...

Love your little runner! I really enjoy hand quilting, but haven't done much lately, due to working on a hand pieced hexie quilt - king size!

Angie

Rebecca in AK said...

I have never heard the term appliquilting before, I will have to check that out. It is an interesting idea. Pretty, pretty flowers! I have wild irises in my flower bed that I transplanted. So glad you were able to able to keep some of your MIL"s and keep them growing.

Chookyblue...... said...

your runner is so pretty........great for a smaller applique project......

Kyle said...

Your runner turned out sweet especially with the lovely hand quilting. The little heart rock must be a good sign for something special coming your way.

Quilter Kathy said...

You finished it already!??! That was fast! Just in time for spring flowers! So pretty!

Sharon said...

Yes, it looks like pink dogwood Love how you combined the applique and quilting, I do that on small projects too, double duty, 1/2 the time. So cute!

Janet O. said...

Very cute finish on the runner. Good job!
Around here raccoons mean your garden won't survive. : )
I love iris. How sweet to have saved them from your MIL.

Carol said...

Love the gorgeous pink dogwood! I have tried that twice in north Texas and neither survived. One was transplanted from Tennessee and one from Arkansas. They are a gorgeous blooming tree. And I also have iris blooming from my MIL who died a few years ago. So glad I dug up some plants from her yard as she had a green thumb and could grow anything. I just cut some the last couple of days to bring inside and enjoy. These are lilac. I also have some from my dad that are deep purple and some bronze. Waiting on those next.

audrey said...

Sweet little table runner! I'm sure you'll find a good use for it. Lovely to see real signs of Spring. It's been a long time coming this year.:)

Nancy said...

Beautiful runner. I love the hearts inside the FG - a cute touch. Iris are my favorite Spring flower. Blooms are about three more weeks away here as it is still chilly at night.

Me and My Stitches said...

Love your little runner - your quilting looks really great. You can keep those raccoon at your house! Love the flowers - none here quite yet, but hopefully it won't be long! I love spring daffodils.

Lori said...

All things sweet in this post!!

Browndirtcottage said...

Yep, I am sooooo luvin' that table runner!!

Mary Ann said...

Keep spring and nice weather in place for me- flying into Dallas Saturday for the visit with my dad. Plan to help him clean house and visit Lone Star Quilts. Mary Ann

Chantal said...

Your little quilt is lovely! I specially love the little hearts in the triangle ... such a loving little accents. You've done a GRRRREEEAT job with the quiting. Love it.

Peg - Happy In Quilting said...

The runner is gorgeous....

Terry said...

Your runner is beautiful! And I've always wanted a pink dogwood...yours is beautiful! :0)

Karen said...

Seems like you need a wire cover to keep animals out of your chimney. With a fireplace we had in another house, twice a squirrel made it all the way into our house via the chimney.

LuAnn said...

Your table runner is cute and looks like you are ready for spring. The pink dogwood are gorgeous. Mine aren't quite in bloom yet. We just had sleet and snow again a couple days ago.

Lois Arnold said...

Love the sweet little table runner! Oh, how I miss iris! I moved some of my mom's iris bulbs to our home in Alabama but knew they would not survive if I moved them to Arizona!

Ruth said...

Love the dogwood! and the table runner! Now, as to the raccoons...they are so cute and I'm sure the babies are adorable, but I do agree that you need a topper on your chimney. We didn't used to have one and then a possum died in our chimney and the stench was horrible. We started smelling it on a Saturday and had guests coming to stay overnight. What to do! Nobody could come out to take care of the problem, so we had to tape a large sheet of plastic over the fireplace and spray air freshener around. After the chimney people came and took out the possum they put a topper on the chimney and we took the plastic off. The problem was, the flies had laid their eggs and they started flying into our house by the thousands! At first we couldn't figure out where they were coming from. So then, the plastic went back up and we used one of those bug killer cans that you set off before we taped the plastic all the way in place to kill the rest of the flies. Anyway, that's why you need a topper on your chimney - after the raccoons leave.

alejandra said...

Yes, Dogwood, what a lovely quilt,

Hexies, rainbow quilts and plaids!

Good morning to all!!!  Above is a hexagon, for English paper piecing.  My kitten Lucky has discovered them, and decided that they are great...