The Red Roses Are In Full Bloom!!!

It is Sunday, and I have clean sheets on my bed, the washer is running, and I’m enjoying my morning coffee. It is a beautiful day, and later I will walk.

Here are the roses. They curve around the porch, which got cleaned yesterday and put back to rights, which had not happened yet in the pictures below.

The Asian Jasmine (not a real Jasmine) is plush this year. Will it finally bloom? I hope so. The blooms are said to be white and very fragerant. (The grass is suffering from the drought, but I watered a few days ago.)

It took most of yesterday to clean the screened porch, which involves washing the pine pollen drenched rug, washing winter mold from the blinds that can be pulled down to screen the porch for privacy and from the afternoon sun, washing pillows and cushions, and, of course, washing the floor.

Now I can’t wait to eat my noon meal and read for a bit out on this shiny, clean porch.

The lavender and the yellow miniature rose are both blooming right outside the back porch door. They are next to my kitchen garden herbs.

My grandmother name is “Lovey.” The little concrete heart was made for me in 2005 by the older two grandchildren (with a lot of help from their mother) and delivered to me in Maine on one of their family’s visits. Of course it came to South Carolina with me. We moved to Maine in 2004, and the two girls in that family were not yet born. So that little heart is now 21 years old. Memories…

The white azaeleas on the side of the house are so pretty this year. They were transplanted from the front of the house as it was way too hot out there for them. And they have struggled as the soil on the side of the house is very poor. But two years of fertilizer and nutrients is showing, despite the ongoing drought that really needs to stop–without jinxing us with the dreaded “H” word.

And, a long view, with the camellia at the end:

My little front porch has a bench now, made and gifted by my beloved neighbors. Earlier this spring, I got a nice pottery pot for Impatient plants and repurposed a pot gifted to me at Christmas that now holds a Foxtail fern.

The Foxtail fern is putting out new growth, so maybe it will be happy in this spot for the summer.

Beyond the front porch is a bed of Drift white roses and hollies that came with the house that are now thriving. The roses are covered with bloom buds, but that will be a picture for another day.

Have a great upcoming week everyone.

A Design Wall Update–April 11, 2026

But first, the XO quilt is on the longarm now, where it has been for the last week with no action happening. Maybe this upcoming week…

Here is an XO block on the longarm–from which I saved the triangles cut from the corners…

…and which I used to make this small piece that I quilted with straight lines on my Janome. Each XO block made two paired half-squares when trimmed. I suspect it will become a table topper. I normally don’t save triangles like these, but these were too large to ignore.

And here’s the design wall, which is once again…full:

That little bit of stacked fabric on the bottom left is a leader/ender donation quilt ready to sew together–when I have design wall room again to lay it out. And the stars on top of “Flower Pop” are blocks made with Leila Gardunia’s “Scrappy Stars” patterns which are so fun to make,

The pineapple ruler blocs will finish at 10 inches, and I’m thinking 6 by, maybe, 6 or 7 long–or 60 by 70. It’s using up a lot of my solid stash “bright” fabrics. I didn’t see that the block would make circles, which is so fun.

“Flower Pop” is made with a speciality ruler from the Sew Kind of Wonderful quilters. It is fiddly with a big learning curve, but I’ve got that down now and the blocks are going faster as a result. It will be three rows of 9 blocks, which finish at 7 inches by about 19 inches. Have you noticed that flower blocks are all the rage at the moment?

So, I seem to be working on five quilts with one in the pipeline ready to sew finished blocks together. I can safely say that I am not bored!

And now to go seriously clean my screen porch “outdoor room.” The pine pollen has finished for the year, and it is warm enough to deal with getting wet as the hose will be involved.

Month 6 of Blocks3 Class

Tara Faughnan called her month 6, the final month for this year’s Blocks3 class, “Shift.” I liked this hexagon variant best–there was a simpler rectangle form of “Shift” as well–but I made this hexagon form that springs from the simpler rectangle in big and little sizes.

This hexagon block form is so cute, but is also fiddly, but very doable. The foundation paper pattern involves extra pieces that form the stars around the hexagon.

As I was drawn to the stars that form around the hexagon, I kept the background one color to show the stars. If one uses various colors, different patterns form in the work, and that outcome didn’t call to me as I was called to the stars.

I made the larger gold color background piece first, and it’s ok, but I thought the piece would be much more graphic, and it isn’t. Perhaps the issue is that I needed to use at least one lighter color as all these colors are medium density, so the whole piece kind of gets “knocked back.” I added a darker field fabric for the second piece and a lighter piece in the blocks, and that is working much better.

The next dilemma I had–a usual dilemma for me–is whether to do some quilting or to just leave the pretty block alone. But these blocks don’t really fit on any of my stretched canvas pieces unless I go big, and I don’t want a big stretched canvas right now. So, I’ll bind them and use them as table toppers. But…maybe some big stitch hand quilting first–and I hope it does not overwhelm them…

And here are the finished pieces:

LOL, I used the new Janome left-side bi-level foot on the small piece for the first time and felt it was successful, but on the bigger one, I forgot to sew the binding on from the back side, so I had to hand sew the binding. Oh well…

I don’t think I would want to make a bigger quilt out of this idea as it is…fiddly…but I never know…

Here’s a Bird I’ve Never Seen

Beloved neighbor and I saw this bird the other day while walking. I went home to figure out what we saw.

She’s (yes, she is female) an Anhinga, a member of the Darter family of birds as she spears her fish prey with her bill, detaches the fish by throwing it in the air, and then swallows it whole.

Here’s a good picture of the males and females.

See how she swims with her body underwater?

I found this really interesting video online, but can’t get the link to copy. Search for the following as the search is worth it:

Navarre’s Wild Shots on You Tube: Anhinga Facts

And here’s more information:

The Anhinga, also known as the “snakebird” or “water turkey,” is a large, dark water bird with a long, thin neck and a pointed bill, found in warm parts of the Americas. It hunts fish by spearing them underwater and swims with only its head and neck visible, which resembles a snake. After hunting, it spreads its wings to dry its waterlogged feathers, a behavior that helps it warm up and is often mistaken for a cormorant. 

Appearance 

  • Males: Glossy black with silver/white patches on the wings and tail. 
  • Females: Have buff-colored heads and necks. 
  • Bill: Long, sharp, and pointed, used as a spear. 
  • Eyes: Blood-red, surrounded by blue skin during breeding season. 

    Behavior & Habitat:
  • Habitat: Freshwater swamps, lakes, rivers, and coastal lagoons. 
  • Hunting: Dives and uses its sharp bill to spear fish, which it swallows whole. 
  • Drying: Sits with wings outstretched to dry its feathers after diving. 
  • Flight: Soars on thermals, often with its neck and tail held straight out, resembling a cross. 

    Key Distinctions (vs. Cormorant):
  • Bill: Anhinga has a pointed bill; cormorant has a hooked bill. 
  • Tail: Anhinga has a longer, broader tail. 
  • Feathers: Anhinga’s feathers get wet, making it a better diver; cormorant’s are waterproof. 

What Bird Is Making That Call?

Part of moving to a new region involves hearing new bird calls. And me being me, I love to find out what bird is making that call–like what calls do the Red-Shoulder Hawks that live in the trees in my neighborhood make?

It’s spring, so there are so many birds calling when I walk or when I’m just sitting on my porch. Figuring out what these birds are makes me feel like I’m more connected to my environment. Besides, I’m endlessly curious.

You can get a free app from Cornell University for your phone called MERLIN BIRD ID.

I love it.

And it allows me to identify and save bird calls it records as I walk. It’s easy to turn on when I hear birds I don’t know.

Here’s what a user posted online about this app:

“The Merlin Bird ID app (by Cornell Lab of Ornithology) is a highly recommended, free, and accurate tool for identifying birds via photos, sounds, or 5 simple questions. Its standout “Sound ID” feature acts like “Shazam for birds,” identifying species in real-time. While occasionally misidentifying sounds in noisy areas, it is an essential tool for beginners and experts. Laura's Birding BlogLaura’s Birding Blog.”

Merlin also can identify a bird from a picture you take. You can also save the bird calls you easily record which can remind you what each bird’s calls sound like. Or you can explore what you have not heard, like what do Blue Birds sound like? Cornell sends informational emails off and on that educate you about birds and that are fun to see and read.

I’ve already learned a lot about the local bird calls I hear in my area, and for me, at least, that is a very fun thing.

Merlin is easy!

Try it. You’ll like it.

PS: Merlin is addictive…

Why Does Raw Honey Crystalize And What to Do When It Does

I haven’t used white or brown sugar for anything in probably 20 years now.

I keep white sugar on hand for visitors who want white sugar in their coffee or tea, but I use local raw honey to sweeten a drink. And, sometimes (rare) real maple syrup drizzled over raw organic fruit–a habit I think I’ve broken now.

I can get wonderful local raw honey here in coastal South Carolina, and back in Maine, in the fall I took enough jars for a year’s worth of honey to a local honey harvester who filled them up for me.

I don’t bake or eat baked goods due to gluten intolerance, so that makes this sugar issue easier.

Ok. I confess that I would use white sugar in my grandmother’s chocolate fudge recipe, which I would only make as a gift for someone, and I have not in…years. And I would eat some of it too as it is one of my very favorite recipes and as it contains so many wonderful childhood memories.

Anyway, local raw honey can crystallize. But why? And what to do? Here are your answers–in a very good post sent from my DIL who is the cofounder and director of The Bee Cause, which now has sponsored bee hives in all 52 states and, also, some elsewhere.

Honey is a complex product involving glucose and water ratios and what kind of flowers from which the bees have gotten pollen. And, how warm or cool it is where you store your honey.

What Causes Honey to Crystallize and How to Fix It

Enjoy!

And find and buy local raw honey from a beekeeper in your region.

Giovanna McCarthy: Master Knitter

Look what I found in my kiosk mailbox the other day–an unexpected gift from my Maine friend Giovanna McCarthy.

Giovanna and I have been friends for almost 20 years now, and she has given me so many of her beautiful shawls and here and there, a blanket. I treasure each and every one of her beautiful works gifted to me.

Giovanna is a master knitter, and her work over the years has gotten better and better so that now it is…unbelievable.

Look at the fringe on this shawl. I can’t even…

I learned to knit way back in high school in the 1960s, taught by a high school friend. And I’ve made many knitted projects over the years, especially the Maine years. I’ve made sweaters, scarves, socks, hats, blankets, decorative linen towels–in Maine so many women knit a lot–it’s a portable project that can go everywhere easily.

But…

Giovanna’s work is at a whole other level.

Boy am I happy she is such a generous friend.

Improv Quilt Done–Named “Shape Shifter”

***But first, a correction to the post on Leila Gardunia’s scrappy stars pattern. I paid $12, not $25 for the pattern I featured.

My youngest granddaughter asked what this quilt’s name was, and I told her I didn’t know yet. She suggested “Shape-Shifter,” so there you have it. “Shape Shifter” it is.

“Shape-Shifter” measures 65 by 80, so she is perfect for a long bed or a long person. And did you know that if you “accordion fold” a quilt top for your bed you can just reach out and grab the edge to pull it over you if you are cold.

The field fabric is Kona Titanium, the thread is Oyster Shell by Signature, and the Pantograph is Check and Chase by Herione Agee. **Note how a pineapple block looks when one uses the field fabric for the featured non-color pieces. Hmmm…that is…super interesting, to me, at least.

The backing is “Celebrating 250 Years Blue Stars,” by Jessi Rose Fabrics, for Northcott.

This is my second fairly recent improv quilt, and I really enjoyed making this one. It was all about play–with ideas, with rulers, with block projects which I trialed. This project took almost a year, and I only stopped when the blocks outgrew their design wall space.

Here a recent improv quilt: “Improv Blocks” made from all the blocks made in an earlier Tara Faughnan “Blocks” class.

Here’s “Improv Sandbox” made in March of last year. I hand sewed these log cabin blocks from scraps while watching tv. I saved it for one of the grands to choose. It’s more of a baby size.

There have been other improv quilts across the years, though they have long since flown from my house. I guess we can say I do like to make them.

Month 5 of Blocks3 Class

Tara Faughnan called her month 5 block in this year’s 6-month Blocks3 online class “Pillars.”

My effort wound up to be part Tara Faughnan and part Maria Shell. I’m not sure how that happened. It just did. And it took me several sewing sessions to complete as it was a bit more intense due to the smaller strips and getting it all to fall into a pattern I liked.

But I like it. And I especially like the diagonal matchstick quilting as I think that making the quilting directional adds to this design.

This piece measures about 11 by 12 inches, and this piece is the first where I sewed the binding down on the front with my machine–using a Janome foot I ordered called a “left side bi-level foot.” This foot’s right side is higher than the left side, which allows the foot to run along the edge of the binding. One moves the needle to where it will hit the binding’s edge. (There is also a right-edge version of this foot.). I secure the corners by hand for neatness.

I need more practice with sewing on binding and with this foot, but this is the first time I have not removed machine binding stitching and sewn it down by hand.

I am…encouraged!

For now, my “Pillars” effort is on my kitchen bar under a flower vase.

I think it adds something interesting, don’t you?

Leila Gardunia’s Scrappy Stars

Here’s my trial scrappy star designed by Leila Gardunia.

Leila Gardunia has designed many patterns for the center of this star block and surrounded the blocks with sashing and cornerstones. She has also made block sizes in every size you might want to make–from three inches to, I think, 12 inches.

I bought and downloaded this 8-inch size for $12. The patterns are designed for foundation paper piecing, but I will use Tara Faughnan’s folded paper piecing method as much as possible–some centers might need traditional foundations–but Tara’s method means no paper to tear away after sewing. And, one can reuse the paper foundations over and over.

The center of the 8-inch block is 4 inches finished–and I’ve already made one of my own design–a circle. But I have not yet sewn it all together, so more on that later.

Anyway, this project will be a leader/ender and “play” project for me going forward.