May Flowers

Nanking Cherry Bush

The month of May has been full of gardening activity and it has been a true pleasure to be out in yard enjoying an incredible display of blossoms on the shrubs and trees.

Apple tree

We have a small orchard of apple and crabapple trees on our property and never before have they displayed such an abundance.

Crabapple tree

The branches of each tree are so loaded with blossoms that it creates an amazing bower exploding with colour and fragrance.

The only way to describe some of the trees is to compare them to a beautiful bride draped in a white lace gown. It’s breathtaking!

Crabapple shrub with double blooms

And as breathtaking as all the visual delight is, I can’t even begin to describe the amazing scent that lingers on the evening air. The past few evenings I’ve just stood nearby taking deep breaths of ‘beauty’, filling my lungs with the month of May, attempting to absorb as much of it as possible as it all too quickly draws to a close.

My little needlebook and pincushion

Interior pages of my needlebook

Each page embellished differently

Hand embroidered details

A little gift to myself

Well, if you’ve made it all the way to the end of this post you must be commended on your endurance and high tolerance of photo heavy posts. Although I’ve been in the garden most good weather days, I still have had the pedal to the floor (sewing machine pedal, of course). I’ve done a lot of piecing this month and have spent time on some handwork too, accomplishing the last of my applique basket blocks for my project I started in Red Deer last month. With every block now complete, I can begin sewing the top together… but more on that next time.

The little project that I’ve posted here today was just a whimsy that I produced last month but hadn’t time to blog about until now. The tiny pincushion was created only a few days ago, when I had some triangles leftover from a larger project – you know, those awkward little cut off corners that are almost too small to use so you throw them into the garbage and then when inspiration strikes, you dig them back out again and make the sweetest tiny pincushion you’ve ever laid your eyes on. After all, those are treasured Liberty fabric scraps and don’t really deserve to be thrown in the trash.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this update, even though it’s a bit less quilty and a lot more overdue. Now that the garden has been planted and all my pots are well under way, I’m feeling as though I’m back on track again and should be able to post regularly once more. Next up is a progress report on my 17 in 2017 projects and I’ll be sure to snap some photos of my applique basket blocks too.

As always, carol xoxox