Running in Circles

Two steps forward and one step backward. (Or is that one step forward and two steps back?) Same old same old. Spinning my wheels. Pick your cliche’! Basically, those are all overused ways of saying what I’m feeling these days. Uninspired. Tired - of crappy weather, of too many errands, of a To-Do list that never seems to get shorter and never seems to produce anything when items do get checked off. I have too little time to sew and too little motivation (restlessness) when I do get time to sew. Is this old-lady-onset ADHD? I think I need a good day of sunshine, a nice stiff margarita, and a day with no obligations, LOL.

After a stormy day today, the weather is finally forecast to clear up and warm up as the long Memorial Day weekend unfolds. Our condo’s pool is opening on Monday, and I plan to take serious advantage of it this season. 

There actually has been some sewing going on here, along with all the many other things. I’m now officially on the HOA Board (as an alternate until November’s annual meeting), and Bruce and I are still waiting for the final kitchen remodel bid. But this week we did have a ceiling fan installed in the master bedroom and picked out paint colors and bedding for that room. Slow progress, but progress nonetheless. 

But let’s talk about May’s pink scraps. I managed to get 32 pink string blocks (finished size 6”) sewn over the last two weeks (I didn’t have a blog post last week), and added a couple dozen of the light neutral/white string blocks to make a scrappy string top. The light blocks were made last fall during my string frenzy. 

I think it will look better when it’s finished off with pink binding. The top measures 42x48”.

And I’ve also been working here and there on the Anne of Green Gables quilt. Here are the first two (of 5) rows up on my “design wall”. That’s just a plain wall in my sewing room and some painters tape. Sorry the lighting is so bad. It’s just been dark and gloomy weather lately…

My goal is to get the top finished this week and hopefully basted as well. I’d like to gift it to my friend Ann sometime in early June.

I have a few garden/courtyard pictures to share, even though there is no sunshine in them!

Everything in the Greenstalk planter has sprouted  - and needs to be thinned. There is alyssum in the top tier (not shown). Then there’s lettuce, carrots, basil and spinach (or is it spinach and then basil?) Whatever.

We also have a small tomato plant in the foreground pot and a rhubarb plant loving its life behind the pot. After the season, the rhubarb will be moved to another location so I can plant a rose there. It’s the sunniest spot in the courtyard. That is, when the sun deigns to make an appearance.

The rhubarb will eventually go in the area behind the serpent in the picture below. The rest of everything - a mix of annuals in the foreground and perennials along the back  - will fill in as time goes by. 

Here is the flowering almond bush that is on the outside of the gate to our courtyard. Its tiered flowers almost remind me of strings of garland on a Christmas tree. They smell heavenly. 

That’s about all I have for you this week, but at least it’s something. I’ll be sewing the rainy afternoon away today. We have no formal plans for the weekend yet, but that may change. See you next week, and thanks for dropping by!

Linking up to Scrappy Saturday at Angela’s blog.