Blue Hexagon Progress and a Needed Weekend

This was the first weekend since we’ve been in isolation where I felt like it went by too fast. And I even managed to be a little productive. I had a much needed sleep in on Saturday, then started sewing hexagons together after breakfast and a really good cup of coffee.

I made some good progress.

I really wish I could get a better photo of this. It looks darker and harsher than it does in person.

Once I started putting blocks up on the design wall I realized that I wasn’t going to have enough blocks to make a nice throw size quilt. Who knows what I was thinking when I put this project away. I was sure that all I had to do was sew it together. I had even divided all the pieces into sets for blocks.

So I dug into my Kaffe Fassett Collective scraps and found some 2.5 inch strips, sewed them into strip sets and cut more triangles. I needed 8 additional blocks to make a throw size. I like to make a throw quilt long enough to be over both my shoulders and my feet. I don’t want to have to choose one or the other.

Once I got some blocks up on the design wall I cut a pile of the blue spots background triangles and put them in place. And I absolutely love how it’s looking. It’s bold and colorful and blue. I’m not a huge fan of blue, but I really like this quilt. The bright colors really pop off of that blue background.

These blocks just make me so happy. As I look at each one I can remember how they made me feel when I first put the fabric combos together for my first hexagon quilt. These fabrics are so amazing!

Other than sewing, the dogs and I walked this weekend. We did nearly six miles on Saturday. It was warm, sunny and muggy. I had to stop a couple of times and let the boys rest in the cool grass. Their tongues were hanging out!

On Sunday, we walked in the evening so it was a little cooler. It’s just gorgeous here this time of year. So many things in bloom so our walks include a lot of stopping and looking at flowers and taking pictures of the boys.

One day last week I started taking photos of the blooms I saw on our walk, and it completely changed how I saw my neighborhood! I saw beautiful things that I’d never noticed before. Here’s a bunch of blooms from just one walk. Click on each image for a bigger view.

Here’s what these are, left to right:

Row 1: Pretty sure the first one may be a gardenia, apple blossoms, Stinky Bob, and I don’t know what this yellow flower is.

Row 2: tulips, some kind of iris, and a yellow bloom that is not forsythia.

Row 3: Tulips and rhododendron.

Row 4: Azaleas

Row 5: Azalea and dogwood

Row 6: Rhododendron, Azaleas and tulips with candytuft

On our four mile walk this evening we ventured into a new neighborhood. I’m really having a great time getting out and seeing the details of the neighborhoods around my house. I’m using an app that tracks how far I walk, and also saves our route on a map. It’s really fun to see how far we venture. This one is from our hot walk on Saturday.

My friends bought me some tomato plants and potting soil on their visit to a garden center today. I like to have my tomatoes in pots by mothers day. I have to keep this guy away from them or he’ll dig them out of the pots!

Getting these into big pots will be on the agenda for this coming weekend.