Quarter Flimsy

The first quarter of Lizard Toes is on Ringo, ready to be quilted. Why didn't I get it done???

I dug deeply into my green batik stash to create a 12-inch by 49-inch braid for the backing. This means I didn't finish a WIP in April. I haven't given up hope yet I might be able to finish two this month to make up for it, but, even without the finish, at least I'm making progress. Lots of things are vying for my attention, and Lizard Toes just doesn't scream at me loud enough, I guess!

One very exciting thing, in addition to using up scraps for inserts in the back quarter panels, is using up four baby quilt-sized and lap quilt-sized batting leftovers that have been hanging around for up to three years for the four quarters of Lizard Toes. I will have a couple of days of no computer access next week, and I'm thinking I might be able to do the hand-sewing then to finish up the quilt, if I can finish quilting the individual quarters in time. That's the goal. But I'd like to do green batik inserts for each back panel, so it really depends how fast I can finish them. And how good I am at breaking free from other commitments...

I recently picked up a couple of Chili Smiles charm packs because I thought they might make a fun project for Lizard to try to take up quilting again. (He LOVES them!) I'm going to have to start over from scratch in teaching him, but I don't mind. I actually look forward to it. He wants to try another rag quilt, so I cut 84 coordinating Kona solid charms and about 30ish batting squares. I used up a BUNCH of batting pieces for what I've done so far, but I will need to do more for Lizard to have enough to finish his quilt. But, perhaps that will take a while, and I can go back to my own quilting for a while. Fingers crossed...

The garden is calling, and thankfully, I didn't have to build the second tier raised beds that now grace our backyard. But I did have to measure the beds Lizard built before Parkinson's took away his math prowess, then do the math so I could buy the wood, then draw pictures for the Young Men who volunteered to build what I could see in my head but have no idea how to construct myself! I still have to put chicken wire in the bottoms without cutting myself, then fill the upper tiers with shredded cardboard I've been saving specifically for this project, branches and twigs the wind has piled up for me to use specifically in this project, all of last fall's leaves I saved specifically for this project, and dirt I haven't bought yet. Then the bunnies will still be able to nest and dine in the bottom tiers, but the top tiers are MINE! I don't think the bunnies will be able to jump that high. I hope!

And then there's that unfinished landscaping project. I think we've finally taken care of the leaky window well for once and for all with some tube extentions that direct roof runoff to the French drains and some silicon patching of a leaky gutter and downspout. And not a moment too soon! We've had rain (and snow/rain mixes) every couple of days for a week straight now. Much needed moisture. But I haven't had to bail the water out of the basement for two weeks now! Can you hear me squealing with joy? Can you feel the earth shake when I dance my little raindance jig?!?

Now I'm trying to edge the border between the landscaping and the rocks that surround our house with more hollow bricks that make perfect planters. When I first began hauling these bricks from our little truck to the backyard last summer, all uphill, I often had to have help because the weight of each brick hurt my back so much. But I must be getting stronger; I can make eight brick trips now all by myself before my back begins telling me to stop.

After placing bricks one at a time and making sure they are level, I dig up volunteer grape hyacinths, as well as any other flowers that will be homeless when I complete terracing the sloped section of the landscaping, and I plant the flowers inside the bricks.

My brick border may not look like a masterpiece right now, but next year, when hopefully everything is done and the flowers are comfortable and productive in their new homes, it's going to be fabulous. I will hide the black tube against the border with river rocks. Hopefully when I get done, it won't look like it was done by an amateur.

I have to redo the flagstone "stairs" I built last year because the red sand eroded over the winter and spring, and the stabilizers I used beneath the flagstone are not big enough to withstand the erosion. I also have to lay a bunch more red sand and build more terraces that won't wash away. But I should have four months of good weather, so it doesn't seem overwhelming yet.

It just makes my longarm, my sewing machine and my crochet hook very, very lonely!

Linking up with Alycia Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

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