Well, here we are a month from my last post. I have felt like the greenhouse job has sucked me away from everything else. There are now plants in 3 greenhouses- all types of annuals and perennials, and even a few veggie plants (many more arriving this week). Quilt wise, I have not done too much, even after a quilt retreat. The first week of planting our new babies in the greenhouses really took it's toll on my body and brain. I had been feeling really lucky as far as the fibro goes, but that ended with a major crash last week. After spending 4 more hours than planned at the greenhouses the Monday after my retreat, I spent most of Tuesday in bed. I kind of felt like our cats- pretty lazy- here is a photo of my Baby Cat sleeping on a pillow on the couch. I thought she was going to fall off. The rest of the week was spent in the greenhouses.
I should have taken photos by now, but have not used my camera down there, yet. I do have to take it with me so I can get some shots of some of the blooming plants. There are beautiful Aquilegia (Columbine) flowers in blue, pink and white that are calling to be photographed. The photo below is of a Bog Lily in my indoor pond that bloomed a week ago. The flowers look like huge, white spiders (missing a couple legs).
The greenhouse startup is so different from when we owned the business. We used to start most of our own seeds, and divide and take cuttings of many other plants. This season, things are being started from basically nothing- no equipment, plants, seeds, or enough time. We are starting from rooted cuttings, pre-started plants, and seedlings in plugs. It's like Christmas, opening all the boxes- some with tiny baby plants tumbled out of their trays (I really think FedEx and UPS bowl with the boxes). Some babies come in blooming. One tray of violas were 1" tall with full sized blooms- I love pansies and Violas!! Some of the plants we purchased were half grown to use in hanging baskets, and planters to be ready for Mother's day in less than a month. The other big worry is how many people will come, since the business was closed for over a year. Lots of stress!!
Back to quilts….. I did accomplish a little at my retreat, I did a piece for the FFFC Recycled challenge, and did some samples for a class I will be teaching late this month. I also got an idea for a larger piece on the last full day, and had to be sure I took photos and scribbled ideas in my notebook for when I can get back to it.
This is the Challenge quilt. Made from scraps found in our treasure pile we have at every retreat. Everyone brings scrap strips, chunks, and pieces of fabrics they won't use, and we hunt for the perfect treasures for projects in the pile. In this, there is a piece of a blanket binding, batik strip, a bit of flannel, and assorted other fabrics, including the light green fabric with the little sheep on it. I stitched the background pieces with decorative stitches, then added some sparkle tulle in blue and green (only new items- from Wal-Mart remnant bin). There are some thread and fabric snips trapped under more tulle, and then the flowers in the foreground were added. These are made from candy wrappers. Hershey Kisses, Dove eggs, and a Cadbury Egg. I love chocolate (bet you never guessed 
), and found that it really slows down the eating process when you want to keep the wrappers intact. The flower petals and leaves are all wrappers backed with Wonder Under and fused on. The stems are from a plastic, raffia like stuff that was on a package I received. I also added some painted dryer sheets, and a brown paper towel I used to dry my hands one day. Amazing what can be done with next to nothing new. I also made 2 5" square pieces, below. They also have the candy wrappers for petals and leaves, with more scraps, paper toweling and dryer sheet used.
These were fun to put together, I even made a red flower from the red part of the egg wrapper, and used the chick, too.
Here is a photo of what I had on my design wall before I had to pack things up. I am not sure just how it will end, but finally an idea began to gell by the end of the retreat. I really felt ripped off by my body, I had to take naps each day, and my brain still was mush most of the time.
Well, back to things greenhouse- opening day is May 1, with grand opening with all the splash is May 10. Wow, time is really flying and I am really having to tell myself not to over do, and to delegate. I just need a few more bodies to delegate to, though.
Until next time…… hopefully with greenhouse photos.
