dolly quilt parade

They're done!  All 6 dolly quilts I started are done!

There's a second Raggedy Ann and Andy quilt from fabrics Mary sent me:

It's still busy, even in the sunshine.

There's Double Irish Frogs II:

There's Watermelon Fence, which I love more every time I look at it:

 

There's Lollipop Ladybugs:

I adore this one and will have trouble parting with it.  And I hope those ladybug buttons don't cause any trouble with little ones...

There's brights bordered with VW bugs:

And last but not least, the one made to go with the doll, another brights, but with popsicles:

With the doll:

Tonight we're having some family and friends over for a cookout.  The weather is beautiful and we couldn't have asked for better on a holiday weekend.  I hope to have some quilty time, too...

Some of the blooms my guests will see (because I just have to add more pictures!):

The columbines started out as a purple and a double pink.  They reseed and grow like weeds, but look at the vareity of colors I'm getting.  Sadly the double one didn't make it last year.

This peony came from my grandpa (my dad's dad) and my parents literally had to haul it out of the ground by tying it's root ball to the car when they moved my grandma out of the house!  It's almost entirely white (little hot pink streaks at some petal edges) and smells wonderful.

This crazy rose bush (it's taller than me!) was brought over from Germany by my mom's ancestors when they immigrated to the US probably 5 or 6 generations ago.  I've been told it's probably a Yellow Rose of Texas by a friend/rose officianado, but I responded that the Yellow Rose of Texas should then rightly be called the Yellow Rose of Germany.  Starts of this have been given to any family member interested, but I seem to have the greenest thumb, as everyone claims it's hard to get started.  I had no trouble, but planted it next to our chicken coop (no chickens - hubby says they're dumb and stinky), so maybe chicken poop is the key?  But once you do, look out!

The flowers are so pretty - very old-fashioned, which I love:

The hubby doesn't like to mow near it...

I don't blame him - look at those thorns!  They seem to reach out and grab you, too.  My Great Aunt Helen used to swear hers tried to rip her clothes off every time she mowed near it!

And finally, some irises I rescued from a friend of my mom's:

She was moving and the house was going to be bulldozed to turn the land into a golf course.  Anything left behind was a goner.  They're "old fashioned" irises - no fancy hybrids with huge petals and deep colors, but I love them just the same.  And with a 100+ year-old farm house, these fit right in!

Happy quilting,

Katie