Liebster Award and Picket Fence milestone

This award is given to new bloggers with fewer than 200 followers.  Translated from German, it means one of your favorite blogs.


And yes, I won!  Imagine that!  This award is a way of getting smaller blogs noticed and recognized.  Once a blogger wins, all he/she must do is say thank you in such nice ways as linking back to the person who awarded the prize--in this case, Stacey of  TwirllyGirls blog, which I just found not so long ago. You really have to visit, it's such a pretty, fun place!  After I left a comment on her blog, she decided to come on over to Fleur de Lis Quilts and check us out.  Next thing I know, there's an award in the transaction.  

Now I get to nominate a few blogs, but I'm going to take a day or two to make my decision.  I have a few in mind, but I visited so many that I really like during the blog hop party, that I'll just have to revisit to finalize my decision.  And you, my dear reader, get to meet other bloggers!  That's a nice little side bonus, isn't it?  

I've been a little busy.  The week is going to fly by, so I'm trying to make the most of it before returning to school.  Today, I picked up tax papers, went to a guild meeting, arranged flowers for church, helped Rich put in a new dishwasher and then helped him take it back out (new, but broken), cleaned and swept the studio, and (breathe) stitched on the label for the quilt I finished last week.


These are the flowers.  we're donating them in memory of mom and dad.  Father Ibe and I talked and decided on neutral colors, so I used white with some soft greens and yellows.  They are silk and the two bouquets above are matching in size to put on the tabernacle table (one on each side).  The larger one is meant to be put on the floor in front of the altar.  It doesn't appear so tall in the photo, but it is about 2 1/2 feet from top to bottom.  I don't want it to reach above the table but I do want it to be dramatic. 

How does your garden grow?
#3 Nursery Rhymes series

How about this little tumbler quilt?  It's finished!  Yay!  This is the one I wrote about one day last week here.  


I really had fun with the quilting.  I decided to take advantage of those daisies.  They aren't all whole flowers, though, so I made them into whole flowers with the quilting and added a few in places where there were no flowers at all, connecting them with a big stippling.


Yes, definitely fun!  Check out the quilting in this photo.




 So that done, it's time to get to another quilt, or two.  Right now there are two on the design wall.  Both tops are finished and waiting on the long arm.  In fact, I'd have loaded the first one, had it not been for that darn dishwasher.  What could have been an hour, quickly became two.  Aggravation and frustration to boot!  So tomorrow I'll load this little sweet one!


It's a modern quilt I'll name "Round pegs and square holes."  


I think I'll quilt it with circles and squares interconnected, but we'll see.  Who knows?


Then it'll be the other one's turn.  I have no idea what this is, honestly.  The dark blue is really purple.  The huge flowers are supposed to be daisies.  I wanted to give it some personality, but I'm not real sure what, exactly, is going on.  I think I need some help.  I'm taking suggestions.


Please leave a comment with any ideas you might have.  Do I add more flowers?  Leave it as the mess it is?   Then there's the quilting....
oh, well, win some, lose some.  I can always donate it, right?


Oh yes, the second part of the title!  Fleur de Lis Quilts blog has passed 200 votes on Picket Fence!  That's all the way to page 17 of 154!  Go you voters!  Thanks!


Happy Quilting, 
Mary