Tula Pink’s Parisville has been one of those collections in the back of my mind ever since it came out. It isn’t what I usually buy…and probably wouldn’t coordinate with most of my stash. But all together it is just a beautiful collection. I decided to buy a couple fat quarter sets while they were still available. (I’ve found them both at The Fabric Quarter and Hawthorne Threads.)

I also wanted to share with you the progress of my garden plot. Thank you to everyone for all the tips when I posted my plan! I did rearrange quite a bit once I arrived and talked to fellow gardeners. I decided to put all my trailing plants (pumpkin, cucumbers, watermelon, etc) on one end so if they trail into each other it’s not a big deal. Then I also followed a tip from the comments on my last post and moved the tomatoes and peppers so they aren’t next to each other. A few other changes as well.

Here is the fresh plot when I arrived. There are hundreds of plots and after watching the gardens start all around me, I have noticed there are also hundreds of ways to garden!

And here it is after 3 days of hard labor. Excuse the poor photos, they were taken with my phone.

I fenced around it after I talked to another woman doing the same thing. She is hoping it keeps the geese from swooping in. Also, in my case and probably more importantly, it serves as a visual boundary for my kids so they don’t walk in someone else’s garden.

Where I planted the seeds, I amended the soil with Miracle Grow Moisture Control soil (I had good luck with this last year). So far I have planted seeds for the corn, various flowers, cucumber, pumpkin, beans and peas, and lettuces. I will be out next week so when I return I will plant the seeds for watermelon, cantaloupe and plants for tomatoes, peppers and herbs.

I am having a great time out there. Across the street are baseball fields so as I’m working in the dirt I hear the clink of the bats and the cheer of the parents. There is just something SO summer about it and it makes me smile. Here’s to a great season!

A few months ago I bought my first (and only) quilting die for my Big Shot Sizzix die cutter. Sizzix is getting into the quilting die game now which is quite handy since I already had the cutting machine. The half square triangle seemed a good place to start because exact size really matters. It made quick work of the cutting pieces for this mini quilt.

I am always inspired by the colorful quilts made by Rita of Red Pepper Quilts so I just picked some random bright colors from my fabric stash. Initially I just had a white border, but when I was auditioning fabrics for the back, I realized the additional turquoise border would really frame out the quilt nicely.

To offset the brights on the front, I chose Kona Ash and White for the back. The binding is a wonderful Tula Nest print.

I quilted this one free motion and it measures 26″ x 30″. I’ve put it up in the shop, but if it doesn’t sell it may find it’s way on my wall in my sewing room.

ETA: I forgot to mention I now have a Facebook page for Fresh Lemons Quilts. Come on over and join if you are a Facebook user. It will keep you updated on new blog entries, shop sales, and just all around fun things I find to share!