More flowers.....but some stitching too!

I took another picture of my clematis again this morning. That makes 3 days in a row. I've been playing with some of the features on Picasa and created this collage with the photos from the 3 days. I can really see the difference in the the photo from day one on the left to day 3 on the right.

My second amaryllis has two blooms open and two buds yet to open. Isn't this a beautiful flower?My little garden is progressing nicely too. My tomatoes are blooming and there are little buds on the peppers.
I planted onions all around the edge of the beds. They've come up too.

The light green leaves in the above picture is mustard greens. I decided yesterday to pick some of the little leaves and try them in with a tossed salad last night. That really added a nice flavor to the salad.

Here's my barrel with the chives and parsley and some pretty flowers. I used some of the chives and parsley in the salad last night too. It is so nice to be using things from my own yard in meal preparation.

I did not start on those tea towels. I stitched a little more on this block.
I'm almost finished with it. I have a little more stitching to do in the upper left corner, and then I have 4 little cut out areas to do near the center. Then comes the big task of deciding how I want to put the 5 blocks together!

What's going on.....

What's going on in my little section of the world? ?

I've been outside playing in the dirt! My DH built me some nice little raised beds so I could plant my tomatoes and peppers in the ground instead of in pots. I worked this past Friday getting those in the ground.
These plants have really grown over the weekend because we've had lots of rain. Nothing like rain water for plants to really take off growing! I'll take pictures again soon because I did add some marigolds along the edges of the beds to make them look nice in addition to providing some tasty tomatoes and peppers.

DH and I also went to a nursery this weekend to look at some materials for some additional landscaping we want to do. I saw this bleeding heart...and since the plants were 25% off....I had to have one for my little shade garden. I have a hosta and a clematis growing here also. The clematis already has buds on it!
I plant impatiens in this bed too. I still have to buy those.

One of the nice things about this house is my view out the back. My neighbor loves to work in the yard and his yard is beautiful. I enjoy seeing these dogwood trees in bloom each spring. The windows in my sewing room are upstairs and look out in this same direction.
And now.....for what I've been stitching lately. I have a niece getting married at the end of the month. I make a set of tea towels for nieces and nephews when they marry. I include some knitted dish-cloths and give them money to use on something they didn't get. I have 5 of the 7 towels completed, and only one and half to stitch yet. I've got to get them done as the wedding is May 30. We may not be get to go to the wedding since it is in TX, so I have to get them done in time to mail them.
I hope the bride will like these. I made a set for her sister who married last year. Someday I want to make a set for myself. These are the old fashion flour sack type fabric. I've bought some at one of the large stores...they come in packs of 5....but they are thin and not good quality. I ordered these from www.colonialpatterns.com and I'm very pleased as they are heavy weight and good quality. I have no affiliation with them......I'm just a very satisfied customer.

Garden Bounty

There has been very little sewing at my house. I did cut and fit an A-line skirt for DD this last week. I still have to finish the seams as the fabric has a tendency to ravel. Then I also have to put on the waistband and do the hem. It felt so different sewing a garment as I haven't done that in a long time. I'm proud to say I can still put in a zipper! I'll take some pictures once I finish the skirt.

My container garden tomatoes are doing well. I planted red roma, yellow roma and cherry tomatoes. I like the flavor of the cherry tomatoes the best. Here's a little sampling of my bounty.
The peppers are a variety of jalapeno called "Fooled You". They are not hot, but instead taste much more like a bell pepper. The one bush I have is loaded with peppers. I also planted one hot jalapeno for DH. It is producing, but not as much as the FY pepper. The real trick is to pick the peppers at the same time and make sure I don't mix them up because they look so much alike. I don't like the real hot peppers!

I also have been harvesting basil and oregano. I'm drying that, crushing it and putting it in bags so I won't have to buy it at the grocery. I've also been snipping off the plants when I make pasta sauce. Fresh herbs give sauce a wonderful flavor!
It's raining at my house today, so I'm hoping that watering from nature will keep my plants producing those wonderful tomatoes and peppers!