Spools

I finished one of the quilts.   Only 10 more to go.  Unfortunately, I keep going back to the scraps and coming up with new quilts to make. 

Here is a picture of one I finished several years ago using the Spool pattern.  It doesn't show up too well in black and white.  I gave it an Amish feel by using black for the background and bright pastels for the cross pieces.

 



Looking at it in black and white I realized that I should have used more care in selecting the colors so that all of the colored sections would stand out.  The drawing below shows it better than the photo.

Below is the block pattern.  An 8" square is a good size, although you can make it any size you want.

The gray is the background color and the white is the color of the cross pieces.  If making an 8" block cut strips of background fabric 4" wide and add seam allowance.  Cut 4" wide plus seam allowance from colored fabrics.  Sew strips together.  Make a triangle template and place on seamed strips.  Mark and cut out the triangles.  Cut background triangles from the same template.  Sew four triangles together to form the block.  Be sure to plan out your colors first, because each cross design is made up of four blocks. 

April Garden To Do

• Finish up any tasks not completed last month
• Divide summer and fall blooming perennials
• Remove mulch from beds and shrubs.  Apply mulch where needed
• Add amendments and fertilizer as needed
• For succession plans, continue sowing seeds indoors or in cold frame
• Harden off and transplant cool season vegetables and flowers
• Plant and transplant trees, shrubs, ground covers and perennials
• Start sweet potatoes for slips
• Pot summer bulbs for transplanting in May
• Dig and divide Sprig bulbs if necessary as foliage dies back
• Sow seeds of those plants needing four weeks to transplant size

Intensive Planting:   Rather than sow seed as directed on the seed packet, seeds are sown according to their ultimate spacing.  If the packet says thin seedlings to stand six inches apart, sow the seeds six inches apart in all directions.  This eliminates thinning and will inhibit weed growth due to the close spacing.

Interplanting:  This is the practice of growing two crops in the space of one.  Select a main crop, such as tomatoes.  Plant them the proper distance apart, then plant a quick growing crop, such as leaf lettuce or radishes in the surrounding space.  The lettuce or radishes will be harvested before the tomatoes need the space.

Companion planting:  this is the practice of growing two or more mutually beneficial plants in close proximity.  For example, grow corn and pole beans in the same area.  The corn benefits from the nitrogen fixing aspects of the beans and the corn provides a pole for the beans to climb on.  Another reason for companion plants is to protect crops from insects.  Many insects find the scent of marigolds offensive, so planting marigolds here and there throughout the garden will offer some protection from insect attacks.