Monday, May 12, 2008

Under the Lilacs

The title of today's post pretty much describes how I spent part of my weekend (thank you Louisa May Alcott for the lovely title as well). Spring seems to finally have come to Northern Illinois and the lilacs are in full bloom. While I don't have any planted near my house, there is a park in the suburbs where I can go and be in absolute lilac heaven.


The park has literally hundreds (if not thousands) of lilac bushes along winding paths. The number of varieties of lilacs are amazing as well. It's enough to make me wish I had a place where I could plant dozens of bushes. The scent is just heavenly. We could smell the fragrance a block and 1/2 away from the park entrance. Mmmmnnn.



The trip to the park for the day was my Mother's Day gift from my husband and daughter. (though my daughter also brought home a plaster of paris hand print she made at daycare -- I always wondered if the stuff I made for my Mom was appreciated. Being on the receiving end now -- oh yeah, it was. The darned thing had me tearing up) It's all I asked for and it was just perfect. Because of the weather forecast we went on Saturday and had a great time playing in the park and looking at the flowers.


As you can see from the photos, Lilacs are not the only attraction -- there are tons and tons of tulips as well. When I've gone in the past the tulips were pretty much gone before the lilacs were ready. This year? Oh my!


And the varieties of tulips were amazing as well. I mean, look at this one -- yes, it is a tulip. And in the patch you see above? With pinks and light pinks that all have those multiple petals? Amazing.


One of my favorites was this grouping. There has to be a quilt in this somehow. The orange with the white and deep purple against the spring green? Oh my, oh my.


One of the nicest parts of the park is the fact that they clearly label all of the varieties of lilacs and tulips. That orange tulip that I fell in love with? Imagine my surprise when I found out its name. I KNEW there was a reason I fell in love with it. It shares a name with one of my favorite quilt blogs. (Hi Clare!) And if any of you think I've been googling tulip bulb suppliers and dreaming of planting some of these beauties in the fall? Umm...you would be absolutely correct.


All in all it was a perfect way for me to spend my Mother's Day celebration. Add in the fact that I got a wonderful package in the mail last week with my Spring Four Seasons quilt in it? Oh yeah, what more could I ask for? Gwen of Scrappy Angel Quilts was my partner and I LOVE my spring baskets. I can't wait to hang it up in my office.


In addition to the wonderful quilt, she also sent some yummy sock yarns for me to play with. This should be some serious inspiration to actually FINISH the purple socks that have been languishing around here (yes, they are still in the same state as they are in that post -- ugh). I know what pattern I want to try next and now I have the yarn to play with. I just have to decide on whether to use the green or the purple/blue/yellow/green combo. Decisions, decisions. Either way THANK YOU GWEN!!!!


And speaking of knitting...I did manage to get something finished this weekend! The sweater I started for my daughter way back in February, the one I confidently claimed would be ready for Easter? Yeah...um, I finally got around to finishing it this weekend. Finally. And it fits!


Mostly. It seems in the 2+ months since I started this one my little one has gotten taller. Not any heavier, but taller. The sleeves fit perfectly. It fits around her waist with room to spare. But, um the length?!? Yeah, it's a bolero sweater. This is fine -- it's for spring so it's cool. I'm thinking she may need a little empire waist dress to go under it though. At the time I started this (and finished knitting the front and back sections) the measurements worked with a bit of room to spare. Now?? Yeah. Oh well -- such is life when making things for children. :0). And since I stole took the yarn from my Mom's stash with permission, you can't beat the price :0).

So, that's it from the cornfields for today. I'm trying to finish up a few projects so hopefully I will have more to report soon!

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmmmmmmm.... I can smell those lilacs up to here !

I had seen that lovely little spring quilt, and I'm soohappy it came to you :>)

Hugs & smiles to you, dear, and THANKS for your kind comment on my blog....

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
NADINE

allie aller said...

Gorgeous flowers and an even prettier daughter!
Glad you've shaken those blahs...and thanks for swinging by my blog this a.m.!
~Allie

Joyce said...

Lilacs are one of my very favorite flowers. I love the perfume. We have a couple of them but they are very small yet and the leaves are not even out yet around here.

CONNIE W said...

The lilacs are just sooooo pretty. They're one of my most favorite flowers. I'm enjoying all of the photos.

Anonymous said...

What wonderful photos of your day out - It is nice to see the spring flowers - It is Autumn here at the moment and we are in drought, so not too much greenery around or flowers - I have planted some bulbs last week in pots in preparation for spring - just have to remember to water them now.

Looks like you had a fantastic day out.

Red Geranium Cottage said...

Those flowers are beautiful!!! Makes me wanna get out there and do my gardening now.
Happy belated Mothers Day to you!!! Your daughter is so cute.

Gina said...

What beautiful flower photos. Unfortunately as much as I love Lilacs, they don't like me.
I love tulips aswell but they don't seem to stay out for long enough.

love and hugs xx

Tonya Ricucci said...

wonderful to have you back - what gorgeous weather and flowers. darling quilt Gwen made you.

Unknown said...

Lilacs to me are THE scent of Spring and I love that little cardigan - you're right an empire line dress under it would be perfect - she looks a little sweetie! The spring quilt is lovely too

Libby said...

Looks like a great day at the park - the flowers are just gorgeous and I bet the smell of lilac was out of this world *s*

Emily Cole said...

Wow - beautiful gardens, great sweater too! What a great post!

Unknown said...

I love the tulip color combination! I bet there must have been some quilters among the gardeners!
I can smell the lilac over here... or is it because I have one blooming in the garden at the moment!
I am very glad that you like the quilt and the yarn. If you make something as pretty as the bolero for your daughter with it, il will be wonderful. Take care.

Magpie Sue said...

Woohoo! You're back!!! So glad all is well :- )

I envy you the park with the lilacs, but what a lovely Mother's Day you had. Bolero or not, that sweater looks pretty cute on Tink.

I have a quilt waiting for you... All I need is an address!

Tracey @ozcountryquiltingmum said...

Love the pictures...and the quilt is gorgeous...i think the jumper is cute on your girl..."fashion" as my girl would say!Tracey

Clare said...

Hello you over there. Thanks for the link.

Lilac is my favourite too. We've got the white, dark dark purple and pale lilac in our garden and they are all over! I never knew there was a tulip called Dordogne!

Tink is so sweet.

Greenmare said...

oooooooooooo you're back! yeah! that little sweater would be sooooooooooo precious with a little dress under it!!! yes! I can hardly wait for our lilacs to bloom, you are a bit ahead of me yet.

Lisa said...

Angela, I am so glad that all is well and that you are back!!! I have lilacs too. They smell so good!
Love the basket quilt. How colorful! My first sweater that I made my self was a v-neck and the v was almost to my navel and the sleeves were too long. The last sweater that I knit!

korin said...

Hey babe! Happy Mother's Day to you too! Tink's picture looks like your profile picture - you must be related. :) My first mother's day was a success, thanks for the good wishes. Enjoy your handprint - I'm waiting for mine starting now!

Unknown said...

You finished before easter 2009! I think your mini quilt is beautiful.

Tanya said...

The color on those lilacs is amazing! I don't think I've ever seen any with such a dark color and varigated! Just lovely.

Rose Marie said...

Pretty soon, we'll have lilacs blooming here and then it will be my turn to smell them! Lovely sweater on your wee one.

Mary Johnson said...

The flowers are just beautiful and so is the swap quilt you received.

Nan said...

I do love lilacs! I have several lilac trees in my back and front yard, and the sweet smell of them wafts into the house every time I open the door. Heavenly! Miss Tink is adorable, and what a wonderful way for you to spend Mother's Day, with your 2 fave peeps! I do see several quilts in your floral photos - of course, I see quilts in just about everything I look at! LOL
The basket quilt is very pretty - happy and bright - my kind of quilt!
The sweater for your little miss is lovely! She seems to like it, too! Thanks for sharing, Ang.

Felicia said...

What stunning blooms!