Calling all plant and flower sleuths

See this tree?

This tree has been here for about ten years . . . a client mailed it to us from Minneapolis, all wrapped up and about twelve inches tall. (It's grown a little.)

We planted it, watered it, and named it Minnesota, for obvious reasons.

We didn't know that Minnesota would bloom.
But he did bloom this year!

Now, here are your clues. You have the picture of the tree up there, and the leaves look like this:

And here are the gorgeous flowers:

But what is Minnesota???? What kind of tree?

I haven't a clue. I guess I used to know. But hopefully one of y'all can tell me?

Love,

Sharon Holland Designs -- a new sponsor

It is always so much fun to meet new people in this wonderful quilting community that we share. We have a new sponsor for the Pets on Quilts show coming in August!

(I hope you will take advantage of the links below; click through and enjoy the designer bio, the freebies, and more!)

Sharon Holland is a designer of lovely fabrics . . .

And a talented quilter . . .

She has loads of free cute patterns for us to try, and she offers great tutorials, too!

Sharon designs for Art Gallery Fabrics

Her latest line is just beautiful -- it's called Tapestry. Check out that adorable cat print on the top of the box in the photo . . . I know some of you folks will want some of that!

One lucky Pet Show winner will receive that bundle of twelve fat quarters of Tapestry fabrics from Sharon and AGF fabrics! (The photo reveals that Sharon shares our love of Aurifil threads!)

It means a lot when folks click through and visit our sponsors, and especially if you have just a moment to leave some comment love or a "thank you!"  Maybe you have time to visit Sharon's Facebook page here: click on this link and tell her hello!  Check out some inspiration over at her Instagram page.  Stop in at her blog and maybe click to follow -- you'll see some lovely things and be the first to know about new patterns! Be sure to visit AGF fabrics and Aurifil, too!

(Waving) Thank you, Sharon, for sponsoring this beautiful fat quarter bundle for our prize drawings in August! We appreciate your sponsorship so very much!

Love,

In honor of all who serve, in memory of some who gave all

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We did not pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

Ronald Reagan 

Here at the Lilypad, we want to show our gratitude to all those who serve. We appreciate you. And we want to honor the memory of all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, so that we could be free.

God bless you all.

Happy Memorial Day to all of our US friends!

Love,

Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe giveaway

Do you love to stitch?

Do you find yourself drooling over lovely flosses, and do you have way more patterns on your to-do list, than you can accomplish in your lifetime? (Grin)

I'm right there with ya!

I love to stitch, and I want you to know about a fabulous giveaway -- click on this link to go see the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe!

Nancy is hosting a generous giveaway of her entire Primitive line of colors!

Hey, if you win, will ya share with me? (Wink)

Love,

More vintage linens found . . .

I found some more lovely vintage things that I wanted to share with you . . .  

I think these are what my grandma used to call "dresser scarves" but if I'm wrong, please feel free to chime in and correct me!

Like the items I showed before, these were all made by my hubby's grandma, so they are precious family heirlooms. I love the ingenuity of the designs, and how they made every bit of that feedsack count!

All of those perfect little French knots . . . 

And making the flowers two-toned! So cute!

This one is in different colors -- I imagine she had different bedrooms in mind when she made these.

Love the vines on this one.

The flower petals are wavy, instead of straight -- I like the movement that it gives the embroidery.

And the piece de resistance (see, I'm cultured and can speak French): the hand crocheted trim! Beautiful!

Thanks for wandering down memory lane with me today!

Love,