One More Week...

We have one more week until the deadline for tor the Eventide Quiltalong!

I've been cutting and cutting and organizing.










And I still have a long way to go!




I've been sewing in the evenings and darn if I don't get tired at my bedtime and have to go to bed! And there's the stops for dinner, for homework, for running kids to soccer and tutoring. The kitchen is piled high with dishes as I was sewing instead of doing dishes!

I have ONE more week! Are you almost done? Are you done?

There's nothing like a deadline to help you give a little extra push!

Cutting almost done...

I have the the small Ohio Stars cut out and I'm looking at what I want to use for the big stars on the Eventide quilt.

I'm trying to think of a mix of mostly warm, medium colors for the small stars with some cool colors in the mix. And then use medium-light cool colors for the large stars.

I love the light blue! And the green next to it is pretty. The green though, is still debatable. I'll audition it and see how it works!



Is it better further away? The fabric, NOT the room! The room is only good in close-ups, extreme close-ups!



And outside the azalea is making me very happy! What a trooper. I didn't think it would do well after all the cold, freezing weather we had in February. (Remember the Super Bowl? The ice? The snow?)



And I'm behind in yard work. I have these lovely plants just rearin' to get planted.



Oh,and I have company coming over today. Yikes! Gotta work on the house because they won't be looking at it in those better-looking close ups. It will be Wide Shots! Gotta boogie!

Hi There

Hi There.



Buttercup says "Hi".

This is an in-focus picture of Buttercup. The rest--pretty blurry. The back light from the window shows the pink in her ears. So sweet!

Buttercup doesn't like to get her picture taken. Especially close up. But she loves for the kids to hold her and she just is so relaxed when they pick her up. But you pull out the camera and she starts wiggling.

And here is more evidence of spring. There are more flowers in bloom in my yard and flowerbeds every day.

The azalea is ALMOST ready to burst! It is "the" azalea bush--I only have one.





I use to baby this azalea bush. I would feed it it's special diet of miracle grow azalea food in the fall. I would cover it any time the temperature dropped below freezing. And the result would be--no blooms. Maybe a dozen flowers at the bottom of the bush and that would be it!

But for the past five years I've ignored the silly thing and it's gone bloom crazy.

No complaints here. I love the purple-pink color and today, maybe today, the blooms will finish opening.

I planted Ajuga in the front flowerbed because I thought the leaves were an interesting dark purple contrast to the Lambs ear plant. I didn't know it bloomed! Duh! What a very pleasant surprise. My mom never planted Ajuga so I know nothing about it.





That's one of the fun things about gardening. There are so many different types of plants, that there is always something to learn. I think we tend to gravitate towards the plants we remember from our youth. The things that are familiar.

There are several plants that I love that do not grow here in North Texas especially peonies and lilacs. Those are some of my favorites. Some gardeners have had success with peonies but I haven't prepped a special bed for them yet. I'm still trying to decide where I could plant them and they might succeed.

What's blooming in your area?

What a Fabulous Spring Break!

What a fabulous spring break!

It started with a trip the Quilt Guild of Dallas Quilt show. My youngest daughter went with me (she loves fabric—smart girl!) and my neighbor Randi went also. We had a fun time and saw some lovely quilts.

"Celtic Nine-Patches" by Jaynette Huff. Paper foundation pieced and hand-appliqued and –beaded.




"Hugs and Kisses" by Jay Conrad. It was an fun and colorful use of plaid.





"Three-inch Ohio Star" by Annie Rosser who claims she enjoyed every block. Beautiful work.




A bunny quilt! "Bunnies Running Amok" by Sally Brown.





When we go to quilt shows we think of a “motif” or “traditional pattern” that we play I Spy and look for in the show. When we walked the Dallas show we decided to look for bunnies! As this was our bunny quilt. So pretty!
There are even bunnies in the quilting.



It has a very pretty border and a lovely scalloped edge.



"Amish Go to Hawaii" by Pebble Rehm.



"Bubblicious" by Concetta Boscardin






“Millefiori Revival” by Rebecca Yarbrough. I’m in love with this. I’m fascinated by these diamond star hexagons. Absolutely beautiful!



“Stars Over America” by Joelen Mershon


“Star Light, Star Bright” by Iva Grant. This quilt was pieced by Judith Earp and hand-quilted by Iva. Amazing!






“Dots” by Sharon Chambers. Lots and lots of polka dots-so fun!





“Shannon’s Eye of the Storm” by Vicki Conley. Look for the Storm at Sea pattern.


Even Ellie gave the eye “the eye”.





And the grand prize winner – the aptly named “Icing on the Cake” my Linda M. Roy.


If Randi had moved a little bit to the right, she could have been Best of Show.

But we had to check out the vendors too. Ellie enjoyed hanging out with some well-dressed girls…



and tried on a lovely hat.




Ellie came home with some fabric for an new outfit and I came home with a portable design wall. Sigh. I said I wasn’t going to buy anything. But that didn’t last.

So with the new design wall up, I put up my meager blocks and started ironing. I’ve gotta get busy!





I may currently be a slacker, but now, at least, I look like a professional slacker!

Spring Break!

No Eventude update but the kids, husband and I had a lovely time at the zoo.










Check back for an update soon.

Spring Break!

I do not have an Eventide update! I went to a quilt show with my
youngest daughter this weekend. Then I took all three kids (with
hubby) to the zoo. We had a fun time.

More redbuds

The redbuds are opening more and more each day.



It’s what says "spring" to me. I love seeing the purple-pink color in a stand of trees. We look for them along the creek areas.





Perhaps daffodils are what says spring to you? Here is my first daffodil. I think it is a “Full Throttle” variety. But there’s only one so far.



And I love blue. On cloudy days, they just seem so vibrant.

Slower Than Molasses in January...

I'm slower than molasses in January (well, for the northern hemisphere).

It seems that I have gravely underestimated the time I need to spend in this project. I have two blocks done! Woo hoo!




But it’s slowly starting to make sense to my little mind. I thought I would make a block by itself so I could understand the process.

I sew in my living room, in front of the window seat. I like the natural lighting although today, it’s overcast, gray, and dark. Not the greatest light for picture taking—but it is time for an update!




I cut my fabric by the front door on top of a cabinet! So going back and forth from the sewing machine (see it in the background?) to the cutting area is not the quickest use of my time in putting a block together. But I am getting the hang of it and understand the sewing and cutting instructions the more I read them. Now that I've made a couple of blocks, I'll work and cut out all the necessary pieces. That will save time in the running back and forth!




I'm not that swift when it comes to reading and figuring out the pattern. I read them. I think I understand. I read them. I do a little cutting. I’m slowly getting the hang of it.

I have sewn a few of the Ohio Stars parts and pieces and it's lovely to see the colors together. They are just not an actual "star" yet! But "hope springs eternal"!





I have also underestimated the “lights” that I have for this project. I need to dig in the fabric stash for a lot more light fabrics to really get rolling.

I guess it looks like I’m working hard. At least it’s messy enough to look like I’m working!