Thank You Thelma!

Thelma sent a bright and beautiful mug rug to participants that completed the Eventide quilt top.

It's so pretty! And went well with some Easter goodies.



I love post-it notes. And these are really pretty.



Are you planning to watch the royal wedding? We have friends gathering, to eat (of course!) and watch the wedding on DVR. And it's an opportunity to wear a hat.

I have a couple of smaller, vintage options, but I'm wanting a fuller hat. I'm totally inspired by Louise Green and love to look at the hats available on her website. But I really don't want to shell out the $300+ for a hat. But a girl can dream.

So maybe with what I have on hand--I can create something passable.






The hat is from Marshall's. The ribbon was $5 at Canton Trade days. And the bottles are from here, there, and yonder.

I'd better get busy!

Wishing You a Blessed Easter

"I'm coming to tell you this, that the heavens of heavens can't contain Him, let alone some man explain Him. You can't get Him out of your mind. You can't get Him off of your hands. You can't outlive Him and you can't live without Him. The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him. Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him. The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree about Him. Herod couldn't kill Him. Death couldn't handle Him and the grave couldn't hold Him. That's my King. "

Dr. S. M. Lockeridge, 1976

Crazy Weather

We were up late last night, listening to a hail storm pound everything outside. The roar in the house was unbelieveable. The hail hitting the roof was so loud--and just when we thought the hail might have passed, it would come down harder.

I waited 15 minutes after it was done to go outside to check the damage.

There were piles of ice on the patio.



And some larger pieces that were still lying around.



I'll need to check the roof today (strictly a ground viewing) and see what other damage there might be (that I can see in the daylight).

Some of the flowers took a beating. Some were close enough to the house that they escaped unscathed.

Trying to Show True Colors

Here are some more pics of Eastertide. It's interesting how much lighter the colors look in photos.






These colors are fun but in photos, these pastel colors look, well...pastey.





I took these indoors with the windows wide-open and all the lights on.

I should have crawled around the floor and straightened the quilt top a bit more. But I wasn't really motivated to crawl any more than what I did! I'm tired today!

The quilt was ironed and pressed at one time but it's so big there's no place to really hang it to keep it straight.

So here it is, wrinkles and all. But are the colors truer? I think the blues show up better but the other colors don't look true. I still like it though!

All Done

Here is the finished quilt top--only one week past the deadline. Ha!

The pic looks kind of blurry in the blog pic. Please click on it for a bigger and clearer view.

Since we're a litle ways from Easter, I'm thinking about calling it Eastertide. It does have the colors we think of when decorating for Easter.

This thing is big! My "assistant" is my husband. He's 6'4" and standing on a stool to hold the quilt. I was wanting to get a pic this morning and he graciously headed outside to help me find "the spot" to hold it and take a picture. Thanks hubby!

Ready for a Glamour Shot

All finished! All I need now is some daylight.

Putting On The Rectangle Border

Two sides down...two more to go!

I might actually finish today!

Time spent outside

Yesterday I spent a bit of time outside. First a wind-blown soccer game and then some time in the yard at home.

The clematis is blooming.




And someone wanted me to throw the "ball".



That little blue lump of rubber is what's left of the ball. And Buttercup, on the left, loves to chase and retrieve it.

It does start out as a ball but eventually gets shredded. She's very happy to chase the bits that are left.

Brady, on the right, just sits and watches. He's very smart. But he'd prefer to watch Buttercup run and run out her energy.

Attaching The Red Strip

My red strips are not attaching to the main quilt that easily. The
red strip is too long. I have been re-sewing the red and white blocks
to make them a tad smaller.

Did your strip go on smoothly?

Still working on Eventide

Here's a "later" pic. I like the contrast of the vertical "sash".



I've been staying up past my bedtime, working on this Eventide pattern. I AM excited to see it come together.

Here's another "later" pic, the result of staying up too late.



Funny what you'll see when you're up late.

It's the Craig Ferguson nonexistent commerative plate. It's strange. It's funny. I find it really funny.

Are We There Yet?

The sewing machine is hot--I'm not. Give me an advil (and a few more hours!)




When's the EXACT deadline? ha!

I'll keep sewing so please check back soon as I try to finish putting everything together!

I plan on taking some daylight pics and hope that will make a difference in showing the colors.

I like them. But I'm still critical of the way it looks. I do not dislike it but hope the colors will show more true with natural light instead of "in the middle of the night" light in the living room.

I've under-estimated HOW long it takes to re-cut everything. I mean, trim the pieces to size after I've sewn the squares. Did you "square" everything before you pieced the quilt?

I swear my right arm and forearme have gained twice as much muscle from all the cutting, trimming, and trimming!

Must...keep...sewing...

Gotta keep on, keepin' on!

A looong way to before before I sleep....

And So April 1 is...

April's Fools Day! Did you play any pranks today? My kids complained that I didn't make them an April Fools Day breakfast. An fake egg. Marshmellow creme with a yellow pudding "yolk".

But that didn't happen this morning.

So I gave them sponge cake after dinner.

They liked the icing.



Yuck! I wouldn't of even eaten the icing after the fork hit the sponge.

But I did make Hot Water Sponges.




Forgive the picture. It really is Hot Water Sponges and not fried chicken. Hot Water Sponges are a sponge cake, covered with a thin icing and then rolled in chopped-up peanuts. I have seen these cakes called Blarney Stones also.



Hot Water Sponge

1 1/2 C sugar
1 1/2 C flour
3 t baking powder
4 eggs
3/4 C boiling water

Beat eggs well then add sugar. Beat well.
Add flour, baking powder and stir until mixed. Add hot water then vanilla. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

So there you have it--two kinds of sponges.