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.

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?