OPAM April

Wow, I don't have much to show for in April.  I did a lot of stitching, but not much got finished.  Look out next month!!!  I think this was my only finish for April,

We spent a day in the nearby mountains for some more wildflower hiking.  We didn't see a lot of variety, but we found a LOT of Jack in the Pulpits.  I've only seen a few before, so this was exciting.

There were a lot of yellow and purple violets, and even some Spring Beauties, which I don't remember noticing around here  before.   I think I get a lot more observant after our trips to the Smokies.

Until next time...... Sunny

FNSI and GSMNP!

I always get so anxious when people start posting their FNSI results and it's not even Friday night yet in my time zone!  IT worked out well this month though, because we had just returned from a short vacation, and I didn't even realize that it was FNSI.  I spent my evening making small yoyos.  I need 64  for an upcoming project, and Friday night took me past the halfway point.  I added a few more to the pile on Saturday.

And look what I whipped up one day.  A cute little  sewing machine cover for my Featherweight.  It was quite a challenge, because the piece from the panel that I used was so crooked!!  But a little stretching and I made it work.

Look what I found at our local Target store a couple of weeks ago!  Yummo!  I need to go back to see if they still have them.

Now about that short vacation.  It's April so it must be time for some wildflower hiking and photography in the Smokies.  Also known as Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  I just love Spring, and there's no better place to spend a few days enjoying nature.  Spring green is the best.  I did my best to contribute to their economy.

We saw flowers, falls, ferns, and fungi.  Mountain vistas, creeks, and flowering trees.  Rain and fog.  I bought a new flower book, and plan to spend the next couple of weeks identifying the flowers that I'm not already familiar with.  If I follow through with that plan, I hope to set up a new page on my blog if anyone is interested in seeing them.  In the meantime, enjoy the Smokies through my lens.

Thanks for coming along with us!  Hubby ordered a new lens for his camera, and it arrived while we were away, so I have a feeling there will be more wildflower pictures to follow.

Show someone you care today.....Sunny

My head is going to explode!

I know, I haven't shown many sewing/quilting pics lately and you think I'm not doing any sewing or quilting.  Not so!  As a matter of fact, I'm workind on so many projects that my head might just explode.  Here is the proof.

This is a pattern from Pam Buda's Prairie Women, Journey 1.  A small group of friends and I have started our own sewing circle, and this is our second project.  Obviously, this is not finished, but I had to get it up on the wall to see how it looked.  And I'm here to tell you, making scrappy log cabins is very tedious!  I'm using an old fat quarter bundle that I used at retreat for my Mussy Tussy quilt, also a Pam Buda design.

These blocks are from Quilts from the American Homefront.  I'm not sure how many blocks I will make as there are 121 to choose from in the book.  To make it a little more challenging, there are no patterns, just a color picture of each block.  And....I plan to make it entirely on my Featherweight.  I completed two of these blocks at retreat.  The block in the upper left corner is the first block in the book, and I was really stumped as to how to make it.  After discussing it with a couple of experts, we came up with a plan, and it worked!  I literally did a happy dance.

Because working on one sampler quilt is never enough, I'm also making progress on Quilt's from El's Kitchen, by Eleanor Burns.  Her sister, Pat Knoechel has spoken at our guild a couple of times, and I bought this book when she visited four years ago, and the fabric shortly thereafter.  Other than her Quilt in a Day Log Cabin, I haven't worked from an Eleanor Burns book before, and she gives fantastic instructions!  I think this one has 16 blocks surrounding a larger center block.

And what can be better than working with hexies and hand applique all at one time?  I have 12 blocks to this stage, and I have to prep and applique another batch of leaves.  I made them once but I did them backwards.   :-(    I tried to make them work, but they just didn't look right.  Oh well, lesson learned!

And, our guild has issued a Chicken Challenge.  The judging is tonight.  What do you think?

I'll leave you with some flower pictures from my yard and from my walk yesterday.

And now, I must go because I have a LOT of sewing to do!

Making it a great year.........Sunny

This one's for you, Di!

More time for Sewing!

My computer broke about a week ago, and I'm hoping my new one will be delivered tomorrow.  Fingers crossed.  I'm using an old computer in the basement right now, and I don't like it very much.  I can point and click on the broken one, but I  can't do anything that requires the keyboard.  I've been reading blogs, but I can't comment!

DH and I just went for a little photo shoot.  We had to dodge raindrops, but we found a few wildflowers.

We're going down to the Smoky Mountains in a couple of weeks, so we felt the need to dust off the cameras and get them ready for some heavy usage!

I've been working on several long-term sewing projects, but there's not much to show for it at this time.  I promise I'll have something to show soon!

Show someone you care today........Sunny