Just Another Saturday

Our lilac bush is in bloom, and it smells yummy!  I snapped a couple of shots as we left home this morning.  Our destination today was a nursery in PA, but we were in no hurry to get there.  DH wanted to stop at the Outlets in Gettysburg, so we walked around and did a little shopping.  The only money I spend was in the Pepperidge Farms store.   shhhh.... 

Our bonus for the day was Greyhounds in Gettysburg.  Behind the outlet mall were vendor tents selling anything and everything Greyhound, and there were Greyhounds everywhere.  Almost all of the mall stores had a sign in the window stating that dogs were welcome inside.  A few had signs saying that owners were welcome inside, and dogs outside.  Somehow I just missed the large parade.

What a beauty!

Styling in the cold.

Travelling in style

About a half hour later, we arrived at Ashcombe, a nursery I had visited many years ago.  We oohed and aahed over the flowers, loaded up our cart, and pretty well filled up the back of my car. 

It's too early to plant in the ground yet, but several of these will go into pots, and we can go ahead and get them potted.  The others will stay safely on the front porch until all threat of frost has passed.  We've had such strange weather lately, that we don't want to take any chances. 

Our next stop was a fabric shop, Needle & Thread, which specializes in Civil War reproductions, and fabric for reenactment costumes.  There were two men in the store while I was there, purchasing fabric and trims for their costumes.  As you can imagine, Civil War Re-enactments are big business in this area.  There was also a family in the store with a greyhound, so I asked some questions, and learned a little more about the group.  And yes, it WAS a fabric store, and some fabric and a couple of books may possibly come home with me.

And lest you think I did no stitching today, rest assured that I did a tiny bit of crocheting while DH was shopping, and I intend to spend the rest of the evening settled comfortably in my chair, with cross stitch and applique at hand.

Contentedly stitching away.....Sunny

April Flowers

We started with April flowers, then came the April showers.  It's been quite cool here the past few days, but we really needed the rain, and the flowers and Robins are very happy.  Even the hexie flowers are happy!

I was too lazy to go downstairs to cut more white fabric this afternoon, so I made a bunch of centers.  White fabric is now cut, and my garden will be blooming!  The end is near for this particular hexie garden.  If you'd like to see more hexies, visit Karen's blog for a linky list to more beautiful flowers.
I've completed my Christmas Through the Year gift for April.  The part that looks black is actually a nice dark green.  I think this will make a lovely candle mat.  This will also count as OPAM for April.

Another finish was my April BSA block.  Jessica requested a cat block.  Not surprisingly, I have at least three cat quilt patterns, so this was a fun one to make.  I did the applique by hand, but it is NOT needle turn! .

 I'm working on another needle turn project at the time, and this method is NOT my friend. But I am improving.  Fortunately, the applique is only a small part of the project, so I might possible have it finished by month end.

There are a couple of cross stitch projects in progress as well.  I always have either a needle or a crochet hook in my hands.  The high light of my workday is sitting in my car at lunchtime, working on a needle work project.  Am I pathetic or what?

"Sew to your heart's content."        Sunny

wanna play P-I-F?

About a year ago, I signed up for a P-I-F, and while I was unemployed, I set about making 3 gifts for the recipients who signed up.  And although I never received my handmade gift, I'm going to play again this year.  I signed up with Teresa at Quilting Stitching and Sew On.  Here are the rules:

I will send a surprise gift to the first three people to comment on this post. This gift will be made by me and I will send it sometime within the next year. Exactly when you will receive it will be a surprise (it will probably be a surprise to me too :-D).

Of course there are some rules in this game. Here it goes:

Rules:1. I will make a little something for the first 3 people that comment on this post. It will be a surprise and may arrive at any time in the next 365 days (yes, a year).

2. To sign up to receive a gift from me you must play along too. Share the giving love on your blog by promising to send a handmade goodie to the first three people that comment on your blog post.

3. You must have a blog.

4. After commenting on my post, you have to post this (or similar) on your blog to spread the love. If you haven't posted in 48 hours then the next commenter will be chosen

 

Would you like to play??

 

 

 

Mid Month miscellaneous

I didn’t realize how long it has been since I last posted.  I’ve been managing to keep myself quite busy.  We had houseguests for Easter weekend, which required a little cleaning on my part.  I would much rather stitch than clean, so cleaning does not happen as frequently as it should. 

We went to Annapolis, MD on Saturday, where we enjoyed a tasty seafood lunch, some shopping, a boat tour of the harbor, and then a tasty seafood dinner. 

Easter Sunday involved a lot of cooking for DH, more guests, good food and lively conversation.  Sadly, I didn’t get out my camera all day. 

I’ve been doing some crocheting, making my monthly rectangles, and working on a pink afghan that has been a long-term project.  Perhaps it will be a finish later this year?  I’ve been keeping it in my car and I work on it most days on my lunch hour at work. 

I’ve also been making hexies.  I had run out of white fabric, and had to go on a hunt for more.  I thought I found the perfect match at JoAnn’s, but upon closer inspection at home, I realized that it’s not the same.  But close enough, so I continue with my white flowers.  I need about 20 more, along with 17 half flowers, and approximately 200 connecter ‘petals’.  A few other small projects are nearing completion and will be appearing in this space in the coming days. 

I’m off to stitch a few hexies now!

Spending a contented Sunday…….Sunny

And so the month ends....

In my time zone, there are almost two hours left in March, and I've finished one more project.  Here's my Christmas Through the Year gift.

I was inspired by Quilt Hollow, who found her tutorial at the Moda Bake Shop.  I've always admired Cathedral windows, and now I know just how simple they are to make!  I'll be making more when I'm not so rushed.  Try one if you haven't already!

Sadly, my arthritis is acting up, and I tried to quilt tonight, but I just couldn't do it.  Sew, there's no Sew It's Finished for this month.  But tomorrow is a new month, and I can start on all new projects.  I've already kitted up my ornament for the month and chosen a pattern for my BSA block.  I'm pretty well adjusted to being back to work now, so I should be more productive in April.

One last little thing to share.  I work for a very large global company.  Yesterday at lunchtime, I was sitting in my car playing Words With Friends with my friend Kate in Australia.  So it seemed very ironic to hear a 'clip clop' sound, and see this buggy go by. 

A tale of two centuries?

Stitch on, my friends.........Sunny

Getting Caught Up

As much as I love having a paycheck, working for a living certainly interferes with my schedule!  My body clock has adjusted, and all is well with the cats, so I'm starting to be a little more productive.  If it weren't for all my online groups, this month would have been a waste, but I'm trying like heck to meet all my 'obligations' and stay on track. 

Please note the temperature recorded by my car, on my way to work Tuesday morning, approximately 2 minutes after sunrise.

Here is the same shot the following morning at the same time!

And this is what the ground looked like.

But it is NOT snow - we had a Blossom Blizzard!  Remember the white blooms on the trees last week?  Bye bye blossoms.  A few more gratuitous flower pictures before I get to the stitchy stuff, because in case I haven't mentioned it a time or twenty, I LOVE SPRING!!

While we're on the subject of flowers, I only made one hexie flower this week.  But I did count all my flowers, and I will only be making white flowers for the next few weeks.  But first, I need to find more of my white fabric. 

And these beautiful  flowers arrived in the mail yesterday, all the way from Croatia!  Thanks Simona.

Today's mail brought my monthly basket block, this time from Kim B.  It's a beauty!  I think this is 18 or 19 blocks now, so I need to change my theme soon, and start assembling a basket quilt.

I just finished Kim's block tonight, and it was a challenge. I think I used an entire spool of thread, sewing and ripping and sewing and ripping and sewing again.  If she doesn't like it, I don't want to know about it.  Just kidding, Kim.   sort of.

And now for my OPAM.  I've had a vision in my head, (yes, along with the little voices) for awhile now, and I've been searching for a template to make some little thimbles.  While at my retreat last weekend, I noticed our hostess had a tiny little thimble wall hanging, so I inquired as to where she had found the template.  She said it had been part of a kit, and she would find it and lend it to me.  So I put my other projects on hold, and started cutting thimbles. 

Ta Da!  I bought this old frame a few months ago, and was saving it just for this project.  I photographed it without the glass, because the glass is convex - it's so cool!  Do you think I should add a couple of buttons or something to the strip where the word is?

The other project I worked on at the retreat is my NewFO for the month. 

I just need to applique some leaves to the nine flower blocks, and then assemble it.  It will be an easy finish for next month.  I'm mentally changing the outside border because I don't like what the pattern calls for. 

Oops, almost forgot my ornament for the Ornament a month Challenge,  I picked a very quick and easy pattern this month.  It's a freebie, but I don't remember where I found it.  If you know, please help me out so I can give credit where credit is due.

I think that's it for tonight.  I still have to come up with a finish for Sew It's Finished, and I still need to make a gift for Christmas Through the Year.  I'll be back in a couple of days with the results! 

Contentedly, Sunny

One Flower Thursday (?) and Scooter update

This picture was taken just moments ago, with Scooter on the sofa in the living room, where she belongs in the evening!  She was still in 'seclusion' when I left for work this morning, but was waiting by the kitchen when I came home.  She had a nice dinner, and I gave her a little belly rub, which is one of our little rituals.  She seems totally normal.  I'll keep a close eye on her for a few days, looking for any strange behavior. 

Because of her little disappearing act last night, I didn't get much done.  DH is out of town for a couple of days, and I was really looking forward to my Home Alone night.  Do you think his feelings would be hurt if I asked him to stay away for an extra night?  I did finally stitch a flower, and added it to the others that I made over the weekend at my retreat.  Saturday was a beautiful day, and a friend wanted to sit out on the porch and sew down a binding, so I grabbed my hexie kit and joined her.  I had raided the scrap basket earlier, so had a few little snippets of fabric that wanted to join my garden.

Spring has sprung here in Western Maryland.  I was shocked on Sunday when I got home from the retreat, and saw that our trees had turned white.  I was only gone a little more than 48 hours!

We also have daffodils in bloom, and a few tulips are beginning to open.  The neighbors have beautiful azaleas, and I'm seeing tulip magnolias and forsythia in all their glory.  I just love watching the earth come back to life in the spring. We were thinking of going to Washington DC on Saturday to see the cherry blossoms, but I think there's rain in the forecast for the weekend, and they'll be past peak, so we probably won't make it this year. 

This picture was taken Monday morning, and the daffodils on the left side of the sidewalk still haven't opened.  They look like they're going to burst, but I think someone glued them shut?

In case you're wondering, I didn't finish any projects at the retreat, but I'll try to have pictures by the end of this weekend.

Contentedly watching my kitties.......Sunny

I'm Sad

Scooter, Zippy. Chloe

I know that as a 'mom' I'm not supposed to have a favorite, but I do. It's my Scooter.  I've had her for 14 1/2 years.  But I can't find her tonight.  She's an indoor cat, and has never tried to escape outside.  So she's here somewhere, but I've looked under and/or behind every piece of furniture,and  in every closet.  She didn't come out for dinner, so I'm assuming she's sick or hurt, or worse.  Any ideas for where else I can look?

Edited to add:  I've found her, but I can't get close to her.  At least I know she's still alive at this point.