How is it Possible?

How have two weeks passed since I last posted?  It isn’t intentional.  The time just slips away.  Maybe because Spring finally arrived, and I’ve been spending some time outdoors.  I’m taking almost daily photos of this tulip because I think it’s the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen.  Our daffodils are all gone now, but there are still plenty of tulips, and the Azaleas are now starting to bloom.

Last weekend, we took a hike on the Trillium Trail, which is just off the Appalachian Trail in Virginia.  The Trilliums hadn’t peaked yet, but we saw thousands of them.

We saw many other types of wildflowers as well.  Many of them were very tiny, but we enjoyed taking photos of them all.

 

Today, I took a walk by myself, because Mr. QD wasn’t interested in joining me.  I went to a nearby National Park, with a great walking trail.   I took special note of the mothers out there.

The geese let me get fairly close, but they were hissing their warnings.

 

 

 

I was a great day for basking in the sun, although a shady trail was another option.

In addition to my nature hikes, I’ve actually been doing some stitching.  I finished the baby quilt for my coworker.

The white squares have stars embroidered in them, and the white inner border has the verse “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star, Do you know how loved your are?” embroidered.  They don’t show up very well in the photos, but I’m quite pleased with the results.  The nine patches are made from a variety of blue and green fabrics that were left over from another project.  And I went wild and crazy and quilted stars.

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve also started a SAL with Alma at Blackbird Designs.

I’m sure it’s not too late to join if you’re interested.

I’ve been going up to bed much earlier the past few nights, to do some reading, as part of my focus on my health this year.  I’ve had two visits to a dietician, and only after the second visit did I learn that my health insurance is not paying one penny of the cost!  I’ll be getting the rest of my information from books that I already own.  So much for preventive care.

And now I’m off to exercise, following a yummy dinner of grilled shrimp and green beans.  I’m eating quite healthy these days!

Sunny

Quilts and Flowers

My guild’s quilt show was this weekend, and although it’s a relatively small show, there was some incredible talent on display.  This was probably my favorite.

The detail on this quilt was amazing.  The dancer was so detailed that she had painted fingernails and toenails, and was wearing a tiny diamond earing. 

The quilting on this next quilt fascinated me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the other pictures I took for inspiration for the future.

There were a few vendors at the show, and I may have purchased a small amount of fabric.  I’ve really been doing very well this year with only using fabric in my stash, but I felt the need to enhance that stash just a little.  I had heard that there was a really nice wool vendor, but they apparently

packed up at the end of the day on Saturday.  What a disappointment.  I guess I’ll just have to place another order with my friend Cathi at Shakerwood Woolens.

When I got home this afternoon, I spent some time in my front yard taking photos of our flowers.  Mr. QD loves flowers, and we have a very nice selection of bulbs in the Spring.

Last weekend, we took a drive looking for wildflowers.  DH got a tip about a field of flowers that we just had to see!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mother Nature is giving us a real treat after the long hard winter!

If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you know that I LOVE SPRING!!

When not taking pictures of flowers, I’ve been working like crazy on a baby quilt for a coworker.  I took this picture a week ago, and I’ve added a lot of embroidery since then.  I was hoping to get it finished today, but I’m not quite there.

Stay tuned….Sunny

Happy Easter, FNSI, and Vacation

Although it is morning at my house, I know that many of my friends are ending their Sunday.  I hope you all have or had a lovely Easter, surrounded by family, friends, and love.

This promises to be a long post, so make yourself comfortable if you plan to stick around for our adventures.  I’ll start with FNSI results, for those who might only be interested in seeing if I’ve actually sewed or stitched lately. 

The answer is Yes!  On Friday night, I worked on this wool applique, which is a pattern by my friend Liz at Sunflower Fields Pattern Co.  I just have to make it into something now!

I had prepped this and taken it on vacation, but never found time to work on it. 

I’m taking a crazy quilt class, and I also worked on it Friday night.  I got behind while I was away, so I have a lot of stitching to do.  I’m really enjoying learning how to do this.  I had always imagined that the stitches were all done free hand, but the instructor is teaching us to use templates to place our stitches, which helps immensely.

More stitching has taken place since this photo was taken yesterday.

Earlier in the week, I finished a baby afghan that I started on our trip.  As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, crocheting is about the only thing I can do in a car and I was going to be in a car a lot!

I look for simple and mindless, and this was a perfect pattern for my needs.  I have another that is near completion, and I’ll try to finish it soon so I can take them to the NICU at our local hospital.

VACATION

My eldest nephew got married last Saturday in Pensacola Florida.  It was a beautiful ceremony on a beautiful day.

We spent 3 days and nights with my entire family in a beach condo with a huge deck, and we all spent as much time outdoors as possible.  I had the opportunity to meet the lovely girlfriends of two other nephews ~ more weddings in the future? 

Mr. QD and I did some sightseeing and shopping the day before the wedding.  He is the shopper in our family, but since I was out with him and forced into the stores, I did purchase a few items of clothing for spring.  I insisted on a visit to A&E Fabrics in Pensacola.  It was a good thing I had dome my research before stopping, because the fabric is located in the back of a pharmacy!  They had a huge selection of fabric, but I was good and only bought a pattern and a Moda jelly roll.  I spent most of my time looking at books. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My sister and I even slipped off for a few minutes on Saturday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other purpose of our vacation was to visit four states that I had never been to.  Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve now been to 47 of 50 states!  We spent a day in New Orleans, sampling beignets and chicory coffee in addition to some wonderful seafood.

 

 

 

 

We also roamed Bourbon street ( by daylight) and rode streetcars.  I hope to go back some day and see more of the city.  It wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

There was more to the trip, but I think this is more than enough for now.  I started a baby quilt yesterday, and I want to get back to it!

Thanks for coming along on my travels…..Sunny