Not good sewing weather

Billy- my favorite

We had a gorgeous weekend, weather wise.  That means I spent almost no time in the sewing room.  It will now be a rainy day activity, which is sad because:
a) I didn't get near as much done over the winter as I had hoped.
b) I will be hoping for more and more rainy days as time to register for the quilt show gets closer.







There wasn't much to take pictures of out there yet, so here are the kittens, instead.  They are growing so fast!

Angela, Andy and Edmond

Edmond

No, I can't tell them apart- without comparing them to each other and looking under their tails.  (how rude)

I did whip up a couple of skirts for Kiara.  I have been told she wants skirts that cover her shoes.  So I lengthened a pattern I had.  I wasn't sure how much to add, though.....

It looks like I went a little too far.
I love this one, and wish I had made it in my size!


(Isn't she a pretty little thing?)












I have the raffle quilt again, so I can mark the quilting on the last border!!!  (you will hear the celebration when this thing is finally FINISHED, I assure you!)

 I got out the high tech tools, I have used to design this quilt from the beginning....
(the dry erase marker was to mark on a large sheet of clear vinyl I use for this purpose.  Do not ever get this ink on your quilt!)

So here is a sneak preview of the final border design.  I keep thinking I would like to make another one of these quilts for myself, since I just love it.  But I would never be able to get it to come out the same since so much of it has been done this way.  I have shared my "pattern" previously.
I want to post a picture of the whole quilt, but haven't been able to get one since I have no way to suspend myself from the ceiling.

Today is Earth Day, so people are talking about being more earth friendly and sharing save the planet posts on facebook, etc.  This needs to be part of our lives, not one day a year but every day.  As the UN report said, it's now or never.  It should have been done 40 years ago.
The effects of the inaction of the world leaders  are already changing our world.  In the Midwestern and Western US, there are already battles heating up over water usage as farms demand more and more of it for crops that should probably not even be grown in these areas.    And we are all aware of the changes to our weather patterns in the past few years.
There is, nor will there be, an easy answer.  One thing is for sure; if we don't demand it, nothing will change.  Don't tell your friends you wish you could do something, get involved any way you can.  Join your voice to others and make yourself heard.



I am grateful for:
Being outside
Birdsongs
Macaroni and cheese
Sleeping with the windows open
Random interactions

Observations in the garden

We have had a wonderful spring ( actually summer-like) weekend, weather-wise.  So, I have been out in the gardens.  I can't work in the big bed out back yet  (and really that one just needs to be plowed under, but I digress)  because the back yard is still a swamp.  Have you ever walked in a bog?  That's my back yard.                                                

So, what have I found in the gardens?  Obviously, the early flowers are blooming.   The crocus will be past their prime in another day or two.  They come and go so quickly!  But I am grateful every year for the gift of their color after months of grey.  The rabbits or deer have been nibbling on the foliage a bit from the look of these.

  The first of my tiny irises was there to greet me this morning!  They also come and go very quickly.   Sadly, I have also discovered the results of the winter we have endured will linger in my garden all summer.  There were spots where the perennials were getting quite overgrown.  I hadn't done much about it because I don't know where to put the extras and I hate throwing them in the scrap pile.  I won't have to worry about that, I fear.  The candytuft and creeping phlox are mostly dry and brown.  The bergenia is black.   

 Other observations, in no particular order:

• Rabbits poop a lot, assuming that is who has been spending time in the front beds.  (Free fertilizer!)

• Teabags are not good candidates for "composting in place"- the lazy way.  You dump scraps in the garden under the top layer of soil, or your mulch, and the "bugs" break it down for you.  Slower, but less work.  Anyway, over the winter I have dumped the bucket of kitchen waste here and there in the gardens, figuring it would get stirred in when I rake and plant  this spring.  There are teabags everywhere out there.

• I am going to have to learn to love dandelions in order to save myself both heartache and backache.

• My cat is just as happy chasing dry leaves in the wind as she is chasing mice!     

            

 

 I did spend a little time in the sewing room this weekend and finally finished the banner for the EZ-up tent the guild uses for selling raffle tickets at summer events.  I had discovered already pieced strip sets from the brightly colored raffle quilt I designed for the 2012 quilt show and thought this would be a good use for them.  People will sure see it.




I have a new summer indulgence, assuming it wasn't a fluke that Tops had these.  If you like dark chocolate, you must try them!










My green thought for today will be to share other "lazy" gardening tips.  Some of them will allow you to use less chemicals, fuel in mowers, and put less into the waste stream.

I am grateful for:
A nice long chat with Guy.
Lucas' finger feels better.
The kittens' diarrhea seems to be gone!
Eating dinner on the screen porch.
Cooking on the grill.

Wait! Where did March go??

I had a very busy month of March this year.  It started with the guild retreat.  Two weeks after that Kathi, Tracy and I went to Lancaster.  Two weeks after that I went to visit my BFF in Cincinnati, Ohio.  and before I knew it a month had vanished!
I had a great time, but if I was home I was trying to catch up on what didn't get done while I was away!  Hubby said I am now grounded.  He doesn't know I am glad to have nothing more scheduled until October.





Fortunately I am back in kitten fostering mode.  So that means these sweet babies (and their mom) rely on me to be there every day.  There are five of them- nearly identical.  No, I can't tell them apart!







While at Mary Lee's house, I had kitties to keep me company too.  She inherited her son's cats when he decided he could no longer care for them.  They had names, but Mary simply calls them Black Kitty ...

and Not Black Kitty.  Both big sweet loveable boys, who sort of took turns sleeping with me in the guest room.

( I had brought the quilt I always travel with,  and somehow they knew there was something in the house they hadn't slept on yet)

Mary's back yard is the total opposite of mine.  She was apologetic that is was so brown, but I enjoyed looking out her windows.  I even went out and did some bird-watching!







There are wildflowers coming up everywhere in her yard.  I had fun trying to identify them based only on leaves peeking up.  But the Dog Toothed Violets were easy since they were already in bloom!  I had never seen white ones before.

Following the cat theme of this post, I am also including a picture of the cat dolls I made from a pattern I got at the Lancaster show.  The designer, at Gold Star Stitchery,  is also a "crazy cat lady" at the shelter near her- volunteering one day a week and donating proceeds from her patterns to the shelter!
The pattern is called "Chessie". You can see her other patterns- and dolls she has for sale here.

One of these cats is male.  I made him that way for one of my fellow CCL's at the shelter.  Her daughter suggests I make more of them with Velcro- sort of a neutering demo! 

My green though is based on the fact that with the snow melting you can see all the garbage which has collected along the roads.  Pretty ugly. It is so easy to see when you are traveling what a difference the bottle deposit laws have made in New York.  I don't know why it isn't a national law!

I am grateful for:
Time with Mary after months and months!
Baby kitties to cuddle and improve my mood. (you can't spend time in "the nursery" and still be in a bad mood!)
The great blessing of working part-time.
The crocuses are blossoming at my house.
My fellow cat ladies.

Fine Arts Student work

 In the gallery at GCC right now is my favorite exhibit of the year,  featuring the work of our own very talented students.  I look forward to this show every year. 











I love the fact that they are apparently encouraged to find ways to make are from "trash!"

 







The picture I took of the "middle" piece, wasn't good enough to share. 
Aren't these beautiful?  I kind of want one.

Sadly, the gallery isn't open very often.  The gallery manager position is vacant at the moment, and may not be filled for a long time. It's a shame, really. The gallery could be a great asset for the college, but they haven't found a way to make it live up to its potential.  I'm hoping that they will.

Meanwhile, in my sewing room.....

I made a sort of Easter basket with a couple of the "rejected" fat quarters from the left right center game at retreat.



I layered them, and quilted the whole thing.  I cut the corners away to make the basket.  Not wanting to waste them, I zigzagged the edges and made coasters.

I bought Mary Lou Weidman's book, Flower Power, last year, but have never taken time to play with it.  I finally moved that to the top of the list.  I may or may not ever use this flower.  I was thinking of Kathi while I worked on this, since I decided it didn't matter if I hated the result- I was only learning the process!  (Kathi will understand)
I actually made a big mistake on my very first attempt.  Those star points weren't supposed to look like that.  But When I realized I did them wrong, I decided to see what I could do with them!
I enjoyed doing it.  That's all that matters.

I never shared pictures of the clothes I made.  But they don't look nice on a hanger.  So this dogwood fabric is a sort of a jacket.
The Kaffe Fassett print is a spring/summer dress. I'm hoping we will someday have spring and summer.



















I saw an episode of "Only in America" with Larrry the Cable Guy last week, showing something called the "Loveable Loo".  It is a composting toilet.  You basically go in a bucket, dump it into the compost box and get nice soil for your gardens.  I admit it, part of me wanted one.  But since my composting efforts went awry due to the fact that I am lazy about it, I know I am not really the right person for this.  (If you do it right, it creates heat, which kills the bacteria.)  So I have found my limit.  If our water supplies do become as precious as is predicted, I will have to.  But for now I will "pass".  

I am grateful for:

My sewing time.
Red-winged blackbirds,  Turkey Vultures, and Woodchucks- all of whom know spring is coming!
Really yummy soup.
Sunshine!
How funny George is.

AQS show Lancaster

 Kathi, Tracy and I had a wonderful three days together on our trip to see Kathi's "Ice Crystals" quilt in the AQS Lancaster show! 


The trip started outwith us all having to dig our way out of the snow from the storm which passed through on Wednesday, March 12.  Apparently the one day snowfall records were all broken by this storm.  Kind of funny, considering the name of Kathi's quilt! 

This was taken on Friday when we met up with Carol,  one of my online quilting buddies.  The artwork behind us is at the main desk at the Lancaster Convention Center.
One of their friendly staff members was nice enough to take our picture.










Many of the quilts I loved best were not award winners. The choices are subjective- even from show to show!
All of the tiny appliqued circles on this one amazed me!

Anything with lots of color is going to be a favorite of mine, especially when paired with black!
















 Marylin Badger had two collaborative pieces in this show I felt should have been award winners.  This one  just amazed me!
 





















This piece by Leona Harden won my admiration for the use of metallic threads!  Not only that, she created the gradation effect in the stars with her quilting.

 

Another piece with metallic threads, and LOTS of sparkle.  I know some people think the crystals are overused, but I just love them.  I so want to create a piece where the quilting gives me lots of places to add sparkles!!!

 This piece made me wish I had thought of this when the blue prints for our house were newer!  What an awesome way to record the creation of a new home!















There were two zentangle pieces, which of course I loved!

 (Apologies to Karen Marchetti for not getting a close up of her label)
This piece was made for a black and white challenge.  She spent 80 hours inking and coloring this design!














Apologies also to the very nice rep in the Sulky booth, who allowed me to photograph his small quilt.  I'm sure I wrote down his name, but I promptly lost the scrap of paper I wrote it on!
He said as soon as he saw "Zentangle", he knew he would love it!  This piece was done with NO stops and starts- beginning in the upper left corner, to the lower right!!








I will share more pictures in my next post.  There was a LOT to enjoy at the show!!

 There was also a lot to enjoy in the Lancaster area!
On Thursday we enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Red Rose restaurant, just up the street from the convention center.  Afterward we were treated to an entertaining ride back to our car on the shuttle.  The driver was a nice man, formerly from South Africa. He was a hunting guide and rancher there, but was forced to abandon the ranch.  In spite of what must have been a terrible loss, he has apparently not not lost his zest for life!
On Friday we had a great fish and chips meal at Annie Bailey's Irish pub, also just up the street!  I bet they will have a wonderful corned beef dinner for St Patrick's day!

Before we left for home, we headed down to Intercourse to enjoy the amazing fabric selection at Zooks, and the best hot pretzels in the world at Immergut, right next door!

There is no "green" portion to this post. Instead I feel the need to rant about the sudden need for every part of our lives to be scented.  I suffer from allergies/ chemical sensitivity.  Those so-called air fresheners are like poison to me.  I can't breathe in rooms with them.  I place a scarf over my nose to use the rest room- or hold my breath until I think I will pass out.  Today- after three days of being subjected to them- I am suffering from a horrendous attack of sinus inflammation.  I have used half a box of tissues and taken numerous OTC remedies to be able to function at all.  I know I am not alone in my total loathing of these products and the notion that every aspect of our lives must have a scent.  In frank terms, I would rather a bathroom smell like what occurs in there, than some chemical representation of "fresh mountain air".  I have threatened to start a revolt against this trend.  Care to join me???

I am grateful for:
Three days with good friends!
Random interactions with friendly and interesting people.
That hot pretzel, and sitting outside in the sunshine to eat it.
Signs of spring.
Sleeping in my own bed.