QuiltsnCats

I can't believe it -- I've gone two days without sewing a single stitch! Saturday I caught up with Splendid Sampler and 365 Challenge. I'm really disappointed to see we're back to making little dark blocks again in 365 challenge. I thought we were done with those and was looking forward to making the 6" blocks in lighter colors. Getting weary of those dark colors. Besides I was using scraps and I've about exhausted the dark reds and blues . Sunday we met my Daughter at the orchid show. I had some jade plants and other succulents for her so I was happy it was a cloudy day and the plants would be fine in the car while we were at the show. We enjoyed the show immensely and spent more than we should have. I bought 6 small plants; two that will hang on the bathroom wall, and several for the shelves alongside the kitchen window. After the show we went out to the parking lot so I could give her the jade plants and she takes a huge crate out of her ca...

90 degrees today! What happened to Spring?? I'm not ready for hot weather yet. To be honest, I'm never ready for it. It can stay Spring and Fall forever and make me really happy. This week I've been making the corner blocks for the center medallion of the 365 Challenge. To be perfectly honest, I cheated on this Corner 3 below and didn't do the mitered corner. Half square triangles give the same result, are faster, and use less fabric. When I opened the bedroom window yesterday I was greeted with the most marvelous fragrance. so with the help of a walking stick (my back is still not back to normal and I'm hobbling like the old lady that I am) I ventured out t the backyard. I want to bottle the combined fragrance. Orange Blossom Pink Jasmine Lilac Apothecary Rose Pittosporum Tobira I

The camping weekend was fun. I finished the top I started last year. Now to get it quilted. We couldn't have asked for better weather. We filled up the hummingbird feeder and within a couple hours one bossy little male Allen's hummingbird claimed it as his own and was chasing away any other males that came close. Came home Easter evening in time to put together a stripped-down holiday meal of ham and scalloped potatoes. Gotta keep some of the traditions…. Monday -- back to reality and worse. I woke up and went to get out of bed and my back went out. Fortunately the walker was parked in the bedroom as I couldn't even get to the bathroom without it. I have a hitch hiker;  if it has wheels Simba will ride: Tuesday -- Happy birthday :-(  DH brought me flowers and a gluten free pizza for dinner as I couldn't go out. Oh well -- I've had many birthdays so I really don't need any more. Pain pills and muscle relaxants helping with the pain. I even got caught up on...

I'm slipping on my writing here, but it has been a busy week. I'm all caught up on my various sew-a-longs, done some cleanup in the backyard, and repotted our Jade plants on the front porch.  The poor plants had gotten so big they were tipping over. Parsley and dill have been planted in the herb tubs in the driveway. I have to grow them in the front yard as the back is too shady for the veggies and herbs. Perfect for ferns and violets, though. St. Patricks day I got up early and put the corned beef in the crockpot and we took a trip up to the hills to do some maintenance on our campsite.I hadn't been up there for quite a while and the first thing I saw was our wisteria blooming. It smells so good! We pulled some weeds, filled the bird feeders, and moved a big pile of bricks, starting to get ready to level the ground so we can get a new(er) trailer. Our last one was old and very leaky and falling apart so we got rid of it and are looking for another one. We came home a...

A very lazy day. Yesterday I only did the daily 365 Challenge block as far as sewing goes, but the day was so beautiful and warm and it called me outside. My garden has turned into a jungle in the years since my back injury so there is work to be done. Oxalis has taken over so I set about pulling some up. Then I pulled up some more, And more. And so it went for several hours until I had filled several crates. When I was thoroughly stiff and breathless I figured it was time to take a break and fix dinner.  Homemade gluten free gnocchi alfredo. Today I'm so stiff and sore I can hardly move. Took a muscle relaxant and tylenol but that only made me sleepy, so I slept away the afternoon instead of doing anything productive. The garden is going to take a lot more work; Once the oxalis was out of the way I found jasmine vines twining their way all over the yard, even climbing six feet up the fig tree that is a good thirty feet away from the original jasmine trellis. Violets are blooming...

Having spent yesterday going up to the hills with DH and then doing the shopping that should have been done a week ago (ran out of chocolate!), I had some catching up to do. My first-thing-in-the-morning waking up thing to do is turn on my phone and see what the 365 Challenge block is for the day. Oh my goodness did that wake me up fast! All the blocks so far have been 3 inchers so that is what I was expecting. Upon further investigating I (fortunately) discovered that we are now doing the center block, which is 18 ½ inches. Feb 28 This is the center; so tomorrow we add a couple borders to make it 18 ½ inches. Computers sure do odd things to colors; what looks to be yellow is actually cream and gold and those purpley triangles are really mostly blue. This is the one for the previous day: Feb 27 T Then I proceeded on to the Circa 2016 blocks. They are easy and so relaxing to do. These are bright and scrappy. I'm doing Westering ...

I was wakened early today by the sound of silence. That probably needs a bit of explanation. We have doves. Normally they start making dove noises as soon as it's light. Most make typical dove cooing, but one of ours sounds just like a barking dog and another sounds like a child laughing. At first I couldn't figure out what was wrong or why I was awake so early (for me), then it dawned on me that we were getting the silent treatment. They were out of food. I dragged myself out of my warm bed and went out and fed them. Feeding birds is my husbands job but I didn't feel like waking him up . Splendid Sampler  By then the chilly air had me wide awake and going back to sleep was not an option so I headed into the sewing room. Sunday is a Splendid Sampler day so I turned on the computer and downloaded the pattern for today. More hearts. Then I did yesterday and todays 365 challenge blocks.  All before noon. I hardly knew what do to for the rest of the day but I managed to ...

After being gone for a couple of days I had catching up to do -- three 365 Challenge blocks, one Splendid Sampler, and only one Broken Dishes block for Circa 2016, although I suspect more of these will be needed. While we were at the hospital waiting for my daughter to be out of surgery we went down to the cafeteria for lunch. Across the room from where we were seated there was what appeared to be a large mosaic covering the wall and after lunch I went over to take a closer look. It reminded me of a watercolor-type quilt. Imagine my surprise when I got close up: It was made up of photos of employees of the hospital foundation. Amazing! I admire the talent it took to accomplish it. My words of wisdom for today are if your rotary cutter falls don't try to catch it. I just hope it will be functional without too much pain for my jelly roll class tomorrow.

Beautiful sunny day, a little windy in the morning but not at all cold. I could smell Spring on the wind. The plum tree has tiny green buds and I saw a tree in bloom in town coming home from our Valentine dinner. Violets are just beginning to bloom.  I've had daffodils bloom for Valentines Day every year for 30 years except this one. Lots of strappy green leaves but instead of the hundreds of blossoms we usually have there isn't a single one this year. Another drought victim :-( Today was the first day of the Splendid Sampler sew along and as could be expected it is a heart design. I love hearts. But I don't like appliqué. I would like it much better if I could still sew by hand, but I can't so have to do the fusible machine thing. It just isn't the same. I have lots of reproduction fabric so that's what this quilt will be. It is a cute little block anyway inspite of being done on the machine. Here is Hearts Aflutter: Here is the 365 challenge block; sorry...

Spent the morning sewing the last three 365 Challenge blocks; I had to go to my Civil War sewing group yesterday so got a little behind with these but I'm all caught up with them now. Until tomorrow morning, that is. Took a trip to the grocery store for more fresh veggies and to PetSmart for more cat food. DH treated me to dinner out at Golden Corral. I like it there as I can pick out  gluten free options .I hope -- time will tell. I really pigged out on the sweet potato fries sprinkled with cinnamon.  These are my 365 Challenge blocks for the past week. A couple of them were real challenges -- those teeny tiny ½" half square triangles and the T block. If were doing the easy blocks now I hate to think what they will be like by the end of the year. DH had to go out after we came home so I took the quiet evening time to finish up my homework from the class yesterday. Then I sewed up this week's Circa 2016 blocks. 28 hourglass blocks. I'm using up charm squa...