Remember my lamenting earlier this month with the snow and ice - worried beyond measure that the late freeze would cause us to lose our apple blossoms?
I arrived at the inn and QPO yesterday morning to an explosion of blossoms visible in the side yard -
And if you had hear-o-vision you'd hear the hum of bees as well!
I am so excited!'
Of course that isn't the only thing blooming:
The dogwood is now in full glory after only a few days!
No longer yellow, looking more white -
Mature blossoms open fully to become:
I love the bits of pink on their petals!
Now if only that big pink rhododendron would get busy!
The Rhodie blooms more toward mid-May so we have that to look forward too long after the dogwood and apple blossoms have gone.
But I'll take it!
On the quilting side of things:
I began loading this yesterday while watching/listening to the live coverage of Madeline Albright's funeral from Washington DC.
Such a remarkable woman, may she rest in peace and her family be comforted.
I got THIS far.
The wind was fierce yesterday - enough to cause power blips - 4 times within the span of an hour, and it occurred while basting the top edge of the quilt to the backing/batting.
Blips usually are a mere inconvenience - but I don't trust them with the quilting machine or the computer system that runs it. So I shut everything down even though everything is connected to power bank/surge protectors. I just don't want to risk anything.
Power blips also restart my modem, making everything (including my smart TV) take a few minutes to come back up to functional - so I came home for lunch intending to work from home for the rest of the day.
One good thing about vintage machines - they are unaffected by power blips!
I worked on adding corners to my string rectangles.
This morning this nice little pile is sitting by my mug warmer. There are many more to come, but any amount of progress is still moving forward.
When the hubster was done with work, we took a trip back to the inn so he could mow the lawn. (We will be a one vehicle family for a long time - they can't seem to get parts to fix his pickup.)
While he mowed, the dogs and I took this little jaunt up Round House Road. Click to Play:
The stinkers!
They are still grounded in my book!
Thanks everyone for the commiseration on yesterday's When Good Dogs Go Bad post!
It's good to know I'm not alone in going frantic over dogs on the lam. The things we go through for these fur babies.
Our modus operandi since returning to find them on the porch is to let one or the other out at a time (not together) because they don't leave the yard if the other one isn't in cahoots with them. (Together they are the runaway gang!)
We've also got a tether on a cable that runs between the back porch and a tree - if we tether Zoey there (She's got loads of room to move around) and put Mabel out with her, Mabel won't take off on a walkabout without Zoey. They just lay down in the grass together and watch the world go by while soaking up some sun.
I'm glad they know how to get home. I'm glad to know they have always gone together and come back together.
We just worry about our fur kids when they are not where we can see them.
So how is it when *I* was growing up that parents could send us outside on our bikes after breakfast - not know where we were all day, and just trust us to be home by dinner or when the street lights came on?
TODAY: With power blips hopefully left behind with yesterday, I intend to get the quilting started on the red/white/blue Hearts of Hope quilt.
And I have some ideas for this year's Leader & Ender challenge to start playing with.
AND - this month's issue of Quiltmaker Magazine with the next blocks for the Ruby Jubilee quilt arrived in my mailbox which means I can start cutting for that too! I'll have plenty to dig into and share over the next few days.
The Gift-Away for April Showers ends TOMORROW MORNING! So look forward to a Quiltmaker Gift-Away to happen on Monday!!
I'm so excited to see that we've got over 7,000 entries (OVER SEVEN THOUSAND!) on our April Showers PDF Pattern & Fabric Roll Gift-Away!
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY!
The April Showers PDF pattern release has exceeded all expectations as we are all (in this hemisphere anyway!) clamoring for spring followed by summer.
Thank you so much for your positive response! I see photos of you digging through your stashes, posting images of fabric pulls and first blocks already. Sew! Sew! Sew!
I love how ALL of the purples are so varied and play together so well. Mother nature knows what she is doing!
I used my Essential Triangle Tool for the half-square triangles in April Showers.
I used the Simple Folded Corners ruler or Simple Folded Corners Mini for the stitch & flip corners on the diamond rectangle units.
I use these rulers all of the time. If you don't have them, invest in yourself and get them! You'll find them in the Quiltville Store.
Traditional rotary cutting and piecing methods are given to those who don't have the rulers.
Does your purple or green (And neutrals - always!) stash need a bit of enhancement? Check out these color rolls by Cotton to Quilts!
The best variety and fantastic service! And I'm so grateful that Cotton to Quilts is once again offering up 2 fabric rolls for this gift-away!
We'll be drawing for one winner who will receive the PDF pattern for April Showers and a facets of purple color roll, and a second winner who will receive the April Showers PDF pattern and the facets of green color roll!
Head on over to the Gift-Away post and get your entry in!
What kind of things do you have instore for this last Thursday in April?
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
In the words of Doe Zantamata:
Do you know what happens when you decide to stop worrying about what other people think of you? You get to sing. You get to laugh loudly, paint, write and create.
You get to be yourself.
And you know what? Some people won't like you. Some will laugh or mock or point out flaws.
But it just won't bother you all that much.
Repeat as often as needed -
Have a wonderful Thursday, folks!
Right? Our parents told us to get lost after breakfast and not come back until dinner (another rural Idaho girl). I'm sad for kids today that so much risk exists in their world that keeps it so small.
ReplyDeleteyes, i too remember that !!!
DeleteI grew in in the 1940's in Pomona, Ca. We lived close enough to the hills to make them our favorite place to play. There were horses and cows but they didn't bother us and we didn't bother them. Although the horses were friendly and liked to be petted. There were farmers growing lots of things and being kids raised near the things growing we knew not to damage anything when we were playing. My mom sent us out in the morning and we were to be home by sundown. We always came home when we were supposed to. It was a "Wonderful Life".
DeleteI'm so glad your fur babies came home safely! Hope your husband's vehicle can be repaired soon. We loaned my car to our daughter while she waited for her repairs. We rented a car for me the weeks my husband had to travel for work. So we were a 1 car household most of January, all of February and March - until last Saturday. That was a LONG wait for parts.
ReplyDeleteWe are of the same age. When the lights came on it was dinnertime. Nice to have a non electrical machine during power blips. 7,000, wow! A Lot of love for April Showers. Hoping I win this time, Lol
ReplyDeleteA mug warmer? Where have I been all these years? So many half empty cups of tea that do NOT taste the same re-heated in the microwave. Would you be willing to share or recommend what you use? I just did an internet search and the options are many. Many thanks for making our quilting journeys even more pleasant.
ReplyDeleteI like the mug warmer too. It has a cute picture of a sewing machine. Maybe one can be bought on Amazon. I have drank many half cups of cold coffee or tea.
Deletelove the color coordinated leash harnesses
ReplyDeleteYou can just imagine what your girls are saying to each other on your walk......!
ReplyDeleteTwo children can get into more trouble than one alone, also.
ReplyDeleteMug Warmer - here's my favorite. Price has gone up (of course) but I love having temperature choices. I also use a silicone lid and coffee stays hot as long as I want. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D3QC46P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
ReplyDelete