Bluebirds are my sure sign of Spring

Happy April!
I saw more snow flurries last night - no April Fool's joke!
But today it's sunny and the birds are chirping.  
One of my signs that Spring is a'coming, is when
the bluebirds come back to my area,
and flit around in the pines.

So what did I see a few weeks ago???
The first of the bluebird arrivals!
Around that same time, I needed to make postcards 
to send to quilting friends in a fabric postcard swap.
I had an eureka moment...
since bluebirds are my sure sign that Spring is around the corner,
I should make some 
Bluebird postcards for this Spring card swap!! 
This is what I came up with:

Since I had the bluebird/card idea, 
I dug through my photo archives and
pulled out this photo 
that I took in my back garden a few years ago:

Aren't they so sweet looking, lined up & sunning themselves?

Using my photo, I made my applique pattern:

and chose the fabric for the back/writing side of the postcard.

Then I exploded it into color-pieces, and traced it onto fusible:

Some of the bird-parts awaiting assembly:

 And, finally, here's what I ended up with - ready to address and send!

My Bluebird fabric postcards! MyLifeIsAStitch.blogspot

Though I'm not usually a fan of machine-applique,
I loved making them - maybe because of the cheery bluebird.
Each card was quite labor intensive, 
but I loved sending them so much so, that
I also made a few extra just to have on hand,  
to send when needed, as thank you notes.

I've mailed them off to gals in the United States,
Belgium and Canada.
Nationally, they should have already arrived, 
and internationals will get theirs this week, hopefully.

So, April has arrived here with sunshine, 
and my bluebird postcards have flown out of here...
A great way to start a new month!!!

Hope your April is great,
and happy stitching!

blue: birds & hope & berries

Though it's still FRrrr-eezing here
the sun is out and melting last weekend's snow;
and we change our clocks this weekend to Daylight Saving Time,
so we'll have a little more daylight into the evening hours.
That makes me happy.
The bluebirds are here visiting the back forty, and
I spied my first robin this week.
Those are sure signs that
the freezer door may be closing
weather pattern may be finally changing.
Happy, Happy!!

While at the grocery this week, I found a beautiful basket
of blue hope, aka blueberries.
 and they sure cheered me up when I saw them.
Those blueberries (from Chile) prove that there is warm weather somewhere in the world,
and another sign that Spring will be here soon!
Happy, Happy, Happy!!!

What's better than sunshine,
bluebirds,
and blueberries?
In my book, better would be
if the blueberries where dropped into muffins!

So, in honor of the surely coming Spring,
I made me some muffins...well, I made muffin-tops:

I've been asked for the recipe a few times lately,
so thought I'd share so you can make them also
and maybe have some blueberry goodness in your world today.

Blueberry Muffins -
the Good Kind of Blueberry Muffins (as the kids used to say, though I don't know why.  They must have had muffins somewhere, sometime that weren't made from the family favorite recipe).
(And, it's only a quarter of the original recipe, you're welcome :)

In mixing bowl, stir together:

1 1/2 cups flour (I use half wheat)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder

In liquid measuring cup whisk together:

1/3 cup oil (I use extra virgin Olive or coconut)
1 egg
Add:
1/3 cup milk (or enough to make measurement ONE cup)
Stir the liquids into the dry mixture and stir only until dry is incorporated.
Gently fold in a generous cup of fresh blueberries.
Spoon mixture into well-buttered muffin cups and top with Streusel.

Streusel - stir together with a fork until crumbly:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. cinnamon 

Bake at 400 degrees:

muffin tops about 13-15 minutes

regular sized muffins 30-40 minutes.

Test with toothpick.  They are done when toothpick comes out with little moist crumbs, not coated with liquid.
Makes 6 generously-sized muffins or tops.

Cool completely before removing from pans (yeah, right :)
and store in airtight container or freeze for later use.

Can you tell from the picture that I probably didn't wait until they cooled to plop one onto the awaiting plate?? :)
Just what I needed - blueberry goodness, fresh from the oven!

Hope there are some bluebirds, sunshine, and blueberries
in your little part of the world today, too.
And Happy Stitching!

blue bird finial of happiness

This pic, this week,

is out my back door, off the deck:

Don't know for sure,

but the way they are lined up on the railing,

you'd think they are auditioning to be finials!

What I do know,

is that they are back in the neighborhood earlier this year.

When they do come back to visit (usually in March)

they head right to the berries in the holly shrubs.  

And by the the chattering and chirping going on,

they sure enjoy a slightly frozen holly berry treat!

And they made me smile.

What more could you ask for

besides snow and bluebirds on the same day? :)

Hope you have a bluebird of happiness day also!