snow & strawberries

We had about 4 inches of snow
a couple of evenings ago, 
with white-out conditions that started as dark settled in.
So to celebrate the Spring snow,
I went back to the sewing room
and got started on some berries!!
Here is a picture of my "kit" that I cut:

I pre-cut and stacked all of the block pieces in the right order for attack.
I don't always do the pre-cut kit thing, 
but do when I feel I'm under a deadline.
And, since this quilt is going to a baby that's already here, 
I feel that's the deadline. :)

So I wondered, 
do you pre-cut your whole quilt so you are ready to get going?

Detail oriented folks may notice that I did change out most of the fabrics that I had already chosen, changing from Civil War reproductions to more baby-like, modern prints.

Here's a look at the beginning of the snow right before sunset and white-out:

Well, not that you could see the sunset for the snow!

That's my fun so far this week -
Happy Thursday!!

Times are a-changing...flowers in the snow

With the time change here in Ohio this weekend,
there comes to me, not just a 'spring forward' on the clock,
but a change in perspective, too...

Whilst there is still snow covering the landscape,
drifted high against the wrought iron fence that is my rose trellis,
I feel that there is the warmth of Spring coming:

Snow drops, a rambling rose (or three), daffodils and tulips,
fruit ready to bloom and birds ready to chirp...
all kinds of signs of the Spring-to-come in the melting snow:

Winter IS slowly melting away, and though I don't have the hanging-sleeve stitched down to the backing, I feel that I've a finish for the coming season.

 Even the local wildlife came to inspect,

when they saw flowers in the snowy garden:

Our Flower Garden: a Hot Pad Quilt

The backing fabric was the main inspiration for my design...

 isn't it gorgeous??

I just fell in love with the 
faded pink and coral colors of the large floral print, 
which then made me think 

I NEEDED TO MAKE A QUILT FOR. THIS. FABRIC. !!

So, with the fabric of Rouenneries by French General in my mind,
for my own pattern design, 
I took inspiration from both
the blocks of an 1850's New York album quilt,
and the block setting style of Sally Post in her 1854 New York quilt
(Sally Post quilt pattern available from Gay of Sentimental Stitches) .
I came up with my own garden of faded, pink flowers, 
finished in the Hot Pad method used in Civil War times, 
and it all started because of that WONDERFUL French General floral!!

I designed the four-part pattern (of three blocks each) for this quilt
for a beginner's four-month quilting class,
The first two classes were methods of applique,
followed by accurate piecing techniques, and finally
with the finishing method in the Civil War Hot Pad method 
(The Hot Pad method is finishing each block individually, 
including binding, then whip-stitching the finished little quilts together).
The gals in the class were so taken with 
the finished little quilts of the Hot Pad method,
that I designed a fifth, bonus pattern (of four blocks) 
so they'd end with 16 blocks.
Each block measures about 14 inches,
so this sixteen block finish is 56 inches square.  
I designed it so that if the student wanted to make a queen quilt, 
they could make each block of the pattern
(in different colorways) twice plus 4 blocks, to end with a 96-inch finish
(or make the pattern three times, plus one block,  and end with a king-sized, 112-inch quilt).

If feels good to have the last of the stitches 
in this quilt as the time changes.
Springing forward, 
flowers in the snow!

Thanks for visiting, and
Happy Stitching!!

I have mail!!

And not the electronic kind!!
Why is it so exciting to get mail?
Even at my age!

I signed up for a fabric postcard swap,
and though I don't have the cards I'm sending 
to the finished/mailing stage yet,
I have recently received a few postcards from friends world-wide...

Cards from quilty friends:
Caroline in Belgium, Sherry in Texas, and Susanne in New York.
Aren't they beautiful??! and very Spring-y!  
Can you tell everyone is wishing for some warmer weather? :)

Here in central Ohio we have another 
Winter storm warning for tonight and tomorrow...
the warning is for high accumulations of snow and strong winds.
I'm ready for another snow day with another slow-cooker full of soup simmering and the wood stove blazing.
Also, the grandkids are coming over for sledding -
sounds like a great way to celebrate the end of February!

Happy end of February to you also,
and Happy Stitching!

April 15th: time for some Spring decor

April 15th...time to pay taxes and do a little decorating today.

I changed out the table-topper quilts,

and added a few tulips and some bunnies:

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

(Joe Raposo, Sesame Street)

Did you notice the outdoor background?

Here's a shot without the Spring flowers and bunnies:

A day ago it was almost 80 degrees and sunny!
Went to bed last night and it was freezing rain -
making a coating of ice on all the trees
and the finally blooming daffodils.
This morn, there was this!! 
And the weatherman said that the ground was too warm for accumulation...

Yes, if you look carefully you'll see that those are the finally blooming daffodils hidden under the snow.

FYI: I Do Not consider snow part of the Spring décor!!

So,
I put on a big pot of stew
and I'm going back the studio and work
on my Lori Holt Doll Quilt Swap!
I still have some quilting to do on it before it gets mailed.

Happy Stitching on this snowy Spring tax day!

another snowy day: Big Tree block & accumulation!

Today I've finished my March block
in the Quilt Doodle Doodles sew along.

Here is my half-pint version of the Big Tree,

the third month's block:

The picture sure makes the block look wonky, but it really was close to square :).

And, the fabrics look brighter

than they really are, but I don't know why.

 

I'm calling my blocks 'half-pint', as I'm making them smaller in size

than the pattern that Cindy is offering over at Quilt Doodle Doodles.

My little squares are 3/4 of an inch finished.

 

So, working on this wintry tree block this afternoon,

I turn to look out the window and

it's a blizzard out there!!

Well, not really, but for the last week of March?

Blizzard-like for sure...

I took this picture at about 4 o'clock this afternoon:

That's more than an inch of accumulation in less than half an hour, and it's still coming down!

Even the robins are going under the deck, trying to hide from the snow!

Another snowy day here in central Ohio...

Snowy inside with my wintry, little Big Tree block and
outside with more snowfall predicted for the evening and a wind chill of zero!

Happy Tuesday!

quilting, snow and soup

Another snow storm has passed through Central Ohio...

another 6 inches or so.  It's beautiful.

It's also nice to be able to work from home - quilting.

And cooking while I'm stitching away...
it's Soup Time!!!

 

That's kind of been my theme this Winter...

Snow and Soup.

What's better than a big pot of soup simmering as the snow falls??

I made up a batch of Beef-Barley-Vegetable soup and

some crusty bread - man does the house smell great!

(If only I had fresh cream...I'd churn up some fresh butter

just like Great-Grandma B always seemed to have on hand
when there was a snow storm blowin' in.)

HA!!
Check out my bread-baking bowls:

Can you tell from the color of my Pyrex 

which decade I received these as a wedding gift???

Makes me smile. 

Anyway,

 

Snow, quilting, cooking...
what a great way to finish up the last week of March!

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!

more spring

yep - spring is here...

and seems like with a vengeance!!!

Check out the snow!!!

we got today, March 30th.

Don't you love it?

I know, groan, groan

coming from you all out there.

While the snow was falling,
I did stitch on my Spring-y applique project .
The bunnies are coming along...

Only one more posie-flower block to hand applique,

then on to the putting-the-blocks-together and then borders...really close!

So what are you working on this fine spring day?

Happy stitching!

More spring thinking & GIVEAWAY

What was I thinking?

Maybe it's just the

Spring Fever

rattling around in my brain...

I started this definitely "spring" project...

a project that will probably take more than just this month to get done,

what with all of the applique...

so probably maybe won't be done for THIS Spring!

Anyway,

here's a peek:

And another peek:

Yep, I'm blaming it on the Spring Fever!

p.s. Maybe it's not Spring fever - maybe it's Ma Nature that's confusing me...- Spring officially arrives in just over a week, and we are expecting many inches of snow overnight...but I say: Yay! there's more snow coming!  Yep, I know, I've a snow problem...

Happy Stitching!

p.p.s Don't for get to enter my National Quilt Day/Month GIVEAWAY here.

Ah, Spring...

I thought I was ready for Spring. 

I even washed some of the throw rugs and hung them out to dry. 

They were still damp that late afternoon,

so I left them out over-night. 

Evidentially,

Spring wasn't quite ready for Spring, though...

as this was the next morning:

Yep, three inches of snow over night!!! 

Surprise!!!  Snow day on March 26th!!

So now the rugs were frozen and snowy...

So I shook them off (well, as well as you can shake a frozen rug),

 and hung them back up. 

And left them out again all day and another night. 

Finally, clean and snow-free and dry.

Then I quilted this for Colleen:

  I like it.

 I like it alot. 

Bet she keeps it for herself, and doesn't give it to me...

I even told her about my frozen, snowy rug problems.

She is a good friend,

but it made not a snow drift of a difference.

Oh, well, I'm still glad that spring is here!

Snow and all.

Hope your week goes well and is snow-free.