happy day, sunny day, Tuesday

To start off, I'd just like to declare that
quilting friends are THE best!

A little surprise came in the mail today:

charm squares and 'candy'
which I think will fit right in with my plan
for the Farm Girl Vintage sew-along

Isn't that the greatest!
A combination get-well/hello Spring gift from Wendy.
It was a very thoughtful and appreciated gift!
Such a lovely surprise
from such a wonderful, quilting friend.
She lives miles and miles away, 
and somehow she knew I needed a smile today.

And on that note - of wonderful, quilty friends...

I've never met Wendy who sent me this gift,

yet I feel that I've known her forever.

We've only 'talked' through emails and blogs,

and seem to have so much in common,

quilting just being one of the commonalities.

Do you also feel the same about
quilting friends that you've never met in person?

Hope you are having a wonderful Tuesday,
my friends!
(and thank you again, Wendy)

I have issues...

There, I've said it...
I do have issues.

I 
C.A.N.N.O.T 
stop
myself.

I keep finding new, quilt-y projects that I want to do.
And because I have no restraint whatsoever,
there are now, at least, 1,700 quilts I'd like to make.  This month.
(insert maniacal laughing here)

The latest make that one of the latest quilt-y projects I'd like to start?
It's called Farm Girl Vintage by Lori Holt!!!

I AM a farm girl, 
and well, I AM vintage,
and it IS another quilt!,
so what could be more perfect, I say!
 
Ms. Holt's new book FGV, is just now out
 
and starting May 1st, she's hosting
 a sew-along on her Bee In My Bonnet blog.
Check out the FGV info HERE.

I'd pre-ordered the book for my February birthday, but since I don't yet have it (as it's being mailed to me now), I had to grab this picture from the Bee In My Bonnet blog.
To set the record straight,
I am not, in any way, affiliated with Ms. Holt, her Farm Girl Vintage book, or the Bee In My Bonnet blog.  
I just LOVE this new book!!!
I LOVE Ms. Holt!
Oh, and I just love Ms. Holt's patterns and fabrics!
Not LOVE in a stalker kind of way, 
but in an addicted quilter way, you know?

I don't know if I'm going to join in the FGV sew-along, 
but my plan is that I am going to make my own version 
of at least TWO of the 14 quilts in this book!!!

So, folks...
that's my latest issue... err, ONE of my latest issues. :)

By the way, did I mention that I ordered me some polka dot fabrics?
If you scroll through the Bee In My Bonnet blog, (here) you'll see why.
And, (here's) the link that originally got me hooked - 
the fabrics and the Flower Box block!

Definitely issues here. :)
I'm not the only one, right?  Right?

Happy Wednesday and Happy Earth Day!
Hope it's wonderful for you!

Sunny days

Folks have noticed that I've not been as productive in
quilting and blogging over the last few months.
And, I missed my semi-annual quilt retreat this week.
Which is unheard of, right? :)
A quilter missing her retreat only happens if something is not right.

Well, I've not been 'right' for a while now...
I seem to be on the mend, but it's been a long time coming.
The short story is this:
Evidently, my body doesn't like antibiotics anymore,
Antibiotics I've taken over the last year for a root canal infection and a couple of sinus infections killed the bad bacteria in my body, which is good.
Antibiotics also can, and did, disrupt the beneficial bacteria in my gut, which is bad.
Good news?  No cancer or other bad things discovered.
More good news, 
there are medications today that will help me heal.

I just have to find the RIGHT medication...

• Med#1 worked great but was not covered by my insurance and would have been $900 a month.  But I only purchased 5 days worth to get me through the long holiday weekend and until I could get something covered by my insurance

• Med #2 was insurance covered, but, whoa, bad side effects

• #3 med was a sample, so I didn't have to purchase, but it was not being digested

• #4 med caused massive headache and knocked me out

Hopefully 5th time's a charm on the medication front...
(Sorry if that's too much info... but I'm a tell-it-like-it-is-and-have-it-out-there kind of person.)

SO... my thanks to everyone who's checked in on me -
I so appreciate your continued prayers and good wishes.
I have so many good people in my life, and so appreciate all of your concern.
And, sunny days, 
I'm already planning on attending 
the next retreat in just over 200 days!
Lord willing and the creek doesn't rise. 
And I find a med that my body doesn't veto. :) 

Here's my next hand-embroidery block ready to stitch:

Those sharply creased fold lines indicate that 
I've had it traced, hand-tinted with crayons and all prepped 
then stored for a while - like a few years, 
so it's definitely time to do some healing stitching!!!
The pattern is from Crabapple Hill, A Gardner's alphabet with Cosmo/Lecien threads off to the side.  
I LOVE stitching with Valdani threads!!!  If you've not stitched with them, they are worth the little extra cost in their color variations alone!

Thank you again, for checking in on me!
Happy Stitching
and sunny days, good friends!

tax day/mindless sewing

Here in the U.S., it's THE DAY to file income taxes.
Yes, I've already filed and mailed off my $$$$ a while ago. 
I know many folks that file extensions,
as it takes more and more time each year to 'file'.

Even though I'm a 'numbers' person and enjoy 'figuring',
after all of that tax prep and brain work, 
I've needed to let my brain rest a little.
My brain rest-time was wisely used to do some mindless sewing.
My mindless sewing is half-square triangles

for my Strawberry quilt!

There was a little thinking involved earlier...
but hopefully my pre-prepped cutting stacks 
will have been conducive to just sewn, not un-sewing the blocks. :)

The pic above shows a block that has been
snipped and then pressed per the instructions.
Then layered with an over-sized fabric square 
and, below, again sewn and re-cut:

I love working with patterns that are thorough, well-written and have plenty of diagrams.  What I really like about this particular pattern is the well thought out pressing instructions, AND that everything is a little over-sized for trimming down to the exact size.

Here's a shot of my first finished block, 
and the trimmings from that block off to the right:

Over-sizing and trimming makes such perfect little points!

The pattern is Strawberry Social, by Margot Languedoc, ThePatternBasket, Ontario, Canada;  (a picture of the pattern cover is here, that I shared on a previous post).  
I purchased my pattern through a local distributor, so if you like it and HAVE to make one also, just ask at your local shop and I'm sure they can get it for you.
And, no, I have no affiliation with Margot or The Pattern Basket,
I just like the pattern and how well it was written and thought that was worthwhile to share.
Mindless sewing, yet so worthwhile, as it's taken my mind off all the tax work and $$$$ sent. :)

Are you a work 'til-the-deadline or file-it-early type of person?
Do you also need a little mindless sewing (or something similar) after all that tax work?

Happy middle of April!

snack bags

A friend gives me her scraps -
boxes of scraps,
and I love it!
She's cleaning out and feeling good about it,
and I'm getting great, usable strips and pieces of scrapiness!

Last time I saw her, 
she gave me two, one-foot-square boxes of goodness.
But what makes me smile the most
are these little bags of snacks she packs for me:

I know, it's the little things, isn't it?  :)

Happy Tuesday!

too early for poppies

or late, depending on how you look at it...

P is for Poppies -
one of the blocks in the Gardener's Alphabet pattern:

I've been stitching (or not stitching) on this 
Crabapple Hill pattern for quite a while now,
as I started it three years ago!  

In my mind, 
it was just last year that I started this wonderful quilt...
but I double-checked, and it really was three years ago.  
Am I alone in this quilting-time warp thing?
Too many projects ongoing, just not enough stitching time.

So,
Weather-wise, it's too early for the poppy blooms...
but stitching-wise, it seems perfect timing!

family & garden fun

Easter weekend was wonderful here.  
I hope yours was also.
The weather cooperated- the rain cleared and it was jacket warm.   
Almost all of the family made it for dinner on Saturday evening,
and then we laughed and carried on, visiting late into the night.
I have too many left-over baked potatoes,
but that's easily remedied eaten.
(note to future self: don't put the pile of baked potatoes at the end of the buffet line!!!)

Sunday afternoon, I did a 
little more playing in the strawberry patch -

The stems are all done, 
and the red/green, zig-zaggy strawberry tops are now half done.
I'm loving how it's coming together.

Mine was a very nice holiday.
Did you have a little stitching time in your weekend?