EARLY SUNDAY

It has been a slow weekend of laying around for me.  I caught the 'bug' from Hubby and have been feeling pretty rough.  My days have pretty much consisted of laying in bed with the laptop and flipping through quilt magazines.  Hubby has been a doll about taking care of meals and making sure I have everything I need, which has mostly been plenty of Kleenex and bottles of water.  I should be up and running with scissors again very soon!

Most of the ice and snow from the storm a few days ago have melted into a muddy mess.  A remarkable amount of it is now residing on our kitchen floor. It's amazing how things that would normally propel me into a cleaning frenzy are just interesting to stare at when I feel this way!!

Wherever you are, I hope you are safe, warm and healthy.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I'll see you back here soon.  

                                 
                                                    Wishing You Peace & Plenty

                          

AFTER THE STORM

We survived the storm and have about two inches of snow and plenty of ice left behind.  It was fast and furious!  I wish the best for those east of us who are being hammered by Q today.

In the spirit of being housebound for at least another day, I decided to accomplish something in the sewing room.  I took out the little Twister wreath I pieced a few months ago and finished it.  I'm considering this being ultra prepared for Christmas 2013 and not missing Christmas 2012!

The white areas are stippled and the green sections have no quilting.  The red border just has a wavy line.  I had trouble with the binding, but that happens from time to time.  I wish all my UFO's were finished so I could begin new projects with a clear conscience!

Until next time, wishing you a wonderful day filled with Peace & Plenty!    Barb

WAITING FOR THE STORM

If the weather forecasters are correct we could be slammed with a winter ice storm a little later today.  Those of us who live in our part of the mid west are accustomed to all sorts of weather antics and seldom do they slow us down.  This storm is demanding respect by the looks of it so far. 

I popped into the local grocery store yesterday and the essentials of storm survival were flying off the shelves ~~  milk, bread, lunch meat and toilet paper!  I believe that most of us have enough food on our shelves to keep us going for indefinite spans of time.  I did a little extra cooking yesterday for 'just in case'!

I have two quilts ready to bind that will go to the Cardinal Glennon PICU when done.  If there is any shred of normalcy in my day I will work on these.  Other than that, I will fill my day by cooking a pot of potato soup and keeping the radio on to follow the progression of the storm they are calling 'Q'. 

When I was a child I loved storm and snow days.  It was the time I could pull out all the quilts and build forts and fortresses and live undercover with my toys.  I was even allowed to eat my meals undercover and it was great fun!  I'm sure the grownups had a slightly different take on storm days ~~  shoveling the walkways, drying laundry indoors and waiting for the power to come back on.  It just goes to prove the glass half full theory once again. 

My friends, wherever you are I hope you are warm and safe.  If you have storms in your area, please be extra cautious.  Wishing you a day filled with ~~~~

                                                                            Peace & Plenty!

ROMANCE HEART

The past week has found Hubby and myself down with flu/sinus infections.  We tried to manage Valentine's Day (in our pajamas) and my birthday the following day, but there wasn't too much enthusiasm about the whole thing.  We will have a re-do when we are feeling more like ourselves.  So far Hubby has missed a full week of work.

Even though I'm under the weather, the wheels keep turning about the quilts I want to make this year. I have a cute jellyroll race quilt to send to my granddaughter for her birthday next month and another one to finish in time for my grandson's birthday in July.  I also promised my daughter a large quilt for her birthday this year in August. 

As much as I love to quilt, my embroidery machine sings to me every day....I'm simply in LOVE with machine embroidery right now.  I found a website a while back that has some terrific original designs, but some of them are macabre and geared more for punk and goth taste.  The site is www.UrbanThreads.com. I dig through the designs and have found some wonderful designs.  The Parisian Love Letter design pack is my current favorite. 

Here is a machine embroidered valentine heart that's actually a love poem in messy script writing....this was just my sample. The design is from Urban Threads.  I will make it again on different fabric and with better colors.

I hope everyone is healthy.  I will be back here as soon as possible.

Until next time I wish you Peace & Plenty   ~~~~   Barb

I'M BACK

After several days of being absent,  I'm back.  We have had such a heap on our plates lately that I had to take time off to set things in order.   Sometimes life gets in the way of what we enjoy doing!

Yesterday I took the time to make 30 simple blocks in soft pastels for a spring quilt.  I had a Gypsy Caravan (by Amy Butler for Rowan) small jellyroll (30 strips) and a charm pack of Bella white, so I combined the two.  Sometimes it's great to do mindless sewing ~~  no matching seams, just simple assembly line sewing.  Here are a few of the blocks ~~~~

 

This block is known as the Framed Square.  All you do is sew 2.5" strips to two sides of a charm square and press and trim the ends.  Then you add strips to the remaining sides, press and trim.  The best thing about this block is that there are no seams to match when you sew the blocks into rows if you always place a block with a short edge next to one with a long edge.  This block looks totally different every time I make it.  It's perfect for quick quilts for children and also for using elegant fabrics in the center blocks for an heirloom quilt. 

I also made a Valentine table runner but it still needs to be quilted ~~~

 
The hearts are made from a fat quarter of hand-dyed cotton.  The border is a Victorian valentine/postcard print I found at JoAnn's.  The background is a paisley white-on-cream.  It took less than 2 hours to put together.

Are you making anything special for Valentine's Day?  You still have time if you start right away!!

Until next time I wish you the blessings of Peace & Plenty ~~~   Barb