Lord Love a Duck !!! And the first GARDEN post of the season

I try to do some charitable things because I feel pretty blessed most of the time. 

• I have a roof over my head, which does not leak.  
• I have 4 working limbs, except for the odd few months when pieces of me are in a cast.
• I have a fridge full of food.  
• I have a husband who gives me foot rubs.
• My dog usually comes when I ask.  

Like a lot of people (surely I am not the only one?) I am hoping that my little pay-forward will count in my favour when the final tally is taken.
Here is one of the little quilts I made at Margaret's, quilted with a nice fluffy flannel backing.  This is destined for the local cancer treatment center.

Wait!!!  Heavens to Betsy!!!  What is this bump?

Pfft.  I can be such an idiot.  I'm glad mom taught me to laugh at myself.  I inadvertently added a little extra, um, stuffing to the quilt.  This is a piece of my Red Snappers that are used to attach the quilt top and backing fabrics to the leaders.  Someone (?) was obviously not paying attention.

FIRST GARDEN POST OF THE SEASON
Yeah, ah, thanks Mother Nature.  I loved the hot & sunny last week.  Do we really need snow & frost warnings this week?  Hmm?  This is my red-neck version of frost protection for my asparagus.  I harvested 4 spears on Saturday.  GO ME!!!

Sampler Quilts - Love 'em

The jewel tones in this quilt really sparkle.

Such a great setting with the log cabin blocks.

When I took my black eye to the Vittoria Quilt Show last Friday I saw this novel colour wheel.

These teensy quilts are just so darned cute.

Some of the quiltmakers got enthusiastic with embellishments.

Some put their efforts into the quilting.

And who says a quilt has to have straight edges?

Quilt shows are a great way to spend a few hours, and spring is definitely quilt show season.  Put away your mop and leave the beds unmade - go get some inspiration!!

Sunday in the Kawarthas

So far, the weekend at Margaret's has been wonderful.  Friday night we had pesto chicken over red quinoa with squash on the side, and dessert of chocolate cake & ice cream.  Then I pieced the duck strippie.

Saturday we had french toast for breakfast.  That fueled us up for the Kawartha Quiltmakers' Guild quilt show.  Supper was salmon with roasted potato wedges and asparagus, followed by chocolate cake & ice cream (again??).  Then I pieced the brown/peach strippie.
Sunday morning we served up oat pancakes with salted maple cream, and finished the chicken leftovers for lunch.  My green & yellow blocks have been pieced in between meals.  I'm taking a wee break to have a cooler on the deck, whilst cursing my poor decision to NOT pack shorts,  Stupid. 

At the quilt show I bought a cheap, used book in the Member's Boutique about tailoring secrets.  This got us into a long reminisce about the clothing we used to make, before we got into quilting.  I'd have to look pretty deep into the closet to find anything left from those days.

the Irish Quilt

This pretty Irish quilt was made by the gal who was supposed to come with me to Margaret's for our weekend retreat.

There are a few different swaps involved in this - green 9-patches, green Birthday Club blocks, and an Irish tinner swap.  Then she added the lovely shamrock applique in the border.

Did you notice that I said she was supposed to come with me?  Well, yeah.  She's sick.  So she may be on  her couch, cuddled up under this.  With the shamrocks & leprechaun hats.

Now, as for me... you would think that poking yourself HARD enough to make this happen might be something you would remember.  Umm, ... nope.  So today I get to wander around the Vittoria Quilt Show with a shiner.  Then tomorrow I can wander around the Peterborough Quilt Show with a shiner.  Yay.

Anyhow, I'm off.

the Teapot and other stuff

Here is the teapot I painted on Red Hat day.  Honestly - no 6-year-old could have done better.  And it makes a fine cup of tea.

I'm getting ready to head off to Margaret's for a long weekend retreat.  I've cut up more scraps - this time it's yellows and greens.  I still have a couple of UFO's that I should be working on, and I will (!) take one with me, but I have an itch to start something new.

I made a pillowcase to hold the quilt that has gone to Quilts of Valour.  Now I can take another meter off my stash report. Gotta love cheater fabric.

Gardening season is upon us.  Yay!!  Dandelions and grass galore in my flower beds.  The friggin' rabbit is eating my bridal wreath spireas right down to the ground.  Little bastard. My nose is running from adult-onset-allergies, so badly that I just want to stuff a couple of tampons in my nostrils.  But it's warm and my fingernails are dirty.

This afternoon I will be making a ...
CAKE.

Loon Quilt from Shop Hop

What an interesting quilt from a shop hop.  Usually they are all patchwork, not applique.  And this is what I would call challenging applique, with all those skinny cutout areas inside the loons.  This was beautifully pieced - lovely and flat.

There were some odd areas with wider border spaces - I filled those with continuous frogs.  Click on the photo for a larger pic.  The narrower grey borders and the navy sashing were quilted with a wave design.

The applique was s.i.d. (well, actually everything was s.i.d.) with background quilting of water, grass, and the odd dragonfly.

Am I not an awesome baker?  Isn't this a beauty?  Nice way to spend a little time on a cold, rainy afternoon when I could not take the time off to go to the guild sewing day.  It was either BAKE something or stain the quilt I was working on with my crocodile tears (pout pout).  The filling is cream cheese and peach marmalade.  Ooh sweet - tart - mouthwatering goodness...  When I made one of these after my return from Bali half of the braid split apart - looked like something from a sci-fi movie.  But this one is real purty.

Scrappy Quilt for Quilts of Valour and Stash Report

Way back in January, before I broke my wrist, I did a post about a scrappy quilt I was starting - the link is here. I went to the guild's extra UFO sewing day on January 23rd and got the quilt top sewn together, all except for attaching the borders.  The next day I went to the hospital.  Dumb.  Anyways...

My b.i.l. and his wife came Friday night and spent the night.  We are on their route to our niece's apartment, where they were scheduled to remove some furniture (which oddly enough, is being stored in our basement for the next several months).  After Saturday's breakfast, and the guys heading off for their job as moving men then returning with all necessary  furniture, we went out for a late lunch at the local restaurant.

They hit the road for home early enough that I finished up a couple of small jobs left over from the week, then still  had Saturday night.  And no plans.  So I finished up this quilt which will be donated to the Quilts of Valour program.  All that is left to do now is a label, and binding which I think will be red, then a run through the washing machine.

This leads me to the first stash report in several months.
STASH REPORT
Used this month   6 m.
Used YTD           11.8 m.
Purchased this month  3 m.
Purchased YTD          3 m.
Net so far...               - 8.8 m.