March's Goals!

Hello to you all..........and thank you for stopping back. It has been a busy, sometimes crazy time since I last updated my blog.  From having the flu a couple of times, having to meet with friends for outings (I have such a tough life) and making a surprise visit to my daughter and family in Tennessee before their move to Texas in a few days. 

Boy did my husband and I surprise them, we only were there for 2 days, but I think it was a good time had by all.  It was a last minute trip decision, because we don't do the airplane thingy, and we aren't sure if we can do that far of a drive.  We'll see, I think that is what retirement is about, right? 

Now, I had plans to get a few projects finished by March's end.  The ugly small quilt challenge by Kathy Tracey's Small Quilt Group, I don't think that is going to happen for this month.  All the fabric is still in the basket that I took a picture of.  I am rolling my eyes at this point!

The last block of my wall quilt, well I  have done a better job getting closer to finishing this.  Again, I don't think this is going to be a March's done project either.  It's funny, I had told myself this block was going to be such a hard thing to do, a lot harder than the other blocks, and I just kept putting it aside.  Come to find out, even though it has all these paper pieced parts, it went together much easier than the rest of the other 11 blocks I did.  Okay, to be honest, I still sewed things backwards and upside down.  I definitely sew for fun and not for profit.

A couple views of my Town Hall Block from The City Stitcher Quilt Collection designed by Janet Miller.

Ah, I have it laying on my ironing table..... it doesn't do it justice on how good it does look!

My "must get finished" due for an April 13th baby shower, is well on the way to being done.  Here is a picture of the top sewn together.  I have it layered and backed, and three quarters of the way hand quilted, and hopefully in the next week, I'll be completely done!!

I also have been making hats........they are really easy......... and I made these 2 for my granddaughters in TN...... which is really funny, because they are headed to Texas in a week, which I really think they will not be needed.  But I had made my daughter her hat while I was there on Friday, and Izabela claimed it for herself.......so, Grandma had to come up with these 2 hats quickly, and they are in the mail as of today!!  Yay!!

So far today, my crafting has been put on hold, my other grandchildren who live just down the road from us, are on Easter vacation and are at my house today.  My darling granddaughter, Hannah, is being treated as the "princess" because..............................see below:

Cheer-leading/tumbling accident!!

She severely broke her wrist and had to spend the night at the hospital, and didn't get out until Tuesday evening.  So, while her parents are at work today, and probably the rest of the week, she is recuperating at Grandma and Grandpa's.......  Affectionately known for the next few days, as The Princess. 

Her mom decorated her cast with her Fierce Team's loco.  No national competition for her in April!

Well, I hear the "Princess" calling, and I have to check on her to make sure she is wiggling her fingers so the swelling goes down and they won't have to cut into her cast.............

I made some really good apple and blueberry tarts (that is what I call them) on Sunday........ I'll have to do a post on them and hand out the recipe.  They are that good........

Until next time, thanks for stopping by again, and come back for the tarts!!!

Sharon 

Looking for Spring?

We recently experienced near 60 degree weather last weekend.  Which, of course gets us all thinking that maybe spring is near.  I live in Ohio, near Lake Erie, so we know that isn't really true.  We can hope, but we are back to low 30 degree weather during the day, with snow showers.

So, anyway, it got me thinking about the warm days of spring and summer of 2012.  I thought I would just throw in a few warmer weather pictures from our flower gardens of last year.  I would have included more, but, as you know from my last few posts, I am having trouble getting my pictures to appear where they need to on my blog.  I am amazed I did this much on my own:)

Oh, I think this picture is of the 2011 spring.  We now have a stone path and weeping cherry tree where the bushes are.  

This will be our 3rd summer in our current home.  When we moved in, there wasn't a flower to be had, anywhere.  Oh, I take that back, I think there was one lonely daffodil lurking out back.  This is the side yard that was nothing but grass and a large pine tree living in this corner.

The first summer we put in the sidewalk.  It was just a grass lawn leading to the back of the house.  The next summer we put in the barn (peaking from the side of the house) and the 40 or so rose bushes.  These are Knock Out Roses, they continuously bloom and make a great hedge.  The purple blooms on my butterfly bushes are huge.  Oh the wonderful fragrance from these flowers as you walk down the sidewalk, heavenly!!

Early 2012 Spring

This patio was bordered by some kind of not so pretty pine trees.  We replaced them with lots, and lots of
perennials.  My husband can't resist buying flowers, and a lot were bought at season's end for really, really good prices.  Also, we transplanted a lot from my daughters house.

Iris are my husbands all time favorites.  I have included just a couple pictures of them.  Cause, I could only transfer a few of them, you know, due to my inability to get them off of my camera!!!!

Can't you just imagine how this one smells?  It is a deep blue.

This is in the top of a bird bath.  My Fairy Garden.  I have another really good picture, but I can't find it!!!

Oh, and this one smells sooooooo good too! 

This white one smells a lot like licorice. It is an ever blooming iris.  Bloomed in the spring, summer, and then again in late fall when everything else was dying off.  Oh, if there was a way to keep these blooms for more than a couple of days.

I hope you enjoyed a little bit of spring, I know I sure did.  

I hope to be back on track with my sewing projects in the next couple of days.  I was a little sidetracked this last week, as I was "under the weather", not feeling well.  But, I am getting back to my old self.  Which I don't know if that is good or bad!!!  You'll just have to stop back and see.

Thanks for stopping by this time, 

Sharon:)

March's Crafting List:

Oh my, March is coming in like a lion for me.  I have a couple must do's on my list:

Number one, and most important; I must make a baby quilt for a close friends's daughter who is having a baby shower in mid-April.  Oh what fun it was to shop for baby girl quilt fabric.  My daughter and I took a trip to Jo-Ann Fabric's store Friday to pick out fabric for the quilt.  They have such a large selection of baby material.  It didn't take any time at all to decide what fabric I wanted.  Purples, yellows and greens all coordinating fabrics, it was hard to stop buying.

The pattern is Crazy Eights by Bits'n Pieces.

Second on my list:  Our online small quilt challenge  for March is to go through our stash and find the ugliest fabrics that we have. Yup, I know we all have some, we don't know why we bought it, or how it got into our stash, but it's there!

Well, I guess I am glad at this point that I am a procrastinator, because a month or so ago, I started to organize my stash, and I put "that why did I buy that" fabric in a pile to donate.   I pulled some out the other night, cut it in strips, and somehow will try and put it in the designated March's quilt.  I felt bad that I had labeled some of the fabric "ugly";  so in the end,  I put it back in my stash drawer; until I go through it again and re-label it "ugly" and put it back in the to be donated pile.  I always root for the underdog, always have, always will!! I don't know if the picture below does them justice to just how ugly they fabrics are!!  Maybe on their own, with the right coordinating fabrics, they could make a nice something.  But, altogether.......??

I think I am going to make Scrappy Triangles by Kathleen Tracy 

Then, the last project on my list for this month is to finish that last house block to complete my wall hanging.
I keep picking up the pattern and the fabric (at this point in time, I'm not sure what fabric was to go for what part of the building, LOL) and rearranging it in it's box and keep telling it I have not forgotten about it, and I will return soon.  I do have it's larger part hanging on my living room wall just to remind me everyday that I need to finish it!!!  It hasn't helped, because my husband asked me yesterday if there was something else that gets done to this quilt? The edges are all funny!!

Here are all some of the fabrics I have picked for the block.  I sure hope I can remember what is suppose to go where!  Lucky me, I found this flag on fabric that was exactly the size flag needed for the flagpole.  Yippee..... I sure didn't want to end up embroidering the flag!! Bought enough so our "craft night group (all 3 of us) would have it for our quilts. LOL

This is the paper piecing block I still need to do.  Lots, and lots of paper piecing, and then lots and lots of embroidering. Out of the 12 building blocks in this quilt, I left this one for last, because it will definitely be a challenge.

Now, some quick evening fun:  Because I am in between starting above projects and need projects to do while I watch TV at night,  I have been making crocheted hats for my oldest daughter.  I even made a nice looking flower that she has agreed looks good on it. (not pictured) I am currently making her daughter, my granddaughter who is 12, the blue hat that is pictured below along with yarn for "my middle" daughter's hat.  Okay..........daughter No. 3 (who currently resides in TN) and my TN granddaughters, yours will be coming soon.  Okay, I know you have been waiting 5 years or so for your quilt, but these hats shouldn't take that long. LOL

These are just a fun quick half double crochet that go together in a couple of hours.

Okay, a special thank you goes out to my son, who says he is going to take my computer away from me, because I just can't get the hang of posting pictures in my blog. LOL  I can see I am going to have to make my bribes to him better so I can continue including pictures.  Wish me luck!!

Now, I have to go to the cutting board and start that baby quilt!!

Until next time, and hopefully with pictures!!

Sharon:-)