Quirky Weather and Competent Young Women

Hi there, it's been a few days since my visitor moved into her own space and left me all alone to my own devices, and those devices were not what I would term as having been very productive.  
I lost my e-mail account but that is a chapter in and of itself and for another day!  
I haven't done much in the way of anything quilty, other than to roam around the internet looking at the thousands of pretty quilts which can be seen at Pinterest or Flicker and hundreds more links I chose to follow.. I have my sewing machine all set up again, my latest UFO is sitting there waiting patiently for me to give it some attention, but, I simply haven't had the energy, so have been on a reading binge.  
The weather is playing a huge part of my discontent too, my joints are simply being stiffened by the swift and weird weather patterns. 
Oh the storms and the vastness of these is so mind boggling.  Look at the swath this latest storms is cutting!  Thank heaven I do not need to leave the house though I feel rather sad for those that do need to leave the safety of their homes to work.

The little red covered dot is the area in which I am living.  It rained through the night here in Delta and now giant wet globby flakes of snow is falling. 

Those white marks you see are the huge flakes I attempted to capture to share with you, but I am certain many of you living in North America know all about it because most all of us are being affected.  It is much worse for those living in the United States and Eastern Canada.  I really do wonder just how very much the greenhouse effect has in the worlds weird weather happenings and disasters?


My grand daughters are feeling much better and the wee one was sprung from the hospital, so fingers crossed that nasty virus has left them and all should be back to normal by this weekend.  Apparently this virus is making the rounds fueled of course through the schools and public places where others sick or contagious have gathered and are passing it along...guess it is a good thing I remain housebound for awhile longer, I don't need any more nastiness from germs...

As said earlier, I have been visiting the Quilters on Pinterest and have seen some very awesome quilts and even techniques. 

In my roaming around Pinterest as I told you earlier I found many wonderful quilt tutorials.  Cherilyn of "A Farm Wife's Journal" has the sweetest Candy Hearts table runner pattern tutorial.  Her blog is so interesting and I can see she is extremely organized.  Cherilyn also has an Etsy Shop, you'll find the link to her shop on her blog.  Where she finds the time I simply cannot guess.

She has managed to make it look so easy, look here for her tutorial.  Very country farm looking.  Thank you Cherilyn, I bet everyone loved seeing this pretty table runner on your kitchen table!
Then too, another wonderful tutorial from Amanda Herring from her blog The Quilted Fish  it is a very well written tutorial on a beautiful Diamond Quilt, one of her many tutorials.  Amanda also have a Shop which you can visit through a link on her Blog. 

In reading about Amanda, I learned she has a wonderful sense of humor.   I could just picture this pretty girl making these wonderful items and sharing the how to with her readers.  Thank you Amanda!

I chose these two tutorials to share with you today because of their use of the colors, these two pieces cheered me up today, fresh, bright, pleasing to my eyes and overall the tutorials are well written.

Thank you for visiting with me today, I do hope you found my sharing and introduction of these two artistic and creative women of interest today.  There are hundreds of competent young women making their mark in the Quilting Community, these women are but two.  
Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.  ~Rod McKuen 

LINKS to FREE and EASY

Saturday, it is Saturday - hip hip hooray!  The weather is on and off snow with the possibility of rain or freezing rain later and the temperature is hovering at 2 Celsius not bad, hopefully spring is coming soon cause I dislike winter....

I do so hope those of you living in those states across the border are able to take the snow and blizzards, our weather forecasters told us over 20 states are feeling the awful effects of the latest storms. 

I am still waiting for news on my granddaughters, now my 9 year old princess has been sick all yesterday afternoon and evening and I have not heard from mommy as to how she is feeling today, and then wee Ella is still in hospital, hopefully she may be discharged tomorrow.  Apparently somehow they picked up that rotten (RSV) Respiatpry Synctial virus.....which is very contagious.  That means one gets it in the household from somewhere outside the home and it gets passed around, yuck!!!  I am happy I am not there this weekend, with my immune system being what it is lately I would be certain to catch it.  
It is important when your out and about away from your home that you refrain from handling too many things which others may also have handled and if you do touch something, washing, washing is the best way to keep yourself safe from contracting a gift some other sick individual is gifting unknowingly to others....

I went surfing again today and discovered some wonderful free and easy quilt patterns which may interest some of you, and, if you'd like to investigate then here is where you can begin looking!
I join as many sites which offer up video tutorials as I find because I am the type of person who needs to see how something is done so that I too may learn.  Free Quilt Patterns Info. is one of the most collaborative sites I follow regularly because of its varietal pattern choices to share.

For instance, Jenny Doan of the Missouri Star Quilt Co.  shares a new tutorial which you may not yet have seen through the Free Quilt Patterns Info site called Double Slice Layer Cake quilt, so easy, fun and just think if your sewing scrappy for charity then this pattern would be a wonderful choice for such a worthwhile gift. Jenny also shares on her site another new to me tutorial, Keyhole Block Quilt using Honey Buns, how neat is this quilt?  I love it because not only honey buns may be used but 1.5" scrappy strips can also be utilized from your stash, another great and quick quilt to make for charity sewing. 

If your like me you might enjoy many other ways to craft and another favorite site of mine is the  Inter Weave site - this is where they offer you free e-books as well as videos for a variety of crafts.....this makes me a Grabber - I take full advantage of the freebies which feed my hobbies.  Honestly, if you haven't been to this site, I swear you'll enjoy visiting and accepting some or all of the offered freebies which connect with your interests.  You can spend days looking over this site and choosing from such a vast selection of craft titles, it is almost endless.   "FREE" who does not like something for nothing.  Joining is the exercise I do most of when on the internet, especially sites which feed my interests.  Written by many of the crafts celebrities just for you!   In the "Quilting" section alone there are 23 titles to choose from, how great is that?   

Then there is Quilting Daily which also offers freebies and has a font of information to share with its readers, free e-books as well as patterns, this only needs you to join, quick and easy too! You might also like the Free Quilt Patterns site if you have not already discovered it!  This site also covers other genres of the crafting world for you to take advantage of.   

These are but a sample of the places I surf to when seeking information, or a new pattern, or a technique, these are only a few of those special places on the internet which will teach you anything you might wish to learn of a hobby or a special craft you might wish to learn or expand upon.  These sites approach those skilled professionals and ask them to share and teach, how special is that?  All you need to do is join and you'll receive newsletters outlining what new freebies are being offered at any given time.   Saves a lot of individual searching around cyberspace!

DO YOU have  special place on the internet where you turn to for information or new ideas for your hobby, for me it is all about quilting, knitting and crocheting, and I utilize free to the enth degree.   IF you do have a link which I may not have included here, please, won't you share it with us, it is always a BONUS when others share great and informative sites.

Thanks for your visit with me today, keep safe out there with the weird weather as well as sickness  invading our spaces and remember if your out and about then make sure you WASH those hands every opportunity you get before carting a germ home with you. 

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.  ~Author Unknown

Relief

I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich.  ~Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford 

Before I get into my post today I thought I would share with you something so heartwarming!  

When first I saw this picture I was shocked, didn't pay close enough attention and was thinking my goodness, she has a broken arm!!!!  Silly g'ma, it is a splint to hold the IV in place.  My son took my wee Ella to hospital last night because she was so sick.  The doctors thought it might have been pneumonia, but this morning after reading her tiny x-rays they believe it to be a case of bronchitis.  I admit I have heard of croup, but not bronchitis in such a little one before.  
Last week she was happy and smiling while visiting with G'ma and G'pa in Florida, and today she's visiting the doctors and nurses at her local hospital!
However, as this pictures says it all, Dad and daughter seem to be doing just fine, both sound asleep after a long and difficult day and night.
Though I managed to give myself a good old fashioned scare when first I saw this picture.  Now I am much, much happier knowing the full story!  Thank goodness for cell phones and the internet I am spelling my happiness today as RELIEF!!!

Now on a happier note, I received a newsletter from Free Quilt Patterns Info this morning and I wish to share it with you, it contains several free patterns and if you haven't seen it yet, then possibly this  might interest you? (No affiliation here).  What peaked my interest was the free pattern called "Checkered Past Quilt Pattern, by Hancy Reynolds"  and it is free for anyone and everyone to share around.  I just have to show this off to you and if you are interested in all free patterns, this is a site you might like to join?  I am one of those who haunts the internet for free patterns because I simply cannot afford to buy any more quilt magazines (which I think are great to have), and Free patterns make me a happy quilter.
Not only am I a fan of free pattern sharing (especially those which have no copyright) and this pattern it states is totally free and may be passed about without fear of the copyright police taking um-bridge.. this Civil war quilt is ideal, and also can use up those reproduction fabric remnants you might have from other projects and the pattern has history, thanks to Barbara Brackman!  Here is an excerpt from the free pattern page where you will find a link to download this free pattern!
 Barbara Brackman is a quilt historian and her blog, Material Culture, is an excellent source of information and resources having to do with historic quilts.  This pattern is a free one she presents on her website and was originally designed by Hancy Reynolds in the Civil War era.  More from Barbara:

"A simple pattern alternating two blocks recalls the somber year of 1862 as the Civil War marched on, the year of Julia Ward Howe's Battle Hymn of the Republic.  This scrappy design is made from Jelly Roll strips, extra fat quarters, and border yardage. 

It is so nice that our famous quilters make and take time to share with us through their web-sites and blogs, sharing their talents, skills and time.  Makes me feel proud to be a part of the quilting community, because Quilters really are some of the most generous people.

My post is a bit discombobulated today, but, I am one of those bloggers who rambles most of the time on any given day anyhow.  

My friend has left, she's found digs to stay at much closer to her mother and so I am back to being on my own again.  Since I made time yesterday to visit the Library, found 8 wonderful novels I hadn't read yet, and since I worried over my little angel being in hospital this morning, and now having been deserted by my visitor, I think a nice hot cup of coffee, some light instrumental music and one of my novels is in order and tomorrow I can return to the sewing machine....

Thank you so much for stopping in to visit with me for awhile this afternoon, I really needed the company.  Please, comments are free too, won't you share some of your thoughts with me?

Jumping for joy is good exercise.  ~Author Unknown

Working With My Own Obstacles

Whoa, days have slid past me since I last posted, like driving to Ottawa to collect a friend who flew in from Calgary and who is currently staying with me and somehow, the days are flying past faster than I can manage to keep up.
My daughter-in-law and one of my granddaughters flew off to Florida for a nice visit with Grandma and Grandpa and now their back already, where has the time gone?  

Pretty in Pink

I just  love my new dress

Hmmmmmm, whats this?

At 4 months she's such a charmer!  I just bet mommy and Grandma had their hands full....
Besides just sitting and relaxing and catching up with one another, Liz and I have also been watching the CURLING which has been on all week, it is the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, what a great week it has been so far.  Those women curlers make it look so easy and believe me, I have curled and it is far from being easy!!
TODAY after doing some much needed housework, changing bed linens, and a huge load of laundry and giving my washer as well as the dryer the third degree (seems one of my pillowcases is missing) I have searched everywhere and either I need new glasses (yes, I do need new eye wear) but, haven't found it.  Hopefully it will turn up somewhere.  Once I finished folding and putting the washed items away I discovered it was already very late afternoon.  
I have no real notion as to where time went, but as a treat I decided finally to get out my Scrappy Hearts blocks and finish the last block. Cindy has some terrific free quilt patterns for you to make on her blog. 

I have decided to make eight of these scrappy hearts and seven alternating blocks  to co-ordinate with these and hope the idea turns out to be just right, and if they don't make the scrappy hearts stand out nice and pretty then I guess I will be making more scrappy hearts.
I so love Cindy's quilt, but my goal is to make one that is just a bit different.   
I have walked around these blocks for a long time and finally I believe I may have found what I believe might be nice and different to add to these blocks and give me a finished top.  I can never overcome some of the mental obstacles I seem to have in my head right away, I always have to mull it over for a long, long time. 
BUT, I have come up with an idea to make my Scrappy Hearts blocks stand out and yet make my quilt different.   Once I make one of the alternate blocks I am thinking might be just right, I will take some photo's and share with you, but, until I physically make the block and set it beside the Scrappy Hearts, it may not look as good as I am thinking it will.  There is that obstacle I was telling you about.
DO YOU have moments like this?  An actual brain freeze and then out of the blue you come across or think of an idea which you believe will work?  How do those ideas turn out for you?
DO you walk around some projects for a great length of time before actually beginning it or finishing it?  Sometimes it is like writers' block, I simply cannot seem to find it in my minds eye or even envision just how it should look. Then an idea takes shape and I simply have to try it out.   I so enjoy doing something a wee bit different or off the wall now and again.  
While my friend is visiting, I have been on the computer a tad more than usual for me, so I have been surfing and playing games without the inclination to do much work, more or less I have frittered the past week away.   WHAT FUN giving yourself time off because you can! 
TODAY I felt like I really wanted to sew!  The feeling is rather a joyful one.  I will share pictures of my progress in a day or two, soon as I finish this one last Scrappy Heart and cut the corresponding blocks to which I want to add the hexagonal flower.  I hope my idea isn't a crazy one, but in my mind I see what it is I think I want, LOL!
For the back I actually had an almost brand new 100% cotton sheet, but it was white and I wanted it to be a creamy beige, so, out came the boiling water and lots and lots of tea bags.  I now have a beige sheet to use for the back of this Scrappy Hearts quilt.  
Since moving I find there isn't as much money for fabric purchases as I would like and fabric for backs is going to be in huge demand very soon, unless I get healthier.  Once I have more mobility back and be able to climb stairways I will be collecting fabrics from my former home and bringing them here, then, I shall once again be in the stash and what a stash it is!  Once that stash has been nicely stored here I won't be trying to convince myself to buy fabrics or to spend money I don't have, if that is at all possible.   
I have joined the Needle and Thread Blog Network, and if you feel like meeting some very interesting Canadian Bloggers it is here you will see a great selection of fabric, thread artists, fiber artists, quilters and needlework enthusiasts.   WIP Wednesday was yesterday and these days are always of interest, makes me really want to sew again and seeing what others are working on provides so much inspiration, don't you agree?  
I hope you will enjoy the sites I have shared with you today?  I personally love surfing and meeting Bloggers I have yet to have discovered and that these wonderful people are eager to share of themselves with others is awesome.
Remember, if you have a comment or a thought or a site to share, please, won't you share it here with myself and others who come by for a visit?


Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.  ~Henry Ford

Love is in the Air Today

Happy Valentine's Day, the entire day is devoted to LOVE!!!!

I apologize for not posting the last few days, I have a friend visiting and have also been resting my back, because the back and hip problems have returned with a vengeance. 

TODAY being valentine's day makes me want to shout to all the people's of the world, hey, lets Love one another and make a long and lasting peace!!!!  Wouldn't it be great to annually celebrate PEACE DAY?

Thinking of peace, led me to look for some special quilt to share with you today and I believe I have found a very special quilt. 

 It is called the RED CROSS Quilt, and a free pattern can be had for this quilt, should you be interested in it.  The history of the quilt is interesting, and we all realize just how very loving and kind the people who work and volunteer for the RED CROSS can be.  It seems these quilts also raise much needed additional funds for the organization and the important work it carries out.

Since today is Valentines Day, the one day in each year that reflects on sharing love one individual has for another, it seemed somehow fitting to sort of single out one of the thousands of organizations that shares its love for humanity.

A unique and different slant on a heart quilt can be found over at What A Hoot! Quilts you will see a pictures of a very pretty quilt which looks black and white with rainbow motif hearts on it, very, very pretty and different from many of the heart quilt patterns we normally see.  I even pinned it on Pinterest.   Look around this Blog, there you will see variations of this specific quilt.  A very interesting Blog it is too! 

Not only do I love the art of quilting, but, cake decorating is also a favorite for me.  Not that I bake cakes and can decorate them, far from it, I am not capable to decorating a cake, but, I am a fan of Buddy Valastro, the Cake Boss from Hoboken, N.J., you know, at Carlo's Bakery and with a few television shows to his credit?  Since it is Valentines Day and since sweets like chocolate are a special item today, why not go and visit Carlo's Bakery Grab & Go page, I put on the pounds just looking at all of these tasty treats.  I especially love it when every once in awhile, during the series, Buddy decorates a wedding cake! ..he does such a fantastic job decorating.

Time for me to make an effort to tidy up and have a nice hot shower to give my back a treat this morning.  Staying under the hot water long enough to provide me with the stamina to sit and sew for awhile.  

Have a wonderful Valentines day today and don't eat all of your sweets at one sitting, save some for me, please?  

There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them.  ~Sylvia Plath

And Now Sunshine

Happy Saturday, the storm for us here in Ontario is over for the time being and the sun is shining though it is cold 

and windy still and there is a great deal of snow to be cleared away.  Though my friends along the eastern seaboard in Maine as well as the eastern provinces of Canada are still being hit quite hard with all of the nasty white stuff falling from the skies, but, it is great for those ski resorts whose places haven't seen enough snow for their business' in the past several years, so for those I am happy.  However, it is very dangerous for those who might be caught out in it, especially along the eastern coast of Canada and the United States, just take a look at these weather statements and storm pictures!!!  This is where you can also see the radar map showing the movement of this storm as it heads out towards the Atlantic. I am very happy to be here in my little house safe and warm.

Where I live looks rather pretty all decked out in that white stuff see how nice the snow looks on my neighbors roof line, almost a Rockwell!

Thanks to the wind, my deck received a good cover as well, and the ramp is not too useful at the moment and the bird feeding stations have disappeared under the mounds of snow.

Now all I need is to buy a snow shovel, that seem to be a very important utility tool I forgot to purchase.  

I have a boneless pork roast in the slow cooker and the aroma wafting throughout the house is wonderful.  I am going to have pulled pork this evening, I can't wait.  Yummy.
A few years ago I began a quilt for a friend using the free 2008 scrappy hearts free pattern from Cindy Carter using some of her mums' clothing in it as a memorial quilt for her.  I had used some of the clothes to make pillow for her brothers and sister, but the the rest were to be sewn into a quilt.  I only have 2 more blocks to make and then I can begin to assemble it, but for some reason it seems to be avoiding me, I just can't seem to get the feeling to work on it.  I promised myself I would finish this quilt and this is the time now to pull out the blocks and get it done, even though I am really wanting to work on the pieced border quilt, but that too is facing a problem.  The design roll I bought doesn't seem to have a huge variety of fabrics in it so I will be cutting some from the bit of stash I have here..  Last night in anticipation of me finishing the Scrappy Heart, I tea dyed a nice white cotton sheet for the back of t, but it turned out light even though I used quite a number of tea bags soaked in very hot boiled water, the first time, it was too light, so I did it again this morning, but it hasn't turned out much darker I may have to break down and buy some dye.   
It never hurts to have a few problems with a project, those rekindle some of the energy to get the problems solved and finish it.  Least ways that is how I sometimes get through those projects I seem to have lost focus in. 

Time for me to say cheerio for the day, so come back and visit with me tomorrow, hopefully I will have something of interest to share.

It's a great thing when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself.  Makes you wonder what else you can do that you've forgotten about.  ~Alan Ball

SPENDING AN AFTERNOON

Guess this time I have it right, today is Friday, honest it really is!  LOL  I haven't a clue where I seemed to have lost a day yesterday, but I really thought it was Friday!!!!

It began to snow here last night and hasn't stopped at all.  We are expected to get 35 to 27 centimeters of snow (9 to 11 inches) and from the looks of it, this time the meteorologists may just be right.  It doesn't help that there are serious winds with it either, so snow which fell earlier is also being blown about.  I took some snaps for you to see it. 

Meanwhile, the children and grandchildren made it to their destination late last evening and today they took the children to the Ottawa Science Center and from all accounts Mommy's message says they are having a great time.  

My three Treasures Mikayla in the hat, Brayden and wee Ella!!!! I can't wait to see them and give them all sloppy g'ma kisses and huge hugs. 

It has been a good day for being indoors and doing some serious culinary work, so, I  spent my afternoon!  I spent it on cooking and have pork chops in barbecue sauce going in the crock pot, will have this with rice tonight, mmmmmmm

stewing some older apples for applesauce in the stock pot, and I will add a custard sauce to mix in it this time around, just to make it more like a dessert.  

I also marinated a batch of mushrooms, if I hadn't these would no longer be fit to eat and would have had to be thrown out and I cannot afford that.  

Last October I made huge batches of chili as well as spaghetti sauce and put them all up into the freezer!  Yesterday I simply didn't feel like cooking so pulled a sauce container of spaghettie sauce and made myself a quickie dinner, no fuss or mess.  Have to admit, it was Yummmy

I love cooking shows, and there are a few I favor over others, one being on a specialty channel called "Lidia's Italy" where Lidia travels throughout the States picking and choosing favorite Italian dishes from that area, then prepares on television and shares these recipes with her tv audience.   She makes each recipe seem so simple and easy, then, when the meal has been cooked she tastes it and my mouth waters.  These meals all look so tasty.   Lidia is on again this evening, I wonder what scrumcious recipe she will cook up this this evening episode?

Sew, well, no sewing to speak of today, I merely had conversations on Skype with some of my friends, did some cooking as you saw and a bit of hand sewing on my hexagons which I will need probably several thousand of if ever I am going to get a queen sized quilt out of them and listened to my favorite instrumental music all day long.  All in all a very productive stuck in the house type of Friday during a snowstorm.

Thank you so very much for stopping by to visit with me, I hope you may have enjoyed sharing a bit of my day too.  Have a safe and wonderful weekend in spite of whatever type of weather your experiencing.

Spend the afternoon.  You can't take it with you.  ~Annie Dillard

WEEKS END

Hey there, it's Friday Thursday once again, another week has almost flown past and I haven't accomplished much of anything to brag about, however I haven't wasted my time either, I have simply been busy enjoying my days.  Our weather bureau has been getting us all geared up for another humongous snow storm with all nasty little changes throughout thrown in by Mother Nature just to keep us on our toes!  

Heard today my dear son and family are on their way to our capital, the City of Ottawa to enjoy a bit of Winterlude fun and visit with my daughter-in-laws' family, I know they are going to have lots of fun!  For those who so enjoy winter and all of the fun that may be enjoyed out of doors during these cold and chilly winter months, these types of festivities are a great way to celebrate winter and the advent of Spring.  From all reports I have heard about Winterlude in Ottawa, the organizers go all out to make certain everyone who attends have a fantastic fun time of it.  Me, I am not the winter out of doors type of person, give me the warmth of sunshine and spring.  LOL  

IF you are interested here is where you'll see some wonderful pictures taken and here for Ice Sculptures (in 2003).  This Coach was magnificent    Each year there are lots of Ice Sculptures and some are so beautiful as to take your breath away, yeah, from the cold as well, but these are truly AWESOME each and every year.

Mommy sent G'ma a picture of wee Ella, what do you think of my little cupid?  Notice the earrings?  Guess G'ma will have to begin saving for some teeny tiny pretties for her ears.  She's just turned 4 months February 6th.  

Come this spring I have huge plans, I expect to have as many Rose bushes and wild flowers planted all around this new home of mine, and simply am patiently awaiting the arrival of spring so that I might get out and begin the plantings.  I so love roses and the sweet pungent scents of their blossoms once they begin blooming.  We have a wonderful place about two hours from here that grows hardy Ontario roses and he guarantees they will do well in our climate.  I bought bushes from Galetta Nurseries for my mother a few years ago and was rewarded with beautiful white and full scented blooms.  I now hope to obtain some of those bushes this year for myself and experience this pleasure for myself and of course to share with all who pass by.   The grower assures me I do not need to have a good green thumb to achieve success with his roses.  I hope he is right.  

Nothing is sweeter to me than sitting outside in spring and summer enjoying the warmth of the sun, listening to the buzzing of those busy bees, and the songbirds, like the House Finch melodious as well as so very pretty to look at, and at the web site you can see as well as listen to those beautiful feathered creatures as well other varieties,  many who will be around because I am going to bribe them with wonderful and delicious seed treats.  Then come the heat of summer and the humming birds, they will be around because I will fill feeders for them filled with rich syrupy liquids.

I have been struggling with the measurements of the intended Pieced Border quilt project, which pattern I read and saw over at Red Pepper Quilts, I want to use up a Design roll I purchased not long ago from the Missouri Star Quilt Co.  The pattern calls for 1 1/2" strips but the Design roll is 2.5" and I really want to use these in that project, so of course that really alters the pattern size.  It really would not be me if I didn't struggle over a pattern, I never can seem to just do what the pattern designer calls for.  LOL

It is now time for me to go back to my measurement struggles, once I have completed a few blocks and they don't look too bad, I promise to share these with you. 

Once again, may I remind you,  have have removed the need for word verification and moderating from the COMMENTS section, so, please, won't you introduce yourselves to me?  Seeing as it is Friday, I wish you all a great start to a wonderful doing whatever your planning to do weekend.

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.  ~J. Lubbock

A Happy February Day To You

Hello this chilly February day, so very nice of you to come for a visit.  I wish you a Happy Tuesday!  I have been busy, I finished the set of place mats and table topper to match, as well as cooking, and speaking with family and friends for hours using a free service called Skype.

Skype is wonderful, do you use it?  It is a free service over the internet which allows people such as me to afford long distance as well as video calling to family and friends around the world, and if you don't use Skype or a similar service which is free, you may want to investigate it for yourself.  I have sat for hours sewing with my friend while chatting away and it was so much fun to sit and sew with my friend even though she and I were not physically in the same room....

The birds are also visiting on a regular basis (because I continue to feed them, LOL) but I am running out of bird seed at the moment and so I spread peanut butter over stale bread and each evening the feeders are empty.  There is a family of woodpeckers, and today one of the young fellows just didn't seem to want to eat and run, he stuck around the whole afternoon, pecking away to get at the peanut butter and when that was finally all gone, he's been pecking away at the seeds under a layer of ice, he made quite the racket with his constant pecking, as did some of the larger Blue Jays.  I managed to his at the back door so I could get a few good photo's to share with you, but I could tell he sensed me there and finally flew off. 

Isn't he cute for a young fellow? 

What a cutie

Wary of my presence

Time to hack out those seeds!

I've still a few projects to complete, but I am champing at the bit to try a new quilt pattern which I discovered at Red Pepper Quilts, she has put together a wonderful and easy to do pieced border quilt tutorial, I thank Rita for this tutorial.

Red Pepper Quilts Tutorial for this very fresh looking Pieced Border Quilt.

The fabrics I bought from Missouri Star Quilt Co. are I think just perfect a combination for this pretty fresh looking quilt.

I never seem to get enough of looking at others quilts and am in awe of so many quilters.  The pattern and color choices are so varied and are all so very pretty, I have yet to come across a quilt I did not like. 

BEFORE I close today, I would like to point out that I have made it simpler for anyone wishing to leave a comment on my posts from here on out.  I removed the need for work verification and anyone may post, no moderating required.  PLEASE, if you would like to leave a comment, I would be thrilled.

Time to say cheerio for this afternoon, I sincerely hope you've had a pleasant visit with me today.  

God wisely designed the human body so that we can neither pat our own backs nor kick ourselves too easily.  ~Author Unknown

DREAMS DO COME TRUE

I have cleaned, vacuumed, dusted, attached the hardware for the curtain rods, washed and hung the sheers, cooked some ahead meals, had wonderful conversations with dear friends on Skype, found a quilt pattern to use with the white and pastel fabrics I still have and basically exhausted myself both Friday and yesterday.  Best of all, I even read a novel Friday and finished it last night as there was nothing on television I wanted to watch so good use was made of my time over this past weekend.

Now it is Sunday, and I am taking a bit of a rest, the music is playing softly in the background and I am feeling very happy inside today.  Oh though while missing in action these last few days, I have been keeping myself rather busy, yet the only visible attestation to my business is that I finally have my white sheers hung on all of the living room windows! 

See these are the window treatments I put up yesterday.  The sheers were hand me downs, so these have been washed up to nice and white, and I am thinking a red with multiple colors of beige, black and golden yellows might just look nice as a valance over the top?  

I am sewing a valance this afternoon and will try it out, if it doesn't look great, I can remove it, not a big deal, I am just thinking the red will make the room pop.  Will it, I am not sure and hopefully once it is up I will like what I see and hang onto my idea and make more for the other windows..  You will notice in this last picture of the windows at the back of the room I already have the hardware up to try out the valance idea.

I want my space to capture the light every day, so I chose white sheers and decided to cover only 3/4's of the windows to allow all of the light to come in and dance with me.  I am sewing a red valance which has colors of black, white and gold strewn in a haphazard way which may or may not look good.  If I think it looks good it stays, if not, I will rethink the idea.  LOL

Since the loss of my original blog space where I introduced my new home to everyone, you may not be aware that I live in a Mobile Home!  I love every square inch of my new space and confess I have always dreamed of living in such a space, and finally I allowed myself last year to refresh my dreams, and look what I was rewarded with!

 I was so happy to have found this place and when I moved in I basically had only a few bits of clothing.  Thanks to very good neighbors and friends, I now live in very comfortable surroundings.  This is a picture of a lifetime wish granted.  So you see, ask and it will be given, may take awhile, but you have to continue dreaming.

I had hoped during the week to be more actively piecing, but, am content with what I have accomplished up till now.  I was telling my friend whom I was speaking with on Skype about my String Stars Quilt 

This was my own design and I have scoured hundreds of string quilt pictures and still have not found one like this, pattern.  If you find another like this, please let me know, because I certainly could not find one.

which I made as a promotion gift for a friend last summer, I would like to share this with you now. 

 It was a very stressful time in my life while I was creating this string quilt it's bright and cheery fabrics made it possible for me to continue to finish it and to finish another for a retirement gift to one of my favorite people, a Librarian extraordinaire who was retiring from our Library.  It  just had to be a very bright quilt for Lynn to suit her personality. 

Lynn if your reading keep writing, writing and writing, you know I am waiting to read your book!

Time for me to shush for today, however, I am so very happy you stopped by for a visit and shared some moments with me.  Won't you leave a comment if something I have shared is of interest?

Dreams are free, so free your dreams.  ~Astrid Alauda