April Showers.....bring May Flowers

Yesterday afternoon and this morning I worked in my garden clearing out dead and decaying matter, so the  plants can get some rain and sunshine.  There are signs of life every where, green shoots poking out of the soil,  crocus in bloom, the robins looking for worms and bugs and I disturbed a toad under some leaves.  It felt good to get out in the fresh air and use the new gardening gloves I received at Christmas, however, tonight those raking and lifting muscles are telling me otherwise.   A brief thunderstorm just rolled through the area, and in the weather forecast last night the "s" was spoken for later in the week. UGH....

"Seville" is sandwiched together with batting and backing and the quilting has been started. First, quilting in the ditch to stabilize it, and then must decide what to do in the larger areas in the centre of the arcs.  My Janome is still at the repair shop,so hope this delay does not mean additional problems, they advised me last week that they were really busy, hoping that is the reason.  Barbara is working just fine, and I completed the navy blue and orange block for our April quilting meeting later this month.  Also, working on my dd2 and sil's blocks, I need 404 - 4" blocks, a quarter of the way there at the present time.  Hope to  have this one and two more for each of my other children finished by Christmas.

Patricia

I blew a fuse and marmalade....

At the present time by Janome sewing machine is ill, repair man called and said I had blown a fuse, and with these new machines you can't just pop out the old fuse and put in the new one. He has to take the unit apart heat the solder to take out the blown fuse and solder the new one onto the prefabricated memory board.  A time consuming task, so that will likely cost more than the fuse.  So at the present time I am using,  a Singer Portable Genie that I recently was gifted back from my sister.   I have called this machine, Barbara, for two reasons,  one: that is my sister's name. second:  it is a Genie--- remember the TV show, "I Dream of Genie"... Barbara Eden.   She needed some tender loving care when I got her back, but now is running like a charm. 
What am I sewing?   The center portion and the only part of the Orange Peel Quilt, I plan on doing.  I have now named  this quilt, "Seville".  This type of orange tastes sour, and in my opinion is not fit for human consumption, until it is made into marmalade.  That's how I felt about this quilt.  I was tempted by it's  looks and enrolled in the classes.   However, became frustrated with the "peels" and got that sour taste, so for over a year it sat in the closet.  A month ago I decided to make marmalade and it hung on my design wall, and I changed this arc and that arc, until this week, it is being stitched together.  It will not be the best marmalade ever made, but at least I can call it completed  UFO.
Patricia

Again......

Woke this morning to snow again....grant you it wasn't much but it was snow just the same. We have beautiful blue skies and the sun is shining and even with the temp hovering around the 0*C mark it has  warmth in its rays, so goodbye to the snow.

Yesterday, we had a cold wind and light snow fell on an off all day, so I stayed in where it was warm and cozy..  Did some sewing on the blue and white blocks for a quilt which will be a gift for my dd2 and sil at Christmas, and also worked on the blocks for the Orange Peel Quilt.

I am just itching to get out in the garden and clean it up.  Some of the purple and yellow crocus are in bloom, well not today they are under the snow, but they certainly make a nice bright spot in the garden around my pond.  The robins are taking advantage of the seed in my feeders, as worms have yet to appear for their meals. Sparrows are collecting grasses and now using the bird houses, all the signs are here for Spring, even the pot holes in the road, so all we need is for the weather to co-operate.  Can you tell I am getting impatient for the nice weather?


Patricia