Mardi Gras

Yes, it is the Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday celebration today,

but did you know that it was also National Pancake Day?

I made pancakes from scratch this morning for my family. They were very yummy. I even warmed the syrup! We had a couple left over and I will warm them up for breakfast tomorrow morning!

I've been working hard in my studio. I've completed a customer quilt top and am near completion on a t-shirt quilt that I pieced and quilted.

Here is a picture of the quilt and a couple of detail shots:

The weather has been so very nice here the last few days. We have had 80 degree weather so I've been busy working out in my garden pruning and planting and pulling weeds.

Tomorrow is the start of Lent and while I am not Catholic,

I like the idea of participating in Lent.

In years past I have always forgone something...

like CHOCOLATE

or SUGAR

or my glass of wine.

This year I've decided that I would ADD something,

More daily devotion time,

daily exercise and

daily decluttering time in my home.

Discipline.....could be harder that giving up chocolate!

Wish me luck!

Free Placemats

Check out this website for monthly themed placemats...........
Free from Jackie Robinson - Animas Quilts

Jan/Feb/March are already posted.

http://www.animas.com/Placemats/Placemats.html

These placemats really look cool!

Organize!!!!!

I had a dear friend come over today to give me some pointers on organization. I REALLY need to get my quilt studio organized. Sometimes it is hard to work because I don't have my "things" where they should be and I spend alot of time looking for things I need. She gave me some great ideas............now I just need to DO IT!

At our FNQ meeting on Friday night we celebrated the birthdays of

two of our members. I made them each an embroidered apron.

Kerry's says "Sizzlin' Hot Mama"

and Dolly's says " Dinner is on ME!"

So now I"m off to start quilting a quilt that needs to be done

so the maker can put it in the quilt show. I need to get it done so

she will have time to do the binding before the show.

THEN I need to start implementing some of the changes I need to

do in my studio to get it organized!

River Rock quilt

Phew! A couple of days ago I finished up this large quilt.

The quiltmaker wanted me to quilt rocks and river on it and

wanted heavy quilting on it.

At first I started out with the darker thread

but was alarmed when it

showed up so vividly on the lighter fabric.

Using the darker thread with heavy quilting

would have completely changed the color of the quilt.

I ended up picking out this quilting (no small feat!) and using the softer color thread on the entire quilt.

This is a picture of the back of the quilt.

The quiltmaker used up any squares that did

not make it on the front of the quilt.

Now she will have 2 quilts in one!

These are pictures of the back of the quilt where you can

see the quilting lines better on the solid colored fabric.

There is ALOT of close quilting in this quilt.

Sure hope the quiltmaker likes it!

Twilight

It was a rainy day in Phoenix yesterday.

We don't get many of those days.

So I took the day off and spent the entire day reading.

(okay, I also made a big pot of chili and cornbread, but

you NEED a big pot of chili and cornbread on a rainy day too!)

The book "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyer has 498 pages and

I read the WHOLE book yesterday.

Fortunately it is a very easy read.

The book takes place starting and ending in Phoenix,

Arizona and in the Olympia Pennisula in the middle and is about vampires!

Good vampires.

Go to this site: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html

to read more about this book.

Stephenie has written several sequels AND

"Twilight" is being made into a movie!

One of my favorite tv shows while I was growing up was

Dark Shadows with the vampire Barnabas Collins.

I watched it with my great-grandmother after school.

Makes me wonder...........are there vampires amoung us?

What do you think?

The Secret Lives of Bees

I watched "The Secret Lives of Bees" the other night and it was pretty good. I've read the book previously and it was fun to see how the movie was portrayed and how it differed from the images that I had in my mind.

The story is set in N. Carolina in the early 60's. It touches on themes of mother-daughter relationships, gives some insight into the struggles that blacks (and women) still faced in those times and also it gives you some information about beekeeping.

I'm sorta afraid of bees. Unfortunately this movie did not change that, but its always good to have more information!

What a beautiful day!

The sun is shining, birds are singing and the bees are buzzing!

It is a glorious day to be in Phoenix, Arizona.

I heard this morning on the news that we are the hotspot in the continential United States. Warmer than even Florida.

It is so hard to imagine what the rest of our country is going thru.

90% of the rest of the nation will be at or below freezing today.

I believe today I will do a little prep work in the garden......but I think I will wait til it warms up.....its still alittle chilly out there this morning! Our temperature is supposed to reach 80 degrees today!

Now I know it may sound like I'm bragging, but these are the days I hold on to during the summer when we have 4 months of 100+ degree temperatures!

It seems that our household has been constantly changing for the last couple of years. People coming and going. Our newlyweds are in the process of buying a house and thier apartment lease was up, so this past weekend they moved in.....lock, stock and barrel and a couple of kitties:



I think the look on Fergie's face tells the whole story..........
SHE IS NOT HAPPY! She spends alot of her day up in the basket
perch looking out the window. She is slowing warming up to
the idea of her new abode, but is still a little wary of the other kitty
who lives in this house.


Willow on the other hand doesn't have a care in the world.
She has lived here before so the adjustment has not been
so hard for her.

Last week I was sick with food poisoning for a couple of days!
I spent a couple of days laying around doing nothing but moaning and groaning and then another day or so trying to get my energy back.
I did get to watch a couple of movies and read a book tho!
But all this lazing about has pushed my quilting schedule back!
I've been working on a couple of t-shirt quilts and a large custom quilt.