Quilted Jonquil

Just this past weekend I was thinking I’ve never won a blog giveaway.  Some of the giveaways are so wonderful they make you really want to win.  Well today, I did win !!!    !!!  Yippee!!!  THANK YOU, THANK YOU to Scott Hansen of Blue Nickle Studios.  I won the giveaway on this post.  I love that I won the post with the pictures of nickels being painted blue   Here’s the goodies from Market I won.  Looks like a purple bag….I LOVE bags….you can NEVER have too many bags

And here’s a picture of those goodies with the bag of fabric I won!!! You can never have too much fabric either.   WOO HOO!!

I’ve picked up the Folk Style Sampler applique project again.  This is a project from the Australian Patchwork & Quilting magazine.  Here’s the magazine cover with Part II of the two part series.

So I’m busy working on my 6th block which happens to be the block in the top row left or bottom row right.

I’ve completed the other 2 blocks in the both the top and bottom rows as well as the block in the middle since starting this quilt in August 2007.  No typo there, I started this in 2007!!!  Anyway, here’s the progress I’ve made on the block and the block from the completed quilt above.  Notice anything?

I doubled checked the pattern and sure enough, there are two sets of leaves!  At first I thought maybe I’d mismatched the stems from another block….could easily have happened with so much time gone by since I started this project   But no, there are definitely two sets of leaves.

WARNING:  Immediately following the two pictures below is a picture of something dead so don’t page down if you’re squeamish!

I showed a picture a while back of the spike-y plant the squirrels attacked.  Well, here it is now, recovering nicely.  I think I’ll try to hang this on the tree again, but I’ll watch it VERY carefully.

I also showed a picture of a nest in the hanging fern on my front porch.   We’ve since determined it’s a house finch nest.  There were three eggs laid and now we have baby finches, woo hoo!!  Can’t tell yet if there are two hatch-lings or if there’s a third as well.

Here’s to a great Memorial Day weekend!  I know my DH started his off with a bang since he caught a mole this morning that has been VERY busy tunneling up our yard!  THIS IS WAR.  DH has new grass growing in the huge bare spot where previous mole tunnels finally killed off the grass.  Look at those digging feet….talk about specialized!  They are so destructive to the yard but their fur is amazingly soft.  Check out that pointy nose….hey the nose and tail are about the same length.    If you stuck with me to the end, have a fabulous weekend>

I returned to my office after a meeting and just look what I found!!!  Between the black crepe paper (see previous post) and the flowers, I’m hard to find in my office    Look at how many different kinds of flowers are in these bouquets.   Tulips, roses, mums, peonies, lilies, Gerbera daisies and several others I don’t know the names of…….they are just sensational.  Thank you to my DH and DD.

So this is what greeted me upon my arrival at work today…..I think it speaks for itself!

After getting our rain barrel installed, I waited patiently for the predicted rain to come on Monday…..no rain.  There was a single LOUD clap of  thunder, but that was all.  It was supposed to rain on Tuesday……no rain.  No rain that is until very early Wednesday morning when it started raining cats & dogs!.   I’m happy to report my rain barrel is filled to the brim and the overflow hose does, indeed, work

On the AAQI front, my quilt sold for $60!!  Thank you, TexGal, for your winning bid!  Of the 12 quilts we sent in, four were included in the May auction.  Six of the quilts (#4967, #4966, #4964, #4962, #4960 & #4957) were placed in the “Quilts for Sale” area and three of them, (#4957, #4960 & #4957) have sold already!!!  That brings the total raised so far to $455 for Alzheimer’s research…..YEA Circle in the Square quilters!   Here are the pictures of the quilts still in the for sale section…you know….in case you need one for a gift

#4967

#4966

#4962

We have a hanging fern on our front porch.

It’s growing well.  This morning we discovered a surprise.

A nest!  Not only a nest but a nest made with some of the laundry lint I’ve put out   In our backyard there is a nest in the crook of the drain pipe that has been used for years, mainly by doves but occasionally by robins.  This year the doves are using it.  See the tail of the baby dove sticking out?  Please ignore the nest mess, Mrs. Dove wasn’t expecting a photographer.  I think the baby will be taking off soon.

We have lots of squirrels around our neighborhood.  Every year I plant something in a sap bucket and hang it on our tree.  For some strange reason, the squirrels ALWAYS have to mess with the plants.  Case in point this year:

I’ve taken it off the tree to see if the spike plant will recover!  My SIL planted a spike plant in it last year after I told her I wasn’t planting anything in it because of the squirrels……. and the squirrels left it alone…..I thought I’d be safe following her lead…….go figure.

My DH and DS installed our rain barrel today, yea!!  We’ll be having rain later this week so I’ll be using rain water on my plants soon

….and not just to fabric!  Check out this cool site and watch Molly, McGee and the owlets via the Live Owl Nest Box Cam.

The first owlet, Max, was a day old when I discovered the site and last night I was watching when the second owlet, Pattison, was hatched.  I even saw McGee bringing in a rodent…..he is big and loud!

See the new button on my side bar for Craft Hope?  Craft Hope is doing a great thing…..asking crafters to donate items and selling them on Etsy with 100% of the proceeds going to Doctors Without Borders for help in Haiti.  The donations and sales have been incredible for the three days it’s been running.  Far exceeding their expectations.  Click the button for Craft Hope and check out the Etsy store from their link.

I was given this vintage tailor sleeve board with point turner by a co-worker who’s mother has moved into a smaller place.  If anyone is interested it this, please leave me a comment.  All I ask is for you to pay the shipping.  We’d like for it to have a nice home

Seems like all parts of the country have had cold and snow but in the St Louis area, most of our precip has been rain.  Yeah, okay there was one day with some snow but it didn’t amount to much.   I love snow.  I love the way it makes everything look so different, muffles sound and squeaks and crunches when you walk on it.  Okay, don’t send the thugs over to beat me up, I know lots of folks don’t like snow and I do feel bad for the folks who’ve received yards of it, but I love it! And last night we got some snow   I took these pictures on my way to work this morning…..the birds are glad the bird bath de-icer is working