Spring Tree

Outside the door at a studio in Loveland. This reminds me to all the years I tied plastic Easter eggs to little trees. Don't have a little tree now and probably wouldn't tie on eggs anyway - but I might tie on fabric strips like this. Hmmm, one of my March goals, yet undone, is to add a splash of color to the back porch. Nothing I could think of seemed right. But, I could get a small potted tree, tie on the fabric scraps, and plant the tree later. I know just the place. This could work.

Eden Park

The Midwest International Quilt Show moved from Chicago to Cincinnati this year, happening next month. It's a big deal, and I'm pretty excited. . For next year's show, my quilt guild is making a Cincinnati quilt, representing many areas of Cincinnati. We started in January and plan to be finished in September so we can display it at our Cincinnati Nature Show in October. . Another woman and I are working on the Eden Park block. We're meeting today, and thanks to the NCAA basketball games and my new tv in the studio, I'm ready. We're doing our areas "off site" and should now be ready to put everything together. . The picture at the top represents Krohn Conservatory and the "castle" on Gilbert Street, near the park entrance. Below is the gazebo. (It really isn't crooked, I just didn't photograph it quite straight.) I'm thinking about carefully removing the ornament at the top and using a different color instead, maybe gold.

My quilt partner has the Art Museum, Playhouse in the Park, and a church. Also a series of butterflies that will be over the Krohn since there is a big butterfly show there every June.

Hopefully, tomorrow I'll have a photo of the entire, although unconstructed, block. We have plenty of time to get everything sewn on before the "progress" meeting next Monday.

Saturday Afternoon

After days of warm sunshine, we got the reminder that it is, after all, March. As if we could forget with all the Madness going on, but I sort of did. Snow last night.

Perhaps because of the colder weather, yesterday was a crowded day at the Museum Center, lots of people in line for the Cleopatra exhibit. And lots of kids at the Children's Museum. For a few minutes I couldn't find Aaron at the Woods - I was with him and told him I'd meet him at the end of a rope tunnel that wasn't made for adults. He scampered on, then I realized that I couldn't quickly get to the other side. By the time I got there he was on to other things. Quiet panic. And then, after a few minutes, he showed up. The Woods is set up with three levels and only one way out, so it wasn't so bad, but there was always the possibility that he could have climbed down and been out the door before I got there. Not that a kid would want to leave a fun place like that, though.

Nora took a friend, a neighborhood girl who is in her Daisy troop. Every time I see Nora these days I'm struck by how suddenly she has turned into a little girly girl.

The girls hung out with Steph, and Aaron and I went our own way, to trains and cars.

And water. The last few visits we hadn't visited the water play section. Whoever was the architect for that area must have had a wonderful time.

After we got back, I went to the new Eastgate JoAnn's. Kona cotton was 40% off and I had a coupon for 25% off my entire purchase. It was the first time I'd had fabric cut there. They have a number system like at a deli so you can get a number and wander around until your number is called. There's even a monitor mounted high over the cutting area so you can keep an eye on what number is being served. Nice. It keeps from having a long line snaking around.

Quilting supplies were half off, and I'm wondering now why I didn't take a closer look at the rulers. Maybe because I have enough.

Oh Happy Day

As Sarah says, "We'll smile all day today. We'll gloat, but only modestly." Ohio State was the #1 tournament seed, and the distance between Columbus and Lexington is short. Yesterday at work I was talking with a young colleague and mentioned THE Duke/Kentucky tournament game. She didn't know what I was talking about. A new generation of Kentuckians may have no memory of that night and parents who haven't told the story.

Family Pictures

No words needed today

Lent

Years ago, I went with Steph to the Easter Vigil at St. Agnes in Covington. I always remember the imagery of the baptismal font, which had been filled with sand during Lent, being turned on some time during the service and the sound of the water flowing.

When I was thinking about a worship banner for Lent this beige linen reminded me of the sand in the font. For Easter I'll need a wonderful colorful banner to celebrate. Maybe water-related.


Last Sunday we had a large candle on the communion table (communion doesn't happen every Sunday) with smaller candles that people could light from the larger one during Prayers from the Congregation. Very pretty imagery. I always have pieces of fabric, so it's easy to just cut one down, or not, when the occasion comes up.

Splash!

It's getting toward the end of the month and I still have some goals to accomplish. One less, though, my monthly project from Quilting Arts or Cloth Paper Scissors.

I was looking through the magazines, looking for a project, when I spotted some machine needle felting. I have an ever-so-nice machine felter but hadn't used it in forever, and I was really attracted to the pictures of free motion embroidery on felting.

I have several felted sweaters, just waiting for projects, and I cut part of the sleeve off one
and machine felted roving and Angelina on it. Too much blue Angelina, probably, but now I know.

Doing the free motion embroidery on the felting was glorious and gave me the chance to try out my new-to-me single hole needle plate too. I'd been wanting to do the little circles forever. I want to get away from the stippling-every-time mentality.

An Easy One

One of my goals for March (I always include a few easy ones) was to walk across the Purple People Bridge. I love that bridge, love the idea of a pedestrian bridge, enjoy being around the water. Like the idea that I can drive down the street and be there in no time at all. Like the idea of being able to walk across the river from one state to another.

The walk was last week, and the Ohio River was very high. This week it's receding once again.

Probably next time I'll have Nora and/or Aaron with me. They love it too.

Silence

I don't like to be silent for this many days in a row, but sometimes technology gets the better of me. The latest example is my little red card reader, into which I can put my camera card to transfer pictures to the computer. Suddenly and with no warning it just didn't work. The computer didn't even recognize it. Dead.

I got it because the people at the camera store said it might help my camera last longer since the lens wouldn't be going in and out as much. Since my camera problems have been with the lens opening, that seemed reasonable. Of course my camera also came with a cord, but it took a couple of days of on-and-off looking to locate that. And it turns out that the lens opening when the camera is connected to the computer must be a Sony thing anyway, since it didn't happen with the Nikon.

Then there was the matter of finding out where on the computer the pictures went with the new system. Hmmm.

On a different note, it's hard to look at those shoes in the now-found picture without getting happy. They were at a shoe store display at Newport on the Levee, where I saw Cedar Rapids. It's a light-hearted movie, no thinking involved. Don't leave without watching the credits or you'll miss something.

Rescue Sewing

I enjoy what I call "rescue sewing." Taking something that was unusable and turning it into something used and liked. Holes in jeans. A new hem. Replacement buttons.

Or, in this case, buttonholes in a shower curtain. A friend really liked this shower curtain but brought it home to find no buttonholes for hanging. They were just missing. I wonder whether all the shower curtains made that day were missing their buttonholes.

Next up: kitchen curtains for another friend.

You Just Never Know

Sometimes you just never know how things might unfold.

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Number one: I picked out the paint swatch which is propped up against the comforter. It's been tucked inside my bedroom light switch for months now, just waiting for the right paint time.

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Number two: Sarah and Winnie gave me the awesomely pink comforter for Christmas. Which I love.

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Number three: the wall hanging quilt top I made in the Kathy Loomis workshop yesterday and finished piecing this morning. I never planned for any matching. The only reason I chose the greens was because the fabric selection was limited. We were supposed to have a light, medium, and dark. I chose the two greens and the purple for dark.

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We all put slices of our fabrics in a pile and picked out pieces for neutral (gray for me) and accent (that lovely pink) that other people had brought. No preplanning what so ever, but my bedroom is going to look pretty darn wonderful.

Sunday Workshop

My quilt guild held a Sunday workshop this weekend. How lovely to begin at 9:30 (even with the time change) and cut and sew until 4:30. There was a break for lunch and I walked to a coffee shop down a charming street in Medeira. Got a lovely veggie sandwich and a lemon scone to nibble on.

Kathy Loomis from Louisville was the instructor and was very patient and had lots of good suggestions. I realized that I've been pretty haphazard with my pressing and that should be much better after today.

I'm not sure how much my piece "looks like it's supposed to" but I'm happy with it. And happy with the process, since I like to cut. I'm not quite finished with the piecing but hopefully will be by the evening's end.

I thought I'd stop at the Levee on the way home and walk across the bridge and admire the high water, but found myself too tired for that today. I did stop at the new Target in my neighborhood and found lots to admire. I thought I'd find a dock for my iPod but it was more complicated than I thought. Some come with a dock for both iPod and iPhone. Will I ever have one of those and be sorry that I didn't get the combination? Too much to think about today.

Little Zippered Bags

Little quilted zippered iPod bag, done as a work sample.

At last, I'm learning to put zippers in bags. I always thought it would be difficult to put a zipper in a lined bag, but it turns out that it isn't. I've been drawn to zippered bags forever, but put off making one because of . . . the zipper. Well, and maybe because I've been busy with other things.

Now that I'm learning, I can see all kinds of possibilities. Here we go.

Snow yesterday and last night - woke up to find the grass covered. Maybe, just maybe, this is the last snow of the season.

Just Musings

No pictures tonight. We all know what a pansy looks like, right? There are some outside my front door, nothing spectacular but looking good. And with them comes my annual spring wonder, how do they do that? How do they survive the winter cold and snow and ice and be green again in the spring, with flowers no less. Real flowers. Delicate flowers. How do they do that?

Ash Wednesday today and I got my first ashes ever. My church usually doesn't hold Ash Wednesday services. I went across the river in the pouring rain and hoped that by the time the service was finished the rain would have slowed down. It did.

I stopped on the way home and got some salmon for dinner, really yummy between two slices of wheat bread. With cantelope and a strawberry from a new container. When Nora and Aaron were visiting on Sunday I asked Nora what her favorite food was. She said "strawberries with sugar." I'd just been shopping and asked if she wanted some - affirmative. Between her and Aaron they ate and ate.

After being out every night this week, I am so looking forward to being home tomorrow night. I am a home-body.

Beautiful

Beautiful Nora, the deliverer of eight boxes of Girl Scout cookies to my door. Don't you just wish you had that creamy complexion?

And my not-so-beautiful Martha Pullen work sample. Ugh.

It wasn't the pattern or the instructions, it was my sewing.

Weekend Pictures

Aaron spent Saturday afternoon and evening with me, including a sleep-over. Several times he happily said, "It's just you and me."

Sunday was a trip to pick up Nora, who'd been with Aunt Tina, and a stop at the Children's Museum. At the museum there was grocery shopping,

driving new cars

and old cars

and examining sick animals at the animal hospital.

It's a wonderful place for imagination.

Six Blocks Done

I got only six blocks finished for the Quilt Along with Melody challenge, but I'm pleased with them. They look just as scrappy as I hoped. I added them to the flickr group this morning.

Steph asked me to do a little mending on Nora's Daisy smock.

The little brownie pin brought back memories. I loved my brownie pin. I was less crazy about the uniform, but I loved that pin. And the Girl Scout knife. We'd day camp at Harmon Field just after school was out each year. Making the little buddy burners with a large juice can and a triangular church key was the best. That year my troop had the coveted spot along Riley Creek, with a rock ledge for cooking with the little burner. I wonder what we used for fire - can't remember. Did we cook hamburgers?

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However we did it, I'm sure I needed help. Because the scout groups were smaller than the classroom there were adults to help me along. I was such a dreamy kid, and process things didn't go well for me. My snowflakes fell apart when I opened them, my potato stamping didn't stamp, I got lost in the middle of long division, I couldn't keep track of my books or my homework.

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One of my grade school teachers told the class that someone had scored well on whatever standardized test we were taking but didn't do that great with classwork. I wondered at the time whether it was me. I still do.