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The idea was - Nora and I would go out shopping during the second game of Aaron's double header. It is a cold day and it poured the rain (don't you just love that Eastern Kentucky expression?) so Aaron went to a birthday party instead while Nora and I shopped.
That girl isn't easy to buy clothes for but she loves shoes and socks. We found these running shoes and a package of socks at TJ Maxx and she was very pleased. Then it was on to the mall and Claire's. She got two pairs of rainbow-themed earrings and a card of mustache earrings in several colors. Pretzels nuggets and a smoothie.
JoAnn's is across from the mall, and I told her it was shining like a beacon. We got a few yards of quilter's cotton on sale. I would have liked more white and also a pale gray, but there were only a few yards of white and no pale gray. Maybe tomorrow in Hyde Park.
The Hyde Park store is recently renovated and has a cash register at the cutting table. One stop. I like it.
The train is on a burp cloth, from Anita Goodesign Baby Train. Under it is a piece of a patchwork washcloth, a twelve-patch of 3" squares backed with a large washcloth. In this case a white washcloth with "wash" embroidered on the back - it came that way, in its eight-pack. I have enough washcloths for lots of babies.
My front yard garden is out of control with weeds. It's either been raining or I've been working or, like today, it's cold. The clematis are looking really nice, and the iris and day lilies are looking good. Even the old peonies are looking good. In the fall I cut them way back, thinking they might not even come back, but come back they have. My favorites, the ornamental grasses, are looking good. And those weeds are spectacular.
I've decided that I want to just go ahead and free motion my baby quilts. It's the only way I'm ever going to get really good, to just do it. How many practice pieces do I need? And if I'm going to get that sit-down quilter, which I will, I want to be able to just take off with it.
These chocolate chip cookies have dried cranberries and some cornmeal too. Really, really good. You can find the recipe here. The recipe calls for dried raspberries, which would probably be heavenly, but my store didn't have them and the cranberries are good too. The cookies don't taste like cornmeal, no worries there, but they do have a little extra texture that's quite nice.
It rained like crazy when I was on my way to the store for ingredients. Bad timing on my part, but really, it's rained all day. This was just more than usual.
I forgot to take pictures of a baby shower gift before I put it in the bag, but I'll be making more. A washcloth with patchwork on one side and a burp cloth. I wonder sometimes how many of the cloth diapers in the package are actually used for burp cloths.
Between rain showers yesterday, it was nice to go to the Cincinnati Flower Show, down by the river.
My neighbor and I walked over the Purple People Bridge, which limited the shopping we could do.
There were some vendors, some nurseries, very little food. They surely could have used a food truck or two. Of course, it was Thursday, maybe some will show up on the weekend.
This pink and green baby quilt is an adaptation of a larger Jacquie Gering pattern. A kind of improvisational log cabin.
The backing and binding are pieced.
This morning I was sitting on the steps in a building downtown, checking CNN News on my phone. There was an article about a study questioning whether actively creative people are less likely to develop dementia as they age. This study seemed to think so.
I've wondered about that, with quilters especially of course, since quilting involves spacial reasoning and the ability to envision, then carry out that vision. Math and problem solving.
I wanted to read that article again but it was no longer on the news feed. I do remember that it particularly mentioned sewing and woodworking. Interesting stuff. Hope it's true.
It's hard to say which is more delightful - a bed of blue hyacinths at the Cincinnati Zoo, or
the Sweet Tooth sign saying that ice balls are back. Purple for both kids.
It was also a delightful afternoon, with lunch at The Gruff in Covington, at the foot of the Roebling Bridge, a stop at the Museum Centers, and those ice balls. The Reds game was on at The Gruff and we followed it throughout the afternoon.
This morning I told Aaron that a few people would bring brooms to the game, in case of a series sweep, and sure enough we saw some brooms on tv. Turns out that it was indeed a sweep.
I'm so glad that the grands are crazy about baseball and the Reds.
This little clutch is embroidered with the Anita Goodesign Fashion Clutches collection. It uses Texture Magic for the nice puffiness. The front and back of the clutch are done on the embroidery machine and the assembly is done on the sewing machine. The collection has three different designs and a whole alphabet of large initials.
I can't stop watching the video of the Reds home run in the eighth inning last night. Great way to start the season.
My Country Living came today and there is a recipe for Huevos Rancheros that I can't wait to try. It's my favorite item in Mexican restaurants, don't know why I never thought to look for a recipe.
It's an overcast day on this first day of the kids' Spring Break. We went to see the movie Home, which was cute, but no one was too interested in going to the Aquarium or having lunch. The kids just wanted to get home to play outside.
It's also Opening Day and cars were lined up to go into the parking garage. People were walking across the bridge and even folks, like us, who weren't going to the game were wearing their Reds shirts.
The game is at 4:10 and it looks as if the rain will hold off. I will be doing a lot more evening sewing now with baseball games to listen to. That combination is one of my favorite things.
Tonight is the last NCAA basketball tournament game, too. My team isn't in the final game, after Saturday, but I do have a preference, of course, so it will be fun to watch.
Not to be forgotten on this weekend of waiting for Easter morning -
On this weekend of NCAA semi-final tournament games -
And the final NCAA game on Monday night -
Monday is OPENING DAY!
And yes, I'm shouting. I'm so excited. I enjoy professional football, like college basketball, but I love professional baseball. High on my list of goals (yes, those goals again) is going to more games this year. My very favorite are the summer evening games, sitting in the stands watching the shadows fall over the stadium and the evening come in. Watching the river go by. Drinking a beer. Good, good times.
OK, I couldn't find any currants so I used dried cranberries. And my icing bag ripped so the crosses aren't perfect. But, these hot cross buns are just what I was hoping they'd be. You can find the recipe here.
I've been doing some alterations this week instead of doing creative sewing, and that's ok. Like my grandmother used to say, "Life doesn't always have to be the same."
