This week, March 19th to 25th, I….

 

Took Thursday and Friday off work.  DH has gone fishing with his buddies, so I stayed home with Zeke, our little canine friend.  He usually goes to work with DH, but it would be too difficult for me to take him to work. 

Here is DH and one friend all ready to leave.  You would think they were going to Vancouver to hit the Boat Show or see a great bluesman in a bar, instead of skidooing out to a cabin with no electricity or running water in the middle of nowhere.  But they do have a twelve hour drive to Alaska to meet their other friend, so I guess they need to look nifty in all those one horse towns they’re driving through.   

I spent a lot of time this week end cleaning things up: lots of paperwork to organize, cleaned up my sewing room, organized my embroidery thread, cleaned some things out of the fridge.  On and on it goes.  It could be a full time job just keeping things organized.  Oh yeah, it is.  It’s called a homemaker.  I used to be one….

I’ve been out cross country skiing everyday.  The weather is mostly gloriously sunny.  I think I got a sunburn on my face today. 

I got a little sewing done.  Hexies for my March swap partner…. she asked for small prints in pastels…. I’ve found a gaping hole in my stash that I’m going to have to fill.

Two postcards for the swap I’m in this month.  The theme is “purple”.  I’ve got one more of these to make….

Back in January I saw Anne Sutton’s Merry Merry Snowmen quilt pattern on someone’s blog and I loved it.  I promptly signed up for the BOM from Fat Quarter Shop.  On Friday I received month two, so I thought it was about time I started on month one.  I got the background fabrics put together and the first little bit of applique and embroidery done.  Still a big applique and lots of embroidered bits to go on this block.

When I signed up for the BOM there were several things I didn’t think through. 

1. the cost.  This will be the most expensive quilt I’ve ever made.

2. the amount of work.  Lots of fiddly little bits of applique and embroidery.  As Anne says in the instructions, this is not a quilt to try and rush through.

3. I seldom make quilts from someone else’s pattern, using fabrics etc. that they have chosen.  It is a really different sport than putting a quilt together as you go with your creativity working overtime.

4. the fabrics.  These are really not my kind of fabrics.  I like bright and happy, primary colours, lots of colour.  These are browns and muted other colours.  Even the white is off white.  But I think I’m going to like it anyway.

I received one lovely piece of mail this week.  I had sent LeeAnn at Nifty Quilts a few pieces of vintage fabric.  She’s collecting pieces for a quilt she wants to make.  Click on the link to have a peek.  She sent me a few pieces from her vintage stash in swap.  They are so pretty.  I’ve already asked DD # 2 if she wants any of them for the hexie quilt.  I promised her a photo so she could see what they look like.

I also won this pattern from Candace in the St Patrick’s Day Blog Hop Party.  Candace gave away one of her electronic patterns to everyone who entered her giveaway! 

She calls it Ribbonry, but what I really like about it is that it is a plaid pattern.  I have wanted to make a plaid quilt for years.  My sister knit an afghan in a plaid pattern years ago which was fabulous.  I have been intrigued ever since.

I have a sitter lined up for Zeke for tomorrow, because I have to go back to work….

Janet