Eye Candy Part 1 of 3

In my last blogpost I stated that I was quilted out. That still holds true. I need a break from actually quilting. However a local guild, Plank Road Quilt Guild, held a show this weekend which I attended with my firstborn. Of course, the quilts on display were awesome. I got so many pictures that I decided to break them up into three posts. The quilts were displayed mostly in narrow hallways so I wasn't able to photograph them straight on but I did my best. Enjoy the show.

What A Life

I haven't posted in two weeks. My excuse? Too many distractions. First I backed into someone else's car. No damage to my car but major distraction to my rattled brain. Then there was the return of the two woodchucks. Major destruction under our house. Trap came today. Sorry for you animal lovers but these animals are of the unclean sort and it's either them or our house. We opt to keep the house. And the bank will probably appreciate that there is something left to pay the mortgage on. Then last night there was a propane leak in the furnace (hubby was at work and miles from home) and I had to call the repair service. $$$ later and a dent in the income tax return. Sigh! And I'm a few hours behind on my sleep from last night.However, the veggie garden was tilled this weekend and ready to plant as soon as the woodchucks have met their fate.

No new quilting to share this time. I have finished the blocks for the Underground Railroad quilt that our quilt guild members are working on and I think I have decided to set the blocks with muslin sashing to make them stand out more. For the time being I think I'm quilted out. Maybe it's the anticipation of being outside gardening again. That's a good kind of distraction.

I've been taking more online art classes. I've got a whole lot of sketching going on! Check out my art page and see what I've been doing. It's not too fancy, just a chance to get the old art muscle back in shape. And don't forget to look at my garden page. My tomato seedlings have gone nuclear!

Here are a couple of pictures of my old garden before it got too old.

Still getting adjusted

Well, here it is. It's been 8 days since I left Facebook. On the first day I lost count of how many times I checked my email. I must have been suffering from withdrawl. Haha! Since then I've become more adjusted. This has been easier than giving up chocolate, which I probably NEVER will do. I really don't miss all the entries that were mine for the reading.  I do miss interacting with the garden group but I'll get over it.

I'm taking another online art course, Watercolor Sketchbook, Designs for Life with Jane Lafazio. lots of fun. I'll post some of my sketchbook work in the future. I wanted to post this week so everyone would know I'm still here. I probably won't post again until after Passover. More cleaning and planning meals for that week.  As for now, I've been playing with Photoshop and tweeking some photos I took in the neighborhood. Cool, huh?

Facebook No More

As of 5 PM yesterday I now no longer have a Facebook page. Why you ask? Because, frankly, it was a time sucker. I would say oh, I'll only be on it an hour or so. Before I knew it  three hours or more had gone by. That was three hours (plus) I lost to the day. I just had to read everything those on my friends list posted. The housework suffered, my quilting suffered and I never got to the studio to work on my art. So I said goodbye to Facebook. I will miss the interaction but I'm keeping contact with friends that have become special to me. I will never regret meeting many interesting people on that forum but it was the end of that season for me and on to the next one. Now I have to get into a routine. I fear that is easier said than done but I'll give it a shot.

I'm sharing a picture of crocuses blooming in my garden last week. It's rained a little since I took this picture so now the flowers are no more but I thought you'd enjoy the sight. It is going down to 17 degrees here tonight. We've been spoiled with such nice warm weather the past week. The trees and bushes are budding out but with the cold tonight they won't fair well and have to start their grow all over again.

With more time on my hands, I'll be posting more often here. Maybe I'll even get into a routine.

Liebster Blog Award

 

 I was selected by Etty from http://zahavaquilters.blogspot.com/ , so now it's my turn to nominate 5 blogs that I love. The criteria is that the blog must have less than 200 followers.

Sheila at http://sheilasquiltworld.blogspot.com/ is always doing challenging projects. I enjoy all that she posts.

I came across another blogger who lives a stone's throw from my home. Jen from http://jensfunlittlethings.blogspot.com/ is quite a cook and I enjoy seeing the cool things she purchases to add to her home. 

I'm fascinated with the interesting pieces of art that Nadia from http://multicoloredpieces.blogspot.com/ shares with her readers.

Karen, Jen's sister, posts at http://mysoulcounts.blogspot.com/  She's a new blogger and writes inspiring posts.

Sunny from http://sunny-quiltingdreams.blogspot.com/ is a prolific quilter (it would be hard to keep up with her) and shares lots of photos taken in her travels.

Spring Is Getting Close

One day it snows and the next day it melts. We are on a roller coaster ride with the weather this winter. Yesterday was beautiful, sunny and a bit cool but promising. This morning a little snowfall that melted already. On Friday I saw a red winged blackbird at the feeder and a Flicker (woodpecker) in the front yard. Both are birds that migrate out of our area for the winter. But yesterday was a sure sign spring is just around the corner.  I saw something yellow in the front garden. Yes! The winter aconites have made their appearance.

I've been adding other pages to my blog:  'Gardening' and 'My Art'. Be sure to click on the subject tabs as I will also be adding links you might be interested in. I've been taking free online art classes and participation is still open. Look for the links on my art page if you are interested in joining in with us.

I've Been Here All Along

I've been a busy (sort of) gal.  Hubby was on vacation for two weeks. We went out to dinner for our anniversary, 42 years in the making! Then he spent some time doing repairs to our bedroom to prepare for new paint. We've lived here for 4 years and finally getting to freshen up our room. The old ceiling cornice was taken down and walls were patched. Then he went back to work and I started painting. Four days later, after I primed and painted walls, and I might add four days to recover, we were ready to put the new cornice up. Ha! My husband used his stud finder and marked where to nail. With the two of us positioned on ladders and the nailing gun in my husband's hands, up went the cornice. And slowly...it started to sag. Turns out the stud finder had failed to locate the proper positions. One ranting husband later, a new stud finder and, oh did I mention the new saw that cuts all kinds of angles, we are ready to try again. (Note: Husbands usually like new tools.) That chore is scheduled for next weekend.

Meanwhile, tomorrow I'm giving my demonstration on hand applique to the quilt guild. I'm all prepared and hope they enjoy my presentation.

We've had an unusually light winter here and amazingly my rosemary that I left out in the herb garden is still alive and well. My husband's not complaining because he only had to get the snowblower out twice this year. With a 350 foot driveway to clear, it can be quite a job.

Here is a little caterpillar that was crossing the driveway this week. Can spring be far behind?

I'll leave you with a picture I took through the back door the other day. It looked like someone had dusted the trees with powdered sugar. That was on Thursday. Today the snow had already melted and was almost gone.