Time to do the Happy Dance

I am not planning to go to the Machine Quilters' Expo in New Hampshire this year, but I found out today that two of my quilts are! This year, the quilt show was juried for the first time. And this is my first try at entering a juried show. Yippee! I hope someone will take pictures of my quilts hanging in the show. Here are my two babies that will be going on this outing in April:

Carolina Woodland Spring

2008

Something "Girly"

2007

Now I need to remember to add a five-inch sleeve to Something "Girly" since it currently has only the usual four-inch hanging sleeve. That should not be a problem. Last year I was still painting this one a week before its debut at the Capital Quilters Guild Show!

Counting Down the Days

There are eight days left until I go back to work! I think I am going to be in shock when I can no longer lolly-gag around the house all morning. You will probably see fewer blog posts from me. I have been busily completing all the processes that the school system bureaucracy dishes out. Since I have been retired for more than two years, I had to begin the application process all over again. I can look forward to an orientation day (to a system I have worked for 24 years!), TB test, and the ever-popular drug test, a first for me!



Anyway, Jean H. brought me her gorgeous applique top to quilt yesterday. I decided I better get right on it. She wanted wonky flowers, hearts, and an informal, whimsical look. That is what I love to do! Each block is different and has loads of cute fabrics and motifs. Here is what I have done so far. Please excuse any basting stitches or hanging threads that have not been trimmed yet.

Busy Days

Lots going on the last few days! First, Thursday night was Quilt Bee night at Cathie's. She outdoes herself with lovely meals instead of just dessert. What a nice evening!

One of my friends brought a lovely quilt top that she appliqued, and wanted me to quilt it for her. Alas, the backing was too small. She took it back home to add some strips.

When I got home on Thursday night, my son and grandson Avery had arrived from South Carolina for the weekend. As you can imagine, I spent every spare minute being Gigi, the grandma name for me that he made up. Bryson had two friends from Virginia also spend the weekend, and they stayed gone most of the time playing golf and frisbee golf. Our son Dave joined them on Friday night, so we had a house full of men. I felt like the homecoming queen! Avery and I went to the park, dug up the weeds out of the flowerbed, and even got the grandpa to walk with us on Saturday and Sunday morning. We walked all through the new roads at the end of the neighborhood. It is very nice back there, but to me there is too much noise from the busy road behind them. Maybe when the houses are built, the noise will be less conspicuous.

This was Avery's face when it was time to leave for home. I probably looked the same. I hated to see them go!

Baby Couture

Here is my little effort at garment sewing for my grandbaby!

This was so much fun. This one is all flannel. The pattern also has little jumpers, pants, vests, and a floppy hat. I might cut out some different combinations and do some more of these between quilts.

New Mini-Moos

I recently received a new order of Mini-Moo business cards. The first set had only one quilt image, the "Something Girly" pink one shown here at upper left. This time I got an assortment, each with a slice of a quilt I have made. I gave away all the first ones at the Piedmont Quilters' Guild meeting in January when I was the guest speaker.For the last couple of days, I have done something a little different. I got out my "Little Sprouts" pattern and have been making a romper for granddaughter Lily. I have not done much garment sewing in years, and it is really fun to make something with an actual possibility of being completed in a few days. I am using flannels: blue and green plaid for the pants, teals for the bodice and ankle cuff, red for the strawberries and lining. It is SO cute! But, today it did not feel like flannel was the right fabric. It got so warm outside-a spring teaser. I cannot believe we were dealing with ice last weekend! I spent some time outside, planting some perennial flowers, pulling up a few weeds, even GASP cleaned the green mossy gunk out of the newspaper box out by the mailbox. Then I just had to sit on the deck and enjoy!

Frozen Beauty

We went up to our mountain place on Thursday night, arriving about an hour before an ice storm. When we got up on Friday morning, the world was a fairyland of ice-glazed trees. As the sun came up, it sounded like guns going off as pine trees snapped under the weight of the ice. One came down across our driveway, glancing off our tin roof. That sounded pretty loud! It bent the gutter a bit, but no damage. DSH was able to pull the tree off with a rope tied to our Gator. Then we went for a ride up the mountain on the Gator. Pretty!

Do not worry about this little duck frozen to our pond- it is a decoy!

On Saturday afternoon we took a trip to West Jefferson to visit some friends from college who also have a mountain home in Ashe County. It was so nice to sit with old friends and get caught up. We will probably see more of them in the mountains than we do at home, since our Wake County homes are at opposite ends of the county.We took another ride to the top of the mountain on Saturday night. There was no moon, and the stars were shining so brightly! I saw two shooting stars. I also spotted something I had never seen in the wild...a great horned owl! He was just sitting on a branch of a tree near the Christmas tree farms. He just sat there letting us admire him, blinking in the headlights of our Gators. Then he flew soundlessly over our heads.

Sunday morning, Charlie and I went for a long walk. We went up the road, then up the mountain and across the tree farms, back down and home. My legs got a good workout!

I got about half of the binding done on James' quilt. A great weekend!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

It was so nice the other day that Maggy and I walked the entire neighborhood, instead of just to the end of our street and back. The reason we do not usually walk farther is that people keep their dogs in their front yards on invisible fences, and they all charge at us and bark like crazy. Because of the recent bitter cold, most of the dogs were inside, so we had a great morning walk.

First stop is the duck pond at the end of the street. It is fed by a spring, and so far has not suffered much from our area's drought. For the past week, the mallard duck family has been feeding in the area closest to the street, where the spring waters enter.

This pond was supposed to be surrounded by a greenway, but the developer of this section of neighborhood passed away. No greenway, in fact the owners have built a fence and it is almost unviewable. The lady of the house by the pond is crazy about the ducks, and even built them a duck house and dock. In the summer I have seen her out in hip boots, cleaning out the duck house. She keeps a wading pool on the dock for them. Check out the electric light.

Next stop is the former end of my street. This was once a huge field filled with deer and other wildlife. I have seen a gray fox, hundreds of goldfinches, you name it. Now there will be a new neighborhood, and the road will become a thoroughfare to a busy road. Look closely at the houses at the far back of the field on the right. You know they are not happy about this new development.

If you keep walking up the street with the barking dogs, you will see that the road ends in a line of boulders. This is to prevent the common folks of my neighborhood from actually driving through to the adjacent golf course neighborhood.

Turning left, you can see that Mother Nature has decided to decorate the corner sign post with a smilax vine. And some careless driver apparently knocked the sign down and ran over it at some point!

As soon as you turn left on Springflow, you can see the largest lake in the neighborhood. This one is on the developer's property. Check out the boat dock, which is currently not even near the water. That is a common sight here in North Carolina with our extended drought.

I have seen all manner of wildlife on this lake, including herds of deer, muskrats, turtles, and blue herons. It is dominated by the Canadian geese, which have become a nuisance bird in this area. They like it here so well that they have completely forsaken the yearly flight back to Canada. They fly over my house twice a day in the famous Vee formation with up to fifty birds, honking and pooping like flying dogs. Don't let this stately pair fool you---there are dozens of geese on this pond.

Across from this lake are the four large houses visible from the picture of the new neighborhood. Two of them are for sale. Wonder why? It's a shame, because the homes are beautiful and face this nice lake view. But their back yard will face houses on quarter-acre lots. Doesn't every neighborhood have a house that is too large to fit it? Here is our winner for ostentatious house. It is for sale!