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!

New Postcard

Snow Ballet

While in my sewing room yesterday to make and apply binding to Hunting Season II (boring job), I found a half-finished postcard that was needing some TLC. My friend Pauline (see yesterday's blog re: potted plant rescue) sometimes sends me the fabric left over when she has her dresses shortened. This one was royal and turquoise blue sheer fabric with sequins!

Don't ask what I did to it, because I can't remember. I know it involved adding some sheer navy ribbon with silver snowflakes, a blue and silver fiber, and snowflake beads and buttons. Some time before yesterday I used the heat gun to melt something away. The three hearts are just some fused Angelina that I cut out freehand and stitched down. I like the feathery yarn trim on the outside! And a few clear Swarovski crystals.

I may send this as a non-traditional Valentine!

Hunting Season II

I finished the quilting on my newest quilt yesterday. All over leaves and woodsy-looking things. I think it looks great! Too nice for a twenty-one year old single guy??? I think he will take good care of it. I made one for my nephew, another hard-partying deer hunter, and he has had it reverently folded on a quilt stand at the end of his bed for years. Does not even sleep under it. That is never my intention! I always want my bed quilts to be used. I made one for one of my husband's friends at deer camp a few years ago when he was suffering from terminal cancer. I envisioned him snuggling under the quilt with his beloved cocker spaniel. Nope, his wife hung it on the wall. This was Buddy's quilt, also a Yellow Brick Road. But once you give your quilts away, it is up to the owner to decide on its new life. Anyway, Buddy's quilt was named Hunting Season, also a Yellow Brick Road. So this one for James is now Hunting Season II. I will try to get the binding attached today so I can do the handwork in the mountains this weekend.

Our weather here in the Raleigh, NC area has been very schizophrenic- bitter cold for a few days, snow showers, then balmy warmth and sunshine. Yesterday when I walked the dog, it was only 24 degrees. Today it is supposed to get up in the sixties. Could not help purchasing this cute little pot of daffodils yesterday when I went out for groceries.

And here is another little touch of color, courtesy of my husband's colleague Pauline. They work in a very nice office building with a huge atrium. Every month, professional decorators change out the floral arrangements in the lobby, and just toss out the old plants. Since their office is on the first floor, Pauline and some of the other women salvage some of the potted plants. She saved these two kalanchoes for me. I need to get them in some better pots.

In this photo, they are sitting on the lazy Susan section of an old oak table from my husband's family. The three children in the black and white photo are my brother Chris, brother Tim, and me back when there were only three children in the family. Another sister and three more brothers later joined the family.

Another Yellow Brick Road

I got my Yellow Brick Road quilt loaded on the machine today, and about halfway finished quilting it in the style of Forest Floor, one of Suzanne Earley's Meandering Magic designs. Everything is going well! The biggest problem is that the thread blends so well, I can't always tell where I have quilted. I'm using Signature cotton in "Mother Goose," a light brown color. I hated to stop quilting, it was so much fun!

The Lilly Look

The Lilly Look
All finished!

Lilly Pulitzer fabric quilt, and change in lifestyle coming soon!

More progress on the Lilly Pulitzer fabric quilt- still unnamed. I got brave and cut the border into funky curves, then made a bias stripe binding. I have the binding hemmed on two sides and it is going pretty well. I think the diagonal look of the bias stripe adds to the style of this piece. Any naming ideas?

My current burst of trying to finish some projects stems partially from the fact that I applied for a teaching job at an elementary school only three miles from my home. I had not heard from them after a week, so decided that it probably was not to be. Then, I got a call from the principal yesterday at 4:00, offering me the position! It is teaching remedial reading and math to third grade students. Not special ed, but students at risk of failing the end-of-grade exams. Of course, I have mixed feelings about giving up my freedom of time, but I think I can handle anything for four months! I don't know when the start date will be, as Central Office can take two weeks to go through their bureaucracy. Two weeks ago I went over there to sign a release for my criminal background check. This after having worked for the school system as my only employer for twenty-four years. Oh, well!

DSH and I went to the movies last night, a rare event for us. We saw Will Smith in the sci-fi horror, I Am Legend. Grim! He was good, but I can't say I enjoyed it. Makes me want to go see a piece of fluff like 27 Dresses.

I am getting a lot accomplished, quilting-wise, this week! Yesterday, I finished quilting the Lilly Pulitzer fabric quilt. This one is going to my daughter-in-law's sister Ellen, and her husband Arno. We attended their beautiful beach wedding in Nags Head, NC, in which all the bridesmaids wore their choice of Lilly Pulitzer sundress. I personally had never heard of Lilly Pulitzer, but she is the designer of many Florida-style dresses and garments using tropical colors and themes. All of her fabrics have the name Lilly hidden somewhere in the print- sort of a "Where's Waldo" gimmick. Anyway, Ellen and Arno both worked on a cruise ship and currently live in Miami. Did I mention that Ellen and Emily's mother is an interior designer? Needless to say, they both have a sense of style that won't quit. So, here is the quilt, which has yet to be bound. I am thinking of a funky curvy shape instead of just square.

Anyway, I started out with a curly free-form feather in the border, and a pantograph design in the center by Linda Taylor, called Double Rose. I thought that with the busy fabrics, an overall would be fine, and this pattern has funky flowers. This is how they look: Just a little side note here: I have not used a pantograph pattern in over a year. And I probably will not use one again. I tried twice to complete a row across the quilt, only to discover at the end that my thread had broken back at the beginning. I was having some other problems, too, and said "Heck with this!" So, I gleefully went back to the front of the machine and finished up with free-motion flowers, leaves, and vines.
The borders have funky curly feathers I made up as I went along. It was fun using this sea-green thread against the black, white, and tropical prints.
By the way, Ellen's hunky handsome husband is set to premier on television today and tomorrow as host of a show on the Food Network (Kitchen Spaces.) I think he definitely will soon be famous! If you happen to catch a handsome brown-haired TV personality named Arno, with a South African accent, somewhere on the tube, that will be him! By the way, this wedding took place in May of 2006. I am not the speediest maker of wedding presents, but I hope they don't mind too much!