Still waiting ....

Spring has not arrived :(  Yup, I'm still waiting. I don't care what the calendar says, the lack  of sunshine or warmth, the never ending grey skies tell me it's not here .... WAH!!!!  And the feline above agrees with me, so there! Don't you just love, Love LOVE this stitched Siamese cat! I fell in love with it during my Pinning wanderings, and must extend my apologies to the creator, I failed to note where I found this image, sorry. She looks just like Simone who is also bemoaning the lack of spring, just like her mommy.

I have begun my spring cleaning, even though I don't believe it's spring yet, so my stitching has taken another back seat. I did remove the lower left vine and leaves and am glad. This block was busy enough as it was. So Red Red Rose is finished, and I have moved onto mother and kit and Tulips!

As you can see I have a couple more Tulips and some flower buds to apply here. Once that's accomplished I think I'll move up to the top and work on some Sun Flowers. Maybe that will cheer me up! Who knows, I may even be able to sit on the patio while stitching ???

I'm thinking now that this quilt top will need some birds and butterflies before I'm done. Oh No! More applique!
TTFN

Is it Spring yet?

Ok I know that sounds totally desperate, but ... I can't stand winter and snow and grey skies any longer !!

I also know that my New Year's resolution was that it be the year (or two or three) of the cat, and I have been stitching away on my Carol Armstrong cats quilt top, more on that later in this post.  However, while digging around in my sewing room looking for stuff for our guild's yearly rummage sale I re-found this fabulous Fig Tree spring wall hanging pattern and I'm in love again :) Since my newest favourite local quilt store, Cornerstone Quilts was having their first anniversary sale this weekend, I decided to see if I could at least gather up some of the fabrics for this project. I know it will never get done this year for Easter - that's a lost cause, but at least I have a start. Well, I was definitely surprised and bowled over by the shop owner's generosity when she gave me this Gemstones Natures Moments package as a door prize! WOW! That sure made my day :). They are all batik prints, and in the colours I was collecting for the above project :)

So, I actually got a few minutes of stitching time in my overly busy week. I got two red Roses and one Rose bud appliqued on this block, aptly named Rosie. I'm very glad I redid the vines, but now I'm thinking I'll remove the bottom left vine and leaves as I still think this block is too busy, there is just too much.  I will have to hang the quilt top up on my design wall to get the "big picture" before I make this decision. What do you think?

TTFN 

A Rose by any other Name ....

So, I managed a wee bit of stitching this week :)You'll probably think I'm totally crazy, or at the very least slightly obsessive. BUT, I decided the vines/leaves on the block, shown on the left, were just too wide and too symmetrical. I just didn't like the look.  So, I un-sewed one side of each vine, trimmed up and re-sewed the vines. Next I moved all the leaves on that side and re-sew them slightly less symmetrically. The pic on the right shows my results. What do you think? Now, onto the red red roses that finish up this block.
Last week I talked about requesting people use my "adult name" versus my childhood nickname. Well, once again my favourite website Arts & Letters Daily coincidentally provided a linkout to an article by Teddy Wayne in the NYT Sunday Review of Books, "What's in a Name".   He quotes a 1981 study by Richard Zweigenhaft, a psychology professor at Guilford College, as saying “that one of the benefits of having an unusual name for women could be a greater likelihood of creativity,”

HA! Vindicated again! I'm not crazy afterall! :) :) :)

Grace under Fire :)

Well, I must admit I goofed - Oopsie. At our monthly quilt get togethers last week I was bragging about this wonderful tool my friend out west gave me for Xmas. WRONG - sheepish grin (pardon the pun, I couldn't help it)! The gift came from the quilting friend I was actually talking to. Lucky thing I was praising the gift as a most wonderful invention and so thoughtful.So, to put things right, the Magnetic Needle Nanny pictured above came from S my local quilt friend, and it is a wonderful immediately well used  and well loved gift!
Speaking of grace under fire, about a week ago I informed a member of the step family that I prefer they use my "adult name". You know, the name all my adult friends and colleagues use  and the name I am now most comfortable with.  Why?  I have been an adult far longer than I was a child. Some of the step family were gracious about my request and now use my adult name, apologizing when/if they forget. However, others have made a show of using my childhood nickname then correcting themselves. Really?  Top this off with comments about my body size (I'm of small stature and thin BTW). Ladies, it is not acceptable to make comments to a fat person, it is equally not acceptable to make body size comments to a thin person! So, grace under fire? well yes, I just smile and let them have their fun - for now. 
 
On the bright side :) I have managed to get some stitching done, here's one finished cat block, applique all done but some embroidery yet to come!

TTFN