Ah, spring!

I'm happy to say that I think spring has finally arrived. After a week and weekend of rain, rain, rain today is absolutely beautiful. I slept with the windows open which is my very favorite thing. My heat is turned off and I'm hoping it can stay that way.

No sewing went on this weekend. I was visiting friends for the Easter weekend and I'm happy to say that we did some card-making this weekend. They helped me make favors for a Tea and Trunk Show that I'm helping with this coming Sunday. If you live in the Philadelphia area you might be interested in checking out this Sunday's Tea and Trunk Show at the Pearl Buck House in Bucks County. You can get more information here. https://secure2.convio.net/psbi/site/Ecommerce?VIEW_PRODUCT=true&product_id=2262&store_id=7543&JServSessionIdr004=hlwg7lpe13.app213b

It is best to have reservations ahead of time so we can plan for you. It will be a great way to treat mom before Mother's Day. 

Easter was a really nice day. We had a terrific meal and nice time with friends. My friends' son is getting married in July so he and his fiance were there as well as her parents. It was so nice to meet them before the wedding. And as, the wall-hanging says, always good to be with friends and share some laughs. 

I really want to share the fabric I just got in the mail from Sew Fresh Fabrics. It is so yummy. I'm adding the first two to my favorite things collection, along with tea and flowers. I just fell in love with the red dotted fabric. Not sure where I'll use it but it's fun to have. 

And no, I haven't forgotten the baby quilt. It is all set to be put together in the quilt sandwich and then to quilt. I now have a deadline which works best for me. Another friend reminded me that I would be seeing the new mom at a bridal shower next weekend so that is the goal. I love not having to put it in the mail. That is always done with a prayer. Now, I have it sitting on the cutting table. Do you think the quilt fairies will come while I'm out and put it together for me?

Benefits of cleaning?!

I just had to share that I was straightening and cleaning out my fabric closet today. There are two definite benefits to doing this -

1) I've gathered some fabric that I am willing to part with and share with my blog readers
and
2) I found a gift certificate I won last fall. And it is still good! I'll be shopping online at Nancy's Notions in the next few days. What fun to decide.

So, still no sewing to share with you but stay tuned early next week when I'll be posting the giveaway.

So, I have no quilts to show but I'll leave you with this giant rooster from the Philadelphia Flower Show a few weeks back. Hopefully, I'll be back soon with something to crow about and there will be a lucky winner(s) who can crow too!

I love pillows!

And HomeGoods. And fabric. And patterns. And I could go on and on.

The other day I shared my April Cornell quilt from Home Goods. It is on my bed and I am really pleased with it. Not one to be satisfied until I have Everything ( I can hear my sister laughing at this comment.), I went back to Home Goods looking for more pillow shams and found different ones that weren't there a few days ago. I bought them, and nothing else, which in itself is unheard of, and brought them home to try them out. I love them. They're on my bed, along with a few other pillows I already had.

The complete bed. 

The new shams. Love the patchwork look and the crochet trim. 

Plaid pillows are April Cornell from ebay. 

This was a pillow I was using in another room. 

 Now, in case you noticed that the window on the right in the top picture has no valance, here is the new fabric I'm going to use for that. I was in JoAnn's and found this at 50% off. I love it and hope to use it  just draped on the curtain rod. And then I will be done!

Soon to be draped over the curtain rods.

And yes, this could be my own version of "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie." If you buy a new item for your house...

Monday already?

Good morning. I just don't know where the week has gone. Sad to say I have not done any sewing since my last post. Not sure why except just very busy with other things. I did spend a good part of yesterday making cards so now I'm all set through May.

Since I need pictures, I'm going to share a few things here and then get to sewing!

This was my  latest find at Home Goods. It is an April Cornell quilt. I can always tell things from her because her colors are great! This was just what I needed to brighten my bedroom. I loved the quilt on my bed but did want to brighten things up. Really do want to make a quilt for my bed but just hasn't happened yet. This will do until that happens. 

The bed and new plates on the wall.  Sorry about the light.  Working on new fabric for the windows too. 

A closeup of the colors. Just love them.

I have gotten some fun things in the mail. Ebay and Etsy purchases are the best.  Don't we all love those squishy packages in the mail. I think I have a few more coming. 

I'm adding this to my tea collection. Another someday quilt. 

Such a tempting jelly roll. Love that Strawberry Fields fabric.

Now, on tap today is sandwiching the baby quilt to get it ready for my quilting. I realized that I love to put together the tops but then really hit a wall when it comes to the finishing. I wish I could just send all my quilts out for quilting but that can get a bit expensive and would take money away from buying fabric!!! Here is the backing for the quilt, just patiently waiting to be joined to the batting and the top. Today, for sure!

This backing will look so much better when it joins the quilt top. 

Inspiration and a lucky birthday!

 We had our long-awaited spring/summer weather day today. I do believe the temps went above 80 and it did feel like it for sure. I think it is a little early for that but I won't complain. It will be more seasonable tomorrow, I think.

I went to my quilt guild meeting tonight and was very inspired by our speaker, Linda M. Poole. She has written several books about applique and her quilts were amazing. I managed to get a couple pictures to share with you.

Aren't these colors pretty?

This was so delightful.

She called this one, Ivana Travel. Isn't that great!

Marguerita Daisies named for her grandmother. I love the colors she combined here.

And this simple sunflower was so pretty.

Even though, before I went,  a friend told me no more fabric ... Guess what,  she had fabric I couldn't resist. It was her own design and oh, so pretty. What do you think? Sorry the colors don't show well, I only had my phone with me.

And the price was good too. 8 FQ's for $15!

And that wasn't all, I bought two patterns for my someday file. They were just so pretty. AND I also won a pattern! As she was speaking she asked if anyone had a birthday on September 15th, her birthday and that was ME! It was my lucky day!

I bought these.

I won this! Yay for me. 

I wanted to be sure to mention that you can see her books and other designs at
http://www.lindampoole.com/ 
Be sure to go and check her out!

Now, I don't want to forget one more quilt I saw. At last month's meeting (I couldn't attend),  they had an ugly fabric auction. A few people showed what they made from their winning purchases. This one was my favorite. Apparently, her purchase was the one diamond block and some fabric scraps. I think this one looks marvelous.

She started with the one block in the top left corner.

I just love these flowers.

Now, with all this inspiration, I'm going back to the baby quilt tomorrow. I made the backing, bought the batting and I'm ready to make a sandwich. And a quilting I will go!

Not a quilting day...

...but a good day anyway. I went to tea with friends and had a lovely time.

 I had been to this tearoom before but now it has a new owner so I wasn't sure how it would be. I was so pleased to find it was as good as ever. Lovely salad and quiche followed by the best sandwiches, scones and sweets. Such a civilized way to dine. Not to mention the gallons of tea we consumed.
It's on my list of hobbies that I enjoy.

I can show one block that I made. This is for the BOM from a NJ quilt shop. I really like the stars on this one. I made it in a rush which of course meant lots of ripping out. They do say that haste makes waste and ripped out seams. 

Another gathering of the GEQo's

In case you missed a post a while ago, my quilt group decided to call ourselves the Good Enough Quilters. Hence, the title at the top. You know we all live in a world of acronyms so I decided that we needed one too. Ladies, what do you think?

It was another night of sharing our quilts, plans and WIP's. And even a few finishes, too. 

Our block for this month. Always interesting to see how different they are. It was easy to figure out who made which. We do have our color preferences. 

Fran is making a postage stamp quilt. Don't you love the colors?!!

Peggy had a finishthat was lovely. Shhh, she is giving it away tomorrow but think it's safe to show.

Everyone was agog about her HAND quilting. So very pretty. Always fun to see the back when it looks like this. 

Lynn's creation. Two more and she has a larger block. 

Lynn's mystery quilt. She made this with her sisters. Great pattern choice. Doesn't it look like rippling drops? 

A prayer shawl design. Everyone of us was feeling sick but no one got to take it home!

The back was just as pretty as the front. 

And yes, this is the re-done baby quilt for me. I'm ready to quilt now. The end is in sight.

Now we're all home with lots of inspiration. I can hear the sewing machines purring all over town!

After the weekend

No, I am not back to report on a quilt finish. Maybe later. But just wanted to say hi and show you just a few more flower show pictures. This was my 3rd show of the season. I think this is a personal record. I was in the Pittsburgh area this past weekend for a baby shower and to visit friends. On Sunday we went to the Phipps Conservatory for their flower show. This one lasts a bit longer than the others and was equally as beautiful. I think my favorites are the hydrangeas, one of my favorite flowers. Just checked mine and the buds are starting to appear. No flowers for a while but until then...

Beautiful orchids.

Just breathtaking display.

So many blues. I love it. 

More blues. Love this combination of flowers. 

Tulips are such a wonderful sign of spring.

And then some gorgeous pinks.

Could my yard look like this?

Blue ad yellow, perfect together.

Today is a rainy day here and seems the perfect day to sew. After I finish a few other chores, I plan to do just that. Hope to be back tomorrow with a patch, at least!