#AdoretheSchwarz

The first wedding quilt is done!  And delivered, so I can share.  Finally!  I'm thrilled I had enough fabric to do the cornerstones in blue instead of espresso (when complete, all I had was a 2x8" strip left over).  It's such a small change, but I think it makes a big difference in the overall look.

Added bonus - the snow melted and the wind died down long enough to photograph the quilt in my favorite spot.

Lots of photos - all the stuff I wanted to show off while making this quilt.

I Like Thursday: Recovery

A quiet week.  My neck and shoulders still hurt from last Saturday.  What the heck did I do to myself?  I've been trying to take it easy - a little reboot and recovery.

I like eating my share of the Easter candy we made.  Serious sugar overload on Sunday, but I've paced myself since then.   

I like finding Wedgwood snuggled up. She doesn't use the tunnels as often as she used to, so it was a pleasant surprise to see her curled up in there.  She's been in there most of this week.

I enjoy sending little surprise packages to people.  Some paves to my sister, toffee to some others.

Manly Mug Rugs

I'm dragging my feet a little on my next big quilt in order to finish up some stuff I had been working on prior to Sunshine.  One project was a pair of mug rugs made from the last scraps from my charity shirt quilt.  These are fun!  I really like the colors and got a chance to practice some more free motion quilting.

Candy Making 2018

Happy Easter!

I was apprehensive about tackling candy making this year.  Work has kept me preoccupied the last couple of months; I feel like I'm always on the go and slightly behind.  I attended an experienced contra dance Friday night.  I stayed later than I intended (but not as late as I'd have liked).  It's hard to turn down good dancers and a great caller.  I awoke Saturday morning with stabbing pain in my neck/shoulders and a half-functioning brain.  Not an auspicious start!

But some ibuprofen, a large cup of tea and a chatty, lovely group of gals in the kitchen made all the difference.  The day flew by.  I plunked down on a chair after everyone had left and thought:  what a wonderfully satisfying day.  A lot of hard work, mind you, and a lot of standing in the kitchen.  I logged nearly 1.5 miles between 11am - 4pm going back and forth between the stove and the table.

Every year it's an adventure.  We've made most of these confections for a decade and yet, no matter how many notes I take, there's still gotchas.  You'd think as a crew we'd have it down pat.  But it's only once a year and little things change. Or I forget to record something that's obvious at the time, but not so much so a year later.

Not So Bright

Wedgwood enjoys a little floor time. However, she gets rather adamant about returning to the cage.  On cage-cleaning day, she often finds the way blocked and this is fully unacceptable.  She's been getting more insistent and persistent on this point.  Thursday night was no exception:  she chewed on the bars and rattled the grids.  I don't mind the racket she creates - I just don't want her to break her teeth.

I rushed to get the cage fleeced so she could return.  As soon as I was done, I folded back one of the grids blocking the ramp.  Wedgie had thoroughly checked all the grids for a way in earlier.  She then ignored all the grids except for the one directly at the bottom of the ramp.  So she spent several minutes working hard at moving that grid, oblivious to the opening 6" to her right.  Typical guinea pig.  I tried to shoo her around the corner, but she thought I was trying to stop the chewing, and would duck, running the other direction.

I finally swung out that grid, too, until she realized the ramp was open.  Zoom!  up she went.  What took you so long, Mama?

I Like Thursday: Turkey Tracks

I spent Saturday with my sister and some friends hiking, eating, playing games and talking.  I have lots to like from that day.  Most of these are from our hike.

I like that I discovered the first skunk cabbage of the season.  It's one of my friends' favorite plants.  I also like that I've learned what clubmoss is - I always just called them mini pine trees.  Now I know better.

I liked the turkey tracks we found in the woods.  They were all over the place.  Some of them looked huge because of the way the snow melted.  When I saw the first set I thought:  there's an emu in the woods?  Right.  Like emus live wild in central Massachusetts.  But the tracks looked too darned big to be turkeys.  (Now who's the turkey?)

Another Quilt I Can't Show You

Squares, background, diamonds and binding

This will be the second wedding quilt, and I still haven't been able to show off the first one (soon, I promise!).  I will show my initial work until it starts to take shape.  Right now all I have is fabric, anyway. 

I'm doing a pattern called Homebase.  There's not a ton of photos out there of finished quilts; I like this version with two colored squares.

When I requested color ideas for this quilt I received a bunch, including black, greys, greens, creams and some blue.  I brought a handful of them to Ryco to help chose the rest of the fabric.  Whenever I fabric shop, my quilts have their own ideas about color and design.  It's amazing how many plans go out the window once I lay out the colors together.  This quilt told me I'm making all grey squares on an oyster background.  Definitely not the two-toned squares on a pale green or putty background I had planned.  The diamonds - which were to be based on greens, a rusty orange and possibly a blue - have exploded and now include a red, a bright orange and lots more warm green.  Brighter than my original ideas.

I Like Thursday: It's Spring!

Really?  Is it really Spring?  The snow on the ground makes me think otherwise.  This latest storm seems to be blowing out, but as I'm writing this they still can't decide if we'll get 3-5" or 5-8".  We'll see what it looks like in the morning (update: just a dusting!  Whew.).  Propane tank was filled yesterday, so we'll have heat if the power goes again.

My favorite fabric place, Ryco, had a St. Patrick's Day sale.  I like what I got!  And that it's washed and pressed and ready to use.  The top photo is the fabric for my next quilt.

The bottom fabrics were just for me.  Too pretty to pass up (and the two left-side fabrics were less than $3 a yard!).

I like that we celebrated my dad's 80th birthday - a nice dinner out with the whole family.  We managed to find a place midway for all of us.  Dad had a great time.  Yay!