Road Trip

My husband and I like to explore the little towns around Lafayette, and I had just found out about a new-to-me quilt shop in one of them. We had a destination! We found the shop and it was wonderful. Rick sat in the car reading while I had the hard job of choosing  some fat quarters.

I had pretty good luck, didn't I? I love that bee fabric and the tiny roses are so sweet. And look at this pattern:

I can see fussy cutting it. Now I have to come up with the right project.
After the quilt store we had lunch at a small diner, then we walked the square in search of antique stores. Every little town has them and this one had several good ones. We don't always buy, but this time we found a few well priced finds.

A wire pie stand. (I added a couple of pie pans from Julian, CA.)

A wooden pull toy to add to my collection. It will be fun to see Tad playing with it.

And then there's this little planter. Not the kind of thing we would normally buy, but it was kind of cute and for only a dollar, why not?

Before going home we decided to take a side trip to a covered bridge and mill we had been to when the boys were little. After a couple of wrong turns, we found it and walked around the park and along the creek.

It was a beautiful day and a great road trip!

Two Quilts, a Bag and Some Other Stuff

We had perfect spring weather today; sunny, warm and not windy. I spent a large part of the afternoon putting straw in the strawberry patch and cleaning out the greenhouse. We have several trays of perennials that are going to be flowering soon. But I can't plant them out yet, we keep having frosts and freezes.

A young woman from work raises show rabbits and offered us some manure for the gardens. Even though rabbit manure can be used "green" or fresh, because it doesn't burn the plants, this manure was nicely aged. When it dries out I'll mix it into the soil in these raised beds. Along with our compost, it will make nice rich soil for healthy veggie plants.

It was also a great day for photographing quilts outside. I finally got the binding on this one. And doesn't it look like stained glass from the back?

This one is ready to be quilted. I think I might scallop the outer border. I also have some extra "tulips" left over so I might make some matching pillows.

And lastly, I made this little purse from a pattern in the new BH&G All Small magazine. I changed it up by adding batting to make it sturdier, and doing some embroidery instead of buttons on the front.

I know I said lastly, but really, I have to add my latest favorite pics of Tad. He had fun rocking backwards on our little rocking chair.

 

Loyal says "hi" and "I'm going back to sleep now".

So Much to Do!

I can't believe that it's been two weeks since my last post. Besides work and the house, I'm now busy getting the gardens cleaned up and ready for planting. I had today off, so I weeded the strawberry and raspberry patches, swept the house and porches, and cleaned my craft room. Now I'm stiff and tired and all I can do is sit here on the sofa. Luckily, I have a good movie to watch (Contact) and stitching to do.

I finally finished this afgan. I wasn't sure how it would turn out since I used two different types of yarns to get the right colors. But I think it will be alright. At first I tried crocheting the squares together, but that made them bubble up. I guess I did it too tight. So I ended sewing them together and I like it much better.

 I finished it off with my usual scallop edge. I really need to learn a new border:)
I also finished the quilt top I've been working on, but I forgot to take a picture. I'll be back with it tomorrow.

I just had to show this picture of our pink dogwood. We planted this baby about five years ago and this is the first year that it's bloomed. I'm so excited!

I know it happens every spring, but it's like I'm seeing all these flowers for the first time. They are just so beautiful and they make me happy!

This area at the side of the house by our main door is what we call the shade garden. Last year we had a big maple tree removed so it's not as shady now. The plants did fine last summer, and we are going to put in some roses in the sunnier areas.

Tomorrow I plan to clean, cut up and freeze these carrots that got left in the ground over the winter. They will be perfect to add to our vegetable soups and pot roasts.

I also have to show you a picture of our little guy, Tad. He's getting so big! And don't you love the red hair? It's even starting to curl a little. 

He loves eating Cheerios!