Biding My Time (Happily)

While most of the rest of you are tending hundreds of seedlings inside under grow-lights, planting cold weather crops out in your garden and celebrating the new animal births on the homestead, I'm watching the trunks of the apple trees disappear (once again) under new snow cover.

We had a smidge bit of melting (mostly through evaporation, I think) in the last couple of weeks and our snow was looking old and ready (we were only hoping) to pack its bags and totter on out of here.  But in the last week we've gotten new snow.  Many inches of new snow.

At least our temps have been in the 20s during the day so it doesn't feel so much like living in the Arctic anymore.  The snows have been wet and are coating the branches of our many evergreen trees creating a picture postcard scene.  (Funny, though, how it's not quite as beautiful and entrancing at it was back in November and December.)

I've been taking advantage of not being able to be outside doing spring things quite yet.

I'm almost finished doing the hand quilting on a new spring wall hanging for the kitchen.  No pictures until I'm done though.

A couple of days ago I finished this multi-colored rug crocheted with heavy rug yarn. (Yes, I do love color.  Why do you ask?)  I got hold of some cotton/rayon blend yarn that I've used before which wears extremely well, washes in the washing machine beautifully and doesn't take a week and a half to dry.  I'm thinking of making another matching one and using them on either side of our bed to replace the ugly-bugly purchased ones that have seen better days.  This new rug measures 21" x 34".

I've also started an oval one in colors to match my new spring shower curtain which will go in the bathroom in front of the sink.

And here's the rug I made out of that less-than-nice polyester rug yarn I found in a stored away stash a couple of weeks ago.  (That stuff is like trying to crochet with baling twine.  Ish.)  Don't cha think its place in front of the washer in the garage classes up the area tremendously?  It's the little things that make me happy.

The Winner of the Kite Wall Hanging Is . . .

You'll have to forgive me for being a bit late in posting the winner of the quilted wall hanging I recently offered as a giveaway.  For someone who got up at 5 a.m. (yaaawn) this morning, (yes, I did) and has been go, go, going all day, you'd think I'd be further ahead than I am.

Okay, no more of this terrible, awful, suspenseful waiting.  Let's get on with it.  

The kite wall hanging is going flying off to . . . 

ODIIE

In her comment, she wrote (in part):

Yes!  I love flying kites.  I have a collection

of nylon kites hanging in my basement.

The tri-plane one is so big that it took

my daughter (then 2) right off the

ground when she was holding on to it.  :)

I can just imagine what a colorful display that must be to brighten up a basement.

I'll get the wall hanging packaged up and off to you asap, odiie.

Thanks to all of you who entered your name for the drawing.

 

No More Mrs. Nice Guy

Sigh.  Our forecast is for another big bunch of snow Wednesday night and into Thursday.

When a friend walked through our living room this morning, she pointed to this cross-stitched wall hanging I've had on the wall for the past few months and said, "You know you're not helping by keeping that up."

Can you read it?  It says, "Welcome Winter."

Even though the calendar says it's officially "spring," I've been really hesitant to put up any spring decorations.  There's something about the three feet of snow still on the ground outside our windows that makes spring decorations just seem wrong.  But my friend's comment was the impetus I needed to yank Mr. Snowman and his chirky "Welcome Winter" off the wall.

Down he came and was replaced by something that looks a little less winter, at least a little more spring time.

Last year, we got 40" of snow in the month of April.  Let's hope my ditching of Mr. Snowman and his welcoming of winter will protect us from that happening this year.

Aw, Go Fly A Kite!

Ever wonder where that expression came from?  It's usually used in a derogatory way to tell someone who's annoying you to go away.  To tell a person he/she is being a pest.  Much like the expression, "Go jump in a lake."  Or as my group was fond of saying back in our obnoxious teenage years, "Take a long walk on a short dock."

When I did a little research on the origin of "go fly a kite," I was surprised to learn that it doesn't always have a strictly negative connotation.  It may have also been a referral to Old Ben Franklin and his experimentations with a kite, lightning and electricity.  The phrase could mean a way of telling someone to get a better idea.  Or make a new discovery.

 

But don't think of it in either of those ways here.  'Cause it's just the name of this wall hanging I'm offering as a giveaway.

This piece, made back in l998 for my husband's elementary school classroom, was inspired by a pattern I saw in a Fons and Porter quilting magazine and a song my daughter learned as a little tyke, "Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest heights . . . "  Anybody remember that one?

I machined quilted the background with wavy lines to try to create the movement of the wind.  The size of this wall hanging is approximately 36" wide and 29" top to bottom.

My question now is are kites a thing of the past?  Do kids still fly kites?

If you're interested in having your name put into the hat for the drawing to win this wall hanging, say so in the comments and tell is if you've ever flown a kite?  If so, when was the last time?  Was it a fun experience?

I'll close entries this coming Tuesday night (March 25th) and post the winner Wednesday morning.

Now go out there and fly a kite!

Checking In

Just in from shoveling another batch of snow.  We had a temp in the high 20s and snowfall much of the day yesterday.  Then last night around 10 p.m. the snow tapered off and the wind began to blow.  Often with high winds, the snow on our deck drifts up against the door and makes it challenging to get it opened up in order to get out on the deck and shovel it clear.  We can access the deck from going out the back door and around, but I guess it's more fun to pretend we're snowed in and have to "tunnel" our way out.

This morning the temp was down to 8° (cold front blew in) and we have sunshine.  So while out moving snow, Papa Pea and I both got overheated and stripped off a layer, but then a few gusts of wind would come by and just about freeze us solid.  Yep, we're still experiencing the joys of winter up here near the tundra.

Our potatoes are keeping really well and we continue to enjoy the bounty this year.  I'm still taking only the biggest ones (aren't they beauts?) and keeping any smaller ones for seed potatoes.  Hope this coming year's crop is as good as last.  We couldn't ask for more than that.

This was taken yesterday during the snow.  The birds were hitting our feeders like there was no tomorrow.  Sometimes they aren't as active during a snowfall, but they sure were yesterday.  I guess they knew to stoke up for the coming windy, cold night ahead of them.  Smart birds.

I Owe It All To Miss Verla Brown

Dear readers, you have been so kind and complimentary as I've shared the recent posts relating to working on my new spring shower curtain.

Any talent I may have in the field of sewing or quilting, I owe to Miss Brown, my 8th grade sewing teacher.

Back in those (ancient) days, we girls didn't have a choice.  One semester of sewing was mandatory.  Beyond that, we did get to make it an elective.  We could take more sewing classes if we wanted.  I loved sewing and took as much of it as I could.

(Short rant insertion:  I know sewing and/or cooking classes are not even offered in most middle or high schools these days.  My, my, how much our educational system has lost.  The push seems to be single-mindedly toward preparing all students for college.  Never mind teaching common sense, down-home, practical skills that will benefit a person for a lifetime.  Grumpf.)

Miss (this was way before the introduction of the politically correct label of "Ms.") Brown was a regal lady somewhere in her 50s, nicely, although amply, shaped.  Sturdy.  Stout.  Hefty.  (Let's just say she was no lightweight.)  She was an excellent seamstress and made all of her own clothing.  Most often she was dressed in a tailored suit, jacket and skirt, worn with a pretty blouse.  Her dark hair (with the help of a little dye, I'm certain) was elegantly coiffed, her make-up was heavy but tastefully applied and her long fingernails always manicured with polish to match her outfit.

She was a perfectionist . . . which might not have been the best personality trait considering she was attempting to pique young girls' interest in learning how to sew. 

She insisted on checking every single step of our sewing attempts, and if the job we did didn't pass muster, we had to rip it out and do it again.  And again.  

Many of my classmates hated sewing because they could "never get it right" and labeled Miss Brown as "way too picky."  Not that she was ever mean or unpleasant.  She simply wanted us to learn the basics of sewing and the correct way in which to do them.

With all that I absorbed under her two years of instruction, I was able to make all of my own clothes up to and through the years I was out in the working world.  I also made dress shirts for my husband, then clothes for my daughter and various parkas, ponchos, jackets, and even bug screen liners for tents and beds.

When I first tried my hand at quilting, it came easily for me because of my strong sewing background.  To be successful at quilting, you must be accurate whether it is in understanding how to prep fabric, cut it, or sew precise seams and small pieces of fabric together.

I know there are seamstresses who are self-taught, and it's possible to learn to quilt without having had any previous sewing experience.  But I feel sure I wouldn't have had my lifelong interest in sewing and whatever skill I may have if it wasn't for the one-on-one instruction I got from Miss Brown at such an early age.  Because I was fortunate enough to have her as my first sewing teacher, I obtained a thorough and sound foundation in sewing, and it's certainly helped great heaps and bunches in making me as good a quilter as I might be.

Thanks, Miss Brown.  I hope somehow, some way you know you taught me a life-long skill for which I'm very grateful.