February This ‘n That

Did you see this sky Saturday morning! Unbelievably gorgeous!

So, here it is the last week in February and I am finally getting back to update my blog. Why do I put this off so much? Could it be that my life is pretty boring? I am busy most of the time but it usually involves long drives to & from, working every day (for the rest of my life) and spending most of my free time either on Facebook or at my sewing machine. Actually, I have been busy and I can prove it.

First, I get a pat on the back. At Christmas, Marla gave me some beautiful pink and brown fabric and I instantly knew what I was going to do with it. And the good news (thanks to my wonderful friend Sue Williams) I completed my Valentine quilt. I want you to check out the fantastic quilting that Sue did on this quilt. When I dropped it off, I said, "basic quilting. This is just a little seasonal quilt and it doesn't need a lot of quilting." Well, when I picked it up 5 days later, she said "Now don't be upset…." She had decided to play with it and it was absolutely gorgeous. She also said that I could not give this quilt to anyone. The fabric was a gift to me, so the quilting is also a gift. Morgann said I could give it to my first great-granddaughter, hopefully this means I get to keep it for a couple of years. Anyway, this is mine. All mine! Isn't it wonderful! (And yes, I even had the binding done the day before Valentine's Day.)

Last Friday, Shirley and I hit the road to do a little shop-hopping. We drove all the way up to Lone Mountain Road (Carefree) to The Olde Quilt Shoppe.

It is a beautiful quilt shop, with a great selection of reproduction and homespun (woven plaids) fabrics. We did find some wonderful fabric and books but the front part of the store is very dark and it was a little hard to really see colors. The store has a wonderful ambiance with lots of old world and antique tables and shelving. If you have a chance, visit the shop sometime. We went to a couple of other shops as we worked our way south, including a stop for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory which is next door to a Borders Bookstore. Borders did not have the book or the cd we were looking for and hadn't started their closing sale, so we saved a couple of dollars there. All in all, it was a great way to spend a day and makes me want even more to cut back my work hours. The 2 top pieces are wovens, with some great texture. Can't wait to find someplace to use them. The stripe/paisely is a gorgeous reproduction piece from Jo Morton and the flag panel has some wonderful possibilities.

Can't wait to use thes linen threads on some wool work!