Please Mr. Winter, Go Away

We're still in the grips of winter here if you can believe it. More snow today and several other days last week although there was one day last week that it got up to 55 degrees and I had to open my car window because I was hot! We have now broken our 100 year record for most snow in a winter and are still working on the all time record. I lost track of how many more inches we have to go to get to 122 inches but I think it is only about 5 inches which we'll make for sure at the rate we're going. Now all you southern and Californian bloggers please stop showing us your pictures of your flowers blooming in your yards and I'll be a much happier blogger.

In the meantime I have done some sewing and have managed to put together this quilt. It is a Miss Rosie pattern called Ginger Belle and I love it. I used a lot of my stash for this which I am going to try and use a lot of this year. Just need to add the pieced borders onto it and then off to the quilter it goes. Now if all these fabric designers would stop making all those new fabulous fabrics out there I could get my stash down. Have you seen Prairie Paisley? I may have to break my vow and get some of that.
In the meantime I'll leave you with a picture of my grandson, Baby C, who is almost one year old and now walking! Only one tooth that just popped through this past weekend, but other milestones, like walking, he has down. Running will probably be this week! I babysit him every Friday and love seeing the changes in him from week to week. His Dad, my son, used to make this exact face. If this pictures doesn't cheer you up nothing will.

Happy Easter

I've been seeing some smocked items on a couple of blogs here and here which makes me think of my Mom who was a sewing teacher and at one time taught smocking. I always put out my Easter basket and eggs this time of year.

She taught me to sew but she was teaching this art after I left home so I never learned how to do it. I don't know how she did all those little stitches with such precision.

No two eggs are alike and there is a lot of detail in each one.

The basket must have taken her forever to make and I treasure it. I hope you all enjoy your Easter. Ours will be cold and still snowy!

The Cure for Cabin Fever

Still snowing off an on here if you can believe it. Cabin fever has set in but a good cure is to pull out some happy fabrics and start sewing. I have actually got all the blocks ready to go together for this quilt but I needed to get something done quick for a pick me up. So I did another one of this pattern that I have done here and here. Since heating fuel is so expensive we tend to keep the house cool so I sit with one of these quilts on my legs at night. It's the perfect size. This is my spring version. I know I'll be making other versions too.

I found this delightful tulip fabric at a local quilt shop in the bargain corner for $2.99 and the rest of the fabrics are from my stash.
My favorite long arm quilter once again did a wonderful job and I am in the process of sewing on the binding.
Now if only spring would show it's face and we'd see some of these little bumble bees I'd be a happy camper! Until then I'll be in the sewing room.

This is My Winter View

This is my slightly messy sewing room. By the way, a messy sewing room is a sign of a creative person, at least that's what I keep telling myself every time I enter! But wait-what it that whitish glow from the window?
Why it's some of the 108 inches of snow we've had this winter! The view of my neighbor's house is somewhat blocked, to say the least.
The record is 122 inches and I say we're so close we might as well go for it. My friends think I am crazy. Maybe I am. That's what a winter like this will do to a person.
I admit to be very envious of all the pictures some of you are posting of spring flowers and such. I guess I'll just have to be content for a while longer with flowers like this that I got at my husband's retirement ceremony from 33 years of military service. But that's a story for another day.
Update, 3/13/08: There was a good question from Pen Pen in the comments on how we survive winter. People assume we all hunker down and never leave our houses in winter but the opposite is true of us New Englanders. I drive in anything! The plow drivers do a good job of keeping things pretty clear. The problem we are having now is pulling out from a side street into another street. You have to pull so far out to see traffic that you are just about in the traffic. We had a couple more inches of snow yesterday so we are up to 110 inches!