Quilting Practice and Random Happenings

I haven't sewn in a few days.  I've been reorganizing the house, doing a bit of spring cleaning.  I have another St. Patty's day project waiting for me at the sewing table but I just can't get going on it because on Friday...

 ...the newest issue of Country Gardens arrived in my mailbox!  I have been so busy lately that when this came I realized I hadn't even opened the last issue that came, so I thought I ought to catch up.  Mother nature has been teasing us with the warm and mild winter we've had this year...and I am READY!  Temperatures didn't consistently stay below 32 degrees for long this winter so I didn't get any wintersown plants out.  NOT ONE!  This is the first year since I discovered wintersowing that I haven't done any seeds.  Even last winter, big bellied and pregnant I trudged my way through the weedy garden.  I put out seeds and even dug up a bed just weeks before the baby was born.  I suppose since I would be putting out perennials they would be fine, but not knowing what winter had yet in store I was afraid to risk it.  It's now March and I don't like to start my annuals just yet, so I think I'll get a late start and do some "spring" sowing.  I have lots of plants this year that need dividing and transplanting after a couple seasons of neglect.  My two big goals this year are to tidy up the front gardens and get to gardening the back of the house.

I was able to swipe two of these little violet house plants at a benefit I went to recently...they are so pretty and cheery!  I'm thinking I need to repot them...teapots?  Yes?  I think yes!  :)

Another thing I've been interested in is cooking.  I'm not a huge cook.  Usually around the holidays I get a bug up my patoot and I want to cook nonstop...and eat too.  :)  But the rest of the year I'm usually so busy with my family and my hobbies that I forget about cooking.  Taste of Home is my FAVORITE cooking magazine, ever.  There are always real recipes in there...what I mean by that is recipes that are from food we normally keep around the house.  I just hate when you get a cooking book where all of the recipes are ingredients you will only use for that one thing, and you have to go out and spend a fortune on things you don't normally keep.  I have made lots of recipes from the magazines and really enjoyed them...the family too.  So my Mom gave me this as an early birthday gift because she knows how much I love the magazines.  I am thrilled!  I cannot wait to start making some of the yummies in here...

...it's just a wee bit large...so I have LOTS of cooking to do now!

Oh yes and I promised some quilting practice...this is an adaption from one of the M' Liss quilting designs in EQ6...I had originally practiced it with the intention of using it on my log cabin wallhanging but even though I marked them all over the quilt I still just went in and did feathers!!!

I used a Clover water erasable marking pen that I purchased after going to the Lake Farmpark Quilt Show with my Mom a few weeks ago.  I have another water eraseable marking pen but I really like Clover brand.  They just seem to be very consistent with their products, I have had great luck with everything Clover that I've purchased.  I also have their mini-iron, my Mother gave that to me also as a birthday gift!  I use it for applique and it gets wonderfully HOT!  But much more convenient than using the big clunky iron.  I also have one of those cheapie craft irons but they just don't get hot enough.  Also the clover iron is small, and has a pointy tip for precision.  I love that.

Alrighty well I'm off to do something.  Sewing, gardening, cooking...one of my infinite hobbies!  Maybe I'll paint my nails!  ;)  Cleaning is what I should be doing but, eh, it will all still be there waiting to be done tomorrow.