Is It Spring or What?

I've been missing from blogland for a bit. Once I got over the week-long flu, ran about trying to play catch up for a week, I got knocked down by strep. (Will it never end?...No, next week we'll likely begin the allergy issues.).

In the meantime, what little time I did have in the studio I spent working on the Japanese wrapping cloth.

I've outlined all the elements in the design, did a small stipple with navy thread on the navy background, and I'm trying to come up with something to do on the light blue and it will be done. Good thing, because the larger wrapping cloth arrived yesterday.

 And what do we have here? Looks like someone just got 3 new Accuquilt dies. There's a 4.5" strip, the Winding Ways set, and Rob Peter to Pay Paul. I've taken to test cutting on paper towels to remove any Sharpie that may have gotten on the die when I was marking them for position. I decided that this is a rather fun way to test out placement of the shapes before I cut actual fabric.

The two Sharon Schamber-style machine quilting pieces are finished, bound and washed. Now, what to do with them? Oh yes, check them off as a March OPAM finish.

Saturday was the first day last week I was feeling pretty good, so the old Bernina came out of the armoire and my sister spent the afternoon working on her own Peeps bunting while I quilted an Easter table runner she had made. (She's afraid to quilt, and I love the practice--though when you're quilting for someone else -- even if it is your sister -- you're not so relaxed with what you're doing. How do those long-armers do it? Don't they worry about making the slighthest slip up and ruining the quilt they're working on? A quilt that isn't their quilt?)

The taxes are done, the house is clean (well, mostly), this month's Guild meeting was tonight, my daughter's birthday celebration was last night (Texas de Brazil), they're coming to try to fix the furnace again tomorrow (don't ask...though I'm hoping that I'm not paying for it), there's a Happy Night scheduled for Friday, and we're going to see Arturo Sandoval on Saturday, so I'm hoping to get in some creative time a couple nights this week.

And we need a March Follower Appreciation Winner. This months' prize is scissor bling, and this month's winner is:

Quilt Sue

I've sent Sue an email off-list and scissor bling will be winging it's way to her soon. And scissor bling also just went out to my 100th follower (an unannounced giveaway).

Stay tuned for the April Follower Appreciation Giveaway...here's our prize for April:

This is a 'Little Bits' Think Spring pattern. It's a miniature paper piecing project and includes the paper foundations to make four 15.5 x 18.5 inch quilts. I chose this pattern for a giveaway while I was at the AQS Lancaster show. I thought the tulips made it a perfect giveaway for April.

Every comment you leave gets you a chance in the drawing...as long as you're a follower. The first two random numbers generated this month turned out to not be followers so we had to draw a third time. If you aren't sure you're following me, check your profile...it lists the blogs you are following.

Good luck, and I'll try to give you lots of chances to comment this month.