Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Spring....Who Knew?

Spring is here....right?  Thankfully our male orioles have returned so we actually know that spring has arrived.  We have had some wicked weather this week and are awaiting the next storm this afternoon.  I am hoping that it is nothing like this past weekend's cold, wet and windy one.  There are so many downed trees that it looks as though a tornado blew through.  Our plants must be wondering what happened this year with a hard freeze and then the winds to torment them.


My mom's neighborhood had lot of trees down.


First the freeze and now the wind did the hibiscus in.

I got a kick out of seeing our little finches trying to stay out of the storm.  They were hanging from the stucco on the house and would bravely fly over to get some seeds before quickly returning to the wall.



With the strong storm on Sunday we were left without power for the whole day.  It was actually a relaxing day as we lit a warm fire and I pulled up the rocking chair and worked on my embroidery for my Raggedy Ann quilt blocks.  That worked fine until dusk and then the lighting got too bad.  Candles and hurricane lanterns don't quite cut it for saving the eyesight.



The luck in my Irish blood has been good to me this month.  I have won several wonderful giveaways.  Look at these fabulous batiks from Inchworm Fabrics.  I really needed some light colored ones for my batik blocks that I have been working on so these will be perfect.



I also won a beautiful potholder from Kay.  These are pictures from her site, but look at the perfection in her stitching.  These will definitely not be abused used with my cooking, but they will be great to display.  Thank you, Kay.




My Thread Head blocks are all set to be sewn together.  I have them stacked and ready to sew.  It will be a good sized quilt when finished.



My Civil War block collection continues to grow with one block each week.  The blocks are fun to make, but the stories behind each block have been so much fun to read.



One last picture of the newest little one around here.  Gotta love the red hair!!!


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29 comments:

  1. BarbMarch 23, 2011 at 1:09 PM

    Oh....what a cutie you have there....can I come and give some hugs and kisses?

    Love your quilts, and your wins...whohoooo!!!

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  2. MicheleMarch 23, 2011 at 1:10 PM

    What wild weather! I hope everyone was okay. Your bird picture was cute :-) Congratulations on your fun wins!

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  3. ~Niki~March 23, 2011 at 1:36 PM

    the baby is precious. stay safe with that nasty weather~we on the other hand are having beautiful weather~after a rain storm hit a few days ago. sunny now. i think another one's comin'. hugs!

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  4. TerryMarch 23, 2011 at 2:27 PM

    Seems there's bad weather everywhere! Love your quilt! Love the little red head too! :0)

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  5. KarenMarch 23, 2011 at 3:36 PM

    Sweet, sweet baby! Love the red hair.

    Crazy weather everywhere! My daughter sent us a pic of a tornado near S.F. (over the ocean). Storms have been bad there. Here it is cold again (actually, we had spring last Thurs through Sat.)!

    Love your quilt!

    Take care!

    Karen

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  6. Melissa @Lilac LaneMarch 23, 2011 at 3:38 PM

    What a beautiful little quilt! You are one lucky lady. Yay for giveaways!

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  7. Stray Stitches (Linda G)March 23, 2011 at 3:51 PM

    Luckily it looks like that huge branch didn't do any damage to the house. It has been raining here steadily since approx 10:30 - no wind to speak of this time. Your redwork is wonderful and the perfect thing to work on with no power. Your Thread Head quilt is fantastic. I really like how you went with bold colors. Maybe that's why I gave up on mine - too drab. And your Civil War blocks are precious. The pot holders you received look like they should definitely be for show only - too pretty to use.
    What a cutie the little red head is!

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  8. TerriMarch 23, 2011 at 6:27 PM

    Oh goodness, I have been thinking the same thing... Spring? Where is it... we have been getting rain and lots of wind, the wind is normal but the rain is NOT!! I feel like I am back in Oregon,

    Those little finches are so cute to :) Happy sewing!

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  9. PatMarch 23, 2011 at 6:40 PM

    I know how scary it is when storms bring down trees. We had one come down on our house in the summer of 2009...doing $30,000 damage to our house. I'm glad you are safe and only had to endure loss of power. Let's hope we all get better weather soon. LOVE that little redhead!!!

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  10. Nat PalaskasMarch 23, 2011 at 6:41 PM

    Love your CWQ blocks. I haven't done mine last block yet. Better get it done before the new one come out - Hugs Nat

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  11. ValMarch 23, 2011 at 7:21 PM

    Oh that red hair is darling. We are having a little rain but no high winds or anything. Stay safe. And I love all of your goodies. But that stitchery is unreal. Love it.

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  12. MariaMarch 23, 2011 at 10:59 PM

    Red heads are gorgeous. My DH has red hair hence the name "Blue"
    Aren't the birds clever keeping out of the wind.
    You have been a lucky girl. Nice little wins.
    Your quilt will be great when you have put it together.Who is the lucky recipient??
    Your civil war blocks are looking good too.

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  13. lindseyMarch 24, 2011 at 12:44 AM

    Wow you have had bad weather! Yourquilts look beautiful cant wait to see them finished and all together. Cute little redhead...think ours will be red too!

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  14. Ivory SpringMarch 24, 2011 at 3:03 AM

    Mary, I enjoyed your post! Your Civil War quilt is gorgeous. Love the baby and finches pictures too!

    Thanks for visiting me. :)

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  15. nancygrayceMarch 24, 2011 at 8:06 AM

    Oh, that was some bad weather. Stay safe!

    Your quilts....beautiful....that raggedy Ann/Andy one is going to be wonderful!!!

    Our last grandson is red headed! I love it.

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  16. JuliaMarch 24, 2011 at 9:02 AM

    We were in the path of a tornado last evening, but it changed it's path just before hitting our town. It did some major damage north of us, though. Prayers for those folks. We didn't even get much rain. Only a little wind. It's beautiful today, even though it's a little cooler.

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  17. AndeeMarch 24, 2011 at 9:42 AM

    Loving how that grey on grey looks with these blocks! Nice work!

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  18. DawnMarch 24, 2011 at 4:09 PM

    Awww. What a cute little red-headed Raggedy Ann! She's adorable.

    You do get lots of prizes, don't you? Must be that Irish blood for sure.

    I can't believe you've had such lousy weather this year! Now it's snowing from the Dakotas all the way over to Kev (where Angie is right now), and the 90s in Arizona and Florida. Craziness.

    The Civil War blocks remind me of Jennifer Chiaverini's books - I can't remember if you read them or not. They're great - I just finished the latest one today.

    Now I need to figure out what to post about next --

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  19. Abby and StephanieMarch 24, 2011 at 4:54 PM

    The thread head blocks are beautiful. Love the two-tone greys...very subtle.

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  20. Midlife MomMarch 25, 2011 at 5:43 PM

    YOUR QUILTS ARE GORGEOUS! I just love each and every one of them! I'm working on my plan to move a small part of my sewing room upstairs into the new sun room. I found an old antique desk that I am having painted to match my big old cupboard that is already out there and I am going to put some sewing supplies in it instead of craft stuff. I will still do my cutting and big stuff down in my sewing room but I think it will be nice to be able to look out the window at the horses while I sew.

    Those little finches are so darling hanging onto the side of the house! The poor things are probably wondering when this yucky weather is going to be over! Did you lose any trees other then the hibiscus? We are getting more raspberries from you area again and I hope they keep coming.

    Nice Give Away wins! Yeah! It's so much fun!

    That picture of the baby is just precious! I love the red hair!!

    Guess we are all getting hit with bad weather but I think soon it will be sunny and nice. I keep thinking about the people in Japan and feel so badly for them. Did you get any fallout from that?

    I just looked out on my back deck and there are four little faces looking for a snack. I gave them some birdseed so they are happy campers. Mom Raccoon came right to the door and waited while I got it for them but the others hid.

    We are having another spay day Sunday. I made peanut butter balls today and have four other things to make tomorrow. It's a long day but oh so important!

    Hang tight, that weather will be sunny soon! Love to you and E! xoxox

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  21. palmtreefanaticMarch 25, 2011 at 6:33 PM

    how interesting to see the finches hang like that!!!:)

    It is so cold here...and Spring is only on the calender as it will be a low of 18 tonight and a high in the 30's for the next few days! BRRRR....

    Gorgeous precious baby doll:)

    Your quilts are so amazing!!!

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  22. FleuretteMarch 26, 2011 at 6:51 AM

    Baby is so cute and your thread head quilt is gorgeous! Hope the weather clears for you. Lovely wins:)

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  23. Talin's CornerMarch 27, 2011 at 8:46 AM

    I love your Thread Head blocks quilt is amazing. Congratulations on your wins and what a cute baby!

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  24. JJMarch 27, 2011 at 5:45 PM

    March has come in like a lion for us and it looks like it is going out that way also. I love your blocks, you do good work. I love the red head also reminds me of my two gk with red hair, a 8yr old and a 2yr old, both from different parents.

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  25. em's scrapbagMarch 28, 2011 at 9:35 AM

    What a sweetie your newest grandbaby is. Love the thread head blocks. That is going to be a fabulous quilt.
    This spring's weather has been wild. We keep getting inches of snow. It's crazy.

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  26. DonnaMarch 28, 2011 at 2:08 PM

    Oh I love the baby, the civil war blocks and your great prizes! How fun! Sorry to hear the weather's been bad. No storms for us..just beautiful balmy weather. The dogwoods are gorgeous right now.

    Thanks for your well wishes. Love the dress on your St. Patrick's day post!! Oh..it's just so pretty!

    xo
    Donna

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  27. TrudyMarch 28, 2011 at 10:45 PM

    All of your quilt blocks are beautiful. The baby is so precious.

    Thanks so much for your sweet comments on my blog posts about my pregnancy.

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  28. SandraMarch 30, 2011 at 8:51 AM

    Storms can be so powerful. Glad to hear your family is safe.

    I received your blocks today for the I Spy Swap. Love, love, love the little frogs with glasses! Will post photos on my blog soon:)

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  29. BarbaraApril 5, 2011 at 9:07 AM

    It certainly was a storm, not nice.

    Do the finches always cling to the side of the house I wonder.

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