Waiting for Spring

Yes, I'm still alive and well.   About to grow webbed feet but still alive and well.   We have had an unusual amount of rain from last fall and on through the winter.  Doesn't appear that the end is in sight either.  We've not had major flooding like some areas but our soil hasn't dried out for months. 

I've been up to my usual stuff.  I took a quilting friend who is a new birder over to see the sandhill cranes at the Hiawassee Wildlife Refuge northeast of Chattanooga.  It was a gorgeous day but very cold and windy.  She didn't believe me when I was emphasizing how warm she should dress for the day, but she complied.  Once we got out of the car and headed up the little rise, she knew exactly what I was talking about.  Although the numbers of cranes were lower than some years, there were still some to see.  

All in all it was a good day even if it did take the whole day for the trip. 

I've been doing some sewing and have three tops at the long arm quilter for completion.  They should be home in three weeks or so.  One is a hand applique quilt called Across the Wide Missouri that I started several years ago when I began learning how to do needle turn applique.  I figured that by the time I got the top done, I ought to have a good grasp of the technique. 

I admit that my stitching did improve but its still far from perfect.  

I attended a quilting retreat with friends from Florida and Alabama back at the end of January.  We met at he Grand Oaks retreat center near Scottsboro, Alabama overlooking Lake Guntersville.  I worked pretty much solely on a top using Australian fabrics.  The mixture of so many patterns and colors was way out of my wheelhouse but I will say that I love the way it finished up.  The pattern is a variation of a log cabin block and is very simple.  It's the colors and patterns in the fabric that makes it so stunning.  

It's a quite large quilt.  I'm looking forward to seeing it all quilted up. 

I also made another modern looking quilt top.  The colors simply called to me and I used grunge fabric from Moda.  The colors are very rich and lush. 

This picture doesn't do it justice.  

I made a day trip over to Lake Junaluska in North Carolina with the Franklin Bird Club last month.  I knew where the town was but had never done any birding there.  We were able to see a good number of ducks there.    I had planned a trip to the Outer Banks this winter but due to medical issues in the family did not get to go.  It's too late now as the ducks, geese and swans have already started migrating.  Oh well, let's hope next year will be the one. 

I find it so hard to believe that we will be switching to daylight savings time this weekend.  Seems to be way too early, what with Easter coming late on April 21.  

I'll do my best to be back more frequently.  Meanwhile, thanks for hanging in there with me. 

Y'all take care