Again?!?!? REALLY?????

And so here we are again....fighting the Red River of the North.  The river is rising about 1 inch per hour.  Predicted crest is 38 feet on saturday.  It came so fast again.  But if we beat 40+ feet last year we can easily beat 38.  Weather outlook for the next week is favorable-no precip and dropping back below freezing for a few days. Yay! ( Who would think I'd be happy to drop below freezing in March?!?)  I truly am ready for spring, but patience is a virtue and in this case, it will help the cities of Fargo/Moorhead win the battle once again.
 I am worn out from the stress and waiting for this event to happen-still wondering why the media started hyping the flood so many weeks ago.  Our city leaders have done an amazing job at planning and preparation. 
 Ahh, that feels better to get this off my mind!

Whew!!

Whew!! This Lent, I am truly taking to heart the notion of almsgiving.  I sorted through my fabric and decided I could part with almost half of it. You know, the pieces that I liked when I bought them and now don't like at all.  Anyway, over the past few weeks I have turned that fabric into four quilt tops that I will give to my mother-in-law, who will take them to her church where they will be finished and sent off to an organization that sends them where they are needed (right now most are going to Chile and Haitti).  Funny thing is, now that those ugly fabrics have been turned into tops......I like them!!!

It's been fun making tops for someone I don't know, but whom I know needs the warmth and comfort that the quilt will bring.  AND....in between sewing and ironing, I've been working on an Irish Chain.  Just got my copy of Bonnie Hunter's new book Adventures with Leaders and Enders. LOVE IT!!! Can't believe how many twosies I got done today!

Obsessed

Lately, I have been obsessed with quilts.  I wake up thinking about them, no wait, I dream about them in my sleep first, then I wake up thinking about them.  The housekeeping has gone by the wayside....who needs clean dishes to eat off of when I can spend my time working on yet another quilt. 

I have three waiting to be quilted...finally got one in the frame.  Two are waiting patiently as I handpiece one and hand applique the other (those have been in the piecing process for several years now). I have a quilt on my wall that is goint to go to my mother-in-laws church quilting group.  And, NOW.....I am thinking about finally starting my Dear Jane quilt.  250 blocks. 5000+ pieces. Jane took the entire Civil War to complete hers.  And, I, like Jane will handpiece and hand quilt mine. YIKES!!! I have truly lost my mind!

Laundry.....

Oh, how I wish the laundry would miraculously gather, sort, wash, fold and best of all put itself away.  And if I could add anything to any of those loads, I would have to add the dishes, oh and the bathtub.  Maybe, I could even throw the dog in there once a month, but I suppose all that fur would clog the machine. 

Imagine if we had to still carry and heat our water and then spend hours scrubbing it all by hand.....I still remember when we moved into our first house and the washer and dryer were delivered....I kissed the washing machine. Yep, I did.  I was so happy not to have to haul the laundry and two kids down the hall in our apt. building just to get some clean clothes.  The joy of leaving my wet clothes in the washing machine until I could get back to them to throw them in the dryer was unbelievable.

Yep, guess I really do have it made ;-)

A snow storm makes me feel.....

So, the one minute writing prompt, asks what I feel in a rain or snow storm.  A rain storm is still apt to cause me anxiety.....I will never forget the image of a little child sized chair floating around in our old basement. 

A snow storm, on the other hand, makes me want to curl up with a handmade quilt in front of a fire and just BE.  Unfortunately, we don't have the fire place (hope to have a gas one soon, which isn't really the same as a woodburning one, but it will do). We do have lots of quilts though.  So many, in fact the I am beginning to think maybe I had better start giving them away.  The joy of the process is simply too strong to give it up.

I completed this mini top during the SuperBowl----yes, I do not watch the SuperBowl.  I may turn this one into a tote bag-useful and I get to show off one of my creations. As you can see by the second photo, the blocks are really small.

Twenty-ten.....two thousand ten what do you call it?

Well, here we are in 2010 (I say twenty-ten). Wonder what this year holds for me and mine.  Last year brough a brand new house. That was plenty.

This year I want health for all those I love.  Will this be my year to get my weight under control?  We are making that easier with the purchase of a treadmill.....I'd much rather be out in the fresh air and sunshine, but not when it's -20 before the windchill.

Quilts, quilts and more quilts. In 2009 I finished 2 quilt tops and completed 3 other quilts plus a mini.  This will be my year to finish things that are taking up space in my studio....started knitting a giant mitten that I found in the back of the closet. See...I'm already making progress. 

It's been awhile....

WOW! Can't believe I've let this go so long.....we've been sick.  We think (hope?) two of us have had THE flu. I'd like to think we were hit with the "piggy" and it wasn't as bad as the media makes it sound.
Anyway, I really do intend on blogging a little more consistently, but do I really need to have pictures with every post-I think not. Use your imagination.

Had our third woodcarving class last night.....we're carving a deer. Mine's not going so well......the blank started with 8-yes, that's right 8- legs.  I lopped off 4 of the legs just like I was supposed to do, now I'm having a terrible time separating the legs that are left.  I really do think I'll stick with faces--no legs that way.

That's all.