The first day of spring sun.....

....and the neighbours have come to say hello.  In fact, there are SIX cats in the garden this morning-my cat is glaring out of the door at them all!

Kitties come to see us when we squeak for them and spend most of their day in my hanging baskets.  Methinks I won't be growing herbs this year.  We named the three tom kittens Familiar, Spot and Chav.  Mum has never been friendly: she is however, entertaining the neighbourhood ginger tomcat this morning-I think these three can expect brothers and sisters soon.  There is a black and white tom in attendence as well (making six!) looking for an opportunity to introduce himself on the speed dating circuit. We like cats, but really, one can have too many neighbours!

The green shoots of recovery

I picked up a needle this week-I resurrected a shelved hand sewing project that will go on for years, It hasn't seen the light of day since November!  I needed something to hone my technique so a couple of years ago I went chop-happy with the uglies for three weeks and cut enough for four quilts. 

This is all the greens have done in 2 years, not a lot!  I seemed to have many ugly greens so I started sewing up those first.  Many of them are SOOOO ugly that I think I will be using red triangles to lift the design.  Way too much browny-mustardy stuff.  The finished size squares will be 1.5", so they're small, thank goodness. Chop it small and it will fade into the background!

I stole all the 2" blue squares for a leaders and enders project and I have run out, so yesterday I fished out ugly/large pieces to cut more next time we have a wet weekend. And a few 2" strips from the stash box......



I have bought more creams in the last couple of years so I pulled those out as well, to cut for variety in the hand pieced project.

And finally.......I would like to introduce Archie, my grandpuppy- the most loving, adorable, clever, playful, confident, happy little dog in the world! 

He loves people and dogs and gets buckets of attention from everyone as he's so cute (and boy does he work it!). Archie would even  like my cat if she wasn't such a grumpy, hissy-fitty old lady.  He is a daschound-labrador/staffordshire terrier cross with stumpy legs and bags of energy. 

The pictures of him were taken on his his first trip to the beach at 5 months old, last weekend. He wasn't so keen after he fell in a rock pool up to his neck!  I went with my son and daughter in law to choose from a litter of six: it was tough to come home without one for me as they were all lovable! 

All sewed out

I admit to doing NO sewing at all, not one paper on a hexagon, for over a month now. I over did it at Christmas! I work for a sign company and saw this is production for a customer, a good motivator that should be on my wall!

I like the close-up as well

I have done a lot of thinking about future projects and made a mental note:

• finish two very late quilts that are gifts
• plod away at the Darwin's Flower garden(see profile pic)-this is going to be given to my son and daughter in law.  She asked me in the autumn if I would make them a quilt and we came up with a drunkards path idea, however, I started the Flower Garden on the day I first met her, so I thought it would be appropriate for them to have it and they are very happy with that (or they will be!)
• there has been much designing in my head for my own quilt, to be called Event Horizon-much of the fabric for this will come out of the stashed blocks and strips-black stars with a rainbow of colour

• I have been acquiring black and white fabrics for a Cathedral windows quilt-this will be a hand made project and I MUST NOT START this year! Its time consuming......

• also acquiring fabric for a split 9 patch garden-stream-stepping stones idea-pic from another quilt.

I have been doing a lot of reading since Christmas, I often do at this time of year, something to do with being tucked up in the warm with a quilt and a book and a mug or a glass!

Property-Valerie Martin: a new author for me, Orange prizewinner, loved it!

Xeelee Omnibus (RAFT)- Stephen Baxter: a favourite author

Rant: the Oral History of Buster Casey-Chuck Palahniuk:  another favourite, crazy, keeps you guessing with one twist after another, brilliant.

A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers-Xiaolu Guo: this has been on the shelf for three years, a thought-provoking read on the culture gap in British and Chinese couple

The Honorary Consul-Graham Greene: a favourite author, if you overlook the treatment of women in his works!

Greybeard-Brian Aldiss_ a horrible disappointment!

Now I'm reading The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, a 600 pager. That should keep me occupied for a week or so.  Time to go and have a sort out in preparation for bringing my Bernina to life again.