Trail Mix

Seems like all my spare time lately has been spent trying to clear out my Mum’s house to get it ready to go on the market. It certainly has made me think twice about the things around here that I keep.

I have been stealing a little time to work on this Trail Mix Quilt from Better Homes & Gardens Scrap-Lovers’ Quilts.

So far, I’ve made 32 of these:

and 38 of these:

and 44 of these:

I still have 24 Double Nine-Patch blocks and 42 Nine Patch blocks to do. Nothing like a quick little quilt to whip up – NOT!

I love other people’s scrap quilts, but I’m not sure how this is going to turn out. No matter what anyone says, I think the nicest scrap quilts are controlled to a certain extent – whether it be by colour or fabric period, etc. This one is a little bit of everything, so we’ll see what it looks like when I start to put it together.

Lee and I did a not so local Shop Hop a couple of weeks ago and this was one of the stores on the tour. It’s called Quilt Junction and is located in the very small town of Waterford, Ontario.

The store is located in the old railway station and had one of the nicest selections of fabric that I’ve seen in a while. I’d never been there before, in fact, I hadn’t been to any of the stores on the tour. I’m not sure why, but I have a feeling this area might have been near Dorothy’s old stomping grounds.

I also wanted to give a shout out to Fiskars! I bought these snips quite a few years ago and they weren’t cutting as well as they used to. Since I’d heard they had a lifetime guarantee, I followed the instructions on their website and sent them a picture of my snips.

A week later, a brand new pair arrived in my mailbox. Now that’s service!

Hold Onto Your Seat – Quilting Content

I did some quilting last week and it felt so good.  This top has been lying around for quite some time – I ‘think’ it was supposed to be a disappearing 9 patch but I didn’t like it, so added some sashing and cornerstones.  I’m still not crazy about it, but it’s finished.

Since it was such a busy quilt to begin with, I just quilted Baptist fans on it.

I’m not sure what possessed me to make this one.  It’s so not me but I really seem to be into mindless these days and they don’t get much more mindless than this.

It’s just on my design wall which is why it looks all wrinkled at the bottom.

Leo got some beautiful flowers this week and I thought I’d share some of the blooms with you.

This hydrangea is just gorgeous.

He also got ‘flowers’ of a different kind.

These ones were good enough to eat!

I’m Walking on Sunshine

Leo’s heart surgery went well on Thursday and the surgeon is very pleased with his recovery. He was in a lot of pain on Friday, but yesterday he was up and walking and his pain was minimal. They are hoping he can come home on Tuesday. To say I’m relieved would be the understatement of the year.

This surgery has been hanging over our heads since January and I think I was dreading it even more than Leo as I remembered what we went through with his last surgery almost two years ago to the day.

It’s onwards and upwards from now on. My Mum is settled into her new residential care facility and soon Leo will be home and get stronger every day. I feel like the weight of the world has finally been lifted from my shoulders.

I couldn’t have got through this last six months without the help of my family and friends – one friend in particular. Lee has been with me every step of the way and I don’t know what I’d have done without her. Being an only child, I’ve learned to try and handle most things by myself and I’ve never been one to ask for help. Lee never asked if I needed help, she could just sense it and was always there for me.

When we got home from Leo’s angiogram at almost midnight in the freezing cold, she was sitting in our driveway ready to give me a hug. She walked into the waiting room on Thursday and sat with Sandra and I until we got news that things were O.K. She listened to me moan and cry almost daily when I was trying to deal with my Mum.

I’ll be honest – I’ve never had a friend like this before. Most people (myself included) tend to say if you need anything, anything at all, just say the word. I never did say the word – I guess I considered it a weakness if I couldn’t manage myself. This has given me a whole new perspective on friendship and I will no longer just offer – I’ll look for a need and I’ll try and fill it. Thank you Lee for not only being my friend but for teaching me the true meaning of friendship.

If you’re still hanging in here with me, I do have some cute pictures to share with you. Here are my grandkitties enjoying their dinner.

Left to right we have Lucy, Miles and Abby – and notice none of them have their elbows on the table – I have such well behaved grandkitties!

Darren also got this great shot of one of the bunnies in their backyard.

Do you think this is the Easter Bunny?