My recent experience making the crib quilt forced me to dust off my sewing machine and I enjoyed sewing so much that I decided to try my hand at making something I would actually wear!

I had been collecting some skirt patterns since arriving in Mississippi after Katrina. (In a wild moment in packing to leave California I threw all my sewing patterns away-not a good move).

What made me gasp was taking my measurements and then comparing them with the size/measurements on the back of the pattern envelope. Deep breath, and remember, it is only a number!

There are fabric stores in Slidell, Louisiana, and Gulport, MS, both about 1/2 hour away, then there is the local WalMart. For whatever reason, the powers that be decided to leave intact the fabric section of the Bay St. Louis/Waveland store, although they have closed them in the other stores in the area. That is where I found these fabrics. The first photo shows a Simplicity pattern, #4137, one of their 'it's so easy it's simplicity' patterns. And it was easy. The only change I made was to line the yoke.

This skirt was easier yet, and is an Anna Maria Horner freebie pattern, downloadable in pdf format, and super simple to follow, super directions. The changes I made were simply to add the self-lined patch pockets, in order to be able to use some antique pearl buttons from my mom's/grandmother's button collection. Check out Anna Maria's blog, always tons of good information and inspiration.

Then I thought I might try a dress...another 'it's so easy it's Simplicity' # 2199. I like it a lot because besides being all cotton and wonderfully comfortable to wear, it is long enough for me, not easy to find in ready to wear.

So that's what I've been up to; time to get back to knitting, but also want to make another skirt, this time the Bo-Peep skirt from Anna Maria Horner's 'Seams to Me' book, and this one for a 3 year old. Photo promised.

Recent visitors to our garden

This sweet redbellied woodpecker has been visiting us a lot recently. He seems fairly small, so I assume him to be young. I love to hear his cat like mewlings in the trees; I run to see if I can catch a glimpse of him and was rewarded with these pics.

Here he visits the feeding station. I think he may eat a seed or two or three and then grabs some more and flies up to the trees, to hoard?

I was so pleased to see the grobecks back this year, sorry for the fuzzy shot, just love him peeking out from behind the 'pagoda'.

Could he get any fatter? I know he must have just fluffed up his feathers and settled down to his meal but from this angle he doesn't seem to need any more!

A bird of a different feather also enjoys feeding. This morning I watched him take a nice bath in the fresh water I had just replaced; now you know my pleasant routine: after filling the feeders and giving fresh water, I sit back on the screened porch and enjoy my breakfast whilst being entertained by what my husband calls the live 'Disney channel'.

Sorry, no pics to prove it, but I did enjoy watching a little wren bringing nesting materials to this potted plant. She would approach cautiously, landing on the ground to scope things out, with what appeared as a bristly white mustache, then she would fly up to the plant and hop in and the plant would go swinging lightly and moving up and down for awhile, then she would fly off to collect some more materials off in the distance. This morning I peeked and she has a beautiful nest prepared. No eggs yet, and I'm hoping that it is high enough not to get wet when the plant is watered. I will try to water carefully!

Nod to the Royal Wedding

Our Mockingbird knitters group decided it would be fun to wear hats for our Friday morning gathering this week in honor of the Royal Wedding. Some of us even woke up to watch the festivities live; then, as each of us arrived with our hats decorated in various ways, we ooh-ed and ahh-ed and went to get our coffee. Marsha lamented that she hadn't thought to bring champagne in time to do so. We asked Laura if the Mockingbird Cafe had any on hand, and to our surprise, she brought out a bottle compliments of the house!

Here you see our group after a sip or two of the bubbly showing off jewelry (at least two of our members wore versions of the royal engagement ring) and practicing the royal wave. Marsha sent this to me and titled it: God save the Queen from the Mockingbird Knitters!

We had lots of fun commenting on how beautiful everyone looked, both here and at the REAL wedding, and I believe everyone enjoyed the break in routine. It was suggested that we include champagne more often. Don't know how much knitting we'd ever get done...hmmm.

On reading my last post I realize I was certainly not clear about the quilting of this crib quilt. I had the pleasure and satisfaction of hand quilting in my lap, without a frame or hoop, and seeing that although the stitches are far from perfect, the result was pleasing. What's more, I enjoyed it thoroughly, and can hardly wait to try it again.

My very first and only other quilt I made back in 1974 (!) and pieced entirely by hand; it was a Wild Goose Chase quilt with nine blocks and by the time I finished piecing it I certainly didn't feel like quilting it so I just tied it in the corners and centers of the blocks. I certainly lacked patience back then. I wanted everything done in a hurry.

I'm glad I've changed at least that much!

Bee quilting...

Back to spring for a moment or two; we have had some cool days, then some hot and humid days and then blissfully a little cold front with clear skies and blossoms perfuming the air..

and happy bees, busy... as busy as my fingers were this last week....

when I decided to make my first quilt in thirty five plus years, and the first one I didn't even quilt! I just tied it together...Inspired by so many, Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Quiltmaking, Anna Maria Horner's blog which includes lovely clear tutorials, Alicia Paulson's blog which recently showed a BEAUTIFUL log cabin style quilt she made and included a link to a video tutorial on how to easily piece a log cabin block.. well after all this time I just couldn't resist. Plus I cheated. Well, at least I didn't have to cut all the strips for the blocks. I found a rondelle of fabric strips at Wal-Mart that had three strips each of eight different yet coordinating fabrics, and that was my start.

Here is my finish, one week later.

And here is the reaction I got when I gave the quilt to its intended owner! She started laughing and gathering it all around her, happy as a bee sucking honey. Then she got tired and I got to rock her to sleep wrapped in it, and then..

left her in her crib. Bliss is a happy baby.

Spring

About a month ago, driving along a country road, I spotted this blossoming tree, and the light was just right with the clouds and a bit of blue sky...what a revolution having a camera on hand as long as the phone is within reach! How many terrific shots I've missed because I was driving and there was no where to pull over or someone was tailgaiting or, this is more likely, I was late getting where I needed to go. We had had some rainy days back then, a couple of storms, and now it seems we're approaching summer, and we've hardly had spring! Temps in the 80's! The azaleas are starting to bloom, grasses are losing their winter paleness, trees are putting forth their lovely fresh greeness; it is hard to believe that elsewhere people are dealing with spring blizzards, not to mention the horror of what are friends are dealing with in Japan and in other disaster areas, manmade or otherwise.

Indulgence too

After hours and hours of spinning singles and then hours and hours of plying I have achieved a lace weight two ply fabulously soft yarn. I can hardly wait to knit it, but as usual, do not yet know what I will make with it.

I am sure that it will be a shawl, whether rectangular or triangular; I have 3.8 ounces and 682 yards. Enough to do something wonderful.

Or maybe something else?