April is a new awakening of mind and spirit

I am trying so very hard. And it seems to be working. Positive vibes are, at times, hard to hold on to. But the good times seems to be more and more.

Part of this positive feeling is from spending 3 days with my quilt guild at a retreat in Shipshewana Indiana. Food and fabric and relaxation. Two very special friends are so very important to me now. I am glad I opened my heart and let them in.

I am also trying to feel happy about the impending warmer weather. I am a Winter/Fall type of person. I hate bugs and sweating.

What do you think of this yarn bowl? Isn't she precious? This was created by:
Something Lucky 13. The art of Lucky Stradley. I found her on Facebook but had to order through her Etsy shop. And all the art is named and numbered. My yarn bowl is named Callia. She was born on January 14, 2016.

I had the choice of where the yarn exits the bowl. I decided on the nose and not the teeth. The yarn moves smoothly against the ceramic surface.

Here is a photo of my sweet Bess...we love torties. She is covered in our own home grown catnip. Yep! She is happy.

This is my shaded 9 patch. It has been a Leader and Ender's project this winter.

MaggieMae and Bella snoozing together. It will not last long. Maggie will leave in a huff. All poor Bella wants to do is cuddle. She gives Maggie a great deal of respect. I am sure that soon they will be sleep pardners.

Tumbler quilts...I now have 4 made. As I was looking for another item I ran across my container with precut-tumbers in 4" and 2" sizes. All ready in foursies ready for row piecing.  Loved those templates...

XOXOXOXO Subee

Hexagon Swap

This is so right up my alley!! A swap of basted hexagons in two groupings. One is totally scrappy and the other is all 30's fabrics.

http://hexagonswap.blogspot.com/2012/12/basics-for-hexagon-swap.html

I really like the basting part. I have not grown to love the assembly part. So here's hoping that receiving back new hexies after the swap is over will reignite my hexi urges.

I am going to give them a good pressing before I start. And also I want the hostess to say that the two fabrics in the bottom picture are okay for the swap. There are some rules about larger prints. I KNOW I can do some fussy cutting and get the images centered. I will wait until I get her okay!!! Gotta follow the rules!!!

One of my regular swappers on the Yahoo quiltvilleswap is named Victoria. (Love that name) Anyway she always sends a homemade catnip mouse for MaggieMae to play with. The first time I caught MaggieMae trying to bust into her swap package I really scolded her. After I opened it and found the mouse (that was triple wrapped in plastic) I told her (the cat) I was sorry.
The last package Victoria sent had two mouses in it. I hid one in the cupboard. MaggieMae found it the other day....

The catnip on the floor did not come from Victoria's catnip mouse. It is normally how the kitchen floor is in that area. Catnip heaven...so that is why it really tickles me that they still want Victoria's mouses!!!!

All done!!! She napped right where she stopped playing. Oh to live the life of a cat!!!! But then I would want to live here of course.

Or I would want to be a squirrel in this yard. (mine!) They get sunflower seeds and raw peanuts all year round. And that does not count them raiding the bird feeders too! They loved my homemade cornbread. The far squirrel is almost as large as the piece he tried to carry away. Too funny! I did take this picture through the front door window. But it came out pretty good!!!

Catnip sachets and an UNWELCOMED visitor

Last Fall, Hubby and I harvested our own catnip. We hung it upside down in the garage to dry over the Winter.
This Spring I cleaned it and got that huge pickle jar full of homegrown catnip.

I ended up making 75 catnip sachets just from scrap cat fabrics. I donated all sachets but one to a Steam and Engine show in our area this August.

Of course I had catnip sachet testers during the construction phase.

Bess is very, very happy!!!!

And we had an unwelcomed visitor during the sewing phase.

This female beautiful black cat comes around a couple times a week. There is not a white hair on her. She has all her claws. And I see no signs that she has any kittens. I hope she is well cared for by a home around here. But they should NOT let cats roam here in the city. It breaks my heart.

She seems tame and allows us to pet her. I see no fleas or ear mites. She also has no desire for food offered. She just sits in my birdfeeder and irritates my Macy. Macy growls and gets puffy tail. She eventually gets hoarse from growling. The black cat is totally unaffected by Macy's display.

Catnip cleaning, some piecing and crochet baby afghans

I can now post the pictures of two of the three baby afghans I made for my Grand daughter Amanda's baby shower. There were lots of "ohhs and aha"s when she showed them. Mine were the only handmade gifts. But they are from the heart even if they are old fashioned.

I fell in love with this pattern while making it. I can imagine Logan's little baby fingers touching the bumps. It is a very tactile afghan. And these are machine washable and very durable. Use them up Amanda!

I also made two pair of booties. Not enough light in this picture....sorry!

MaggieMae is stoned on catnip. In fact, all five cats are on another level of awareness. Rolling and running and then stopping and enjoying their high.

We harvest our catnip in the fall and hang it upside down to dry during the winter. I decided to clean the catnip today. This is a major job. We had a 55 gallon bag of catnip bushes. Heavy glove time and I worked outdoors on my tailgate. Thanks goodness it was not windy. Tons of seeds and I only kept the blossoms. Lucky kitties!

All five cats were at the "trough" but by the time I grabbed my camera only three were left to photograph.

I am finishing up on the Kaye England pattern called "Star of Hope". I learned a nasty lesson yesterday.

DO NOT PRESS BIAS BORDER UNTIL IT IS ATTACHED TO THE BLOCK!

They fit perfectly with finger pressing. But after a tug from my iron they are too big. Kaye teaches no pressing until the block is complete. Finger pressing is enough. I forgot what she said.

So, here are my 12 center blocks. I had to trim some of the ends so my half rectangles are not the proper height. But I am happy with the effect anyway.