In like a lion!

Here's the forecast:  Rain this afternoon followed by rain/snow mix tonight. Up to 1" of accumulation. Bah! I'm so sick of all this weather!  Here in Western Wisconsin, we've had record breaking snowfall in February and we are all very tired of it!  The up side is that while Don's out blowing the driveway, I'm snug in the house in my sewing room, except for trips to restock the pantry in between snow storms.  Ahhh! Winter in the Northland!  What a treat!

Yesterday I made it to the Leisure Center where I was able to get two quilts sandwiched and pinned. The first one to go under the needle is the red-white-blue throw that I made to donate to the local Veteran's. Here's the top laid over the couch.

This quilt used up a lot of my scraps and I'm glad of it!  Of course, it would call for scraps--it's a Bonnie Hunter pattern!  I tried to use "masculine" fabrics that I had in my stash--Golf

Fish

Wildlife

Sailing

I also threw in some floral fabrics since I have a lot of them in my stash.  So, something for everyone, I think.  This one I'll begin quilting up this afternoon.  

The other quilt that I sandwiched is the Allietare that my Johanna wants but that will wait until the Veteran's quilt is finished.

I thought I'd post some pics of my latest embroidery project.  It's from Jenny of Elefantz. She offered it as a free block of the month last year and I saved each month's design until I was able to begin on it.  It's called "A Year in the Garden" And while Jenny did her's in pastel pinks and blues, I chose a palette of gold, coral and green to coordinate with the fabvic I'd chosen for this quilt.

I found this large floral printed fabric a few years ago and I got several yards of it, intending to make a " Stack and Whack " quilt.  But now I'll be using it for this embroidered quilt.  This pretty floral is just what I need to brighten up these dreary winter days and keep my hopes alive that Spring will indeed return soon.

I've finished the first 3 blocks but haven't pressed them yet. I use a Frixion pen to trace my embroidery designs, including marking the center of the design, so when I press the completed embroidery, I lose the center point. I want to keep that intact until I've sized up the block and I've not yet decided how I want to do that. 

There's no blue in the focus fabric but blue is my favorite color so I'm adding a touch of blue in each block. Just because I can, I guess!  :)

As you can see, I'm making these on point and I'll probably frame them with some coordinating fabrics and use the floral for the borders and for the alternating blocks.  Haven't yet decided what those blocks will be--maybe a simple 9 patch.  So I have some math to work on and some decisions to make, but all in good time.

Tonight I'll begin working on the 4th block while I watch the Minnesota State High School Boys Hockey Tournament on television.  I grew up with hockey over in Minnesota and I love to watch the tournament--I've heard the announcers say its the best high school hockey in the country. Now, if there are any Canadians reading this, we may have  to have a bit of a chat about the best hockey but unless you speak up, I'll stand by what I've said! 

Quick trip to the grocery store to stock up before the weather turns bad, and then into the sewing room. Have a wonderful weekend, my friends.