I digress . . .

OK - I know this has nothing to do with quilting. However I just had to share this photo.

Isn't this a charming face? Meet Clyde. He belongs to my younger daughter and her husband. Clyde is an Old English Bulldog and weighs in at a dainty 100 pounds. He snores very loud, thinks he's a lap dog most days, and he's working really hard on his "big boy" manners.

Some weekend fun

I didn't do much sewing this weekend, but did manage to have some fun. This afternoon I made a bag for my new iPad - and used 4 of the fat quarters I bought on Friday to make it. Otherwise my weekend was spent on other activities.

On Saturday I had lunch with Daughter #2 and spent some time planning the baby shower she is hosting for her sister at the end of April. We bought an assortment of flavors of mini cupcakes at a fun shop called Oh My Cupcakes (downtown Sioux Falls) and took it over to the Daughter #1 to taste. We all loved the lemon and the root beer float flavors. We'll probably order about 4 or 5 flavors for the guests to sample at the baby shower. YUMMY!!!

Easter mug rug swap

I love getting mail and this week brought a fun little bit of spring - all the way from Judy in Texas.

Judy and I were partners in a mug rug swap for Easter hosted by Aunt Pitty Pat's blog.

Here is what I received: mug and mug rug that look like they were designed together, a CD of recipes, hot chocolate mix, and jelly beans. Yum!

The mug rug is so cute! Thanks Judy!

Spring is visiting South Dakota

I know it's much too early in the year to expect this lovely weather to stay, but it's sure nice to enjoy it for a few days in March. It was a lovely day to play hooky for most of the work day. Actually I had already planned to take the day off! YIPPEEEEE!

I met some girlfriends for coffee and then we walked over to the Pin Cushion to check out their annual Fat Quarter Frenzy. Fat quarters on sale - what more could a quilter ask for, right? I bought a few, but tried really hard to be practical. And I dropped off the baby quilt to be quilted.

Later I went home and spent a little time playing with my scrap basket pictured here. I am working on some string blocks that may make a dent in my scrap basket if I make enough of them. And those blocks would make a good donation quilt. This is what the basket looked like AFTER making 4 blocks and digging all the way to the bottom. It's still overflowing. My stash is out of control.

Saturday Sampler block #2

Another small project from Sunday afternoon was to make the second block in the Saturday Sampler. The block on the left was last month's and the block on the right is the new one.

This year's sampler series is much easier than last year. I chose the traditional colorway rather than the batik or the bright - which is more my comfort zone. I decided I needed to step away from my comfort zone and so far I'm pleased with the soft spa colors being used. The tans, browns, and aqua are very soothing.

I also am doing a second set in black and white with 1 bright accent color. These are turning out very fun so far. My plan is to have a different bright color used in each block.

Count On It

I had a long quiet weekend to quilt since my husband was gone to golf school. Unfortunately I have a nasty cold that kind of laid me low. So I didn't get any big projects finished like I had originally planned. But I worked on a couple of little things.

But I did make the April mini-quilt from the Count On It book (Art to Heart). There is one for each month and they are so cute. The Pin Cushion had these all "kitted up" and ready to make. They are about 12" square and hang in the little metal standing frames.

Another binding done

I think I need a new camera, because every picture I take lately is dull colored and slightly out of focus. Or maybe it's my eyes. . .

Anyway - here is the Hearts & Stars quilt that I was binding last week. It is a Buggy Barn pattern and one of my favorites. I think I've made at least 4 of them now.