Around Here

Around here we are having snow!  Anywhere from 3-6" was predicted and I'd say we woke up to about three this morning.  The great thing is that it's still snowing and I do love to watch the snow fall.  Mostly it snows at night here, so I'm enjoying drinking my coffee by the fire while watching the snow come down.      

A "widespread hard freeze" is predicted for early Sunday morning.   Good thing we've resisted doing any planting so far, but a freeze could still be hard on all the lovely lilacs that are blooming.  

Actually, all week we've had "unsettled weather."  The other day Ben and I did a hike up in Chautauqua, starting out with some nice warm sun and ending up in cold hail!  Here I am shivering in the brief but potent storm.  

The unsettled weather has meant that there have been some gorgeous clouds this week.

And the beautiful dark skies lured Paul out to take some panoramic views for his Digital Photography Class.  Ben is very generously allowing Paul to use his sophisticated Nikon D800 and Paul is quickly becoming quite adept with it.  

Spikey has been enjoying the signs of spring as he hangs out in the morning light coming in the windows in my studio.  I don't know how good his eyesight is, but just when you think he's not really watching anything he'll suddenly move his head like he's following a bird or a squirrel.

The other day I forgot all about him and left him in the window while I went to a quilt meeting.  Three hours later when I came home he was still happily sitting in the window watching the world outside.

I finished a quilt this week, just in time to include it in a challenge issued by one of my quilt quilds.   I started it back in early March as I noted in this post.   The idea was to make a quilt of any size or type using one color plus white.

I started by sewing strips of brown scraps into bigger pieces and then divided some of those bigger pieces with angles of white fabrics.  Then I put them up on the design wall and tried to place them in an interesting combination.    

When it looked right I sewed the pieces together and quilted it using straight lines.

When I showed this at the quild someone called out "Where can I get the pattern?"  Ah, sorry; that't the beauty of this process for me.  There is no pattern.  It's a unique piece, one even the creator couldn't replicate.