Raggedy News

It can happen to any diet. One day you just can't resist, and end up with cakes, chocolates or pizzas on your hips in no time. Or if you are trying to use your stash of fabrics, you end up buying more. Much more. This is what happened to me (I don't want to speak about the food type of problems here). My trusted fabric shop owner will retire in Summer, and she is selling all her fabrics -30 % of the prices. I bought the red flannel in March, and went to buy a stash of big pieces for backings on the third official Sale day. All her nice coloured solids were gone! I bought two checkered fabrics, one floral print (very lovely, I think), and a blue baby fabric for baby quilts. The heavy white solid is for bags I'm going to print and maybe dye. I forgot the amounts (like one easily does with unpleasant facts) but I will measure them for my statistics later. I think I will just exercise more. More and  longer walks, and more sewing and finished projects. I forgot to take a picture of the finished 9-patch. I'll do it for the next post.

I have already finished one project this month! I had bought this tea towel panel last month for a friend who is moving to France in a few months, and I machine stitched a useful sentence for her to learn. It must be useful because I learned it at school over 40 years ago and still can remember:

Kala ilman juotavaa on myrkkyä. Fish without something to drink is poison.  I gave it to her on her birthday on Monday, so she'll have time to learn French before the big move.  

It's a long time since I last showed you my Raggedy & Friends BOM. Kaaren published the last three blocks at one time in February, and now mine are stitched and the quilt top is finished. Here is block 10:

and number 11

and the last one:

Tonight I'm taking the top with me to class and  I will piece the backing and make the quilt sandwich on the large table in the classroom. Beats kneeling on the floor at home any time! I could finish this quilt for the exhibition on the weekend after next, but there is really no place to hang quilts. Our teacher has asked for smaller projects for the show, like cushions, potholders and such. I will borrow the Ladyfingers bag I made as Christmas present for DS1's girlfriend.

Ladyfingers, gifts (part two), and birds

Last night I finished my Ladyfingers bag, with light purple beads and the handles I bought in Germany.

This was my first attempt at Dresden plate pattern, but with the special Dresden ruler the sweet Stephanie sent me with the Ladyfingers pattern I won in her giveaway, it was no problem. Originally I wanted to make this with my father's ties, but as the material is more difficult to handle than cotton, I practiced with this one first.

I made the inside pocket a little wider than in the pattern as I was not using charm packs but fabrics from my stash. (Who could have guessed?)

Now that Melanie and Simone have shown theirs, I can show mine. Here are the coffee place mats dear Suzie gave me when I met her in Germany.

Now I'll take you for a walk in the village, as it was a sunny day on Monday. This is the biggest pond, right next to the highschool, with a nice little beach for warm summer days.

Only a small area was free of ice, and all the waterbirds were gathered there.

The local whooper swan family was there, and a new adult alone, maybe one of the last year's cygnets. Swans gather together for their move, and on the west coast you can see hundreds of them, eating themselves fat and round, and waiting for a suitable flight weather.

This is one of the parents, with white feathers.

And the other one. They have three young swans left, one of the four died during the summer.

The young swans still have grey feathers, and their bills are rather pink and grey than yellow and black. One is half-diving like ducks!

Usually they only dip their head and neck in the water to find something to eat.

The ice was very thin, and it bent and made funny noises when the mallards climbed on it. Slippery!

The mallards either made attacks at each other or wanted to keep the water in motion to prevent the ice from forming.

The male mallards' green heads looked beautiful in the sun.

After yesterday's cold weather and snow the swans had left for open water and only some of the smaller birds remained. During last night it rained again, so the mallards may come back, but for the whooper swans it is time to fly south. I'll be waiting to hear their trumpets again in April when they return here to nest.