Snow day.....time to sew........

Of course it snowed...the forsythia is blooming.  It happens most years and sometimes twice.  We didn't get a lot of snow but it was not light and fluffy like predicted but wet and slippery.

When we had all of those 60 degree days I cut down most of the Sedum dried heads but I left this one batch knowing we would probably have some more snow.

I decided on 3 I Spy placemats with the blocks I showed yesterday. They will be about 12" square when they are finished.  I didn't realize I had both sheep strips in one block until I took this photo. 

Last night I spent 2 hours unpicking loops to work on the black, gray and white Trip Around the World.  I need to sew one more strata to finish it.

The fabrics are quite pretty close up.

Cutting kits.........

I decided to dive right in and start cutting the I Spy quilt kits.  Each fabric has to be spritzed with water and pressed to get out the fold marks from storing the fabric folded and stacked on shelves.  The pressing takes as long as the cutting.  I have 37 fabrics cut so far.  3/4 of the kits are spoken for already so I hope to finalize the number of pieces in the kits by Tuesday night.  There are bug prints in the kits.  The kids love them.  There are grasshoppers, dragonflies, butterflies, ants, and prints with lots of different kinds of bugs on them.  Cutting the fabrics brings back the memories of being the buyer for the quilt shop.  We had a reputation of having lots of kids prints for the I Spy quilts and floral fabrics for Colorwash Trip Around the World quilts.  I left that store 12 years ago and selections have changed.  In case you are reading this at a later date than when it was published, all kits have been spoken for.

A quilt and a mystery

First, the quilt. This is the only picture I have of this quilt and it isn't very good. I made this quilt in the spring of 2005 and gave it to my dentist for her waiting room. It is an I Spy quilt with 6.5" squares bordered by Moda Marbles in lots of different colors. I hear it is a big hit with the kids. Now to the mystery. A couple years ago I decided to update the wiring in my 1953 house to grounded wiring. I had to use those 3 prong adaptors everywhere in my house before that. I figured it would be money well spent when I ever sell the house. I decided to add a few perks while I was at it and had motion sensor lights installed in several places, one being on the back of my house. Every night around 11-11:15 I walk out to the kitchen and studio to turn off lights and the back light is on. I was beginning to think I had a timer on it and didn't know it. I always go to the window and look out and rarely see anything out there. Sometimes it is just the close tree branches moving with the wind that have set it off. Last week I finally saw one of my visitors. He came back again last night so I decided to try taking a picture with just the light across the yard from him.
Here is Mr. Opossom rooting around in the area below a bird feeder. The squirrels are greedy and messy and drop a lot of seeds to the ground in their haste. I saw a rabbit out there at night this week feeding off the same spot. So the mystery is finally solved, this old guy just lumbers through my yard tripping the light and then he usually hides and I don't see him.