Dang. It's been rainy. Duh, I know. It's March in Portland. However, it's been record setting in its wetness - 29 of 31 days in March were rainy and there were 23 days in a row of rain that basically started when we got here. Crazy. But, Phoenix has already hit 100 degrees and I'll take rain with a fire in the hearth and wool socks and warm comfort food over turning on the A/C already any day of the week.
Despite all that, we've gotten a lot done. Jeff built us 2 raised beds and we have filled them with veggie seeds (I hope they don't drown). Peas are planted, as is rhubarb. There are potatoes in their fancy trash can. I have an herb bed. There are strawberries. The man has been busy. I'll try and dodge raindrops and get some photos tomorrow, because who doesn't want to see photos of big boxes of dirt, right?
We've explored some new spots in the city and eaten great pizza, discovered even better beer, and found some of our new places. We've made new friends. Annika took a drawing class at Collage, which is a very dangerous place for those of us who love pens and papers and paint and things. Very dangerous. I have spent some quality time at Bolt familiarizing myself with the inventory. Stash sewing has to happen before I indulge in a meaningful way, though.
This weekend was super fun and friend filled. Melissa and clan came over for food and fun. Kit thinks that Manny is pretty much her superhero and she follows him everywhere. Hopefully he won't tire of her too quickly because she would be a very sad little girl. We left the menfolk and the kids to fend for themselves and headed over to Modern Domestic for Susan Beal's booksigning. Her new book, Modern Log Cabin Quilting: 25 Simple Quilts and Patchwork Projects
I'm dying to make that cover quilt, but seeing that I have a few other quilts in the queue, I had to look past it for the moment and take on a project that can be completed during a couple of baby naps. So, pillows it was. I picked fabrics from stash, and mostly from the scrap bin, in red, yellow, light blue and grey - unintentionally the same color scheme as the pillow in the book. Last night I put together my piles of fabric strips, and today I started sewing.
Pillow top # 1 was pieced during Kit's nap. I have enough strips left to do another pillow, and then I think I'll take the remainder and sew them up into potholders and coasters so that I use up all of the scrap and don't add anything back into the overflowing bins. I'm going to spend 1-2 hours a day trying to whittle down the scraps and make some useful and pretty things to have on hand for gifts, etc. This book is fabulous for me because I love log cabin piecing. I could have most of my quilting fabric be cut into long strips and be totally happy. After I finish off this batch of strips, I need to move on to some summer clothes for the girls. There are some cute Oliver + S patterns calling my name and July is right around the corner, right? Maybe they want some skirts with log cabin pockets. I think they could rock the look and start a trend.
Oh, I almost forgot! We're starting our new little chicken flock. Meet the girls. Zelda, Rose, and Buffy the Slug Slayer. We love them already.
Funny how I don't blog because I think I have nothing to talk about and then I start talking and I run off at the mouth. Oops. Guess I should sit down and do this more often.
