I think spring is finally trying to show itself in the south.  Normally my daffodils are bloomed by mid-February so we're almost a month behind schedule.  Very unusual for our area to be so late.  But they're here now and they make me smile.  Buds are popping up on all the flowering trees and many are starting to bloom.  Spring is such a beautiful season.

Went on a little road trip to Fayetteville yesterday with Evette and Laura to visit one of our favorite quilt shops - Quilts 'n Tiques.  Gail has so much fabric crammed in her shop, it's an adventure everytime we go there.  You may go in with something in mind and leave with two or three new projects......which is what happened to all of us yesterday.  I really didn't need anything but love to go visit and by the time we left, I had fabric for two quilt projects that I haven't even designed yet!!  Oh well.......nothing like a little push in the right direction. 

Naomi and Gail holding up Calendar Girls quilt.  They have a show coming up later in the month and are going to be selling (hopefully) Calendar Girls patterns.  So I left the quilt with them to display in their booth.  Hope it helps them to sell more patterns! 

I snuck behind the counter and snapped this picture of Gail as she was writing up our tickets and laughing at one of us, probably whining about how much money we were spending.  Thanks for a fun time Gail and Naomi!!  See you later in the month.

I ended up with some free time on Friday and decided to start working on a new pattern I had been thinking of for awhile.  I sat down and drew and drew and drew and came up with a few new line drawings that I need to play around with and get stitched.  That's what the fabric is for that I purchased yesterday.  It really is hard to color plan a project when you're looking at line drawings.  But we all seemed to be envisioning something with all that beautiful fabric so now I need to get busy stitching.  Maybe another block of the month in the works.

Spring classes are gearing up.  Three Little Chicks on Monday and several more during the week.  Come and stitch with me........................Make sure you check the calendar for dates and times.  See you soon.

To market, to market I go with my wares!  A gathering of a few things I'm taking to the classroom this evening.  Some more cherry pincushion kits and a new March pincushion kit............and some pretty spring colored wool that a couple of gals have asked for. 

I finally finished the stitching on this wallhanging quilt I've been working on off and on since August of last year.  I bought the fabrics when I visited Debbie in Oregon and pieced it together there.  I knew I wanted birds in the blank squares and words in the smaller rectangles but until recently wasn't sure if I needed to draw something.  One day I found an adorable pattern by Kathy Schmitz of all these whirly twirly birds and they were the perfect size and look for my quilt.  And I just added fun bird words to the rectangle blocks.  I got those all finished up last night and am so happy with the way it turned out.  Next is the quilting and binding and it will finally be ready to hang in one of my bedrooms.  I love when something is finally done.....a sense of accomplishment.

I decided today to change the header on my blog.  No reason except to just have some change.  Those of you that have visited my home know that I love tomato pincushions.  So what better thing to have as the header on my blog than tomato pincushions!  That's my reasoning and I'm sticking to it.  Plus I figured out how to add a picture and just had to try it!!

I have been collecting them for years and get a little giddy when I run across one in an antique shop or a flea market.  They are something that I am always watching for whenever I'm out and about.   I know I could go to the store and buy new pincushions, but they don't have the charm or history of a vintage tomato pincushion.  Think about the person who previously owned the pincushion and what their life might have been like, the wonderful things she may have created with the aid of her little pincushion.

My friend Evette says one can never have too many pincushions, and I add to that tomato pincushions!  I have never counted how many I have but I'm sure there are at least a hundred.  All different sizes, some full of pins and needles, some empty. 

The teeny tiny tomatoes are my most favorite and the most elusive to find.  I keep telling myself I don't need anymore but when I find one, I usually can't resist. 

Right now I have three jars of tomato pincushions in my kitchen.  I thought what more appropriate place to display them than in the kitchen.  Two jars are on my cookbook shelves and my newest addition on the kitchen counter. 

This is my newest addition to the collection.  I won a bid on Ebay for this jar full of pincushions.  That's very unusual to find this many and get a container also.

Found this little pewter dish at Just Country and knew it was made to hold one of my coveted pincushions.

Look at all the beautiful pins in these tomatoes.  That's the way they came to me.  I love when I find them loaded with big old hat pins.

I found this Tomato Butter lamp at Just Country and knew I had to fill it with tomatoes!!  It looks great in the kitchen.

So there's today's post and confession:  I am a tomato pincushion addict!!

What a fun afternoon.  I attended the photo transfer class at Evette's house this afternoon along with several other ladies.  Evette was a great teacher and went step by step to show us how the process worked.  I think everyone was excited and I could just see ideas whirring around in their brains about future projects!  I know I had a couple of brainstorms............

Look how organized she was with the supplies!

She gave everyone a bag of lavendar to add to future pincushions/sachets.  What a sweet display.

Working  hard on our pincushions.

Smile everyone.....we just did photo transfer and had so much fun!

This is a small photo transfer quilt Evette made in honor of her mother.  The possibilities are endless.

This has nothing to do with class.  It was just a great shelf that Evette bought at Just Country and now has it all decorated with lots of fun things. 

For those of you that missed out on the photo transfer class, email me if you want to sign up for a possible future class.

And on a final note, I think the postings I did with  my spring displays worked.  We are going to be in the upper 60's the next couple of days, possibly reaching 70 degrees tomorrow.  So you can all thank me for this drastic change in our temperatures!!  You're welcome!!!

I am determined to make spring happen!!  I dyed wool yesterday in beautiful greens, roses and yellows.  Now if that's not springy I don't know what is!!!

And today I decided to get out a few spring/Easter decorations to push the season along.

I just love the chickies. 

This is my favorite bunny.  He is made from mohair and I've had him a very long time.  And of course, a couple more chicks.  Now maybe if my house feels like spring, it will be spring outside soon.  If the weather warms up, maybe I'll do some more decorating.

Raleigh was helping me decorate and put the pictures on the blog so we had to include a couple pictures of her.  She chose the poses she wanted me to put on the computer.  I think sometimes she wants to be a model with all her little poses.   When I'm taking pictures of her, she twists and turns and cocks her head from one side to the other.  Maybe she's seen a photo shoot at some time or another, who knows.  She's just funny to me!

So think warmer temperatures everyone and let's make spring arrive here in the sunny south!!

Yesterday was a kitting kind of day.  Classes getting ready to start for spring and new recipe card classes about to begin so lots of kits to cut up.  Got a couple of them accomplished but still more to work on.

Wool all stacked up and ready to go for the Chicks and Pussy Willows pillow class

Sorting out all the little pieces of paper for the March recipe card -- looks SPRINGY!!!!

Here's the March pincushion pattern that is an adaptation from the recipe card.

Look at all the beautiful hand-dyed floss colors.  While I was working on kits, I needed to find a certain color of floss.  Well, of course all of this brand of floss was in one big drawer together.  So I sat in the middle of the floor and sorted in by color family.  Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to keep it organized.  For now it looks pretty on my floor!

The girls came over to celebrate my birthday and donned happy new year hats since I didn't have birthday hats.  Still see a little residual chocolate ice cream on their faces!

Reagan loves to pose for pictures!

And Raleigh decided hanging upside down would be a better pose!

And just for fun, Mark and I were driving in Apex on Sunday and turned on a side street and here went a gaggle of geese crossing the street.  They were just taking their time.  I couldn't resist getting out for a quick picture.

We had some snow overnight but not enough in our area to cause many problems.  Schools were delayed a couple of hours and it should be gone by this afternoon.  Hopefully this is our last bout of winter weather.  I noticed my daffodils were bloomed in the back yard so that's a sure sign that we should be celebrating spring soon!

Ready for SPRING!

OK, February is over, my birthday has come and gone, it's time to think SPRING!  I think all of us here in the south are a little confused over our winter this year.  It has been colder, wetter, and a little snowy.  Our average temperature here is 50-55 degrees most of the winter.  We don't usually wear winter coats, light jackets normally suffice.  But this winter we've had to wear coats quite often it seems.  I don't like that.  I love the snow and how beautiful it is, but by now my daffodils should be blooming and radiating their beautiful yellowness!  So I decided to post pictures of the upcoming classes for March and April which are pretty "springy" in hopes that maybe that would lift our winter doldrum spirits a little.  Maybe if we start creating spring, it will appear a little sooner.

This class is called Chicks and Pussy Willows

Obviously called Spring Greetings, this is the beginning embroidery project

Three Little Chicks, how fun and springy. 

They could also be done in different colors of wool like little peeps.

This little mouse doesn't technically have anything to do with spring other than the fact he's holding a strawberry.  He's just a fun pincushion.

And last but not least, our Christmas project for this session.  Three sweet trees, all in a row.  This is a fun mat to work on and now you can get started early for Christmas gifts!

I hope all of you enjoy the snow that is coming our way tomorrow and stay safe!