Monday...

Spring break has started so I am hoping to get some things done. I always have a list - clean out/declutter the upstairs room (dumping grounds), clean out the garage, yard work, garden - but I never get all the things done. Oh, well. Maybe I would feel better if I kept a list of all the things I do get done.

But, I have been busy.

Last month's block exchange...
We are nearing the end of this. May is the last exchange, I believe.

All blocks, except mine

My block - Dancing Shoofly

A co-worker has a daughter graduating from high school this May. Grandmother pieced the top with T-shirts and I have been asked to quilt it. That is on the frame.

This top is mostly together. The fabrics are from a recent flannel exchange. 

The pattern says it will finish at 65 inches square. I want it to be a little longer so I have pieced 2 rows of 4 patches to go at the top and bottom. I decided to add 2 inch strips of the grayish background print to the top and bottom then add the 4 patch strips to the top and bottom. Then border the whole piece with 2 inch strips of background, then 6 inch borders of a dark blue print. 

I measured what was left of the background and discovered I did not have enough. 

More is ordered and this is put away for now.

My husband had a birthday in February. My parents sent him this lovely card. We have donkeys.
I decided this card was too pretty not to be on display. We found this frame that we thought was perfect for it.

I used to do counted cross-stitch, but gave it up when I started having trouble seeing up close. I had worn contact lenses since high school and had begun to wear reading glasses to see things better. That worked well for a while, but my eyes were changing. I decided to go back to glasses, thinking I would need bi-focals. Wrong, it was tri-focals I needed. Anyway, with prescription needs still continuing to change and not having just the right prescription doing close work was too frustrating so I gave up counted cross-stitch. I could/can still see ok to quilt and knit.
I have finally gotten a good prescription (I think/hope) so I ordered a kit to see what happens. The thing that really spurred me on to do this is that I am involved with our local county fair. We had a meeting a month ago to discuss any changes, decorating ideas, etc. that we thought needed to happen. If a category has not had any entries in a certain number of years it is at risk of being discontinued. There are not many entries in the counted cross-stitch categories. I think this is sad and really don't want to see them discontinue this category. I am trying to do my part by having an entry this year.

On the yucky side of life, I live in the country, on a farm. We are surrounded by fields and have livestock. It is inevitable that we will have a mouse problem at some point in the winter. I had not seen any evidence of mice this year and was thinking how lucky we were. Ha! I opened a drawer in my bathroom to find this...

Those crazy mice pulled out dental floss and wound it around throughout the drawer, chewed through moisturizer tubes and other things and generally made a big mess. I now have lidded containers in my drawers to keep my things mice free - I hope.

Right outside my kitchen window is a small honeysuckle tree. I keep it pruned because I don't want it to block my view of the driveway. Anyway, there has been a nest left over from last year. I was wondering if birds reuse nests. The other day I saw a very busy robin adding to it. I am hoping for eggs and baby birds soon, although I haven't seen any action around the nest the last few days. 

Now I need to get busy quilting, cleaning, and relaxing!