Look What Came in the Mail!

Hi! Guess what the mail person brought me recently! I love getting packages in the mail, don't you? Sure we order stuff online, and in a few days a boring brown Amazon box magically appears---but no matter how cool the purchase, it's just not the same as receiving a hand addressed mailer with real stamps! So fun!

I've been blessed with fun presents from my Internet friends. This is a tiny treasure, a miniature quilt from my friend Sue.[Coincidentally Sue lives very near where I grew up in Illinois; we met through our etsy shops. I'm afraid the cornfields and wildflowers are long gone though....]
This is such a treasure! I love dragonflies.

And notice Sue's beautiful work, the tiny heart charm, her lovely fabric choices, the way she used a vintage linen textile with hemstitching.

You can see from the label it is based on a Janet Bolton design. Sue and I both love the work of Janet Bolton, and when I was destashing last summer, I sent Bolton's most recent book on to Sue to enjoy. This is what Sue made.

I love it!
Right now it's on my bull clip display rack, but I hope to find a tiny frame for my Dragonfly. I will always treasure it, and Sue's friendship.

...
Mo and I both found goodies in my box from my blog / writing groups friend Mel who lives in Kansas. Mel is an exceptionally talented crocheter. Her work is so beautiful and perfect always.
For me a ponytail hat and new mitts, for dog walking days.

Isn't this yarn gorgeous!

The hat is so cute, it has an opening for my ponytail, which also keeps the hat in place, not squashing down over one's nose.

And I also asked for the mitts. They are perfect. I don't like gloves, I feel like I can't control Mo's leash when I wear gloves. Solution is these toasty warm mitts.

Another cute hat! pretty neutrals to go with my white parka.

 Mel put some reflective  yarn in the pompom so I glow in the dark when car lights finds me walking in the winter darkness.

Mo got reflective wear too. It's especially important for one's dog to be well lit at night. I know when I'm driving I sometimes can see the human, but the doggy in front near the ground isn't very visible; I just see a leash disappearing into the darkness. So Mel made this neckwarmer for Mo.

He wears it every day! [The heart is in the front.]

The yarn looks plain grey heathery, but in the dark it lights up brilliantly. The yarn is very soft and warm, not scratchy. Mo seems oblivious, it's easier for him to wear than a hat that falls in his eyes.

I asked for a heart, which I love. It looks so adorable with Mo's red corduroy jacket! But Mel also made some shamrocks, just for fun. I put them on this week, on the reverse, for St Paddy's Day fun.

Thank you, Mel!
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And today  a package arrived all the way from Lori in Oregon. She sent me the scraps from her Chinese Coin rescue quilt project. Wow! I didn't expect so much or so many different fabrics [c. 1880-1910?]. Lori's finished quilt HERE

First I plan to sit down and pore over each little piece, but my mind is churning---doll quilts!

Or strawberries! Picture an old white bowl filled with strawberries made from these pieces.

And I have another project planned, I've been waiting for just the right thing to use. More later on that idea.
Thank you Lori!

Nosy Mo wants to see what is in his Nantucket baby basket which he long ago outgrew. Maybe he smells hints of Porter and Elsa, Lori's German shepherd dogs?

.........
On the home front , we are expecting a big snow tonight and tomorrow. As always I worry about the cold, if we have a power failure. Otherwise we have plenty of food and batteries, just have to prep more Pineapples for hand sewing, just in case. Update: Oh a big fizzle, a bit of snow, a bit of rain. Very windy though, so the issue of power failure still looms. I'm a bit worried about my Oystercatcher birds returning Friday, I hope they travel safely.

Yesterday was the last full moon of winter! It's called the Worm Moon, eeew. Any worms who peek out this week are gonna get their little tails frostbit!

Mo is decked out in his jammies. His toy is also made by Mel. It's stuffed with something crinkly, Mo adores it. Yum.

And snuggled into the covers on my bed. Ready for a snow day.

Earlier he helped me sew bits and pieces of WTWGF. Whoa, what a mess/ conglomeration. I hope it improves.

No matter how  plush of a bed I offer Mo in the sewing room, he instead prefers the bin of thrift shop shirts!

...............
Off topic entirely, but I was kinda thrilled with my lime crop. My friends of the tropical garden asked me to winter over their potted lime tree, because I get better sun [and have a green thumb]. The thing blooms constantly, what a mess. But today I found limes hatching, pretty neat. For drinks next summer?

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

snowy dunes from last Friday:

In and Out, Out and About

Hello! What a glorious day we had today. In fact the whole week has been pretty good, funny how quick we forget though. And it is March. Big winds!

Mo and I are continuing our walks every day right before Mo's dinner, at sunset. I'm training him to expect just the short walk to the beach bench then past the feral kitties' winter lodging, then round the corner and home.

But one day was soooo nice we took our old fave route to the koi pond!
We went through the secret beach path alley.

We found daffodils shoots,

and snowdrops.

The koi were bright orange but motionless.

They seem to go into a state of suspended animation. Frozen fish! The round thing must be an aerator not a heater since there was ice forming on the pond surface.

Back home my forsythia is still blooming brightly! Third week, for 3.99. What a bargain.

This is one paper white narcissus that was a very slow grower. I like how small it has stayed! It's very cute, no scent.

And the pussy willows are cheery and fun too. I put some trimmings in a sea glass medicine bottle,

the rest are on the pine bride's bench. The fluffy blooms are so adorable. Though they don't stay pink, too bad.

Today it was 61* when I drove to the post office. [with probably a wind chill of low 40s, but still.] I rushed home and prepped a hand applique block so Mo and I could sit on the deck.

Oh this makes him so happy, it's even better than getting to sleep in mommy's bed. So, okay. (I enjoy it too. Natural vitamin D!)

My first pineapple, for Fall Festival.

A messy rush job.

The red gets trimmed away, it's just there for stability. The technique is called ''reverse applique".

Here's a section of the pattern photo, so you can see how the pineapples will look.

A few people have said they don't like the idea of pineapples and as I sewed I had the notion that, if shortened a bit, they could be wonderful bee skeps/ bee hives with black crows sitting on the top?  I love the pineapples, so now it's a quandary!

Mo and I watched the big sand mover truck. It came right up onto our dunes where the boardwalk has been all winter.

[The walkway was lifted up so the machine could grade the path, then it will be relaid. Otherwise the path becomes too steep.]

All this good weather and hints of spring? Hahaha...big snow coming tomorrow , followed by frigid temps, or so the weather bug tells me.

I'll be busy with my Wild Geese spacers. Mo is practicing wearing his Mad Pilot hat. We're ready.

PS Mo's current trick-in-training is to dance on his hind legs, and to pirouette!  He's got the dance down, but the spin needs work, hahaha. I think he knows there's a pink tutu in his future...

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...