Helping ...........

I just found this link - http://scrap-therapy-quilts.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-request-for-hugs.html - on how to help the people of Newtown, CT, with a handmade quilt.
Unfortunately, the timing doesn't work for me, I'd love to make a quilt or two to donate (I used to make quilts for the ABC project years ago). But I'm hoping I'll be able to for the as-yet-to-be- announced second wave of this project.

Brrrrrr ..............

According to the weather report this morning, it never got cold enough here to freeze. I beg to differ. It's after 10 am and this is the sheet of ice I pulled off the old water bowls we used to use for the big dogs.

Looks pretty, doesn't it? We're supposed to have a hard frost tonight. Need to get all those pots up close to the house to protect them. That won't be easy, they are very heavy from all the rain we've had lately. But I try hard every year to baby my fuchsias through the winter and, so far, so good.

Playing ................

.............. with both a new quilt block, the Disappearing Nine Patch, and PicMonkey collages (instead of doing what I really should be doing):

 

Oh no .............

The dog went to the groomer this morning which gave me about 3 uninterupted hours to get something done. I had ordered charm packs and matching fabric a while ago and was going to make a little quilt.
Things went well, I sewed blocks into rows, rows into a whole quilt top and went to iron the backing ............... oh, no: there was a hole in the fabric. Not quite in the middle of the panel but near enough. I wanted to get this done today, not contact the etsy seller and get a replacement who knows when. What to do? How about a little heart applique right over the hole? Yup, that worked. I'm sure the recipient won't mind.

And while I'm writing, I might as well add my thoughts on quilt basting spray. I used to have a kitchen with an old linoleum floor and plenty of space to lay out a full-size quilt. Not any longer. While there's still adequate space here and there, there's no more linoleum. So, no more crawling around for hours either thread-basting or safety pin basting.
I discovered quilt basting spray a couple years ago and I admit to a love/hate relationship with it. It works beautifully, but, if used indoors, it's like a glue sniffer's paradise (okay, I exaggerate, but only a little). Even with the backdoor open, there's still a whiff of that stuff in the house and it migrates. I cover the floor all around the quilt with towels and the glue still ends up on the floor. Frustrating!

Score

I've been looking for a dressform for quite a while and, finally, on Sunday on the flea market I got lucky. She (doesn't have a name yet) isn't very old, but she was reasonably priced, has a stain or two just like an old bust and she is perfect for photographing necklaces and scarves. Need to get busy now taking pictures for Ravelry.
The necklaces, too, were a flea market fine. Yes, I collect "H's".
And on Saturday we found these cool little lenses for the iPhone. They just slip over the lens and there are three of them: obviously a fisheye lens because I used that in one of the pictures, a macro and a wide angle lens. Need to read up a bit more on them but they are easy to use (I do need to take my cover off the phone but just temporarily).
I apologize for the wonky layout, blogger is giving me fits today. I'd rather have pictures in odd places than end up in the funny farm.