March Guild Meeting

Mrs. Marilyn showing her quilt top.
Each month she shows us how much she's added.

It's the first Monday of the month. That means a Cotton Quilters' Guild meeting. Which means a crazy morning of gathering up stuff, printing stuff, making and organizing a plan, wrapping door prizes, and any other duties I can remember and need to do.

Don't ask me why those things are not done before the morning of the meeting. It's just how I roll. I don't have an answer. 

Some of the Kaffe fabrics that Mrs. Marilyn is using

The meeting went well, except that only Mrs. Marilyn had a show and share. Even I didn't, because the Harley Davidson quilt has gone to Baton Rouge. 

Today we started a block-of-the-month (BOM) for a row quilt. I decided to keep it simple: choose three colors or fabrics, make five 12" blocks using my directions, and in six months we will each have a quilt top that measures 60" X 72".

A bad closeup of Mrs. Marilyn's EPP top

Today I showed and explained the log cabin block. Directions are fairly straightforward, but there are several ladies in the group who do not quilt unless the rest of us push them. So we're pushing.

I have several other things going on right now. One is that I ordered and received a Sew Steady table top for the Bernina. It's huge! Much bigger than I expected, so I'm going to move the machines around in an attempt to make using it somewhat easier. I love it. 

I broke the original piece that came with the machine, and it's getting too wobbly to use. In the picture below, you can see that the bed of the machine is very narrow--great for sewing in tight spaces, like a sleeve or on baby clothing--but a disadvantage with strip piecing. 

You can also see that the table is clear. It's like looking down through glass, so I should be able to see the scissors, rippers, etc. in the space that they seem to migrate to. I had to make a few adjustments to the table height so that there's no bump when sliding fabric from the table to the machine bed. Now that I've got it smooth, the table is a great addition to the Bernina.

Lastly, here are some photos I took in nearby fields of these yellow-flowered weeds that bloom every spring. The yellow flowers are tiny, maybe half an inch wide, yet they completely cover the ground.

This first picture is beautiful because of the contrast in the blue of the sky and the yellow of the flowers. I literally took the picture from inside the truck when Richard slowed down a bit. The tree wouldn't get out of the way, but now I like having it there. :)

I took this picture today. Both are from the same field, but from different angles. In this picture the flowers cover the ground, which inclines just enough to see more of them. I had to share these; I appreciate how beautiful God's work is. Weeds that will be plowed under in a few weeks are astonishing if only we look around. 

Don't just smell the roses, look at the wildflowers. 

International Peace Gardens [Marcottes go West pt 3]

Yesterday my sister Jeanne took us to the International Peace Gardens on the border of ND and Canada. The gardens (there are several) are stunning. Added to that fact is that the Dakotas are in a deep drought and it's amazing how much care the volunteers put into their mission of peace.

1. The two drives include lakes, native trees and wild flowers, and a variety of native fauna. The main gardens are simply breathtaking. Although I recognized many of the plants, the variety and color is well beyond my knowledge. One example of this is the cone flower. 

I'm calling all of these cone flower but they could easily be daisies or perhaps they are related. The point is that the colors are fascinatingly varied.

For more photos of the scenes and flowers at the International Peace Gardens, visit my Facebook page. 

#marcottesgowest    #fleurdelisquilts   #marymarcottequilts

Marcottes go west (pt 2) wild flowers

Perhaps I should mention that I've decided to suspend regularly scheduled programming until we return to the land of normal internet. Unfortunately that's including email and comments. I could easily take care of those, but it's frustrating to write a note only to lose it a minute later because the connection is interrupted.
So for now thanks, love and gratitude; I'll write back soon. :)

In the meantime I will try to post some of the pictures and stories of our vacation. We are now visiting my youngest sister in North Dakota. Jeanne and Al have two children who are fun and seem to enjoy sarcasm, giving as much as they get. They get lots, by the way.

Funny girl kid holding a blunderbuss at the Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan replica.

Funny boy kid rowing a half canoe after refusing to put on the uniform pants to have a complete picture. Why? That's what he asked.

On to the wild flowers. They are much more cooperative. And don't talk back.

Here's an example of the sarcasm I have to deal with: every time I ask the name of a wild flower, the return answer is "weeds."
Is it supposed to be funny every time?

Linking up with:
AmandaJean at crazy mom quilts 
Go see her latest batch of cute pincushions!