Will spring ever really arrive?

We are having just lousy springtime weather. We might get one beautiful day and then it is quickly followed by 4-6 of grey, clouds, wind and rain. I want to be able to predict that I can be outdoors, sipping something cool on the patio. We got the glass-topped table washed and all the chairs cleaned but they are likely to be dirty before we even get to use them. Bummer! We got a couple of the left-over plants from the church superfluity sale and they can happily sit in their pots for a while - no big rush to get them in the ground.

Judy Laquidara has been posing some very thought-provoking questions. How do you begin your quilt planning? Do you start with the pattern or do you start with the fabric? I would really be interested to hear your answer. As I think over what I've made during the past couple of years I guess I really do both. It kind of depends. I don't typically copy the coloring of the quilt - if starting with a pattern - but I do try to get a sense or a feeling of what the quilt "says". This is getting a bit 'artsy' for me, but you know what I mean. But I am also notorious for finding some fabric and then figuring out how/where I can use it. Among my favorite shopping opportunities is Goodwill. My friend Ronda was always finding real treasures there, so I started to visit from time to time. I have not found all the major things that she has (quilts, irons, ironing boards, sewing tables, etc, etc), but it's a matter of 'checking in' on a fairly regular basis and see what they have.

On Monday, on my way home from CTA I stopped at Goodwill and found a couple of goodies.

There are about 3 yards of the plaid and more than 5 of the blue. They cost me $5 apiece. The blue had a stain, but a bit of Spray'nWash and it looks good as new. So I see a back for something.



I showed you the blanket I made for my RVing ladies. And a bit of scrap cutting. I was given some fabric to use for my granddaughters:


A very sweet white cotton for some sort of blouse. I also got some dark green corduroy (don't know where that picture has disappeared to). Perhaps matching jumpers for the big one and for the small one. Cute, huh? [Oh, Nana!]



And lastly, I pulled out my knitting, again. The last time I tried socks they did not turn out well. They were all the wrong size and I was just fed up. But I bought myself a new pattern and the gal assured me that if I simply followed the directions, exactly as written ("Don't read ahead!) they will turn out well. So they are floating around these days:


Next time I will fill you in on Camp Stitch-a-lot.