To drive myself even crazier, I bought these beauties awhile back  when we visited the local St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop at St. Michaels.  I promised myself I would not get even consider another quilt, but these were too pretty to leave behind. For a lovely example of vintage sheet quilts, go here.

Vintage sheets would be perfect for a memory quilt for someone going into a nursing home, or moving away from home (because there is no place left to store her fabric).

I had the great pleasure of watching the movie once again on Bravo TV this week.  Even though this film is in black and white, the story and characters stand the test of time.

The scene which starts me crying is the night Atticus stands outside the jail to protect Tom Robison. Here it is summarized by Tim Dirks of Filmsite

In one of the most compelling scenes in the film, as the children begin taking a shortcut home, four cars noisily converge on the jail from the Meridian Highway. The children hide and watch from the cover of the bushes. The armed men get out of their cars and surround Atticus – they are a self-appointed lynch mob that has gathered to take justice into its own hands after diverting Sheriff Tate. To get a closer look, the three kids run over to the cars. Scout, in particular, who is oblivious to the danger, pushes her way through the crowd to glimpse her stern-faced father – he immediately fears for their safety. While Jem stands by his father and stubbornly refuses to leave after his father’s command, a stalwart Scout faces down the crowd and sees someone she recognizes. She conducts an innocent, uninhibited exchange with Walter Cunningham Sr., and engages him in a disarming, candid, yet humanized conversation. Scout makes him uncomfortable in front of the mob:

I said, ‘Hey,’ Mr. Cunningham. How’s your entailment getting along? (He turns and looks away.) Don’t you remember me, Mr. Cunningham? I’m Jean Louise Finch. You brought us some hickory nuts one early morning, remember? We had a talk. I went and got my daddy to come out and thank you. I go to school with your boy. I go to school with Walter. He’s a nice boy. Tell him ‘hey’ for me, won’t you? You know something, Mr. Cunningham, entailments are bad. Entailments…(She suddenly becomes self-conscious) Atticus, I was just saying to Mr. Cunningham that entailments were bad but not to worry. Takes a long time sometimes…(To the men who are staring up at her) What’s the matter? I sure meant no harm, Mr. Cunningham.

Scout’s words cause him to break up the potential lynching. The embarrassed crowd disbands.

The movie is as heartbreaking and heart warming as it was when it first previewed (1962).   Do yourself a favour and rent the movie.   Settle down with a bowl of popcorn and a box of Kleenex and go back to a time when movies were worth watching.

Thanks for all your good wishes, I spent the first two days in bed flat on my back.  Little by little I am recovering, but the bruises will  be around for awhile.

When winds are soft,
And the days are warm and clear,
Just like a gentle lamb,
Then spring is here.”
-   Author Unknown

The storm continued today punctuated with winds, sleet, rain, and snow.    Despite the nasty weather outside, in my sewing room it is spring, thanks to the beautiful April Cornell charm pack which arrived on Friday in the order I placed at Sew Sisters

I also ordered the 20 Fat quarters for $25.00.  Unfortunately this special is no longer available.  The quarters I received included cuts from the Rock-n-Roses collection,  Sweet briar, Recollections by Deborah Roberts, the Polly goes to Paris line and Robert Kaufman, to name a few.  I have been too busy fondling these beauties to even consider cutting them.

Some day I intend to make a trip around the world quilt using reproduction 1930 prints, The two packs of Scrap Block Mania is a start collecting fabric.

I an very pleased with Sew Sisters excellent service.

The fog rolled  in this morning, layering the trees with even more ice.   We can hear the trees crackle as the breeze hits their limbs.  Being surrounded by trees is great in the summer, but causes concern on winter days. 2600 homes in our area are without power, luckily we are not one of them.   My DH is clearing off  the deck and getting the generator ready just in case. Over the next two day the weather forecast is calling for snow, freezing rain, gusting winds, followed by more snow and high winds.  Sounds like quilting weather to me.

Yesterday I worked on a string quilt which I started a long time ago.  String quilts are a great way to use up those small bits of fabrics (strings).  This is  an excellent project for a beginner quilter, or when you want to do mindless not fussy sewing.  If you are interested in knowing more about this method check out Bonnie`s  at Quiltville  String Quilting Primer.   Check out the many different patterns and ideas for the string quilt at the end of the primer.   The only limitation on this fun to make  quilt is your fabric stash.

By mid afternoon I had most of the blocks and the borders  sewn together.   My DH is my quilt layout foreman.    I place the blocks on the bed in a pattern I think looks good.  Then he comes in and gives it the thumbs up or thumbs down.  When he makes a suggestion it oftens works better than my original idea.

The foundation of my string blocks is  9 inch squares of cotton. To match the thickness of the blocks  I decided to use denim for the borders  and crumb blocks on the corners.  This will be a  very heavy cover as the flannel back will add to the weight.  The perfect winter weather quilt.

While my DH is out in the cold, wet, snow I am indoor fondling fabric.  I intend to spend the rest of the day sewing, with brief intervals of cooking.  Sounds fair to me.

Today`s menu will be made from recipes I found on the web. Chili and southwestern drop biscuits from Yes, we cook!  for lunch.    Saturday nights` dinner and a movie will be baked egg rolls from Under a Blue and Moon and our all time favourite carrot and pork dumplings from Retorte, and chicken and pork lettuce wraps, thanks again to Yes, we cook!

So if you`re hungry come on over, my DH should have the driveway shoveled by then.

My DH, kitty and I have settled down for a weekend at home.  Luckily before the storm hit, the mail man delivered a parcel.    When my DH saw the return address was Sew Sisters Quilt Shop, he told the mail man, it must be a mistake, no one here needs fabric……………..what a comedian!

Now we are in the middle of an ice storm, but we are expected to receive 15-25 cm of snow tonight through until tomorrow night.

Luckily  I won`t run out of fabric.

She sits on the bench chirping, clicking and meowing.   She is the resident bird whisperer.

This is tiring work to a kitty.   She needs to take a nap after each session.   During the morning she sleeps on her right side.  With her paws covering her eyes.  The hazards of living in a house with many windows.

Her favourite chair just happens to be the one my DH likes as well.

After lunch and another nap, this time on her left side, it is time to play `where`s Porsche?`.

She loves to hide in my DH`s tote bag.   This too is very hard work so she needs to nap half way through the game.   Once we find her, it is time to play `claw the tote bag`.

Lately the local United Church ceased publishing the names of sick and shut ins, in the church bulletin.

Apparently both of the above changes are as a result of the Privacy Act.

So I was very surprised when I came across this site.    Type in your address at the site and enjoy a virtual tour of the street where you live.

Talk about privacy?

One of the reason I love  my husband is his complete disinterest in sports.  It matches mine.  We don`t see the purpose of golf, football is completing baffling and curling leaves us cold.

This week, we have watched more moments in sports then we have during our 14 years together.  It started with  Alexandre Bilodeau.   While recuperating from my cold, laying on the chesterfield, mindlessly watching television, I was moved to tears when Alex tour down the hill and right into the everyone `s heart.   To me he is everything I love about being a Canadian.   He is the best in the world, but still he is humble, loving, kind, and has an accent second to none.   He holds family above all things.    Can`t get much better than that.

Thursday morning at the gym I was beaming when I heard Canada had won the game against Switzerland.   I did not watch the full game,  just the highlights.    But I was as happy as someone who had first row seats!

Patrick Chan, said it best “The best part was not the marks, it was just the crowd, the Canadian crowd and the passion that they show for their athletes,” Chan said. “Makes me realize how proud I am to be Canadian. Before the marks came up, I felt like I let the audience down because I didn’t give a great performance that they would have enjoyed. But in the end, they still loved me as much as they would if I had done a great program…..”

Even though I am completely gaga over Canadian athletes this week, I am still loving the sewing.   Sew Sister Quilt shop has combined my two loves into the incredible Olympic Celebration Surprise Bundle give away.   Each time a Canadian athlete wins a medal another item goes into the basket!

They are also the creator of the Canadian Flag table runner shown at the top of this post.  For the pattern, click here.   Pretty cool, eh!