Surviving the rain ... what do you do?

Yesterday, a record was set for rain in April, and it is still falling and expected to get worse as the day goes on.

Friday evening was my cub scout pack meeting. I furnished newspaper, tape, staples, and scissors.

The challenge was for each den to construct a costume for a fashion show.

The Bear den, nearest the flag, made a neat tidy outfit, even including a necktie and shoes The Tiger in the middle went the samurai route and even wears a sword. The Wolves went overboard and made two outfits, on the right ... while the Webelo standing next to the neat and tidy Bear, looks very scrappy.
Anyway, a great time was had and we ran out of time for the rest of the plan which was to dress their leader.

Saturday was a Boy Scout camp out and pig roast.

The pig went under the charcoal in the morning and the rain stopped after lunch in time for the nature walk/hike.

The goal was a five mile hike to meet one requirement and identifying ten native plants and animals.

The plants could have been done in the first 20 paces but finding ten wild animals while hiking on well used trails was a bigger challenge. (especially with a group of  talking boys). Therefore, I went along on the hike, taught them to listen and identify birds by their calls, and where to look to see them.  Of course, by the time we returned to camp, we had covered about 7 miles ... as recorded by one leader's gizmo.

The rain started up again upon our return and after dinner and the following ceremonies, I headed back home. Hail was bouncing off my windshield for the first 45 minutes of the drive and I was thankful for choir duty calling me home. The hail turned to rain upon my turn off the main road and when I came out of the last tunnel leading to home, the streets were dry! I haven't heard what the weather at camp was that night but the sun came out for a few hours in the morning on Sunday.

Sunday evening we got together to celebrate two April birthdays, My Sister-in-law turned 89 on the 7th of April and husband, Paul, turns 78 the 14th (today).

It was an interesting meal with buckwheat crapes wrapped around a variety of fillings.

I can't say it was my favorite meal but then, I was still tired from Saturday's hike.

The rain held off until just as we returned from Monday rice patrol.

I wanted to work on my book club quilt and began searching through my stash for a particular fabric I wanted to use in the sashing.

I do not want to buy any more fabric but that means I will have to find both something that works and I have enough of.

None of my dark fabrics worked against the variety of blocks so I found a medium blue, thinking of adding cornerstones. But where have I hidden that fabric I have in mind?

Meanwhile in my search, I found some camera print and decided it was time to put together another "follower's" block.  This one represents a blogger who always puts a smile on my face. JoAnn at Scene Through My Eyes is a genius with a camera. Flower mosaics and birds in motion,  barns, dolls, party table settings ... no lovely scene escapes her camera.

I was not completely happy with the background color but the camera print was asking to be used. I am now awaiting some more snowflakes of the paper kind. There is enough stuff falling from the sky today. We may have to go to "plan B " for the birthday celebration. Meanwhile, back to the fabric hunt. (I knew exactly where it was until the family visit so it shouldn't be buried all that deep)!

Celebrating friendship

Another star is being added to my collection of followers blocks.

Four inches for the center is always a bit of a challenge. This is supposed to be a compass.

This friend likes blue, green, and purple. (the green points look a bit off in the picture but in real life, they are identify-ably green)

For the star points, I tried to find fabric resembling a sunset.

Can you guess who this block represents? If not, go to All Points of the Compass and pay a visit to Jean.

Long ago I accompanied my husband on a business trip to New Zealand.  I got to do some sightseeing while my husband was working, and was impressed with the friendliness of all those I met along the way.

Around the time of that visit, my family of eight made a holiday trip to Shiobara, and in the resort area we met many young people from Auckland, which was their "sister city". It was New Years and those kids were working in the hotels, many earning money for college. They worked so hard until late at night serving the guests and again from early morning, always with smiling friendly attitudes.

Before we returned to Tokyo, my husband gave those youngsters his card and told them if they ever wanted a break in Tokyo, they would be welcome to stay at our house. From then began a series of visits from the most wonderful kids. We were even blessed to meet the parents of one of those youngsters. I think if New Zealand had wanted to send ambassadors, they couldn't have found better people.

Jean has only reinforced my attitude as all those who have passed through my life in Tokyo have done. Thanks Jean for your comments and warm friendship. New Zealand has more than sheep and beautiful scenery.

Another friend is remembered with a block.

One more block will be added to my growing collection of "followers blocks"

This one is for Janet, another of my long time friends. You may already know her because we seem to visit many of the same blogs.

In a way this was easy to decide on.
Janet is fond of bright and scrappy so I have made her block a rainbow.

The harder part was adding the Caribou ...crossing the block.
After all, her blog is Caribou Crossing Chroicles.

I tried another piece of the "Japanese taupe". It is soft and flexible but a bit tricky for details like antlers. I did this on the bus ride out to my English class and I think my fellow passengers were wondering what that strange foreigner was up to.   By the way, did you spot the Canada goose? I couldn't resist that one.

I might add to beware of bunnies, as they tend to multiply when given too much attention.  Sunday I was gifted two new bunnies. I'm not sure how they are to be used as they are a bit too light to make bookends.

They are cut from wood and just a wee bit tall to fit under the slanting eves above my pillow.

They were, however, welcomed by the rest of the gang. They are all sitting on the boxes that hold my Scout patches ... that too is a growing collection. I used to sew the patches from scout events on to a patch blanket but after two blankets. enough is enough. Still they keep coming, event after event. A number of them I even designed for the Far East Council.


Well, that is about it for today.  Thank you, Janet, for your continued friendship. This should make up for all the dog hair I send in your direction on the Northerly winds.

A little stitching brings out the sun

Other than hot and humid, the weatherman can't seem to make up his mind....

one minute sun, and then looming dark clouds and hard rain ... now it is back to sun

I thought I could make my own sun with another follower's block.

I decided to celebrate a long friendship with Debbie over at Woolensails. I have tried to add a link with no success but you can probably visit her by going to my side bar.

Debbie and I seem to have a lot in common. We even tend to visit the same set of blogs.

I thought of putting a little sailboat on the center square but opted instead for a bunny. My bunny is not wool or tea-dyed. Instead of two carrots, he is holding a heart. (well, this is about friendship) for the first time I used "Japanese taupe" fabric. I can see why it is so popular with Japanese quilters for applique.

I took the block up to my bed and my bunnies approved.

Here they are, sitting at the head of my bed.

The Knuffle bunny came from school ... needed for nap time. (and is it ever cuddly)!

 The black bunny followed me home from the Tokyo Dome quilt show a few years ago.

The Bluberry-Jambo-Bunny has been to 6 Nippon Jamborees, 5 BSA Jamborees, 2 Nippon Venture Jamborees, 2 AGONOREES (for handicapped Scouts), and one World Jamboree. He is also Woodbadge trained ... wearing beads and a scarf, and a Vigil member of the Order of the Arrow. The button blanket is his.    In a house where owls rule the roost, it is good for the bunnies to stick together.

Many thanks, Debbie, for your continuing friendship.

Blogging buddies

As my four hundredth post nears, I can't help looking back over the years since my son turned my paper diary into a blog. I still keep my paper diary much as before, printing out a picture of each finish to paste on the page and writing in details like date and size and title or purpose. Sometimes I have added a snip of fabric that was used. That poor book as undergone countless repairs as it was never intended as a photo album. At one point in the not-to-distant future, I will need to find a second edition.

One thing that has changed is building a relationship with so many wonderful blogging buddies. It isn't just answering comments, but the exchange that goes back and forth between the posts. There are kindred spirits out there. A few I have been lucky enough to meet in person. Many more are never far from my thoughts.

This brings me to one of my longest friends,
Irene in Texas. Long ago we both belonged to the "Slowpokes". (and that will explain a lot about this post).

More than a year ago ... yes I am slow so these are not yet UFOs...I began to make blocks to represent each of my blogging friends. I call them "followers blocks"but they are really little reminders of my special friends.

It was a whole year ago that I received a note from my friend Irene, sending me these darling little hexie flowers. I was to use one on her block.  Now, I have been teasing her weekly for the past four years or so because on her "One Flower Wednesday" posts, she more often than not, shows more than one flower. Of course, with flowers this small and precisely constructed,  you would have to make more than one a week to get anything the size of a quilt.

Well, at first I was thinking in terms of a cute pink house. If you have visited her blog you would know why. That house is not just sitting there but is decorated differently for each season. Then, when the flowers arrived I began hunting up fabric with a number print. Finally, I found a pack of four cuts of numbered fabric. It isn't exactly what I had in mind and the #1 is a bit hard to find, but one year is enough for a slowpoke to make just one eight-inch block.

So ... one more block added to my little collection.

Thank you Irene for all these years of friendship and taking my ribbing. Maybe one of these days .....
we might meet in person.



Maybe the pink wasn't the best choice because the letters rather hide the outline of the triangles against the background.


Another interesting blogging aspect is the way my friends out there solve mysteries.

Growing up in Northern Ohio, I am pretty familiar with plants that grow in that zone but often find things growing in my own garden that I have no idea what they are or how they got there.

Last post I put up a picture of these mystery flowers in the hanging pot on my gate.

It is a mystery no more. Jean from All Points of the Compass knew what it was. Rhodohypoxis baurii , is native to South Africa.

I found out more information on line and even some advice as when to re-pot them. Thanks Jean.

Here is another mystery bloomer.

This has been planted from seed and has a small bulb.
There are multiple flowers on one stem and have begun blooming last week.

The rice store garden wall has a strip of them blooming in the three or four inch strip of dirt at the base of the wall.

They also grow in the dirt strip at the base of my wall (the one that was saved by the road-pavers) .

Finding information in English on the plants in Japan is not easy. Often I find a picture and the Japanese name and if the Latin name is included, I can learn more.

Years ago, I wrote a handbook for the Scouts to use for identifying plants, as it is part of the advancement trail and very little in English  can be found. Even in the "Park for Nature Study"(part of the National Institute for Nature and Science) plant names are only posted in Japanese. A few of my Troop's Scouts have done Eagle projects of putting labels on trees and plants in city parks in not only Japanese but with Latin as well as English common names. Since I grew up learning the Latin names of local plants, I find it fun to see how those familiar ones relate to their cousins in other parts of the world.

The above flower also comes in a white version.

These are such pretty blooms and thrive on neglect.

Who could ask for more. I'm glad they didn't get covered with asphalt.

 And, speaking of something thriving on neglect, these hen and chicks toss out flowers with gay abandon.

A few broken off runners found a new home in a vacant pot and seem to be celebrating.

So, my blogging friends,  though I may seem to be neglecting you, I hope you are thriving too, and send you this virtual bouquet of mystery flowers in celebration.

It's been a long time.....

I think the last time I posted a "Followers" block was back in May. Since then, the owl quilt and summer camp and travels took over. Then Scouting and the church banner were waiting my return, followed closely by the Advent deadline.

Now the pressure is off a bit. The Japanese Thanksgiving was Saturday, and the U.S. one on Thursday. I celebrated is several ways. Sunday dinner included my #3 daughter's family and my husband's sister. It has been several months since we were able to get together.I skipped my birthday this year so this was our first meal together since October. Norie made a yummy meal that was followed up with pumpkin pie ... a favorite any time.

Leia and I spent a lot of time looking for "Wally". The book had been given Leia by one of my friends who is thinning out her own shelves from books her kids have long outgrown.

Thursday, after choir practice, I was invited to that friend's home for another Thanksgiving dinner.
Yes, and another serving of pumpkin pie! Certainly I can count my blessings by the number of friends.

I have also been thinking about my blogging friends and the blocks I have begun to make to remind me of the blessings of that friendship  The next person on my list was Cassandra and I have had plenty of time to look for the fabric I wanted and draft a pattern.

Here is what I came up with. Cassandra loves pink and cherry blossoms. She is a true Christian, thus the cross, and is waiting patiently ... and maybe a bit anxiously, for an adoption to come through of a young girl in Taiwan. I added the border of kanji because of that connection. I had to include the character for good fortune. Cassandra, thank you for your friendship.

Along the street leading to the station, there are more signs of fall. These chrysanthemums are about eight feet tall!

The house next to that has two persimmon trees.

Each is a different variety.

Though many buds remain tightly closed, these pretty Camellia sasanqua have begun to open.

And right outside the entrance to the subway station, there are two red ones in full bloom.

Tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn, I will be off
hiking in Kamakura. My Cub pack is invited each year
by a sister Japanese Pack.

Last year the trail went straight up a high hill. I hope we will take a different trail this year. The say is expected to be fine, cold but sunny.

This has been a busy but fun month and a very good time to be thankful.

All kinds of progress

Yesterday, my daughter was able to visit the owl at the vet.

The vet donated his time and talent to this owl, performing surgery on the broken wing and it seems the owl is doing well.

When the wing heals, the owl will go to a nature center while it's feathers grow back and, if it can fly, will be released back into the wild. If it can't fly, it will be cared for at the center.

Here is my granddaughter, Leia, paying the owl a visit.

She had been to the "owl park" near Mt Fuji in November where there were many species of owls on display and even an "Owl Show" and owls to hold on a gloved hand. None of those were domestic.

On this visit she has joined her mother and grandmother and a caring neighbor and vet, learning the importance of caring for all God's creatures, that there is always someone out there that can help, you only need to keep looking.

What sounded like just another sad story a week ago has turned around, not just for the owl, but everyone who had a part.

This owl appears to be an "aobazuku" or Brown Hawk Owl.

The "Fukuro", Ural Owl, is the most common variety but there are a few of these in the Tokyo area and I have seen and heard them frequently on Miyake island.

And the owl baby quilt  has now taken charge of his own progress,
Supervising from the entry-way door.

He is now getting some chest feathers.

Once that section is done, he will get some wings.

Then I will have to audition fabrics for the background and borders.

I have all kinds of blue scraps if I decide to put sky, and also many leaf prints. It will depend mostly on what will not hide the owl.

And today ... Ta daa! ... a new star has joined my block collection!

About a week ago, I had a message from Tanya at Taniwa, asking if I would mind if she made me a block for my followers quilt.

Mind?  You gotta be kidding!
Here is what she made for me ... Isn't it fantastic!

Those who have visited the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko would recognize the sleeping cat right away. Tanya paper-pieced this cat and even added the star points. Yes, that block has Tanya written all over it! I absolutely love that little kitty. I could never have done this with a four-inch block.

I am hoping one of these days Tanya and I will meet in person. Certainly our trails have overlapped a great deal. When my son took my paper diary and put it onto a blog, I was away at the BSA Jamboree and arrived back at his home to be introduced to my new paperless diary. To make it look more authentic, he put up a sidebar of other quilt bloggers ... and right on top was "Taniwa".
So ... we have been linked from day one ... making Tanya my longest blogging friend! (Thanks Jon. Great pick)! This is not the first gift I have received from Tanya either. I have a beautiful table runner she sent me too. Also with this charming kitty, she sent me a doggy handkerchief, No note but the piece is sponsored by the "Japan Small Animal Veterinary Association" to encourage the recovery from the earthquake and Tsunami.

Like the vet who helped the owl, there are other kind and compassionate vets,giving help where needed ... and good citizens supporting their efforts by buying cute doggy hankies.
Thank you, Tanya. I am blessed by your friendship.

My collection is growing ... even though I have slacked off a bit.

(I am finding I have a serious shortage of pink fabric and that is what I need for my next block).
I am not going to buy more fabric so more digging is in order.

I just love how these blocks are getting along with each other. Quilt bloggers are the greatest! Even their blocks are welcoming new ones.

Setting them out on the table is like going to a party.

Even when safely in their box, they seem to be having fun while awaiting one more quilter to join the group.

And, although children's day is over ... and probably everyone else has put away their decorations for another year, this table runner asked to be left out a wee bit more.

It is very old. Made from a tenugui in an age where we had a big house with a huge dining room table. It is even older than my paper diary so has never been added to the story of my quilts. From May 1 to May 5 is just too short exposure for a carp that has been hiding on a closet shelf for eleven months!

Enjoy your weekend. I know I will.

A star on a sunny day

I am really finding respect for all those "Dear Jane" quilts out there, with a vast inventory of four-inch blocks!

I thought this block would be great fun. I looked up "Wandering Foot" in some of my quilt block books, and this is what I found.

I drafted a pattern on a 4x4 piece of paper and pulled out some nature prints. Hmmm, those pieces are mighty small and my prints are rather large.

Oh well, on with the plan.

16 tiny curved seams later ... I am wondering if I have bitten off a great deal more than I can chew.
Why am I saving those templates? I don't think I will be trying this again soon.

Hunting through my cat prints there was not one cat resembling Dusty. If you want to see him, check out the header on Quiltin Cats. Most recent pictures are sleeping on quilts so this kind of fits. 

The wandering foot represents life in an RV, trucking around the country and taking us along with beautiful photographs. The bird in the bush represents Sandy's wonderful nature shots.

Sandy and I have been blogging friends for just about as long as I have had my blog. I think of her often when I begin to complain about cramped loving space. What fun it would be if one day our paths should cross.

One more thing to celebrate is my + and X quilt is now a finish.

It is way too windy for taking a picture of something this large. Maybe later in the week there will be better conditions.

I had plenty of white bias but I didn't like the look so I decided to turn the dotted fabric from the back to the front.

I can't believe how long this quilt has taken to complete. I need to find a large washing machine now to get this quilt clean after it has spent so much time in  Scout camp, on trains, planes, buses and meetings. I look forward to seeing this on our guest room bed.

Block 11, a star of a star

 If I don't say who this block represents, I wonder how many people can figure it out.

In the center is a red work bird reading a book. It might be a diary or recipe book. Then again, it might be a story book or some poetry. I will leave it up to the observer because any of those could be right.

The inner star has stars and wood.

The outer star is "pickle" fabric.
I wanted to make a connection between this block and the "Quilter's Book Club" for which I am using some of this same fabric.

Have you figured it out yet?
This blogger has made blocks to go with a diary. She has made a calendar quilt of those darling red work birds.
She often gives a recipe to go with the post. Sometimes, even some poetry.

She is also the leader of the Quilter's book club, where we enjoy and discuss a different book each month and make a block to represent that book.

If you have not guessed yet, go to A Starwood Quilter and get to know Susan Phillips. Although we have never met in person, we have had many exchanges and I look on her as a true friend. When I think back on my childhood schooling, I wonder how having such a teacher as Susan, might have changed my life or at least made those school days a whole lot happier. There are some lucky kids out there and the blogging world is a better place too.

Thanks Susan, you are a star of a star!

Small finishes

My small quilt group met today. I lugged my + and x quilt on train and bus and now have only about an hours worth of quilting before the binding can be put on. Between yesterday's train rides into town for choir practice  and today, I completed the points on another star.

Here is Lis's block with points. I had pulled out about ten different fall leaf prints but after trying several, kept coming back to the blue background.

Maybe cherry blossoms and fall leaves look a bit strange together but It was under the cherry trees last year that I walked and talked with Lis.

My other small finish was this quilt block I made for my April Quilters Book Club story.

I decided on this "Garden Path" for several reasons. I have chosen two dark "pickle" fabrics to use in each block. That has made my first blocks a bit on the dark side. I thought adding some floral prints, even two inch squares and half squares, would brighten up the block a bit more.

The book is "The Quilter's Apprentice" by Jennifer Chiaverini. At the end of the story, it is in the garden, that Sarah's husband Matt had so beautifully restored, where Sylvia and her sister-in-law, Mrs. Emberly, begin their reconciliation.. Now I am hoping to get the next book so I will be ready for May's reading.

This will probably be all the progress for a few days. I am off to the woods to camp with the boys. (and possibly teach them something about plants in the area). The train ride will be several hours each way and I have no sewing left to take ... and my book is finished ... well, I do have a book I can take. (and of course, the brain is in motion).
Have a nice weekend. I know I will.

Two more stars

Nothing like crummy weather to keep me sewing.
Teresa at Stitchin' Friends is not a frequent blogger and when I asked her about her likes, she responded, "I don't know". So... my friend ... you get my choice.

I have noticed that Teresa likes some of the same things that attract me.

She likes to have things organized.
She likes to work steadily on one project at a time.

She has made several of these twisted pinwheels, the latest a whole quilt. I have also made a few pieces in this pattern but it always drives me a bit crazy. Even so, I decided to put together a four inch block with these colors which she used most recently.

I cut some points to use but then, decided they weren't all that complimentary so this is what I ended up with ...

Well, Teresa used brown too but her border was a very fancy "snail's trail".

Other things we like in common are the heart table runner and the Lucy Boston quilt with crosses made of hexagons.
(I m slightly ahead of her on this one because I have already done that one twice.

If you visit Teresa's blog, be sure to look back through her posts to see her entry in the Houston Quilt Show. "Circus Stars" was a "Featured Quilt".
Also check out what she is putting together now!

My number ten friend also makes me smile just thinking of her' Nadine at Friendship Threads not only quilts, but crochets and knits. It's nice to have all those warm things because she tells me she is a "Winter Girl".

I went through my scrap bins and found lots of snowflake prints.

I also decided on a basket because that is what Nadine is working on at this time.

Is a basket of snow enough?

Well, I found some more in other colors but rather liked the pick of these three that represent the colors of the Belgium flag, which is where Nadine lives.


I also had to add a few XOXOXO
because in the past blogging years, I have received so many of these from Nadine.

My next victim ... er... subject is Susan Phillips. I could just make a star out of a wood print (I even know where to find that fabric in my collection) but This one will take a lot more thought because four inches will never say it all!

two more blocks become stars

A Sunday trip into town is a good time to make progress, but only if you plan ahead.
Saturday evening I cut a few more triangles for turning my little friend blocks into stars.

I pulled out a few water prints from my stash to see if there might be something to add to the lake, but when I compared them to the block, they looked more like a stormy sea than that placid scene on Marlene's header.

I had a strip left over from my grandson's "big boy" quilt and the batik looked almost like water drops on a lake. I decided on more trees around the lake and am satisfied with the result.

I had cut enough for three stars but decided to tackle the hardest one first.

(Not that it was so difficult to sew together, it's just that I had to pin the fabrics in place so I would get them where I wanted them before losing all the pins).

I was happy to find more sparkly fabric, blue, gold, olive and hearts all have some glittery print.

Then I went back to my stitchery book and hunted up a few stitches that were within my limited ability.

I am working on a new block now but I still have one more set of points to add on my next train trip. I find it interesting that these friends of mine have managed to stretch my limits in new directions with absolutely no effort on their part. Bur then, I think that is a part of what friendship is all about.

I also still have one more edge to quilt on my + and x quilt before I can add the binding. The weekend was quite cold but today the sun has come out to remind me that if I don't get that done, it will be way too hot to hold on my lap before much longer.

Wishing you, too, a happy and fruitful week.

Followers become stars

Well, I have a ton more respect for Cynthia since trying my hand at sashiko. Perhaps I should go to her for a few lessons.

I have to admit that four inches is a bit small for all these stitch patterns. One strand of embroidery floss was a too fine so I went with a  number 16 silk thread that comes wrapped on a card.
Perhaps I would have done better to use quilting thread and a finer needle.

There were lots of patterns I wanted to try but they were difficult to draft in such a small size.

I also began adding the points to some of the blocks.

I tried adding some designs in the star points but I am not sure any of what I drafted will be added.

A fan shape fit but was too small to make it work.

A dragonfly might work and I gave up on the linked plovers and the wave design.

I may just call it quits while I am ahead. If you want to see really lovely sashiko, check out Cynthia's blog.

I have to add that Cynthia is a personal friend, living here in Tokyo. She has helped greatly with two of the ASIJ auction quilts.

I hope the blessing that is her friendship will continue even after she returns to the States.


Here are a few more points I have added to turn my followers into stars.

Linda loves blue and yellow

Cheryl gets another teapot and  more color.

My left-handed guru gets a bit more Japanese fabric

And, Susan 's has a bit more of the print used in the lucky block.

The other three finished blocks are still in the thinking process. Even with the size having moved from four inches to eight, this will never be enough for a quilt, so I will move on down my list.I think there are a few more followers out there who have not let me know what they would like on their blocks......

Follower's block, lucky seven

I am really enjoying the time it takes to think of my blogging friends. The next person on my list does not have a blog so I can not go there to spy on her likes and dislikes, or send the rest of you there for a visit.

Susan has something in common with me. Both of us left our homes to marry someone and move to the other side of the world. I went west and ended up in the far east. She went east and ended up in Dubai. I looked through my block books, hoping to find an interesting block that represented east and west. Not finding one that spoke to me of Susan, I picked something else.

This block is called "Lucky Block".
I thought it was appropriate because I was lucky to meet Susan earlier this year. Not only that,  she was lucky to win a trip to the Tokyo Dome Quilt Show, coming all the way from Dubai to Tokyo.

We spent a day together, and at one shop we both bought a pack of the same fabric, a selection of warm browns from light to dark.

I decided to use some of these in the block for her and added a camellia print as the sasanqua were blooming at that time of year.

I will continue to think of her often and our short time together. I also have developed great respect for all the bloggers out there making those "Dear Jane" quilts with hundreds of little blocks. Trying to get all those little pieces into one four-inch block is not an easy task!

Cheers, my friend. When you begin a blog, I will become a loyal follower.

Follower's block 6

Sitting next to my computer, on the top of my thread stand, is this charming card made by "Queenie".

Note the eyes ... watching me make the next "followers block" and you can imagine why it has taken me so long.

Queenie is a master of needlework. You can check out her blog and see for yourself .

Queenie lives in the area and I have been fortunate to meet her in person twice. She is also a friend of Lis of Piece'n Peace, who I also met a year ago. How interesting that two out of those blocks have more of a connection than just comments on a post.

After struggling for several weeks, I have come to the conclusion I will never be satisfied with whatever I come up with.

I wanted something with sparkle but finding cotton  was a challenge and I didn't think sequins and beads would work on a bed cover.
I wanted something with a Japanese touch but was not so happy with the center piece once it was in place.
I thought the spool fabric had meaning but the color is not so stunning.
I added Queenie's initials but that print, although a good size, is too light in color. Then I spent a number of fruitless hours searching for a piece of blue fabric printed with little flags, When it turned up, there was no flag of Sweden.

Ah well, when all you have is lemons ... make lemonade! So I added a bit of flawed stitchery. If you want the real thing, you will have to visit Queenie. She is a great person to get to know. She is a font of knowledge  and generous in sharing it with others.
Though the block is not so hot, it will be enough to remind me of the warmth and sparkle of this friend.

AND... for those of you who wonder about my caterpillar pinewood derby car, It hit a snag in the track twice and flipped. The second flip broke out the wheel, which went sailing across the room. My competitors were quite happy to see it eliminated. It made the District races one car shorter, and it has been added to the inventory of "cars from the past" on my Scouting blog.
Many of my former cars have been on exhibit at the National Jamboree the last few Jambos, but this year there will be no Boys' Life Whittlers at the new site. I will be curious to see what the future will bring as the site gets further developed.

The + and X block quilt has only a tiny bit more to go before adding the binding. Now as I work, I will be thinking of the next block of my blogging friends.

Another block done

Well, block #5 is mostly done. I am still thinking of what to use for the setting star points.

Marlene suggested the Arkansas traveler block and I found about seven different ones by that name, but I found this in several books and thought it might work..  I think the green leaf print as representing the trees surrounding her lake, blue for the water with the mist rising. I know Marlene loves embroidery and red work. Well, I sure could use a bit more practice. For thread I just used regular sewing thread because this in only a four inch block.
Marlene has been my blogging friend for as long as I have had my blog. Each of her comments is a blessing.
Marlene is a great example to us all, not only talking her faith but walking the talk, serving others through mission work and putting other's needs first.
How interesting it was to be sewing these little pieces together in church, while waiting for choir practice and the Good Friday service to begin. It seems there is more than stitching that connects us and I am ever blessed by her friendship.

And, if this tiny bit of embroidery was a challenge, I am going to have to practice a bit more, because the next person on my list is the "Queen" of stitchery.
 Eeek! What have I gotten myself into???

Meanwhile, Tomorrow will be a super-busy day. There are three services to sing and I'm sure they will run overtime. Then my Cub Pack is running their Pinewood derby ... the only afternoon we could book at the American Club ... and that will be followed by Easter dinner back at home with family (and extended family).

My car is almost done but still needs to add a bit of weight. I wish that were as simple as feeding it!

I was thinking of adding nylon fish line hairs to his back but probably that would be more effort than it is worth.

The block of wood was chipped at the axle slots when it came out of the box and it did not do well when I added the feet in that location. I'm rather glad that a little cub did not get that block of wood to deal with.
I remember the days when I used to look forward to the weekends to recover and re-group after a busy week. Now I am beginning to look forward to mid-week when I can recover from the busy weekends!

A very Happy Easter to you all!