Is it Spring or Summer?  Today, it's really hard to tell.  The calendar says 31 May but the thermometer says 90 degrees.  For Northern NY, this is most definitely unusual weather.  Not quite two weeks ago it was still snowing!  It's pointless to question Mother Nature, but sometimes I just have to wonder about her mood swings. 

So, today, despite the heat, I'm going to pretend it's still Springtime and share a photo of the pretty flowers my boys gave me for Mother's Day. 

                                  The great thing about these is that the boys thought to get them all on their own!  My oldest boy even arranged to have one of his school friends, whose mother makes jewelry, bring in a few of her pieces so that he could pick out a secret present.  Normally, my Eagle1 hauls the boys to the store to pick out a little something, but he isn't here this year and I think the thought that the boys put into their selections means just as much, if not more, to me than the actual gift.

On warm days, like today, it's hard for me to find the motivation to break out the big quilting projects, so I normally dig around in my bin of "take alongs" and find something small to play with.  The other day, while Eagle1 was home on a weekend pass, he picked up a stomach bug that landed him in the ER.  Knowing that our ER is slow as molasses, I made sure to pack a little take along to keep me busy while we waited.  While digging through the Ziploc bags of this and that, mostly cross stitch and embroidery, I found these two little kitchen towels that I finished a while ago.  I don't recall where or when I finished them, but there they were in the baggie, folded so neat. 

The April Bunny iron-on stayed under the iron just a bit too long, leaving a heat mark on the fabric.  I doubt it will wash out, but it's really okay.  These are just for drying the dishes in our own little home so not to worry about making a good impression.  I think I only have 4 more towels to go before all 12 months are complete.  Good thing too, because my old dish towels need to be replaced soon. 

Something that brought a big sunny smile to my face yesterday was an email from my friend Kay from Illinois. She works in the medical field and one of her nursing friends is expecting a baby girl soon.                                                            Kay was looking for a shower gift

and remembered all of the little quilts I make.  She wrote yesterday to say that the quilt she bought for the baby was a hit with all of her nursing friends and that she shared my Facebook page with them to help bring in a little business for me!  What an awesome friend I have!

One last thing to share that reminds me of Spring is the "Simply Woven" quilt I am making for another friend, Sarah in Massachusetts.  I found this pattern at the Moda Bake Shop website, here-  http://www.modabakeshop.com/2012/10/simply-woven-quilt.html#more  .  My version is done all in scrappy fashion with plenty of lime green variations (Sarah's favorite color). 

These are the first 12 blocks of 42 total.  They measure out to 12.5" each and I think I've completed 14 or 15 so far.  Still a long ways to go, not just with the piecing, but the quilting too, because this one will be done by hand with perle cotton in all the colors of the rainbow.  I'll have more photos later as progress is made. 

In the meantime, the Stone Soup Charm Quilt project is still alive, although I had to jump start it a time or two the past 6 months to keep it ticking.  I've made it to #184 of the 2" squares being sewn into 4" blocks.  A few more folks contributed to the quilt which gave me a reason to buy a few new charm packs to work with.  (Do we ever really need a reason to buy fabric? An excuse is more like it!)  I don't have any recent pics to share of this project, but maybe soon...

Until then, Happy Stitching everyone! 

P.S.-If you are taking a break between blocks, check out my FB page:  www.facebook.com/sugartreestitching  for the other tidbits that aren't posted here!