Never trust a groundhog

Spring seems to have come and gone since my last post. Well, it's that time of year. I'll have to put up with cold fingers and runny noses for a few more weeks. Depending on what our venerable groundhogs tell us tomorrow. They always see their shadows, don't they? I think they just see the crowd of people watching them and scurry back into their dens.

Here's a teaser with a bit of colour in it - to take our minds off the ice and snow and just plain cold here in Canada and the US. Besides, it's February and time for everyone to be wearing their hearts on their sleeves. This is part of my latest and "simple" project.

Why isn't anything simple? I settled an argument with my sewing machine the other day. It kept chewing at a corner of a square I was trying to sew. It had multiple seams, but that's never been a problem before. Finally, after a long and tense negotiation that culminated in the liberal application of oil to almost all of its moving parts, I put the walking foot on. Problem solved and we're on speaking terms again for the time being. 

During the "negotiations", I removed the hook race to oil behind it. I oil my sewing machine often that I was surprised to hear anything squeaking. But I don't pay as much attention to that area as I should because once I take it apart, it takes me forever to put it back together - two smooth and slippery pieces of metal to be placed exactly so inside a tiny little nest of more smooth metal, with my butterfingers. So a few drops of oil took care of the squeaking. I also cleaned out the frightening accumulation of fuzz built up inside it. Then spent half an hour getting it put back together. That was 20 minutes of pure frustration, a 10 minute time-out, 30 seconds of looking at the sewing machine manual, and another 30 seconds to follow the instructions and put everything back in the proper place. Geeez. The manual. Who would've thunk?

It still didn't solve the chewing problem. But the walking foot did.

Marilyn, one of my local quilting friends, asked me recently what I liked in fabric. The short answer is that I like anything that I can't resist buying! But it made me think about it and put words to my preferences: rich colours, metallics, small prints, swirly lines and patterns, flowing shapes from nature, and cats!

I have more than enough fabric to keep me going for the next year or two. So why is it that I'm often faced with the fact that my stash is lacking in certain areas? From what I hear and read, it's a problem that all quilters have. Light, silvery grays and mauve/lilac shades are among the missing among my collection. Must remedy this soon.

Make play while the sun shines. Look at all those nose prints on the window!

 Tomorrow night's New Moon is at 13 Aquarius 54 - almost 14 Aquarius. The Sun and Moon will be joined by Mars in Aquarius, electrifying the usual New Moon effects. If it weren't for the steadying influence of Saturn which they all trine, Mars might throw sudden heated and impulsive behaviour to the mix. But that shouldn't be the case this time. Look for inspiration through quilting groups and friends, lots of excitement and new ideas, trying new techniques. This would be a good month to work on quilts you plan to donate to humanitarian causes. Keep a pen and paper handy as ideas will be flowing quickly and soon forgotten. Aquarian colours include electric blue, light gray and white.

Until next time,