While working on the Blockhead quilt last weekend, the postage stamp 8-patches really stacked up.

I put a really good dent in the basket of four patches.

And now the giant ziploc is filling up again.

That said, I really don’t think I have anywhere near enough. The eight patches will be sewn into 16 patches…

And those only add up to a 6 inch finished square. We are going to need A LOT of them to make a decent sized quilt. It’s a good thing mom’s been cutting more 2 inch scraps for me!

Lord Burton Bearbottom would like to wish all his fans a Happy Valentines Day!

May your day be filled with treats and snuggles!

Unlike those prognosticating rodents, Rupert doesn’t think we’ll get an early spring. And he’s staying wrapped up nice and warm until at least mid-April.

In other news… Louis is alive!!!! I was starting to get really worried, because while it’s not warm out there, it been up around the freezing mark all week with no sign of him – but other cats were out and about. But then, I checked the cameras Wednesday night and…

There he was coming up the steps. He stayed for about five minutes for a snack and went on his way. I’m hoping he starts coming around during the day time soon.

On Sunday, I did something I rarely do. I forced myself to work on a project I’m not in love with…. the Blockhead quilt. I explained why I fell out of love in a previous post. And, as much as I wanted to start something new – I knew if I didn’t work on this one now, I never would.

I was really hoping I could finish the whole top… but to be honest, that was a fruitless hope and I knew it. Top assembly alone usually takes all afternoon and I still had six blocks left to make. There was no way to do that AND assemble the top – even though I started at 10 am.

When last you saw the project, it looked like this.

The next step was to create six more of them, but with the colours mixed up a bit. I’d distracted myself a work one day last week by planning that out.

A very high-tech road map, as you can see.

So… I decided to start with the hardest block. The one with the Half-Square Rectangles. There is apparently a ruler that makes these much each to create, but I don’t have it. So I had to take it slow. Eventually, I managed them.

Thought they are far from perfect. But I’m operating on the theory that the cute skunk will distract your eye from the imperfections anyway. And with that block out of the way, the other five went as smoothly as could be.

It still took until dinner time, but I am thrilled to show you all 12 finished blocks together.

I may play with the layout before sewing them together, but as of this moment, this is the best arrangement for the colours/prints as made.

This weekend, I’ll sew them all together, add some borders and finally say goodbye to this project. At least until it’s time to quilt it – but that’s probably a month or two off.

I’ve made some very good progress on the shrug last week.

The sleeve really picks up as it’s decreasing every five rows. Of course, I’m still a fair ways from completion. Once the sleeve is done, I still have to pick up eleventy billion stitches around that body opening and knit miles of ribbing. If I can get this one off the needles by the end of the month, I’ll be a very happy girl.

It’s was Burton’s turn to oversee the tiny stitches this past weekend.

We’ve now moved on the the alphabet part of the sampler, and this weekend’s work went just swimmingly!

We completed the first row of letters (and some candle-holding meeces). Well mostly completed. They still need some orange and spider webs so they match the numbers lower down.

But I will wait and do another row or two. Then I’ll complete all that detail work before moving the hoop up.

There’s one last project completed during the weekend at Mom’s that I’ve yet to show you.

It started the week before. I was distracting myself at work while browsing facebook, when an ad for a harvest apron came up. Now I have eleventy billion baskets – I have no need for a harvest apron. But they also hold tools and such – and that could be handy. One of the reasons I like my dresses to have pockets is to hold stuff while in the garden – but they aren’t great for holding a trowel.

So… I started browsing other types of gardening aprons. But all of them are full-size aprons, and I just thought and extra layer would be too warm in our sweltering summers. It was then I decided to look up patterns for aprons, and I came across this one.

I sent it to Mom, and she agreed it would be perfect – and pretty easy to make too. And I had just the fabric for it.

A line called Planted With Love. (I had a half-yard bundle, but the apron can be made with all fat quarters.) I brought it with me to Mom’s and while I was working away at the long-arm, she was sewing me a garden apron.

I told you they were the perfect fabrics!

This is not the best modeled picture I’ve ever done, but at least it gives you an idea of how it looks on. I think it’s going to be just perfect for keeping things handy while I’m out and about in the garden.

Now… if all that snow would do me a favour and melt…

Although most of the prognosticating rodents, (and one prescient lobster) here in Canada..

predicted an early spring for us, it’s certainly hard to believe it in my garden.

Friday night another blizzard blew threw. Dave and I got caught in on the way home from Sarnia that evening – and boy was it a doozy. But we made it home safe, if a little slower than usual.

There are signs of spring out there though…

If you look closely, you’ll see catkins on my pussy willow. Sadly, I can’t get closer for better pictures unless I want boots full of snow.

Instead, I’m staying inside and dreaming

I’ve got several seed catalogues to help see me through until the snow melts.

And these adorable little handmade, recycled envelopes are full of native wildflower seeds. I ordered them in December from the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library!!!

Quite a few of them require cold stratifcation (ie the seeds have to be cold for a while before they will germinate) so I think they will be just perfect for some Winter Sow containers. I think that will be a good project for next weekend.

On my way to Mom’s, I made a slight detour to a large garden centre near her house.

I needed a couple replacement cacti for my gothic plant house I keep on the kitchen counter.

It perfectly holds six little pots, each with a cacti or succulent. But two had grown too large and had to be moved on, so I needed two more to replace them. This particular garden centre always has a good selection of cacti in tiny pots.

It didn’t take too long to pick out two perfect little babies to join the family. But then… something else caught my eye…

See those little purple bits??? Those are FLOWERS!!! One was actually in full bloom when I bought it, but sadly, I forgot to take a picture right away and it faded before I got the chance. I’ve never had a cactus in bloom before! I can’t wait for the others to open!

And last, I came across something I have been looking for quite a while…

It’s a Boobie Cactus!!! Ok… well actually, it’s scientific name is Myrtillocactus geometrizans Fukurokuryuzinboku…. but plant people just call it the Boobie Cactus. Don’t believe me???

It was on the label!!!!

Now I just need to find a penis cactus…

Yup… Mom’s cat Winnifred is still beautiful.

And she still hates me.