April 2012 Desktop Calendar

I'm at a retreat at Sky-Vue Lodge in Winslow Arkansas, and I've had puh-lenty of time to get some of the things on my To Do List checked off. This is the view from the porch off my room

My friend Peggy took these photos with her phone - aren't they gorgeous?

That's a Luna Moth - before the bird got him. Below was all that was left of him this morning. Damn bird.

Anyway - here's the April calendar - Click on it to expand the image to full size, right-click and choose Set as Wallpaper or Background. To really jazz up your desktop, right-click on your background and choose a color that coordinates with the calendar - you'll be the envy of your cubicle!

R&R

I took a few days off from the craziness at my house and retreated with some quilting buddies. Didn't get a whole lot done other than make the one extra Turning Twenty duvet cover I've needed for the past 3 years over at the retreat, and start on the 240 blocks I'll need for the new duvets at the Cabin Too (our log cabin that's being readied for its new life as another, smaller retreat facility.)
The first 49 blocks...ugh.
Packets of 2.5" strips for the 12" log cabin blocks.
Piles of leftover scraps with the Marti Michel Log Cabin Ruler I used to make the several hundred strips I've cut so far. I've only done some of the pink, yellow and green strips, and I'm looking forward to cutting the next 500 or so strips. Maybe I'll go ahead and schedule that root canal instead. My friendKaren, The Quilt Rambler,has offered me the use of her AccuQuilt Go cutter so I can cut those strips a lot faster. I'll still use Marti's ruler to subcut them into each round's exact length, though, cuz the blocks themselves went together really fast. And I need fast.
Or maybe I'll go through some of the goodies the retreaters exchanged. That little mug thingy has a fabric insert that we all signed for each other - just need to decorate it, do a quick quilting job on it, and stick it between the plastic layers for a java-filled reminder of my quilting friends til I see them again in the fall.
Peggy & I went for a little walk across the road to Ozark Folkways Heritage Center to see what kind of goodies we could find. They have classes in basket-weaving, rug hooking (The Happy Hookers!), pottery-throwing, jewelry-making, weaving, spinning...all kinds of stuff.
Look up. Yes, that's a quilt stapled to the ceiling! Wow.


Very folksy, in a rustic old stone building, with lots of charming crafts...except for this creepy doll.It looks like a clown playing the wolf playing Grandma in Little Red Riding Hood. Scary as hell. But so you won't have nightmares, here's something cute!A weird little Italian antique box with Baby Jesus swaddled to look like a mer-baby. I almost bought it. Glad I didn't. Sorry - not much of a "palate cleanser."Oh wait! I bought something!Looks great on my mantle!