As spring pushes its way forward, we have had temperature whiplash here in Nebraska. More so than I ever remember. As I write this, the morning light that was streaming in my window has turned dark enough that I now need the light. 80’s one day and 27 the next. And they say climate change isn’t real!

I have been going through some changes myself, that is frustrating. What I thought was a problem with my hip, may be a problem with my back. I have had to resort to a walking stick, as I navigate my way through this issue. I am slow and clumsy, and the effort it takes to get from A to B is exhausting. I am determined to keep going but, man is it hard. The Chiropractor is trying to get me moving, and I have an appointment next week with a new doctor. We will see.

Finally motivated by getting stuff out of my hair, I managed to get a quilt done for my grandson. My grand boys are no longer boys but young men. This one will be getting his learner’s permit next year. Both are big boys. Very tall and G has out matched my 5’9″. So the quilt had to be made larger to accommodate him. It was a fun project, and I decided to quilt it myself to save on expense. Each rectangle got its own quilting pattern but it was a bit bigger than my machine could handle comfortably. Oh to have space for a long arm!!! Lots of twists and turns and folding!

I wanted to learn how to machine embroider larger designs, in the confines of my Bernina 570, so I am taking a class and making a Hawaiian wall hanging. The sample is all bold bright colors on a white background, which I don’t do. So, I reimagined it, and I am liking the results. There are 4 corners that you appliqué and embroider in the hoop. Then you take the 4 corners and stitch them together to make a larger design. Each square will finish at 10″ and there are 12 squares total. After all of them are complete I am going to put a 4″ banding in between each square and then I will build some borders. Challenging for sure and I have decided to let it evolve. One decision to the next, will hopefully lead to the right solution. I am making it for Florida. After telling her about G’s quilt she said, well I want one. I was shocked! So stay tuned.

The big news is my granddaughter has come home. She has moved in with us, for the time being, and we are thrilled to have her with us. It was such a wonderful Easter with most of my chick’s around the table. We decorated the Easter Table together. I asked her to pick the dishes and she did exactly what I had hoped. We had the best time adding and subtracting until we got it just so. My youngest grandson said “oh fancy”. I said “is that good or bad?” He said it was good. It’s fun to do fancy, particularly when it doesn’t cost you any money.

Starting with these wonderful tea towel’s I picked up many years ago at TJ Maxx, I haven’t used them in years but, I love the way they work with the Wedgwood Williamsburg Potpourri. Dishes purchased when I was 18! I still love them. The dinner plate is also Wedgwood from my mom. Cream on cream with an embossed edge. Just beautiful.

Next we added the glass cake stand. I don’t think it has ever seen a cake! With a fringed napkin to soften the edges it raises the centerpiece enough so I can actually do a centerpiece. The table at 29″ wide makes it a challenge to do anything interesting. Adding the tin bunny and surrounding him with spring, lambs, eggs, some dried roses, and of course Easter eggs, polish off the stand.

We experimented with different ways to add the napkins. Different rings, on the plate, to the left and ultimately decided to keep it simple and tuck the napkins under the plates.

These napkins are gorgeous. I made them a few years ago on an old Pottery Barn plain napkin. Got to love the Bernina!!!

Over scaled and over the top, but boy do they make a statement. No shrinking violet here. The table task complete we set our sight on Easter morning. H wanted to do Eggs Benedict her way, and boy was it a hit. We poached the eggs in a muffin tin with 1 TBS of water and in the oven 350 for 9-14 min. We found in our muffin tin 14 min was the sweet spot. Spray the pan with pam first. An easy way to poach a lot of eggs at once.

As it was my youngest daughter’s birthday too, we celebrated with strawberry shortcake. Her personal favorite. So coffee downed, wine was drunk, and lingering over a great meal with family. Couldn’t ask for anything better than that. I am so thankful to have H with us, because she did the lions share of the grunt labor. I would have had to cancel the morning had she not been here to help.

Thanks for stopping

Shelley