[QuilterInVA]

Good morning, ladies! 35 degrees and sunshine today. We had weather in the 60s earlier in the week. The daffodils are up about 3 inches and my azela is getting green leaves. Everything is going to end up freezing again.

Thursday was Glory Bee and yesterday was Needle and Hand Bee. I'm going to drop Needle and Hand. It's a long drive and the members have changed over the years to the point I hardly know anyone because they live in Portsmouth and Suffolk and they are a lot younger. Which is good because I want quilting to keep going.

My English friend, Irene, came to visit me yesterday evening. We had a nice cup of tea and solved the world's problems. She's going back to England for 6 months and may move back permanently. She has family there and none here.

One of my friend's husband had a really freak accident. He was taking the trash bin to the curb and a gust of wind shoved it into it and the handle hit the inside of his right leg. He's on blood thinners and a huge hemotoma developed right away so they went to the emergency doc. They sent him home with instructions to keep it iced. It got worse and an infection developed so they had to surgical open it and clean it out. They put a wound vac on it and it started to get better but now it's infected again and they are going to have to do it all again. I'm really worried about Donnie because that's basically how Stan had to have his leg amputated.

The kit for the Jinny Beyer quilt came so now I need to get upstairs and match thread to fabric and see if I need to get more. JoAnn's is having a 20% off total purchase and today is the last day. I'm so old I remember when thread was 15 cents and now I pay $6.79 for the same size spool. It's made by Aurfil in Italy and is the best I have ever used. I have a lot of thread. I use 50wt in the sewing machine, 28 wt for quilting, 40 wt. for hand piecing and 60, 80 or 100 wt for hand applique and invisible thread for machine applique.

Jean, I need to do the lid-container match up, too. I hate doing it. Enjoy your new iphone.

Have a wonderful day!

[Jean]

Good Evening! Another sunless day in my neighborhood. The never ending wind made it seem colder than the thermometer said it was. We went to Sioux City for a new coffee pot and cruising clothes for Bob. My coffee pot wasn't that old and I've cleaned it with vinegar a couple times. Yesterday I noticed what looked like a leak on the warming plate where the water tank touches it. The pot had a couple brown specks on the outside which I wiped off not thinking anything about it. Today when I picked the pot up I noticed the bottom had a crack half way around the pot. I was glad I hadn't turned it on or I might have had coffee all over! Bob made a quick trip to the coffee shop for breakfast coffee! Because I used my Penneys card, a shirt sale of "buy one and get the second one for half price," a tie sale of "buy one and get the second one for a penny" plus 20% on the shorts, I saved $119.32! Makes me wonder how they make any money but I'm not complaining! I was surprised there was such a big selection of summer clothes this early. We met Beth and her family at Texas Roadhouse for an early supper. I ordered a chicken salad and it was the worst salad I've ever had! There was hardly any lettuce, mostly tomatoes, eggs, and carrots with chicken baked in mushy breading. Yuck! Maddy said her corn tasted funny so she ate Beth's mixed vegetables. Bob and Will both ordered steak and said they were very good. Maybe steak is their specialty along with the rolls and peanuts. We had a gift card to use so that is done. When we were heading to the car ran into a couple we have known for years, she and I taught together. We always say we're going to get together and never seem to get the job done.

Susan, we were pretty much down to bare ground until the last snow. I'll take the snow over the ice any day! It's hard to picture flowers coming up yet although we've had daffodils push through snow before. We notice it is staying lighter later. Do you still go to the Ladies of the Night quilting group? I love that name! I know you will miss Irene if she decides to move. I hope Donnie's leg will heal as it should. That is scary! I didn't know thread came in so many different weights. We just have WM now, and they have NO selection. There are no fabric stores in Sioux City any more and I'm not sure about Sioux Falls. There are a couple of quilting shops in nearby towns which is nice for the quilters.

I need to decide what I'm wearing to church tomorrow. It seems like my choices are black, black, or black. I will need to iron something before I head to bed. Hope you enjoy a nice Sunday tomorrow.