Thursday 18 March 2021

Quilting-Scrappy and Hexagons, Leaping Hares and What Do You Think???


It is remarkable how true this is.  Sections of our trails through the thicker wood and the chill just hangs in the air with a noticeable drop in temperature, while mere steps away the sun is beating down warming everything. 
But overnight temperatures dipping well below zero are keeping our little pond a frozen expanse.
The wind has stopped...gosh that made walking so cold in spots.
Including the little wetland below to the left of it. This is a part of our walking trails that is now off limits as even though we have cleats on our boots, we don't take a chance with falling.  We probably won't get to walk over there again till late July when the path nearer the woods  dries up for a brief time.  This is where I've spotted unusual ducks and the regular ducks swimming but so hard to get close enough for photos.

We did this this week. Grateful for the free service and so useful for pantry items.
I've been busy stitching as always. Several more Sawtooth Stars, in particular, this one,
that features the Leaping Hare, a very common motif in quilting and cross stitching designs.
And here it shows up in the Rifle Company fabric line, Wildwood.

I've not had the best of luck getting photos of the many many rabbits living around us here. I took the one below at Daughter's house where the rabbits visit her bird feeder which rests on the ground. They seem very tame compared to ours here. 
I'm also diligently quilting the Hexagons on my coffee table runner. Hand stitching at night in front of the tv. which, as you know I enjoy, though I do feel the weather will be decidedly more spring like by the time this is finished, hopefully. I've outlined each hexagon using one of those heat erasable blue marking pens as a guide for the stitching. 

I got out my scrap bags last weekend and made a right mess in the sewing room. I managed to cobble together four more of these super scrappy blocks. I haven't evened them up yet.  I found the mess I made a little overwhelming, truthfully. I couldn't wait to get it all stuffed back in the bags and out of sight.
I'm sharing some news/photos about this girl, Abbey, daughter's dog.  She has had puppies!
Here she is patiently waiting by the truck for SIL. She's so loving and also loyal... has never needed to be leashed as stays close to her people no matter the distractions. I wish Murphy could be like that. 

We are discussing whether we will get one of the puppies. Hubby has always had 2 (sometimes more) dogs at a time and would love another. But at our ages... and then there is Murphy's feelings to consider too. She loves to see Abbey and other dogs, but how would she feel about one staying here and a puppy at that. Also Hubby has always adopted rescue dogs and feels strongly about doing that...this would be a first time to have a puppy. What do you think??

35 comments :

Brian's Home Blog said...

WOW, it sure looks cold, pretty, but cold. Lovely stitchings too. Puppies are so cute and maybe you could do a trial for a day or two to see what Murphy really thinks. Thanks for joining our Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!

Yvonne said...

Whatever you decide about the puppy or another rescue dog will work, if you're ready to embrace it. I've always thought rescues come along when you most need them. It will always be best for your current beloved dog if you pick a second dog that shows submissiveness to your older dog, and not take over the top dog position your older dog enjoys. I so admire your quilting. Love the red rabbit square in your sawtooth star. Spring has sprung early here, along with rain and rain and rain. My gardens are mush at the moment although spring seems to be springing here :) Your rabbit photo is so cute. Looks different from the rabbits I have.

Timmy Tomcat said...

Brrrrr cold. But in years past Dad would have been out looking around and would have stayed off that due to fall through which is never good in that kind of cold. Love your work! Thanks

Linda said...

Oh gosh, I would be going through the same dilemma about adopting a puppy. We lost our precious Buddy in January, and we had had him since he was a puppy 15 years ago. We have 4 cats, and we've talked about adopting another dog but have hesitated to even look for one. There is an ease of being able to leave cats in the house for extended periods of time that is not the case for dogs. But I know if a puppy showed up at our door we would sweep him right up into our lives!
I love your scrappy blocks but understand about the mess involved. And that Sawtooth Star is gorgeous!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

I love dogs but do not have any - do you want to train a puppy - going through all those clean ups in the house until one is trained takes awhile - will it get under foot and possible make you trip and fall? well it be a small dog that will do well on a leash if you need to walk with it? I had always thought that if I was by myself I would want a dog and I like big dogs (hubby doesn't want pets) my daughter reminded me that big dogs can pull quite hard and she has actually had a hard time holding onto her dog when on a leash and it has actually made her fall a couple times - lots to think about for getting a pet.
love your hexies.

Kathe W. said...

Gorgeous photos! Brrrr. And your quilts are amazing! Have a fun day every day!

Sandee said...

I had to put a wrap on to view the picture. It got cold.

What Brian said. The downside to that is you'll fall in love in that trial run. It's a good idea to see what Murphy thinks.

Have a fabulous Thankful Thursday. ♥

Nancy J said...

Love your views, the pond would be so enticing for skating if it was solid ice. A puppy, I have told Hugh, NO more cats or kittens, I am too old to train another one, if we were on a big block of land it might be different, but I am realistic. At 80, someone else might have to take over.Ask Murphy!!!

Scrapatches said...

I always feel sew inspired when I visit your blog. That Sawtooth Star is a beautiful choice of fabric. Your hand quilting is looking lovely. Although we have had cold winds, most of our snow is gone. There is still some ice on the ponds, though. The local bunnies like to visit our bird feeders in winter, too. Puppies are very cute. The idea about having one visit to see how Murphy might accept sounds like a good one. Thank you for linking up this week ... :) Pat

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Still wintry looking where you are, Jocelyn! That difference between sunshine and shade is the same at our house. A local columnist in our paper called it "Sprinter" this morning - spring/winter! Your sawtooth stars and he hexie project are always fun to see. A puppy would be a big adventure!

Rosemary Dickinson said...

It certainly still looks like winter in your pictures. Let's hope the warm weather is on the way. We're supposed to get snow overnight. I'm not looking forward to that! I love your scrap project. I love using up my scraps. I love your hexagon project. I never see to many rabbits in my area. I actually see more deer than anything else.

Jenny said...

To get a puppy or not, that is the question. Maybe another older resue dog might be best, I'm sure you have both discussed all options.
I know when we were looking for a new Birman kitten the breeder insuated that we were perhaps a little old to be taking on a kitten and might be better suited to purchase one of her older cats. The new kitten won and we got Gemma.

Karen said...

We harnessed up the princess and went walking on the trail that branches off our road and swings into Algonquin Park. It's a well used walking/ATV/Snowmobile trail. In places it was down to dirt and in shaded spots it was hard packed frozen about six inches deep. I got some snow in my winter CROCs stepping off the ice.
I've got all my supplies laid out ready to do some quilting, maybe this week.....maybe next. Our tax stuff is on the diningroom table. Planting supplies are stocked up in our "grow room" aka, upstairs bathroom. There is a shawl cast on (300+ stitches) but no knitting on it. I have an awful case of start-itis

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Jocelyn! Oh, a puppy. I think Murphy would get used to it and enjoy the companionship, just as you would. They are a LOT of work but for just a short time. Plus Murphy will help show it the ropes. I adore dogs and would love to have two or three but I'm so very allergic. Abbey is sitting so nice! What a good girl she is. I adore the photos of your pond and am SO glad to hear you don't trust the ice now. It is scary even in the dead of winter to me. My cousin fell through the ice and died while we were kids ice skating. We adore using Walmart, too, and use their pickup service often. ~smile~ Roseanne

Marvelous Marv said...

I Love your rabbit blocks and the scrappy squares! Brrr, I am glad we have warmed up here in the mountains in BC. D
oes your dog like other dogs? Then go for one of Abbey's puppies. When we got Cinnamon we had an older dog (girl dog named Bob). Cinnamon was the first dog we ever got that was NOT a rescue, she was a friend's dog's puppy (Ruby). Ruby and Cinnamon loved that there were visits. And Bob was happy we had another dog. She did get tired out by the puppy, but we made sure Bob had "time outs" from the new puppy. Particularly late afternoon and for the first year, they are separately.

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Wonderful quote, and nice photo of the rabbit. They have much smaller ears than desert rabbits.

Jackie said...

It still looks so cold there. All our snow is gone now and the sun is shining most days. We did get rain a couple of days ago but could use even more.

Love the quilt blocks.

God bless.

MissPat said...

That Dickens quote is so true. I'm going to stay out of the puppy conversation except to say that Murphy should get a vote. Here's hoping our warm up next week makes it up to you as well.
Pat

PaintedThread said...

That is quite the sheet of ice! I like the fussy cut hare. Your hexies look lovely. I'm big on rescues - I'd lean towards that. But puppies are cute! (then again, they're a lot of work I bet).

Siouxzq64@gmail.com said...

Oh your icy ponds look so pretty, but I am sure you are waiting for the ice to melt. Love your hexies, and star. I am for a rescue. I got Bobbin as a puppy, but I wanted a small companion, and they are hard to come by. Now I would get a bigger dog.

QuiltGranma said...

The thing about bunnies, they look so darling as long as they are in someone else's yard. My sis has them in hers and detests them.

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

Beautiful frozen pond.... be careful on that walk. Like all of your projects! Especially the Rabbit and the fabric. Your pictures are always a joy to look at. PUPPY - well, I would love to have one, but then Clay always reminds me as to the time it will take to train, etc. When it snowed last month, I was very glad that I did not a puppy to take outside....

But, I am very partial to Labs - loving dogs. Good luck on your decision. Hugs

Radka said...

I like your hare block :-)

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

Pretty views of the frozen pond. We have had a lot windy cold days, not my kind of walking weather. I love the cute Rabbit fabric. Your table runner is beautiful. Hubby and I go back and forth about getting another dog, I change my mind daily. If we ever did get another dog, it would be a rescue. Puppies are so cute, but so much work trying to train them. Abbey is a pretty, is it a labrador? Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your day! I wish you a happy new week!

Sherrie said...

Hi Jocelyn,
Your Charles Dickens saying is so true. It's like that here right now..you have sun and it looks so nice out, but the wind is still cold.
Your Star block is pretty. Love your hexies, I was gifted a lot of hexies recently. Love what you did with your "mess" in the sewing room. So colorful. Hope you get lots more sunshine soon. Have a great day!

Karrin Hurd said...

Great projects, I love that hare block!

Maggie said...

Funny how deceiving the weather can be, our cat wash it impressed by it. Love your bunny.

Snickelfritz said...

Get that puppy or you will regret it! Believe me. My husband and I are your age or older and we got two Labrador Retriever puppies last fall. I will say my husband took care of them the most through the Winter, but now that we are outdoors with them a lot, I get to play with them and enjoy them. Our Boxador, half Lab and half Boxer, Molly, was a little leery of them at first, but after she taught them some manners they all get along together very well. Wherever one goes, the other two follow. I think people should always have at least two dogs so they won't be lonely when their people aren't around. Just my opinion, but you really should get a puppy!

betty-NZ said...

Puppies always make you smile! Your quilt pieces are really great to see, too.

Thank you for being a part of 'My Corner of the World' this week!

dq said...

You have beautiful photos as usual. How lucky to have a pond.

Do what makes you feel good with the puppy. They are so loveable and yet so much work. My momma cat died this winter and her baby is so lonely. I need to find her a friend. You never know if another pet is a good thing or not.

Shiju Sugunan said...

It looks very cold there. Lovely pics, especially like the rabbit.

Chookyblue...... said...

always interesting to see what happens in other parts of the world......i don't have snow and ice to deal with........it does look pretty but I am sure you must get sick of it......

Wendyb said...

Lovely to see the differences between our countries. Just wanted to let you know your name was drawn as fnsi winner this month. If you could message me with your full name, postal address and phone number, kitty will send your prize to you Again, congratulations and thanks for joining in xxx sugary hugs :o)

Susie H said...

Love the quote! It is so true of Spring & Fall weather. The jumping hares fabrics are so pretty and they do match up well with cross-stitch and embroideries. As for a pup? They are a lot of work. Make sure hubby understands that it was his idea! Two fur babies = double the hair all over. How do I know? We got a puppy about 5 years ago while we already had a cat. Ugh! Can't get away from the hair! Hahaha! However, our dogs & kitties are wonderful companions.

Angie said...

Jocelyn - our weather is similar to yours. Some areas of my garden are down to bare earth, while others are still knee deep in snow! The photo of the bunny is so adorable. Hmmm ... a puppy. Sounds like many tough factors to consider - I think I would lean away from another dog while you still have Murphy. But then, I have zero experience with this, so who am I to say?