Never turn your back on a courgette!

 Garden duties and kitchen chores continue to get in the way of the fun stuff on my days off. The chillies are coming in a steady flow at the moment. 

They’re keeping me busy — another batch of Evil Chilli Chutney will be bubbling away this evening once Tony gets home. Not a birds‑eye batch this time either. Oh no. We’re levelling up. The Carolina Reapers are joining the parade. 

The courgette plant is still doing its best to take over the world too. Here’s a hint: never turn your back on them. 

They go from gherkins to marrows in the blink of an eye.

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As if our own produce wasn’t enough to keep me occupied, a neighbour handed over a big bag of peaches. Yum. I’ve been hunting for keto‑friendly ways to use them up — just a little at a time. The rest have been diced and frozen for later. Those are the interesting chores. I’ll keep the other ones to myself. LOL.

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Yesterday I finally got Kaiy’s quilt fully loaded onto the frame and sorted out thread for the quilting, but I still haven’t settled on just the right design. I’d planned to look at that today, but there was a small… incident last night. I was happily working on my hexies and pulled my specs off to give them a polish. They broke clean in two. Right across the nose bar. No more sewing for me.

If you know me, you’ll know I wear a pair of cheap readers over my prescription lenses when I sew. It was the prescription pair that broke, the readers survived and I was still able to watch TV, but reading, sewing, driving. I couldn't even see my laptop. Basically, anything we take for granted — was out the window. Luckily Tony was able to duck away from work long enough this morning to get me to the opticians, and they managed to pop my lenses into a new frame. Phew.

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Once I could see properly again, I got on with the chores. They’re done, and now it’s finally time to sew. Out come the hexies.

This one is almost big enough to be a lap quilt. Time to straighten it a bit by adding odd hexis in here and there around the edges, then I’ll add a quick border and pop a fleecy back onto it.

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🍑 Keto Peach Cobbler  (One‑Peach, Four‑Serve Version)

Low‑carb, small‑batch.

Ingredients

Fruit layer

• 1 medium peach, diced (fresh or thawed)

• 1–2 tsp sweetener (optional, depending on peach sweetness)

• Pinch of cinnamon

• Tiny squeeze of lemon (optional)

Cobbler topping

• ¼ cup almond flour

• 1 tbsp coconut flour

• 1 tbsp butter, melted

• 1 tbsp sweetener

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 1 tbsp cream (or a splash of milk/almond milk)

• Pinch of salt

• Vanilla if you’re feeling fancy

This makes just enough topping for a single small baking dish split into four servings.

Instructions

1. Prep the fruit

• Toss the diced peach with sweetener, cinnamon, and lemon.

• Pop into a small baking dish or two ramekins.

• Microwave 30–60 seconds to soften and get the juices going (or bake for 5–10 minutes).

2. Make the topping

• Mix all topping ingredients in a small bowl.

• It should be a soft dough — add a splash more cream if too dry.

3. Assemble

• Crumble or dollop the topping over the warm peaches.

• Don’t worry about perfection — rustic is the whole point.

4. Bake

• 180°C (350°F) for 12–15 minutes, until golden and the peach juices bubble up the sides.

Cowboy candy and other adventures

And just like that, another week has slipped by. We’re one week closer to our long journey, and at the moment I’m swaying between excitement and worry. It’s a bit of a roller coaster, and I try not to think about it too much… so let’s move on quickly.

Life has been busy with work and chores, but I’ve still managed to squeeze in a little creative time. Around here, even the chores can be creative. The chillies in the greenhouse are beginning to ripen, and they don’t wait for anyone. I got home from work the other day and made a batch of cowboy candy.

A sweet, sticky concoction much loved by Tony and a few friends. It’s a quick way to preserve a glut of chillies and is delicious served with cream cheese and crackers. There are four jars tucked away for later. 

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As I mentioned in my last post, I waited for Tony’s help with making the Evil Chilli Chutney. I had one lonely bag of last year’s birdseye chillies in the freezer, so they went into the pot first. 

Then I topped up the batch with this year’s wildfires to make the right amount for the recipe.

Hence the name: Wild Bird — Tony’s idea, of course. He does like to keep track of which chillies go where. We now have eight jars tucked away, quietly improving. Like most relishes and chutneys, Evil Chilli Chutney is better if left for a few weeks before serving.

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My creativity wasn’t all used up in the kitchen. I’ve been picking away at my hexies, and the latest batch is slowly multiplying.

Just a few more and this one will be ready for a border and finishing. And there are still plenty of hexie flowers waiting for their turn in another project. LOL.

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And finally — I have the back made for Kaiy’s quilt. Two pieces of the same fabric sewn together. Oops! I forgot to get a photo. It’s already loaded onto the frame with the batting in place.

The top has been pressed and is sitting on the frame, though not yet properly loaded. Hopefully later today I can get busy with that.

But first, I need to make a chocolate brownie, and at some point I hope to get into the garden to plant some veg. I have more leeks to go in, and some daffodil bulbs waiting patiently.

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I've gotten very behind on my blog reading and have been working my way through them all in the last couple of days, trying to catch up. Hopefully life will settle down soon and I can get back into my routine of reading, writing and creating. But first, todays chores.

Time to get on and get busy.

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March Already?!

Poof! 

And just like that, we’re almost at the end of the first week of March. Where did that go?

It’s been busy here, as always. The collection of pickles and preserves is growing nicely.

Between work shifts I’ve even managed to sit and relax with some hand sewing. I also had to put a notice on the door of the big fridge where all the preserves live. Yes, I know they don’t need to be in the fridge, but a few years ago, when I first started this preserving journey I had no cupboard space left and the spare fridge was empty… so naturally, I filled it!

The notice now instructs Tony to use items from the top shelf first. If I don’t remind him, he’ll just keep taking the possum's pickles from the bottom shelf and ignore everything else. When I had a good tidy-up a couple of weeks ago, I found jars that were four or five years old. Only two or three, but still — they need to be used. He has been told!

Yesterday I added even more to the collection. We have a glut of courgettes and something needed to be done, so I got busy. I left the jars to cool overnight and couldn’t resist taking this photo this morning as the sun crept over the windowsill and made them glow.

Here’s the recipe…

Sweet and Spicy Courgette Relish. 

4 Cups grated courgette. (Zucchini). 
2 Cups finely diced onion.
2 cups finely diced bell peppers.
1 tablespoon of salt.
1.5 cups apple cider vinegar.
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes. 

Place all of the chopped veg into a large bowl, sprinkle with the salt and almost cover with cold water. Give it a stir and allow to sit for 4-6 hours.

After soaking drain and rinse. Pour them into a clean towel, or I use a muslin bag. Give them a good squeeze and remove as much moisture as you can. Set aside.

In a large pot mix together the vinegars, sugar and spices. Bring to the boil stirring to dissolve the sugar and combine the spices. Add the veges, stir until thoroughly combined.

Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and reduce heat to simmer.

Cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spoon into sterile jars and seal.

Sit back and listen to the lids popping as they cool.

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Once the cauldron was washed up and put away, I pulled out the label I’d made for Jiffy and Josie’s quilt. I had a lovely afternoon listening to lids popping while I embroidered the label. Don’t look too closely at my stitching — I need practice!

Here it is, all stitched and attached to the back of the quilt.

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The date for our journey to the wedding is drawing very close now, but I’m not excited yet. It still feels unreal. Add in recent events and I do worry — we’ll be flying with Emirates, hopefully through Dubai. Maybe by the time we’re due to fly, a workaround will have been sorted out. World peace might be too much to hope for, but a different route would be nice. Fingers crossed.

As you may have worked out, I have my three rostered days off before working the weekend. On today’s list: make another batch of courgette relish, a batch of Evil Chilli Chutney (I might wait for Tony’s help with that one), have a turn about in the garden, take a trip to the garden centre, and make time to slow down and sew.

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Day Three… and Not a Stitch Was Sewn

 Day three of four turned out to be a bit of a bust as far as sewing was concerned. The whole day slipped away into chores and a little burst of happy news.

Mid‑morning the phone rang: Sally Skyline had returned from the spa and was ready for collection.

Well — that was that. I dropped everything, grabbed my keys, and was out the door. I was home again in under thirty minutes, feeling rather pleased with myself. Once Sally was safely settled back into the happy room, I picked up where I’d left off with the chores.

That’s when I discovered a huge paper bag sitting in the porch. A friend from club had mentioned she’d drop off some books, but I never heard the doorbell. Either it was a very quick drop‑and‑run, or she called while I was out rescuing Sally.

I set the bag beside my chair, finished the last of the chores, and finally sat down for a look. What a mixture — books and magazines, some definite keepers, and the rest will be passed along to new homes. I spent a very pleasant couple of hours browsing and reading about patchwork and quilting. But not a single stitch was sewn.

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A Closer Look at the Keepers

Among the books was a magazine that immediately caught my eye. The cover design with the daisies and poppies — had it firmly in the keeper pile before I even opened it. 

Singular Sensations was another one that had a lot going for it before I even looked inside. Maybe it was that blue design on the cover. 

You know me and blue. One quick browse and it went straight onto the keeper stack.

I took a little more time with Rose Windows. 

There are some truly stunning designs in there. I’m not sure I’d ever make one, but there’s a tree‑skirt idea that has possibilities… so into the keeper pile it went, at least for now.

It’s joined by Bakers Dozen by Jen Kingwell 

and Simply Stars 

the latter has several different approaches to creating beautiful star quilts, which is always useful to have on hand.

A few books landed in the “maybe” pile, and there were a few definite non‑keepers. But all in all, it was a very pleasant afternoon of browsing, dreaming, and discovering.

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And that brings us to today — my fourth and final day off. Believe it or not, I still have one or two chores to achieve before I can sew. Not least another good tidy‑up in the sewing room. If I’m to make a pieced back for Kaiy’s quilt, I’ll need to clear the clutter off the table so I can work with large pieces of fabric.

All those new books will need to find homes too.

I’m off to get busy.

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Day Two of Four — Gardens, Gifts, and Kiwis

Today is day two of my four days off, and before I could settle into my room there was garden work to be done. Tony pulled out the edge trimmer and lawn mower while I headed into the big greenhouse. The tomatoes have slowed right down now, and although there were still a few green fruits hanging on, the vines themselves were looking very tired and brown.

I picked off anything with even the slightest hint of colour and lined them up along the kitchen window to catch the sun. Then it was time to pull out the exhausted plants. After that I gathered the ripe chilli peppers and three courgettes. That was quite enough for one session. I handed some of the bounty over the fence to the neighbours, then headed indoors.

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Once inside, I made a beeline for my happy room and got busy with the Kiwis. I had some precut strips left over from a previous project, they were ready to go, so I started sashing the blocks, then cut a few more, and before long I had them all joined together. With the sun shining so beautifully, I decided it was time for a walk. I popped a bag of produce together and wandered down to Debbie’s house — she’s always delighted to take a share of our surplus.

Back home again, I turned my attention to the borders for the Kiwi quilt.

As you can see, I opted for the caramel colourway for both the sashing and the borders, with that narrow black strip giving the eye a place to rest. That’s it for this one for now. It clamored to be at the top of the list and I listened, but next I really must get a back made for Kaiy’s quilt — and give it a name. I’ve toyed with Inkantations, since she’s an artist who works a lot with inks, or maybe Spellbound. I’ll let the right name come to me once I’m quilting it.

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Meanwhile, I promised to show what I worked on at club yesterday. It was a very quiet gathering, with only four ladies attending. By 1.30 two had gone home, leaving just myself and President Ann. We decided to call it a day and head off early. I’m happy with my progress though.

I had dithered about what to take and, in desperation, grabbed my hexie box as I dashed out the door. I’m so glad I keep a stash of ready‑made flowers and basted hexies — perfect for grab‑and‑go stitching.

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So there you have it. Time now to think about cooking a meal and settling in for the evening. I might be back tomorrow with news of my antics on day three of four. 

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Four Whole Days Off.

I have four whole days off, all together, in a row. What a luxury.

Today was patchwork club day, and I really wasn’t sure what to take along. At the last minute I grabbed a bunch of hexagon flowers and stitched a few of them together. I’ll show that progress another time, because first I want to show off something else.

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In my last post I mentioned that I’d made a decision about which of my WIPs would get attention once Kaiy’s quilt was completed. Well, today that project jumped straight to the top of the list.

After I got home from club, I wandered into my room looking for something to play with. I should piece the quilt back for Kaiy’s quilt, but that job involves crawling around on the floor, and I didn’t much feel like doing that today. I’ll save it for Monday, once Tony is back at work.

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So instead, I pulled out my RSC Kiwi blocks and started playing with them again. I auditioned a few fabrics for sashing and borders, and I think I’m getting close to a plan. I ran out of time to start cutting and sewing today, so that will be tomorrow’s job.

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I do have some garden work that needs doing tomorrow, but hopefully I’ll still have plenty of time to play as well. I’ll be back soon with an update.

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A Finished Quilt Top.

Some projects seem to grow quietly in the background, don’t they — a block here, a seam there — until suddenly you stand back and realise you’ve stitched your way into something whole. That’s exactly how Kaiy’s quilt has felt.

Today I sewed the final seam, pressed the last row, and spread the quilt top out across the floor. Tony did his acrobatics at the top of the ladder again to get this image. All those magentas, teals, pinks, purples, and blues I chose using her mood board as a guide, have finally come together, and they’re playing beautifully with one another. It’s bright without being loud, cheerful without being chaotic — very much a quilt with personality, just like its intended owner.

There’s something satisfying about this stage. The top is done, the colours are settled, and the quilt has taken on its own character. Now it’s time to turn my attention to the backing fabric. I'll get to that in a few days.  But for now, I’m simply enjoying the moment. Another quilt top finished, another step closer to wrapping someone I love in something handmade.

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I also made a decision about which WIP will be getting some attention very soon.

More about that soon.

 

Zooming along.

I had planned to get a few chores done this morning before Joe and the family arrived, but those plans went out the window the moment I spotted a Zoom invite from Chooky. That was that —most of the chores were forgotten, and I headed straight into my sewing room to play while we chatted.

I carried on with the blocks for Kaiy’s quilt, adding more black strips to the long sides. I also had a little tidy up and even managed to do some ironing, in between blocks. Partway through adding my black strips I discovered I’d cut some of them too short, so I took the time to cut a fresh batch at the correct size. Once that was sorted, I made some really good progress before Joe and co arrived.

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We had roast chicken for dinner, followed by frothy jelly. For anyone unfamiliar, frothy jelly is simply a jelly mix with yoghurt, cream, or milk whipped into it once it has cooled — I’ve also heard it called Jelly whip or flummery.

After lunch we spent some time outside. The children love having a run around the garden, and today they found a visitor, so Grandad was summoned to help.

Closer inspection revealed that this beautiful dragonfly had lost a leg and another is damaged. Grandad gently popped him onto the BBQ cover, and we watched as he made his way slowly down the side and tucked himself out of the wind.

He’s still sitting there now, several hours later.

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Once everyone had left, I went back into my room for another round of sewing. I was having fun, so I decided to get the blocks made into rows — and since I was still enjoying myself, I kept going and started joining the rows together.

Here you can see the first five rows. There are two more to add: one still needs to be constructed, and the other doesn’t yet have its black strips.

I’m back to work tomorrow for what will be a very busy week, but I’m hoping to get those final two rows completed, and maybe even stitched on. I might have to give some thought to what I might work on next!

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A Good Push Forward.

 Our busy weekend is going ahead as planned, though I’ll admit I almost wished for rain this evening. We’re due to head out to an outdoor concert this evening, and while the forecast looked a bit dodgy, it seems the weather is going to behave after all.

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My chores were dispatched in short order this morning, which meant I could head to my sewing room for a couple of hours play this afternoon. I’ve been slipping in there before work all week and found I could comfortably make two complete blocks in the time I had, so there really wasn’t much left to finish today.

And finish I did — I sewed up a storm and completed the last of the 5×7 colourful blocks.

Next up was cutting a stack of black strips to sew onto the long sides of the colours. I didn't cut all of them as I was eager to get the first few on straight away.

While I've been putting these blocks together, I’ve been fossicking through my thread collection and pulling out bits and pieces of pinks and blues. I managed to use up a few odds and ends along the way.

I'm sure there are a few more reels, but I'll have to fill some bobbins soon. 

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Now it’s time to cook some tea and then head out the door. With a bit of luck I’ll get another chance to sew tomorrow, though Joe and the family will be here for Sunday lunch, so we’ll see how the day unfolds.

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The Pin That Sent Sally to the Spa

My one day off this week and I had grand plans: sew all day long, cup of tea at my elbow, Sally Skyline humming happily, and Kaiy’s quilt blocks coming together like a dream.

As you know, plans can go awry.

To be fair, I did get to sew — a lot. Things were going beautifully… right up until I tapped a pin.

At first it was just the odd skipped stitch, here and there. Annoying, but manageable. Then, despite everything I tried, the problem got worse. I rethreaded top and bottom threads (twice), swapped threads and bobbins, changed the needle, cleaned the machine, and even tried sewing at a snail’s pace. Sally was having none of it.

Janice suggested I use a spare machine.

LOL. I have one or two.

Bluey, the baby Elna, was sitting on the shelf giving me the side‑eye, so I pulled her out and dusted her off.

That was fun for about five minutes — she’s noisy and slow — so back she went, and out came my trusty old Silver. The last time I used her must have been when I made Charmaine’s bridesmaid dress; she still had a spool and bobbin of dark green thread in place.

Once I swapped out the threads, she ran much smoother and faster than the Elna. I managed to finish the blocks I’d started this morning.

I wasn’t really paying attention to how many blocks I’d prepped. I just pinned rows until I ran out of pins, sewed until I ran out of pinned units, snipped them apart, and went back to pinning. Then sewed and sewed until… well, you get the picture. I was going great guns and was delighted to find that I have just under half of the blocks made up to this stage. Now they need black strips added to each long side.

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I booked Sally in for a service, but of course when I tried to reproduce the problem on scrap fabric, she behaved perfectly. Never mind — I explained everything at the shop and told them I suspected I’d tapped a pin. 

They agreed with my diagnosis, that needle is probably a little out of alignment. The threader no longer works, and the cutter will only snip the bobbin thread, two more indications of misalignment. She’s in for the full treatment. I should get her back in about two weeks, give or take.

In the meantime, I’ll be using the Silver to keep working on these blocks. Not the day I planned, but progress is progress. 

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I’m back to work tomorrow, but I’m hoping to sneak in a few moments of sewing before and after each shift. It’s going to be another busy weekend off, so every little bit helps. With luck, I’ll get a few more blocks made. I’d really like to finish this stage before I start cutting the black strips — it feels good to be moving forward. 

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Scrappy Hexies — Finished at Last

As you know, I’ve been happily stitching away at an assortment of scrappy hexagons for quite some time now. The pile has grown from all sorts of places — my own fabric scraps, treasures from op shops, oddments from sales, and even a few flowers that were already basted when I found them. Others were just cut shapes waiting patiently for papers. I’ve enjoyed every minute of working through them, sewing them into cheerful little flowers.

Over the last few weeks the project gathered momentum, and on Thursday I put in the final few hexies to complete a lap‑size top. Friday was a busy day, but I still managed to trim the edges and start auditioning border fabrics.

This morning I made my decision, stitched the borders on, and pulled out a cosy fleece blanket to use as the backing. Onto the frame it went — no batting required.

For the quilting, I wanted something simple and gentle, so I chose clamshells, another lovely design by Kerryn Emmerson.

Being a lap size, the quilting didn’t take long at all. Before it was time to make dinner, the binding was on. After the meal I sat down to close the binding, and once the last stitch was done, I called in the holder‑upper for an outdoor photo shoot.

So here it is — the finished scrappy hexie quilt, posing beautifully in Old Man Tree.

And of course, the mandatory holder‑upper shot:

And one more look at Old Man Tree, because he wears a quilt so well.

Another scrappy hexie quilt completed — and with a whole pile of extra flowers waiting, I suspect it won’t be the last.

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Though I still have a cheerful pile of hexie flowers waiting in the wings, my focus for the foreseeable future will be on Kaiy’s quilt. My roster is a bit of a jumble at the moment — swaps, extra shifts, and general chaos — but I’m hoping to get all the blocks completed and joined before the end of the month. With a bit of luck, I might even get beyond that.

A great start to February.

My days off started with my usual rhythm — I’m sure you know it by now. Up early with Tony, then once he headed off to work, out came the cauldron and in went the veg and tomatoes. Uncle Ruffie’s sauce today. Once I had it bubbling away at a good steady simmer, I could leave it to do its thing and slip off to my sewing room.

I’ve been picking away at my squares here and there since my last post, so they were already sewn into strips of four. 

While I was sewing all those squares together, I spotted the most beautiful watercolour landscape hiding in one of the fabrics. I can see fields and paddocks separated by hedgerows and taller trees way over in the distance on the edge of a lake, with a far green shore and the sky beyond. 

Or is that just my imagination?

Seeing it set me off thinking about the whole bundle and wishing I’d taken photos before I cut into them. There were some real treasures in there. One looked just like those photos of Jupiter, with swirling clouds and that great storm rolling across the surface. Another reminded me of an octopus releasing ink into the deep — soft, drifting plumes of colour blooming through water. And a third had the softest pink glow, exactly like a winter dawn sky. Little pieces of all of them kept appearing as I stitched, tiny glimpses of whole worlds tucked into each square.

Today’s plan was to turn strips of four, into strips of five. I stitched about a third of them, then scooted back to the kitchen to stir the cauldron and tick off a couple of small chores before returning to the machine for the next batch. And then again — more stirring, more chores, more squares. By the time I’d added the final square to every strip, the sauce was ready to ladle into pots for the freezer. Yum.

Once the kitchen was sorted, I took a seat and snipped all the chain‑pieced strips apart. Then came the pressing. It took me a full hour to get them all flattened and lined up (tidily‑ish) on my cutting table. The next job will be to turn them into blocks of 5 × 7 little 2.5‑inch squares — but that’s a task for another day. Fabric sudoku may take a while.

Next, I headed into town to finish my errands, grabbed a quick lunch, and now I’m back in my chair with a cuppa. It’s almost time to settle in with my hexies. With a bit of luck, I might even get the top finished today 

I have two more days off, but Tony will be home for both of them and weather permitting we're hoping to have a working bee out in the garden, there are one or two jobs that need taking care of out there.  There is also another 50th Birthday party to attend. 

And now I’m off to play with my hexies for the afternoon. I hope everyone’s February plans are unfolding kindly — mine certainly are, and I’m feeling very happy with my progress so far.

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Anchor Me.

It’s done. It’s finished. Well… except for the label.

Anchor Me is Inspired by this quilt, 

But I didn't buy a pattern, I made my own way, designing it in my head as I sewed. 

It measures 96 x 104 inches.

When I suggested to Josie she and Jiffy would be anchored together, she loved the idea. So the Name came before I even started.

The very first fabric pull for this quilt happened way back in April last year, when I realised I didn’t have quite enough blues and greens. Batiks are hard to come by in New Zealand at the moment, so I shopped around here and found very little. Later, in Bathurst, enabled by Janice I hunted down more, and between us we gathered what I needed.

Those fabrics then sat quietly in a box on my cutting table for months, whispering at me every time I walked past. Finally — with a bit of encouragement from several people — I began cutting in the first week of January 2026.

Chooky had suggested using 4‑inch squares, so I cut them at 4.5 inches to finish at 4. There are 580 blue‑green squares in total, forming the background and the outer border. The inner border is a 4‑inch strip of Moko, a Māori‑inspired charcoal‑on‑black fabric. 

It isn’t a batik, but it sits beautifully with the blues, and I used the same fabric for the anchor itself.

As you know, I played around with scrap paper to get the proportions right before drawing the anchor freehand onto Vliesofix. I’m very happy with how it turned out — bold, clean, and exactly the right presence on the quilt.

Last week, on my days off, I layered and quilted the top using an E2E design by Keryn Emmerson called Waves. It felt perfectly appropriate. Yesterday I trimmed it and added the binding, stitching about half of it down by hand before heading to bed. This morning, I finished the last of the binding and then waited for Joe and family to arrive so he could help Tony hold it up for a good outdoor photo.

The back is a huge piece of wide back in another kiwi inspired fabric called Kiwiana Koru Frond. The binding is more of the Moko fabric. 

It was an absolute delight to make. There’s something so satisfying about the simplicity of squares — the calm rhythm of straight lines, the ease of nesting seams, none of the drama of bias edges or tricky angles. Just fabric, shape, and flow. These blues and greens sing together exactly the way I hoped they would, each one adding its own note to the whole.

And there, sitting proudly on top, is the anchor — bold, steady, and unmistakably the star of the show. The quilting design, Waves, felt right not only for its name but for its gentle movement. It adds texture without stealing the spotlight. The anchor may shine, but those blues and greens hold the whole story together, the perfect sea for it to rest upon.

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Of course, no quilt around here gets finished without a little “help” from Tony. The final photo shows him unpacking his shopping all over my ironing board, happily showing me fishhooks and bits of tackle while I was trying to sew rows of squares together. He has an uncanny ability to appear exactly when I don't need interruptions, but he does it with such enthusiasm that I can’t help but smile as I roll my eyes.  

The rest of life doesn’t pause for quilting, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I can't wait for June!