Are you ready for the quiltalong?

Well, look at these cool flower blocks!  What to make one for your

bed--then just check out Sarah J Designs as we do

Dandy Drive QAL.

Patterns will be FREE and available only as a download from Sarah's blog. 

See what my friends are doing at these links:

Kim Niedzwiecki: Facebook/Instagram/Website

Jane Davidson: Facebook/Instagram/Website

Jacquelynne Steves: Facebook/Instagram/Blog/Facebook Group

Kerry Goulder: Facebook/Instagram/Blog

Heather Valentine: Facebook/Instagram/Blog/Facebook Group

Pat Sloan: Facebook/Instagram/Blog/Sew Along Website/Facebook Group

And follow Sarah

Sarah: Facebook/Instagram/Website

Auction! Auction! Auction!

One of my favorite teachers!  

Online Auction Now - April 12, 2017

Auction will close at 8:00 PM CDT on April 12

Libby Lehman: Trailblazer and Innovator

Libby's quilts have been displayed in the
Smithsonian Institute and the National Quilt Museum

Long Time Gone...............Let's Sew Along!

The banner on the side leads you to the site that will give you all the

information on this sew along.  I've purchased the book and am

thinking about this quilt.................

will I like this look on my bed?  I'm not sure I feel

this helter skelter--

This quilt is going along the lines of Farmer's Wife 

or Gypsy Wife (designed by Jen Kingwell), who has

designed the Sew Along 

These are all good sampler quilts and a way to progress my

quilting experience.  Plus the sew along is tempting especially

when you have such great tutorials by  Marti Michell  and

many others who guide you.  

1. 15 March 2017: Bow Tie – Angie Wilson (of GnomeAngel) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
2. 22 March 2017: Square in a Square Stars – Nicole Calver (of Snips Snippets) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
3. 29 March 2017: Crosses of the U.K. – Angie Wilson (of GnomeAngel) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
4. 5 April 2017: Jacobs Ladder – Nicole Calver (of Snips Snippets) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
5. 12 April 2017: Trip Around the World – Angie Wilson (of GnomeAngel) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
6. 19 April 2017: Plus a Star – Nicole Calver (of Snips Snippets) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
7. 26 April 2017: Churn Dash – Angie Wilson (of GnomeAngel) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
8. 3 May 2017: Courthouse Steps – Nicole Calver (of Snips Snippets) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
9. 10 May 2017: Log Cabin – Angie Wilson (of GnomeAngel) &  Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
10. 17 May 2017: Half Square Triangle 1 – Nicole Calver (of Snips Snippets) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
11. 24 May 2017: Half Square Triangle 2 – Angie Wilson (of GnomeAngel) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
12. 31 May 2017: Half Square Triangle 3 – Nicole Calver (of Snips Snippets) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
13. 7 June 2017: Flying Geese – Angie Wilson (of GnomeAngel) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
14. 14 June 2017: 60 Degree Triangle – Nicole Calver (of Snips Snippets) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
15. 21 June 2017: Pineapple Log Cabin – Angie Wilson (of GnomeAngel) & Conversion Chart: Marti Michell
16. 28 June 2017: Checkerboard – Nicole Calver (of Snips Snippets) & Marti Michell
17. 5 July 2017: Assembly – Angie Wilson (of GnomeAngel) &  Marti Michell
18. 12 July 2017: Reveal (Assembled Quilt Top) – Angie Wilson (of GnomeAngel), Nicole Calver (of Snips Snippets) & Marti Michell

Texas Rangers Heritage Center

Last weekend we visited the Texas Rangers Heritage Center--

it's a fairly new facility and we have always driven past and

said we should stop in, but keep on driving.

That Sunday, we stop in--to attend Cowboy Church, which is 

held here every Sunday @ 10 AM.

It was a great time to hear the word of God and visit the

center

The Heritage Center includes the Rangers Tower, serving as beacon for learning, a salute to good citizenship, and the Ranger Ring of Honor, a soaring memorial dedicated to those who gave all in their service to the Texas Rangers and to the Citizens of Texas

Around the Ring of Honor are plaques honoring those Rangers

who have fallen during past wars--Dawson Massacre, September 18, 1842 is

one that we had not heard of--

The Dawson massacre, also called the Dawson expedition, was an incident in which 36 Texian militiamen were killed by Mexican soldiers on September 17, 1842^[1] near San Antonio de Bexar (now the U.S. city of San Antonio, Texas). The event occurred during the Battle of Salado Creek, which ended with a Texan victory.^[2] This was among numerous armed conflicts over the area between the Rio Grande and Nueces rivers, which the Republic of Texas tried to control after achieving independence in 1836.

Here is listing of Gonzales Rangers--The Immortal 32! 

Brave men, husbands and fathers, who battled at the Alamo

along with Travis--The story of Texas Independence began here

Texas Rangers are known far and wide.  

And the grounds of the Center display several statues as a tribute

The History of Texas is the History of Texas Rangers

God Bless USA!  God Bless Texas!  God Bless Texas Rangers!

April FOOOOOL............................................

Have you ever been catch on an April Fools joke or prank?  Just be careful today...............

April Fools' Day (sometimes called All Fools' Day) is celebrated every year on April 1 by playing practical jokes and spreading hoaxes. The jokes and their victims are called April fools. People playing April Fool jokes expose their prank by shouting April Fool. Some newspapers, magazines, and other published media report fake stories, which are usually explained the next day or below the news section in small letters. Although popular since the 19th century, the day is not a public holiday in any country.

Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1392) contains the first recorded association between April 1 and foolishness.

The custom of setting aside a day for the playing of harmless pranks upon one's neighbor is recognized everywhere.^{[1][dubious – discuss]} Some precursors of April Fools' Day include the Roman festival of Hilaria.

In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392), the "Nun's Priest's Tale" is set Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two.^[2] Modern scholars believe that there is a copying error in the extant manuscripts and that Chaucer actually wrote, Syn March was gon.^[3] Thus the passage originally meant 32 days after March, i.e. 2 May,^[4] the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, which took place in 1381. Readers apparently misunderstood this line to mean "32 March", i.e. April 1.^{[citation needed][5]} In Chaucer's tale, the vain cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox.

In 1508, French poet Eloy d'Amerval referred to a poisson d’avril (April fool, literally "Fish of April"), a possible reference to the holiday.^[6] In 1539, Flemish poet Eduard de Dene wrote of a nobleman who sent his servants on foolish errands on April 1.^[4] In 1686, John Aubrey referred to the holiday as "Fooles holy day", the first British reference.^[4] On April 1, 1698, several people were tricked into going to the Tower of London to "see the Lions washed".^[4]

In the Middle Ages, New Year's Day was celebrated on March 25 in most European towns.^[7] In some areas of France, New Year's was a week-long holiday ending on April 1.^[8][9] Some writers suggest that April Fools' originated because those who celebrated on January 1 made fun of those who celebrated on other dates.^[8] The use of January 1 as New Year's Day was common in France by the mid-16th century,^[4] and this date was adopted officially in 1564 by the Edict of Roussillon.

In the Netherlands, the origin of April Fools' Day is often attributed to the Dutch victory at Brielle in 1572, where the Spanish Duke Álvarez de Toledo was defeated. "Op 1 april verloor Alva zijn bril." is a Dutch proverb, which can be translated to: "On the first of April, Alva lost his glasses." In this case, the glasses ("bril" in Dutch) serve as a metaphor for Brielle. This theory, however, provides no explanation for the international celebration of April Fools' Day.

Check out international April fools' 'customs' here!

Modern By The Yard Ezine

Modern By The Yard Ezine has produced their fourth (4) ezine and

there are some super duper patterns there for you to sew and quilt.

Here you have "Spring Fresh"

designed by 

Twiggy and Opal has designed this colorful table runner--

oh, WOW--what color selections!

These Ezines are FREE!  Check it out here

Another Finish.............

Made it by the skin of my teeth--where did that saying originate anyway?

(After Shakespeare, a prolific coiner of new words, the King James translation of the Bible has been the biggest source of phrases in English. ‘By the skin of one’s teeth’ is one of them. Meaning ‘narrowly’ or ‘barely’, and referring usually to a narrow escape from disaster, the phrase comes from the Book of Job, in which Job is subjected to horrible trials by Satan, to be relieved finally by God. The precise phrase Job uses is slightly different:

‘My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth’ (19:20).

Exactly what ‘the skin of one’s teeth’ might be is not entirely clear, and there have been many theories put forward. The most plausible explanation is that it refers to the thin porcelain exterior of the tooth (rather than the gums). In other words, Job escaped with his teeth, but just barely. Job is comparing the narrow margin of his escape with the shallow ‘skin’ or porcelain of a tooth: the equivalent, in fact, of a ‘hair’s breadth’)  

It's interesting that a lot of the slogans we use today is a Biblical reference.  Any who--I did finish

March pattern on Estonian knit along designed by Toni L. Lorenz.  

It was a continuing pattern from February.  I'm using handspun silk--

soon to switch to another yarn as I didn't have much silk to use.

I have the other mitt finished from Helical Stripes--it doesn't matter

to me if they match or not--finished in time to begin April's adventure in

the Year of Techniques from AC Knitwear