Baby Bird Update!!!

Well, our little friends are sure growing big!!

Note the cute feathers and also that their eyes have opened!!  I'm sure it won't be long before they'll be leaving the nest!

When Life Serves You Scraps....

Make Klosjes!!!

I finally succumbed to these sweet little blocks!  I've been reading about them for quite some time now and after seeing them on so many blogs, I decided to try my hand at making a few!  Well, a few turned to many and now I think I may be addicted!  Thanks to Valentina for her great tips and advice and also to Pappy's Quilt Place for supplying a handy little stamp for making the preparation of the block pieces a real snap!  Pappy's sells stamps so that you can just cut out your pieces after inking them onto your fabric!  Ingenious!  I ordered mine today and look forward to their arrival!!!

And if my day wasn't fulfilling enough, the post-lady brought a new book to my door, Material Obsessions, which appropriately describes my relationship with fabric!!  LOL!!
Anyways, it's absolutely YUMMY and it's inspired me to great extents!!!

Tomorrow, I'm off to Malmö, Sweden, for our annual Quilt Guild tour!  We're visiting lots of great places, including Veronica's Patchwork!  Stay tuned for a report on our adventures!! 

Have a great evening!

Mary Ann

Hungry Baby Birds!!!

Hungry Baby Birds!!!
Originally uploaded by *Mormor

Aren't they CUTE??!!  I couldn't imagine having SO many mouths to feed at one time!!!  Both parents are constantly flying back and forth to feed these little ones!!  Fantastic!

Snow in May and Magnolias....??

Is it true?  Have we really received a fresh layer of the white stuff here in the month of MAY??  Although our temperatures have certainly been cold enough for snow, this is fortunately just some lovely white petals from the cherry tree in our front garden! 

Beautiful, aren't they?

The weather has just been so dramatic.  I had to run out and capture this very unusual light the other evening.  The sun had suddenly appeared from behind the clouds, reflecting the most luscious colours on the sky and nearby fields.

Well, it looks like I've started on yet another creative past-time!  Painting Magnolias!  No, not the magnolias you're probably thinking about, but these cute little stamps that I recently purchased for making cards!  They are just darling and I've discovered  that I absolutely love sitting and painting!  Blending and layering the colours involves a creative process that's very satisfying! 

Here's the after shot!

And this is little Tilda, one of the characters from the Magnolia series.  Isn't she sweet??!!  If you're interested in these stamps, the place to find them is at Patchworkhuset, located in Glostrup.  I'm going to make a few projects from these figures, so keep posted and I'll show you soon!

Have a great weekend!

Mary Ann

Smile...You're On Candid Camera!!!

Our wonderful, feathered friends, the Blåmejse, (or cyanistes caeruleus) have once again chosen our nesting box to raise their family!  My husband set up a tiny webcam in the nesting box earlier this spring, so we could "peek" at them during their parenting period!  They don't seem to mind this intrusion of their personal space!  It's actually been quite fantastic to watch them, building their cozy nest, using feathers, hair, thread and all kinds ingenious building materials!   They're very talented and skilled workers! 

  

Today, we were amazed to see that there are now 12 tiny eggs in the nest!  They're also using many hours to rotate the eggs, making sure they receive even warmth.  Once they hatch, both parents will be delivering yummy and wriggling snacks for their off-spring!  The nest is conveniently located just outside our window, so we can easily keep track of  "our" birds' travels!   I'll post a video for you soon, as they're just so darn cute to watch!!

Cheers!

Mary Ann

Kylie Update...she's improving daily and I'm going to take her off the pain meds tomorrow.

Amazing how animals can recover so quickly! Not like humans at all!  I remember a six-week recovery period myself for a similiar operation!! Ouch!

Dear Little Kylie...

Our little Australian terrier, Kylie, had acute surgery today.

I discovered a rather large lump in her abdominal area while giving her a bath.  She hadn't been acting like the cheerful little dog she normally is, so we were quite concerned. 

I called the vet and he told us to bring her in right away. 

The decision was made to operate immediately and we hope that he managed to remove all of the growth.  I'm afraid I just couldn't imagine life without this wonderful little dog.  Kylie will be ten this summer, a faithful and loving friend.  She's resting quietly on my lap right now, wrapped in the flannel quilt I made for my Dad a few years ago.  She's warm and comfy and knows her Mommy is taking good care of her. 

If you'd like to send some positive thoughts our way, I'd really appreciate it. 

Hugs, Mary Ann  :o) 

Edited to say:  Kylie is doing so much better! She's almost back to her normal self...thanks for all the well wishes!  :o)

 

Mary Ann