Watermelon Time...

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The weather is warm and it's the time of year when the perfect treat is a juicy slice of watermelon and a glass of iced tea.

I like slicing up my 'melon so that it's served in nice, small wedges that are easily eaten without getting too much on the rest of my face - or clothes, but

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 wouldn't a peacock, adorned with orange peel, olives and ferns make a gorgeous presentation?

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A friend sent me an email with these artful watermelon carvings and I was so amazed that I had to share them with you! Imagine placing this heartfully-carved 'melon in front of your sweetheart.

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I know I'd have a difficult time "defacing" this incredible tiger carving. It's as though the seeds were meant to be right up the center of his tongue! Stunning!

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I think this would be the sweetest way to end a family picnic...with a watermelon carved to show you care.

Have you ever tried to create a piece of art on your watermelons? I never have, and it's unlikely that I could ever carve anything this intricate, but I might enjoy trying my hand at something a little less elaborate. I promise that if I ever do, I'll be sure to take lots of pictures to share with you.

Have a great weekend, and don't forget to stop to enjoy the watermelons!

A New Week, A New Quilt...

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you might have noticed that until this year I usually only have one quilt going at a time. (I'm always working on a few things at once, but usually only one quilt at a time.) So far in 2012, I'm working on a Scrappy Plates quilt and our Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt QAL.

I told you recently that we'll be going to Michigan in May to a friend's wedding. That beautiful card with a peacock feather attached is their wedding announcement. When I decided that I wanted to make something special for them, I knew that a quilt would be our gift to them. (I asked each of them their favorite colors when we had dinner with them. Bara said he loved blues and black, and his future wife, Iman said she loved jewel tones and green.) With that knowledge in hand, I went in search of fabric.

A few days after our dinner with the couple, I was sitting with the gals in our Saturday morning coffee group at Sandy's Quilt Shop. We were chatting away when I noticed a piece of fabric hanging on the wall. I was stunned! It was perfect!

Kathy and Nora went and grabbed the newly arrived collection for me to see and after I chose which of the fabrics in the line I wanted to use, they had to unwrap them to cut the yardage!

My appointment date for Kathy to do the long-arm quilting on this piece is April 20th (or thereabouts), so now I have a deadline, too. This week, I'll be laying out the fabrics, deciding on a design and I'll commence to cutting and sewing. I'm so excited to see how this queen size quilt will look. Can you even believe my great good fortune in finding this collection? Kathy and Nora were tickled for me!

So, although I have Farmer's Wife blocks to assemble and Scrappy Plates to finish, the Wedding Peacocks will be at the front of the line this week.

Today, I'll close with a photo of me with my very own little leprechaun, "Taggart O'Corgi". Did you know that he'll be a year old on April 3rd? I can't believe how quickly time flies with a growing puppy!

Tag asked me to remind you about our Third Blog Anniversary giveaway. If you haven't signed up for the drawing yet, here's the link to our giveaway post.

Tag will be back tomorrow with his own post, but today, we both wish you a beautiful and creative week!

Boutique Additions And A Visitor...

Yesterday, I took your advice and created two more pillows to

put up in the Boutique. "Whale for Sale" is already listed, and
I'll add the other this morning after I finish photographing it.
(You can just click on this link to see the listing.)

Thank you to all who left such kind comments about my
new pillows, and the encouragement to list them in the shop.
I really appreciate hearing from you!

Handsome and I went to Ft. Myers for part of the day, but on our way to the Interstate, we noticed that we had a visitor in our neighborhood.

We've heard his telltale screaming bragging recently, so we knew he was in the area, but yesterday was the first time we'd seen him strutting and looking for lady friends. His plumage is impressive indeed (very unlike my lackluster photo of him taken with my little camera. My "good" camera, of course, was back at home.) I'd be surprised if he finds a female to his liking around these parts, but I realize a guy's gotta try, considering Spring is in the air.

We suspect that our newest neighbor (a doctor who just moved into his brand new home around the block from us) has imported this fancy boy for his yard. He might be missing him about now - or just enjoying the quiet since this noisy, flash fellow left home to go on "walkabout".