TaDa!

 Spring has come to the valley, and with it, come the blossoms.  These red blooms can be seen up and down the county, and beyond.  Spring also means rain, which we desperately need.  (Though not the blossoms so much, but the ground is dry, so all water is welcome.)

I found some free time to finish one of my UFO's.  I finished the piecing in January, and the quilting a couple of weekends ago.  I'm happy to call this one DONE, with the exception of a label.  In the meantime, I'm checking it off of my UFO list, and moving on to the next thing.

 Who says there are no quilt police?  Here she is, examining my work of yesteryear.

 oh, Grammie?  You call this piecing?

heheh.  Actually, she usually has a big grin.  I was trying to get her to nap.  The joke was on me.  ;)

I've also been popping in at estate sales and the like.  Last week, I found a beautiful original watercolor by Geri Loest, of Vacaville.  At least that's what the tag on the back said, along with the price of $300.

I don't know where it was before it appeared at the rummage sale for $5.  I scooped it up, took it out of the frame, cleaned it up and got new matboards.  It is PERFECT in my kitchen!

 "One man's trash is another man's treasure."  oh, baby, don't you know it?!!  Actually, in looking at the above image, the painting ($5), the vase ($3), the wooden coasters ($4), the little table ($15), and the chairs (4 cherry chairs and a table - $400) all came from estate sales or newspaper ads.  I am my mother's daughter, and boy, am I glad she taught me to look carefully at what others no longer want.

pinch the pennies and spend the dollars on quilting!  hahaha!  yep.

And that's all I've got for now, though I do hope that you, too, are saving your dollars to spend at Best of the Valley Quilt Show in April.  It's right around the corner!