Birthday Present

Since my flourishing palms have been doing a lot of spring housecleaning this week, I don't have much to show you. But I can tell you that I've:

orange-oiled oak kitchen and bathroom cabinets 

scrubbed off the gunk inside the stove hood 

cleaned out and organized a kitchen cupboard and bathroom linen closet

and re-painted a bathroom - from this 90s pale blue faux paint design I texturized with a plastic grocery bag - to Boring Beige or Big Yawn Beige, whichever value of beige puts you to sleep. No picture of that is needed!

90s pale blue faux paint that is no more

The only quilt-y stuff that got done was cutting out pieces for Lee's Supernova quilt along. Because I always pre-wash my fabric, I ended up short on yardage to cut out the solid background fabric. It's been ordered, so in the meantime I made and sewed labels to three quilts. 

Since you may be here to see something more interesting than paint, let me show you what I received for my birthday (two weeks ago) from Carla. I wish I'd taken a picture of the package this arrived in. I use the term "package" because I don't know what else to call mail that arrives in an 12-ounce clear plastic coke bottle! Yes indeed, Carla's giftie was rolled up inside a plastic bottle. I wonder what the letter carrier was thinking as he delivered that bottle to our mailbox. 

Anyway, what was inside was very nice. Tied with a selvage (she knows I'm collecting selvages) were two lovely fabrics (she knows I'm collecting grays), and this cute 7" X 9" mug mat made by Carla herself. Mug rugs are the blogospheric rage, and I hadn't made one yet, so this is a perfect pressie! 

I'd like to think she meant those two little figures in the doorway to represent us. Can you believe that we met through our blogs and our first real time get-together was last September? It's still a marvel to me how blogging makes our world smaller and our friendships larger.

Carla's grandchildren call her "Lolly." Isn't that a charming name? 

I've put my mug rug by my sewing machine and one evening used it for this.

Sauvignon blanc in an antique wine glass looks just as nice as a mug, and made a quilt-y evening quite satisfactory. Linda