Hello all, Mary Ellen here.

Bright mornings like today give me motivation for many adventures. I took a tour of the yard, where it’s not too soggy, and checked out what plants are peaking up. The gardener in me (and some of you too, I’ll wager) is itching to get out to play in the dirt. I’m going to pot up some dahlia bulbs today-entails getting out to the garden shed and finding the potting soil and pots. I bought some dinner plate dahlias, which my dad’s mom used to always have in her garden. She was in a different growing zone, so she didn’t need to start hers in the house. I’ve resigned myself to the fact the we Buffalonians must start many of our plants indoors. I’m not much of a house plant enthusiast so as soon as it’s warm enough, the dahlias will be transplanted into the outdoor beds.

Another motivation that has hit me is making a bright springy quilt. This pattern that came up on my e-mail today has struck my fancy. The bright colors, the chevron effect, and the easiness of the construction all combine for a great project (IMHO). Here’s a link to the project that might be my next one: spring quilt #1. Good way to use scrap strips.

Do you have any quilts that you’ve brought out this spring? Currently I have hanging a quilt from a very old Quilter’s World magazine in which I learned my first seminole piecing. It has rows of carrots, lettuce, cabbage and a picket fence–each made with a different seminole piecing technique. I sewed a great big white pom pom between two of the pickets to be Peter Rabbit’s tail. My spring gardens seem to always become a salad bar for the neighborhood bunnies. No matter what deterrent I buy or concoct, I lose a lot of sweet green leaves to the rabbits!