April Showers and Sunshine

It finally looks and feels like spring! It has warmed up nicely over the past week, the grass has greened up and many of the spring bulbs have bloomed. Outside my studio window, there is a large lilac bush with tiny leaves unfurled and our forsythia survived its drastic pruning last summer and is full of branches of delicate yellow blossoms. In between April showers, we managed to dig holes this week on a sunny day with our handy gardening auger that attaches to our cordless drill and plant the bulbs that never made it into the ground in the fall because of the constant rain. We said a prayer over them and hope they will survive. We will know next spring. I have learned that if given a chance, most things in nature will grow, so I am hopeful! We have lots of plans for our garden spaces, so there is always something to do outdoors and the fresh air and sunshine feel so good on my face. The perennial garden is waking up and there are a few plants emerging. I spotted foxglove, delphinium, Asiatic lilies, sedum, and cone flowers leafing out. It is time to trim back the rose bushes so they can fill out. I waited to do any pruning, but I think we are past any damaging frosts. Let's hope so!

We completed our goal of 40 days of giving as one of the ways we observed Lent this year. We put items we wished to donate in a special box for the observance. For me, it has become a habit to look for things in ordinary places that I no longer need or want that could be a blessing to someone else. I am sometimes surprised by the things that are sitting out in plain sight that can be shared this way. The boxes for our donations are getting filled and it is a very good feeling.

And speaking of donating, I am so happy that I have found a new way to support organizations in the local community. My husband and I have always enjoyed putting together gift baskets for charity events. We know how much fun it is to attend a basket raffle and come home with something wonderful that someone donated. These events help organizations raise money and awareness about their causes. There will be two basket raffles in May to which we will be donating, but instead of baskets, we will be donating handmade wreaths.

The first event will be on May 5th to support the St. Jerome Guild at the local hospital. You can learn more about it here:
https://www.thebatavian.com/tags/step-into-spring-0

You Had Me At Meow

Approximately 24" across and 7" deep, this wreath will be included in the raffle to support the work of the St. Jerome Guild at the United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, New York. Information about the event can be found above the photo. For a closer look, click on the photo to enlarge it.

The second event will be on May 11th to support Crossroads House, which is a hospice facility. You can learn more about it here:https://crossroadshouse.com/spring-memorial-basket-raffle/

Welcome To Our Patch

This handmade wreath is approximately 24" across and 7" deep. It will be raffled to support the work of Crossroads House in Batavia, New York. Information about the event can be found above the photo. For a closer look, click on the photo to enlarge it.

There is another wreath in the making right now on my work table and this one will actually be for our own front porch. Sometimes I feel like the cobbler's wife whose children have no shoes! I constantly make things to give away or sell, but don't make things for our own home. There is a long-neglected hand applique quilt that will be getting finished soon, too; and it will be for us  . . . to keep!

I hope that you are enjoying springtime and that you feel the gift of hope that it offers. For those of you who are in need of prayer, please know that I pray for my friends, family and our world every morning and include you in those prayers.

Thank you for stopping by to read this post. Your questions and comments are welcome. You may leave a comment here on the blog or on Facebook. I will read it and will respond. And, as always, until we meet again, may the Lord hold you and those you love in the hollow of His hand.

Emmy

April Goals

One quarter of 2019 is behind us. It seems kind of hard to believe it, but it should make perfect sense, since this is one of the longest winters I can recall! Recently, we've had several days with lots of wind, and that is a good thing because fall was so wet and winter set in so early, that yard cleanup never really happened for most of us living in Western New York State. The leaves that ended up in soggy piles and stuck to the ground swirled about in the steady winds and the 50 mph gusts. Hopefully, it will make the job of raking gardens out much easier.

I have set monthly goals since the beginning of the new year and it has worked well for me. To focus on one major idea or task seems to be a good fit for how I approach things. So, with January's goal of purging closets and drawers of things I no longer needed or wanted, and February's goal of deep cleaning some of the more neglected areas of our home met, I focused in March on communicating more with friends and family. What I have noticed, after each month has ended, is that I have developed new habits based on my monthly goals and they are now part of my routine. I didn't expect this, but from my past research about how to break or establish a habit, maybe I should have anticipated it. So, now that this has been one of the rewards of goal setting, I am happy to go on for the rest of the year with setting monthly goals.

April is the month I have chosen to focus on working on projects in my studio. It was hard to limit my time in the studio when I had other goals during the first quarter of the year, but now I can get to work on several of the UFO's in my quilt stash and new wreaths and paper crafts. That means for you, my faithful readers, there will be more photos of things I have made.

I made a birthday card in March for our granddaughter who turned 21. She likes the mixed media things we have made together, so it was easy to come up with what I wanted to make for her.

For a closer look, click on the photo.

Mixed Media
6"×6"

I made a cute spring wreath that will welcome guests from now until fall, and I have several more started for spring and summer. They will be posted here soon!

For a closer look, click on the photo.

Welcome to our Patch
Spring Wreath
24" across, 8 " deep
$65

Side view of wreath 

Close up of wreath 

The gardens are bare and brown . . . but each day that I go for a little garden tour, I find one or two more daffodils, tulips, hyacynths, and bleeding hearts pushing up through the dirt. We are still experiencing cold nights and, believe it or not, it even snowed this week! But, very soon it will be time to get the leaf blower, mulcher, rake . . . and my helpful hubby . . . outside to work on all the after-winter cleanup! For now, though, I will spend April getting back into the studio and establishing some good creative-time habits.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post and going on my Studio Emmy journey along with me. As always, your questions and comments are welcome. I will read them and I will respond, here on my blog or on Facebook.

It is my sincere wish that you and those you love are well and happy. For those of you who are dealing with tough, sad, or lonely times, please know I include you in my prayers, whether or not I personally know about your worries and concerns. And, as always, until we meet again, may the Lord hold you in the hollow of His hand

Emmy