Missouri stars

It's been beautiful weather lately - sunny and in the 40s.  Our lawn is almost free of snow except for the piles around the street and driveway.  Can spring be almost here?  No sir!  It's just been a little respite - today it's snowing lightly and the grass is getting covered again.  It's not supposed to amount to much, though.  

Tomorrow is our annual Friends of the Library winter banquet and auction, and a major storm would really make things difficult.  We gather at 9 am at the Elks Club to decorate, put out auction items, and generally get ready.  Then we return at 5 pm to set out hors d'oeuvres for the social hour.  So far about 110 people are attending, including some heavy bidders.  Last year there was a bidding war for a pecan pie!   A deal was struck, and the mayor paid $1,000 to have a pie delivered monthly to the homeless shelter.   

Meanwhile, I finished the 21 Ohio Star blocks and started making another set of 14 Missouri Star blocks for a different swap.   Even though these aren't due until September, I hate having these obligations looming.   I started cutting and found I was short a little bit of gray background.  Luckily, my local quilt shop had 16" left in the bargain bin.   It's a tricky block to make, probably because of the bias cut edges.  A little starch or Best Press is helpful when cutting.  I do like the stash-buster aspect of this swap and am having fun pairing different greens to this batch of blocks.  The last batch had reds and browns.  All are cut now, and I have nine more to put together.  If the weather continues so drearily today, I'll do a few more this afternoon, after I return from "work" at the historical society.

I received word that a favorite former B&B guest passed away a few weeks ago.  She was a quilter, too, and I enjoyed seeing her at state quilt guild meetings and the VT Quilt Festival each year.  An old friend of my parents, Lauraine invited us to visit her on the other side of the state a few times.   She was a great cook, and, in her last years, she helped women in her area who had mental and other challenges learn to quilt.  I will miss her.