Stitching and fishing

Riley and Oliver said it was about time I updated this, since I've been  busy sewing, planting, fishing, critter snuggling and unfortunately, working.

I really liked seeing the "Hello Sun" blocks that Barbara at Cat Patches made, so I joined in the "Hello Moon" Quilt Along. I have made the first four blocks and I am pretty pleased with them. Quilters who sew for enjoyment will understand that one of the first things you have to learn is how to let go of perfectionism. Not that we don't want our work to be perfect, because we do, but we have to learn that it's ok if it's not perfect. I had to remind myself when doing the stitching around the edges of the applique. This is my first attempt at fusible applique and I wasn't thrilled with my stitches at first, but now I have accepted them as a learning experience and they add to the character of the pieces. 

So for my April NewFo submission, here they are:

So there's some of the sewing I mentioned I was doing, now here are some pictures from fishing. Our target catch for the day was redfish.  Educational note: The red drum, also known as channel bass, redfish, spottail bass or simply reds, is a game fish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Northern Mexico.We ran into a friend of a friend, as we were puttering around in Tampa Bay,  who told us of a good spot to try. This dock was it. 

You may have noticed that something is wrong with the top of the boat in the lift.  A pair of Osprey decided that the T-top of the boat looked like a lovely spot to build their nest. Normally, Osprey build their nests in tall trees, near water. This is a very low spot, considering their normal preferences.

They are protected birds, so maybe the owner was afraid to make them go away, or maybe he is a fan of the beautiful birds and doesn't use his boat much anyway. We also found it amusing that the birds built their nest around a plastic owl that is supposed to frighten birds away (seen on the left in the photo below). Obviously, the Osprey were not impressed or intimidated by the owl.

 The female was sitting in the nest, while her mate kept bringing more building supplies.

Since we got right up next to the dock, the female moved closer to keep an eye on us. You can tell she's the female by her "necklace". 

Our friend's friend was right! I caught my first redfish! Actually it was the only redfish we caught all day. And I out-fished both Bruce and Tim. In this rare photo, I'm in front of the camera.

 Here's a close up of the male Osprey as he was coming in to land. They are really fantastic looking creatures.

Here's the "after" shot of the redfish.. Ha ha.. Bruce cleaned and cooked the fish that night and it was tasty.

 In other news, I finally got Bruce's clothing cabinet assembled and squared away, so I have begun trying to get my fabric stash organized. Riley, my ever diligent helper, had to check out the dresser to see if it was a good fit for the fabric.

Thanks for stopping in! ~Amy