The top of the quilt is done! I'll post pictures eventually, but my camera has pretty much bitten the dust, and Neale can't find the charger for his. This week is spring break. So far, I've been working in the yard. This is the time of year I want to be outside. Projects for the week: I want to put The Niece's quilt together and start the machine quilting. I'm going to put in a garden, and work on killing the vinca.

I wasn't going to plant anything this year, but then I read an article in Garden Gate about growing veggies in a bed that's 4' square, and it was quite a bit of food, so I'm going to do it. I found 50+ bricks in the backyard, half buried in the flower bed by the back fence. I've got a 42x46" area staked out in the middle of the yard. The plan is to dig up the grass and loosen the soil, then build up a bed with the bricks. All I'll need at Home Depot is a big bag of garden soil, maybe some compost, and plants. Right now, I've got pea, lettuce, and radish seeds, so I'll start with those, and then in a month or so, I'll put in a couple of tomato plants, a bell pepper, and maybe a zuccini. I think a lot of my previous garden issue has been that I started too big, I tried to do too much, so I'm going to scale it way back this year. That, and the bed I was using didn't have enough light. I don't know when the previous owners last planted a garden, but now, there isn't enough sunlight getting to that bed, so I planted mint there, and I'm hoping it takes the bed over.

I've gotten most of the vinca out of the bed in front, and I started on the bed in back yesterday. The best way seems to be to cut it down to the ground, without leaving any clippings lying around, because they'll root, and then spray it with either Round Up or white vinegar, tack ground cloth over it, and leave it for a few weeks. I'm going to try the vinegar first in the front, because #1, I don't like chemicals, and #2, it will make the soil unsuitable for planting anything else for months. I'm going to try the vinegar for a few weeks, and if it doesn't work, I'll get some Round Up.

I have a niece! She's beautiful. Soon, very soon, she will have a quilt. I am almost finished with the top, I have one more row to add, then I have to put it all together. I'm machine-piecing the border and the back, and I'm machine quilting the center. I think I want to do just a little hand quilting on the borders. Basically, a bee in each corner and a couple of looping lines through the edge. I bet I can finish by the end of Spring Break.

I'm working on an amigurumi octopus. I want to knit bunnies for Easter.

For Lent, I am giving up beer, coffee, and baking desserts. Now, this is the spirit of the last one: I am going to cut back on sweets by promising that until Easter, I won't make a big batch of cookies, or a cake or pie to have lying around the house to snack on. Not that I do this all that often, but in the spirit of Lenten sacrifice, I'm going to refrain. If I remember correctly, feast days are exempt, and Sundays are considered feast days, also biscuits aren't dessert, so we can still have our standard weekend breakfast of biscuits and eggs. I did make some shortbread for my sister last night, because she's apparently been having a rough time of it with the baby, and, although I did lick the spoon, I'm not eating any of the finished product. I think God will understand.