Memorial Day Weekend

Yippee! The three day weekend is here for those of us in the U.S. It seems a bit quiet in Blogland as many people are spending the weekend with family and friends and going away for the first holiday weekend of the "summer."

For me, this weekend is a time to relax and start thinking about the summer months. Sometime in the next couple of days, I'll put away the spring quilts and decorations and get out the red, white, and blue, and the brighter colors of summer. I'll likely share with you photos of a few of my favorite things. In the meantime, I'll share with you a little glimpse of what I'm working on in the Sweatshop:

Using six charm packs from the new Thimbleberries line, Sangria Sunset, and some cream yardage from that line, I've sewn up a bunch of blocks with cream center squares and colored strips. Although I'm not quite done yet, I'm sewing the same number of blocks with colored center squares and cream strips. Once I have them all done, I'm cutting the blocks on the diagonal and sewing them back together as half square triangles, light and dark:

In the next day or two, I'll share with you the layout for the blocks. I will be adding appliqued vines, leaves, and flowers to this quilt, and I've placed an order for additional charm packs and green yardage for the applique. I also have this fabric set aside for the border:

All in all, I think I'll end up with a cheerful summer time quilt that will work well for a tabletopper, lap quilt, or on the end of a twin bed.

My husband and I started off the weekend by barbecuing burgers, and they were really excellent--the kind that require at least two or three napkins and are piled so high with bacon, cheese, avocado, tomato, and lettuce that you can barely get your mouth around one. I have a rack of baby back ribs in the refrigerator for tomorrow night, and I hope to do a little bit of baking over the weekend. If I come up with anything out of the ordinary, I'll share the recipe with you.

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend, whether you're here in the U.S. and celebrating Memorial Day or elsewhere in the world.