A day of Jury Selection

What an adventure!  Up in the morning earlier than I've been in years and out into morning traffic that I haven't witnessed for a long, long time.

I joined the line of potential jurors at the Court House door waiting to be cleared through a metal detector and then escorted to a large waiting room that held at least 100 people, at which point we each traded our identity for a number.  I became #10.

After waiting a half hour for five no-shows the "game" began.  A list of 35 people were called to stand in line in the order of the call.  They were led down the hall to a nearby court room and stood waiting for the judge to begin the selection process.

The judge seemed to be having a problem which he explained as soon as he figured out what was wrong.  He needed a group of 35 to draw from and there were only 32.  So the group was dismissed and returned to the assembly room.  It seemed that 3 of the missing were "no shows."  I was included in that group and was the fourth in line.

Back in the room several clerks were busy conferring around a computer making corrections to the list.  Finally, the next two groups were called, led off to the court rooms, leaving about 27 people to wait for further instruction.  I was one of this group too.

After about 15 minutes a judge appeared before our group with the good and bad news.  The Good News:  the selection was complete, we were excused as soon as he finished talking.  The Bad News:  we were free to go shopping or whatever, and would be paid $9.50 for our time.  Unfortunately, that check won't arrive in our hands for another 6-8 weeks.

And that was my up close encounter with the wheels of justice . . .   Now I'm left with the quandary of where to spend my newly found money.  Hmm-mm, how many fat quarters can I buy with that amount?

A New Adventure

It's been a long time since I had to rise, prepare and be out of the house at an early hour.  I've been summoned to Jury duty starting Monday morning.

What will I learn ?

What will I hear ?

I'd like One-- Please

A fancy quilt includes a few patches with rhinestones.

It started as a lark--A non-quilting friend who says things like: "I bought a whack of fabric," "a ball of thread," and  doesn't know that there is a correct way to thread her sewing machine, decided to cut up old jeans to make herself a quilt.  Sometimes the best ideas come from those who think outside the box, or even those who don't think at all.  None of the blocks were the same size and for sure her seams were no where close to matching.  For Elaine it didn't matter, wasn't important, if one strip was longer than the last, "just chop it off."

And so the idea was born to use old jeans and new flannel to make a scrap, rag quilt.  Gathering the jeans was no problem at all.  I worked at an elementary school and donations from students, staff, and a contact with the local Salvation Army store brought more than one could hope for.

Jared loves his quilt.

These quilts have become so popular with my family and friends that I've made 16 as of this summer.As I cut up the jeans I also save the leather labels and some of the pockets to be added to the quilt for decoration.  Pockets are fun to add, they'll come in handy for holding keys and change if you are using your quilt on the beach or outside.  If it's a picnic occasion a pocket is a great place for keeping your napkin and if you're snuggling at home with a cold, what a handy place to tuck a tissue or two, or even a hiding place for a few bits of candy.

Word has traveled far and wide that I collect used jeans.  People are now saving their old ones for me.  I cut them up and store them for the next person who mutters they'd appreciate having one too.  it's also a great project for the young who want to learn how to sew.

My six year old grandson is making himself a flannel rag quilt.

I cut my jean and flannel blocks into 6 1/2 inch squares and the batting squares to 5 inches.  I need 120 of each to make a 10 x 12 block quilt.  After I sandwich my blocks of jeans/batting/flannel I begin sewing an "X" on each square and continue using the well know rag quilt pattern.  The jeans fray so nicely once the edges are clipped.  The finished frayed edges make a beautiful quilt that's tough as nails and heavy too.

Max and Whiskers--double duty

What a comfort it is to have a quilt to cover myself with while I watch my favorite TV shows.  My quilts always serve double duty because while they keep me cozy I'm also hand quilting them.  It's like one hand washing the other.

My package of charm squares started out as a gift from a friend.  As a thank you I made her a pin cushion from several pieces in a miniature log cabin block.  I saw the cute idea in a quilt shop in Sherwood Park, AB last summer and just had to try it out.  I'd also bought a pound of crushed walnut shells for the insides and had to make a few more from different scraps for other friends just to use it all.

With three or four pieces used from the Charm Pack I ordered another pack so I could make a quilt.  I love the adventure of shopping for fabric and it was quite fun to receive my order, but then I had to act on my plan and produce a finished product.  As all of quilters know we have enough fabric stashed away to make at least a dozen more quilts; however this was a challenge that called for a bit of seed fabric--that's rational--right?

Max and Whiskers-Moda  Lots of orange and yellows with black to make it pop.

I like the border which used up the gray,  and red plaid that's been hanging around for a few years.

The challenge was to use up some of my stash/scraps, which I certainly did.  I was so happy to see the end of the gray that was scraps left over from a Halloween costume eons ago.  It looks like lots of sewing, but honest using the Disappearing Nine block pattern it all went very quickly.

I'm Repeating Myself

I ordered another triangle ruler from one of my favorite online stores.  This one has a 90 degree corner.  I saw a pattern that I want to use my green bali prints to make a quilt for our cottage bed.  I could use a regular ruler and work with the diagonal line, but having a special ruler seemed likely to work faster.  At the same time I saw a pattern book for making strip quilts, so I ordered that too.  Yesterday both orders arrived and I was surprised to read that my book is all about making quilts using the kind of ruler that I'd just bought.

I have a jelly roll and honey bun of Oh Cherry Oh by Moda.  So I've started sewing them into strips to make a scrap quilt of my own design using a combination of the patterns in the book.  I think I'll use a page from my friend's book and keep building the quilt until I run out of fabric; it's that or make two.  I'll keep you posted.

After I finished sewing the Max and Whiskers quilt I paused to clean up my sewing room.  You know, get rid of the dust bunnies and bits of fabric and thread.  That also means reorganizing the stacks of fabric, like put some away and pull some others out.  It's like rotating the stock.  It never ceases to amaze me that I've got so much fabric waiting (hidden) in different places.  It's then that I vow not to buy anymore fabric until I reduce or use what I already have.  

I know I've said that before, but it bears repeating. . . it's so-o much fun to buy fabric.

Chip Chip Chipping

We rented a wood chipper machine for the weekend.  The deal was if we picked it up at 3 PM on Saturday we didn't have to return it until first thing Monday.  So off Patrick went to pick it up with the little truck.  Only they wouldn't let him tow it home with the truck because it was too light.  Patrick came back home to get the Toyota and had to wait until I came home from shopping.  Luckily I don't shop for hours and returned in time for him to go back to the shop before they closed.  The plan to have the chipper for a longer period of time without having to pay for two days rental went out the window because by the time he got the machine back to the house it was after dark.

The next morning Patrick had the chipper up and going and we dragged sticks, more sticks and branches to feed the machine.  Each time we thought we'd cleaned up an area we'd find another patch of rubble to work on.  By 1:30 we'd cleared three piles of branches away from the woods in front of the house and Patrick moved the chipper down the lane and into the woods.  The rest of the afternoon continued the same way, move and clear, move and pick up some more.  

There were at least 10 piles of branches on the property.  Some have been there for a few years, others are more recent because we had several trees fall during the October snow storm.  As the afternoon was nearing the end, darkness was fast approaching and there were still several piles left to get to.  Our neighbor appeared with his safety gear on and pitched in to help finish the job.  He and Patrick finished the next to last pile just before 5:30.  The last pile, way out back, will have to wait another year.

Now that we know how much chipping we can do in a day we can plan ahead and have our piles ready as soon as the rental machine arrives.  This will save hauling everything to the field for a burn pile and waiting for a breezeless day to light it.  We figure on renting once a year.  I hope this means we'll be able to clear up our woods at a faster rate than we've been doing.

I tell you there's an adventure and a new experience waiting around every corner.  We're quite pleased with the clean up job we did.  We're also quite tired today.

Disappearing 9 Patch

A couple of Charm packs and a bit of extra matching fabric and I was off on to a challenge of possibilities for a new quilt.  I found a pattern called "Disappearing Nine Patch" and made up as many blocks as I could from the two charm packs.  In order to make a decent sized quilt I decided to alternate solid fabric blocks of the same size.

The blocks can be placed in different directions to form repeating designs, but this wasn't working so I randomly joined them while spreading out the darker patches.  The end result wasn't exciting until I added a 1 inch black border around the center.  It still needed to be bigger so I decided on a patched border using red and orange, black and gray.

The gray was left over from a pilgrims costume for Halloween from eons ago.  I was so tired of seeing it still in my stash and was looking forward to using it up and seeing the last of it.  While using it for the border I had to be very careful because I didn't have much left and wanted to make it work.  Finally I'm down to the last side of the quilt and can see that I'm going to be short by a 1.5 X 2.5 piece.

I've looked high and low through all of my scraps hoping to find one tiny little scrap that would save me; but no such luck.  In the end I chose a flowered, gray, tone on tone, fabric that was pretty close to my costume fabric and stitched it in the border using the wrong side of the fabric.  I think it's going to work.

Coming down the home stretch.  I've shopped for a fabric for the backing that will complement the Max and Whiskers collection by Moda.  Bingo!  I found some with a black background with colored dog paw prints in many of the colors in the patchwork.  In fact, I'm thinking I like the backing better than the front.

No matter which side stays up a quilt is a good thing to have for a warm nap.

Backyard dentistry

Our friends, who we often meet for lunch, just got back from visiting their relatives down south.  Frank gave us a call to chat and see what's new.  We got on the subject of dentists and their costs.  He and his wife are very frugal with their money.  When I cited some of the costs for our dental visits he said we should go to his dentist.

Their dentist is a nerdy, strange guy who has his office in the garage of his mother's house.  He answers his own phone and books appointments.  He charges very little for his visits, but insists on a cash payment, payable on the day of the visit.  He does no billing, has no payment plan and doesn't deal with insurance claims.  His charges vary according to the cost of the materials that he uses.  

Frank broke a tooth and his dentist offered to put in a "Perry County" crown.  Not the kind I'm used to but a cap using the materials they use for fillings, if they hold -- that's good, if not maybe the tooth gets pulled later.  His wife once had a tooth pulled and a few days after found that he'd pulled the wrong tooth.  Oops, (I hate it when my dentist says "OOPS!) can that one be reinstalled?

If you'd like I can get the address for this guy.  Even though my dentist is expensive I think I'll stay with him.  I keep picturing traveling down a dark, overgrown walkway in the back yard of an old house to find my eccentric dentist waiting.  Maybe his dental setup includes an old lawn lounge chair with garden variety tools and oil stains on the floor from when mom used to park her old buick.  I can be adventurous, but I'll pass on this one.

Confessions of a quilter

I AM A HAND QUILTER.  The word is very few quilters are hand quilting their finished projects these days.  Most are machine quilting them.  I know the reason:  If you want to get started on your next quilt this is the faster way to complete one.

I'm afraid to tackle quilting by machine using my own sewing machine.  I've had a few quilts done by a quilting service but they just lack the finished look of a hand done one.  And of course I don't let an unfinished quilt stop me from beginning another.  In fact, more than likely I'm working on several quilts at the same time.  It's silly to think I'm the only person who does that.

I have many projects in different modes of completion.  There's piecing, sandwiching, and quilting.  I used to take my projects to the cottage with me during the summer and hand quilt them there.  That was because there was no electricity for a machine, so lots of quilts were finished over the course of a summer.  My husband wired our cottage for solar energy and now I'm spoiled.  I can now sew and piece, however, that sure has cut down on my quilting.

I make myself a list of my projects so I don't lose track of what's to be done, but golly that list is long.

A recently completed quilt--don't you just want to snuggle with it?

Comforting Chocolate--Uhmmm!

I went to bed last night thinking about my chocolate quilt.  The photo of it looked a bit out of balance because there was so much white in the center.  So I made another decision right before I dropped off to sleep to convert the corners into white blocks with diagonal squares leading to the center. 

This afternoon I worked on the last part of it and finished it up, sandwiched it and now it's ready to have some quilting work done on.  I'm thinking that I'll post it on The Quilter Magazine website.  It was their magazine that I found the idea to begin my project.  Of course I changed it a bit to my satisfaction, but then that's what you're supposed to do, right?

Forget Love, I'd rather fall in Chocolate

It won't be long before the binding is applied and the quilt will be put into use.  


My next piecing project will be using a pattern called China Girl from the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Love of Quilting.  I had started piecing it back in the spring and then moved onto other things.  I'm using a honey bun of Moda's Gobble Gobble.  Gotta work fast before I get the urge to buy, buy, buy.  Maybe I can catch up with my list of planned projects if I hurry.

Miscalculation--Revised plans

Things were going just great for a while and then . . .

I began putting all of my blocks together and then noticed that the strips weren't going to match up.  It was time to set things aside and go back to studying my plans to see where I went wrong.  I spent the evening looking for my mistake and revised the design to make things work.

Today I fixed the problem and am ready to add the last two borders.  Tomorrow will be the day that the top is finished.  All together there are four borders (not shown here) a pink print that is the same as the backing, a black print with mouth watering bon bons, a marble pink and then a four and a half border of chocolaty swirl.

I can't imagine putting this on a bed, but it certainly will be yummy to snuggle under, like vision of sugar plums dancing through my head.

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Vol 4

Just ready in time to make a few quilts of your own design for the holidays.  It's ready to hit the racks in your favorite quilt store.  Inside are lots of beautiful and fun quilt blocks to pair together or just choose the same one.

I volunteered as a tester for Volume 4 and once again had a great time sewing blocks and using my own color combinations.  Some of them were sewn at the cottage where there was just enough electricity to run my little featherweight machine and not quite enough to heat an iron.  To use an iron I had to plug into the generator.  That meant I was ironing on a make shift board in the workshop or standing out in the woods under the trees next to the generator.  Where there's a will there's a way!

While paper pieced blocks are truly not my favorite, I did manage to construct this one and was quite pleased with my efforts.  It's very Christmasy, although it was not my intention.

 This block was so easy and very fresh looking.  The bit of applique changed it from simple to exciting.

One of the blocks is going to become a partnered project between my summer time friend, Sharon and myself.  We've decided on a pastel, flowery fabric and will work over the winter each making 24 blocks to exchange 12 and then complete our quilts in time for show and tell next summer when we both arrive back on the island at our cottages.  I'll keep you up to date as I work on it.

Pick up Sticks is not a game

I remember my mom and brother and me gathering around the kitchen table to play a game of pick up sticks.  It required a steady hand. Mom was pretty good, after all there were only two kids in those days and her nerves were kind of steady.  Years later with five active kids running around the house I bet she could never have beat us at the game again.

These days I play pick up sticks with another Mother--Mother Nature.  I worked a long afternoon or two just picking up sticks that she'd thrown to the ground on our lawn.  I piled them in bundles along the edge and Patrick would come by with the tractor and cart and remove them to the fire pile.

I was quite proud that we were finally getting the upper hand on dead fall on our property.  That's what I thought anyway.  Mother Nature has a way of putting things in perspective.  You just don't mess with her.  Apparently she likes the way she decorates and if you should choose to redo her designs she'll just do them over.

Last week she decorated in frosty, snowy white.  She rearranged the shapes of the trees bending some of them all the way to the ground.  She even pruned one of the big trees by the side of the yard.  Bringing down a huge branch the size of a grown tree itself.  Peeking through the winter white were bright colors of yellow, orange, and red; leaves that were still on the trees celebrating fall.  And to top off her new theme and put me in my place she threw down a plethora of sticks.

The white theme was gorgeous, a blanket covering everything in sight; making a tent all around us.  At times it was impossible to see beyond the fluffy flakes that fell for hours on end.  Flakes that accumulated and took away our electricity for two days, leaving us to live with warm fires in the fireplace and candles and flashlights to light our way.  

Don't mess with Mother Nature.

Chocolate rules

Many moons ago an idea popped into my head.  It appears after a lunch date with friends at our favorite Cracker Barrel restaurant.  While perusing the gift shop area I found a cotton hand towel with an embroidered message in pink and brown.  The message:  "Put the chocolate in the bag and no one will get hurt."  My creative side said that could be incorporated into a quilt.

For the next few days I searched about the internet looking for chocolaty browns and pinks to complement the embroidered design.  That adventure was fun and fantastic because it brought new fabrics to my door via the mailman.  Since those days my idea has gotten lost among other fabulous ideas and the fabric has been forced into the background, but certainly not forgotten; after all I really need another quilt, especially a chocolate one.




This week it's time to bring those fabrics to the table because I've found the perfect pattern to use.  I will place the fussy cut sayings into 6 inch squares and create two more panels to balance them in the center and then surround them with 8x10 blocks.

These blocks are all made from the delicious and colorful fabrics I've collected.  Just working with them makes me want to load up on Hershey bars or Whitman Samplers.

The backing is a busy print with trays of bon bons, lollipops, stars, flowers and little ribbons on a pink background.  It's all so delicious looking.  I'm thinking about quilting it with hearts and swirls.

And when it finished I'll snuggle under it and dream of visions of mouthwatering treats that could add pounds to my hips just thinking about them.  Then I'll go back to the internet and see if I can find fabric with runners and weight lifters so I can work off those added pounds while I snuggle under that one.  It's all about the dream!

The Stove Saga

Our oven project is a hoot and could be exasperating if we let it.  It's an adventure and a continuing saga.  The first one has been returned because apparently somewhere in its lifetime it's been dropped and the insides are sheared off and damaged.  We've had three service calls on it and weren't even been able to use it.  Patrick went to see Lowes and it was returned with a loaner until a new one can be ordered and delivered.  Electrolux didn't want to replace it, just repair it, which would have meant another few services call at best.

The loaner arrived early in the morning on Saturday just as the snow storm was cooking up.  The men took away the first one and left us with something we could use.  Patrick mixed up a batch of lemon poppy muffins for breakfast and popped them in the oven.  They were in there for about 5 minutes when the storm took out the electricity for the whole neighborhood.  We thought it would be back on in a short, reasonable time ( since we live in a modern world).  The muffins continued to bake in the heated oven.  With a bit of patience we eventually had nicely browned muffins, but it took over an hour to get to that point.

That night we sat in darkness, lighted by a few fragrant candles and warmed by a blazing fire in the fireplace.  Lucky for us we have lots of quilts to keep us cozy.  We napped or played with our computers.  When they got low in power Patrick took them to the car and plugged them into the converter and recharged them.  We were comfortable and happy while watching the neighbors houses to be sure we weren't alone in the situation.  Dinner was cold roast beef sandwiches.

Sunday morning arrived and still no electricity.  By noon we thought we'd go out for lunch.  We tried a new place called Benny's.  It's an Italian restaurant that always has a full parking lot, a sign that food and service are good.  It was, I had a delicious cheese steak sub on a paninni roll and Patrick had a turkey club on flat bread.  We'll be going back in the future and they have carry out too.  Evening and darkness arrived and still no electricity--so our loaner stove wouldn't work either.  I thawed out some homemade soup using the fireplace and we ate by candlelight, not that we had a choice.  Patrick continued to charge his computer in the car.  Finally, I went off to bed and left Patrick sitting in his chair ready a book using his headlamp.

Around 1 AM the power came back on and life was back to normal --as we know it.

When Old Friends Come to Town

It's been a year since we last saw each other, but with email we've been in touch constantly.  Nat and Teresa are my best buds from Fort McMurray.  We forged our friendships over fabric, thread and many, many quilts.

Teresa opened her own quilt shop, Bear Paw Quilts and More.  It was an adventure for all of us as we helped her to decorate her shop, learned to cut and fold fat quarters and even taught classes in the back room.

Natalie, who'd never touched a sewing machine before, yearned to learn to make herself a quilt.  Once we got her started there was no turning back.  Soon after Teresa's shop opened Natalie bought herself a long arm quilt machine and went into business taking in quilts and finishing them for customers.

As time went by I retired and moved far away from my friends.  This June while heading back to our cottage the girls drove to Edmonton and we had a fun, special day catching up on news over lunch and visiting our favorite quilt shops in the city.

It's always been a favorite time to share our "sew and tell" projects.  So right in the middle of the dairy section of market where we had lunch we unfolded our quilts and stretched them open for any and all to admire.  There were a few comments and smiles from the other customers and even one excited lady who asked for a repeat showing of one that caught her eye.

Our get together would never be complete without our "Christmas in July" exchange.  Presents and goodies all around, wonderful warm hugs and tons of laughter.  They sure did brighten my day.

Recycle, recycle

Last summer I come up with a wonderful idea . . .   I thought about crocheting rugs for our new cottage.  At first I thought I'd save all of the selvedge edges from my fabrics.  As I started off with a ball of knotted together strips I realized that a chore of this nature would require more than selvedge edges in order to have a rug anytime in the near future.

Then our son arrived with a bundle of discarded linens from his house and announced that he had cleaned out his closets and was giving us what he not longer wanted.  There were sheets and pillow cases that wouldn't fit the size beds that we have so it occurred to me to cut them up and use them for rug making.

I cut open the pillow cases, trimmed off the hems from everything, and cut the material into strips one inch wide.  Next, I stitched the strips together end to end on the sewing machine and wound my strips into a ball ready for crocheting.

By the end of the summer amid my other projects, I'd managed to put together my first rug.  I'd even decided which of the bedrooms it would go to.  That bedroom is yet to be finished and the rug has been introduced to the floor on my side of the bed.  It's lovely and my dog likes to sleep there too.



Over the winter I helped my brother organized his linen closet.  It was full of mismatched sheets, some that were older than his children.  He said I could get rid of any that were not complete sets.

You know what I was thinking don't you . . .

This is one queen sized sheet plus a bit of a pillow case and the rug is half the size I want it to be.  

A Cozy Chair, a Good Book . . .

I love books and so does my family.  As a family we have collected quite a library full.  Friends who visit our cottage often comment on our wonderful collection and know where to come to borrow a book for a rainy day read.

Before leaving the US, Patrick and my brother, Max spent a day designing and building this bookcase to fit in a room in our cottage.  It traveled to our island in pieces ready to be stained, finished, and assembled.

Although it's the only finished piece of furniture in the room it will always be a focal point and a nice place to spend a lazy day curled up with your choice of a book.

The top part holds about 200 books and the larger bottom is designed to house puzzles, games, and larger books.  However, there are still books looking for shelf space and so the bottom part is serving double duty until more shelving can be arranged.

We're thinking a few narrow shelves across the ceiling might take the excess of books yet to come. Of course, there's always the possibility of individual bookcases in each room.  We'll see!

Quilts on the move

Finally, after so many years we have moved to the new cottage.  Quilts that have been folded and stored are now out of hiding and are being used not only for beds, but for make shift walls as well.

The upstairs of the cottage we have been building is still in the studded stage.  Some of my quilts have been draped over half walls to give the feeling of privacy and they make the house so cozy.  Others have been used as tablecloths, and of course to cover beds and snuggle under on chilly nights.

Somehow these quilts make the place feel just right.

Moving Year

For the past many, many years we've been building the log cottage of our dreams.  We started in 1991, laying on the first round of logs.  Each summer we'd get another round finished.  The progress was much slower than we'd ever anticipated, but this year we finally were ready to start moving in.  Although we still have no doors, no kitchen, and no fire place, it is a wonderful sight to see our things began to shape our new living quarters.

The first room on our agenda was our bedroom.  We've been staying in a small guest house since the ceiling began leaking on us in the back room of the main cottage.  It just didn't feel right sleeping in our raincoats or having plastic sheets covering us while we slept.

The walls in our new house have yet to be finished. A few quilts and our collection of refinished furniture pieces make it home.





On the opposite side of our suite we've set up our new Mission style chairs and a few other pieces so we can relax and play with our computers.  For the first time we have a satellite dish mounted on a tower that gives us the luxury of using our computers on the internet.  We love keeping up with our email and of course checking up on what's happening in the world.  This month it's been whether the Canadian Postal Service will return to work.  Our internet service allows us to shop, but delivery comes by CPS.

The back half of the upstairs is still under construction.  We're looking forward to another two bedrooms and storage.  If you happen to be heading this way for a visit.  We have already begun setting up sleeping accommodations for you.  The best location on the second floor is overlooking the bay, with lots of warm, morning sunshine to awake to.

Experiencing Spring X 2

Plume tree blossoms

I worried that spring would never come while we were at our house in PA.  I watched for daffodils to bloom but they hardly made a showing.  Then my gardening expert friend told me that I shouldn't have cropped back the leaves last year.  I'd stolen their ability to produce a full bloom for this year.  Lesson learned I won't attack them again.  Next year will be beautiful.

Canadian Anemones

Now that we're safely perched on our island in Saskatchewan spring is popping again.  We arrived in time to see the fruit trees bloom and the chives and anemones are happily looking skyward.

They are blooming profusely all over the beach and the garden area.  Each year they spread farther and wider.  It's a great welcoming sight.

I've learned to identify a crop of wildflowers not previously known to me in the US.  However this year a new and exciting flower appeared near the new cottage we've built.  It's very showy and magnificent.

Here is my newest challenge.  I've got to research this beauty and give it a name.  In the meantime, I'll protect it and hope it can reproduce and return for more admirers to enjoy next spring

Cascading through fields

Today the One Block Wonder was finished and is now on the stack of quilts waiting to be quilted.  It took a year to get it finished to this point; now it needs to be quilted.  I started on it last year just before we left to head back north.  I can't say whether I love it or not, but I can tell you I won't be making another one too soon.

It's a very creative and time consuming method.  If many people used the same fabric print their quilts would all look totally different and unique.  Mine makes me think of a group of yellow flowers cascading through a field of purple and lilac ones.  The flowers are a strong contrast to the background, making the spinning hexagon flowers pop.

After all of the hexagons were sewn together the blocks were sorted into colors and then I began to lay them out on the floor creating a design. It takes a few days of studying and tweaking until a satisfactory placement appears.  That's what makes it different from any other persons design.  It is a personal decision.

It will make a beautiful wall hanging; on the other hand it would be lovely just to snuggle under it.  My quilt has a date with my good friend and her long arm quilting machine.  After which it's going to stay with her in Fort McMurray.  Now that I've found a happy home for it I might--that's maybe--think about making another.  The fun part of course is shopping for just the right print.  But it's going to have to wait for a while, there are many other quilts waiting their turn.

It's true:  "There are so many quilts to be made and not enough time."

Oops! I did it again

Brittany Spears became popular with her rendition of this song, but I'm singing those same words for another reason.  I vowed to cut down on the amount of fabric I have stashed.  I made a resolution to make a list of the projects I have on the go and not to begin any more until the list gets shorter and the projects are gifted.  No more fabric comes into the house until a lot more gets used up.

Well . . .  then my friend is going to a grandmother again and I had to add a baby quilt to my projects.  It's her daughter's first baby and that requires a special made quilt for the new arrival.  OK, one more small project isn't so bad, no one will notice another on my long list.  I'll just squeeze it in between the lines.

I'd even given away two small bright lap quilts in an effort to reduce the piles of quilts around home.  Bright and full of funny dinosaurs I thought would be perfect for another friend to pass on to her young grandchildren.  I only give my quilts to people whom I know will love and appreciate them.  Some of my gifted quilts have ended up on people's walls; that's real appreciation.  And that's exactly where she wanted to put the dinosaur quilts--and yes they did show well against the buttery yellow wall she chose.

A vintage farm house surrounded by garden paths that roam through rhododendrons, azaleas and perennials of all colors deserves a quilt that is as soft and inviting as gardens outside.  So with great enthusiasm I promised to make a  quilt for that special wall space.

Gorgeous woodland azaleas

Oops,  I did it again.  I added another quilt to my list.  (Can't you just hear Brittany singing those words?)  Not only did I promise, but I came home, grabbed my computer and spent the evening searching my favorite on-line shops for fabric to make the perfect special quilt for my good friends.  No more resolutions for me, I'll just have to work harder and faster.