Two Days in a Row!!!

I photographed this Queen Elizabeth rose yesterday morning. There is an interesting story about this rose. My Aunt Alice was quite a gardener with roses being her favorite flower. When I was young, she showed me how to propagate roses using a short piece of the stem. She selected a piece with seven leaves below the blossom, cut the pieces to about seven inches, dipped the end in rooting compound, and placed it under a large, glass jar. She helped me do that with a piece of her Queen Elizabeth rose. The large, over sized glass mayonnaise jar acted like a greenhouse. It just looked like a small stick the first summer, but the next year there were a few leaves and the rest is history. Yes, this is that very same rose and let's just say it has definitely celebrated its golden jubilee. Amazing!  

So why am I posting two days in a row? Well, I wanted to be sure you knew that Craftsy is allowing free viewing of its lessons until Oct. 10. Craftsy has been bought by myblueprint.com   So far, I have viewed two complete sets of lessons: "Stitch and Slash" by Carol Anne Waugh and "Art Quilt Backgrounds" with Judith Trager, both of which I enjoyed. The inventory of classes include: quilting, sewing, knitting, crocheting, cooking, art, photography, etc.. Up to now, you could purchases individual classes which I like, but it seems that with Bluprint, unfortunately, they will only be offering a monthly or yearly subscription. I suppose that if you have a lots of varied interests, it could be a good deal.

Also, the 2018 Wooly Row by Row Experience is currently under way. Every other day you may visit two online wool shops where you may download a free pattern. The theme this year is "In the Garden." Even if you don't enjoy stitching wool, you might still like to get the 8" block patterns to make with fabric.

Speaking of wool, I plan to do the pumpkin wool piece featured on From My Carolina Home. I always enjoy reading this blog. Right now Carole is featuring an Autumn Jubilee Quilt Along. It's a two block quilt with Block A being a pumpkin block. From My Carolina Home is a blog about quilting, cooking, reading books, gardening, crafting, sewing, photography, and more. No wonder I like it!!!

Here's my prep for the wool pumpkin piece.

I have two more quilted autumn pieces in the works, but I'll show them another day.

Have a lovely, colorful week.

Rose in Bloom

     Yesterday, I began teaching a class at Heart in Hands, a wonderful quilt shop in South Weymouth, MA. The class will show students how to turn one of their photos into an art quilt. Yesterday's two hour introductory session covered selecting a photo, making an enlargement, selecting fabric, and gathering the materials and tools needed for our next class when we will begin working on the pieces. It was great fun, and everyone seemed eager to get started . The range of photos that students brought with them was diverse, but all should prove to be wonderful subjects. 

     I finished the rose quilt above Friday night. It measures 23 inches wide. The rich, varied batiks are even more vibrant in real life. Here's a close up of the center. The fused, machine appliquéd pieces are quilted in place using narrow zigzag stitches with color-coordinated thread.

     Below is a photo of the Queen Elizabeth rose that I used as my subject.

      This beautiful pink rose has been blooming faithfully in my garden for most of my life. When I was child, my Aunt Alice showed me how to taking a cutting from a rose to propagate a new one. Basically it involved taking a cutting about eight inches long where the piece had seven leaves. Next, you would dig a hole and add rich composted soil. Then the end was dipped in rooting powder  and planted. After watering well, a large glass jar was placed over the cutting and a ring of dirt at the bottom sealed it in place. After a year or so, you would have a new rose. Simply amazing!!!