Springtime Purple

These grab shots were taken with my iPhone.

A Field of Fabric Flowers

Last Friday night at our once a month evening quilt meeting at Heart in Hands, Stacey showed us how to make fabric and button flowers. We took a strip of fabric twenty-two inches by two inches and folded it in in half lengthwise. Next we gathered the raw edges and pulled tightly creating a fabric rosette. A button was then placed in the middle with tacky glue, and a pin was glued to the back. Here is mine from the other night.

Honestly, I couldn't picture myself ever wearing one, but I thought almost immediately that it might be fun to create a little art quilt featuring a field of these happy flowers, and so I did! The piece measures 12'"x 12."I varied the length and width of the fabric strips to create different size flowers.

Karen Eckmeier gave a wonderful presentation at the Crosstown Quilters Guild on Thursday. What a lovely, personable, creative lady she is. I used the technique she explains in her book Accidental Landsapes  to create the field for my little piece. The stems were cut from various widths of rickrack and the buttons were sewn on to anchor the flowers. I added a bee for an extra little touch of whimsy. This little piece now adds a fun pop of color in my kitchen.

On Saturday, Beth Helfter from Eva Paige Quilt Designs spoke at the Herring Run Quilt Guild meeting. Her talk was lively and fun, and I purchased a pattern which should be just perfect for an upcoming project.

Happy spring!

Springtime Yellow - Part 2

My friend Ginny called the other day to tell me that her daffodils were absolutely beautiful this year, so of course, I drove down to her home to take a few photos. They grow along a low stone wall on either side of her front yard. These daffodils are descendants of the very same daffodils which were given to me so, so many, many, many years ago as recounted in the post Full Circle.

Through the years the bulbs have been divided and shared with many gardening friends.  Ginny said that when she happens to be in her front yard, motorists and bicyclist will often stop to tell how much they enjoy seeing them each year. They are truly the gift that keeps on giving pleasure to all who view them. 

Springtime Yellow

Between the forsythia and the daffodils, yellow must be the unofficial color of springtime. There is an amazing story behind the daffodils which flourish in my garden and along my fence. If you are new to my blog or haven't read the story before, please read Full Circle which I originally posted back in April 2011. I guarantee you will enjoy it. 

Happy Spring!

Insert and Improvise

It has been awhile since my last post, but I have been busy. I went to two quilt weekends in a row. The first was with the Herring Run Quilt Guild at the Sea Crest  in Falmouth. This past weekend I was with friends at a regularly scheduled quilt weekend in Stoughton. So what have I been working on? Well, it's a shades of brown and turquoise, improvised blocks quilt. I had clipped and tucked away a small photo of a quilt that caught my eye from a quilting magazine a few years back. It featured batik blocks with contrasting color insertions. The blocks had either one or two inserted pieces. Since I had some lovely turquoise and brown fat quarters, I started playing around. No pattern was involved, just an idea and a tiny smidge of creativity. :-)

This block looked nice especially with the striped fabric, so what would happen if I inserted more strips?

 Then, I tried all sorts of things. Here are a few of  of my favorite blocks.

I should note that all of these blocks still need to be pressed and trued up to size. The entire process was  great fun. In case you would like to give it a try, here is what I did. I began with a 8.5 square and inserted various stips which were one inch wide. That was the key for these blocks. When you use a quarter inch foot, you lose a quarter inch on each side making your inserted strip one half inch wide. Conversely, when the strip is inserted you lose a quarter inch on each side of the block, so the block remains 8.5 inches. I shared this with you because someone who was watching as I improvised the blocks, couldn't quite grasp how the block stayed the same size until I explained it in that manner. You could, of course, insert strips of various widths, but you would have to start with a larger original block and then trim it down to the desired final size. One more thing, to make the stips appear to be woven, insert one strip vertically, then horizontally, then vertically, etc.  I also was consistent with my cuts. By that I mean, if for example my first vertical cut was one and a half inched in, then my horizontal cut would also be one and a half inches from the bottom. I varied these cuts for each block.

     I have four more blocks to make and then I will be able to assemble the top. Yeah!

Happy spring!

Spots of Color

 I spent some time yesterday shooting these little spots of color which dot my lawn.

Thank goodness spring is finally here. 

Easter Monday 2015

Almost of all of the snow has melted in my backyard, and here and there are signs of the promise of spring. I took this photo with my iPhone a little while ago when I was outside with Emma. Emma and I took our first walk in a long time this morning. Unfortunately, the weather forecasts suggest that another walk may not be possible for the next few days as rain, wind, and perhaps a touch of snow are predicted. :-(

This little "rail fence" quilt top is sewn but still on my design wall. My cousin Tom and his wife were blessed with their first grandchild in November, so I'm sending this to their precious little one who lives in Georgia. It still needs to be quilted and bound but given its size that shouldn't take too long.

Saturday, I was relieved to receive from the long-armer the quilt that I am making for another little cousin. Her birthday was in January, so it's just a tad overdue. I've posted peeks of it here before; it has shades of turquoise, pink, and purple on a white background. These were the colors that she had selected. The long armer quilted a daisy design which is absolutely perfect for this quilt. I still have to add the binding and sew it all down by hand which will take some time, but I am determined to have it completed by school vacation week. I'm sure that she will love it. I'd be very content sleeping under it myself!!!