X and + quilt

I'm sure you've seen the x and + block - it's a very trendy pattern at the moment. I knew I would make one at some point, but couldn't come up with a fabric/color mix that suited me. Then I saw this one in American Patchwork and Quilting magazine {Feb '14} designed by Pat Bravo of Art Gallery Fabrics.

The plus signs are done in solids which really makes them pop and the colors create diagonal lines across the quilt top. It's not as readily noticeable, but the solid aqua/teal/mint backgrounds create diagonal lines in the opposite direction.

A little shot of the back of the quilt - a great black and white print from Ikea...

I started with a line called Rapture by Art Gallery and added some coordinating prints from my stash - many of them turned out to be older Art Gallery pieces.

The awesome wave quilting was done by Abby Latimer and turned out to be the absolute perfect design for this quilt...

So now it's one of my favorites!!!

Read More

Gathering Flowers Quilt finish

I've been working on the Gathering Flowers Quilt off and on for a couple of months. The cutting is slow and the piecing is curved, but all and all it was a pretty simple quilt to put together. Even considering that I changed my mind on the background fabric after completing 8 blocks!

It's a really cute block and I used a different fabric for each wedge - a lot of scraps and pieces that have been sitting in my stash waiting for their perfect debut.

So here's a tip I found helpful in piecing the block:
I find that when I'm piecing curves, often the fabrics tend to distort a bit simply because you're pulling on them to piece the curve. For my background {template 4}, I added 1/2 to 1" to the long edge of the template which creates the outside edge of the block. Once the block is assembled to the point of quarters {4 squares}, I trimmed each square to 9 1/2" {for the 18 1/2" block}. The top of the "wedge" piece should fall 2 1/4" from the trimmed edge. This is the point you want to match carefully to create the circle in the block.

I switched my background to a subtle gray tone-on-tone with white...

I had fun pulling fabrics in shades of green, blue  and a bright pink. Ten of my twelve blocks...

Read More

Decompression

I've been busy  this spring, watching my grand baby, planting the garden, trying to get my life back on track.  Some days it just seems like there is never enough time.

I needed baby chicks like I needed another hole in my head.
Not everyone can say that.  I guess that is ONE of the perks.

I am hoping that as they get bigger, I will like them.  So far, I don't really.
I have two little barred rocks that are being pecked, probably to death.

There are two camps, first those who say separate them, put them in the bird cage; and second, those who say they'll make it or they won't, and that's the scheme of things.  God's plan.
What do you think?

And all you who love your chickens, please tell me why?

I heard from a friend the other day on the subject, who sent me several links to articles about how intelligent chickens are.  I couldn't argue with them.

But what I see doesn't compute.  I see aggravation.

Today, I just needed some alone time at the studio, and that's just what I got.

 Did some accounting, some shipping, some reconciling accounts, and then finally got some weaving done.

Tying fringe is just better with a Corona.
That's my take, anyway.

I was really enjoying myself, playing with colors at the loom.   No pressure.  Just a lovely quiet day by myself.
 I could feel myself getting calm and feeling better.

I have always needed my "alone" time, even as a child.  My mother used to worry about it, I'm not sure she ever got over that.

I have sold about 13 rugs in the past week, so my goal is to replenish my stock.

Three down, ten to go.
But oh, are they ever fun.

Read More

Quilt Along...

Have you done any Quilt-Alongs? They're really a great source of motivation for starting a project... and hopefully for finishing one. Not only do you get to see many interpretations of one design, but they're a good place to get a little help if you need it.

And Instagram has turned into the perfect platform for QALs! It's so easy to share your progress, watch others and use the ole hash tag trick to put everyone on the same page.

A few weeks ago, I was working on a piecing project one evening and things were not going well. It was time to put it away - to think on it a bit. I remembered an Adorn QAL that had been popping up on IG. So I pulled out some scraps, the book - Simply Retro - and started sewing. I had the top done in an evening - quilted and bound the next day.

Today, I started a new one! I fell in love with the Nested Churn Dash quilt when I first saw it a month or so ago. Then last week, Quilt Jane from Want It, Need it, Quilt! started a QAL. You'll find all you need to get started here.

The center block... isn't it cute!!?

I'm doing mine in navy, aqua, green, red, melon, stone and white. The first block {they're 24"!}.

If you're looking for a fun project - join in! The Instagram hashtag is #nestedchurndash

Read More

Starting over, every day.

While it seems that my head is finally healing, and my life is feeling more normal, I still struggle with the nagging suspicion that my brain has indeed been rebooted.
Or perhaps I am just getting older, or it is a combination of head trauma AND age.

But my priorities have changed.  My perspective is vastly different.
Some days that's ok, and other days I don't quite know what to do about it.

Mostly I find that the simplest parts of my day make me the happiest, and I find myself longing for those things.
Excessive noise, confusion, crowds, anything the least unnerving, leaves me cold.

For a long time, I was unmoved by things that had previously made me happy.  I felt like I was suffering from some kind of amnesia.  I would go to the studio, and feel totally at a loss about what to do next.
I think I'm getting better.  I didn't know it would take so long.

Today we were weaving.   L finished this rosepath rug.  She's definitely got this down.

 

And I was making a couple of container rugs, my faves.

 

I remember now what I didn't like about chickens, all those years ago when I had them.  They are pretty dumb, and mean to each other, for starters.
But these chicks are getting big, and feathering out, and whatever I'm doing, it must be right, because they seem happy enough.
The little "pecked" one  is out with the rest, as of today. I kept her in the bird cage as long as I dared.  She was lonely, and she has  to make her own way.  So I put Vicks on her neck, and let her go.  A big yellow chick ran up to her like she was about to PECK her hard, but she must have got a whiff of Vicks, because she didn't.  Then they all kind of checked her out, and apparently Vicks is a deal breaker.
For a while, she stood by herself, in the corner, and I felt sure that she was not going to make it.
But later when I went out, she was snuggled up against a big yellow chick, and as I watched, my little chick PECKED the bigger one.
I'm like, " NO NO, for GOD'S sake, don't START it.  Be NICE."

Thank God they grow up quicker than children.

Read More

Nutmeg Stars Quilt

I've been talking about this one for a while - and now my Nutmeg Stars quilt is quilted, bound, fini! I thought the beautiful foliage would be a great backdrop for this quilt of blues and greens!

I used a FQ bundle of Color Me Happy and some earlier pieces by Vanessa Christenson along with a few stash fabrics.

The pattern is by Fig Tree Quilts and you can find out more about the pattern and how I changed it here.

I quilted it fairly heavily with swirls and pebbles in the background...

and bound in one of my current binding favorites - Art Gallery Squared Elements.

Pretty happy with this one!

Read More

13th Lake

Last year L and I took a drive to North Creek, NY,  and we went to 13th Lake.  It was so beautiful, I said right then that I wanted desperately to kayak the length of it.  I took pictures from the launch site, and wrote a blog post about it.  I even made some greeting cards with the photos.

But of course kayaking 13th Lake  was not meant to be last year.  Surgery #2 arrived, then my mother got sick, and was sick all summer, then my headache came back with a fury, and my mother died, and on to surgery #3.
So over this past winter, I made a list, of all the lakes and ponds that I want to kayak, and 13th Lake was at the top.

L tried to convince me to go somewhere closer, maybe easier.
But my mind was made up.
I am not putting off until tomorrow what makes me happy today.
I have found out the painful, hard way that life, quality life, is short.

  So daughter #1 and I headed out this morning.  She had never been there, but I don't think that she was disappointed.

 The day could not have been more perfect.
The sun was warm, the breeze was lovely, and though we were warned about "black fly" season, and were prepared, we never saw them.
We didn't even use the bug spray.

And loons were everywhere.
We love loons.

 We paddled two miles to the far end, and then two miles back.

Every day that allows me to live my life like this, is a day to be grateful for, to cherish.

There is nothing quite like the Adirondacks.  It is a special place.  Winding roads, small towns, towering mountains, crystal clear lakes.
If you haven't been, you should put it on YOUR bucket list.

Days like today make me  wish I had never wasted a minute of my life to drama.
It's such a waste.

I may look like I'm scowling, but it's just the sun, and concentrating.
I am really happier out in that kayak than a body has a right to be.

 Check it off:   13th Lake.  What a wonderful beginning to the summer.

Read More