Phew! A Finish

 The only thing for certain

is there will be plenty of curve balls

for the remainder of 2020,

so when you have a quilt finish

 it's reason to celebrate.

"Social Distancing"

2020

"The Lewis Coverlet", 

pattern by Susan Smith

I started this quilt over a year ago 

as a BOM from 

Homestead Hearth quilt shop.

I thought it would be fun to receive 

a bundle of fabric each month to

make this delightful medallion.  

It is the perfect size to be a topper.

73" x 73"

The applique was done the 

needle turn method and the

stripe fabric made fun stems.

Even these squares were appliqued 

rather than constructed as a pieced border.

I had my LMQ, Kathy, 

quilt a variation of a clam shell design overall.

 The quilting needed to be as light

as the quilt design. 

Karen, of Log Cabin Quilter,

is also working on this quilt.

Take a look at how she's putting 

her fabrics together.  

Running Man and I left home for a few days.

We went to Manitou Springs 

to the west of Colorado Springs.

It was nice to escape the smoke and ash

of the fire still burning west of Fort Collins.

We stayed at the lovely historic hotel

The Cliff House.

tucked in the mountains

at the base of Pikes Peak.

Enjoying the change of scenery

and having a quilt finish

was just what I needed.

Hopefully,  you've recently had a

 reason to celebrate too.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Crossing Over - One Over Two

It wasn't until recently

 that I discovered what a comeback

 cross stitching has made.

There are all kinds of wonderful

designs and designers,

antique sampler repros,

smalls,  folk art,

and contemporary.

I did do some cross stitching 

back in the day, but not for many years.

It was in the late spring that

I caught wind of a Mayflower and

Pilgrim 400 year commemoration design 

by Brenda Garvais.

It was only last year that

I discovered my ancestral link to

Francis Cooke, 

my 12th great Grandfather,

a member of the Separatist 

group from Leiden, Netherlands, 

that boarded the Mayflower and set sail 

from England heading to the New World.

                                                                                      2009

After 66 grueling days at sea

this small group of 102 along with about 30 crew

dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod on

November 11, 1620.

Francis and his oldest son, John (13)

came on the Mayflower in 1620 leaving behind his wife, Hester

and their other 4 children.  After the Colony was better

established he sent for them

and they came to Plymouth in 1623 onboard the ship, Anne.

I can't even imagine.

****

Brenda Garvais's cross stitch design

honors the Women of the Mayflower.

Of the 18 married women that

came, only 5 survived the first winter and

only 4 were still living for the first

Thanksgiving the autumn of 1621.

For the next 66 days

I will be stitching on this cross stitch design

on a 40 count linen, one over two.

I imagine I might be as slow as 

the original trip, but

I'm looking forward to this journey

to commemorate these brave women who

courageously boarded that ship crossing 

over that expansive ocean

looking to a new future.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Live in the Sunshine

 

August is a serious time for ice cream.

It's time to start school no matter 

what form it takes.

Even my daughter who teaches first grade 
 has made quite a few adjustments. 

For me, it's time to share an August mini!!

The fields behind my house looked like the colors

of my quilt, golds and greens.

Wish it had been a field of sunflowers!

"Live in the Sunshine"

47" x 47"

(despite the skies still being smokey and hazy)

You might remember from earlier this summer
that I started appliqueing these sunflower blocks. 

 Susie Wright of 

Fixer of Old Quilts on Instagram had

drafted a pattern of an antique sunflower block

inspired by a 1862 quilt from the collection

of Cathy Erickson of quiltingcat2.

I decided to place the blocks all facing

the same directions, just like sunflowers

moving and following the sun during the day.

The border is designed with sets of golden flying geese

circling the field.

Again I tried to figure it out mathematically,

but luckily it worked out better in real life

than on paper!

All four corners actually, came out the same!

I kept the machine quilting simple

with echo quilting around the sunflowers,

straight lines in the skinny borders,

and leaves in the outer border.

I added the flange binding with the

dark gold and green to frame the whole design.

 

I found two older pieces in my stash for the backing,
 ancient yardage from South Seas designed by Theresa Kogut 

and a very old piece by Sandy Gervais.

Summer isn't really over yet.
There's still plenty of time to play

and even enjoy a little ice cream.

Until Next Time-

Kyle