Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Flowers or Snowflakes

Are these flowers or snowflakes?

It's hard to tell in Colorado.

I've been working on hexagon blocks
for the Di Ford's pattern, Route 66.

 They're as addictive as 
chocolate Easter eggs.
They just take a lot longer to make
than unwrapping a piece of chocolate.


If the weather stays warm,
I'll call them flowers.

If not,

 they'll be snowflakes for
a little while longer.
We'll have to wait and see.
Oh, oh,
did I just see a snowflake
drift by the window?
 Until Next Time-

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Spring? Break

 Last week we went from this
  to this

 But despite the fact that it was called "spring break",
 we headed up into the mountains
for some family time.
Don't let the blue sky fool you.

 Next to the fireplace was the best place for coloring.


Someone had to wait for lunch.


It's hard to catch snowflakes on your tongue.

The snow didn't seem to dampen our fun.


Spending time with family 
is worth every second.

Of course, we know there are many families
today suffering after yesterday's attacks.
My thoughts and prayers are with
those families today and
the sorrow they are feeling.
Until Next Time-

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Quilting Can Be SO Boring at Times

 There are times when the
repetitiveness of an action can be soothing,
like rocking a baby,
swimming,
or even hand quilting.
 The rhythmic motion can
ease away the stresses and anxieties of the day
and make you feel better.

This past week was filled with repetitive motions
and all it did was make me restless, tired, moody,
and ready to go crazy. 
I had found Noah and Matelida
lingering in a tote bag.

Now before that brings up bad images,
I'll remind you that Noah and Matelida
is a wonderful antique sampler pattern
designed by Dawn at

This was a BOM started in 2014
and Noah and Matilda have been
enduring their tote bag residency for
over a year.
There's always a hang up or a reason why 
a quilt is ignored and left to the fate of
becoming a UFO.
In this case, I know exactly why.
It was the thought of the
repetitive, dull, tedious motions of
 making very small grapes for the appliqued border.
 I just couldn't face it.

But it was time to be a big girl quilter
and 
trace, cut, prep
 a gazillion circles,
(although, you can see they're still not  quite
ready to applique)

make miles of bias vines



and then trace, cut and prep

a bushel of leaves and flowers.

Okay, I sound a bit whiny, but
now that part is done.

I also knew I would have to slightly
refigure the border pattern and
I didn't want to do math!
But with only a few numbers and
 pleating the pattern, it worked out.

 
 I shadowed the vine design onto the fabric
and glued it in place with Roxanne's Basting Glue.

Next came more stems and leaves
 
and side one is ready to applique.
Now to many, appliqueing may fall into the 
category of a repetitive, monotonous,
tiresome, a mind-numbing activity, but for me
just the opposite.
Now comes the fun part.
I'm ready for a wild, mind blowing, thrilling ride.
Aren't you glad we're all different!

 Until Next Time-

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Daffy-Down-Dilly

 A few weeks ago I
bought a bunch of daffodils.


It made me feel like spring was just around the corner.
Don't you love daffodils.

(And Yes, I remind myself, that
March is suppose to be snowiest month of the year
here in Colorado.)
*****
 Yellow is a color I like to wear in the summer,
but I don't have much of it in my house.
It's a wonderful color.
It reminds me of happiness,
energy, and joy, but
it generally isn't the star in a quilt.
Doreen over at 
posted some instructions for a Triple Irish Chain quilt
using a jelly roll.  

I had always wanted to make an Irish Chain
and I had always wanted to make a yellow and white quilt.
Why wait.
Perfect timing.
It's interesting the affects a bouquet of daffodils can have
on you.


Doreen's instructions were great and I
opted to do the largest version  82" x 82".
The quilt went together as slick as butter.
I reversed the placement of the typical background and the dark pieces.
It didn't make much difference in the blocks with the  2" squares,
but it made the large squares my daffodil yellow.

Recently, I've been sewing with smaller pieces
and doing a lot of hand work.
I found this so much fun.
It was quick and easy in comparison and
nice just to sit at my machine and sew.


 Working with solids is always a challenge for me.
The quilt top can appear flat and uninteresting,
especially with a lower contrast, like the white and yellow.


Then I remind myself that it's the quilting that
will bring it to life.
I just have to be patient and wait.

Daffy-down-dilly

Daffy-down-dilly
Has come to town
With a yellow petticoat
And a pretty green gown.


Happy Spring!

 Until Next Time-

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Woolie Moments

After sharing my NEW 2016 list
of Stitch-a-Longs,
I felt like I needed to
finish another one
that I had worked on last year.

Stacy West of Buttermilk Basin
shared these wooly moments
as a BOM.


 I was able to dig into the wool bins
and find the perfect pieces to make
these blocks month by month.
The block backgrounds
were plaid flannels from long ago.


They were fun, easy and relaxing.
The kind of stitching that makes
for a perfect take along project.

I opted for a different setting
than what was suggested
and quickly framed the blocks
with gold flannel stars and a narrow flannel border.



The only machine quilting was around
the blocks and stars.

This quilt was another fantastic free pattern 
offered by Stacy, who's a terrific and generous designer.

And guess what?

There's a new one on her website for this year.
Check it out.
You know I have.


Until Next Time-