April Happenings

 Spring is slowly starting to appear

here in Colorado.

I've also been slowly working

on projects one day at a time.

And the results are beginning to show.  

There are a few projects that have been finished

and a few ongoing ones.

****

#1

A pair of springtime bunnies.

"Spring Delivery"

Scattered Seed Samplers

5" x 7"

And.....

"Spring Gathering"

Scattered Seed Samplers

5" x 7"

I changed a few thread colors and

changed a few design elements.

The first adorable vintage frame 

was from a thrift shop in Santa Fe.

I love it.

The second one was a shiny gold colored inexpensive 

frame from another shop here in Fort Collins.

Running Man got out his air brush and toned

it all down to a reasonable shade.

****

#2

This next project is far from finished.

It's a Mystery Quilt Along through 

Primitive Gatherings.  

I'll be the first to admit that quilt mysteries

are not my favorite.

My time and fabrics are just too

valuable and expensive to be working

on something that I might or might not like.

But I was caught in a weak moment

and Lisa B reassured quilters everywhere 

that she would not let anyone down!

hahahaha

So I've started.

31 nine patch blocks, scrappy, blue and white.

We'll see where the mystery leads me.

If you're in a weak moment too,

check out and sign up for Lisa Bongean Blog, 

to get the monthly mystery patterns

for O Say....Can You See.

This part will be gone at the end of April when

the May chapter is issued.

****

#3

Sometime ago I signed up for a

 Hands Across the Sea's pattern

exclusively for Hobby House Needleworks.

I had never done one of

Nicola Parkman's vintage reproduced samplers.

This one is Rosa Ada Featherstone, 1894

Through the process of working on  a reproduced antique sampler

I came to several conclusions:

1.  Samplers done by young girls could have many errors.

If the sampler is designed to even include these flaws, 

I'm going to have to fix them.

I make enough of my own mistakes, that's for sure!  

I had to do lots of changes to make

this design work for me.

2. I like the style of many of these antique samplers,

but if I used Rose's name my family would be thoroughly 

confused as to who she was in relationship to us.

So I customized this sampler with my

maternal grandmother's name and date of birth.

3.  I decided while working on this sampler that Rose's heart wasn't

into this project or needlework as a whole 

or she had a poor teacher with limited supplies.

I changed many of the motifs because

I didn't recognize what they were.

I also changed and added more colors.

An example is that the ships 

were originally bright green.

I had to change that

 as well as a few other color choices.

Sorry, Rose.

*****

#4

I first mentioned this 

Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt

back in December,

Why Not Start Something New

Well, I'm still happily working on it.

The hand quilting is coming close 

to being finished,

A dozen more hexies to go

and then...

75" x 80"

I'll have to decide how to bind it

with the zig zag edge.

****

It hasn't been all work or stitching.

The other night we were able to go

to a live concert featuring

two of my favorite musicians,

They are on their final

US Tour as a duo.

I listen to their beautiful cello music

which includes classical, popular and rock music.

Stjepan Hauser and Luka Sulic'

They put on an incredible show

and we had fabulous seats.

The audience was a mix of young and old

and I loved every minute.

Check them out on you tube.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Green Isn't Always Second Fiddle

 When you think of the color Green

in relationship with another color,

it is usually included as the second color

in the sequence.

Red and Green

Blue and Green......

I wonder why that is?

Green is a lovely color that can

stand strong by itself.

This month's mini 

Green Isn't Always Second Fiddle

Shades of Green

21" x 24"

Using Green as the primary color

can be a challenge.

I usually purchase greens for

applique stems, leaves or

to mix with another color. 

So most of my green fabrics are small

prints to add a little bit

of texture to a project.

In this case, different shades of green got to be the stars

with tiny red and white shirtings settling for  the 

second fiddle position.

I noticed three of my old favorites ended up

side by side.

The first one is from the Sarah Johnson Collection and 

the Shelburne Museum 

The second one is part of the 

Smithsonian Fabrics collections, but I'm not sure 

what antique quilt.

The third one is all used up

so I don't remember the designer.

Red just couldn't let Green be the star

and just had to be the binding!

A March Series

The month of March can be thought

of spring gradually finding its way

and even possibly seeing the beginning of a hint of green.

For now, the only green I can 

see is clipped to the fence.

Be sure to check out the rest of the 

Monthly Minis listed on Wendy's blog,

The Constant Quilter

it's always a treat.

Until Next Time-

Kyle

A Quick trip to Santa Fe

 

A couple of weeks ago 

we were able to get away 

and spend some time in

Santa Fe, New Mexico, one of 

our favorite places. 

It's a quick 6 1/2 hour trip

depending on the traffic 

through Denver and Colorado Springs. 

But once passed those cities

 the highway 

opens up and the traffic

almost disappears.

Santa fe is such a unique place.

Hard to think of it

as the state capital. 

We have favorite places 

that are always on our list 

to stop and enjoy.

Kakawa Chocolate House 

Their passion is

authentic and historical

drinking chocolate elixirs and 

our passion is always to come by

for a taste test.

We might include

a visit to the 136 year old

Cathedral Basilica of Francis 

Of Assisi located

right off the central plaza. 

Running Man 

seems to fit right into

the Santa fe vibe.

Our main reason for this particular visit

was to check out our daughter's new work place.

It is so nice to have her and her husband 

so much closer.  

They waved Florida goodbye and 

have now settled into the high desert of New Mexico.

Her job involves managing 1000's of objects

in the International Folk Art Museum.  

If you have ever been there, 

you know what I mean by their massive 

collection.

We were given a private tour of the

multiple rooms of onsite storage. 

First stop, peeking down 

the aisles of preserved quilts.

Each one labeled with it's providence 

and history.

Each one archivally stored for a future displays.

 They are rolled in an inert nylon film called dartek which

acts as a barrier against pests, dust, etc. 

There is so much more that makes this museum so unique.

face jugs

Mexican cartonería

Can you tell what this horse is made from?

aluminum can pull tabs.

One storage room was filled with some

interesting and unusual animals.

Peek-a-boo, we see you!

Lots of folk people from

every country and nationality

just waiting for their turn to go on display.

Everyone is labeled

indexed and accounted for.

Some don't mind being in a cupboard,

but others get pretty grumpy.

  

Most museums only can exhibit about 5-10% of their collections at a time.

One of the current exhibits is called

"Dressing with a Purpose"

which examines three Scandinavian dress traditions.

The hand embroidery is exquisite.

Examples include

 the traditional on the left

to a modern interpretation on the right 

using shopping bags from Ikea.

Santa fe is a wonderful place to visit.

Hopefully, some day your travels will 

take you there.

Until Next Time-

Kyle