A Dutch Treat May Mini

Welcome to

 another Monthly Mini installment. 

This month I decided to have a bit

of quilting fun with my collection of 

Dutch fabrics.

I can't really enjoy them while

they're in a pile 

on a shelf.

Why do I save them there?

Why do I save so many of my

favorite fabrics?

No more lamenting.

Here's what I did this month.

Dutch Treat

24" x32"

The pattern is from

Petra Prins and An Moonen's

book, Promenade in a Dutch Garden.

It was easy piecing

hst's together from small colorful pieces

from my treasured collection and

then using only one fabric piece for the light.

The center star

acts as a small calm medallion

surrounded by the busy chintz patterns.

I finished the edge with a  traditional Dutch

invisible binding.

In this method you finish the edge

on the top with strips that are 

then folded it to the back of the quilt and

stitched down.  Instead of stitching

I used a narrow stitch witchery on the edge

to hold it in place.

I machine quilted a simple diagonal grid 

over the top.  I didn't want the 

beautiful designs of the fabrics to be 

covered over with threads.

To make it's debut,

I headed out to the barbed wire fence.

The bright green of the spring hay made the colors pop.

"Dutch Treat" was joined by two other Dutch favorites.

It made for a sweet mini May parade

in the open field, early in the morning.

Don't forget to check out what other

May minis were created on

Wendy's blog, The Constant Quilter. 

Until Next Time-

Kyle

Home Again

 Momma Mia!

I'm finally back.

Having the opportunity to travel again

has felt incredible. 

Running Man and I were 

extremely cautious, wearing our masks,

using plenty of hand sanitizer,

and trying to avoid crowds as much as possible. 

Being careful though, didn't interfere

with our ability to have an awesome trip

because we certainly did.

Where in the world have I been?

Can you guess?

Yes!

We were able to travel to

Bella Italia.

Beautiful Italy.

We were with a small group

from Odyssey Tours traveling 

to multiple regions and cities

of northern Italy. 

We flew into Milan and made our way

north to Stresa located on 

beautiful Lake Maggiore

on the south side of the Alps.

nearby Lake Orta

After a couple of days exploring

the area we traveled to Santa Margherita

along the Mediterranean coast. 

The view from our hotel.

The sea was a brilliant blue.

We enjoyed the fresh pasta

and pesto this area is known for.

Next we traveled by train and then by ferry

to explore the

5 Italian villages nestled on the coast

known as the Cinque Terre.

The colors of the villages

along with the blue water was stunning.

Then we moved on to the rolling hills region

known as Tuscany.

First stopping in the charming town

of Lucca and it's medieval walls

We stayed in the small village of

Radda in Chianti

surrounded by vineyards

and forests

It was delightful, just what you 

would imagine. 

One day we explored Florence.

Ponte Vecchio

So many incredible sights.

The Duomo

Another day was spent in Siena 

marveling at their Duomo and

 the spectacular Piazza del Campo

We traveled around in a very comfortable motor coach 

and had an incredible tour director.

Both important factors for a great trip.

From Siena we traveled further north to

an area looking very different from the way we

 usually visualize Italy.

We went to Balzano located in the Italian alps.  

 

The scenery was breathtakingly.

  The peaks of the Dolomites are so powerful.  Very different from the 

Rocky Mountains I see at home.

This area has an Austrian vibe rather than Italian.   

The people speak German first, then Italian.

Strudel not tiramisu 

Beer not wine

Then one last stop along the Adriatic. 

Of course, you know where.

Venice.

The Grand Canal

St Mark's Basilica

There aren't enough adjectives to

describe this special unique place.

We walked and walked for two weeks

in this beautiful northern part of the country.

We ate and ate wonderful food.

But like any fabulous trip, it's always

nice to head back home.

One last water taxi ride on

our way to the airport.

Arrivederci!

Until Next Time-

Kyle

April's Mini Quilt

If you're like me 

and many others fabulous quilt bloggers

gathered under Wendy's wing, 

you know making a monthly mini

can be a challenge.

It  feels like the months

get shorter and shorter,

but it's still  a great way to explore new ideas

and create something small each month.

This month I went digging into a 

sewing cupboard and pulled out

a stack of vintage basket blocks.

When or where I got them

is unknown, but they

have been there for a very long time.

The fabrics are a combination of

30's and 40's prints with a bleached muslin background.

The 32 blocks all measured 

ROUGHLY 

10.5 inches.

I decided I didn't want a big quilt 

so I pulled out Jack the Ripper

and took the blocks apart leaving the 

hst's intact.

I wasn't surprised to find all of these units

looking very different from each other.

The blocks were mostly hand stitched.

There was no way these blocks

would fit together.

I resized these from 2.5" down

to 1.5" along with the center section and 

the rectangular side pieces.

The blocks would now be 

a quarter of the size, 5" finished.

The blocks went from this to that.

I ended up using 28 of the 

original blocks.

Vintage Spring Baskets

25" x 35"

I set the blocks together in 

sets of 4.

Then I added a simple border

of Kona Snow and

 machine quilted diagonal lines.

Bound it with a 30's repro fabric.

The backing is a piece from a flour sack

with one more of the blocks used as a label.

****

Then it was time to hang it out on the barbwire fence

along with the other vintage minis that have been 

reconstructed over the years.

All of the quilts are made

 from vintage 30's and 40's fabrics pieces. 

I was asked if I had any regrets taking

apart another person's work.

I would have to say no.

I feel like I have taken pieces that

were abandoned and left undone for a reason.

Maybe I've brought these to completion, finally.

****

The exciting news  is that

Running Man and I will be soon

gathering up our passports, 

vaccination cards and heading off 

on an adventure.

I can't wait!

So Until Next Time-Kyle