Such A Busy Day

This quilt had just made it to flimsy stage when I took the picture. It’s now basted and halfway quilted. And it was no fun. It was tense and anxious and frustrating.

I wanted to do this quilt without the sashing. The quilt looked great on my design wall without it. It had impact – it was bold and colorful and happy - the sashing took that away. But without it, the piecing was hopeless. I stitched one block together, and it was awful. It wouldn’t even lie flat. You’d think I never quilted before.


I learned a lot about myself while making this quilt. I learned that I hate piecing. It does not thrill me to have perfectly matched points. Yet, it makes me anxious when they don’t match. I admire them in other quilts, and wish I could do them, but it’s not the reason I quilt. I have no interest in doing them well, other than to still the quilt police voices in my head. Although I love and admire traditional quilts, I have no desire to do them. It’s not my thing.

I also learned that I don’t like jelly rolls. The pinked edge slides around under my ¼” foot and I end up with a crooked seam. Since I usually have a crooked seam anyway, it magnifies my problems.

So – what kind of quilting shall I do? I thought a lot about that while I worked on this. I had the tv off, no music, no phone calls – a lot of time to think.

When I started quilting, it wasn’t really quilts I was doing. It was quilted pictures. And I miss that – I miss the creativity, the drawing, the painting, the slap-dash hurry hurry of catching an idea in fabric before it flew away. So this poor quilt will be the last, at least for awhile – I still have hubby’s quilt to make – but I want to get back to my first love. I want to rediscover quilting for fun. I want to stop being frustrated that my quilts don’t look like the picture on the pattern. I want to create my OWN pictures.

Yep, this quilt taught me a lot. But it didn’t just teach me. It set me free.

Portholes Thursday

I went to an art fair yesterday, and this is the only picture I took. Why? I love the lettering.




I have that font somewhere on my computer. I love art fairs, they re-charge my creativity - but not this one. But it was a great day to be outside - a cool breeze from the river, beautiful sunshine, and great company.



And now, without further ado, Porthole Two......

You can get it [edit: no longer available]. (I scanned it a bit crooked - sorry!)
Get your feet wet and hang ten with me. You know you want to. And don't worry, there are no sharks in these waters - it's not allowed in my happy little world.

Jennifer Paganelli from Sis Boom sent me these wonderful pieces from her new fabric line, Dance With Me. I really wish you could touch these, they are WONDERFUL. So many of her fabrics are made into wearables, and I can see why. I can't stop touching them. The colors are fabulous, like always, and they go perfectly with Portholes. As soon as I saw them, I knew I would have to use them for this.

Have you ever seen anything so yummy!

Sorry, I couldn't stop taking pictures. These colors make me SO happy. Thank you Jennifer!!!

And now, what would a post be without a picture of Hermoine. My oldest son is going to a family reunion today in another state. He didn't mean to pack the cat, but apparently she's feeling the need for a road trip. Either that, or she realized her kitty box cleaner won't be here. Her nose is pushed into a sock roll. Cats are so subtle.

WHAT a life.

Charming Girls Quilt Club

Time to have some fun! Kelly, from Charming Chatter, has started the Charming Girls Quilt Club. Each month, you submit photos of a project you want to complete that month. Then, on or before the end of the month, you submit photos of the finished project. It doesn't have to be quilts! If you finish it, you'll be entered in a drawing to win a $25 gift certificate from her store. You can get extra entries too - go read all about it, and sign up!

This is my entry.

I had the blocks made, but completely stalled. So this is a good opportunity to get it in gear! The thought of ironing and cutting all the fabric for sashing has had me sitting on my keister.


My oldest son, John, went into the bathroom last night and found this.

This is Hermoine. And yes, she owns the joint.

Was she sitting in there because it was nice and cool, surrounded by porcelain? No.

She was waiting for a human to come and give her a drink. Apparently bowls are no longer good enough, she wants a freshwater stream.

Next, she'll be demanding coffee in the morning.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY AMERICA!

Have a safe and happy 4th!

Portholes

It's July, and I'd like to introduce Portholes, a series of three stitcheries I designed for you. This is the first. Let's celebrate summer!

You can get it (edit: no longer available]. I was going to release these monthly, but summer is here and these are summer stitcheries - so it will be a weekly release. I hope you like them!
Summer, to me, means beaches and palm trees and cute little cottages, where you can get sand on the floor and nobody cares. With bathing suits flapping on the line at all times, meals eaten on your beach blanket, and the sound of waves playing like a soundtrack in the background of your days. Simple and carefree living - I love summer!

I'm not going to give you a pattern for the final product. I'm not sure what *I'm* going to do with them! Maybe a small wallhanging. I also think they would look good on a beach tote. If you have any questions, be sure to email me! Use whatever colors your imagination can come up with - and I would LOVE to see what you've made! Also, I'd love to see you add things to your summer beaches, I added a bit of grass. For the doorknob I used a french knot, but a small satin stitch would also work [probably better, you don't want a close-up of my french knot, lol!].
Wait - I hear the ice cream man - must run - go celebrate your summer!

Happy Canada Day!

I hope you enjoy this video sent to me by my girlfriend in London, Ontario, where the clip was filmed. Have a safe and blessed Canada Day!