Summer Frolic

I was thinking that Jane would spend her summer holidays finishing up Danuta's Garden, but I wasn't thinking that she would do it so quickly! She was off the first two weeks of July and her first day at the cottage it was done (between you and me, I think that she wanted to be certain that she could spend lots of time in the lake :) ).

Isn't it a beauty? She laid it out on the hammock to get a good look and decided to rename it Summer Frolic, which suits it perfectly. All of those lush, large summery prints with a few stripes mixed in just scream summer, especially in the dappled sunlight of the trees.

The soft yellow sashing print isn't showing up that well but you get a better sense of it in this shot.

It is all hand stitched, with a few extra blocks to boot. Somewhere along the line she made 30 extra 4-patch blocks for the sashing so she's already got a great start on another beautiful creation.

She's thinking that the backing is going to be something big and bright but hasn't gone through her stash yet to figure out what that might be. In the meantime Linda, maybe it gives you and I a chance to catch up to her a little bit.....M

Window Shopping

I had admired Lynn's Country Charmer pattern for quite some time before seeing this photo in one of her posts just after Christmas a few years ago. It sealed the deal. I wanted a Christmas quilt and this was going to be it. When I asked her permission to use this shot she kindly obliged. She said that it had been hung in the window at In Between Stitches for a car commercial that was filmed in Livermore when the photo was taken. Apparently, the producer wanted the downtown decorated for Christmas, so everyone happily obliged, and when the commercial aired she and Mr. Joe watched it over and over again to catch a glimpse of it :).

So, after much washing and ironing I am now finally cutting the pieces for mine.

And, despite my huge pile of fabrics to choose from, I even dug through the scrap bin for a few extra bits to make sure that there is lots of variety.

If you want to make one of your own you'll be happy to know that the pattern is still available for purchase; just check out the In Between Stitches site to order. Start it now and you could be sleeping under it when Santa pulls into town later this year....M

Thinking of Christmas

It's July now and if I'm serious about having Country Charmer on our bed for Christmas then it's time to get at it, don't you think? It all started when I was my digging for reds for more yo yos. One thing led to another and in no time I had an armful of reds...

And another of greens. I'm following Lynn's suggestion and going for lots and lots of variety. Of all the colours that I have in my stash, red and green are at the top of the list so that's not going to be a tall order.

The block background and sashing will be done in this cream with tiny white swirls, very reminiscent of winter snowdrifts.

And for the red in the sashing there's another swirly print - the red vine that's sitting across the top of this collection. It's quite grey but very soft at the same time and I really like it.

For the borders I'm going to go with a gingham and a larger floral; I like the way they go with the sashing fabrics.

I'm one of those people who tend to buy yardage rather than fat quarters - a yard, or two, or three - so there's loooooots of fabric on the table right now. Time to get it all washed and ironed and get serious about cutting....M



A Pair of Hearts and Lots of Goodies

Well, my second appliqué heart has now moved over into the finished column. They are really sweet, either together or separately. I think with some old lace and a few embellishments they would make great pillow covers so I'll need to do a little thinking on that.

And, because we celebrated my birthday recently, there have been a few other little bundles of love showing up. Anne discovered a new quilt shop in Combermere recently when she was out touring with Jane so she bought me this little selection of pin dots with Minnie in mind.

She also gave me a bag of ground walnut shells for stuffing pincushions and the Ultimate Marking Pencil for Quilters & Crafters. I've not seen these before but it reminds me of a technical pencil that I had years ago when I took a few night courses.

If the back of the package is to be believed this is one amazing pencil...

And it all came bundled in with one of Linda's beautiful cards.

The Official Cookie Tester also got in on the quilting theme and gave me two of these great bags from Piece O Cake to move my projects around. I just love the pattern on them and particularly like that they zipper close. Guess now I need to transfer the projects that I've had in my LCBO bags into these :). (For those who don't know, LCBO is our government run of liquor stores - they have great bags and, in addition to using them for my quilt projects they are my go-to bag for grocery shopping.)

He also bought me a pair of cycling shorts so I'm thinking that it's a hint that I need to move away from the needle and sewing machine a little more often and get some exercise. Wise man.

I'll leave you with the sentiments from my beautiful card and a good reminder for all of us (though if you are quilting, you have a good start on the life that you've imagined)....M