My Perriwinkle Squirrel

You know what squirrels are like - they pop up out of seemingly nowhere. This one came to life with a sudden jolt early Wednesday morning when I realized that we needed a Quilts for Survivors flimsy to display during Coffee Hour on Sunday. Yikes!

With my morning coffee in hand, a cutting frenzy began (I'm blaming the fevered pace on a wicked head cold that I've been dealing with this week). I'd had my eye on the Kaleidoscope pattern thinking that it might work up quickly. It would also give me a great way to dig into a pile of blues that had been given to me. The two teal/aqua prints at the bottom left were dropped off by one of the quilters at the church for someone to put to good use; the two aquas above them and the polka dot and that tiny scrap of check in the top corner are from my stash. In no time at all I had everything cut except for the white bits. Whew!

When I sat down to sew in the evening, the true effect of my fever became apparent: I. Had. Used. The. Wrong. Ruler. Aggggggh! 

I dug through my rulers and found one that was 45 degrees, so that was a good start, but it meant that I had to trim everything that I'd already cut. What a waste of fabric and time. The painters tape that I used as my cutting guides looks like it was chewed off by a crazy lady, and by that point in the process it probably was.

Kaleidoscope can result in any number of patterns depending on where you place the colours for the pie-shaped pieces and the corners. I had a few combinations running through my head at the same time so it was going to be a big mystery as to what pattern finally emerged. My design wall was a godsend.

Slowly, it began to reveal itself. I'm saving all of the white corner pieces to do at the end, once all of the block spinning is finished and I know where everything is going to land.

Nothing got done yesterday because I was feeling just lousy so if this is to be finished by Sunday the next two days need to be pretty productive. Thankfully, the blocks are about 12", which is a good size. Wish me luck!....M

Where, Oh Where, Did March Go?

Boy, to say that this past month was full is an understatement, but despite my lack of visibility here in blogland I have actually accomplished quite a bit. I finished four flimsies! When I started doing the tally I didn't quite believe it because I just don't tend to pump them out that quickly, but four it is, and it feels really good.

One was started from scratch and, incredibly, the flimsy was finished a few weeks later. The quilters at our church are once again supporting Quilts for Survivors this year, which, in addition to making blocks and flimsies/quilts, includes a free will offering at coffee hour to help with the cost of shipping quilts to survivors, so I needed something to show everyone what our quilters have been up to and get them excited about this initiative. 

I have a fondness for star blocks so when I came across a great inspiration block on Pinterest that incorporated gingham it seemed like a good jumping off point. My gingham looks black but it's actually dark brown. In fact, when you step away from the quilt, it looks almost grey.

A little digging and I came across this cinnamon floral - the pansies are just beautiful. With only a small piece, it was a good challenge to see how far I could stretch it. 

This was one of the first blocks that I made with it and I like it, but given how the blocks evolved I think I would have preferred it if I had cut it into a few smaller pieces rather than making that large 8" centre. Ah well, it works. And it forced me to get creative.

Originally I was just going to make up a few 16" blocks - the size that QFS prefer - but the more I made the more I knew it would become a quilt. The stars are made from 4" HSTs and squares.

Start with a few brown and cream stars...

Add maybe a brown and cream vine...

Mix in lots of creamy neutrals, and...

wa-la!

We'll need to have additional blocks and quilts/tops to display every second Sunday from here to the end or June (or whenever we reach our fundraising target) so hopefully other quilters will help out on that front. Many of my quilting friends have said that they will add items to our bundle so fingers crossed that a few of them are ready in the weeks to come. 

I've got one or two patterns in mind so probably best to get started on one to help fill in the blanks....M 

Getting Sentimental

A couple of years ago a dear friend of mine was diagnosed with bone cancer. Despite a valiant effort, she succumbed to her illness last fall, leaving a huge hole in many, many lives. She was determined, practical, no nonsense, funny and very caring and we continue to adjust to life without her. 

In the last months as Lynne went about organizing her affairs, she passed a few items along to be cared for by others, including this quilt. She had no plans for it, she simply wanted to see it completed. Since early January, several of us have been sharing a sentimental journey as we quilt it.

These charming gals with their parasols were made by her mother decades ago and never quite got finished, so that became our task. We added borders and set about bringing everything to life.

Each dress and bonnet is beautifully coordinated and you can imagine the maker selecting just the right combinations. Not surprisingly, there appears to have been a little 'make do' in it as well. If you look closely, the floral print in the bonnet differs every so slightly from the rest of the dress and the parasol.

It's been fun to pick our favourites - this gal in blue is mine.

After adding a few defining line to the skirts and umbrellas the bulk of the stitching is crosshatching. This is the block that I worked on this past Friday.

With any luck it will be wrapped up by the end of this week. Our hope is to get it bound in time for Easter weekend so that it can be given back to her daughter as a memento of both her mother and grandmother. She doesn't know that it's coming, which will make it doubly special....M

Spring Baskets and Tiny Brights

A trip to the lake for a visit with Jane always generates lots of ideas and gives me a chance to get caught up on some of her creative ventures. This time I got to see her new basket quilt coming together and help provide a little art direction too.

Lovely pastel plaids from men's shirts that are decades old combined with beautiful blue florals create a soft and charming bundle of 8" baskets with a genuine vintage feel.

She's also incorporating remnants from a quilt that she made several years ago. It's like that yellow and blue HST picot border was made with this quilt in mind. Her next decision is what to do at the corners.

My visit reminded me that I have photos of several of her recently finished projects still sitting on my phone, so let's get caught up a little, shall we? Back in July, I shared the flimsy of her colourwash, which is now quilted and enjoying pride of place tossed over one of her living room chairs.

The colours are so vibrant and the circular panto (whose name I forget) is ideal against the structure of all of those tiny boxes.

It has SO much texture!

And she wasn't shy when it came to picking her backing either. It's bound with the same fabric.

Such a beautiful example of why we hang on to those tiny scraps - a little bit goes a long way....M