Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Won the lot......

Well …. Not the BIG lottery, but that is what it feels like to have just won these beauties! :o)

Marcie was having a giveaway and she flipped a coin between me and another lady and I won these. Talk about my lucky day!

She included a bag with enough fabric to make a few more flowers and from the time this photo was taken, I’ve already completed one flower.
The timing was perfect as I have just completed all the flowers for my hexagon quilt and was looking for some handwork project to start. Yes, perfect timing.

Marcie surprised me by including a pattern (that she designed) from her store.

Thank you, Marcie and I will finish a quilt with these flowers that you started.
On my previous post I showed my hexagon quilt with my border quandary. Many thanks to all that gave me support and suggestions. Your comments made me re-think my border idea and this is what I’ve come up with. The top border is what I first showed and the mock-up border on the right is what will be. The flower border between the striped fabric has been ordered and as soon as it arrives, I will get my borders on. Thank you, I do appreciate your up-front comments and they were a big help to me.

Have a great day!

Monday, April 27, 2009

I don’t know …

I’m not sure about my borders for my hexagon quilt. I think they are OK, but are they? I was not looking for a sharp contrast but a gradual contrast and perhaps this is it. My vision is a perennial flower bed where you go from the tallest flowers in the background, to a border of some kind in the front and then onto the grass. Have I achieved the look?

My original plan was to have a lighter fabric for the border and do applique. The plan just didn't work for me at all, so that idea was scrapped and this is Plan B.
On another note, Ashes refused to budge from this spot while some cutting was going on. She wanted her supper time treat and I was a bit tardy in giving it to her. Engrossed on a mission to get at least one complete border on one edge, time just slipped on by. So, on strike, she went.
Have a great day!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Learning curve

It has been one year since we took in the girls and in that timeframe, Ashes has learned to wail. Whenever Ashes saw a stray cat, all she would do is make ‘puff, puff ’ noises and slink real low to the window or patio door. Hank would wail at a strange cat and Ashes would just stare at Hank and then stare at the strange cat and her head would be going back and forth. Suddenly one day this winter, Ashes echoed the wail (very tentative and she kept looking back at Hank to see if she did it right) and the two of them continued to wail together at the stranger.

So ….. a wailing they go! Too funny!

Have a great day!

P.S. In case anyone was wondering, a neighbour feeds the stray cats and there is usually 6 cats sprawled out on their porch whenever we go for a walk

Monday, April 20, 2009

Busy, busy

Not much quilting this past week ….. DH and I were out buying furniture at IKEA. I just love the cottagey look and our new bookcases fit right in with my quilts and quilt ladder.

This is the view when you walk into our home.
The view from my chair. Not bad, eh?
There is still painting to be done (walls, baseboards and coffee table), but this is a good start. Company was coming this weekend and there was no time to clean the crystal before transferring them to these cabinets. When we move these out to paint, I will do some purging and clean then. We just wanted to get these assembled and the old pieces donated before the weekend.
Have a great day!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Moving along

Half of my ‘An English Garden’ top is done and I am now working on the bottom half. It’s coming along nicely ….. chug, chug…….

Have a great day!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Claim to Fame

Have you ever submitted a photo to a magazine after you made a quilt that was featured in their magazine? Well, I have a few times now.

Fons & Porter’s Love Of Quilting had this quilt in their May/June 2000 magazine.



I loved it …. but the layout was tweaked by me …. which is usual. I hardly ever make a quilt exactly as shown. I look at a pattern and see something entirely different and usually go my way.



So, the quilt was made; a photo submitted to their Show and Tell department. All was forgotten until one day a few years later ….. an envelope arrived with a letter and a magazine. What a thrill for me!



Yes, that is me showing off my quilt. How very kind they were to select my photo and letter to publish.

So, there, my claim to fame! Neat, eh! :o)

Originally, my plan was to make a queen size quilt and I made enough blocks for that size. Instead, my flower blocks were made into a twin-size quilt; thus resulting in leftovers. My previous post shows what was made with those extra blocks. Now, I never throw anything away. You just never know when something will come in handy.


Have a great day!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Orphan to a top

This twin-size top started with left-over flower blocks that were in a bin for a very long time now.

With the need for quilts/blocks for the Australian bush-fire projects, I decided that these blocks could go for that cause.

So, with the addition of a few nine patches and some additional appliqué …. viola, this top will soon be on its’ way to Australia. Kiera is collecting the blocks and is sending these and others down to her MIL, Jennifer, in Australia. Jennifer is arranging the bocks to be sewn into tops and quilted by some ladies down under. I just took my blocks a few steps further and gave Kiera a completed top to help speed up the finishing process.

I hope whoever receives this quilt will give it tender, loving care and that they will enjoy and find comfort within its folds. :o)

Have a great day!