It's that sprig!

When something small catches my eye, the lightbulb comes on and away I go with the idea.  The idea caught me by surprise and I keep changing the original design (Promise of Spring by Kim Diehl in American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, Feb. 2007).  It has been 6 years that I have drooled over this pattern!  The pattern can also be found in her book Simple Comforts (the pattern name has changed to Serendipity Sampler).

This is the original first block:

My version has subtle changes that makes the block look less busy: 

See this little sprig of berries?  This is when the lightbulk clicked on.  This little sprig is starting to pop up all over the blocks.

In the center section, I had the big red pointy piece in the center all sewn down and then wondered what it would look like if some sprigs were placed on the diagonal.  Yep, I love it!  So, with a little bit of ripping out, those sprigs are going there.  It is the little things like that that changes the whole look of a design.

Here is a better view of the center:

Here is the original center block below.  As you can see, my center section has been widened a lot so that the design is not crowded.

I have been collecting plaid and striped fabrics for many years now and have added some thrift store shirts to round out the look that my blocks needed.   A couple of plaid/stripped charm packs is what decided the size of the background blocks.  Having 60 blocks already cut out pushed me into the direction of the bigger blocks that you see on my version.  My blocks were cut down to 4-1/2" square because after my charms were washed and dried, they were no longer 5".

Now, I'm wondering what else will change as the remaining blocks are worked on?  Plus, there is a border that needs some planning since it is not in the original pattern.  Whatever is done, it has to be in keeping with Kim Diehl's look.

P.S. In case anyone is wondering, I'm not affliated with Kim Diehl in any way ..... I just love her patterns and books.

Now that two of our wall units have been painted and the paint has had time to cure, the time has come to figure out what to put back into the units.  I had just put in this gold/blue quilt on one of the shelves and later noticed that Miss Ashes had made herself quite comfortable. 

Miss Hank has made herself comfortable in this unit in the master bedroom.  Their hidey holes keep changing all the time.  We never know where they will be and we have to be so careful when closing a closet door.

My July OPAM has a total of 11 dish cloths and 4 kitchen towels.  As fast as I make them, they are given away or replacing older worn out items in our kitchen.  At some point in time, my obession in making these pieces will come to a halt.  For now, I will keep churning them out.

Have a great day!

Changing the pattern

As I work along on the Promise of Spring pattern, it keeps changing bit by bit.  Some of the pattern remains, yet there is a difference. If any of you have Kim Diehl's pattern, take a look and see the changes.  There will be a lot more changes and at the end there will be a comparison to her pattern and what I end up making.

 

 

Since posting these photos, I'm planning on changing some of the pieces that have already been sewn down and I'll explain why.  The lightbulb clicked on and I have to go with the idea.

 

Come back and see more.

 

Those of you wondering about Miss Hank ..... she had the tumor removed and analysed.  It came back high grade malignant.  Right now, she is back to racing around the house, eating well and playing and wanting to be outside to chase the backyard chippie (chipmunk) and is, once again, the dominant kitty.  The cause of the tumor was from a rabies shot in the rump (which the vets don't do anymore).  If we have her for another year, we will count our blessings.  This poor kitty is sure using up her 9 lives. 

 

Have a great day!

Shaping up

My version of Kim Diehl's Promise of Spring is coming along quite nicely.  Instead of a throw quilt size, my quilt will be queen size and I figured out how to make it work.  You know, I do love Kim Diehl's patterns .... and yet, why do I always change them? 

 
My promise of keeping up with my UFO's brought out this old project (shown below).  I think the last time I showed this was back in July 2011.  Yikes .... that is 2 yrs. without doing anything on this lovely project!  I haven't come up with a name yet for this quilt, so it remains as D046 (which is the number from Barbara Brackman's Block Base software program).

This photo below is the one where my top is at the halfway point.  Now, I'm working towards getting 3/4's done.  This is a good summer project to take along while travelling or staying at the cottage.

Have a great day!

Promise of Spring

I have wanted to make this quilt (Kim Diehl design ... love, love, love her patterns) for some time now (as in years) and finally bit the bullet and started it.  Also, a break was needed from working on my UFO's all the time and to be honest, I was getting a tad bored with them.  So, it was time for something new!

In my stash, there is a bin of plaids and another bin of stripes.  Perfect for this quilt.  Here is my first block ... and .... no, I'm not following the pattern exactly (nothing new there)!  The pattern templates have been reduced by 80% to fit onto the lighter squares.  Block size is 24" square (as per the original pattern).  That is a big block for me and something that I don't really do a lot of.

It is great to have another design board on hand so that my big design wall doesn't get disturbed and I can play with something new, while still keeping my UFO's in my face so that they can be worked on between blocks.

A bit more prepping and all the applique is ready for sewing down.  Yes, it feels good to start something new.

Have a great day!

Blog Break

Oh dear .... that time of year again when I take my annual break from blogging and quilting.

Renovations on our home have progressed along quite well, and it is now my turn with the paint brush to do my miracle of transforming things around our home.

To start, there are 3 more of these wall units to paint.  One unit is done and the paint just needs to cure before putting things inside it.

There are chairs galore to be refinished.  On the left, there are 4 of these, in the middle there are 4 of these and on the right, there are 7 to be done.  To help me, DH has purchased a super duper stapler that works off of a compressor.  Oh yes, that will be fun to play with!  :o)

After doing my daily stint of painting baseboards, door frames and doors, I will catch my breath outside on the swing and in the evenings work on hand quilting my Grandmother's Flower Garden.  There has been progress on that quilt and it is on my guild's Round-to-it list for completion by our September meeting.

 We will enjoy the antics of Miss Ashes:

We don't know what will happen with Miss Hank.  She has developed a large lump on her right hip and we will be taking her to the vet this week to have it checked out.

In early August, I will be doing a trunk show for the Northern Lights night time guild here in North Bay, Ontario .  You can't imagine how thrilled it was to be asked!!!  :o)  Also, in August, I will be travelling south to take in a trunk show by Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts in Fonthill, Ontario.  At that time, I'll be meeting up with my We 3 Quilters buds and have some fun time with them.

So, my friends, enjoy your summer.

I took a hint ...

On my previous post, the picture said it all ..... and I took the hint and have been seriously plugging away on hand quilting my Grandmother's Garden. 

After doing 10 rows horizontally, the diagonal rows are being done now.  I might as well do them in sections like this because I can see results to keep me motivated.  For the first half of the top, all the horizontal rows were done first, followed by the diagonal rows.  I got bored and the project got abandoned.

As you can see with this photo, the end of the center portion is in sight.

Lately, my time has been taken up with painting.  I found a milk can through Kijijii and it got spray painted.  People were complaining that they couldn't see our house numbers clearly.  Do you think they can now?  A solar light for night time viewing will complete the project. 

The next job for spray painting will be this chair to be used as an outdoor plant stand.  Another idea that I saw on Pinterest (the milk can was another Pinterest gem)!

Neighbours on the street think that I am so creative. Sorry, but I can't take credit for these projects. Pinterest is my source.

Talking of neighbours, Mr. M gifted us and another two homes on our street with plants after we each completed an outdoor home improvement project this spring.  Talk about kind and generous neighbours!  We love it here on our street and are so glad that we chose this neighbourhood to settle in.

This is our neighbour's gift to us ..... a beautiful clematis plant.  It will be gorgeous once it grows and fills in the wall space above.  Mr. M must have read my mind, since I was planning on buying a clematis for this very spot.  He beat me to it.

Have a great day!

So true!

Doesn't this say it all .....

Have a great day!