Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Last Sweet Days of Summer

Dear August,
How did you get away so fast?  I’m still waiting for those lazy dog days of summer where I sit in the shade, sipping iced tea while doing a little appliqué.  It’s such a cool fantasy and I dream it every year.  Then life happens and school starts.  Hey August! I want you back!
Okay, now for a little visit with reality.  What actually happened during August was a day at the air show, a two day class with Sidnee Snell,  (to see her wonderful work, go to sidneesnell.com, it’s really cool), a week with my mom in Southern Oregon and after a few days home, my son, daughter-in-law and their Labradoodle Finn, (age 8 months) came to visit for a few days. Sunday I canned salsa.  Yesterday, I capped off the month by defrosting the freezer in the garage.  It’s life, my friends and I can’t spend all my time in the studio.
With fall just around the corner, I want to show a couple of my favorite fall patterns.
HarrysHalloween
Harry’s Halloween came about because of the cool pumpkin and broom theme fabric.
DSCN1511
There are wonderful fall and Halloween fabrics out now, just waiting to be the theme of your quilt.  All of the center is squares or half square triangles and can be a great stash buster.
AUTUMN LEAVES
Autumn Leaves is a 3, 6, 9 quilt which basically means that you make some blocks and put them together any way you like.  It all fits together because the block sizes are all divisible by three and you put in coping blocks wherever you need them.  The quilt above is bright and busy because I find fall to be those things.  Use your favorite fall fabrics for a more serene look, if that pleases you.
We invite you to visit our Shopping page for a little, well . . . shopping.
The class with Sidnee Snell was really fun and a lot of info stuffed into two days.  About three quarters of the time was spent learning how to use Photoshop and Illustrator to simplify and posterize a photo and then create a quilt out of it.  We practiced on a pattern of Sidnee’s and I finished the top a few days ago.
IMG_1150
This technique has a lot of potential.  I’ll post a picture of the coffee cup after it’s quilted.  I just hope my notes from the class make sense so I can do more.
Southern Oregon is a bit of a trip in the summer.  Days in the 90’s and hundreds are the usual thing.  I grew up there and keep telling myself I’m used to it.  Here’s a little tip:  105 degrees, even if it’s a dry heat and you’re “used to it” is still awfully hot.  I did get a couple of cool pictures.
IMG_1130 (1) IMG_1132
I have to ask my mom the name of the flower on the left.  It’s a good sized bush that’s climbed up a fence.  The honey bee at the center top was too busy to come out and get his face in the picture.  The hydrangea on the right is such a cool color.  I’m not much into pink, but I love that shade.
My squash crop is going to town.  I also planted two of the three kinds of peppers that go into my favorite salsa recipe as well as cucumber.
IMG_1136
 Sadly, my tomatoes are not ready, so I had to buy some at the farmer’s market to make salsa.  It’s fun having lots of the ingredients come out of our garden.  The only thing about salsa is that there’s a whole boat-load of chopping to make this much salsa.
DSCN1509
Just one zucchini plant and one yellow squash make so much squash.  Must be time for four kinds of zucchini bread!
I’m almost finished with the appliqué on this top.  The piecing part went together quickly and the handwork isn’t hard, just a bit time-consuming as handwork tends to be.  I found the pattern when I was cleaning out quilt patterns and inspirations that I’ve torn out of magazines over the last fifteen years or so.  This was an insert in a magazine and I decided a few weeks ago to try it.  ( I think it’s a Fons and Porter pattern, but it’s gone missing.  It’s around here somewhere and when I find it, I’ll pass on the details.) I love the purples and oranges together and it’s a nice hanging for early fall.
DSCN1510
I missed the year-end meeting of my small quilt group as I was at my mom’s, but I posted a picture on Facebook (Mother on a Broomstick Designs) to show them off.  All of the blocks are from Tula Pink’s book “100 Modern Quilt Blocks.”  Each of us was assigned a color group and provided five fabrics to the other members and chose five blocks from the book.  Each of us made at least 60 blocks (several of us did more).  What we wound up with was pretty diverse and totally beautiful.  They’ll all be quilted this fall (some overachievers are already finished) and will be shown together early next year.
Finally, Toby and Ella had a great time with their houseguest, Finn.  At eight months, Finn is full of energy and finds that he likes to run with the big dogs.  Toby (who’s almost 13) doesn’t do a lot of chasing around.  He prefers the basic bark-off.  It’s noisy, but nothing gets knocked over.  Ella, on the other hand played chase around the house and through the mud after the sprinklers went off.  I was amazed at how much dirt came off those two during the obligatory hose off.
Toby’s taking the week to rest up.
IMG_1144
Ella says she doesn’t need to rest up.  She’s still looking for trouble.
IMG_1148
Enjoy these last sweet days of summer and as always,
Quilt for Fun
Candy

Don't be selfish, Share!

Share to Facebook
Share to Google Plus

Friday, August 5, 2016

Lemonade and Limeade

Lemonade and Limeade

Last week I posted a picture of Lemonade Stand and put the pattern on sale.
Lemonade Stand
I like how summery it is and it’s one of the few times I’ve ventured into the world of pink.
This week, well actually, this morning, I pieced a new version, in runner form, called Limeade.  It’s not quilted or anything yet, but you get the idea. I made seven blocks which is just about right for a runner.
 DSCN1501 DSCN1500
While I generally don’t do much with pastels, these feel like sherbet which seems just right for hot August days.  The binding will be green and I may just quilt in some straws.
I was in Michael’s the other day and of course it’s wall to wall fall projects and decorations.  While I hate to wish away summer sunshine, my intellectual side knows that new fall projects, including quilts, need to get underway now.  I’ve got background done for an autumn hanging and now I’m working on some appliqué for it.  I’m finding out that one piece of fabric for background, even if it’s really cool,  just isn’t cutting it anymore.  Keeping in mind that it is background, it still needs some interest on its own.  It seems I’ve been leaning toward this for a while, but after a class with Rosalie Dace this summer, I’m recognizing it more.  Funny how sometimes somebody has to point out to me what my subconscious has been trying to tell me for some time.
The background for the quilt below came from Gloria Loughman’s book, Radiant Landscapes.  It was part of a class about working in a series and I started the day knowing just what I wanted it to look like.  I finished the top the same afternoon.  It’s called The Last Leaf.
DSCN1508
The background is a piece of hand dyed fabric that I cut up and rearranged to get the look I wanted.  It looks like I’ll be playing with backgrounds for a while.
Here’s a fall pattern that could be started now, so it’ll be ready for fall.  It’s called Colors of Fall.
HomePageQuilt
This was the first pattern Barbara and I created and it’s still a favorite of mine.  It features both piecing and fused appliqué, and is really easy.  Go to our Shopping Page to check it out.
I’m off to quilt my new runner and will show it off when it’s finished.
Have a safe and sunny weekend and don’t forget to quilt for fun.
Candy

Don't be selfish, Share!

Share to Facebook
Share to Google Plus