A Time To Reflect

MEMORIAL DAY 2012

A hero is someone who has given his or her life

 to something bigger than oneself.  ~Joseph Campbell

"Perhaps they are not stars in the sky,

 but rather openings where our loved ones

 shine down to let us know they are happy." -Eskimo Legend

Wild Wednesday

Today’s wild things include what’s blooming in the area.  The first is Firecracker Bush down by a local school.  These bushes require a little more water than these appear to be getting, but we should be going into the rainy season soon.

And the water plants are blooming  This one might be a pickerel – I tried to look it up, but there are a bazillion types of water plants that grow in Florida.  Yep…I said a bazillion and I meant it!

And to finish it up:  What’s your philosophy of what constitutes a weed?  This one has flowers of such a pretty color - are you sure it's a weed?

And that brings me around to what I’ve been sewing.  One of the members of the Sunshine Quilt Guild has started a Round Robin.  That’s where one person makes a center block or medallion and sends it to another person who adds rows or blocks all around.  That second person sends it on to a third who does the same.  That third person then sends it back to the originator to finish it up.  We have two groups going, so I should get quilts-in-process or centers from three different quilts.  This will be a creative challenge for me!  This is my center that will be mailed out soon:

And I made up a few lottery blocks, but the fabric is so thin that I think I’ll just keep them and not send them in.  Maybe I can toughen them up enough to endure the hard life of a donation quilt if I back them with muslin.  We’ll see.

Back in Business

I think I’ve gotten my blog and the picture storage situation settled, but this is the first post so we’ll see!

I have been in daily life crisis mode for a little while and am just now getting back to sewing.  Everything is back to its normal chaos and I’m happy.  Everyone is now well in my house (including the dog, who was sick) and that’s a very good thing.  I’m even thinking about putting out some of my brown-thumb sacrificial zinnias since I saw these while I was walking and they were thriving just a few blocks away from me:

And I was inspired by those zinnia colors to cut out the makings for a few Starz blocks (see the pattern here) that I should be able to sew up tomorrow.

I’ve also laid out the blocks and sashings for the 30s Reproduction fabrics that I am trying to use up.  The darker black and red prints kind of stand out, but I am pushing to use up the last of this lot, no matter what!  Maybe I’ll finish up this top, too, tomorrow.  Tomorrow is beginning to sound like a good day!

Blogging Issue

Blogger has thrown me for a loop.  Apparently, it is somehow affiliated with Google’s Picasa Photo Albums and I have exceeded my storage space for pictures.  I will have to pause to figure this one out and what it means to my future blogging.  Hope to continue soon (with pictures – what’s a quilt blog without pictures??!!).

Today is May Day!

Because the Puritans frowned on such festivities in the New World, May Day is often overlooked in the US.  But the tradition has long been alive in Great Britain and Europe, and continues as a day of merriment for children. 

As with many customs, May Day, the “bringing in of the May” and crowning the May Queen have their roots in pagan rituals.  They all can be traced back to the Druids in the celebration of Beltane and the Romans and the worship of Flora.  Beltane represents the beginning of the half-year and the joy brought by the abundance of the spring and summer months.  Nov 1 and Samhaim begins the other half of the year.  After the Romans entered Great Britain, they brought their  5-day celebration, called Floralia (the worship of Flora, the goddess of fruit and flowers from Apr 28^th to May 2^nd ) and it was eventually interwoven into the seasonal celebration of the Druids.   With Christianity, the day became associated with agricultural feasts and since May 1 was the feast day of St Phillip and St James, they became the patron saints of agricultural workers.  The Roodmas was a Christian mass celebrated at midnight on May 1^st.

Since ancient times, villagers have gathered flowers that grew in abundance in May to decorate a large tree that had been cut and had its branches removed to become the May Pole.  They also brought in flowers and fresh young branches to decorate their homes.  Today, children hold long, colorful streamers and dance around a pole while weaving in and out to decorate it.

I’m making some colorful and whimsical appliqué flowers and pots to join in the excitement of May Day.  This is a swap that is sponsored by The Scratching Post associated with Fat Cat Patterns.  Sindy Rodenmayer is changing her website and becoming more retail oriented, so if you haven’t visited recently, it’s worth another look.

These fabrics will be the basis for my swap pieces.  I’m busy cutting out the shapes today …  Wish me luck!

Incentive to Quilt

It’s that time of the year … we went to the big box store this morning and started buying the giant bags to renew our mulch.

Loading and unloading was all we did before lunch.  And then it was 86^◦ and very humid.  What a great incentive to stay inside and quilt!  I can always put down mulch in the morning tomorrow … or maybe the next day …

So, this is what I finished quilting and binding this afternoon:

The backing is the same as in the little "windows"

I’m calling it “Windows on the Serengeti”.  I’m liking it!  This one will go into the next box to Wrap-a-Smile - I'm hoping a little kid will like it, too.

Basket Failure

Some days you just can’t win.

I should have used this ...

There I was – happily making up a quilt block that was new to me – a nice, simple basket block from a quilt magazine.  I was humming along with the radio and cutting meticulously when it dawned on me that the basket part was only supposed to be cut from two different sized squares.  Why did I have lots and lots of pieces?  Because I had cut the background out of the lovely green fabric that was supposed to comprise the basket, of course!

No problem – I would just make the background the green and make the basket from the cream color – not too awfully weird.  Until the light colored triangle fell onto the floor and I didn’t notice and I sewed a green triangle into the basket part instead of the light.  Where is the bottom of the basket?

Ghost basket

I predict a little seam-ripping in my future.  Oh well, I did get these two pastel blocks made earlier this month to send off for the April lottery with my group, so all is not lost.  I’ll just be ahead for next year when I get my baskets finished!

Meanwhile, my orchid is still blooming – since I’ve become a basket case today, in a manner of speaking, I think I’ll go watch it grow for awhile …

There's one bloom hidden and two have come out since this picture - Yea!

Road Trip to Ocala, FL

I am a member of the on-line Sunshine Quilt Guild that makes quilts for children’s charities.  I have met several of the members in person when they traveled or stayed in Florida (one from Michigan and *V* was all the way from California!).  It is such a treat to meet people that you only chat with on-line.

Well, one of the members that is here from Michigan (we had met before) and I ran up to Ocala, FL yesterday to meet another member that lives there.  It was a pleasant drive up the interstate for about an hour or so and *B* and I caught up on our recent vacations and I even gleaned a few quilting tips (just a hint - she’s a great quilting resource for patterns and what’s on-line).

After we got to Ocala, what a good time we had.  It was like three clones, we had so much in common!  Quilts, quilts, quilts galore.  We met at one Ocala quilt shop, Peggy’s Heirlooms of Tomorrow, ate at Panera Bread, and continued on to another quilt shop, Tomorrow’s Treasures.

The Arbor inside Peggy's - Good Luck was to be found here!

Tomorrow's Treasures was a real Treasure!

*J* (that we were meeting for the first time) is charming and has a lot of energy and personality.  She was showing us around that day, going out to dinner with some other folks, then heading out to a quilting retreat the next day.  Whew!  I had to go take a nap just thinking about it – tee hee, hee.

In addition to her own and charity quilts, *J* makes sample quilts for classes and patterns sold at the first quilt shop and I was in awe of her work.  These are just a few of her projects on display there (there were plenty more):

J made this Shadow Box quilt

Another quilter started this and J put it together and finished it up

J made this gorgeous batiks table runner

I had taken along a picture of the 30s Reproductions that I had cut into 4 ½ inch squares this past weekend and was thinking of buying a few FQs to fill in the missing colors (like oranges, yellows, a touch of red or larger scale fabrics).  Between the two shops, I found just what I was looking for plus a nice fabric on sale for the backing:

The backing isn’t 30s but it will blend well and I’m betting that a little girl in Costa Rica or Guatemala won’t quibble about it!

And, of course, I made a few impulse purchases.  Hey!  It was a day of fun …

Couldn't resist this sign for my sewing room!

*B* gave us both small knitted gifts (the rat!).  In addition to quilting and sewing projects for sale at art fairs, she knits.  She’s a real over-achiever!  I wish I had been smart enough to get some photos of the show-and-tells.  *B* makes lots of different kinds of things, including table runners, to show and *J* had a Baltimore Album type quilt almost finished that was awesome.  When we were in the shops, *B* was looking at batiks to make a bedspread – I hope I didn’t drool over her cool greens and rust reds …

All-in-all, it was a wonderful day and now I’m inspired to get up into the sewing room and get some work done.  Gotta finish off those 30s.  More on that later, I hope.

PS  Blogger changed and I had to update my template – I had hoped for a slightly lighter background, but I’ll be working on the colors and how to use the new blogger over the next few days.

Earth Day 2012

Today is Earth Day - a day to celebrate and promote environmental awareness around the world.  One huge rally that takes place annually is Earth Day on the National Mall.  This greenspace lies between the Nation’s Capitol Building and the Lincoln Memorial encompassing the Washington Monument and the WWII Memorial.  The event includes concerts, speakers, renewable energy exhibit and other demonstrations.

Even if you are nowhere near Washington, DC, you can participate in the Earth Day on the Mall event on-line at http://www.earthday.org/mall.

April is also National Lawn and Garden Month.  This is NOT my backyard:

http://www.hgtv.com/landscaping/

It is the backyard of my dreams if I won the mega-lottery and could afford a team of gardeners – LOL.

My DH and I have been busy transplanting some bushes that have never thrived in the front of our house and placing them in better locations in the back.  We will never make it as landscapers because our backs and every joint in our bodies ache now!  And I won’t even mention the unusual bruises, scratches and bug-bites that magically appeared.  But our plant beds look better and will be even nicer after I get the mulch put down next week.

There is a good website sponsored by the National Gardening Association.  They have lots of great articles, including one about edible landscaping.   Their project of the month for April is about making plant-based dyes.   I have always been fascinated by the possibilities, but have never tested the waters, so to speak (ok – that pun was intended).   They have a varied list of plant possibilities on this site for different color results.  Maybe someday I’ll get around to trying  the technique.

Meanwhile, I have been using my Go!baby to cut up all my small pieces of 30s reproduction fabrics into 4 ½” squares.

I’ve also purchased the Star cutting die so I can make appliqués but I haven’t started on them yet.  I’m keeping my eye out for Go! dies at clearance prices so I can gain further control of my scraps.   I’m having good luck with a scrap savers system that an on-line friend suggested but it’s taking me awhile since I tend to play with my fabric while I try to sort it!  And don’t tell me you don’t do that, too …

Drawer Before - no sense of order



Drawer After - More uniform for selecting for scrap quilts



Friggatriskaidekaphobia

I know I’m a little late to be posting about Friday the 13^th, but it was such a great day that I couldn’t resist and was busy working in the yard today until now.  And no, I do not have either friggatriskaidekaphobia (a phobia of Friday the 13^th) or the more familiar noun triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13).  Good thing since this year has three Fridays that fall on the 13^th.  One was back in January and one will be in July.  Did you know that they all are 13 weeks apart?  How strange!

So why did I have such a great day?  I went to my monthly Quilts of Valor group meeting and we accomplished a lot … I’ll be writing more about that in another post.  There were several exciting finished quilts that were stunning.  Here’s a sneak preview:

And I was on such a roll that I finished up a child-sized top for Wrap-a-Smile using the blocks I had won from that group’s monthly lotto.  I won the February blocks, so of course, the color scheme for the month was reds.  These went together so nicely and I had the blue sashing on hand so it was a pleasure to work with.  I will quilt it up and bind it with the same blue as the sashing.

And what else made the day great?  Well, I had made brownies to take to the QOV meeting and I had bought a box of Dunkin’ Donuts Munchkins to take also.  I only ate one brownie and two Munchkins.  Now that’s an accomplishment!

PS  They were very good …

Getting Back in Form

When you come back from vacation do you jump back into your regular routine or do you ease back into it gradually?

I am a gradual person myself:

ü        First, I have to get the seven loads of laundry done (we weren’t gone all that long!).

ü        And I have to pet the dog who is ecstatic that her entire dog-pack has returned home (she considers herself a doggie/person). 

ü        While that’s being done,  I have to go through all of the mail and newspapers (yes, I do save the comics pages in order so I don’t lose out on the funny story lines).

ü        And pet the dog a few times and tell her she’s still the best and prettiest dog on the planet.

ü        Then I have to make a grocery list so I can buy healthy foods and repent of my wicked ways when we were on vacation (well, the food was great!).

ü        And, of course, I have to pet the dog some more who is hovering to make sure we don’t sneak out the back door of the bathroom (our bathroom doesn’t have a back door).

And finally, I have to get back up into my sewing room.  I have a few deadlines, so I made this sample block for a block swap at Mailblocks that is due in mid-May – hope to whip those out this week – they’re going to Canada and I like to allow extra time.  This pattern is from the Quilter’s Cache.

If you go to this site often, I would encourage you to support Marcia Hohn with a small donation as I consider this an invaluable source for block designs.  I usually make 12 ½ inch blocks and I almost passed out when I went to square-up this sample block.  It was so small!

Then I remembered that it is designed to be a 10 ½ inch block and it’s just perfect.  Sometimes we just have to be re-trained when we come back from vacation – LOL.  This is one finished layout idea:

And I have this month’s Quilts of Valor group meeting this Friday, so I’m finishing up some more triangles for the pinwheel blocks.

And I checked out this month’s BOM at the Craftsy site.  The featured technique is English paper-piecing hexagons.  Yikes!  Gonna put that on hold until this weekend, but then I’m going to make some cardstock templates and tackle it.  I’m starting with cardstock and not investing in templates ‘cause I don’t know if I’ll keep up with the handwork – not my strong suit.  We’ll see what develops.  Maybe I'll invest in the AccuQuilt Hexagon Template if I like them:

http://www.accuquilt.com/go-hexagon-2-3-5.html

We did have a fantastic time on vacation.  I haven’t been north in the Spring in years and was delighted to see the dogwoods peeking out everywhere and the many flowering fruit trees.  The weather was wonderful – pleasant during the day when we played golf and cool and crisp in the mornings and evenings when we sat on the balconies.  Can’t complain about the weather here at home though – it’s still nice and not overly hot, so there’s no excuse to not start back on that walking plan!  Maybe tomorrow – like I said, I’m a gradual person …

Here’s some vacation shots:

Dogwoods at a Welcome Center

Pink and White Dogwoods

Dogwood Closeup

Beautiful Purple/Blue Blooms - Chaste Tree Maybe?

Don't know what this was!

Fog on the Mountain our last day

Azaleas

Cherry Blossoms

Altogether, I could say a good time was had by all (and I include the dog in that – she does love her dog-sitter).  And as an aside, my husband wants you all to know that he had at least one birdie on all three golf courses … and that’s special!

He Is Risen!