Me? Art Quilt?

"Rain Bear" - January 2021 Mini.

I was inspired by the linen bear fabric that Cynthia sent me from Japan last January along with her swap blocks.   I just love this bear!

 Thank you Cynthia!  You can see her wonderful bear quilt here.

I approached the piece as a collage layering different fabrics and free cutting pieces.  I included indigo fabrics that Gladi sent me from her collection. Thank you Gladi.  She has a beautiful blog here.

I used hand stitching and machine stitching and tried to use Japanese design principles like asymmetry and simplicity.

I machine quilted the linen background, then layered and quited at the same time as I went. 

 After machine stitching, I frayed the edges of the indigos.  I also added mother of pearl buttons that Kelly sent me years ago.   Thank you, Kelly.

I attached the backing and did a pillow turn, which is always awkward halfway through.  I like the simple finished edge and I haven't mastered a flat facing yet.

I fused a simple layered label on the back.

Anyone can join the fun with Wendy's monthly mini.  Thank you, Wendy for keep us inspired and sharing our links.  See her blog here.

I'm also continuing to make these blocks for the Curves Quilt Along with Cecile.

Angie of Quilting on the Crescent, has finished her Flamingo Hexi top and I just love her theme!  What great block designs too.  

I pinned my Ninigret Guild mystery quilt last weekend.   Table basting is the best! 

I started quilting the tea cup design yesterday.  It is continuous walking foot quilting, my favorite kind.

Of all the Bernie memes I've seen, I this is my favorite.  The Wizard of Oz is one of my all time favorite movies.

I hope you are safe, warm and doing well and enjoyed my Rain Bear post.

Happy Friday!

xo

Ever Onward

 That's a little how I feel with the Pandemic still with us all.   But there is hope and we will overcome it.

I always feel lucky when I spot a pretty sunrise while letting Coco out in the morning.

Nature is a balm that soothes the soul and replenishes hope for me.

I've been working on my Whig Rose, which may have an official name soon.

The borders are slow going and putzy.  I am doing them out of the hoop.  You can't really see it, but I've sew basted through all layers.  I had also stay stitched the edge so it wouldn't stretch.

There are ALOT of edge triangles, so I am doing them as I finish a side.  If I wait until the end......who knows what might happen.

Nutmeg is all too happy to guard it when it is parked on the couch.

I have been making pom poms for a mantel design.  My friends are a little concerned about my slight obsession with them lol.

I added some driftwood from the beach.

I got the LED snowflake lights on Amazon.   It is very charming at night and is almost making up for the fact that we have had such little snow!

I was working on a hat for my son on zoom sessions and miscounted and made it WAY too big.  I ripped the whole thing out

Ripping out is fun.  Anyway it came out great in the end.

Speaking of Andrew; he is a Covid nurse at St. Raphael's Yale Hospital and got his first vaccine.  Yay!

I pin basted my guild mystery quilt yesterday so I 'm ready to go with that "intention" this week.

I made two loaves of honey wheat bread.  Is there anything more comforting than warm homemade bread?

I passed this noble tree the other day and stopped to admire it.

It made me think about the nature of time and how it has withstood every drought and storm. 

Take care of yourselves and those you love.

xo

Intentions for 2021

Greetings!  I hope you are all safe and well taking care of eachother.

Here are six quilting project that I have chosen to complete in 2021.

Whig Rose - I have finished quilting the center and 1 border so this is a definite.

Jill's Quilt - Half of this top is appliqued.  I intend to finish this top and if I have time, start big stitch quilting.

Love Birds - I will machine quilt this one.

Teatime at Downton Abbey - I will machine quilt this one.

Animal Crackers - I need to finish the machine applique and machine quilt it.

Chernobyl - I intend to make a total of 16 blocks add machine applique' borders and machine quilt it.  

Wish me luck and we'll see how I did come December. 

In Current News:

I did a little demo for my Ninigret Guild on liberated house construction and made these two blocks.

We are having a mystery medallion sew along.  Here is mine so far.

Yay for solids!

I have decided to join my friend, Cecile', with her 2021 Quilt Along.  The theme this year is "curves".  how fun.

By the way, I created this runner many years ago, long before the Temecula Quilt Co. rolled it out as their "down home darling".  It isn't the first time they have stolen my work.  I wish they would stop it.

I have been loving learning to crochet.  I am using Youtube videos to make hats.  Here is my favorite hat so far.  The Waffle Hat.

After Hanna saw mine, she ordered a hot pink one.  I bought a faux fur pom pom for her.  She lives in DC and is safe with her fiance in their apartment which is 6 blocks from the capital.  

I purchased a Clover Pom Pom maker for my girly hats.  They are so fun!

I order a set of 4 smaller pom pom makers.  I plan to make snowballs.  Here is my giant one.

Well friends, what can I say?  2021 is off to a rough start.  Here is a Blog Post that I really appreciated about what happened Tuesday.

As far as what is happening in the Country all I can say is please help others understand the lie that they have been fed for so many years.  The man in the White House is sick and deranged and is a Clear and Present Danger.  Help others to see it and believe it.   nuf said.

xo

YAY! It's Over

Bye 2020 Love to see you go.   Happy New Year Everyone! 

I hope you had a nice Christmas.   We had the threat of a big storm with possible power outages so we had our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve.  (we liked it so much it will be our new tradition)

I collected Spode for many years and it is always fun to bring it out in December.  Cosmos look so festive 😊😋

We were here with our son, Andrew and his girlfriend, Alexis.

Rich makes Danish Meatballs and mashers and I tried a new dish with brussels and squash.   You can find the recipe here.  I used pomegranate instead of dried cranberries.

There were a lot of new electronics under the tree.  Our Kitchen table looked like the Apple Store.

I received a 3-d puzzle/model of Notre Dame.

There are 80 building and construction steps.  I have to apply the stained glass windows as well.

It is a challenge and fun.  

There is no gluing, it is all interlocking.

Andrew got a model to build a musical ferris wheel.  You are never too old for toys at Christmas.

New Years Eve was a small affair (of course).  Rich and I had fondue for two and steaks.  We are so lucky.

And a bottle of the good stuff. 😁

On New Years Day I always visit the Long Island Sound for a walk with coco.  It was especially beautiful yesterday and very calm.   The way I hope 2021 will be; Calm.

This is the view from my favorite spot in the Living Room where I like to start the day.

I am going to leave this little gold and silver tree up through January because it just makes me happy. 

In my next post I'm going to share 6 UFO quilt projects that I intend to finish in 2021.  I never do this which is maybe why I have so many UFOs.  

Thank you to all the blog readers, commenters, bloggers, Instagramers and FB posters.  Our social media community has kept me afloat during 2020.

Stay Well and Calm.

xo