Lucy In The Sky

Bright yellow and orange batiks combined with a small navy print make a striking combination for this quilt.

After my last quilt, I was ready for an easy project with larger pieces. Cutting and sewing went very quickly, and I used a simple alternating row layout.

Lucy In The Sky finished at 45” x 49” after adding a 3” border. The back is yellow with gold polka dots. I quilted with gold thread, using a walking foot and serpentine stitch, 3” apart. It would make an adorable baby quilt or wall hanging.

Dies used:
Blue Wren
6557 Spinner 8” block
6380 Diamond in Rectangle 4” x 8” block
Accuquilt
55017 Strip 2½” binding

Weather note: March came roaring in like a lion across the southern US...rain, hail, storms and ferocious wind for three days made quite a mess. Thousands of trees are down in middle Tennessee, damaging homes, cars, and power lines. We lost two 50 and 60 foot white pine trees during the near hurricane force winds. Thankfully, they fell away from our house into our neighbor's hay field. Our electricity was only out for a few hours but many are still in the dark. Unfortunately, there were several local deaths. Our thoughts are with those families.

Starry Snowmen

Today I'm unveiling my second Christmas quilt project. The cute snowman print and wine/cream fabric came from this year's estate sale bonanza.

The block, Shooting Star, is a vintage 1934 Nancy Cabot design. Using Blue Wren's Sliced Square die made quick work for cutting and stitching.

Starry Snowmen

Natural muslin sashing frames the blocks. I quilted with cream thread using serpentine stitch. Starry Snowmen is 54“ square.

The backing is a large wine and cream snowflake and feathered star fabric that my mama gave me years ago. Nice memory...today would have been her birthday and I miss her.

Note: Thanks to those who asked if we were affected by Saturday's awful tornadoes and storms. We are fine, only had one small tree down. There was lots of damage in nearby towns, and unbelievable devastation in Kentucky. Please keep those folks in your thoughts.

Dies used:
Blue Wren
6600 Sliced Square 6”
6015 1½” Strips

Accuquilt 
55017 Strip 2½”

Breezy Evening

The last few nights around here were refreshingly cool and less humid. We had windows open with a fan circulating a breeze. Lovely weather!

For this quilt, I cut black, blue and cream batik into parallelograms, paired with light blue triangles and rectangles, and arranged them into mosaic blocks. I laid out the simple but striking design in EQ8, using the batik again for rotary cut 5” borders. Breezy Evening is 51” square.

I quilted free motion with dark gray thread in an overall meandering pattern. I switched to a satin stitch to make a square in each block center.

Now our weather is changing back to hot and humid...it is Tennessee, you know...so windows are closed and the AC is running. That's ok, my plan is to sew and clean all week.

Accuquilt dies used:

55797 Qube Mix & Match 10” Block

55017 Strip 2½”

Take time to delight in cool fall evenings 

Campground Sewing: Star Island

You didn't think I could go camping without some kind of sewing project, did you? For our latest outing I created a quilt kit to take along. My inspiration was a nine-patch star test block that I made last year.

I selected light colors in soft green, lilac, latte, and aqua prints from my 3 ½” square and triangle leftovers and pulled other coordinates from my remnant baskets. After designing in Electric Quilt 8, I spent an afternoon cutting the pieces I would need with Accuquilt dies. All the star points are a simple white dotted print. Everything fit nicely into a storage container.

I loaded up my trusty Singer XL1000, the fabric kit and a sewing box of notions, and off we headed to Defeated Creek.

Taking over the dinette table gave me enough room to stitch, especially with my pressing annex. I wouldn't want to try to sandwich, pin and finish a large quilt in this small space, but sewing the quilt top was a breeze.

After a couple of days unloading and cleaning the camper, I'll finish up the quilt and show you the final results next week.

Camping in fall is usually great but this year temps went from 96 to 39 during our stay. Air conditioning and heaters were necessary.  We had fun anyway!

Is is a vacation if you're retired, 

or just another day in a good life?  

Misty Autumn Fog

Muted fall colors make me yearn for cooler weather. It's still in the mid to upper nineties here, same as it was in July when I sewed this quilt. No rain, our grass is crispy and leaves are turning brown.  

This is an 1950's pattern called Gay Patches or Four Gay Patches by Laura Wheeler. I found the clipping in Granny Rose's sewing box. I located a similar design in BlockBase called Dog Tooth Violet. It was fairly easy to design with EQ8 software.  

I modified it a bit to use Accuquilt dies, making a larger 17" finished block. I only had to sew nine blocks to get a 52" square quilt that I named Misty Autumn Fog.

I decided on sage, brown, gold, cream, gray and dusty coral prints for the patches and a pale yellow dot for background. 

I quilted with pale yellow thread in a free motion meandering stitch. Backing is a cream and sage green plaid. If it ever gets cool enough, this will be a nice one to snuggle under on a rainy day.

Accuquilt dies used: 4 1/2" square and 2 1/2" HST (55018), 4" finished triangle in square (55409), and triangle 6 1/2" (55001)

Waiting to put away summer clothes until the weather changes...

Color My World

How about a bright scrap quilt for this unusually warm February morning? I don't think we'll need to snuggle up in it today, but it still looks cheerful as a decorative accessory. 

A variety of mixed prints were combined with white dots on black to make this 44” square called Color My World.

I arranged three columns of 3” half square triangles with four columns of stacked 3” x 6” strips. All were cut from my scrap stash with Accuquilt dies. I finished by quilting variegated black/gray thread in rows with a large scallop stitch. Backing is a colorful crazy quilt print, with black and white dots for binding.

I'm not sure the ground hog got his prediction right, at least not for us in Tennessee. It sure feels like spring; last Thursday it was 75 degrees and I had windows open to air out the house. Today looks the same so I'm looking forward to taking my daily walk outside.

Thanks for stopping by, make your day colorful!

COLOR is a power

which directly

influences the soul.

~Wassily Kandinsky

You Know It's Spring When...

you just have to air out your house

drive with your windows down

hang the sheets outside in the breeze

then the sneezing begins

those pretty Bradford pears bloom

(and begin to stink)

the grass is suddenly a brilliant green

(mowing isn't far behind)

you see people wearing shorts with a sweater

or other unfortunate revealing combinations

because one day it's 80 degrees, the next day there's frost

so you keep flipping between heat and AC

you have an uncontrollable urge to:

clean out your closet

pack away coats, boots, and dark colors

wear something cheerfully bright

redecorate, lighten up and toss clutter

buy tulips for your kitchen table

clean off the porch, then just sit for a while

listen to the birds sweet song

bite the head off a chocolate Easter bunny

get up and walk off those winter pounds

let the sun shine on your face

explore the garden center

and so on...

Just pick something and do it. Enjoy Spring!

Sewing On The Road

With all the rainy days in the past three weeks, I was happy to have a portable sewing machine along on our camping trip. I'd packed two shoe boxes of scraps – four inch and two and a half inch strips, along with my rotary cutter and a tiny cutting surface. I started by matching up lights, mediums, and darks in pleasant color combinations. No real plan or pattern yet, just a scrappy project that I will work on during each trip this year.

I sew on the dining table or the small desk, so I have to keep the area neat and put things away after each session. Later this year it will be warm and sunny, so I can sew outside on the picnic table. Stay tuned for updates and the final reveal later this year.

I did some crochet as well, a couple of spa washcloths in beachy blue and green hues, and finished a pink, green and white summer shrug that I gave my mama for Easter.

“Wherever you go, 

no matter what the weather, 

always bring your own sunshine.” 

--Anthony J. D'Angelo

Outdoor Living, Porch Style

Just in time for July, I finished sewing spiffy new covers for all the cushions and pillows on our screened porch. My yard sale rocking chair got an upgrade to match. I love that they can be easily removed for cleaning.  I added new rugs to complete the look. 

 

Spending hours on the porch reading, talking, and grilling was a wonderful way to enjoy a summer week in our fresh new space. The weather fully cooperated, with low humidity and temperatures ranging from 60's in the morning to only low 80's in the afternoons. Not all down time for us, since we caught up on some yard work as well.

Can you believe we even opened windows to bring that cool air into the house – in July? AMAZING! 

My mama joined us on the 4^th for grilled burgers, chocolate pie and family time. What a pleasant, quiet holiday for the three of us, relaxing on our porch.

Useful Notion: Sometime you need to step outside, get some air, and remind yourself of who you are, and who you want to be. 

 

Unpredictable April Camping

We just got home from two weeks at Defeated Creek Campground. Springtime camping in Tennessee can be a little unpredictable. We experienced whistling wind, pouring rain, magnificent lightning, a bit of frost, sunshiny blue skies and gorgeous sunsets. Temperatures ranged from 31 to 80 degrees. 

 

Nevertheless, we were prepared and enjoyed most of our getaway on the shores of Cordell Hull Lake. One evening there were eighteen deer grazing together only fifty feet from our site, but they bolted before I could get the camera out. 

Camping Dinner

This week you'll find us at home, making up for lost time. I'll be zipping around on the Mustang mower and pulling weeds out of my flower beds. A trip to the garden center is in order for some pretty new blooms. It's work but I'm rested up and ready to dig.  

"If you don't like Tennessee weather, just wait a bit and it will change." 

 

So What If It's Cold?

We've been camping at Defeated Creek. We made the reservations six months ago to get a choice spot on the lake. Yeah, weather after the first few days was predicted to be cold, with rain and wind and snow flurries. So what? We went anyway.  

We packed hoodies, thermals, and quilts. We had firewood and a comfortable, well heated fifth wheel camper. We had plenty to do inside: TV, movies, internet access, library books, hobby gear.

One day we drove the scenic route up Highway 70 to Cookeville for lunch, some shopping and the required stop at Ralph's Donuts. We rode our bikes, hiked around the campground, took photos, sat by the fire, and even fished a little bit when it wasn't raining. 

I started and finished two new crochet bags. We made homemade soup and chili. We saw seventeen deer grazing together right behind our campsite.  

We watched a lot of people leave. We could have come home early, but we didn't. So what if the weather wasn't perfect? If we waited for things to be perfect, we might never start anything or go anywhere. 

So what if people say we're nuts for camping in winter conditions? We were cozy and warm, relaxed and happy. And that's all that matters. Life's too short to wait...so what if it's cold?