Garden Tour, A Finished Quilt and Something New

Freddie the Frog is a little concerned; we have been without rain since early April.  So what does that mean for the garden, Mother Nature will let us know come spring. 

In the meantime, I am spending many an evening watering for three to four hours at a time.  Normally when clay soil starts to dry out it will contract and create large cracks, but this year is different,  no cracks, it is almost powder like, that is how dry it is.

Much to my surprise, the garden is looking blooming beautiful, so as I head down the garden path I will share with you a few places along the way.

Loaded with daylilies, I love them so, and this is the month they put on a show!  Also blooming away is a big beautiful Shasta daisy and some highly fragrant trumpet lilies.  I also see tiger lilies,  astilbe blooms and purple coneflowers.

A birdbath can be found at every turn,

As birds, bees and butterflies are always welcome.

Fragrant trumpet lily.

And, to end the mini garden tour,

One of my favourite daylilies, Bertie Ferris.

Now on to a little quilting!

Simple Pleasures

16.5" x 16.5"

Machine pieced, hand quilted

I kept it simple to show off the stitchery blocks.

Cat Quilt BOS puts a smile on my face, simply done with a big splash of colour.  The green fabric to the left will be used for binding and I plan on hand quilting something seasonal around each block.  Finished quilt will measure 22" x 22."

Also, I finally added the border to my Kansas Dug-Out and is now basted and ready for hand quilting.  Then, I tackled a big job and prepared the remaining 468 pieces needed to finish my Shades of Autumn POTC quilt, which I will get back to this fall.

Found another interesting book to add to my library, Quilted Symphony by Gloria Loughman.  It is all about abstract design and will be a nice addition to my collection of art quilt books.  I also ordered 37 Sketches by Gwen Marston, small studies of abstract compositions, worked primarily in solids.

And, what is keeping my fingers busy right now is a sweet little quilt called, Bloom by Renee Plains.  Finished size is 22" x 26" with about 103 pieces to be  appliqued, a nice take-along project for the summer.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

free-form quilts

According to Rayna Gillman, you can't make a mistake in free-form quilting, so with that said I jumped right in and gave it a try.  The plan was to read both books from cover to cover before I started, but when I got to the chapter on technique I couldn't help myself.  Once you get going, it is almost impossible to stop.  At some point, I will stop and piece this puzzle together, curious to see what I end up with.

 

Very exciting!

Release date: August 2012

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

On the Go

My good friend Jigsaw thought seeing that I was almost finished joining all my flowers together, it would be wise to start preparing hexies for the border and so I did, 140 to be exact.  Though still undecided on my Flower Garden border, I think I'm just going to see how it grows.

Since my last posting, it has been go, go, go in the garden and still so much to do, but besides my hexagons,  I did manage to complete the sashing on all sixteen of my Shades of Autumn POTC blocks, made a few more Klosjes and even added a couple more rows to my Tiny Thimble quilt, all portable projects, done on the go.

It was nice to spend an hour, Sunday evening, in my sewing room, organizing and getting my thoughts together.  I really haven't been in there since the end of April and long to work on my Clamshells again, plus prep work for other projects.

Two new books have been added to my library;  Kathleen Tracy's first book, American Doll Quilts is back in print, so I ordered it right away and can't wait to get started.  Also, Classic Quilts from the American Museum in Britain.  I held off ordering this one for several months wondering if it would be money well spent and based on the photos alone, it was.

Until next time.....happy quilting!

Karen

Simple Pleasures

Nothing like a bowl of homemade soup

and a good book.

~

If you are a fan of Piece O' Cake Designs, you're going to love Applique Outside the Lines. I have four other Piece O' Cake books, plus Aunt Millie's Garden. The Applique Sampler, Contemporary Classics in Plaids & Stripes, Quilts with a Spin and my most favourite, Amish-Inspired. I plan to start my first Piece O' Cake project in 2010, a pattern from Amish-Inspired.

I finished my November Country Calendar block. So cute! This little robin is searching the garden for something to eat. Don't forget to keep your bird feeders topped up for the winter.

POTC Early Autumn

Just five more POTC blocks to go! My sister named this one Early Autumn. When the leaves start to change colour and berries begin to appear. I'm very pleased with this block.

You may have seen, in the first issue of Quilter's Connection magazine a cute stitchery quilt pattern called, Tree Trimming Party, by Dougal Ann Walker of The Freckles Collection. This pattern is now on my To-Do list. I came across more patterns by Dougal Ann Walker, at my local quilt shop and just couldn't leave without It's a Cat's Life and Quiltmakers. Are they not just the cutest?

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

A Trip to California

My sisters recently returned from a trip to California. Upon arrival, they rented a car and headed off on an excellent adventure. Their travels took them to Malibu, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Morro Bay, Nipomo, Santa Maria, San Simeon, Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey, San Francisco (Golden Gate Park (Japanese Garden) and Fisherman's Wharf), Yosemite Park, Clovis, Mojave (Red Rock Canyon State Park) and other places I can't remember. So, why am I telling you this? Well, California has lots of quilt shops. That's right. Lots!

First they stopped in Santa Barbara to see Rosalind Perry. You may recognize the name, as she is the author of three books about and the granddaughter of Marie D. Webster. I am now the proud owner of A Joy Forever and Marie Webster's Garden of Quilts.

They managed to squeeze in a few quilt shops everyday. Apparently 'cleaning up' at Betty's Fabric in Santa Maria and loved Quilter's Paradise in Clovis. Top of the list was Quilter's Coop in Temecula and they also liked, Temecula Quilt Company. I'm very excited about my two new stitchery patterns. Over the River and Through the Woods by Crab-Apple Hill and Ring in the New! by Kathy Schmitz.

Look what else I got.....

Lots of reproduction fabric

and 1930's fabric

Wool swatches and other Fall coloured fabric

A lovely mix of Asian

and some Allsorts!

And I must not forget the other goodies: a Kwik Klip for basting, John James Straw Needles for applique, a Jelly Thimble, YLI Fusible Thread for applique, Cosmo embroidery thread, Fons & Porter Pyramid Ruler, Quilters Dream black batting and a Yosemite National Park T-shirt and some nice Dellagio Caramel Praline hot cocoa. The black batting will be used for a project I hope to start this winter. I've had all the fixings for it for a couple of years now and am itching to get started.

My one sister quilts, so she knows what I like and my other sister loves to paint, so she has a good eye for colour combinations. Boy was she proud of her fabric finds. They both had fun being my personal shoppers and would e-mail me pictures from their Blackberries, but not of everything! They had to save a surprise or two!

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

Dolce far niente

Yes, how sweet to do nothing.

Nothing but quilt!

But first a little reading. Look at the wonderful book I just added to my collection. I love every inch of it. This book is definitely going on my list of favourites. Visit Michele Hill's blog and be inspired. And, to add to the excitement, Barbara Brackman has a line of fabric out now called, The Morris Workshop.

All twenty Tiny Baskets are appliqued and this sweet little yellow one is my favourite. Now, what to do with them? Any suggestions?

I'm very excited about Lucy Boston POTC and have my templates cut and ready to go. One to trace the shape onto the fabric and the other to add the seam allowance. One day, I would like to try Inklingo, but my printer seems to have an issue with coloured ink.

My first POTC, as I'm pretty sure there will be more, will consist of sixteen hand pieced blocks. I have selected 48 fabrics from my stash, just for the blocks. Each block with be different, no duplication of fabric. Some blocks use only two fabrics, others use three or four. Some fabric I selected for fussy cutting and others just because I like them! My colour theme is based on my favourite time of the year, Autumn.

As I was going through my stash I found five pieces of William Morris fabric and two others that could be, but did not have anything written on the selvage. Very exciting! I have set them aside.

Vanilla Fluff Daylily

Stargazer Oriental Lily

The display of lilies in my garden right now, is breathtaking. Vanilla Fluff and Stargazer are just two of many lilies that would knock your socks off with their heavenly scent.

Speaking of flowers, I have been working on Karen's Flower Garden. Now complete is 24 of 92 flowers and they are almost as pretty as the lilies in my garden.

And, last up my July A Tisket A Tasket Basket or you could call it my Canada Day Basket, which is celebrated July 1st. My little lamb is made from flannel, but looks like wool. I love how flannel appliques. My flag size has been doubled to fit the stitching of the word Canada and I also appliqued tiny circles in the center of the flowers, instead of buttons.

Until next week.....happy quilting!



Karen

Doing the Happy Dance

Dear Jane has me doing the happy dance. Last week I pieced together G-6. In the center of this block is a tiny 1-inch star, made from seventeen very tiny pieces. Each piece cut out individually and hand stitched together. I just love my tiny star!

Speaking of tiny, I would like you to meet Bella. Bella lives next door and we have become the best of friends. If she was mine, I don't think I could leave her outside, unattended, for such long periods of time. I'm glad she found the safety of my garden, as it seems to be the place other cats like to come to rest and play. The other day, Bella helped me weed and deadhead, but I think we spent most of our time chasing each other around the garden. Bella also enjoyed a ride on the end of a shovel and traveling around in the weed bucket was also lots of fun. After a long day in the garden, Bella and I rested on the patio. I with my stitchery and Bella with a saucer of milk. Such a perfect day, with my new best friend.

Flying Lessons

First Blooms

The past two weeks have been spent on stitchery BOM's and I am pleased to say, they are all caught up now. August will bring the last Veranda Views block. I will miss stitching this one, but look forward to piecing the blocks into a pretty little quilt.

Cathi made me do it!

After seeing all her lovely blocks, how could I not. So, I ordered Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses. Another wonderful book by Linda Franz.

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

To Snip or Not to Snip

To snip or not to snip? I read in a book that if you snip the corners (a half-inch or less triangular section) of your fabric, before washing it, it will not unravel as much. So, that is what I have always done. I would cut off the threads when the fabric comes out of the washing machine and sometimes have to snip a few more, as I press. My basket would get pretty full. I started to wondered how much I would collect if I didn't snip the corners. So, I gave it a try. The next time I washed a load of fabric, I didn't snip and ended up with way less unraveling. Needless to say, I no longer snip before washing.

My April A Tisket, A Tasket basket is complete and yes, the chocolate bunny is missing. Because I so love chocolate, he never made it to the basket!

~

Do you remember my Baby Ralphie quilt? The one with the mini Dresden's. Well, I also have a larger Dresden quilt in the making, that I actually made before the Baby Ralphie one. I'm halfway through the hand quilting, but have not worked on it since Christmas. Shame on me! So close to finishing. Well, something has inspired me and my Dresden is back in the project rotation. Have you seen Thoroughly Modern Dresden by Anelie Belden?

If you love Dresden's, like I do, I think you will really like this book. Anelie has put some new twists on an old favourite. Wonderful blade-top variations, split blades and lots of great patterns for all skill levels. As I finish quilting my Dresden, I will be planning my next Dresden and one thing I can tell you, it's sure to be, a Thoroughly Modern Dresden.

Home Fire Phlox, Dwarf Purple Iris and Pink Bleeding Heart

Lots of rain this past week and the garden is alive with colour. Spring clean-up is complete. The compost pile has been turned over and is loaded with lots of big fat juicy worms. What does sun and rain bring? Weeds! So, off to the garden I go!

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen