Scenes of Summer

Hi everyone. How was your summer? Mine was filled with extraordinary moments shared with extraordinary friends, like Wanda Hanson of Exuberant Color, who surprised me with one of her signature batik color-wash quilts. Isn't it stunning? Read more about it here. 

Of course, visits from quilters are always welcome, especially when they bring "show and tell." Here's Sheila with her Sunflower quilt and me with Wanda's Zig-Zags.

Jenny graced us with fresh-picked basil and cherry tomatoes from her garden. Jean shared delicious peach cobbler (made with real Georgia peaches) and the best homemade blueberry pie I've ever tasted!

Local troubadour, Bill Glaysher, serenaded me one afternoon. Swoon! I even got a copy of his CD!

Which enabling friend helped make this online purchase? I couldn't resist getting a few new American Jane fabrics in summer hues.

My friend, Bev, volunteered to read aloud to me as well. If you've never heard To Kill a Mockingbird interpreted by a veteran English teacher, you don't know what you're missing. It was absolute bliss!

I came across a delightful new quilt book too: The Magic Forest by Gwen Marston, featuring her tree quilts, some of which I've had the luck to see in person.

 

Jim and I even attended a bridal shower, hosted by friends, Mark and Linda, for their daughter and son-in-law to be. What lured us out on a 97-degree day was the promise of mango mimosas and eight different kinds of cake. Believe me, it did not disappoint.

All in all, we made some great memories, didn't we? Thank you to my gracious friends who see me as I am but love me in spite of it!

Spring At Last

Earlier this spring, my friend Debbie shared photos from Flowers on Fargo, a private garden in Geneva, Illinois. Each spring it bursts into color, first with crocuses and tulips, then other flowering perennials. Check out the link above. 

I've always liked the crocuses bestof The moment they emerge, often while there's still snow on the ground, their hardy blooms seem to dance with abandon like they're grateful to be leaving winter behind... and aren't we all?

   

crocuses blanketing the landscape like a colorful patchwork quilt. 

Perhaps it's the colors that drew me to this vintage Dutchman's Puzzle quilt. Do you suppose the maker had crocuses in mind when she pieced those purple triangles or was this just a popular color scheme in the 1940s?

All those triangles

poking through a bed of white

to dance their way across a quilt

sure look like crocuses to me!

Wishing you all a happy spring & summer!

Midwinter Blues

Hello everyone! I had a birthday recently and with it came this marvelous quilt from Barb Vedder. You may recognize it as Midwinter Blues, a pattern designed by Lori DeJarnatt for her 2014 Humble Quilts sew-along. Double-click photos for more detail.

Aren't Barb's fabrics exquisite? I've never seen such deep, saturated blues or bold cheddar prints! All those patchwork points and angles could make for a "lively" quilt, especially when high contrast fabrics like these are used, but Barb managed to subdue some of that energy with a couple clever tricks.

First, her gentle curves of teacup quilting in an allover grid help draw the eye away from the angular patchwork itself.

Second, by swapping her standard cotton thread with silk in a neutral gold color, Barb managed to reduce the impact of her machine quilting in a "less is more" kind of way. Look closely and you'll see how the stitches practically melt into the background leaving just a hint of texture behind. 

Barb often puts surprises on the back of her quilts too, and this one's no exception. It's a patriotic print with the phrase "E pluribus unum" or "Out of many, one."  All I can say is, out of many pieces came one fantastic quilt!

You can tell by the label that Barb originally made this quilt for her dear friend, Mary Borst. After Mary passed away, Barb thought I might enjoy having it seeing as Mary and I were college classmates as well as quilting friends. Thanks, Barb. You bet I will! XO

 

You can still find instructions for the Midwinter Blues quilt on Lori DeJarnatt's Humble Quilts blog: 

Part 1,  Part 2,  Part 3,  Finale.