Saturday, May 30, 2020

DrEAMi #40

Ah the lovely month of May, what is that rhyme about the darling buds.... Welcome to another month of celebrating all DrEAMi! projects. Drop Everything And Make it!

Wendy of Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life sent me a link to an article that had this video within it. She got it from Suzy Webster. I got it off YouTube, and found out the guy has a channel, and if you are a physics/science/engineering buff, you may just want to follow this dude...

Friday, May 29, 2020

Kaleidoscope Dreams

Well I have a finish, and I am pretty stoked about it! For those who have followed the build on Instagram, here is the final cushion cover, which I've named Kaleidoscope Dreams.


I made the first cushion cover using Paula Nadelstern's line 'Wonderlust' for a Benartex blog hop in 2018. When Sheila was at our house for Dayna's wedding in November that year, she fell in love with the cushion, and asked me to make her one.  Exactly the same. Time went on. Earlier this year we were chatting, and she brought up the cushion again because she had seen it in a yoga photo I put on Instagram. I said I might have enough of the fabric left but I wasn't sure... She said she'd pay me for it, and I told her no, there was no need, but within 24 hours, she had emailed me some, and refused to hear otherwise.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

I Like/Love #41

Welcome to another gratitude post. I am linking up at LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color, where you will find other bloggers linking up things for which they are grateful. It's a great practice at any time, but more so now when we are living in such an unusual global time.

1. I am grateful for CBC, as you know, for so many reasons. They have really stepped up during this pandemic. The latest new thing is their Hello Spring webpage, where you can find spring bursting out all over Canada: peregrines about to hatch on Edmonton's live cam (a site I've watched many a time, and believe me, showing it to my students in my classroom on the big screen was super-cool), grey whales swimming to Vancouver Island, bumble bees in the Toronto area getting support with a No Mow May, and so much more.

2a. I am grateful for spring flowers. I love flowers, period, but there's something about the bursts of them in spring that make me so very grateful, grateful for my all my senses, but especially for my sight and my smell. This bush on one of the neighbours' houses got both big time. I looked it up in my Picture This app (great little plant identifying app; I've used it in many countries on our travels) says it is a Korean viburnum or a Beauty Bush. They are very similar in appearance, so I am not sure which one it is, but the leaves definitely look more like the viburnum. Beauty bush is very commonly grown around here.


Wednesday, May 27, 2020

To Do Tuesday and River Valley Winner

I hope your days include lots of outside fresh air time, whether you're in the southern hemisphere, where fall is established, or in the northern, where spring, and definite summer weather is happening. One thing about having a dog is that they force you to get outside, fair or inclement weather, and I don't know about you, but I always feel better for that fresh air. The post of my River Valley home décor projects was three weeks ago, so it is time to pick a winner of the yard or so of cuts of this gorgeous 'oh so Sandra' line.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Orange Scraps Box

This is my OMG for May and I'm pleased to say I got it done in plenty of time. I'll be linking this up at Elm Street Quilts at the end of the month. It is also one of the items on my Q2FAL list.
Orange is not very high up on my list of favourite colours, (sorry Anja) but omg do I love the way this box turned out! I had to wait yet again for the rain to stop (you can see the evidence in that photo) so I could get an outside photo. The early morning gentle sun was perfect to show off these scraps.

Thursday, May 21, 2020

Elvira Hands2Help Comfort Quilt #3

Back in March I participated in the Elvira QAL hosted by Gudrun Erla. Although I didn't sew the entire weekend with everyone, I did get my top made within the week that followed. I knew this would be another H2H quilt.


Tuesday, May 19, 2020

The Ultimate Home Décor Blog Hop Week 3 & To-Do Tuesday

It is the third week of the Island Batik 'Ultimate Home Décor' blog hop. There are four this year, all with giveaways! I hope you caught the array of inspiring home décor projects last week, from quilts to triptychs, from cushions to runners, oh my.
The hop runs May 4 - 26 with new Island Batik giveaways each week, giveaways at pretty much each ambassador's stop, and tons of inspiration and eye candy featuring the newest collections.

Friday, May 15, 2020

Centred QAL - Blocks B2 and B3

I cannot believe that the final four blocks are out today, and the next time I 'see' you, it will be with flimsy 'in hand'! I laid my twelve blocks on the design wall today and had a little shiver of excitement pulse through me, because oh wow, it's going to look terrific! From what I've been seeing on Instagram and in the linky, yours are going to be giving that same shiver. 😍 I cannot wait to get my last four done and in position. They are half done as I type, so with any luck, they'll be in a photo at the end of this post!
Remember there is a hashtag pool for the quilt along too, which is a great way to see what others are up to. It is #centredquiltalong
It is still not too late to jump on in, now that you're seeing how easy these blocks go together, and how they fit together! The main page with the schedule and links to all the posts is here.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Island Batik Blog Hop and Giveaway: Lake and Trees

I'd like to welcome everyone to my post on Island Batik's 'The Ultimate Home Décor' blog hop. I finally can show off this beautiful collection of fabric, River Valley, designed for Deb Tucker Studio 180 Designs by Kathy Engle.


I kind of went to town on this one!

Monday, May 11, 2020

The Ultimate Home Décor Blog Hop With Island Batik Week 2

It is the second week of the Island Batik 'Ultimate Home Décor' blog hop. There are four this year, all with giveaways! I hope you caught the array of inspiring home décor projects last week, from yoga cushions to runners and placemats, and of course, quilts.
The hop runs May 4 - 26 with new Island Batik giveaways each week, giveaways at pretty much each ambassador's stop, and tons of inspiration and eye candy featuring the newest collections. I finally get to show you my surprise fabric bundle. You may even get another sneak peek in this post...

Friday, May 8, 2020

Centred QAL - Blocks A2 and A3

Aaaaand with that, another week has zipped on by, at least for me, and we are ready for four more blocks. I just have to say that I am wowed by the gorgeous combinations out there! Seeing all these colours flowing together in the centre, and out to the edges, the pops of colour in the centre four blocks, just makes my heart sing. Truly. That 'full' feeling of gratitude and awe and joy.

Remember there is a hashtag pool for the quilt along too, which is a great way to see what others are up to. It is #centredquiltalong

Monday, May 4, 2020

Blog Hop Announcement, Giveaways and OMG!

This is a quick post to take care of several items!
First and foremost, it is the start of our second Island Batik blog hop for 2020. There are four this year, yep! And hopefully you caught the announcement this past weekend on Instagram, because there's already a sweet giveaway on offer. So head over and check it out.
The hop runs May 4 - 26 with new Island Batik giveaways each week, giveaways at pretty much each ambassador's stop, and tons of inspiration and eye candy featuring the newest collections. I finally get to show you my surprise fabric bundle. You may even get a sneak peek in this post...

Friday, May 1, 2020

#StayHome

This is the April challenge for Island Batik. We were to create a quilt 36" x 36" or larger, that made good use of borders and bindings.

As soon as Storm at Sea was done, I got to work. I kept having the sense to create a quilt that symbolized this time of strangeness, of new normal, of staying at home in isolation. I started with my House Block which still is my most popular pattern on Etsy, and knew I'd put a heart as the little block on the side of the house. Then I'd add borders from there.


Centred QAL - Construction: Block B

I am loving seeing the beautiful colour combos going on for the Centred QAL! It never gets old, seeing one's own design come alive in others' creations. This week there is a link up for showing off your first eight blocks of the quilt. It will be open for the entire week, so no rush.

This week we are making four Block B.

There is a hashtag pool for the quilt along too, which is a great way to see what others are up to. It is #centredquiltalong