I'm Screaming!

I actually dropped my phone on Monday morning when I saw who ordered a mug cosy from me on Sunday night. An author. A Canadian author who is "renowned as one of the trailblazers of the modern  fantasy genre" (Goodreads). One of my absolute favourite fantasy authors whose books I've read and loved and owned since 1995. None other than Charles de Lint!!

So ya, I was screaming, and I still am. He ordered this mug cosy:

Made in February

My first thought was, Maybe there's another Charles de Lint. Checked the address. Ottawa. Nope. Second thought, He cannot pay; I'll refund him, but then I thought well, I do have to mail it, and my time is worth something, and I have bought his books because I believe in supporting artists of all mediums. So I had the idea to make him a matching coaster! Did I still have any of the butterfly fabric left? It had only been a fat quarter... I did!

Of course I wanted to do some extra-special quilting on his coaster. I contemplated putting Canada fabric on the other side, but then I remembered I had this Valori Wells Stacked Books fabric. Perfect!

I love the cover art of both books so I had to show the other side of the coaster with the other book on top. Into the Green is the first book of his I read, and then I read The Little Country. I highly recommend both, a captivating blend of Celtic mythology, folklore and music that takes you into a rich world that feels entirely plausible. And then there are his Tamson House/Newford novels that centre around a house in Ottawa where the veil is thin between worlds. In those books he blends Celtic lore with Indigenous lore as well as folding in music and art and poetry. So good. I have two: Moonheart and Spiritwalk. Several books spin off the Tamson House books. Now I want to reread a bunch of them, as well as read more of those I haven't! He's written some YA fantasy books too, which I've read and enjoyed.

That blue deer is a magical being I bought in Chichen Itza, Mexico, a fitting spot for him.

I took that photo in my yoga/library room of the six books of his that I own right after I recovered, and messaged it to him in the Etsy app along with a little ‘I’m in awe’ message. He's won several awards, written more than 70 adult, young adult and children's books, been a judge for various literary awards, taught creative writing, composes music, plays in a band. Eight of his books are on Modern Library's Top 100 Books of the 20th Century list conducted by Random House and voted on by readers. You can read more on his The StoryGraph page and Goodreads page as well as his own site at the top of this post. Sadly, he lost his beloved wife, MaryAnn Harris, in June 2024. I’m wondering if butterflies have an extra meaning for him now?

Early morning sunlight shows the quilting much better. 

I love to think of him writing, coffee or tea in a mug beside him, on the coaster with the mug cosy on it!

The other heart-hugging event that happened on the weekend was another order for makeup bags from a repeat customer who is definitely a kindred spirit after our conversation over messages and email. Audrey ordered two custom bags, and yeah, I am kind of screaming because I am so in love with the colour combinations she requested.

Lavender and turquoise, pale yellow and some light and bright blue--aren't they pretty?

I usually do one colour and blend 18 fabric squares in that colour scheme. Occasionally I've done two- or multi-colour bags. This order has sent me off on a whirlwind of ooh, I could do blue and green, or what about aqua, lavender and green? And then after making Charles de Lint's coaster, I thought that a bag in soft peach and soft blue would be really pretty... Well, I had just enough of the scrap left from his coaster to cut two 2.5" squares...and that was the end of that fabric!

During the photo-exchanging of fabric squares, zipper and lining choices accepted/rejected, Audrey ordered the forest green bag which was in my Etsy shop as well. These are all gifts. She says her family and friends always admire the bags she's ordered from me. Well, I knew I had to do something for her, especially when she refused the discount I'd offered. I know she loves all things to do with water, be they lakes, oceans or streams, and as I had already cut the front for another cosy from leftover fabric from my Seacliff Beach quilt, I decided to make it up and mail it to her as a thank you gift. I had just sewed the front pieces together and in comes an Etsy message from her asking if I might be able to make her a mug cosy in blues and yellows?

Talk about the Twilight Zone! I sent her a photo and told her I was just making her one as a surprise... but would lake-themed be okay? It was. Anyhow, it is winging its way to Manitoba now along with the other three bags! 

Completely forgot to take a photo of the finished product

In other news, I almost have a flimsy for the Sewcial Bee Sampler quilt. The quilt centre is together and I was about to add the outer border:

I laid out two of the proposed outer border strips against the quilt centre... and did not like it.

I felt that the eye was drawn to the sashing, and the quilt edges felt like a spreading egg white in a frying pan. It needed to be contained, held together before that soft final border.

Trying out an orange and a green, both of which tone in with the colours in this line.

I decided to do a 1" finished inner border before applying the 2" finished outer border, and oh, but it looks so good now. Which one do you think I went with?

Oh and two more bag fronts are waiting to grow up into actual bags, sewn as leader/enders while putting on borders. I couldn't let the lavender and turquoise idea go, so pulled some of the rejected squares, added in some more and made the two sides.

I have three charm square packs sitting in my cupboard, and since I try to make bags in pairs as it's more efficient, I pulled them out. Well! One is a fall-themed collection by Robin Pickens which became the second bag.