Gratitude and Glimmers #99

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.

—Melody Beattie

Welcome to my post of glimmers (of joy and wonder) and gratitude for the month of September. You can find links to more posts like this one at LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color.

1. J’adore la belle province de Québec. Nous sommes à Lac Brôme ce matin, tout près de Knowlton…some of you know the significance of this sweet village in this jaw-dropping beautiful part of Québec which is about an hour south of Montréal. More on what exactly I’m doing here in a few subsequent posts, but know it’s a big trip! Ahhh, j’adore l’automne.

Tropical Puzzle and More Project Bags

This is or was one of my USOs—UnStarted Objects, a set of fat quarters with the pattern included, that I picked up for a great price at Craftsy several years back. They sure had some amazing deals didn’t they? Between making a few more project bags for my returning bag-obsessed customer (I’m totally okay with this--love her--as I’ve now made one for the shop and have plans to make one for myself)  I have the flimsy finished. 

Spot the Rottie body photo-bombing! I could’ve cropped it, but he’s too cute. 

I don’t have a destination for this yet but I do have a backing fabric. Therefore it will get quilted shortly so it doesn’t become a UFO. I tend not to have a ‘waiting to be quilted’ pile.

Cool Cascade

My second of two RSC projects is done!

It lives up to its name there, cascading down the front step in the evening sun! Note: new porch railings and columns. MacGyver has outdone himself, and yes, I'll show before and after once it's complete.

A Project Bag Commission

You may recall the custom project bag I made for one of my repeat Etsy customers back at the beginning of August. Well, she emailed me asking if I would make a set of four custom bags for her! They hold her ongoing knitting and crocheting projects, and I may just have to make a couple of these since our collaboration!

O Canada Placemats

Another item on my long list of USOs (UnStarted Objects) is a set of placemats. I am happy to report that I finished them up yesterday!

Why it’s taken me this long to make these I do not know…shame on me.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Quilt Finish

I am happy to present my first RSC quilt, now finished and ready for a new home. Every year since 2015 I’ve participated in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge with Angela at So Scrappy. I’ve made one, two or sometimes even three projects with scraps, a few I’ve kept, but most I’ve given away as comfort quilts. This one will be donated somewhere I think. 

Rainbow Scrappy Churn Dash

This quilt, you may recall, is another where I built small slabs with crumbs and then cut them into HSTs or rectangles. 

Gratitude and Glimmers #98

The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our sense to grow sharper.

--W. B. Yeats

Welcome to my post of glimmers (of joy and wonder) and gratitude for the month of August. It is a week late, partly due to Brady being here for nine days, and partly due to a commission of four project bags. You can find links to more posts like this one at LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color.

1. If you follow me on Instagram, you will know that caterpillars and butterflies have captivated me this month. Last year we intentionally bought several perennials and annuals that are good for pollinators, and boy have we been rewarded. I've had monarchs, pipevine swallowtails (the black one with iridescent blue and orange and white markings), gigantic yellow swallowtails, a hummingbird moth and Mason wasps, to name the prettiest ones.

You can see several little videoclips on my Instagram, @mmmquilts.