Radiance

Quilts often just 'place' their names inside my head.  Others I kind of have to extract.  I looked up "glow", the first name that just came to me, because it seemed a little "not enough" for this quilt; I was looking for connections.  I came across incandescence and luminescence.  Luminescence, basically where the glow comes from within, nearly became the name.  However, I see rays here, especially if you look down at the photo of the orange block (Bella lolling about on top of it).  It wasn't much of a jump to have Radiance pop in my head.  Perfect.  More on that a bit later.

This was a sidenote OMG goal, to complete the flimsy.  I did complete (already!!) my main goal of getting the cat mats all done.

If you are on Instagram, you saw this little collage I posted yesterday (that got so many likes!)

From trimmings, to stretching cat approval, to half done flimsy

On Yvonne's Quilting Jetgirl pattern, Triangle Transparency, available here, she has several colour options, both sketched and actual quilts.  When I saw her orange version with two opposing gradations, I knew that this was going to be the quilt for Aidan.  Orange is his favourite colour, and I knew he would like the graphic nature of the design.

Bella approved the second gradation order block

I spied this wildflower on one of my walks with Rocco a few days ago.  The vibrant colours Mother Nature orchestrates just literally took my breath away.

Feel the glow, in this case, the luminescence of this example of perfection?

I have a time-saving and money-saving tip I thought I'd quickly share with you here:

Time-saver:  I put two HSTs atop each other, RST. With the diagonal seams pressed to the darker side, it is easy to butt them up against each other so they are nicely aligned, and then you can trim two at once.  The full tutorial is here, also featured on Totally Tutorials. :-)

Moneysaver:  Notice the small 5X7" Olfa cutting mat is on top of my larger one?  This way I don't touch the layered HSTs; I simply rotate the little mat 180 degrees, and do the second trim.  You can pay around $35 or more for the rotating Olfa mat; I think I paid around $5 several years ago for my Olfa mini mat, and one is always going to have a larger mat to set the mini mat upon, right?

Rotated and ready for the second trim

I had figured on pointing the triangles out, but this morning when I laid them down, I had to try them pointing in just to see:

And, photo-bombed, as per usual.

New stuff on the floor!! For ME!!  Is in her little kitty brain; her little fuzzy body vibrates with glee.

Just placing myself right ...  h-e-e-r-r-e  ... ahh! Okay you can take the photo now, Sandra.

Sorry Bella, adorable as you are, I do like the rays of sunlight streaming through the blinds on the quilt.  Rays.  Radiance.  For Aidan.  I love plays on words and symbolism, so I'm not going to ruin this quilt's name by spelling out how both figure in its name.  (hint: say "radiance" and say "Aidan"; think "glow" and "luminescence" ergo rays.)

Hmm, so on the layout, I asked for a couple of opinions.  MacGyver gave the thumbs-up for layout 2, well one thumb, the other hand was busy holding his iPad (shocker I know right, Brianne and Dayna?!) and/or coffee cup.  We both love the illusion of squares each layout provides.  Judy of Quilt Paradigm threw me not one but two curve balls, but when I saw her response, I'd already sewn up the top.  Ripper?  Nope.  But I might play with iPhoto and the Layout App I got for Instagram to see how her suggestions would play out...

I took it outside to, you know, do what I always do with finished quilts and flimsies, throw them around on the ground.

Florida orange, of course amongst the palm trees!

Don't worry; this time I put a sheet down first!  Don't want a repeat performance of what happened to Tish's pillow.  The quilt is 60.5" at this point, and, according to the pattern, done.  However, Aidan's brother, Callum's quilt, Shift, finished at 60X75", and so I'm going to make Radiance into a rectangular quilt by adding to it on the top and bottom.  Stay tuned.  I have lots of the Grunge fabrics left (oh are they fabulous!), but not very much of the Kona Cheddar....Oh I know that can be remedied!
Speaking of money-saving remedies, haha, er tips, have you been taking advantage of any of Connecting Threads' sales this week?  I know, I'm enabling you again.  I need company in my shopping madness glee.  No affiliation either, just plain adoration.  One word for today over there:  THREAD!!

Watch this spot tomorrow for more money-saving tips, well one big one coming from Craftsy! For now I'm off to buy thread!

Linking up with Let's Bee Social.

Knitty Kitty Mats

This is my OMG goal for March: a cat mat aka cat pouffé for Bella, and two mats for cat kennels that I'm donating this year to the kitties who are waiting for their forever homes in Animal Welfare League, a no kill shelter.  Update: I've just dropped them off this am at the Suncoast Humane Society, which is where I took those I made last year.  We took the dogs there to get their heartworm tests, so I thought it fitting to give them a little extra thanks.  I've taken all the photos and written up some of the directions for the tutorial for both designs too, so pop back soon. Pretty easy peasy.

You may remember that I forgot Miss Bella's cat "pouffé" at home in Kingsville.   You may recall that I found some perfect cat fabric, "Knitty Kitty" at the Port Charlotte Quilt Show.  Bella put her fuzzy butt stamp of approval on it.

Homework

When Eileen of Eileen in Stitches put out a call for 12" blocks in blues to help her make quilts for her grandparents who had both suffered of injuries and illness, I happened to design this Whirling Star Block.  You can read about the quilt she made, Starry Dreams, here!  I made a couple of these for myself, thinking I might design a quilt eventually.  That was September.  When Angela of So Scrappy announced the colour for January of blues with a hint of purple, I thought this block could be my January one (even though there isn't any hint of purple).

However, the blocks sat...but I did bring them down to Florida with me.
And put them on the design wall.
To, you know, remind me.
Not to neglect them.

Two good friends of mine are in hives this year, and I've hesitated to join for a few reasons.  However, seeing and hearing about their sewing and growing made me think, darn it if I couldn't do my own sewing bee and sew myself two blocks a month, I'd have 24 blocks by the end of the year, in rainbow colours, a pretty sweet quilt. Well, on one of MacGyver's ball game days where he's gone the majority of the day, I decided to whip up (ha ha!) the February and March colours in this block.

Here is February, brown with a bit of pink.  I took a photo of the pre-sewn strip layout and put it into greyscale as the light brown with a hint of pink paisley and the pink batik were so close in value.  It read that the pink was the lightest but now that it's sewn up, my eye is grabbed by it, so I don't know...but I wasn't ripping once the block was sewn!

And March, purples with a hint of yellow.  This pansy fabric is one of my early acquisitions in my quilting life, from (ouch) WalMart (a store I have boycotted for nearly 20 years, but that's another story).  It was the main fabric for Dayna's second bed quilt, and I used the scraps to make a pillow to go with it.  (TBT one of these months for sure). There are just a very few scraps left in the "purple" bag.


Here they all are together.

This is fun! I did follow her colours all last year for my cow blocks (3 more to make there), but I never did link up, so today I am linking up with soscrappy for the first time! And with Scraptastic Tuesday either at Mrs. Sew and Sow or at She Can Quilt.

Warm Fuzzies

I love this term, one from my CGIT (Canadian Girl In Training) camp days (that takes me back).  It means something, tangible or intangible, that makes you feel warm and fuzzy in your heart.  A few weeks ago I had the absolute joy of receiving not one, but three surprise packages in the mail.  They were well-timed little warm fuzzies.

Tangible warm fuzzies such as this hand-made gorgeous bracelet that my friend Vicki of Vicki's Crafts and Quilting made me.  Several months ago, I'd surprised her with a fabric bowl at a time when I knew she needed a little pick-me-up.  Well, somehow she picked the perfect time to send me this.  How did she know I am a bracelet-loving girl?  I was always known at school for pretty bracelets, wore them every day.  Vicki, you do beautiful work; so intricate, and it's the perfect size. She stalked my yoga pics and decided I was pretty small; guess we have tiny wrists in common, as she used her own as a guide!  I love this and have worn it several times.  She is so talented! AND she just published her first Island Batik post as a new ambassador for their fabric company.  Her project is a beauty.

Double C: Cleaning and Canton

Canton as in Canton Village Quilt Works.  Thought I'd put a little plug in for Jackie Kunkel.  I have no affiliation.  I've taken advantage of her recent sales a couple of times.  Here's the latest score/crush:

Top to bottom:  Timeless Treasures "Seasonal Portraits" by Judy Neimeyer; Hoffman Bali "Stitches in Lime"; Rowan "Glow" by Amy Butler-Crossroads in Marine; And Rowan "Glow" by Amy Butler-Water Fall in Turquoise.

OMG for March and #Brave Quilter

Well, I could have oh, 10 items on the list!!  However, I am picking one, which is, in itself, three...

"Knitty Kitty" by Greta Lynn for Benartex

These are going to grow up into a cat mat for Miss Bella, who has sat on the grey cat fabric every day since it came home with me after the Port Charlotte Quilt Show on February 20.  I forgot her very own faux sheepskin cat cushion/pouffé in Kingsville, bad cat mama I am.  I saw the grey cat fabric and thought bingo, there she is.  The grey and white on the back of my sewing chair was another piece I got because it is an interesting grey.  That is when the shop owner told me it was part of the Knitty Kitty line.  And she pulled out the red.  And I got 1/4 yard.  You know.  Get back in Miss Bella's good graces by making her a patchwork mat rather than just a hunk of fabric mat.

She isn't glaring; it's the sun in her eyes, I'm sure of it

Now that I have a little more than I'd planned on getting, I will be making another cat mat, maybe two, depending on how far the fabric goes, for two cat mats for the Sarasota Country Humane Society.  Every year we've been down here I make a couple and donate them for the kitties waiting for their forever homes.  They lie on them in their cages, you see.

Not only will Bella get some polyester batting inside her mat, she will also get these scraps of fabric and batting stuffed in.  At the November retreat a girl from Michigan was saving all our scraps for this very purpose, and it hit me last week that I could add my current fabric bits into Bella's pouffé to make it a little more poofy for her tushy.  ;-)

I also hope to get my second nephew, Aidan's, flimsy sewn together.  It's all cut out now, ready to go. Triangle Transparency.  But that is just a sidenote mainly for me.  My OMG goal is the cat mats.

Brave Quilter
If you haven't heard, Julie at Pink Doxies has started up a new linky party.  Just as in yoga, where I sometimes face my fears, she is encouraging us to face our fears and tackle something that may intimidate us, or something new we'd like to try but have perhaps put off, or a new technique, or something way out of our comfort zone, or something we find rather challenging, or....you get the picture?

I've had this collection of fabric and the Texture Magic for almost 2 years.  The triptych is going to hang on a rather large wall space in our home in Kingsville.  I keep putting it off, even though that blank wall stares/glares at me on a daily basis.  MacGyver has done his part and built the most beautiful skinny computer table that goes there.  Now I must open this package, read the instructions, and DO IT!  It will be my goal for the month of March with Julie's #Brave Quilter

Linking up with OMG at Red Letter Quilts and with #Brave Quilter at Pink Doxies.

Three-Quarter Patch Tote Review

Back in January I got a survey from Craftsy. Among the questions was one that asked if I'd be willing to review a pattern/kit.  Hands (yes, both of them) flew up!  Well, checked the box, okay.  I actually never thought when I started this blog 2.5 years ago that I would get to do something like this.  Happy dance!  First and foremost, Craftsy did send me the pattern and the fabric to make the tote, and I am an affiliate, so there are affiliate links in this post.  My opinions are my own. :-)  The first one is I LOVE THIS BAG!!

Rowan Three-Quarter Patch Tote