"colour"

Four


The Monster turns 4 today.  Holy crap, 4! She is a wild and crazy girl. She has two positions - awake and asleep. If her body isn't moving her mouth is. That makes her about a perfect combination of her parents.

Although she did actually ask me for a quilt last week - for the first time no less - and she has added quilter to her career aspirations (along with doctor, paleontologist, rockstar, vet, jogger, and sometimes Spiderman) this was the last quilt I made specifically for her.


A quilter carries around a lot of guilt when she doesn't get to make her own first baby a quilt. I spent 9 weeks on bed rest before she arrived in a flurry of doctors. Yes, she was gifted quilts, but it wasn't the same. So, for her first birthday I made this Monster Eye Spy.

It actually started as a challenge among some quilty friends. We exchanged charms and FQs for the eye spy fabrics. And we set ourselves the additional challenge to add the alphabet. After months, literally, of trying to make it work by using one letter to one fabric I came up with this design. The colour changes work, I think, but I did pick the wrong fabric for the letters. They get lost when viewing the quilt as a whole. Ah, lessons in value... But they are totally visible to The Monster and I up close. We play with it frequently still.


Happy Birthday Monster!


Low Volume Circles


I cannot stress how much I LOVE this quilt top.

First, it came together quickly. Long strips with appliqued circles. Some prep work, but it was all manageable.

Second, it was a lovely project to work on until I felt good enough to be at the machine again. The only machine work on the top was sewing the strips together. And the back is coming together quite easily too. There isn't a lot of up and down for ironing.

Third, it is big (twin size). That means it isn't a small project that I haven't a clue what to do with in the end. My only wish is that I had a precious room and twin bed to decorate around this quilt.

Finally, it is such a contrast to all the bright work I do. The concept of working with low volume fabrics is very refreshing. Kind of like a sorbet course in a big meal. And all that white? So not me, but so, so perfect.

Find the Yellow

I was wearing my spring coat this week, a pastel yellow trench.  Paired with my new yellow, cream, and taupe striped scarf I felt very sunny indeed. When my physiotherapist noticed it we started a conversation about the optimism inherent in the colour yellow. Despite a somewhat frustrating physio session we kept talking about optimism.  On my way out she encouraged me to "Find the Yellow" in my day.






1  Cleaning up after a painting session.
2  Quilting detail
3  Apron trim
4  Stack of quilts (for the article "The Family Quilt" in the Winter 2010 What's Up magazine)
5  Pie crust
6  Yo (from the files, at the Bowden Sun Maze last August)

What about you?  Have you Found the Yellow today?