Butterflies

Welcome to my niece's room. B is a cute, cute, cute 5 year old. She is a girlie as they come, loving tea parties, dresses, and jewelry.  She has a wonderfully pink room, filled with animals, frills, shells, and a mural of country life surrounding her, complete with Charlotte's Web. 

When I walked into her room the other day this was the view that greeted me. Not perfection, not the sign of a mom-made bed. But the sign of a played in, jumped on, and snuggled in bed. And right there was the quilt I made when she was born.

That is a paper pieced quilt.  Yes, me, paper piecing.  This wasn't a one time experience, either. I actually really enjoy paper piecing. Have you lifted your jaw off the ground yet?  

The butterflies were a mish mash of pink scraps. And though you can't see it (I neglected to get a close-up) I embroidered the antennae in black, with a little eye too.  The butterflies also have some detailed quilting.  The rest of it is quilted in a grid pattern and free motion heart motif.

I love that the quilts I've given to my nieces and nephews are loved and used.  They aren't hiding away on a high shelf or in a box of baby stuff.  Okay, maybe two are, but those kids are older. I forgive them.  But it gave me great pleasure to see this quilt a little bit dirty and just piled on the bed.  That meant it was loved.  No matter the design, the technique, or the recipient that's all I can ask for.

A Business Idea

My brother and his wife, and numerous friends of mine are fantastic with their kids' birthday cakes.  I default to cupcakes, but these folks are producing cars, trains, pirate ships, teapots, and yes, a box of crayons. Yes, I am jealous.

So my new business idea - feel free to steal it as long as you promise to give me royalties for life - is a bakery that specializes in kids' cakes.  This isn't Ace of Cakes perfection.  This is stayed-up-til-midnight-dotting-buttercream-on-cake-mix love. Someone should be baking and selling cakes that look like mom and dad made them the night before, so mom and dad can pass them off as homemade - to their kids and their friends.

Again, all I ask for is royalties.

The above cake was another homemade masterpiece by my brother and sister-in-law, in celebration of this little blue eyed wonder.

New York Beautiful

Not much is happening on the quilting front lately.  Hubby is out of town, the house is bearing down on me, and I'm simply exhausted by the time the girls stop jumping on the bed and chattering to each other, finally collapsing in the heat.  Rather than leave you with another picture of a chubby baby in a bathing suit I thought I would open the vaults and share some of my older quilts.

This New York Beauty was a pivotal piece of work for me. It was my first truly scrappy-style piece, although not truly a scrappy quilt. At last count I think there were 23 different fabrics in this quilt. Before this quilt I was quite set on simple patterns on a white or single coloured background.  Since this quilt I've barely made a quilt that way.  Looking at this quilt again, I've also barely made a quilt with borders since.  One step forward, one step back.

I made this quilt as a wedding present for my brother and sister-in-law.  Actually, Hubby and I made this quilt. When I first started giving quilts as presents Hubby insisted that his name also be on the label.  My insistence was that he actually help with the process if he wanted his name on the label. Usually that meant expressing an opinion on the fabric choices or the layout, or helping me baste the quilt.  In this case he helped pick the pattern and even took the class with me to learn how to make the block.

For the record, if you have any single male friends sign them up for a quilt class.  If there are no young, hot chicks in it, there are lots of moms and grandmoms with single daughters who will be happy to set him up. I was in the room with him and they were still trying to set him up with other women! 
The colours for this quilt were chosen to remind my brother and sister-in-law of the beach. They met and started dating in California. And my sister-in-law is from New Orleans. It seemed appropriate to do what we could to remind them of warmer weather since they were moving back to Edmonton after they got married.  And we chose the New York Beauty block because my brother proposed on the top of the Empire State Building.  Such meaning, it might be a bit too much.

It is probably safe to say that this is one of the most-used quilts I've ever made. My sister-in-law uses this, with a duvet and a heating pad to sleep. I mentioned that my sister-in-law is from New Orleans and moved to Edmonton, Alberta, right?  

No More Whining

Okay, there has been far too much whining here of late.  I could continue on - life's just beating me down these days - but it is time to move on.  Seriously, I need a kick in the butt and some perspective.  Don't let me whine anymore.

Instead I will share some good news and some quilt photos.  Other than the gates, our fence is done!  We can also now run around and play on the new grass.  And speaking of grass, I finished my grass inspired quilt.

I should clarify that this quilt is more inspired by the intended patio in our newly landscaped yard.  The patio is still a month or so away from being completed.  Maybe that's why I wanted to do this quilt - letting my imagination run wild while I stare out the back window.  Or compensate for the lack of patio?  Oops, I said no more whining.

The top is made entirely from scraps.  Okay, maybe the whites technically qualify as stash, not scraps.  But they weren't big pieces.  All the greens do come from the scrap pile.

The white squares are 12.5 inches and the pieced sashing in 4.5 inches wide.  Those are unfinished numbers.  I made the sashing pieces by trimming my green scraps - those that were big enough - to about 13.5 inch strips.  After dividing them into dark/medium and light piles I sewed two strips together.  I then trimmed them, often on an angle, to 12.5 by 4.5 strips.  The cornerstone pieces were made from smaller scraps, sewn together into a simple four patch and trimmed down.

Initially I thought this would be a great picnic quilt, but Smilosaurus is way too messy for that this year.  The quilting will be a challenge - at least to me.  This is where the grass inspiration will really come in.  Stay tuned.

And speaking of perspective, I wanted to share with you some good news.  Do you remember this quilt?  My colleague and old boss finally got his new heart on Friday.  We heard yesterday that he is already recovering quite well.  So when I'm whining about the state of my house and busyness of life, remind me that heart matters more.

PS  This last pic includes fabrics from that Inspired Improvisation quilt - and one of the many aphids hanging around these days.