Sometimes...

You need to put aside the mountain of laundry, ignore the dog hair layering your floor, and avoid the dirty dishes cluttering the counter and just quilt. It was a crazy week at work, we had some crushing family news, and all of us are fighting colds. When the Monster went down for her nap I ignored my blackberry and hunkered down in the basement. It's amazing what you can do in a couple of hours!

I started the new baby's quilt. It's a simple design, but should be quite graphic when finished. Here is the midway point of the background. Just a bunch of half square triangles pieced into some pinwheels. Appliqued on top of that? Why circles, of course! Was there any doubt?

Opinions?

I am struggling with this quilt. It currently sits at the long arm quilter I've used before. She does great work. But the two of us are struggling with exactly how to quilt it.

As I was making it I pictured the top covered in circles, maybe 3 inches in diameter. It is an 84 inch square top so that would work perfectly. But my long armer doesn't have a program to do that as she only works digitally. And somehow a meandering pattern or one with lots of curliques doesn't work in my my mind.

Suggestions?

Colour in a Dreary Landscape

Hubby and I took a bit of a break last week. I had to be in Vancouver for work, so after a few days Grandma came to watch the Monster and Hubby flew out for an adult only weekend. Sweet relief. No quilty stuff done, but lots of reading, shopping, leisurely meals, wanderings, and the tourist thing at the Vancouver Aquarium.

I have to share some of my shopping wins. Again, no quilty stuff, but there was fabric in there nonetheless. First off, I hit the tourist and rather boring shopping street of Robson. I was really looking for a maternity store to buy some new pants. Three Banana Republics, but no maternity store. I did, however, find H20 Plus and some fabulous bath soaks and this utterly fantastic almond scrub. Unfortunately, I never made it back to buy about 6 more, but I will be ordering it online.

On Saturday the sun was out. In the morning we relaxed in the hotel spa. Hubby booked massages for us. While I had a well-deserved pedi, he went to enjoy the steam room. The door was sticking and when he reefed on it the door popped out quickly and hit his toe - promptly splitting and ripping back his big toe nail. Ouch! So much for relaxation. But he was still in such a good mood that he consented to a walk that afternoon (Hubby hates walking, only slightly less so when the pooches are involved).

The first store we directed ourselves to was the Marimekko concept store in Yaletown. Oh, sweet colour heaven! I really had to restrain myself as the fabric and bags were ALL asking me to take them home. In the end we did a custom order for some fabric for the new baby's room. It seems that the fabrics I were drawn to the most were by designer Erja Hirvi.

This is the one for the baby's room. I see a lemon yellow dresser and soft grey walls... when there is a room to put it all in. That's a whole other story.

The other one we bought is the same pattern as this, but a much brighter colour way. No picture on the web site, so you'll have to wait until I get the new pillows done with it. Those new pillows will be on our new couch - delivered today!

And I have to admit, I also caved and bought this tray. It is rather cliche - living in a town nicknamed "Cowtown" and famous for the Calgary Stampede, but I couldn't resist the colour, or the humour.

After Hubby was finally able to drag me away from the Marimekko store (good thing I'm pregnant and can't fit into their clothes right now). We headed back and ran into this fabulous store filled with modern design for adults and kids: Inhabit. Hubby was entranced by a stuffed frog that was far too large to fit into a suitcase. I drooled over an Eames rocker and he promptly picked out a gift for the Monster. At least that would fit into the suitcase! We also liked that it shared her Grandpa's name, and was made in Canada at Monster Factory. Remind me to get a picture of the two Monsters together.

And now I best hit the sack. I've been having a lot of contractions today and it is far too early for that! I'll pick up my new book (see the latest entry on the nightstand) and curl up to read before attempting the sleep of the 7 month pregnant.

Making My Way Through the Stack

Another UFO finally gets finished. This is the Tuesday Night Quilt. My quilting friend here in town and I were getting together on Tuesday nights... about 3 years ago. We decided we needed to work on a green quilt - something neither of us had done before.

To be honest, I can't remember the book we got the technique from. I want to say it is a Gwen Marston technique, but I can't say for sure. We just cut fabric and had fun piecing. She took half the blocks, I took half. I'll see if I can dig up a picture of her quilt. They are two very different quilts, very different.

It is my first wall hanging. There is a large blank wall in my office that is calling out for this. Now, on to buy a dowel and some hooks for hanging it.