Catch Up

The reality of dealing with a medical issue, a husband on the road constantly, and some major life changes means that my actual sewing got behind. Yeah, old story, right?

So, I told Hubby to leave me alone during naptime on Friday and I banged out a couple of things. Namely, I caught up with some bee obligations.

These are the blocks for Jody. She is making a quilt for her stepson, in the Drunk Love Style of Denyse Schmidt. I'll admit, that I wasn't all that excited once I saw her choice.  Solids? A pattern for a wonky log cabin? Neither are me.

But I embraced the solids, partially thanks to Cherri. And I ignored the pattern, only acknowledging the Courthouse Steps piecing versus the Log Cabin Piecing. Seriously, people use a pattern for this? Okay, calm down, Cheryl. Not everyone is comfortable with improv style work. In the end, I LOVED the blocks. Seriously, I adore these blocks and it is taking all my willpower not to keep them.  Well, whatever willpower I have left after not making pie, again.

(And yes, I know they aren't squared up, I left that for Jody, to determine the final wonk.)

The next block was my first for the Mid Mod Bee. Rossie was up first with her orange kelpie inspire block. I think it is awesome that she went for a row, rather than a block. And more awesome than that? She dyed her own fabric for this. So, so cool. This was so easy to make, but fun to think about how to make it my own compared to the other submissions.  This is going to be one stellar quilt.

For a girl who was really reluctant to sign on to a bee, she is sure having a good time!  Even if I am late most of the time. And thanks to the bees I feel ready to tackle piecing again. I think I've got some mojo back.

Whispers and Screams

Sunday dinner this week was a victory on all fronts. The girls ate soup for dinner and Hubby ate zucchini without knowledge/complaint. Woohoo!

We spent the weekend in Edmonton, visiting family and taking in Alegria by Cirque de Soleil. Surprisingly, we got out of Edmonton at a decent hour so we were actually home to enjoy part of the afternoon. Unfortunately, a storm hit the second we arrived. There went the plan to take the dogs for a walk. So, it was into the kitchen instead.

Smilosaurus and I set to dealing with the two ridiculously large zucchinis we had from our CSA. Rather than go with the typical chocolate zucchini cake, I pulled up this recipe for zucchini cake with crunchy lemon glaze. We grated, we cracked eggs, we sifted, we stirred, we baked with the thunder as our soundtrack.

While the cake baked I had to figure out what the heck to eat for dinner. Standing in front of the deep freeze the last bits of last years summer - slow roasted tomatoes, chard, white beans were staring at me. So I grabbed some frozen stock, the veg, and set to make soup. Except that I didn't look so closely. I actually grabbed soup, not stock. So, dinner was souped up soup.

One of the soup additions was some leftover diced zucchini. And Hubby ate it and didn't complain. I realized when he told The Monster to eat her soup, and pointed out that it has potatoes in it, that he didn't have a clue he was eating zucchini.  Shh, no one tell him.

Nadine's Bookcase Quilt

With the last stitches going in this morning to the strain of Dinosaur Train and a hot mug of black tea by my side, this commission baby quilt is finally complete.

Made for an old book club friend - can you tell my inspiration? - to welcome her new baby girl. My instructions were simple: very bold, very bright, modern, and girly. We collaborated on the main fabric selection, but otherwise she left it up to me.

Although I've long been a fan of the Fun Quilts design that mimics Library books, and the subsequent one in The Modern Quilt Workshop, it was a design that I was never motivated to make. Perhaps because I felt it to be too popular, or the fact that it simply isn't my own? But when my friend asked me to make her a quilt it was the only design I could see myself doing.

With her request for a bold fabric on the quilt though, I had to rejig the concept. Instead of bright/dark on a light background, I went for low volume fabrics for the books on a wild background. It makes me think of a bookshelf backed with wallpaper. 

The quilt measures at a slightly odd baby size - 40 by 60. But I felt the size was necessary for the overall effect I wanted. And to show off that amazing fabric. but it will transition well to a toddler bed and a child hood nap quilt. I do hope her sweet girl cherishes this for a long time.

Commission quilting is still new to me and I did learn a valuable lesson here: pick an easy quilting pattern! A fellow modern quilter at the Calgary Modern Quilt Guild helped me decide on a pattern of overlapping rectangles. I loved it and it really is perfect for this piece. But boy, was it time-consuming.  All that stopping and started! Worth it for the overall look, but not smart from a financial perspective.

When we were picking fabrics I had three choices for the front. We both loved the final choice the best, but the 2nd and 3rd place choices were also well loved. Needless to say, I decided to showcase them on the back. Two Kaffe Fassets with that strip of cherished Denyse Schmidt barbells. 

And now the quilt is washed and packed up, ready for it's journey across the country.

PS  If you are joining me from Amy's Creative Side, welcome! I was honoured to be nominated for a Blogger's Quilt Festival Feature.

Wordless Wednesday