Friday Favourites - Saltwater Sandals

The only reason I have these sandals is because of social media. Until a few years ago I'd never heard of Saltwater Sandals. But there I was checking out Flickr and Twitter and even blogs and I kept seeing photos of feet in these pretty sandals. A little bit old fashioned, but rather fashionable too. Well, in my opinion at least.

It took a year before I could buy them. And even when I did it was a convoluted process because they are practically impossible to get in Canada, at least in any functional size or a cool colour. I couldn't even order them off a US site because they all wanted US credit cards and shipping addresses. That's where the internet came in handy again. Because of this blog and my quilting I have friends all over the US now. And some of them are even willing to spend money on my behalf!

So thanks to

Jen

I started getting an annual order. Sandals for both me and the girls. We did skip this year though because my two pairs (I have yellow as well) are still in such good condition even with near daily wear for 3 months straight in the summer.

Saltwater sandals are so comfortable. They aren't for people with arch issues though as they have zero support. But I found there to be no breaking in.

They are leather, but they can get wet. Like, stepping in a lake wet. Or running through the splash park wet. The latter was why my girls liked them so much.

Me, I like them because they are so pretty. And frankly, it's pretty awesome that I don't see anyone else here in Calgary with them. I do like to be unique.

The Oldest UFO

Generally, I like to call my unfinished projects WIPS, or Works in Progress, not UFOs.  This is because I actually like having a catalogue of things to pick from when I get the chance to sew. It doesn't stress me out - usually.  But this, this project must definitely be called a UFO.

I've been quilting for 16 years now. This project is 15 years old.

Going again into the Way, Way Back Machine this project started in 1999, when people were all up in arms over Y2K. Quilters, of course, put their positive spin on it and started swaps. Put 25 mini charms in an envelope, repeat that 80 times, and swap them out. Bang, 2000 charms!

These days people call it Scrap Vomit. I call it a bag of envelopes I found buried in my garage.

(To find out what else I found in my garage check out my

Instagram

feed. Oh boy. #thingsifindinmygarage)

The smart people with their Y2K swaps took the charms as they came in and sewed together the 25 into one block. Then they were able to quickly put the quilt top together, and keep things manageable. I, of course, wanted to get all fancy. I have sketches and math on trying to figure out creative ways to put my top together. And that's why they are all still in envelopes.

Now it is time to move this into the WIP stack. But me, being me, I need to catalogue all of this first. Into my sketchbook will go the addresses as I unpack. And then I think this will become my next Leader/Ender project. Let's hope it doesn't take another 15 years to finish this!

Update: I found a book where I wrote down all the people I swapped with! Now to just get these organized in piles.

Did any of you participate in a Y2K swap?

Mountain Meadows Quilt Top

This is Mountain Meadows. A loverly quilt top finally finished. I had to go in the Way, Way Back machine to figure out when I started it. My initial sketch and images were made 3 years ago. And I collected the fabric over 2 years ago to make a few blocks. Then it sat and sat and sat. We had the great fortune of a handful of mountain trips this spring and summer and the original inspiration of the mountain meadows was on my mind.

When

The Modern Quilt Guild

asked me to do a Webinar this quilt popped into my head. Pulling it out and working on it helped me formulate the presentation: Improv With Intention. So I worked hard to get it done in time for the Webinar. It was well worth the effort.

(It measures roughly 55'' x 75''.)

These were my original inspiration images. Hikes in the mountains on sunny days. Meadows filled with small, colourful flowers. Expanses of grass and weeds and plants in varying shades of green. Vistas so beautiful but little tiny bits of life stealing attention. Just how to capture that in a quilt?

In the Webinar I discuss the process of making the quilt - from inspiration to the final top. It isn't as straightforward as one might think. If you are a Modern Quilt Guild Member you can access the Webinar for free now, even if you didn't join me last week. To access it make sure you log in and join the Community site. Then click under Resources and there it is. Not only do you get to see more images and learn about my process, you get to hear my awesome Canadian accent.

It was actually quite appropriate that this quilt was revealed through The Modern Quilt Guild. All of the green fabric in this quilt was generously given to me by quilters, readers of this blog. I knew I wanted green solid scraps and I had absolutely no green solids. To buy them all would have been impossible. So, thanks to the internet I just asked if anyone was willing to share, and boy did you! Packages arrived for weeks and I had a lot of fun sorting through and organizing by value. Some of you sent pieces larger than 1/2 yard cuts! It was so generous and shows exactly how the spirit and kindness of quilters, not to mention the creativity, is fuelled on line. Exactly what comes to mind, for me, when I think of the Modern Quilt Guild.

Thank you to everyone who contributed. I truly appreciate it.

Friday Favourites - I'll Cut You Pillow

Isn't this an awesome pillow. So cheeky. (But also a deeply held sentiment by any a sewer who's had their scissors taken and, gasp! had paper cut with them.)

It was my first decorative purchase when I moved into my little basement studio. Frankly, it's one of the only decorative purchases. I think it was my sister-in-law who saw it first and sent me a link. I had to have it. Such a little treat!

Earth Cadets

is the name of the Etsy store where I purchased the pillow. They have a lot of sweet items, but this is definitely my favourite. Did I mention it comes in other colours?