'Tis the Season

With the month of May come big changes, seasonal ones!
Yep, the strawberries are ripe at our local U-pick farm, each and every berry is absolutely as delicious as it looks. The porch quilt has been updated to reflect this full-fledged launch into spring and sunny days ahead. Much more time has been spent lately out-of-doors than inside. It feels so good to get out and to get dirt under my fingernails!

Year two of my perennial garden has yielded great returns: plants coming in vigorous, hale and hearty! I'm encouraged by that. As time goes by these will fill in more, I'm working to ensure color throughout the seasons, early spring through fall, through the selection of plants. So far, so good.

These two False Indigo plants have been such a nice surprise, they did nothing last year! I honestly had almost forgotten about them until they emerged and began to bloom. They'll get better and better from here. 

Mr. Goodneedle finished the brick retaining/planter wall in the back behind the patio; we transplanted some Day Lilies and Liriope into this spot. I also planted a cabbage, it's circled. The cabbage was a school project of Gregory's that he left here after a stay in mid-March; before the quarantine. I told him that I would take good care of it. I'm hoping that it will grow to maturity in this spot and he might enjoy some coleslaw later on this summer. Fingers crossed on that one. 

Inside the house: I completed the quilting on "You're A Grand Old Flag" for the back of the sofa on the porch. I had already prepared the binding but, after considering the options, decided to pipe the binding with red to set off the navy edge. It took a bit more time-- but, hey, what else do we have right now?

Here is is, piped, bound and hand-basted into position for finishing in the evenings in front of TV.

Adapting in a upside-down 🙃 world: I went on a scavenger hunt yesterday, I used to call that grocery shopping! Three stores, multiple experiences of waiting in lines at properly distanced intervals, just to return home with basics (flour!). A few stores had restrictions in place for meat purchases. This reminds me of the ration tokens that my grandmother told me about during the Great Depression; she gave me some as "souvenirs": red for meat, blue for milk, cheese and eggs. I'll have to go looking for those. Our state will begin phasing in the new directives for openings and gatherings at the end of this week. Keep the faith! Be safe, my friends, 🧼 wash your hands!

"It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." - Lamentations 3:26

Life is Good!

Dogs In Sweaters

I finally got the quilting done on that retreat project that consumed me last month; Elizabeth Hartman's Dogs In Sweaters quilt will soon be hanging in my studio in all its canine glory! I am truly in love with this little quilt. I chose to quilt it with a pantograph called Bauhaus by Patricia Ritter for Urban Elementz, it had just the right feel. I didn't want to quilt it too densely because I had a time with the fabrics laying flat. This is constructed entirely (except for the back and binding) from Essex Linen and cotton flannel. For some reason the flannels "grew" a little and required some steam and coaxing to behave in a straight and square manner before this one was quilted. It all worked out extremely well.

Is this not the cutest thing? This quilt measures 45" X 60"

Here's a detail shot with the back folded up so that you can read the most perfect backing fabric.

The binding got an extra shot of color with some red and black print piping, added before stitching the binding on but after the quilted portion was squared and trimmed. I originally bought enough materials to do the entire full sized quilt and then realized that it was too big to hang in its designated spot, over the loveseat. I will use those leftovers to make a sofa cushion with from a single block (16" X 26") and add the eyeglasses to that one as it will be a pillow to sit and read with. 

Picture from pattern envelope

I loved using this pattern, the cutting directions are not for wimps, but once that's accomplished you're good to go! I have two more of hers to tackle this summer: "Penguin Party" and "Cuckoo", they're on my to do list! 

Have you done any of these patterns? 

Which ones?

Life is Good!

 

Piped!

Life is Good!

Who Moved The Finish Line?

How many times have you heard (or said) "the quilting's done, all I need to do is bind it."  For me, I always have to remind myself that having the quilting done is simply one more step toward finishing... you'd think that I would know enough to understand that the finish line is still some distance away, but I continue to be delusional, even after all these years! After quilting come the following six steps,  and they're all important:

1. trimming/squaring up the quilt 

2.  cutting/joining the binding strips (and making piping, as I did in the case of this quilt, Swiss Baskets, as shown) 

3.  making the hanging sleeve (I always make a sleeve, even if it's to be used as a bed quilt; we have no idea how our quilts might be used/displayed in the future. I make the sleeve almost invisible by constructing it from leftover backing fabric) and attaching that to the top of the quilt before adding binding

4.  creating the label (be sure to add pertinent information, such as the quilt's name, the recipient's name and occasion if that applies; your name, location and the date completed

5.  applying the binding by machine

6.  hand stitching the binding into place (and the bottom/sides of the sleeve)

This handkerchief was a gift from Quiltkeemosabe and will become this quilt's label, it fits the theme perfectly! I plan to add all of the information to it (as mentioned above) with my embroidery machine. So, the next time you think (along with me) "who moved the finish line?" keep in mind that every step toward finishing gives all your hard work up to this point (the planning, the shopping, the piecing/applique and, finally, the quilting) even more value. You'll be even happier with your final result if you check off each step as you go from the "finishing list", I know that I always am; and then, at long last, that elusive finish line comes into view and becomes a very welcome sight!

Life is Good!

And Another Finish...

As promised yesterday, I have another quilt project to share, one that's  been moved to the "done" column. There's a lot to cheer about at The Strawberry Patch!  This is Lucy Ann's Picture Play Quilt, the pattern from Ami Simms' book by the same name. I posted a while ago about quilting this one with Nitelite glow-in-the-dark thread, one more fun element in this quilt full of little things to discover. "Funny Bunny, Bears and Honey" is bed-sized, she can cuddle up under it and have many sweet dreams for years to come; or, as pictured above, can spend hours on top of it playing, and finding objects to name, match, and describe. Loaded not only with hundreds of novelty fabrics but also photo transfers and fuzzy machine embroidered animals she'll be busy for a very long time! This fills my heart, this is why I make quilts.

A detail of the quilting, binding and accent piping.
"Funny Bunny, Bears and Honey"
66" X 86"
Life is Good!

Leo And Friends

Meet "Leo and Friends", this little quilt has a lot of work to do; it is being sold next Saturday at our church's art sale. Along with the quilt there are paintings, a wall hanging and various other pieces of sculptural art done by members of our congregation. The purpose of the sale is to raise money to help send our youth to New Orleans in July where they will attend the National Lutheran Youth Gathering. My hope is that "Leo" can at least buy a seat on the bus! I decided, as I approached the finish on this one, to add piping to the binding; mainly because I'd purchased a cute stripe fabric to match the large scale print and hadn't used it. The piped binding turned out just fine, but ultimately I feel it was a futile effort as it doesn't show up enough to make any real difference; oh, well, live and learn! I'm excited to think that maybe this quilt will end up in the home of a child who will love Leo (and his friends) just as much as I loved every step of putting this one together!

Life is Good!

"Leo and Friends"~ 60"X 72"~ "3-6-9 Quilt" pattern by P3 design