Monday, August 31, 2020

August Mini

This month’s mini is aptly named, “Pea Soup”. August on the coast of Maine is often plagued by dense fog. We’ve had many a boating day where we had to stop and listen for the bell bouy to lead us home. It seemed doubly appropriate for these days when so many of us seem to be living in a "fog". I think we are all looking forward to brighter days ahead. 


The delicious green (pea soup) background fabric is paired with some leftover 4-patches and the final pieces of one of my favorite border prints. This photo is a better representation of that wonderful pea soup green. 


 Do visit my fellow mini makers to see what August has inspired them to make.

 

Quilting Babcia (Amity Quilter)

Randy (Barrister’s Block)

Cathy (Big Lake Quilter)

Cyndi (Busy Thimble)

Vicki (From the Button Box)

Barb (Fun with Barb)

Shasta (High Road Quilter) 

Julie (Julie K Quilts)

Kathy (Kathy’s Quilts)

Katy (Katy Quilts)

Sandy (My Material Creations)

Barbara (Quilts, Gravestones and Elusive Ancestors)

Janet (Rogue Quilts)

Teri and Kara (Telling Stories Through the Needle's Eye)

Kyle (Timeless Reflections)

Cynthia (Wabi-Sabi Quilts)

Monday, August 17, 2020

Supper's Ready!

        May I present, “Community Supper”

       Quarantined quilters taking a bite out of Coronavirus – one block a at a time. 


Back

 

To recap: On May 16, I posted a request for an “orphan” block and label with each person’s sentiment about this pandemic. Ten days later I had over 40 blocks and they kept coming. Never in my wildest dreams did I envision making this quilt with 80 other quilters. The last block came in on July 23rd, all the way from Japan. I would like to thank everyone who participated. This is your quilt!

The quilt is constructed in the potholder method whereby each block is individually quilted and bound and then stitched together. You can read more about this method of construction in my January 2019 post (here). I used printed patchwork or “cheater” prints on the back of each block and attached the labels, making this a true “two sided” quilt.

 I struggled a bit with the layout of the blocks. They were so diverse, there was no right or wrong way to arrange them. So, I took the easy route and simply laid them out alphabetically. The 64 ten inch blocks are alphabetical (by maker) from left to right and the 16 five inch blocks are alphabetical from top to bottom.

I usually hand stitch my potholder blocks together but, I really wanted to finish this project by the end of summer, so I decided to use the machine. It was easy to keep the individual blocks together as I zig-zagged along, but when it came to assembling the rows… it was a bit like steering a fin keel sailboat through a rough current. It was hard not to over steer to compensate for the drag. I managed to make headway and keep things moving, but my stitching is far from perfect! I suppose this adds even more meaning to this unconventional “story” quilt.

I machine appliqued the header piece along the top and then took a fabric pen and drew images to remind us (as if we would ever forget) of the things that quickly became part of our daily lives. 


 This project has been my salvation during this pandemic. It allowed me to focus on something meaningful while the outside world was spinning wildly out of control.

I have truly enjoyed my connection with all of the 80 quilters from 31 states and 4 countries.

I have stayed away from all social media except for my blog during these past months but I hope to upload this post to the Quilt Index Facebook page, “Come Tell Us: Quilters Share Stories from Covid 19”.

Let’s hope this pandemic will end soon and we will use what we have learned to help heal damaged bodies and broken hearts.

 Thanks for sticking with me on this journey. May all your quilts be happy ones.

 

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Medallion Challenge - Round 2

 So on to round two of our little medallion challenge. We are having such a fun time chatting once a week about our progress, our families and life in general. It makes me feel connected in an otherwise disjointed world. 

This week I added the half square triangles. I will be adding another plain (coping strip actually, so I don’t have to do any math!) border before moving on to the next round of 4-patches.  

 Weather is something I do not often complain about since it is going to happen whether I like it or not. But… the heat and humidity this summer has really knocked me out. It was the hottest and driest July on record in Maine and August is following along in its footsteps. There were days when it was hotter here than where my son lives in Florida – seriously?? So, I am dreaming of cooler days and nights and hoping all of you enjoy some comfortable temps in your “happy place”.

 

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Cassandra Circle #7

 

Here is block #7 in Barbara Brackman’s Cassandra’s Circle sew-a-long. Maggie Howell’s Wild Rose. 

 I hope you have all enjoyed the stories behind each of these blocks as much as I have. I love to do applique sew-a-longs and Barbara makes this one even more fun with interesting tidbits of history. Do take a moment and read about this one (here). You will also enjoy seeing what others have done with this month’s bock on the Facebook page (here).

 This is my favorite shade of blue. Bright, but soft. And, of course I like it even more when I can add a bit of yellow.

 Thanks Barbara for another great block.