Purple....

I don't wear purple clothes....there's nothing purple in my house....My quilt cabinet has very, very little purple.  Call it violet...lilac...plum...orchid...I don't know why it's not my color..Never disliked it...just never put it all together...

But in the summertime--- and my fourth block of My Garden Quilt designed by Edyta Sitar -- is Purple.  It's purple because my Summer....my flowers and my garden is always filled with purple........

I had to purchase thread because my embroidery box didn't even hold the right color of purple.

My lilacs--

my Salvia..

My chives



My Orchids...

My petunias--

Purple fills my Summer...

The hand-dyed wool just brings the colors to life...

Thanks again Mary and Sue.... this is a memory that will last long after the quilt is finished....

Pressure....

It seemed like it had rained forever.... While rainy days are typically the unusal--- they seemed more the norm than the sunny days.  Saturday rolled around and we decided we didn't want to do housework...nor did we want to do yardwork.  So we loaded up and took a drive to Green Bay.

I ran out of three colors I have been needing for my Penny Garden Block of the Week.  It was going to be a quick "in & out" of the quilt shop.  Thread and that's it...honest.  Blame on the cute display and the clearance Section for fat quarters.  I ended up with the new Pumpkin Threads book and 6 fat quarters for a buck fifty each.  I did make it in and out for DMC Floss at Hobby Lobby.

Work is sending me back to school this fall so I have four trips to the University of WI at Madison.  I picked up new luggage.   I can't believe I'm about to do that.... but I think it's now or never....

It's kind of a holiday at our house.... I think that every day there's a reason to celebrate.... you just have to find it.

Quilt Blocks for Kaaren..

I've always considered quilters some of the strongest people I know.  So when one may have weak knees--- it's up to others to hold them up and steady their pace.

Allie is collecting quilt blocks for Kaaren at the The Painted Quilt.  Kaaren has given her time and talents over and over again to others.  I didn't have the right pen for marking, but I wasn't about to let that stop me from making three blocks for Kaaren.  Click on her website and get the details..

Dr. Seuss Completed

At 6:30am yesterday I was stitching the binding down, but the baby quilt made it to the shower. I think at about 10 pm friday night I finally decided I liked the quilt. My machine got on a fit of thread continously breaking.  Don gave her a good cleaning and I was back in business.

I used black material in the binding and I think it framed it really well.

I also included a copy of the Sneetches-- my favorite Dr. Seuss Book.  If you get throught the rhyming and whimsical nonsense of the story... there's a really good message behond the story.  Google it.  I think the poem is on-line.

I could tell you that everything was planned and thought out... but truthfully I forgot the wrapping paper and card thing.  Some leftover ribbon and a copier helped out--- plus I probably saved about 8 bucks.... And the colors were too bright to be hidden in a box anyway.....

Thunderstorms today.  We have church and maybe a movie this afternoon.....

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers in our lives......

The Real Reason...

The Real Reason I'm struggling with any project right now--- aside from it being summer----is this...

It's Lisa Bongean from Primitive Gatherings block of the week for Summer.  I signed up and treated myself.  She throws in freebies every week. Last week was that penny star.  So for twenty minutes each day I sit on the porch with a needle in my hands. It's small and easy to work with. Doesn't matter what is going on....the world stops for twenty minutes. It's my present to myself.  A committment to slow down for a few minutes each day. I'm having so much fun. And I love getting mail....

The Rumors are true... the furnace was running last week in our house.  No frost , but it did get down to 38 one night.  It would be different if we maybe got warmer days on the back end of Summer, but it just doesn't work that way.  Yesterday was beautiful-- in the low 70's.  We slept with the windows open.  I heard crickets---comforting. Remember, we only hear them a few months a year up here. 

Guess it's another example of life being a perspective-- annoying to some--- music to others....

Gratitudes:

Chelsey weed-eating around the trees

Those crickets

Watermelon for lunch

All in One Piece...

Ok - It's off the clothes line and onto the quilting frame.  There's still a ton of work to be done.  I think this baby is going to get a simple all over stipple design.  It's growing on me ....a little.  I called the Grandma-to-be last night and told her that the quilt was a disaster and she needed to practice the oohs and ahhs cause the idea was a flop.  She told me about the baby's mom and the baby's room and I think it may all come together after all....

Think Dr. Seuss... Think Cat in the Hat... I'm going to put a tab on the back and include a cup hook.  Maybe she can drape in on the wall or even over the rocking chair....

I'm not giving up.....

Blocks for a Baby....

While I'm not freaking out... I am a little concerned.  I hope I'm not creating a monster... On top of the five day deadline....we're going to be in a mess if the quilt turns out to be just that.... a mess....

Fifty blocks into it I'm pretty committed. Off to the sewing machine......

A Baby Quilt....

I’ve stared at this fabric for a couple of weeks. Chelsey saw it and said, “Mom—that’s soooo not your colors…”

There’s never been a truer statement. I have a good friend in town--- who’s a quilter expecting her first grandbaby. The quilt will be for the baby shower gift a week from today. Her daughter can best be described as ‘non-traditonal’. The sex of the baby is a surprise. The baby’s room is being done in the ‘Cat in the Hat’ theme….

Being the grandbaby of a quilter--- Grandma as already purchased the Cat in the Hat fabric--- So I had to think outside the proverbial box and come up with a baby quilt. Emilia (the mom-to-be)….chooses things very different—never the baby pink or baby blue….Definitely the brights. I'm calling these Cat in the Hat Colors...

With the fabrics I’ve chosen and I making a quilt from Thimbleblossoms Jelly Bean Pattern. I’m so far out of my comfort zone--- but it’s not for me And Don says I'm guilty of making things I like ..…. I'm adding a tab on the back and including a hook to hang in on the wall...The quilt is bigger than baby size so I'm thinking the baby won't outgrow it ....... Next post we'll show the blocks.