Playtime

A week of playing around, both outside and inside. 

A ride along the coast road

the early morning light hitting the still bare branches on the oak next door.

Last week was going to be playing week for AHIQ but somehow

I just couldn't get into it and changed tack, ended up playing with one of the blocks

from the Cultural Fusion Quilts book by Sujata Shah - see her blogs

Cultural Fusion Quilts
and
The Root Connection

I needed to work on something simple without seams and points
having to match up!

Here are two full blocks

I didn't want high contrast fabrics in this small piece I'm making
I was trying for more of a blended look. There'll be nine blocks in all
in a rather more traditional layout for
a modern free style block. There should be something more in my post
later in the week.

I'm linking up with Angela for RSC 2015Angela and RSC 2015 on the
grounds that there is some orange in the blocks but only a little!

 Before I go back to my machine can
I say a big thank you to all who left comments and sent emails
after my last post about Seamus, I have tried to
reply to all but if I have missed anyone please accept my apologies!
Your kind words were very much appreciated!

Maureen

A sad week - Setters and one orange teapot

A sad week indeed and the end of an era.

We had to make our last visit to the vet on Monday morning with

Seamus, our old Irish Setter and the last of the seven

we have had as family members over the past  45 years.

Saturday last week his hind legs gave out on him so we knew

this was the end. He reached the grand old age of 13 years - good for

a Setter.

Seamus

Here he is below with his sister Mollie when they were just
a few years old, we lost her due to cancer

4 years ago. They were waiting for John to come out of the water

after his swim.

Seamus and Mollie

And I just have to have this one in the post, his favourite place of all, 

on the knee of his best pal!

Seamus and John

I did pull myself together and made an orange teapot 

and I'm off  to link up with Angela and the goodies on show for
Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2015

Maureen

The Northern Lights

In my last post on 

Wednesday

I had just started on my take of a Rail Fence

as part of the
Quilt Along at Cultural Fusion Quilts

This is
The Northern Lights

a mix of Kaffe Fasset fabrics and Ombres from
Caryl Bryer Fallert.

The Northern Lights can be seen from the very top of
Scotland and I'd love to say that I had seen this wonderful sight before
we came to New Zealand in 1980,  I didn't but I have seen clips
many times of course.

There is a play on words with this piece, we come from
Lancashire in the North of England. For anyone who knows something of that area
there is a town called Blackpool, very famous for what is known as
'The Lights". In Autumn the whole sea front -  lamp posts, shops buildings - for miles is
decorated with the most amazing array of  bright lights, there could be
huge models of for example Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and other
well known story book characters,
huge Catherine Wheels, spinning away merrily on top of the lamp posts.
 There is also Blackpool Tower - a sort of mini Eiffel Tower -
totally decorated and lighting the sky for miles around.
 The trams which run along the sea front are also
fully decorated and all lit up, it really is a sight to see and children absolutely
love it - I certainly did -  actually so do the adults! Sitting on a tram
or walking along by the side of the sea eating Candy Floss or sucking on sticks
of Blackpool rock was my idea of heaven.
For followers of Coronation Street, Hayley and Roy Cropper go for a special
weekend to see The Lights and dance in The Tower Ballroom after
she has received her diagnosis of cancer.

Linking up with
Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2015

Enjoy the weekend.

Maureen

Two new projects

I love getting fabrics ready for new projects, two are in the process

as of this week.

 I'm making another Rail Fence with
 Cultural Fusion Quilts but in the bright colours which I love and

using only one quarter of the 16" Fence blocks

I love cutting these strips

and the effect of the Ombre fabric.

Second project, two posts ago in Making Progress I mentioned the
Ad Hoc Improv Quilters
and included  blog links for Ann and Kaja who
together had this happen and whose latest posts
suggest a way of working.

I selected one of my favourite fabrics then quite randomly other fabrics,
some I had forgotten about and I never thought they would all
play together nicely but

I'm happy with them. The colours, especially the duck egg blues on the left,
are not quite as clear as in "real life".  I think I'm going to
base my work on rectangles - that could change though!!

Whilst I was taking tea - black tea …….

Bit of a funny post title I admit,

I got my colour months confused for RSC2015 - black or neutral last month

and orange was scheduled for September - I goofed and

did the opposite!!!

Anyway I did catch up with six black Scrappy Mountains and

this week I have done a catch-up with a black teapot, naturally with other colours added!

Now comes the bit about what happened "whilst taking tea" - 

I am crazy about birds, I feed them daily and have

blackbirds nesting just outside our glass slider doors

out onto the deck, they even "talk" to me through the other

house windows whether I'm in the lounge, bedroom or sewing studio,

at least the female does, she and her other half take

raisins off a little old table on the deck as I am busy putting them down!

Needless to say we have umpteen sparrows around the garden, today we had

a few heavy showers of rain and at one point my husband told me to come see 

three sparrows sheltering under the table! By the time I got there

and quietly opened the door only one was brave enough to have

his photograph taken

can you just see him perched on the wheel of the sewing

machine base?

Well I'm off to catch up with a TV programme and tomorrow I'm

all ready to play a little for

Ad Hoc Improv Quilters.

Hope all in the USA are enjoying a long weekend to

celebrate Labor Day, I'm linking up with

Angela and RSC 2015
more from me in a few days.

Maureen

Making Progress ...

Slowly but surely the quilt for my grand-daughter

is moving along, faster progress would be

made if my back didn't limit the time I can sit and sew!

These rows are just pinned onto the design wall presently

tomorrow I should be able to get them together.

I'm quilting this myself but doing it in two halves, I don't

feel like wrangling another large quilt through the machine.

Progress has been made with my Rail Fence as part of

the Quilt Along over at
Cultural Fusions Quilt Blog,

in addition to my blog here I also post there, quite a group
of us are now contributing.

So one more to add to the quilting line!
A second Rail Fence will be cut out, all being well, next week.
The blocks are a good size - 16 inches and quite addictive!

Something exciting is on the cards with
Kaja of Sew Slowly
and
Ann of Fret Not Yourself
coming up with the great idea of an improv online group

Ad Hoc Improv Quilters

go along to either blog, or both,  to see what it's all about, I have
a button also on my side bar.

That's all for now, hoping to have something to post
for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this weekend, see you then.

Maureen