And here comes another squirrel

This particular squirrel is actually on my list of projects
but decided to jump the queue, photo kindly sent to me by a dear long time friend
of over 50 years in England! I think this will be my permanent post photo for
The Squirrel Club

Click on the squirrel graphic in my sidebar to visit Julie's blog
and read all about The Squirrel Club.

Many Trips Around The World has long been a favourite pattern
of mine and two days ago sorting through an assortment of
2 and 1/2" strips I decided to just make a start

and this is my first trial block. I photographed on black because both my 
grey squared and my cream design wall seemed to drain the colour
from my fabrics.

Top left square needs replacing because the strip was a fraction too short
that's on my list for tomorrow.
I really like the Kaffe Spot fabric as the dark diagonal so I gathered
more from my stash

to use as the diagonal in all the blocks.

There is another project currently being put together and I'll post
on that this coming Tuesday, I'm making good use of Julie's
plate system to try and keep some order with my pieces for this
one.

It's a short post from me this time  but I'll be here again come Tuesday but
before I head off to begin the evening meal here's a photo
from the garden

ideas here for a quilt colour scheme!

Stay Safe!!

Maureen

2021 designated as My Year of The Quilt

I feel I have, for a number of reasons, not been as productive
as I should have liked over this past year with my quilt making, I am
determined that this year will be different, hence the title
of my post.

I do have a finished top now for Matt

measuring  78" x 84" I don't intend to attempt to quilt this myself.
Because of the size I couldn't photograph on my design wall so here it is under
the Japanese Maple tree in the garden.

This can count as the beginning of my dedicated quilting year.

A long awaited task has been to make a start on sorting all
my small scrap containers, fabric leftovers have been thrown into these
without any organisation whatsoever.

I have sorted one only right now
measuring 10" x 8" with 4 and 1/2" depth

so pulled and sorted neatly I have
an assortment of small and large pieces and the same for wide and narrow strips.

I have six more of this size container to sort through, next step is to decide 
whether to have a container for each colour, that's going to be tricky
with only six containers although I do have a few oblong large boxes
but they're not very deep. I'm tempted to take the easy way out 
and go with the size of the piece, small medium or large.

There were some very small pieces and I have those in what I call
my Smidgy Bits box

Apart from the above all I have had the energy to do is a stitch a few hexagons

 a little colouring

from this book

and photograph hibiscus

I have a busy week with dental and hospital appointments but I'll be setting
time aside to plan new quilts.

See you soon

Maureen

 

A New Year 2021

 

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year

Well we're now three days into 2021and I think we can all agree
that 2020 was an "annus horribilis" to quote the words spoken
by Queen Elizabeth II in a Guildhall speech 1992 to describe that year!

Time will tell whether this coming year will be any better, let's hope so
although I fear it will be a heck of a long time before we can
refer to a year, hopefully not too far distant, as an
'annus mirabilis'
which means wonderful year.

You will have noticed our Kereru in the opening photo, a gift from youngest
son and wife for Christmas, now fastened on the deck trellis conveniently opposite
my favourite chair.

It's been a lean time for my quilting but here are two blocks made during a
spell of playtime

just trying out ideas for a new quilt for eldest grandson,
two more possible settings below

this is a pattern from Cultural Fusion Quilts, a book by
Sujata Shah blogging at
therootconnection.blogspot.com
having some computer problems so I do hope this link works!

Another possible contender for a quilt for grandson is another version
of Chain Link Horizon which I made in 2019

I have a stack of half hexagons 7" high which I cut when making this
quilt and were never used, I'm figuring I can save myself a lot of time
by using them along with a different solid for the diamonds.
I'm thinking perhaps the Kaffe Fassett Aboriginal Dot in Orchid,
not actually a solid but reads as one.

This is the time of year when lots of quilters think of a word for the year,
I've done so myself a few times. Given the year we have had I felt that there was
not just one word but there are three which resonate with me

NURTURE
to take care of, feed, protect someone or something

KINDNESS
and
COURAGE

don't we all need a little of the above mentioned?
I know I certainly do, this coming year especially.
I'm sure that many of us also need a little of these three.

Adam Lindsay Gordon, an Australian poet in the 1800's
wrote a poem "Ye Wearie Wayfarer" and I quote four lines below

"Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone,
KINDNESS in another's trouble,
COURAGE in your own."

On a lighter note as I close my first post for 2021 here's
the early bloom on my white amaryllis

and now

there are 11 blooms right now, difficult to photograph them though.
Each bloom measures 6" across.
Needless to say I am thrilled!

Leaving you with Kereru at sunset

and he/she doesn't actually have speckles on his neck, I took this photo
through the window which needed a clean!!!

Happy Quilting

Maureen