Springtime Frolic

Some quilts are just happy quilts, and this is one of them.  The top was made by one of my Tuesday ladies (L) as a graduation present.  I had the pleasure of doing the quilting--a fitting project for the spring season.    

Hello, Spring!

It looks like Winter has finally packed its bags and Spring has come to visit a while.  Though we are still lacking in rain, the wildflowers have put on a good show this year, much to everyone's delight.

One of the things I like about spring is that it is true to its name…it just springs up.  One day I will look out the window and see the branches bare from winter.  Then I look out a little later in the day and…

Ta da! 

It is also nice to see the birds coming around once more.  We started filling our birdbaths again and the locals come often to drink and bathe.

Hon! I found a great deal on nesting material.

Spring…such a cheerful season!

 A little sunshine, anyone?

A Local Surprise

Knitting can take some wacky forms--crazy hats, scarves, toys, and a what I think may be a fairly recent phenomena, yarn bombing.  For those who are unacquainted with this practice, let me share its definition.  According to Wikipedia:

"Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, yarn storming, guerrilla knitting, kniffiti, urban knitting or graffiti knitting is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk."

Now I had read about this activity in forums with writers' opinions varying between it's awesome to it's a waste of yarn, but was surprised when I came across it locally.

This bit of knitterly expression was to show appreciation for participation in a local scarves for the homeless project and a breast cancer awareness project.  I am not sure what I think about yarn bombing, but it did make me smile.

Seeking Simplicity

Well, after a topsy-turvy house and a couple of rounds of illness, I think I am back to blogging.  The past few weeks have provided some opportunity for a little self-discovery. Raising a family on a single income has not afforded a lot of resources for home purchases, so I have made do with hand-me-downs and such for most of my married life.  No complaints there.  I was glad (for the most part :) ) for what we had and home decorating has never been a big issue with me.  

All the sifting, sorting, and paring down, though, has led me to realize that I love simplicity.  Not only simplicity in home decor, but in pretty much every area of life and interest.  For this post, however, I will focus on our home. 

We are down to the odds and ends--a few pictures, miscellaneous items that were stuck in closet corners, all the boxes we used for packing….Seems like those are always the hardest things to get to.  The one area of the house that is finished is the foyer and dining room, and this space is my inspiration for the rest of the house.  Here are some pics, but they don't quite do the room justice.  I needed to borrow one of those home magazine photographers, but unfortunately there weren't any readily available. 

What I like about this space:  furniture with simple lines, but warm finishes; minimal amount of furniture; pops of color; few decorative pieces.  This area of the house doesn't get a lot of use, so it is easier to minimize what is in the space.  The challenge for me, then, is to see how I can create the same feel in the spaces we use a lot.  I will keep you posted.  

In Like A….

March lion, bold--fierce,

Pounces with frosty breath and

Leaves a crystal world.

What Do You Think, Siri?

Continuing to catch up on past projects, this quilt was a struggle for the maker (P).  The top started out as a Disappearing Nine Patch, but the plaid proved to be quite a cantankerous fabric to work with.  P was ready to throw up her hands, but rather than just toss the whole thing, she took what she had and put it together.  The result was a nine patch made up of five nine patch blocks and four disappearing nine patch blocks.  After the top was done, she handed it off to me with the instructions, "Now make this pretty."  

Not long after this I ran across the Microsoft/Siri ad-- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoEqbf6S4dc--which gave me a good laugh.  Now I like and use Apple products, but I thought this was a good comeback from the Apple ads comparing Mac and Microsoft.  So with that in mind, I named this quilt Siri.

Since this will be a guy quilt, I tried to keep the quilting from being too feminine.  In the nine patches, I did a large motif.

Back view (fabric is actually a dark teal color, but the camera on my phone just doesn't do blues and greens well)

In the disappearing nine patches, I echoed the first motif and then did leaves in the blue sections.

The inner border echoes the motifs and the outer border the leaves.  I think P was pleased with the result, so all is well.  

  

A Return to Sanity

Well, we made it through the flooring work.  It was quite a week.  The first day after the demo, I stopped by the house about noon, walked in the door, and thought, "Oh, my!"  There was broken tile and dust everywhere it seemed.  Yet, by the end of the day, they had the floor remarkably clean.  

Despite covering the cabinets and closet shelves, still enough dust seeped through to require my cleaning everything out.  I had put off deep cleaning for some time, so like it or not, I had to do it now.  The house is mostly back to order, so I can start thinking about creative activities again and a regular schedule.  

To catch up, I was able to finish my granddaughter's quilt before Christmas.  I have wanted to make a quilt with house blocks for ages and I thought this would be a fun quilt for her.  Here are some pics: