Tropical Liberated Triangles Finish, Seattle, Alki Beach, Sew Stitch Snap Share #13

My Tropical Triangles mini quilt, 15" x 14", finished.

Tropical Triangles back view.

We've been sightseeing around Seattle, looking east over Elliot Bay.

Alki Beach, looking NE. Around the point, to the right, is Elliot Bay.

Happy Thursday from the Pacific NW!

 Where we are helping with our year old grandson and sightseeing while the sunny weather holds.

We drove into West Seattle  across the West Seattle Bridge, over the shipping port area to Harbor Ave. where the view looking across Elliot Bay, east, gives a great view of the city. The Cascade Mountains can be seen in the distance. 

Then we drove north around the point to Alki Beach, where the warm sun was relaxing. We soaked up sun and looked west at the Olympic Mountains and watched container ships and all kinds of boats go by.

This week I finished my Tropical Triangle mini quilt. 

I machine quilted and hand quilted it for the texture.

At the last minute I decided to sew on a pink batik binding instead of a blue batik. I think it adds to the tropical warm vibe, that's what I was going for. 

I'm linking up with Linda and Julie for Sew Stitch Snap Share #13.

Good idea, Linda and Julie, thanks for hosting. Make sure and stop by for inspiration.

Enjoy your day!!

Share a smile and help where you can, then you won't have to hunt for happiness.

I'll be by to visit.

Kaffe Facett Colour Lecture Photos, Slow Stitching Weekend

Museum of Flight , Seattle Washington, where the Kaffe Facett lecture was held.

Museum of Flight entrance.

Checking into lecture, beautiful evening light.

Quilts done in Kaffe Collective fabric and patterns were hung all over.

The lecture begins.

Almost done with my Violet ABC sampler, pattern from The French Needle.

Detail on the corner I've been working on last couple of days.

Happy Friday!! From Renton, WA.

Sunny with clouds today, perfect temperature; not too hot, not too cold.

And I'm remembering to be thankful.

September 16, 2017 was Kaffe Facett's  Colour Lecture at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. I went and my husband went also without much bribing. He didn't faint but said he was a little light headed, too much perfume or something like that. There were other men there, what's the big deal?

It was inspiring and his slides were beautiful. We saw gorgeous photos of Ireland. There were slides of photos taken in market places, town squares, nature scenes; Kaffe gets inspiration everywhere and is good at documenting it. We learned from him that his next book, coming out next year, will be inspired by Pennsylvania and the Amish influence. Won't that be a wonderful book?

I enjoyed myself, my husband put on a good show of it. ( I didn't take many photos, the lighting wasn't great and they didn't want flashes all over, which I understand.)

The last few days I've been working violets and leaves on my Violet ABC sampler. I can feel the finish coming on. It's been a few years getting this far, whew. Slow Stitching!

Have a Happy Friday and a good weekend.

I'll be by to visit.

Blogger's Quilt Festival, Fall 2017

I started designing/planning four patch butterfly quilt fall 2016.

Four patch butterfly blocks, 'liberated' triangles as the butterflies.

Finished 'Gathering' September 2017.

Back of 'Gathering' 2017.

I backstitched my initials/year on the back.

Hello from Renton Washington!

Where we have rain and clouds off and on. It was dry, the rain is welcome around here.

Remembering to be thankful.

Amy Ellis @ Amy's Creative Side  is hosting Blogger's Quilt Festival, Fall 2017. Stop in and join in the fun and sharing. Thank you Amy for this opportunity.

I entered my recently finished quilt 'Gathering' a four patch butterfly quilt. I made the butterflies in the liberated style, as in Gwen Marston's book, Liberated Quiltmaking II.

I used Kona solids, batiks and prints. The blocks are 4", finished. I added a 1" border using Tim Holtz  fabric. The batting is Quilter's Dream.

That's what's happening in this corner of the woods.

Have a great weekend remember to share a smile!

I'll be by to visit.

Kaffe Facett Lecture at Museum of Flight Today, Slow Stitching, Thankful

Doe and fawn munching the hosta in the backyard.

I've been working on this corner, violets to fill in and a few more leaves to go.

The violets, leaves and stems are pretty much done here.

Happy weekend from cooler, sunny Renton, Wa.

Where we are enjoying family and the beautiful Pacific NW!

Today is the Kaffe Facett lecture hosted by Gossipium Quilt Shop, Issaquah, WA.

It's being held at the Museum of Flight , Seattle WA. I'm going and I'm planning on having fun.

I've been to a Kaffe lecture before and he's entertaining and informative talking about his design inspirations and travel insights. I've got Irish heritage and so this will be interesting for me.

I've had a little time to work more on my Violett ABC sampler. It's a slow stitch and fall gets me in the mood to settle in and slow down, being thankful for family and friends.

I'm linking up with Linda and Julie  for 'Sew Stitch Snap Share'. Stop on by for color inspiration and thanks Linda and Julie for hosting this opportunity to share!

I'm also linking up with Kathy for Slow Stitch Sundays , great idea, thanks for the opportunity to share Kathy!

And I've been taking time to send prayers for all the people that have been displaced and maybe lost homes and businesses in the hurricanes in Texas and Florida.

Remembering to be thankful this weekend!

I'll be by to visit.

Basting Quilts, National Honey Month and Wildfires

'Bees in the 'Burbs', Maple Valley  WA, purveyor of fine honeys.

Honey paraphernalia for sale inside 'Bees in the 'Burbs.'

Bees in the 'Burbs , various honey for sale...

Wildfire smoke in Enumclaw, WA about 25 miles SE of Renton.

My 'Kiwi Mimosa' small quilt in liberated triangles with batik binding now basted.

This is 'Santana Row' now pin basted, 60" x 18".

We got home with our honey and had to make Huckleberry scones to go with it.

These are beautiful thank you cards I ordered from Rifle Paper Comp.

Greetings from Renton Washington in the Pacific NW!

Where we are enjoying the antics of our one year old grandson and taking time to sightsee.

We took a road trip last week to buy local honey to celebrate National Honey Month and to get a glimpse of smoky Enumclaw, WA. where firefighters are working to put out wildfires. The smoke and ash were thick here in the Renton highlands and we found ash on our screens and window sills. And cars and lawn furniture too.

The honey we bought from a family that run their honey business from an industrial park outside Maple Valley, WA. They call their business, Bees in the 'Burbs.' Cute name, and they have their own bees local; clover honey,  they also import from B.C. Canada; fireweed honey and California; orange blossom honey. We bought the local, clover honey, beautiful amber color.

Then we had to make Huckleberry scones to go with the honey. Delicious!

The recipe we found online at The Rowdy Baker. It turns out she's more fun than rowdy.

Also if you need greeting cards visit Rifle Paper Company. They have gorgeous designs and they have beautiful fabric; Tapestry and Rosa being two of my favorite fabrics.

I managed to get basting done on a couple of my quilts and binding cut for my 'Kiwi Mimosa' ( is that a fun name or what?) in a turquoise batik from Jo Ann Fabric made in India.

Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend.

Remember to celebrate National Honey Month!

I'll be by to visit.

Butterfly Quilt Finish, Hourglass Blocks Hand Quilting, Kaleidoscope 20

'Gathering' butterfly quilt totally finished.

I labeled the back with backstitch.

Loquin Admiral butterfly for September 2017.

This a new project, just for fun.

Happy Friday and first of September!!

Finally, 'Gathering' butterfly quilt is all done. I backstitched my name and date on the back. Embroidery is a good way to 'write' on quilts and projects. 

I've started a new project. I want to 'document' hand stitching and embroidery in quilting. My grandmother sewed clothes, made quilts and embroidered, as I'm sure many of your grandmothers and aunts did. Hand work was an important part of life for women, a comfort and a creative challenge.

So I'm starting out with 12" blocks, with some modern piecing and then some traditional piecing, machine quilting, then some hand quilting/stitching/embroidery. 

I follow Barbara Brackman's Civil War Quilts , I enjoy the history and little bits about construction and fabric etc. and she has examples of traditional piecing and hand stitching. Lots of ideas there.

My calendar butterfly for September is Loquin Admiral. They are common on the west coast. They

lay their eggs on leaves and the larvae feed on cottonwood, willow, cherry and orchard tree leaves.

They can be active from April-October.

I'm linking up with Ann and Cathy for Kaleidoscope of Butterflies 20.

Thanks for hosting Ann and Cathy.

Stop by to share butterfly inspiration!

Enjoy your weekend and don't forget to share a smile!

I'll be by to visit.