Butterfly Colors for March! 'Slow Stitch' good read...

March butterfly on my 2016 calendar, color inspiration.

'Slow Stitch' by Claire Wellesley-Smith, I'm still reading & soaking it in.

March is here and we're due for rain, that's a good thing.

My calendar's March butterfly is full of color ideas, the butterfly itself and the background too.

I'm linking up with Ann at Fret Not Yourself blog.

with her Kaleidoscope of Butterflies, celebrating butterflies!

 

The book 'Slow Stitch' is full of beautiful work. There are examples of stitch and patchwork with organic dyes, vintage textiles and threads. A quote from Claire's book, 'Faster is not necessarily better.' I'm liking that quote so much!

Have you ever thought of what or who is behind our culture's huge fixation on 'faster, faster!'

A lot of the pressure is from the sales forces of the huge mega corporations of course, wanting us to buy more, more. Spend more, more and then what? That'll make us happy? Sometimes it's good to relax and think about, 'Why am I doing this, why am I living like this?'

 

Spending a thoughtful morning here. 

Life is good.

Log Cabin Improv, 'Slow Stitching' a book review.....

Log Cabin blocks trimmed to 12" sq.

Slow Stitch book by Claire Wellesley-Smith, published by Batsford 2015.

My own 'slow-stitch' project, violet alphabet..

Happy Monday!!

My Log Cabin blocks are progressing! I built them up and now they are trimmed to 12" sq.. I'm calling it 'Green at Heart' because most of the center squares are green.

I found the most amazing book at my local fabric store, 'Slow Stitch' by Claire Wellesley-Smith from UK. I picked it up and started looking through it and it was 'yes', 'yes' and 'yes' ,in my mind, all through her book. She writes about thoughtful creating, using repurposed fabric and gorgeous vintage threads or hand dyed threads. Her methods of dyeing are natural, not using toxic chemicals requiring

 respirators. It was just the encouragement I needed to slow down and create in a more relaxed state of mind.

Sometimes when following the quilt fabric industry I get the feeling that I need to be punching out a quilt every week and then having it heavily machine quilted to within an inch of its life using expensive foreign produced thread. Wow! Talk about pressure! What if my husband is unemployed right now and I can't afford all that? Tough luck I guess!

Is that the way our grandmothers and their grandmothers sewed and made quilts? I'm not saying I want to totally ignore progress but do I have to be a slave of the current quilt industry's theme of faster, faster, more, more?

That's why I appreciate Claire's book, Slow Stitch, it's a breath of fresh air. 

Enjoy your day, happiness is a state of mind.

Spring Fling, Improv Experiment

Ornamental cherry trees blossoming at the pool.

Closer view to lift your spirits.

Experimenting with improv. blocks.

I'll border this with 1 1/2" gray then a wider border of muslin.

Monday, happy Monday!

The birds are insisting it's spring around here. The hawthorns, crabapples and ornamental cherries are making a big push for spring too. Excitement is in the air.

I've been putting together a small quilt to see the possibilities of the improv. block I decided on. I used scissors for most of the cutting and I liked using them. When I first started sewing and quilting there were no rotary cutters or mats. We all used scissors and it worked out fine. This little quilt will have a 1 1/2" border of gray and a wider muslin border, the binding will be the yellow  fabric I used in the blocks.

Speaking of excitement, Barbara Brackman's, Civil War Quilts blog 

is full of great ideas, quilts and fun bits of history, check it out!

I'm linking up with Sew Slowly AHIQ #6 .
Visit to see beautiful color and designs. Thanks for hosting Kaja, I hope you get well soon!

Remember to let your light shine!

Happy Friday! Amish Crib Quilts book review...

Fair weather here...

Sewing border on...

My copy came in the mail!

Happy Friday already?

Wow, that went fast. I was busy with work and a family birthday.

I managed to squeeze some time in to sew borders onto two 'Piece of Cake' block quilts and plan for finishing them up.

Then 'Amish Crib Quilts from the Midwest' came in the mail and I have been reading through it in all my spare minutes. I highly recommend it, so classic with plain simple design. Back to our roots! I found out about it on Nifty Quilts blog by reading her article, 'Amish Quilt for a Modern Baby.' Such a great quilt.

Also, Missouri Star Quilt Company, has a new tutorial using Victoria Findlay Wolfe's new fabric line, 'Mostly Manor', very colorful. The title of the tutorial is The Sashed Half Hexi Quilt. Fun to watch. 

Have a happy Friday, share a smile, it's healthy!

Butterfly Colors for February, Finished hand quilting, Improv Log Cabin Blocks

My butterfly calendar, February colors.

I finished the final round of hand quilting on Citrus Rose.

The back view, I love the texture of hand quilting.

'Improv' log cabin blocks in process.

Here's my 'What's up Wednesday'.....

The butterfly picture on my calendar is just lovely, I had to share it for color inspiration.

Then, my Citrus Rose quilt is totally finished, I put off hand quilting that final round, but it's now done.

I'm still adding to the 'improv' log cabin blocks and arranging them this way and that. Maybe another round of blue, I'm thinking. Slow and steady. Really what's the rush?

Also, don't miss this; over at Nifty Quilts, the post, 'Amish Quilt for a Modern Baby', is fabulous.

Her inspiration is from the book, Amish Crib Quilts from the Midwest, by Janneken Smucker.

This is an amazing book, full of 'modern' inspiration for all kinds of art and design. 

"Keep your eyes wide open, you never know what you'll find," Dr. Seuss.

Log Cabin Blocks "Wonky' style and Crochet Scallop Blanket

My Log Cabin blocks 'wonky' style.

They will have another round of 'logs' before I'm ready to sew them together.

I'm crocheting this blanket for my 'Grand Muffin'.

Yesterday the sun came out and I had to dive into color! I added a few more rounds of 'logs' to the log cabin blocks I had set aside and sliced them askew to spice them up.
I'm linking up with Ad Hoc Improv Quilters today, check out the great ideas there.

I loose all inspiration when I try to work with color that doesn't excite me. I tossed out some dreadful patch work I had put together having heard somewhere it was good to use up scraps. Notice to all colors that don't 'work' for me, you will be shipped to the local thrift shop where, someone, with a different taste for color will buy you and love you. It will be a relief for both of us.

I've been working on the Baby Brights Scallops blanket, a kit I bought from Herrschner's .

I started it a year ago for one of my grand daughters and then found out they were moving to Florida. I was sure she wouldn't need it there so I put it aside. Then I found out they will soon be moving north where the temperatures are very cold. So I got it out and I'll finish it up knowing it will be useful. 

That's my creative adventures so far this week.

Happy Wednesday!

Pinafores, Rain and Wonky Stars....

Little Miss modeling her pinafore.

Lots of rain here.....

My daughter has been busy sewing and finished her project. My grand daughter is modeling the finished project above. Pinafores are adorable on little girls aren't they?

There's been rain and wind around here, good for filling up the reservoir and blowing away dead leaves and branches. Nature's housecleaning.

Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Company has a super fun tutorial on You Tube, Jenny's Tiny Wonky Stars 

Happy Friday, be daring and share a smile!