Pennsylvania Dutch

By lee | April 28, 2011

I was getting a bit tired of working so diligently on the vegetables and I needed another project that I could also work on. You know, so I could have a bit of a change of pace. And I am totally committed to this being the year where I complete all my unfinished projects. Yeah, I know, you can stop laughing now. I really mean it.

Anyway, I was going through the bins of my UFO’s and came across this.

This quilt got started in the late 1990′s as a group project when I worked at ThimbleCreek. There were probably twelve or so of us on staff then and we would pick a quilt and each of us would make 12 blocks exactly the same and then we would exchange blocks so everyone walked away with 12 different blocks. I think I participated in four such projects while I was working there. It was a lot of fun and I’ve gotten some gorgeous quilts because of those group projects. This quilt is the only one that I never finished.

When I opened up the box, I just had the ten pieced blocks.

Also in the box were the fabrics for the applique blocks. Yes, it’s applique again. Real change of pace right? There were only six whole blocks and ten setting triangles that needed to be appliqued. I’m happy to say that I have finished the six whole blocks and am mostly finished with two of the setting triangles.

It’s been pretty quick and I’m pleased with how it’s looking on the design wall.

I can’t remember the name of the book this pattern was in, I just remember it’s from an antique Pennsylvania Dutch quilt. The pattern calls for a pretty elaborate applique border but I don’t know if I’ll do that. Although now that I’m thinking about it, the quilt is so complex and rich, it would probably look silly with a simple, plain border. That means more applique, hum, we shall see. I’m really loving it.

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Where have I been?

By lee | April 15, 2011

Well, here, there and everywhere. And soon to go again. No really, it’s true. Two months away from the blog is a long time especially with no good bye, no howdy do or anything. From here on out, I’ll try and let you know if I’m going to be away or not blogging for a long period of time. Promise.

Liza and I had a lovely time in New Zealand and she is now back in Boston, looking for work. Rick and I were away for a few weeks visiting family on the East Coast.  We had a great time with all our family, ate a lot of really good food,  and the weather was lovely. We came home rested and happy.

Then we had to get through some major surgery for me and that’s kept me close to home since. It has allowed me some major time for hand work and for some reason, I’ve really been in the mood for applique. This is a block of the month project I purchased back in 1995 0r 96, can’t really remember which. It’s called the Victory Garden and is by Susan Powell. I’ve been loving it and have finished FIVE (!!!!!) blocks in the last 4 weeks. Here are the first six all sewn together with the sashing and posts.

And here are a couple of close ups.

I’m working on the eggplants, but I think it’s finally time to take a break. There are twelve blocks in all and the eggplants will be number eight so I’ve gotten pretty far. I think it’s time to knit or crochet for a bit.

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New Zealand

By lee | February 16, 2011

I realize that it’s been over a month since I posted here and mostly that’s because I was in New Zealand! Liza graduated from college in December and as a gift, I decided we, just Liza and I, should go on a big trip. I told her we could go anywhere warm and she picked New Zealand. Wow!

We spent 2½ wonderful weeks touring the South Island of New Zealand. We rented a camper van and went wherever the road took us. We saw magnificent scenery, from incredible mountains to the bluest lakes to beautiful coastlines. We saw all sorts of incredible animals, including penguins, royal albatrosses, dolphins, seals, kea birds, and others. All the New Zealanders we met were friendly and helpful, and we met interesting people from all over the world in the hostels and holiday parks. We got caught in a gale, cruised the Milford Sound, and swan in the ocean with dolphins.

All in all, a remarkable trip. Here is the first batch of photos.

We flew into Christchurch and spent the first three days there. We rented a tiny little Suzuki car which allowed us to get used to driving on the other side of the road before we picked up our campervan. Liza did way better than me with the driving. Maybe it’s because she’s been driving for only four years. This is the big Cathedral in Christchurch.

This is the Avon River which runs through downtown Christchurch and is very picturesque. You can go “punting” on the river but we didn’t.

We drove out to the Banks peninsula just south of Christchurch. It’s lovely out there with quaint little villages and a beautiful harbor. This is the beach in Akaroa.

This is our campervan which was our home for the next 10 days. Not nearly enough time. We met many people who were there for months driving around. Our van had electricity, gas stove, a small fridge and a working sink. No bathroom. You could easily get away with a van with no kitchen as all of the “holiday parks” where we stayed had communal kitchens. The kitchens were great and also where you met your fellow travelers. I loved it.

I just loved this sign. It’s outside the big Countdown store which is one of their big grocery chains.

Our first night in the campervan was outside the lovely town of Omaru. Liza and I both loved this place. There is a wonderful Victorian section of town that was built during the gold boom in the 1800′s. The gold boom went bust and the town died but the buildings are still there. They were almost demolished in the 1970′s but the town didn’t have enough money to pay the bulldozer so only one was torn down. And a decade later, the town realized that the buildings were actually a treasure and should be preserved. They are in the process just that and several of them now have shops and galleries and eateries in them. They are awesome. This was also the place where we saw the blue penguins coming in out of the ocean at dusk. You can see a picture of one on Liza’s flickr site.

Liza and I standing out on the rock beach near our campsite. This is the mouth of the Waitaki River. It is immense and very impressive. And the color of the water is beautiful. It’s not showing up very well in this picture but it’s very teal and clear.

This is one of the Moeraki Boulders. These are  on the coast south of Omaru and they are something. Liza and I thought they looked like alien pods, like in the movie Cocoon.

So that’s first post on New Zealand. There is more to come: dolphins, Milford Sound, penguins.

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Pinwheels

By lee | January 7, 2011

About a year or so ago, my knit group did a pinwheel exchange. We all used the same white background fabric and other fabric had to be a polka dot. We each ended up with around 100 different pinwheels. Well they’ve been sitting in a box waiting for me to figure out what to do with them. Some of the women in the exchange have finished their quilts. I wish I had some pictures to show you but I don’t.

Here are some of the pinwheels.

They really are awesome. I was going through my files for inspiration one day and just happened upon a pattern that I had ripped out of an old Quilters Newsletter. The pattern had the little pinwheels going around larger pinwheels in a diagonal setting. I liked the idea and set about trying to find two fabrics that I already owned that would work for the larger pinwheels.

This is what I came up with.

I like both of the fabrics in the larger pinwheels, especially the tealish, floral one. But something isn’t right. My friend Susan came by today and she had the perfect solution. Take out the little dot that is paired with the floral and replace it with the same white that we used in the little pinwheels. Brilliant. I had to make a couple just to see if it would work and ……….

It totally ties everything together and gives it that fresh, modern feel that is so popular these days. I’ve really been in the mood to sew lately which is kind of insane seeing that Liza and I are leaving for New Zealand tomorrow. We will be gone for 2 1/2 weeks and I don’t know if I’ll be able to blog from there. Would be pretty cool if I could. We shall see. If not, have a great month and happy sewing.

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Gifts

By lee | January 5, 2011

I thinks it’s far enough past Christmas that I can show some of the gifts I’ve made for friends and family this year. Of course, there are a few people who’ve been away that I haven’t been able to get together with so some pictures will have to wait. In the meantime, here are two.

I made this pillow for my mother in law. They love Christmas at their house and I thought a nice pillow would fit in well.

I found the pattern free on line and I believe it was a Crabapple Hill pattern but I can’t find my source. The ornament was embroidered first and then appliqued to the background. And then the background was embroidered. The pattern called for the rickrack and it makes the pillow, don’t you think?!

I was really in the mood to embroider after both of my surgeries this fall so this was the perfect project. I also embroidered  a pillow for my sister, but I forgot to take a picture and will try and get her to take one.

For Vivienne this Christmas, I decided to make the Dumpling Bag. This was a free pattern from Knitting Daily. I like Knitting Daily but they have evolved from mostly informational daily emails to just trying to sell you stuff. Occasionally they offer a good tutorial and a free pattern or two. This was one of them.

This is a felted bag and I used Cascade wool. I bought the yarn up at Close Knit on Alberta and they were very helpful. They had made the bag as a store sample and found that if you embroidered it before felting it like the pattern called for, the embroidery didn’t show up very well. They recommended waiting until afterwards so you could really see the embroidery. I went with their suggestion and was happy with the results. It’s a funny little bag and I know with felting you have to take what you get, but I wish the opening had been a bit bigger. I think it will be good for holding a yarn project or maybe going out somewhere special. Loved the variegated brown yarn.

More to come……………….

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