a white world revealed

bright cleanliness; a clean start

cold revelations

i woke up this morning to a fresh fall of snow. it's beautiful but i'm tired of winter . . .

i went outside (briefly) and got a quick shot of my freshly glittered garden and then felt like i could write a haiku to go with my minimalistic photo. i've been recently inspired to explore the world of haiku by a chance encounter in flickr and a couple of internet acquaintances so you may be seeing more of it within my blog as time goes on.

one good thing about winter is that i'm happy to be doing a little more quilting and have finished another doll (carrot) quilt. this one was made using some vintage star blocks that were given to me. i did a bit of reconstruction and added some of my own fabrics. it has a finished measurement of 16 and 1/2" x 21 and 1/2". i backed it with the lavender printed white fabric that you see used around the outer edges and bound it with a dark green print that i thought suited it. i can't say that it is one of my favorites but it will be a nice one to have within my doll quilt collection.

there is something about traditional antique quilts that i find particularly appealing lately . . . maybe it is that warmth of character that they seem to exude through their (often) hand stitched fibers. i see them and imagine the makers and their various circumstances and am amazed at how these quilts were frequently made using a minimum of resources, time and even good light to see by! i have such respect for both the beautiful finished quilts and their hardworking creators. i have recently discovered a few blogs that are fueling my current need for traditional and scrap quilts and the inner warmth that they spark up in me. if you are interested in doll quilts in particular go see Persnickety Quilts at http://www.persnicketyquilts.blogspot.com/ and click on her "doll quilts" label. she has a fantastically varied collection that i frequently drool over. for a bit of history with your doll quilt there is nothing like a visit to quilt author Kathleen Tracy's blog: A Sentimental Quilter at http://www.sentimentalquilter.blogspot.com/ . she's written three books on doll quilts with a fourth one in the works and has done a lot of research into the ladies (many of them young ladies) who made these gems. i recommend her books as well as her blog.

i recently discovered a delightful series for making a doll quilt called "Cheddar Cheese and Crackers" at Humble Quilts: http://www.humblequilts.blogspot.com/ . this blogger has many beautiful quilts, both large and small, within her blog. after reading this well done three part tutorial i've been inspired to add this pattern to my (long) "must make that(~!~) list". i do love that "cheddar" color used in many older quilts~!~

for further gorgeous fabrics and color choices you must see Inspired By Antique Quilts at http://www.inspiredbyantiquequilts.blogspot.com/. this blogger is a magician at the art of "getting it done" and i also love the many links she provides within her space.

and last but not least i must share this final blogspot not only for her fabulous use of scraps (which i so admire) but also for her humorous choice in blog names: What a Load a Scrap at http://www.whataloadascrap.blogspot.com/ . as you can imagine, this spot is full of ideas for using up one's final bits of fabric as well as a healthy dose of humor~!~

in addition to visiting tempting blogs i've been going through my own collection of vintage and antique quilt blocks in an effort to decide what to do as my next carrot quilt (# five~!~) and have turned up this cute embroidered "Hickory Dickory Dock" nursery rhyme block.

as well as these antique broken dishes blocks . . .

sometimes i think i just have too many choices~!~

maybe i'll think of some way to "marry" the two together . . .

i've decided to sit down with a cup of cocoa, some homemade shortbread cookies, and a few good quilting books and see how cozy i can make myself feel on this cold winter day.

won't you join me?

the senior party quilt top is finished and i'm happy with it's "sunny disposition". it goes to my guild this evening and i'm quite happy to have it off of my to-do list. now i am turning my attention to making another postcard.

think of warm days with sand between your toes, the sound of breaking waves and the magic of tide pools . . .

i think this will be a welcome diversion for me from my winter snows and cold winds and hopefully you will feel the same.

one of my Christmas postcards does not seem to have reached it's intended destination so i will be doing some verifying of that later this week and probably making and resending another card.

meanwhile i begin to gather supplies that speak to me of the magic found within these special salt water pools left behind after the ebbing of a tide . . .

i've never actually experienced a tide pool so would love to hear about tide pools from those of you who have. please tell me what you found fascinating and lovely within the tide pools of your memory. these shared thoughts will certainly help me to create a more beautiful postcard.

in return, as i continue to gather bits together and work on this card, i will share my progress with you.
it will be like getting to spend a few warm moments at the beach . . .

"It is a pleasure to a real lover of Nature to give winter all the glory he can, for summer will make it's own way, and speak it's own praises." Dorothy Wordsworth i have been kept away from blogland by one thing after another for far too long and i've really missed it~!~ it's good to be back with a post of my own and i am getting around to visiting a few each day. yesterday i visited Carolyn at: http://www.love-stitching-red.blogspot.com/ and Pom Pom at: http://www.pompomsponderings.blogspot.com/ . these two blogs were an excellent place for me to start as they both have created such wonderful "be happy" blogs to visit. if you are looking to be delighted, inspired and encouraged these two blogs will not let you down.

i realized that i had never posted a photo of the finished gift quilt that i made. it's been back from the quilter's for quite some time now and what with the holidays and all that goes with them, i ended up forgetting to get it in here. so this is the official "ta-da" moment for this child's quilt. it measures 36 inches x 44 inches and i'm very pleased with the small stipple pattern that was quilted into it.

see that bright yellow monkey print that i used for the backing~!?! it reminded me of Curious George and so i have purchased a boxed set of Curious George board books to go along with it. as a child i was a big fan of Curious George and all of his mis-adventures~!~ i think i still am~!~

now, with all of that monkey business going on, i've convinced myself that i need to add an adoreable handmade sock monkey to the quilt and books . . . i've never made one and will have to search for a pattern . . . or find a seller of fine handmade sock monkeys . . . if there are any ideas for me out there please feel free to speak up.

this gift set will be ready and waiting for the next gift, donation or raffle that comes up. my goal is to get (and stay) three quilts ahead (for this purpose) so that i'm not scrambling around at the last minute trying to hurry up and finish something (which is my usual mode of operandi) generally speaking they fly out of the house as fast as i can get them made so i better get out the fabric scraps and start another one very soon~!~

but before i do that i have to finish the current quilt project that has exploded all over my studio . . .

this is an almost completed top that i've been working on for the last couple of days. for the past several years i've made a quilt top and then handed it off to my guild sisters who pitch in and volunteer what they can (batting, backing, quilting, binding, etc) to get it finished for an annual senior graduation party. this party is thrown by the school, community members and parents for the graduating class. it is held (in June) as a way to encourage them to celebrate sans alcohol. it will be only one of the many (donated) raffled prizes. as much as i've enjoyed doing it, i've decided it's time to "pass the torch" and encourage someone else to take charge of this activity. there are many talented ladies within the guild who could bring great new inspiration to this and i need one less thing to do~!~
this top is being made using blocks that i won in a guild block exchange the year before last. i asked for half square triangles made from a black and white print on one side and a bright "happy" print on the other. my cup runneth over and i was given enough to make more than just the one quilt top. i used the remainders for this years top and added in the necessary blocks needed. it's going well and i hope to be done with it by the end of the week.

as you can see i've been quite busy and am so very glad that the pace has finally slowed down enough for me to jump back on the blogging merry-go-round~!~ i hope to be visiting a few of you each day and posting a couple of times a week now that i'm back on track.

just a quick hello and yes, i'm doing fine. i appreciate all of the comments, e-mails and hellos despite my lack of communication and hopefully i'll be paying some blog visits (as well as posting on my own) during the upcoming week.

in the meantime; try to stay bundled up and warm cuz baby, it's COLD outside~!!~

:)

are you dreaming of a white Christmas?

i've been unable to do much blog visiting as i have been busy creating more postcards for holiday sending but i am wishing everyone a beautiful holiday season full of love and laughter and a new year with health and happiness in every single day.

more Christmas postcards. i have just a few more to finish . . .

and i better get busy or their going to be late~!~

~a carrot quilt update~

despite my attempt to keep things to a minimum i've been completely overwhelmed by holiday preparations and life in general which is why i haven't posted more than the sunday postcard art challenge for the last few weeks. in general things are good, but the "slow setting" that MS puts me on isn't the best for keeping up with the usual holiday hubbub and so my blog posting has suffered some.

however, one of things that i have been able to continue doing is the carrot quilt stitching that i described in a previous post. and i'm delighted to have progress to report~!~

the first little indigo and white quilt measures approximately twelve and a half inches by fifteen and a quarter inches. i used some purchased antique blocks and hand sewed them into a top and then added a bleached muslin border around them. the blocks were constructed using a white muslin that had actually not yellowed or aged as much as sometimes happens with antique blocks so i rummaged through my muslin scraps and found one of my less white choices . . . despite the fact that they were not my brightest scraps i can really see the difference between what i used and what was originally used within the blocks. looking at the photo of the finished piece i can see that it turned out just fine and in fact delineates the border of the top a bit which i like. within my stash i managed to find a reproduction indigo fabric print for the binding and a shirting print that i used for the backing. all of that and a few hand quilting stitches and ta-da~!!!~ carrot quilt # 2 is finished.


carrot quilt # 3 is the result of some more purchased antique quilt blocks that i had on hand that were hand sewn together to create the top. i love the various blue fabrics used and that rogue plaid square~!~ which was pieced together from very small scraps of fabric by the original maker . . . a testament to the waste not, want not style of living that was once necessary. some of the other pieces are also "micro pieced" together too and i imagine that if you click on the photos you will be able to see some evidence of this yourself.
i found the border fabric and the backing fabric within my own stash and the binding was made from a chambray that i happen to have lots of because i like the way that it "plays" so well with the vintage and antique bits that i have accumulated. the backing fabric is the most wonderful print which includes the occasional bee and is one of my all time favorites. i chose to hand quilt the center using very simple straight diagonal lines in varying widths apart and i stitched a simple cable into the border. i like the way that the border seems to be a bit fancier in "attitude" than the simplicity of the center and think that it made for some subtle but good contrasts. this finished doll quilt measures approximately twenty two and a half inches by twenty inches.



i hope that you enjoy seeing the latest additions to my carrot quilt collection.
this evening i will begin to put the quilting stitches into carrot quilt # 4~!!~ yipppeeee~!!!!~