August 21, 2013

Quick WIP

My kids are zooming around, wanting ALL of me, and I say, "Three minutes please." 
Honestly, it's more like, "Pleeeeease???" 
So here's my quick Work In Progress to share. 


 Sumner is winding down, school starts right after Labor Day (in our area), I better get going on this breezy summer quilt!


That's it, time's up! Happy Quilting!
Linking up to WIP Wednesday while my son says, "Are you done yet?"

August 18, 2013

Serious Confirmation

   I have been working on this quilt:
  (yes that is an 11 foot sunflower, in case you are wondering)


This quilt is a summery, flying geese design with an upward feel.


Then I saw this:
....and I heard a whisper from The Mystery all around, saying I am exactly where I need to be. 


I wonder what The Mystery would say about adding a big, blue border?
  I'm always open to suggestions.

August 10, 2013

Feeling Lifted



Besides the Canadian Snow geese we see quite often in colonies clustered on park lawns and lake shores here in the Northwest, and Mary Oliver's poem Wild Geese, I try to avoid geese. I have a vivid and terrifying memory of feeding popcorn to a group of geese in a park as a child. It was going well until one huge white goose spread it's wings, hissed and charged me. It might as well have been a prehistoric teradon because, I swear, its wingspan must have been 40 or 50 feet.


In the spirit of life however, which has a way of circling around and suggesting I look at such experiences, here I am starting a flying geese quilt. My hope is that, instead of focusing on the hissing, the huge flapping wings, the enormous turkey-on-feet in full-charge mode, I will replace said images with feelings of soaring, gliding, blue skies, soft feathers, and air currents. I have always wished I could fly, after all.

August 2, 2013

Summer Baby: A Quilt Finish


This quilt is for a new baby who is due to arrive in two weeks! I finished it just in time. I have been calling it "Summer Baby." It  has been a delight to sew. The fabrics are bright and happy and the design has allowed for all 20 star blocks to be assembled at a pleasant pace. The finished size is 60x74, comfy. There are some fantastic fabrics to mention here: (from Moda) Marmalade, Farmyard, and Maison De Garance, Mama Said Sew...also Michael Miller's Les Amis, and on the back is Riley Blake's Seaside Beach Chair...mix in some Kona Natural and soft sage, add a pinch of scrappy binding with tan stripes and brown - well, it's a recipe for a dream.









The unique thing I experienced while working on this quilt, over June and July, was discovering a tiny finch nest in the hanging basket on our front porch, literally 3 feet form our front door.


While watering the basket at two different times, a finch darted out of the basket, startling and confusing us. We peeked inside and found a delicately crafted nest, and more extraordinary, 3 speckled light blue eggs! We realized the finch, who was upset at our watering efforts, was sitting on those eggs. Shortly after our discovery, the eggs hatched.



We watched the Mama (and Papa) land on the edge of the basket with beaks full of flies, wings sicking out of their beaks in all directions. The baby birds would extend their necks and feast with frenzy. Just yesterday we noticed the babies were gone - ...and then out of the trees and bushes we spotted the Mama (or Papa) and the babies, all of them, practicing their flying, wobbly and brave, on a wing and a prayer, going from branch to branch (or branch to ground to branch), and we marveled at this new family and their lives.

It is fitting that this quilt, also for a new baby, has overlapped such a marvelous natural experience. Life wants to happen. Grass pushes up between the stones in our walkway. What is most amazing about life is that, despite the delicateness and unpredictability, it succeeds.

Linking up to Finish it up Friday! Happy Quilting!