a frozen beginning

Among the frozen blades of grass is a sneak peek of a new quilt I have been working on. I am hopeful I'll have the top complete my mid-week to share on WIP Wednesday, but that is a long-shot. Although it looks more like a table runner here, this quilt will have at least 3 more rows, making it 40x40 inches, but I am thinking of going longer. The highlight of these fabrics is the Odds & Ends Metro Inspirational Words by Cosmo Cricket for Moda. The other 3 fabrics I bought at Joann's, but they all go well together. I suppose the color scheme can be considered tertiary - red orange, teal green, rust, soft pink, hot pink, chartreuse, brown, and gray.

I love the boldness of the birds and "sunflower" design, yet you also have to look close to read the inspirational words and see the neighborhood houses. This will be a fun quilt, I can't wait to see the finished version.

In other news, our nights here have been freezing, dipping into the 20s. We awake to a white and frosty world.

Everything outside has a fresh crunchy layer of frost which, after a warm and hearty breakfast (usually involving oats), we venture out to explore. The numerous ice crystals are particularly fun to crunch underfoot. My imagination drifts to the underground and wonders what the worms think of this frozen soil. Our hummingbird feeder is very busy (once thawed by noon) and we are amazed the they can survive such frigid nights. By far, the best part of spending time outside is coming inside after awhile to our warm home, and closing the door to the cold. Winter is a miraculous season but a warm home makes such cold truly enjoyable.

Messy

There is a stage in quilting when things just look downright messy. If you were someone who had never seen a quilt before and you came upon a quilt at this stage, you would wonder - seriously - what the big deal is.

Then the quilter, in all of her glory, simply and painlessly attaches the binding.

And then - as the person who has never seen a quilt before - you get it. Suddenly you would insist on having a pillow, a cup of tea, some reruns of Little House, and the newly bound quilt to lay across your lap.
You would fully understand at that point, that quilts are a big deal.

Coastline Quilt

May I present to you The Coastline Quilt, which I am proud to say is complete. And let me clarify that the coastline being represented here is the Washington coast which is usually cloudy, fairly gray, studded with fishing towns, and bordered on the West by the great Pacific.

I crave the sea and the beach and this quilt was a way to - in a day-dreamy sort of way - feel like I am there. The colors are cool, dark and gray mixed with splashes of orange. I know I am not alone in the observation that with every quilt I make, I learn something new. This quilt contains my first machine binding! I had to drink a glass of red wine before attempting it, just to settle my nerves, and it turned out great, especially around the corners.

I am excited about the future quilts that lie ahead in 2013. It is an honor to participate in the first 2013 Finish It Up Friday, on the 4th day of the new year! Oh and also, I will update my Etsy shop later today. SOLD! Please do stop by.

Happy Quilting and Happy New Year!

2012 Quilts

  ~Game Board design featuring Sarah Jane's Children at Play fabric line~

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 ~Custom Order Sailboat Quilt~

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~Sunny Morning Farmhouse Quilt~

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~Vintage Floral Chevron Design~

2012 was a whirlwind year. It was creatively progressive, personally challenging, and called me to tap into strength I never knew I had. I rose above all of my fears and opened a quilt shop on Etsy. On the home-front, 2012 was incredibly bountiful. We gained a home. We saw our kids grow a little more in every way. The common thread was, and is, love. I remind myself everyday to practice loving kindness and I believe this theme will continue well into 2013. I suppose in retrospect, 2012 taught me that the little things are really the most important.

Happy Quilting!

A Merry One

This moment I am...

Enjoying our home and all of its brilliant warmth.

Appreciating this gentle giant, a new kitty, Robousto.

 Laughing at how his tongue sticks out during slumber.

Marveling at this little girl, growing up fast, getting snarkey, but she's all mushy love underneath

(trust me).

Loving how we found the PERFECT tree!

Just kidding, we sawed down a GREEN Noble fir, it's lovely!

Adoring this elf who can balance a raisin on his thumb.

Smiling at every creation.

Making everything, and finding perfection within imperfection.

 Quilting whenever a spare minute arises.

Playing with this process which is turning out perfectly ;)

Wishing every one a beautiful holiday.

Transformative

 I am not completely sure why I am draw to quilting with such pizazz. I know I love the way a finished quilt feels. I love petting beautiful fabric and I love the way a certain fabric will leap out at me at the fabric shop, saying "look at how glorious I am!"

I believe however that I am also drawn to the transformative quality that quilting entails. It begins with a few 1/2 yards of different fabrics. These fabrics mingle and meet compatible fabrics which are then sewn together in a design. The design grows and grows until a quilt top of desired length and width is achieved. Then the holy sandwich of batting and backing is attached. Then the tough part for me, the quilting itself, which I usually do well despite all the apprehension. Lastly - the seal around the fray - the binding. It's a beautiful process. And in a slightly abstract way, it mirrors the transformation of my life.

You see, I was once a lonely, single 1/2 yard of fabric floating around in the proverbial stash. My colors were vibrant and it took a keen eye to match me with a compatible fabric that would allow me to shine, yet keep me grounded and down to earth. Let's call this compatible fabric "Cutie." We were measured and sewn together. We grew and grew and grew and grew. We became enmeshed and basted and quilted with delicate stitches. We had kids, well, quilts can't have kids but you see where this is going. The process of making a quilt is similar to the process of growing a life, marriage, family, happiness. I imagine the final years of my life will represent the binding and after that, the universe will wrap itself in the warmth and love that we (as fabrics sewn together) have created.

Every time I begin and complete a quilt, I relive the wonderful transformations that have existed in my life - from single 1/2 yard, onward. I get so excited to start a new quilt because I can't wait to see the beauty that will come of it. Similarly I get excited to wake up next to Cutie (my most compatible fabric), spend days with my kids, watch us all grow and grow and grow, and see the beauty that comes of it. What exists now as I look around, as I hold up my life, stand back a distance, and look at the progress of my process, is nothing less than a tapestry!

 Happy quilting!