One Block Wonder bag, daylight was fading fast!!

 

The machine stitched, the camera was out .The last hand stitching was done, and I searched for the best place to place the bag.

Would it be by the door? On a chair? By the shrubs? or in the garden next to the first red poppy of the  season?

These are photos of the same bag, but daylight was fading fast.

 

This has been such fun to do, matching points a  struggle at times, thank goodness for that 1/4 inch foot, and needle down stop position.

Sandy, again, thank you so much for this challenge, I can see we will all be having lots of fun next month , and the next, and more.

Not a quilt , not even a table runner, but the first of two bags, one for Mrs… one for Mr… his lining will be deep blue, to keep in the theme of “Blue for Boys”.

Quotation of the day, author unknown

“It’s not the finish line that matters, it is having the courage to start”

Greetings from Jean

Lime Green and Pastel Pink

 

The English Elm is in full blossom, and the hanging branches are loaded with flowers.

Across the driveway, the Cherry Trees have almost lost the darker pink blooms, the pale ones are loaded, all branches hanging down with so many flowers. Hugh’s photo below, early this morning.

Another photo from Hugh’s camera, the clematis vine is growing so tall, and climbing into the trees at the back. Pink and white colours.Some flare from the early morning sunshine.

 

The huge log cabin blocks are progressing slowly, and on the back shelf for a while. These are 19inch blocks, and I am using all the left overs  from the Wiggle me quilt. ( and adding a few more strips) I hope to have the blocks in the rainbow colours, and place them diagonally across the quilt.This is a very long term project, quilting along with Allie, and if any other quilters have joined  in too. The darks are not quite as dark as in the  photo.  I am so enjoying having a design wall or TWO, so easy now to put up, check the strips or blocks, and stand back and admire or otherwise. Easy to put away, as one slides behind the other, taking up no room at all.

The Courthouse Steps, a large block, is easy to assemble, with all the given measurements. the other blocks from everyone else are on the Facebook page with Midnight Mystery , at  Meadow Mist Designs, I need more blue batik, and a visit to Levin or Waikanae might be the next step in finding the right colour.

Springtime is continuing, mornings have been cool, warm days, and lots of sunshine.Bulbs still flowering, veges growing, blossom on fruit trees, lawns green, and firewood a magnificent heap!!

All is well,  down here, and now Hugh is recovered from surgery, and relatively pain-free, I am so thankful and grateful for all your support and emails, love and care sent over the last months and year. He will continue to have sciatic nerve problems, with odd sensations, numbness,pins and needles,  and more, for months,  maybe until next year or longer, but we manage to live with this.  The surgeon said everyone  after their spinal surgery tells him of this, and there are so many odd feelings, from ants crawling, to muscle twitches, and everything in-between. The cataract surgery is next, and should be very soon. Then I will have a man with an eye patch!!!Temporary, thank goodness.

Quotation of the day, author unknown

“ No-one can go back in time and make a  brand new beginning,

but any-one can start from now and make a brand new ending”

Greetings from Jean

The Tall, The Magnificent, and The Large!!!

 

There are still many tall trees left, growing for another year, till they too get felled for firewood.

The pile of firewood is heartening, we had wonderful help from Norman and Ann this week, and it is all cut, split and heaved  onto that huge pile. I hope the sheds will be full when it is stored away after drying over the summer. Normal size is in the large heap, smaller pieces for the hot water chip heater surround a pine tree.

Now, the log cabin blocks that I am sewing, along with Allie,

at  allie- oopssweethappylife, well, I have managed to fit in one block this week. I started with a 3.5 inch centre square, and used 2.5 inch logs. Well, it grew and grew, and ended up a mighty 17.5 inch block!! Not what I wanted, I had planned for 12.5 inch, then to be sewn to finish at  12 inches. This will be an outcast in the final.  I had  hoped to do each block in shades of the same colour, but can see that 2 logs do not have enough contrast.Never  mind, it will be the start of a huge bag!!!

Well, it is Saturday, tomorrow our All Blacks will play against France in the Rugby World Cup. Go, those boys in Black. We will cheer you on from home.

Quotation of the day. from Kahlil Gibran

“ Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky”

Greetings from Jean

Not one, not two, there are THREE

 

The other day I visited our friendly team at the timber and  hardware place. I needed foam insulation  sheets to make a design board. Well, there were 2 sheets, both not full length,  and one needed trimming.  Great price, so two were chosen. Delivered on Saturday,  ( Thanks so much, Rural Timber and Hardware ) I  found pale blue flannelette sheets that have had some use, had some bleach in places, and made huge pillowcase covers. I had to put tape on all the edges first,  and this shows in the photos. One small offcut, and I have a handy small board I can use by the machine

The One Block Wonders are  still in trial sashing stage, the new boards a perfect place to stand back and look. The next two  will have deep red, and dark blue as the diagonals from left to right, and a contrast still to be decided. Lots of half square triangles,maybe a good starting block for the scrappy log cabin  with         Allie at Allie -oops sweet happy life

The firewood, another friend is coming to help, and progress is starting to show. Next year, we will be thankful for the trees, grown,  felled, cut,split, dried, and burnt for our comfort.

Quotation of the week, author unknown

 “ If Plan A doesn’t work,

the alphabet has  25 more letters”

Greetings from Jean

I hoped for a holiday as the treatment!!!

 

My visit to the Doctor, I had hoped for a diagnosis of overwork, not enough play or quilting time, or “ You need a long holiday”,.Sadly none of these, an infection on my earlobe, a friend told Hugh I did too much listening at keyholes!!! Firewood will resume, with help from friends so appreciated.

However, I combined the trip with a visit to TWO fabric shops. More blue for the Midnight Mystery blocks, and an almost matching purple for the same. The blue is a bit paler than what I have used, but as I think  any  one colour will  not be next to  itself, this won’t matter.

Then I found the two paler shades, for more Flying Geese for the One Block Wonder sets. These are in a trial mode. I have a small design wall, and the 2 large sheets to make 2 tall ones that can stand together will be delivered after 5 p.m. I have more 3.5 inch squares cut out, and think the lime, gold, and purple will give better contrasts.Right now, I have too many with the same colours.

 

Quotation of the day,author unknown

“ Happiness is when you believe in what you are doing,

know what you are doing,

and enjoy what you are doing” 
Greetings from Jean

Will there ever be sufficient??

 

Firewood, with wonderful help the logs are getting cut up, the small stuff heaped to dry, the scrap stuff burnt, and all that is left at the end of a day is a little pile of ash.Truly, nothing from a tree is wasted,  even the small cones will dry for a fire next year.

On the fabric scale. what I have looked to be more than enough, but I have run out of a blue, a pale background, and a suitable purple!!! I thought, when I sorted the batiks into their colours, it was a lot, but when I think of other bloggers, with huge stash, maybe mine is on the miniature level. Time to go shopping!!!

The geese for the project with Sandy, at Upstairs Hobby Room , are flying along, more rectangles and squares are cut and ready to go. This will be bright, and have lots of different combinations. The bonus with Sandy’s Geese, I have 2  smaller squares , with half triangles, from every set.They are in the top right hand corner.

I have no idea what will be in store for next month, but think maybe these blocks when all together might be the centre of a quilt, a wide sashing to outline them, then the next set of whatever we get to do. This is exciting as from one month to the next ,it is all different. Surprises wait.

Yesterday Joyce went to Wanganui, and another beautiful jar of flowers from Daphne arrived home. Freesias of every shade, all perfumed, tulips, a Dutch Iris, Ixia in various shades, and an early Ranunculus.  The colours are as they are in real life, just a delicate frame in some PP.

Quotation of the day, from Dr. Seuss

“ Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory”

Greetings from Jean

Either Nothing at all or Way Too Much

 

Today the wonderful man ( The Tree Feller )  came, and before I was there with my camera,  7 trees were felled!! I can see a lot of work, and heaps of firewood for next  winter . In this photo, the branches of the weeping silver pear are showing signs of spring, blossom will soon be out in full force.

Almost on the ground, I used the fast frame mode.

The Wiggle Me  quilt is waiting until I get the huge table out, so I can  measure and pin the final border  on, then pin and baste for the quilting. Meantime I am chugging along with the Midnight Mystery Quilt.Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs   posts the next blocks directions  on the 1st of the month, and we have 4 weeks to complete the blocks. This month are we are making 9 courthouse steps, finishing at  19 inches square. Here are my fabrics. They will go with the flying geese and the square in a square.I found some more dark green in another fabric pattern, that will go well with the others I used.

In addition to this, Sandy,at  UpstairsHobbyRoom                                                                   who designed  the Wiggle Me Quilt, has a “ One Block Wonder” starting in ONE hour, one set of blocks a month. My kind of quilting. The hour has passed,  I have seen her pattern, the layout, and the fabulous fabric choices,Wow, another stunner. Thanks so much Sandy, you are so generous and we all  truly appreciate the posts from you .

Then   Allie at     allie-oopssweethappylife   is starting “ Scrappy Harvest at the Cabin”, and asked if anyone would like to scrap along with her? Yes, of course I would, with lots of 2.5 inch strips left from the last challenge. Did I say lots  of strips????? Higgledy-piggledy, but there are lots, really!!!

So with one  quilt to finish, one started, and the other in the fabric gathering stage, when will I get  out there to help the men  deal with next year’s winter warmth? Maybe muffins and coffee might be more suitable for my input.

Quotation of the day, from Brian Tracey

“When you feel overwhelmed with too much to do and too little time,

remind yourself that all you can do is all you can do”

Greetings from Jean