Practicing Feathers

 

After years of appreciating feathers on other people’s quilts and thinking I could never master them, I decided it was time to jump right in. I want feathers on my snail’s trail quilt. Diane Gaudynski’s book, “Quilt Savvy” was a lot of help—once I really had time to sit down and study it. I have actually owned it for at least three years, and it has just sat quietly on its shelf.

I have my quilt top sewn together except for the borders. I thought I would get a head start and practice some feathers on a sample swatch. I also wanted to test the thread color and see if it looked all right.

This is my first try:

This is a close-up. I like the feathers on the right the best. They are a tiny bit larger than the others and the lines are a little smoother. I need to practice the inside curves of the feather more because I get a bit confused when the stitching area gets cramped.

Dive Bomber

 

Somebody doesn’t want me in my garden. Every time I go over to a certain corner of my yard, look who is waiting to dive bomb me. A pretty bird. One I have never seen before. Grey on the top and a soft yellow on the breast. I did a quick search of the internet and think it is a Cassin’s kingbird. I know at least three of my regular readers are birdwatchers, so maybe they can tell me more.

There must be a nest about, but I am not seeing it in the huge rose bushes that my new little “friend” is guarding. Time will tell.

A Lunar Eclipse, a Full Moon, and Yoga

 

Summer is almost here and I need to make good on my promise to get back to yoga. After an extremely long and busy week, I decided that tonight was the night. Little did I know that we are also having a minor lunar eclipse tonight as well as a full moon.

After an hour and a half of yoga, I am relaxed and joyful.

Simple Border Blocks

 

These blocks for my Asian snail’s trail quilt are being very cooperative. I cut lots of different 6 X 6” squares of Asian fabrics, then I cut them diagonally twice. I mixed the resulting triangles somewhat randomly, but always included one triangle of the neutral butterfly print in all but the 4 corner blocks. Once sewn together, I trimmed each square to 4 X 4”. I have completed 33 blocks so far and just have 11 more to go. Yay!!!

 

Amazing Online Fabric Vendor: Quilter’s Round-Up

 

This afternoon when I returned home from work, a lovely packet of fabric was waiting for me in my mailbox. It was from Quilter’s Round-Up—Artisan’s Village, which is located in Heppner, Oregon. I have been doing business with them for a number of years, and they have always been a pleasure to work with. They have a good selection of quality fabrics. Their prices are very fair, and they have some good sales. Shipping for my order was only $6.50. There were no additional handling fees. I placed my order on a Wednesday evening and received it in California on Monday afternoon. That’s good service!

These are the beautiful Asian fabrics I received. The prices ranged from $5.67 to $7.14 per yard.

I was thrilled with the quality. An additional perk is that Quilter’s Round-Up offers the option of purchasing a fat quarter. A nice touch when you just need a small amount or you are not really sure about a certain fabric.

Here is another view.

This was a really wonderful surprise! Nels had tucked in a complimentary fat quarter. Just look at that batik! Wow!

If you get a chance, be sure and check out Quilter’s Round-Up here:

http://www.quiltersroundup.com/

Sleepy Zee and Busy Me

 

Zee thought that today was as good as any to take a very long nap.

I am busy making little border blocks for my snail’s trail quilt. The blocks aren’t in any particular order at this point, just pinned to the design board to give me an idea of the count.

Twenty-Five Snails

 

Well, the blocks are all finished. I really enjoyed this pattern and know that I will do this again at some point in time.

Another view.

This shows all 25 blocks pinned to my design board. I am pretty sure this is the color arrangement that I will keep. I am not sure what to do about a border at this point. Several ideas are running through my head.

Twenty-Two Down and Three to Go!

 

Almost done!

Another view.

A close-up of the background fabric. Aren’t the tiny butterflies and ladybugs sweet?

Seventeen Snails’ Trails and Counting

Well, my original plan was to make 16 blocks and call it good. Although the tiny butterflies and ladybugs in the background neutral print are gold, red, and black, I did not want to strictly follow that color scheme and end up with a “Holiday Snails” quilt. That being said, I threw in a few other colors. I am enjoying the variety and sparkle and have decided to go up to 25 block. That will allow me room to play with informally balancing the various hues. The photos do not do the fabrics justice, especially the golds and deep reds, which  appear to be brown.

Shades of Green

 

Green Early Girl Tomatoes

Hydrangea buds.

Asparagus seed pods.

Sunflower buds.

Cilantro flowers.

Celery plant gone to seed.

Two More Snails

The gold snail that is center and left was not being cooperative, so I only got that one and the brighter red block finished this evening. Ten more to go. I only have until the end of this month to finish all of the tops that I hope to quilt this summer. I absolutely love piecing. The actual quilting process—not as much.