SOMETHING DIFFERENT!

I don't know about you but I am awfully tired of showing my current project so instead of 

Sweetly Surrendering to that path, I have decided to show you a quilt I finished a few years ago.

This quilt is from a Pearl Pereira pattern called Pearl's Garden. The border is my design-I wanted to add a lattice look to the garden-as well as the beehive.  The pattern had a lot of intricate applique work with thin curvy stems and leaves as well as some reverse applique.  I used batiks as these have a painterly look with a lot of color variation.  One difficult part was 4 blocks composed mainly of green. A lot of searching was necessary to find contrasting and complimentary greens.  Below are some detail shots.

This Garden quilt was fun to make with the challenging applique, the embroidery, and the lettering. The quilt measures about 40x50 inches.

A SMALL PEEK...

I spent the week on the borders of Sweet Surrender.   Lots of new leaves etc were made and right now the elements are just pinned together.  I will probably make some changes but hope to have all appliqued pieces sown this week.  So here is a peek to give you an idea of the direction this quilt is taking.

We had a hellacious storm last week.  It knocked down some limbs from the trees and I found this along with the other fallen limbs.

 The holes were made by woodpeckers.  The holes go in about 3 inches and then turn upwards.  I am going to make a birdfeeder out of this log by filling the holes with gooey birdfeed made of lard, seeds, raisins, cranberries etc.  This mixture gets stuffed into the holes for the birds which climb the sides of trees like woodpeckers and nuthatches.  The log is a bit fragile so maybe I will mount it on a 1x4 to stabilize it and provide a secure way to hang the log.

AND NOW.....

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN!

A 650 foot tunnel in Shenyang, China covered in living lavender to provide a lovely, harmonious, and delightfully fragrant escape from the everyday.

Happy quilting!

I am linking up with:

Slow Stitching Sunday, Bambi's Blog,Patchwork Times,  Em's Scrapbag, BOMS,

Esther's Wow, Let's Bee Social,Whoop Whoop, and Off the Wall Friday.           

IN WHICH WE ROUND THE FOURTH LAP TO FINISH THE BORDER ON SWEET SURRENDER!

All my quilts take a long time to make but this one was frustrating with so much work and time put into making the diamonds and triangles.  I love applique so that part has been a pleasure.

I have been rethinking the binding.  My current thinking is based on an idea from another quilt I made where the fabric in the applique was used in the border.  My plan would create the same multicolored striped effect as in the sample below:

  All three of the narrow borders are made from 1.5 inch squares.  This might be effective as binding.  It is not hard to make: sew long strips of 1.5 inch fabrics together until you have one large striped pieced and then cut 1.5 in the other direction if you see what I mean.

My eye continues to heal nicely and the pure color seen in my right eye is spectacular to behold.  Left eye gets a re-hab on April 12.  This is a nice time of the year to get new eyes are spring has arrived with all it's spring colors: new-born greens,  yellows of daffodils and forsythia, fuchsia of the redbud trees, pinks of the japonica, and other beautiful easter colors.

AND NOW .........

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN!

Since I do not have a lot to say for myself this week, I thought some fun images would be in order.  As we walk through parks or down streets, there are lots of benches to sit on, to rest and look around.  How much better the experience if the benches were like these:

To delight the eye and the imagination!

HAPPY QUILTING TO YOU UNTIL WE MET AGAIN!

I am linking up with:

Slow Stitching Sunday, Bambi's Blog,

Patchwork Times,  Em's Scrapbag,

Bom's Monday, Esther's Wow, Let's Bee Social,

IN WHICH THE THIRD BORDER OF SWEET SURRENDER IS COMPLETED!

ONE MORE TO GO!

Then I will work on leaves and some dots-I don't think too many are needed-just enough to make it interesting.  And then the quilting.  I choose this fabric for the backing:

The circles are 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter.  It is a fun fabric and will mix nicely with the quilt given the black and white background and modern look.  I searched high and low for a white with a black scroll look but could not find it in a wide backing.  I felt an unseamed piece of fabric would be best for this quilt.  Given this quilt's tendencies toward bias and waffles, I wanted as much stability as possible and a solid piece of fabric seemed to fit.

There is not a lot to say about this quilt that I haven't said before so I am going to move on to:

A NEW RIGHT EYE!

Cataract surgery is a modern miracle!  I was in and out in an hour so it was fast also!  My husband puts eye drops in my eye 4 times a day and that is the only inconvenience.  

The most interesting thing is the difference between my two eyes.  Through the left eye, I see a world colored with a yellow glow.  There is no pure white with this eye but only a pale creamy color to stand in for white.  Vision is rather like watching a sepia toned movie but with yellow tones instead of browns.

The right eye sees pure light!  This must be how children see the world.  It is very amusing to switch back and forth between the eyes to have  different colored worlds! Though the left eye will be re-lensed soon and I will lose the ability to have dual vision.

 MY DAUGHTER IN INDIA

I love this photo!  My daughter is the one holding the dog while riding on her friend's scooter.  Her main focus is writing and studying yoga but she also tutors ESL, helps other writers with translations, and teaches sutras.  She also does humanitarian work with impoverished children and, as seen in the above photo, helps dogs.  She and her friend find the dogs and then take them for neutering and inoculations to keep down populations and improve their lives.

She says one has to be on alert when walking with shopping bags.  There are monkeys hanging out on the streets who will leap on your shoulders and head, grab the sunglasses or scarf off your head and run off.  The monkeys then proceed to bargain, offering to trade your purloined possession for perhaps a banana from your shopping bag.  They are true to their word and will return your possession after this bit of blackmail.  

AND NOW........

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN

Wonderful additions to your stroll through town:

Before and After

That's all for this week.  Happy quilting to you until we met again!

I am linking up with:

Slow Stitching Sunday, Bambi's Blog,

Patchwork Times,  Em's Scrapbag,

Esther's Wow, Let's Bee Social,

IN WHICH WE KEEP PLUGGING AWAY
ON SWEET SURRENDER!

and
A TRIP TO INDIA!

Another border completed!  Both borders have been measured and sewn to their respective locations.  I don't sew the borders in place until the applique is finished as the tension of all those stitches reduce the length of the border.  The top and bottom strips have been laid down just to give you a sense of balance and direction.  The scrolly vines  on the top and bottom borders will twist and meet the vines of the side borders.  

I have used Kaffe Fassett fabric for the leaves and dots in the body of the quilt and plan to add some to the vines-not a lot but just enough to break up the greenness.  I have been looking at colorful stripes for the binding-I bought some of the green for that but now I think that is too much green.  I found this from Andover and am thinking of it as a possibility:

Each of the stripes are 1/2 to 3/4 inches wide and the fabric has the same bright colors.  if you imagine a narrow strip of this fabric  as an edge:

I like the colors and the fact that the bands are uneven-that is in keeping with the mood of the quilt as well as the black lines.  The green is the only problem.  Kaffe has some nice stripes but they are all in a limited color range.  Even the binding is an important design element!

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I have cataract surgery in my right eye on Wednesday.  I am slightly apprehensive but glad.  Everything is getting so dark.  It is as if all the lights are dimming.

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My blog has had visitors from two new countries:  Kazakhstan, and Columbia.  I am so happy you have stopped by to visit!  Flags have been added.  

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AND NOW....

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN!

A festival to appeal to all quiltmakers and designers: 

HOLI:  Festival of Colors

(photos from Atlantic Monthly-see more at https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/03/holi-2017-the-festival-of-colors)

Holi is a Hindu festival celebrating springtime and Krishna's "pranks". Pretty colored powders are blown on celebrants or mixed with water and sprayed.  Only India would do something as wonderful as having a festival for color!

My daughter lives in northwest India in Rishikesh which is located at the foothills of the father Himalayas and near the mouth of the mother Ganges.  She has lived abroad for about 8 years spending 4 in South Korea where she taught English and wrote stories for the children to help them learn English. She has lived in Rishikesh for about 4 years where she writes and studies yoga.  Here is a photo of her at Holi 2016.

Here are some photos of Rishikesh and a map so you can find its place in the world.

My daughter walks across this bridge everyday.

The river is the Ganges.

That is all for this week!  Happy quilting to you until we met again!

I am linking up with:

Slow Stitching Sunday, Bambi's Blog,

Patchwork Times,  Em's Scrapbag,

Esther's Wow, Let's Bee Social,

IN WHICH WE RECEIVE THE BEST GIVEAWAY EVER!

I received this wonderful package of fabrics from Robin at I Like to Create @ http://solsticestudio.blogspot.com.  I photographed the fabrics below Caswell because I wish I had some of these pretty fabrics when I made this quilt.  They would have been perfect.  The fabrics are all designed by Paula Barnes.  Isn't this the most generous giveaway ever!  I am very lucky to have won!

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On to more mundane topics........

I have been working on the borders for Sweet Surrender.  I have been working on the right hand side:

The border is basically completed.  All that is needed is some leaves from the brilliant Kaffe fabric and, I think, some colorful dots but no flowers.  Keep it simple.

 The vines as you can see are based on the stems on the body of the quilt.  The applique stitching is completed.  I think I will make the vines for all four sides before I add the leaves just so I can see where I am at that point.

I origninally used my 1/4 bias maker and make yards of stems while I was waiting to buy the background I needed.  However, I molded and basted some of these bias stems and realized they were quite a bit different from those of the body of the quilt.  The 1/4 inch bias formed stems which were much more sturdy, architectural, and, substantial.  See what you think-match it against the thin stems in the quilt body.

Those on the right are the 1/4 " stems.  I much prefer the thinner ones which match the flowing, curvaceous, and more delicate look of the stems on the quilt body.  Here is my process for making the thin stems.  All my tools are there except for the clover mini iron.

I use freezer paper to trace my shape, then iron the shape to my cloth, clipping the edges of the cloth. I paint the cloth with starch as I go, then iron the edges of the cloth over the paper shape.  I have some fray-block handy for tightly curved areas which have lots of clipping. You can see by the two finished pieces the nice, clean results of this process.  I made several of the little silver ironing pads to use to keep the ironing board clean.  I can just throw these in the washer.  I use the Elmer's glue to glue baste the finished pieces on the applique.  To prevent glue from getting all over things, i lay the applique piece on a small piece of plexiglass and apply the glue there.  I cut lots of these squares from an odd piece of plexiglass I had around and just rinse the glue off after working. 

I like to use Elmer's because it glues the applique piece down sturdily but it is also easy to move and rearrange the piece.  When I have everything in place, I do big stitch basting with white thread .  I have found this method works well for me.  Everything stays put nicely and there are no pins to tangle me up.

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Two friends watching the sunrise together.  

This is Rommy the yellow Lab and Yoshi the orange cat.  My husband caught this perfect image in the early morning  with the  Lieca camera in his cell phone. These two are good friends.  The cat generously  allows for the dog's more limited mental capacity (his words, not mine!)  

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AND NOW....

YOUR MOMENT OF ZEN

There is so much beauty in the natural world.  An here is a sample for you to enjoy.  These are Mandarin fish which live in the Pacific Ocean and love the reefs around Australia.  They are part of the Dragonet fish family-they look like they could be part of a mysterious dragon family:

Lucky Australia!

OK...that's all for this week-happy quilting until we met again!

I am linking up with:

Slow Stitching Sunday, Bambi's Blog,

Patchwork Times,  Em's Scrapbag,

Esther's Wow, Let's Bee Social,

Whoop Whoop, and Off the Wall Friday.