Saturday, June 30, 2018

June Mini & Wedding Quilts

Talk about squeaking under the wire! This post is being written less than an hour before June expires.
This little quilt came together this past week in stolen moments, between continued physical therapy and some serious senior parent care.
This is an adaptation of a Kim Diehl pattern that was kindly sent to me by Eileen. It is called "Old Glory". The original pattern has more rounds to it--and then there is the fact that I made the blocks smaller. Mine finishes at 6 1/2" x 7 1/2". It was donated to our family reunion auction.

Though the pattern didn't call for it, I drew up foundations for the stripes on the flag--just seemed like it would be easier to get it right that way.
The HSTs in this little quilt were from bags of scraps given to me by Karen Beigh, and my retreat buddy, Kim.

While I was playing in the scraps, I pulled out a few handfuls of triangles and sorted out the ones made of homespun. 
This is the current state of it. I plan to add two more rows. The HSTs will finish at 1".

The newlyweds paid us a visit and received a couple of their wedding gifts. My youngest son is the quilt holder. ETA: These two quilts were made years ago. The first one was a BOM being taught in our community over 10 years ago. My son saw it and said he really liked it. I told him then that it would be his wedding quilt.
The second one is commemorative of the mission he served in Argentina over a decade ago. Each block has specific meaning. Though I finished it long ago, I told him I would give it to him when he had a wife that would take care of it. :)


 
 This one was hand quilted. Took me forever.

I am falling asleep over the keyboard, so I guess I am done here. When Mom's needs taper off a bit, I hope to keep up with blogs better, and sew a little more--then there will be things to share. :)

Happy Canada Day to those of you up North, and Happy Fourth very soon to my U.S. friends!
Until next time,
Janet O.

Friday, June 15, 2018

Where to start?

So much has happened since I last posted, and I don't want to bore you--but I also want to share. Hang on, here goes.
Wedding day was wonderful and fun! We haven't got the professional photos yet, so here are a few amateur shots. Photos taken on the grounds of the Logan LDS Temple.
LOTS of bridesmaids and groomsmen
The happy couple
 
                                   
Hubby (eyes closed) and I with the groom
Our four children--all great adults now

                                                                                                     
 SIL is on the far right
The day after the wedding our oldest daughter's hubby drove home to Oregon to get back to work, and we had her and their daughter with us for a few more days. Then we drove them back to Oregon and spent the weekend with them. We attended the Eugene Saturday Market to hear our SIL play in a band with his brother.

Loved shopping at the market. There is such a variety of vendors. I picked up some hand crafted soap (I enjoy trying other people's soap, if it has no artificial colors or scents), a couple of gluten free treats, DH bought me a bouquet of fresh flowers, and I found this cool phone sleigh.
   I know I have said it over and over, but I love functional things that are aesthetically pleasing. And if it is made out of wood, wicker, or wire--so much the better!
For some time now I have had a plastic clip on my counter where I stand my phone to talk while I keep my hands busy with other things. This will do the job and look so much nicer in the process.

Three quilt shops were squeezed in during our whirlwind trip--one in Idaho, and two in Oregon. Between The Gathering Place in Rupert, ID, Stitchin' Post in Sisters, OR, and Something to Crow About in Springfield, OR, I came home with this stack of goodies.
When I enter a quilt shop I try to have in mind things that I could use in my stash, so I don't totally lose control. This trip I was focused on shirtings, cheddars, and purples. Where is all the purple, I want to know?!? Certainly not in the shops I visited.

The day we left for Oregon, we picked up our mail as we left the driveway, and there was this sweet bundle of Cheddar & Indigo scraps from Grace (citymousequilter blog). Can't wait to play in them.
She also included a great pattern from a magazine of a mini quilt, designed by Ann Hermes. You can bet this will be in the queue of little quilts to make. Thank you again, Grace!!

On our trip back to Utah, we hit a couple of favorite spots--first was Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Store, where I stocked up on gluten free baking supplies, and we had lunch on their patio.

Poorly aimed selfie--falls in background
It has been so long since we stopped at Multnomah Falls. We brought our kids here when they were young, and we loved the trail up to the bridge. Due to the past fires, that trail is closed, and you could only observe from the lower deck. Still beautiful.

Oh, right--this is a quilt blog, and thus far there has been very little quilty content. Well, on the drive home I actually completed one more hexie flower for my Stars In The Garden quilt. A few blog friends that know my aversion to making hexies are probably picking themselves up off the floor about now. Don't like stitching them, but love the look! So I plod along on this at a snail's pace.
Still a LONG way to go. I seem to only work on it on long car trips, and we don't travel that often. Also, I have no idea how, or if, I will quilt this, but if I never finish it I won't have to worry about it. :)

Remember the drawing? I am sorry I did not get back to everyone that commented, but since this issue with comments not coming through as emails, I did not have time to mess with it. If blogger doesn't fix this soon, it will be hard to get excited about posting. The commenting back and forth is what makes this such a fun process. 

Anyway, I drew a name from the 101 comments, and Kyle (Timeless Reflections blog) is the winner of my anniversary giveaway. 

There were enough comments this time, that I felt compelled to offer a second gift. In one of the quilt shops I visited along the way I found this pattern for a sweet doll quilt. It finishes at 16"x21". So I came home and pulled a bundle of CW scraps from my scrap basket to go with it, and will also include some of my soap (of course). This will go to Ann in PA.

Kyle and Ann, please get your addresses to me, and I will send out your winnings. Congrats!

Next time I hope to have more of a quilty nature to share. But two of my current projects cannot be shown as yet. I am, however, near completion of the blocks for my half log cabin quilt, and I have a little patriotic quilt to get made for the upcoming family reunion auction, so I will try very hard to  have something of interest by the time I post again.

Until next time, 
Janet O.

Couldn't resist parting shots of my grandchildren (and their parents) all spruced up on wedding day.