Food and Inspiration

I have to say that being able to purchase wholesome food in the open air has got to be in the top 10 list of great things to do (at least for a Tuesday morning).  Here is a photo of our loot for the day.  Sweet strawberries (organic and fairly local IN OCTOBER), perfect pears and peaches, gourmet ravioli and Italian cookies, olive hummus, tzatziki and taboulie, fresh bavarian breads, sweet potatoes, and freshly roasted peanuts!!!    

 

Oh, the pomegranates, aside from eating, are for dying some scarves and hankies.  I was inspired by so many great things from livenlearnnow’s blog, especially from her entry called Ink Berry Hankies.  The kids and I have been trying to think of things that we can use as natural dyes for the scarves.  This year is all about giving gifts made from our hands (in some fashion) so I thought this would be a great way for the kids to get involved in the process.  Too bad those poke weeds don’t grown in our dry climate.  I wonder if I could squish a cactus!!  Just kidding.

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Painting Fabric

Both Stephanie and I were incredibly inspired by the work of Gloria Loughman and her use of hand-painted fabric and thread painting.  A tutorial of her work can be found in her book Luminous Landscapes as well as on a three-part series on YouTube (of all places).  We poured over the book and watched the videos a number of times and then decided to have a go at it.  

The wonderful thing is that creativity begets more creativity and we are looking forward to trying more techniques.  These two images are of the results of using fabric paint on muslin and then epsom salts sprinkled over the fabric.   

I have since added acrylic paints to our supplies and we’ll attempt using those in our next endeavor.

k

Little Windows

 I just have to put in a plug for these great little treasures.  I discovered Little Windows at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach.  These were my first attempts at making them and I have to say that I am thrilled.  The recipients (family from Italy) were also excited to receive such personal and lovely gifts. 

They are made by an easy process of mixing liquid resin and a hardener and poured into molds.  Insert your favorite photos, pop a few tiny bubbles, wait 12 hours and voila!  Fantastic!!!

  

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Quick as a Shooting Star quilt

We recently had visitors from Italy who saw some of my work in progress quilts.  I’ve always been under the impression that quilts, in our American tradition, were not very popular in Italy.  So, when my mom’s cousins expressed such admiration for the craft I was motivated to whip up a quilt to send back to Italy for their newest grandson.  It doesn’t get much easier than sewing a bunch of strips together and cutting out blocks from the strips and a coordinating fabric.  The stars went on super easy thanks to Stephanie’s discovery of how to use Charlotte’s Web fusible thread.  She’ll be posting a tutorial soon. 

I am happy to report that this is the first quilt that I was able to put on a mitered border and the binding with ZERO problems.  Progress……  You’d think that after nearly 10 years of quilting I would have figured it out long before this one!  However, you’d also think that if I was going to boast success I would at least post a photograph of one of the other corners that doesn’t seemed to be twisted.  FYI, it pressed out fine!  

 

 

Sorry this last picture is so huge!  I tried to upload a couple of times as other sizes but it insisted on staying at this current one!  

The fabric I used is from a collection called Little Blessings by Andover Fabrics.  I used King Tut thread by Superior and it was WONDERFUL!  I don’t think I’ve used a thread to quilt with that I’ve been more happy with.  It was smooth and substantial and gave me no problems at all.  

As the name implies, the quilt was pieced, appliqued, quilted, and finished within a few days.  I’d bet it could be done in virtually a day if the kids didn’t need to eat!!   

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Ribbit

I needed a little handmade something to give to the big brother of the baby quilt I made.  The pattern for this cute little batik frog was purchased a quilt show a while back but I can’t find the author of the pattern (will post when I locate the package).  I don’t know why I was so intimidated to make this stuffed guy because it was remarkably easy.   

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Archery

We picked raspberries at a place called Riley’s Farm.  I can’t express how blessed I feel to live within driving distance of such a place.  In addition to having excellent U-Pick fruits, veggies, and flowers, they also offer a slice of life as it was during our nations young history.  Tours are offered that take the visitor back to a time where much of the conveniences of our modern age were all crafted by hand and out of necessity.  They offer revolutionary and civil war reenactments, period dinner and dancing, and of course the best apple pie you’ve ever had.  

The boys tried their hand at archery with a skilled and delightful tour guide named Logan who never once faltered in his period Irish accent.  Wonderful!  The girls, meanwhile, took advantage of a picnic table situated under a lovely shade tree and next to a little running brook where the smallest girl spent most of her time!  Ah, to be little and carefree.

 

 

 

s & k

Dueling Cameras

This is what happens when you get two women who don’t want their picture taken but happen to have cameras in hand and are sitting across from one another.  It was one of those “you had to be there” moments because it was hysterical.  Note…no weren’t at some fussy croquet event.  These were taken after picking the berries.  Hence the hats.

 

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Raspberries!

It’s raspberry picking time!
We headed up the mountain on a pretty warm day to pick some raspberries. There were ripe berries everywhere you looked and the smell was wonderful.
 

 It was easy work, but we wanted a lot of berries- over 2 and a half gallons- because we had jam in mind. Kathryn makes a very tasty jam, so we needed to fill up many containers.

 

Plus, a few berries seem to slip in your mouth now and then.
 
Mmmm, I’m already planning breakfast- warm toast and …..
you guessed it… raspberry jam.

Finally Fishished

I think I started this quilt a while back (probably around the end of last year or beginning of this year).  It, like many others, took a back seat once in a while as I discovered newer projects to become obsessed over.  However, I can finally say it’s finished. Well, almost.   I haven’t put the label on yet but it, too is complete.  This quilt design was super easy (as evidenced by the pattern) but the new thing for me was making the tiny piping that went between the inner border and the main body of the quilt.  I think Steph and I saw this use of piping at the Road to California quilt show back in January but I can’t remember what we specifically saw.  

This is a gift for a sweet baby girl whose mommy has a great sense of style in her interior design business.  I wanted to make something with a more modern flair instead of a traditional baby quilt.  Hopefully, this accomplished it.  Off it goes…

 

k

Drewskie….Meet Robie

The little man has been laying on the sofa under the weather so I thought I’d find a way to cheer him up a bit.  It’s the 4th of July and I know he’s disappointed that we won’t be doing anything since he’s not well.  What shall I make to bring a smile to his face?  I bought this wonderful pattern from Wee Wonderfuls called Space Boy and Robot but I didn’t have the pattern with me so I used the image from her site as an inspiration and voila….

Drewskie, meet Robie:

      

Now I didn’t have the templates for the robot pattern so this is very free-hand.  It did the trick though.  Robie and Drewskie have been inseparable for the last two days!  I can’t wait to get to where my patterns are kept to make a “real” one!  If you haven’t been to Wee Wonderfuls, scoot on over. Her work is sure to inspire!

k