Snowball and Ninepatch

Here's a quilt I finished before I started my blog.

I used two traditional blocks, the snowball block and the ninepatch block.

I like the way that when these two different blocks are arranged together, interesting secondary patterns appear.

The blocks in this quilt are relatively small - only 6".

When I made this I was interested in shades of red, in particular how red and pink could work together. I tried to use a wide range of reds, including some warm pinks. Looking at it now, I think I could have put some darker reds in.

The navy is all the same fabric.

Flowers in January

Snow showers have been forecast for today, but as yet there is no snow here, just greyness.
There are a few flowers blooming in my garden though, and I managed to scrape these together. Not bad for January.
This lovely old glass with a green stem is just over 4 inches high. It came from my husband's childhood home. The flowered pottery dish you can see the edge of was a fleamarket find.
A cheery sight on a dull day.

Hearts on a String

For my daughter's birthday last weekend, I wanted to make some sort of heart-shaped "bunting", just for fun, and I decided on a mini-version.
I started off with the fabrics above.

Can you tell she likes pink?

This is what I finished up with. The hearts are about 2 inches high. I think it would be nice in other colour combinations as well - red and white comes to mind. Maybe on this scale it could also work with other shapes.
It was to go across two windows, and I made about 3 yards of it!

A string of hearts for the birthday girl.

Work In Progress

This is a long-term project I am working on, a quilt from Simple Traditions by Kim Diehl. It consists of patchwork squares with a wide appliqued border. The border of mine is blue, as in the original, but my colours are a lot softer and chalkier. I think it has an almost "milk paint" look. I have done all the piecing and have nearly finished the applique on 3 sides of the border. I decided to hand applique the design as it is too big and bulky to easily control under the machine.

Everyone has their preferred method of hand applique, and I use a freezer paper method. It's time consuming, but it works for me, and the results are worth it. It's calming work to do, and looks lovely when it's done.

Well, it's my daughter's birthday tomorrow, and I've got some baking to do!

In With the New

Hooray, the Christmas tree has finally come down and the decorations have been packed away for next year. Everything is reasonably clean and tidy and I can now move forward.
I went to Borders the other day and bought the new issue of American Country Living magazine. As usual there are beautiful photos:

Just look at those colours.

And there is a section about tea-dyeing fabric and also some interesting recipes.

Another "happy" picture.

Cute as a Button

I recently acquired these old buttons on cards.
I have been saving and collecting buttons most of my life. I have now got several jars and tins of them, and they include some of my grandmother's old coat buttons from the 50's and 60's. In recent months I have bought vintage buttons for not much money on Ebay.
The graphics on old button cards are so evocative of an earlier time. A simpler time?
I especially like the ones on the right. What a fantastic shade of green! They will be displayed for inspiration in my sewing room.


More button loveliness.