Mini Tumblers

I wasn't sure if this little quilt would be finished in time for Wendy's (The Constant Quilter) mini challenge, but the last binding stitches were finally put in earlier this evening - yay!  The weekend promises to be rainy and busy with family birthday parties, etc., so indoor photos under the lights will have to do.

A close-up of a few of the luscious fabrics.  All the tumblers and I believe the outer border (my favorite) were gifted from my blogging friend Janet at Rogue Quilter a couple years back - thanks again Janet!!  I tried some wonky big stitch hand quilting of the tumblers, and the borders were just ditch quilted on the Janome.  It was while ditching the narrow light purple that I discovered one of the pieces had been mis-cut, and is wider at one end than the other.  At that point I wasn't about to take it apart and recut - a humble little quilt indeed!

The back, a piece of an older purple tiny floral print from my stash.

And, just because I really wanted to have some outdoor photos with a daffodil backdrop and these are the only available stand-ins!

Have a wonderful weekend, and happy stitching until next time.

An April Finish Ready for Fall

Somehow this quilt speaks to me of fall, maybe it's the caramel background of the outer borders, or more likely the deeper shades used in the baskets.  At any rate the last stitch in the binding happened around 9:00 a.m. this morning, quickly followed by a little camera session.  Warning - photo heavy post follows!

First a quick trip to the guest bed to check for any unsnipped thread ends, etc. and a rather uninspired first photo.

A few of my favorite baskets.

Sun is shining, wind is blowing, time for some outdoor photos. Ahh, the green-green grass of spring!

The quilt is from a pattern in Fons and Porter's Fat Quarter Friendly book.  Theirs was called French Country Strippy.

I ditch quilted the vertical seams and perimeter of the basket blocks on the Janome, and then hand quilted the remainder with Gutermann thread.  After washing it measures 96 x 78-1/2 inches.

The back, nothing fancy, just slabs of leftover fabric.

Completing this quilt was my One Monthly Goal for April, and I'm happily linking this finish with Patty at Elm Street Quilts as well as Wendy's Peacock Party.

In the photo that follows you can see a red bird feeder on the post in the background.  Until last week there was a suet finder attached to said post.  One evening between dusk and 11 p.m. we had an unseen large black visitor who pulled the post nearly all the way to the ground, took the split rail fence behind it apart, and then made off into the woods with the suet feeder.  This was after completely destroying another feeder in the front yard.

We're thinking it was a return visit from this culprit who also loves niger seed feeders set out for our summer goldfinch residents.

Marrakesh - An April Quilt Finish!

I put the final hand stitch in the binding of Marrakesh this morning, and wasted no time getting a few photos while we had dry, partly sunny, and very windy weather.  Warning, photo-heavy  post follows!

Marrakesh is destined for the annual benefit auction for the church camp, held over Labor Day weekend.  After washing it measures 72x70 inches.

These photos were taken before washing out all the stencil markings, so some might still be visible to eagle eyes.  A bit closer look at the stencils used for the central portion.

The back.

Though I used stencils for most of the quilt, the outer border was quilted with freehand feathers, three on each curve.  Barely visible on the front, you might be able to see the quilting on the back a little better.

Moving outside, we were experiencing strong wind gusts all day, though the temperature rose to the low 70s!! Since it wasn't snowing or raining, some outside photos seemed like a good idea even though the yard was a tad muddy and more than a little drab.

Second attempt at keeping it over the rail until I could snap a picture.

Ha! Caught mid-fall.  Couldn't resist posting this one!

My favorite tree in the back yard.

We (the quilt and I) wandered back by the creek.  A lull in the wind made it fairly safe to shoot a couple quick photos on the rocks left by the winter floods/ice jams.  Every spring it's like a new shoreline along the creek, with plenty of new fossil rocks for the finding.  We have yet to find an arrowhead or any evidence of earlier Native American occupation here, though it seems like it would have been a great hunting area with all the wildlife, especially deer, that we see on a frequent basis.

And some miscellaneous photos of every blooming thing I could find while hiking the fields.

Snowdrops at creek's edge, no doubt replanted during a flood some years back.  Thinking of moving them closer to the house when they finish blooming.  This spot was covered with remnants of last winter's ice jam just a couple weeks back.

The beavers aren't far away.

Looking across the creek, more beaver damage to three adjacent trees, this one being the worst.  Between beaver damage and that mountain spring/stream cutting into the soil at it's base, we will no doubt lose it in the next year or so.  Nature rules!

After a soaking rain this afternoon, we're hoping for another partly sunny day in the mid-60s tomorrow.  I for one sure hope the snow has left for the season! 

Linking with Wendy's Peacock Party. 

Turning the Corner

Turning the corner - on winter?  Maybe, we awoke to "only" half an inch of new snow today.  Must be April!

Turning another corner today, as I begin the hand quilting on the final border of the basket quilt that has been in the works for at least four years now.

It has been a really positive incentive to post a goal each month since I began linking with Elm Street Quilt's One Monthly Goal for about six months.  This month, my hope is to finish the remaining hand quilting on the basket quilt.  A fabulous bonus would be to have the binding completed too.  Here's hoping!