Snow Days Quilt Top is FINISHED!!!

Yup.  That's right!  I am done!  Finished!  

I am so pleased - with it AND with myself - I can barely stand it! This quilt top has taken a very long time to complete.  I started it in March of 2011...5 1/2 years ago.  And, now that I am this far, I would love to have it custom quilted; therefore, I need to save some pennies (dollars!).

But, hey!  You don't want to hear all of that...you want to see it.  Right?

Okay,  here we go...

(be sure to click on the photos to get the BIG picture)

66 x 66 inches

  

bottom left

middle left

top left

top right

middle right

bottom right

So.  There you have it.  What do you think??


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

The Fruit Vendor...

Once upon a time, I was engaged to a man from Canada.  I wrote a bit about Dwayne here.  In the summer of 1973, my family drove to Calgary to meet his family.

While there, Mom bought a needlepoint canvas and the wool yarn needed to work it.  "Marchande de fruits"...roughly translated, "The Fruit Vendor".  I remember that she spent a LOT of money for it. She worked on that needlepoint on and off for several years.

Until she set it aside and didn't pick it up again.  Time went by. Years.  One day, she thought about it and dug it out of wherever it had been packed away.  Knowing that she was then unable to work it, she turned to me.  Would I please finish it for her?  Of course, I would.

But, I put it aside because I had other things keeping me busy.  

Fast forward to present time...time to get it done.  There is probably less than 5% to work...Mom put a lot of time into this piece.  

I am very much looking forward to finishing it for her.  

(be sure to click on the photos to better see the details)

Most of what is undone is on the upper right side and on the basket.

Some filling in of black on the basket is needed.

Upper right corner...are you able to see the areas of  the bare canvas?

A photo of a professional photo that was taken of Mom in December, 1997.

I will more than likely make this needlepoint into a pillow cover. I am not going to tell Mom that I am working on it, because I am sure that she has completely forgotten about it.  Her birthday is in about 5 weeks and I think this will make a lovely birthday gift for her.  Don't you? 




"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Feelin' Good...

So happy to be able to cross 2 quilts off my list of WIPs.  

First up is HST String...I started this in February at the urging of my friend, Brenis.  She was here for a visit and helped me get started.  (Thanks, Bren!!)  It was very easy to put together and I enjoyed working on it immensely.  It measures about (not quite) 60 x 72 inches.  Yellows and grays.  LOVE it!

Of course the backing is pieced!!!

And then we have this one.  I absolutely adore this one.  Anna Maria Horner Pretty Potent fabrics with a Kona Cotton Solid in Charcoal for the backing.  This one is vying for the title of "favorite quilt to keep on the ottoman to cover up with while watching tv".  Measures about 57 inches square. Simple patchwork.  

No pieced backing?!  Gotta change it up sometimes, hey?

I am still working on Snow Days.  I have just a little stitching left to do.  As in embroidery. Backstitch.  It's looking good and makes me super happy to be almost done!!  

Have a good Friday...almost the weekend!!


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Snow Days...Closer and Closer!

Still moving along on my Snow Days quilt.  I finished the center section last night!!! I did a happy dance...believe it!!   ~grin~

Here is the center section...

It measures 36 1/2 inches square and was made in 5 sections.   There are 46 elements to this center section...Squares, HSTs, Flying Geese, Churn Dash blocks, Cut the Corner blocks (33 pieces to each of these blocks), Martha Washington Star blocks (28 pieces to each of these blocks) and Pinwheels.  I am in the process of sewing the borders on, but had to stop because there was a bit more stitching (backstitching - as in embroidery/stitchery - that is) to do. A tree that was on the outside edge of the bottom border extends onto the inside edge of the right border.  You will see what I mean when I post the finished quilt top photo.  

I can see the finish line!!!




"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Snow Days - ALMOST DONE!!!

I put some time in and finished all of the blocks for the center of the Snow Days quilt!  I cannot quite believe that I am this close to finishing!  And, it didn't seem like as big of a job as it did any other time I thought about working on it.  I guess I just had to have my head in the right place, hey?  

Here are the rest of the blocks...

Cut the Corners block 12"

Cut the Corners 6" and 9" blocks

Martha Washington Star block 9" block

Martha Washington Star 12" block

Martha Washington Star 6" block

These blocks took a lot of time to make...and some patience. Each Cut the Corner block consists of 33 piece and each Martha Washington Star block consists of 28 pieces.  That is a lot of cutting and piecing!  They are lovely blocks, though, don't you think?   

These next few days are busy, so I am unsure of when I will get the center pieces (all 46 elements) put together.  It will, no doubt, take a lot of arranging and rearranging and I want to take my time with it.  

In the meantime, I did a lot of chain-piecing yesterday...

More on this next time.

Today is Friday...have a great weekend!

 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Snow Days...WHAT?

Hold onto your hats!  I am working on my Snow Days quilt.  Again...and for the final time.  Read all about the journey here, then here.  Before I moved, I had just the center blocks to piece.  But, you know how I am with random and colors...every single time I thought about working on it, I just could not handle all of that thinking.  ~grin~  Well, then the decision to move was made and you all know the rest.

So.  Here I am.  Trying to clear the decks, so to speak.  Getting old projects finished, quilts quilted (some of them, anyway), and the list checked off.

I pulled out Snow Days last week and took a peek at what I had left.  Yup, just need to piece those center blocks.  Not a job for the faint at heart.  At least that is what my feelings have been.  Somehow, though, things just sort of clicked into place.  46 elements to that center...some of them just simple squares, some HSTs, some blocks.  As of last night, I had 39 of those completed!  YAY!!!

Here they are...

15 squares, 8 HSTs, 2 pinwheels

2 churn dash blocks

5 more churn dash blocks

6 flying geese blocks

That's not bad, hey?  I am super excited!!!  The last 7 blocks are more complicated than any of these elements I've finished thus far. Goal is one per day.  Wish me luck!


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

One Year Ago...

1. Today is the one year anniversary of Tag's death.
2. Already.
3. 
   
4. It is so very difficult for me to believe
5. I have been without him for this long.
6. 
   
7. Yet, here I am.
8. Without him.  

I have had several dogs throughout my lifetime...and all of them have been special to me.  In their own way.  But, don't you know...that brown boy grabbed hold of a larger place in my heart than any other...and certainly more than I ever could have imagined.  

I do not often speak of TagEButt...reason being that it has been almost impossible to do so without crying.  Until just recently.  

I really thought that it would be easier to leave him behind. To have this new apartment in this new location be a place that he had never been.  Wow. My imagination just didn't leave that alone.  Not.  At. All. For many months after moving here, I saw him in every single spot that one would imagine him being. On the new chair ottomans (after shoving the numerous pillows out of his way, of course).  In the new corner behind my chair. Squeezed under the new dining table. Under the light table in the sewing room.  Those flashes of seeing him here only made me miss him more.

For a very long time after last September 7, I knew that I would never have another dog.  The pain was that sharp...the grief that deep.  Proven again..."grief is the price we pay for love".  (click here)

A sort of chronological progress....

*On the day Tag died, I could only write:

My laughter.

My heart.

My always.

*In December, I wrote:

I have said this before...upon the loss of another of my dogs..."Grief is the price we pay for love."  It remains true today.

I think it does not help one little bit that I am dogless...with no dog by my side.  Before, there was always another one there to help me get through the pain and the loss.

Would I give up the 13 years of being with Tag to not feel what I feel now...grief so great that it feels as if I am wrapped in it?  No. Absolutely not.  The time I had with Tag was priceless.  He was the best spur of the 'yes, I'll take him' moment ever.  Ever.  And, once I am able to tuck him deep within my heart...to always be there with me, I'll be able to smile instead of cry with thoughts of him.

As it is now...it is difficult to breathe.  With almost every thought I have of him, I am on the verge of crying. Not just 'tears in my eyes' crying, but sobbing that completely overwhelms me.  I miss him with every breath I take...

*In March, I wrote:

Tango was my calm.

Cruiser was my love.

Allegra was my joy.

Tag...well, Tag was my laughter.

And, my heart. 

Which continues to weep.

It is only recently that I have begun to think that I might have another dog.  To consider what breed would be acceptable. Of course, no pets are allowed here, so I would need to move.  But, the fact that I see that day coming has given me hope that my heart is healing.  That I am almost ready to tuck Tag deep within.  To open my heart again.  To be able to just breathe...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11