Spring - just remembering.....

While Spring is only beginning to make an appearance here in Alberta- our dining room table has had a few bundles of spring flowers...We have enjoyed tulips, daffodils and iris over the last few weeks.
Somehow I have not been very productive in a quilty way.. Its not that I haven't been looking at fabric. I recently received an order from Hancocks as I did not have any grey or cream batiks in the stash.  I have a specific project in mind that required that I  using those colors..I am trying to order less from the US ( rising postal rates combined with a huge stash that is waiting to be used LOL) However Hancocks had a deal on shipping and they do have good prices in their clearance section of batiks, so I succumbed to the sale and ended up with some lovely neutrals as well as more kids fabrics for baby wraps.. I am very happy with the fabrics that arrived- now if I could only get on with the projects..
Recently my school participated in a district fundraiser for kids so I made some jewelery and coordinating scarves to be used in a silent auction.   
They raised a little money for kids and I got to play with some beads and yarn - a winning combination - don't you think?
 I have been reading a book about the importance of Play by Dr. Stuart Brown. One of the most striking points that come from the book is the importance of continuing to play all of our lives. Sometimes  I find it quite a challenge  to balance work and play- even though I know I feel better when I play- I admire those of you who can carve out play time on a daily basis... even if it is only a half hour a day. I am just not very organized about playing versus working, and I get distracted by things I find on the computer- email, pinterest and facebook not to mention my favorite blogs...
I recognize that reading blogs and checking out things on the computer is  a different form of playing - but then I don't quilt or knit or bead...It is quite the conundrum... How to do you balance your time?  Do you set a timer and say that is all the time you can use to do one thing or another? Perhaps you have another way to fit in time to create and play?
  
This evening I started out trimming these blocks- it is a bit tedious and so I have squared some of the blocks (if I put my head down and just trimmed it would go a lot faster).
 Over the past week I have cut bias binding for the 10 baby wraps that I want to get made over the next few weeks. I plan to get the wraps spray basted soon so that I can get some baby wraps quilted up..
However none of these steps, which are valuable parts of the quilt processes, make for a very interesting blog writing.
Recently we have had some family events - our grand niece, Miss A turned two. Here she is with her beloved flopsy earred bunny.

We also remembered the birthday of my husband's brother, David by having a lovely brunch at a local hotel. He would have turned 60 at the beginning of April. David left us far too early - He died suddenly in a car accident in 1975- a  young man not quite 22.

 

I pulled out this coat that hangs in a closet in our house- a treasured piece of clothing that belonged to Dave. It holds a host of memories for my spouse. Dave was a talented pianist who had eclectic taste in music. Here is a collection of some of his favorite bands from the early 70's ( the Band, Genesis, Led Zeppelin and Chopin's Piano Concerto) David took my husband to his first concert- Procol Harem playing with ESO ( Edmonton Symphony Orchestra). Inside the vinyl record cover is a ticket stub and program from that concert - more treasured memories. David was a gifted mathematican and a writer. He worked for Canadian University Press at the time of his passing.

 I did not know Dave except for my husband's stories and memories. When I created this quilt for Bruce's parents, it was important to meto include David in the family wall hanging.

 You can see David's photo in the top in the middle. This quilt recently returned to our home after Bruce's mother passed away last fall. For a long time it had hung over Bruce's mother's bed. Mars is laying on our family picture. Do you think she recognizes her family?

April is a month of birthdays-both of my parent's celebrated their birthdays recently so I will leave you with the spinning flower quilts from earlier in my quilting journey.

This quilt belongs to my father. It is called Dad's garden and is made of rich batiks. The exact pattern name escapes me at present, but is a template quilt.

 I created 4 quilts of this pattern - two that had vivid bright batik flowers( the batik quilts were quite similar) but the other two were more subtle and different from one another. It is so interesting to see how different a quilt can look when one uses different fabric combinations.

Quite the contrast isn't it? This one was very soft looking with a mint background and pale sashing between the blocks.

And the final variation with no sashing between the blocks and a beautiful print backing and border- The spinning flowers were all different fat quarter prints.

Life does seem to get full and maintaining my blog is sometimes a challenge. Thanks for joining me for a bit of reminiscing and helping me honor David's memory. 

My quilts contain my stories and my life's journey - yours do too.. I believe that the stories behind the quilts are often as interesting as the beautiful works created from the fabrics.

 One day soon I will have some new pieces to show you I hope.

In the meantime, I hope to find my followers list - it appears to have disappeared from my sidebar. I am still not sure if I need to change something so that I continue to have a list of my valued followers. I know that some of the google reader is disappearing soon . Some of the technical parts of blogging remain a mystery to me. The more I read the more confused I get... LOL

Wishing you lots of time to play so that you can feed your creative spirit.

 

Warmest regards,

 Anna

 

Spring brings some new projects..

On this Easter afternoon, the sun is shining outside, and these purple carnations brighten our table. I have been busy with some projects this weekend- making my rotary cutter work extra hard, or at least hard enough, that it will soon be time to replace the blade in it. My new square(16.5 X 16.5 inches) was perfect for squaring my blocks for the lattice quilt. I was lucky enough to find the ruler on sale half price this weekend at Fabricland. The square was perfect,and made the trimming quite easy. The blocks are ready to be joined together into a top. I still have to find the right fabrics for the borders but I have a few choices now.

This pile of fabric and batting will soon be 4 more baby wraps. Mars, our cat, loves to shred the batting if she can, so I have to make sure that it is well hidden from her, or I have chunks torn out of the batting. This time it was more challenging to make the baby wraps as I had to piece some of the batting and the minkee and minkee like material, in order to make the wraps. I used pieces of leftover batting from larger quilts for inside the baby wraps.

I have a couple of colleagues and friends that are expecting babies soon. It is easier to just cut a bunch of the baby wraps out all at once. I will spray baste them and then quilt them on my smaller Elna's Quilter's Dream machine.

I have cut the matching binding as well, so that I have everything all ready to go- I will sew the bindings together and press them, so that I will be able to apply them, when they are quilted . I am a little concerned that there will not be enough strips of the truck binding to bind it - I only bought a yard of it, and the top of the wrap takes almost the whole yard. Sometimes when I order fabrics from the States, I only order a yard, forgetting that it is slightly less than a meter(39 inches). That three inches of fabric can really make a difference sometimes!

I have returned to another past time recently- knitting. I love these new frilly scarves and found out how to make them. Its all in the yarn. This is the second one that I have made in the last couple of weeks. I am not sure how well I like the turquoise/blue one. It is very flouncy- Like fabrics, there are a number of different kinds of yarn but lots of the brands are not easy to find locally. You can find some of these yarns on Mary Maxim or Herrschener's needlework websites. I did find some variety at a local yarn shop called River City Yarns. There were many different kinds of beautiful yarns, there to touch and see. If you need a place to be inspired by color and texture, go and visit a yarn, fabric or bead shop. You are sure to leave such places inspired!

In some ways this newest return to knitting is my mother's fault. She had given a beautiful orangy red one scarf for Christmas. I knew that my mom wanted to have a black and white one, so I went in search of the black and white color combination.There is a sparkly thread that runs through this black and white yarn. The yarn has a stiffness about it that makes it hang nicely. I love the black/white one on my mom. My mom will soon celebrate her birthday so this was an early birthday present for her. I hope that you have a terrific birthday Mom!

Don't you think that this yarn is kind of strange looking stuff? It is like a lacy ribbon that you knit into the top holey areas. I didn't have too much trouble knitting with it, once I figured out where I was supposed to knit. There are some excellent you tube sites if you want to make one yourself. Google frill seekers or sashay yarn. You can knit or crochet with it. You only need one 1 or 2 balls to make a scarf. Here is the next one that I am going to knit. I love the color purple, so I had to make at least one purple scarf. I am going to make it while Bruce and I watch our favorite TV shows. We have been watching The Good Wife for a while now as well as Game of Thrones and Mad Men. Sunday night is TV night in our house!

We were at my folks not long ago and I snapped this photo of my parents with their beloved dog Tammy. Like all dogs, she is a big fan of my father. He has a great way with animals- I have never met a dog who was not crazy about him. It is my father's birthday today. My sister will be having them for family dinner- Life has been quite hectic around here this past few weeks, so we decided not to go south this weekend. Happy Birthday Dad ! I hope you have had a fabulous day.

This is one that I gave to my dad a few years ago now. It is a quilt made with a template but quite an easy quilt to put together. The fabrics are all batiks and I love the way the flowers look like they are spinning. I am not sure what is the name of the pattern. My parents have a number of my quilts now - each one made with love.

For his last birthday, I made my dad this nature scene quilt.It is a quilt that I designed by looking at other quilt patterns that used panels in them. I found a great background fabric that helped to join the animal panels together. I know that it is a well loved quilt in my parent's home!

For the first time in many years, we did not have many Easter treats floating around the house. We hope that you and yours have spent an enjoyable day doing the things that celebrate the arrival of spring. Last week's spring Alberta snow storm has been melting away quickly. Soon I will can look forward to seeing the daffodils and tulips show their faces. Spring flowers are among my favorites, as they signal the rebirth of life.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Spring Season, Warmest regards, Anna