It's still not finished...the Journey Continues...

When I posted last I was still struggling with how to put together the body of animal panel quilt for my father's 80th Birthday.. Well its not finished and dad's birthday came and went last week ( more about that shortly) but here we are having a look at the quilt in its current state...( The miniature Collie is my parent's pride and joy- her name is Tammy and she is a lovely dog.)I could have chosen different animal panels for my dad- horses and dogs would have been equally appropriate as the ones that I chose.

My dad is a real outdoors man. He has been a hunter and fisherman all of his life. I can remember him teaching me about the names of some of the birds like pheasants, and ptarmigan. I did not find either of those birds in panels, but there are some beautiful eagles on it. Each fall he and some friends would go hunting for wild game and we ate deer, elk and moose in the winter time that they brought home to fill the freezer. Summer time was spent camping in the west country in tents. The Alberta Rockies are absolutely stunning. The vistas glorious and the lakes a gorgeous green. I was pleased to find that mountain background for his quilt.
When I think of camping in the mountains, I think of clear cold water, the occasional surprise snow storm and my dad bringing home some trout to cook.
There is nothing better than fresh brook trout cooked in butter in a cast iron frying pan over a fire.. Yummy it makes my mouth water just thinking about it...



My father was quite pleased with the quilt even without the quilting. After some discussion it was decided that my parents would like it for a bed quilt rather than a couch throw or something to hang on their wall. I now need to add some more borders for it to fit their queen sized bed. Its current size is about 75 inches X 72 inches so its a bit tricky. I think that I will add some more of the rusty brown next followed by a larger border of the brown bears. The first three borders are about 7 inches in total so I don't want to overwhelm the quilt with a really wide border of bears. I am sure that there is a rule of proportion but I am guessing that the second bear border should not be wider than 5 inches. I don't have anymore of the olive greenish fabric but it would be possible to order a little more from Connecting Threads.LOL I do have enough of the bear fabric that I could bind it with it.

Here I thought that the top was complete- oh well its lots closer than the last posted photo- Do you remember that I was not sure how to put it together last time?- well instead of cutting the background into strips, I machine appliqued the panels onto the background. The panels were all different sizes and I couldn't figure out a simpler way to insert the panels. I think this way worked best- no Y seams and perfect measurements to try and get it inset where I wanted it.

Last Saturday we had a large coffee party in a hall to recognize my parent's birthdays( my mothers' birthday is next Monday). It was a lovely afternoon with food, friends and family.. Over 100 people stopped by to share in the celebration. We were all pretty tired in the end but it was well worth the effort. I saw some family friends from long ago - people that were part of my childhood and well into my teenage years. It was a little like time traveling back to another time and place. It was very nice to see so many family friends and relatives. My parents said it was a great day which was what my siblings and I had hoped.

And on other fronts- I finally got the Winter village taken down and some Spring decorations put up. It made things feel more spring like inside the house and the outside is beginning to be more spring like too.

At school my kids are enjoying the warmer weather but, oh it is so hard to resist those puddles.

Here are the current flowers that grace our spring table. Bruce brought home some beautiful asteromeria that have opened up beautifully.

In recent years, My friends have often brought me things that related to quilting. They bring me things or comment about how seeing something in their travels makes them think of me and my passion for quilting.

A work friend was recently in New York City and saw a card for the wonderful red and white show that was held at the end of March. She knew I would have loved to see the show and she was right. I remember reading about this unique show on some of the blog posts. What was striking were the photos, for they showed the original way that they hung those gorgeous red and white quilts. All of the 650 quilts in the show were from a private collector named Joanna S. Rose. What a marvelous sight it must have been and how inspiring it would have been to stand under and look up at the various quilts. It was such a nice thing for my work friend to do- to bring me a memento of the show and to think of me in her travels.


Life is a bit full these days- I am trying to get some baby wraps made for some babies that are coming soon or have just arrived. I am also trying to keep on top of the work - before we know it, it will be time to start preparing for year end. I also have some other people who I would like to make quilts for - this year has a number of special occasions for family members- special anniversaries and birthdays. These special days are markers of life- ways that we celebrate and honor the gifts of our loved ones. It is sometimes a challenge to balance the time in all the areas of one's life.

I know there are some giveaways happening but I haven't had much time to blog/ read blogs these days. I hope to get around to visit some blogs soon.
Thanks for stopping by - I always appreciate your comments.
Until next time,
Be well and Happy quilting,
Warmest regards,
Anna