Quilt inspiration

Lowes logo

Inspiration struck me at my local Lowe’s store last week. I stopped in my tracks when I saw these huge posters of snowflakes.

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Not just any snowflakes.

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Huge, colorful snowflakes.

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Huge, colorful snowflakes that could become a quilt.

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Another customer saw me snapping these pictures with my phone and looked at me like I was wacky.  But that stop me from explaining how I saw the snowflakes as possible patchwork quilts.

After looking at them for a few seconds, he agreed with me.  And walked away rather quickly.

Inspiration in an unusual place.

Have you been inspired by anything unusual?

2/5 down 3/5 to go

Happy Belated New Year!

I survived the last three Holidays!  Thanksgiving (US), Christmas, and New Year’s!  I gained Bluetooth headphones and only five pounds.  Fortunately I lost nine pounds before all the crazy eating and drinking of all the calorie-rich food and drink.  That is a plus for me.

Do you have a bucket list?  I do.  And I don’t.  One of the things on this nonexistent bucket list was to make a quilt.  Well, I made two quilts but still need to make three more.  One for each of my grandchildren.  That lifetime goal was made when I was 35 years old.  I’m a lot older than that now but having a bucket list was also nonexistent way back then.

So here are my two quilts.  The first quilts I’ve ever made.  I learned a lot from this experience…meaning I’ve made mistakes.

I posted photos of this project in 2013 and now I have finally finished them.

Without further ado…

Zs-quilt-front

I used the stack and slash or whack technique with eight different fabrics plus a neutral ivory solid and a sprinkling of khaki.

Es-quilt-front

I wanted the quilts to be a little bit longer so I added three rows of leftovers.

Close-up

The backs…

Zs-quilt-back

The backs involved the first letter of each recipient plus some leftover fabrics to coordinate with the binding.

Es-quilt-back

Close-ups of the backs.

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Es-quilt-close-up

My sewing machine does some lettering/monograming so I made machine stitched labels sewn to the lower right side on the quilt backs.  In case you wondered, I am “Nona”.

Label

Straight line quilting, well, as straight as I could do it.

On the beds.

Zs-quilt-bed

Es-quilt-bed

So two down, three to go.

Weekend

I woke up early for a Saturday – 8:00.

Guest bathroom – Fixed the 2-3 year-old water damage on the ceiling.  Still have to paint it.  The bathroom was all clean and shiny until I looked at the trim.  I’ve been meaning to repaint the trim for years but never got around to it.  Until Saturday. Done.

Washed, dried, folded, and put away two loads of laundry.

Made cornbread and soup for lunch.

cornbread

Hung the garland on the front porch with Mr. Aitch.  Finished taking in all the porch and deck furniture.  Rolled up the rug from the front porch.  All put neatly away for the winter.  Mr. Aitch swept the porch.

Cut the fabric for one of the quilt tops.

Jambalaya with chicken (no sausage) for dinner).

Cut more fabric for the second quilt top.

Went to bed.

Sunday morning – church.  It started snowing during Mass and when we left the church, about 2 inches had fallen.

Went to the market.  It was crowded for a Sunday morning when I arrived but quickly cleared out as the snow kept piling up outside.

snowy-drive

Groceries put away.

Pancakes and sausage for lunch.

Roast beef with carrots, celery, and onions in the oven.  It smelled so good.

Pieced one quilt top together.  No photo as it was a dark dreary day.

Added potatoes to the roast beef concoction in the oven.

Watched a part of “The Crossing” with Mr. Aitch until dinner was ready.

crossing

Lovely roast beef and vegetables.  And a bottle of wine, of course.

Finished watching “The Crossing” with Mr. Aitch.

Checked email.

Pinterest.

pinterest_logo_red

Did an Internet search for a free knitted pattern for a newsboy cap aka bakers cap, golf cap, ivy cap, English driving cap for a small child.  No luck.  Found crocheted patterns.  Don’t crochet.

cap-2

Turned on the dishwasher and went to bed with a book, “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak.  Couldn’t stop reading until my eyes got too tired.

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The alarm clock went off at 6:00 this morning.  I turned it off and fell back asleep for 45 more minutes.  That happens more often than I care to admit.

The schools and colleges were closed today due to the snow storm and freezing rain.  I had no trouble getting to work.

And so it goes.

Getting…

gloves

…a grip.  I have taken up quilting and am almost ready to machine quilt my first one.  Question for quilters: Do you wear special gloves to get a grip on your quilt as you maneuver it while machine quilting?

cake

…older.  I had another birthday at the end of October.  Funny how they keep happening year after year after year.  I know age is just a number but I have a hard time telling people how old I am.*  My finite existence is starting to weigh on me.  I’m not as quick physically or mentally.  I forget things so I have to write everything down…that’s not really new but having to go back and refer to my notes is new.  Sleep issues have been a part of my life for 15 or so years.  Our new mattress has helped the past two weeks as I’m getting better sleep, just not enough.  Planning for the future is a real eye-opener.  We’ll need a new roof on our house in the next five or so years.  Do we look at the 20-25 year life shingles or go for the 50-70 year metal roof?  Is adding a craft room in the basement worth the time, effort and expense?  These are things I just don’t want to think about.

pizza

…a chance to goof off.  Last evening I allowed myself to goof off.  I brought home a pepperoni pizza for dinner.  That’s really a big thing for me as I’m not a much of a pizza fan but it was a quick no-brainer option and I actually had some cold paper cash with me.  After washing the dishes and reading a few emails (some I answered, some I did not), I fixed myself a pot of peppermint tea and started to read a book a friend sent me.  Thanks Leah!

tea-pot

*BTW  I’m fifty-eleven.  Ouch.  That hurt.  I need some ice…and an R&C.**

**Rum and Coke