2017 In Review

My consolation in having so few completely finished quilts this year is that quilting was not the only interest and emphasis for me.  Maybe I'll make more quilts this year, or maybe not....  So, this is a review of my 2017 applique and quilting efforts.

Completely Finished Quilts  (only four)
 
A Blue Plaid Linen Shirt was the backing for this little patriotic quilt.

The green/blue Buckeye Beauty was The Ugliest Quilt of the year.  But it's done!

My favorite quilt of 2017 was this really scrappy one, made of leftovers from another quilt.

A dozen blocks (also leftovers over from another, larger quilt) became one small quilt - large enough to cover legs, small enough to wrap a baby or toddler.

Interim Finishes (as in, finished blocks, finished tops, etc.)

I devoted time to choosing fabrics, pattern pieces, and appliqueing these Cheri Payne Baskets of Plenty sew-along blocks which are currently awaiting a decision on layout, sashing, and borders.  (Poor, late-night phone photo.  Don't bother to enlarge.)

My Gwenny-inspired Medallion quilt top received its final border with appliqued vines and stars.  It has yet to be layered and quilted.

This very red/pink Buckeye Beauty is finished to the top stage.  This is a sister to the ugliest quilt, above.  I like this one much better.

Most Viewed Posts in reverse order, least viewed to most viewed
> A Finish, Compared to...
> Baskets of Plenty #7:  Cheeky Bird
> Baskets of Plenty Block 2, Choosing for Block 3
> The Ugliest Quilt
> First Basket of Plenty, Finished

Posts with Most Comments in reverse order, least comments to most comments
> Albino Crow, Strong West Wind tied with When Does a Project Become a UFO?
> Back to Scrap Squares
> Wrestling
> The Ugliest Quilt
> A Scrappy Finish

Truly, this was a little year on the quilting front.  Three of the complete finishes had been in progress for a while and only one was new, so I was pleased to have finished three UFOs.  In 2018 I hope to quilt several tops that have been waiting and start and finish several quilts at least to the flimsy stage.

I'm linking this post to Cheryl's Best of 2017 Linky Party at Meadow Mist Designs.  Click through to see other quilters' best of in 2017.  Thanks for hosting, Cheryl.

I wish you all the best to you in 2018!

--Nancy.

First Medallion Quilt Top Finished

For a first medallion I think this quilt top is passable.  Not perfect by any means, but good enough.  (The photograph makes it look crooked.)  I think it could have had more interesting second and third borders but I think these work.  If/when I make another medallion quilt I'll consider the width of the borders more carefully and, perhaps, plan the sizes if there will be any borders with pieced blocks.

I was eager to photograph this top while we had some sun on Thursday.  But where to photograph?  The shade trees around our house cast strong shadows when their limbs and branches are leafless.  I finally hit upon the idea of hanging it against a brick wall in our breezeway.  I pulled a long, narrow strip of wood from the garage and tacked the quilt to it, then hung it on the wall balanced on one nail (with the help of my husband holding it steady).  Then I stepped back to take a photo.  Voilà!  Oops,  I'd hung the quilt sideways.  If you look closely you can see in the photo above that the hanging bar is on the side.

Despite how it looks in both photos, the quilt top really has square corners and straight edges.  It measures 69¾" x 75½", perfect for a nap or as a floor quilt for a baby to play.

Here's another view.  All of these photos were taken without a flash, so it's interesting to see the variation in colors because of the natural light.

Last year Lori of Humble Quilts and several other quilters decided to make Gwen Marston-inspired medallion quilts and invited anyone who wanted to sew along.  The center was to be a basket of flowers.  Since I'd already stitched the basket of flowers with no next step in mind, I decided to participate.  The others have long ago finished their quilts but I was slow to decide on the last border.  But here it is now.

I'm just about finished with my current quilt in the hoop.  Maybe this will be the next to be layered and quilted -- if I can come up with or piece a backing that goes with the front. 

Finishing this was my One Monthly Goal for October so I'm linking this post to the October Finish Link-Up at Elm Street Quilts.

I'm linking this post to
> Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
> finish it up Friday at crazy mom quilts
> Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
> Thank Goodness It's Finished Friday (TGIFF) at Anja Quilts
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.
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Appliqued

Many thanks to all you wonderful readers who left comments on my recent post, Wrestling.  I appreciate your observations, insights, suggestions, and encouragement.  I often tell myself that quilting's not rocket science or brain surgery--no harm done if it's not perfect--and that I can make another quilt if I don't like the first but sometimes I don't listen to myself (or forget to remind myself).  I'm finding that perfection and creativity are not good bedfellows... uh, quilting friends.

A few days after that post and after deciding on a layout for my Gwenny medallion quilt, I began industriously appliqueing

and yesterday and today cut out the backs of those appliques

to create this (in part).

Today I finished and pressed the quilt top with its days' worth of creases and crumples.  I'll photograph when the rain leaves and we have sun.

I cut away behind applique shapes so I don't have to hand quilt through an extra layer.  (And so I can't change my mind and unstitch them.  Ha.) 

To those of you who do the same, what do you do with those shapes?  Do you save them for another bit future of applique or do you toss them?  Or maybe just cut them into squares to use in a patchwork block?  I pitched the leaf shapes but have a stack of star shapes like these.  I'm not sure I'd ready to applique more star shapes, at least not for a while.

I'm linking this post to
> WOW at Esther's Blog
> Sew, Stitch, Snap, Share at Koka Quilts
> Moving it Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag
> Linky Tuesday at Freemotion by the River
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.
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Wrestling

This is a long post.  If you want to see my work in progress, scroll down till you get to the photos.

I rarely take the easy, sure way to a finished quilt.  Sometimes I see a quilt pattern that looks wonderful but imagine just one or two little tweaks that I think will make it better, make it my own.  Or maybe I want a similar quilt but just a little smaller.  Or larger.  Or with the first border narrower and the second wider wider, or a pieced border.  I make things harder for myself when I try to change up patterns and especially when I choose to create without a pattern -- the times when I dream up a quilt in my mind:  imagine, draw, choose fabric, cut, sew, alter, sew some more.

Why do I do this?  Elizabeth Healey, author of Stitch, Fabric & Thread:  An Inspirational Guide for Creative Stitches, offered these thoughts which mirror my own.

There is great comfort in following a design created by someone else, be it a shop-bought kit, an article in a magazine, a book or even an online tutorial, since much of the planning and thinking is done for you.  All you have to do is follow the instructions and you should get a replica of what's on the packet.  Coming up with your own design is far more daunting and can be filled with frustrating moments as you strive to realise your vision.  But when you get it right, it is infinitely more satisfying than anything bought off the shelf.

Creating from scratch can be difficult, daunting, challenging, and can call a maker's creativity into question causing self-doubt and uncertainty.  But when one succeeds -- what joy!

Without doubt, the most challenging quilt to make is/has been the Gwenny-style basket of flowers medallion I began last year.  It was part of a sew-along hosted by Lori of Humble Quilts.  I'd already made the center when the sew-along began; the border themes were suggested by others but the creative interpretations and decisions were mine.

The first border theme was childhood.

The next border was log cabins.

So far so good with all of the above.  The next border was stars.  And that was the border where I started to question the way this quilt was going.  By now it measured about 58" x 64".  I wondered about the widths of the borders -- were they too similar, not similar enough, etc.  And the colors?  Not much variety in colors in the borders.  But I continued on.

The last border was "something fishy."  With such a large quilt and only a month to make a border, I chose what I called fish tails.  I should have realized, but didn't, that a 3½" final border (4" on the bottom) for a quilt this size wouldn't work -- would be disproportionately narrow compared to the other borders.

By the time that border was stitched in place I knew the quilt was in trouble.  I auditioned a few additional pieces of fabric around it with the idea of adding one more border but it seemed to me that nothing worked.  (Can you imagine me wrestling?  I'm not suggesting that I disliked the process, just that the choices didn't come easily.)  It was nearing the holidays and I needed the floor space so I folded the top away to work on later.

Later came last week.  I laid the quilt out on the floor again and within a day decided to remove the fish border, make the star border narrower, and add a wide blue border with the idea of adding applique.  (Blue water is definitely fishy.)  This is where the quilt is today.  (I'm beginning to think this style of quilt--Gwen Marston/liberated-- is beyond my current abilities.)

I've thought about omitting the vines and adding only flowers and leaves, as though they're floating on top of water.  I've thought about vines and leaves only.  I've thought about circles/bubbles; clam shells; waves in some form or other; etc.  If I had found a printed fabric that would have worked for a broder, I would have used it.  To some extent I'm probably stuck on too literal an interpretation of "something fishy" but at this point it doesn't really matter whether this border has anything fishy about it because the sew-along is over.

I could just stitch those vines, flowers, and leaves down and call it done.  Gwenny style?  I'm not so sure.  Good enough?  Yes, probably.  That border is not unlike many I've seen around the internet when I search google or pinterest.  It works well enough.  But could it be better?  Could it be more original?  Could there be a border that adds to the quilt more than this one does?  I think the answer is probably yes to those last three questions. 

So I'm wondering, dear readers, when you create an original quilt of your own design, do you keep working on it, playing with it, wrestling with it until it's perfect?  At what point do you decide it's perfect?  Do you ever settle for good enough, call it a learning experience, and move on?

By the end of October I want to have made a decision about the border on this quilt and have begun (and maybe finished) it -- for One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts.

I'm linking this post to
> WOW at Esther's Blog
> Let's Bee Social #197 at Sew Fresh Quilts
> wip link-up at Silly Mama quilts
> Midweek Makers #92 at Quilt Fabrication
> UFO Progress at Jo's Country Junction
> One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts
> Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts 
Thank you, ladies, for hosting.

--Nancy.
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Between

Having just finished a quilt top and an applique block, I find myself between projects.  I took a break last week to sew a simple summer dress (and need to sew a few more but have to find fabric).  And of course there is Basket of Plenty Block 6 to work on but, aside from those, I'm between ends and beginnings.  Now I'm looking at my quilts and blocks that were interrupted in process or that were laid aside for one reason or another and that I want to finish.  In no particular order....

Stars

These 9" stars are left over from another quilt.  My options are to make more blocks (I already have two cut, ready to be sewn), add sashing and/or make alternate blocks, or turn this into a center medallion and make smaller blocks to go around a border.  I don't feel like this needs to be a large quilt but it's too small as it is.

Basket of Flowers Gwenny Medallion

This was a challenge quilt-along last year.  I had to put it away because visitors were coming.  The outer border needs to come off and be replaced with some other "something fishy," the challenge for that border.  At the time fish tails was what I came  up with but I think this quilt needs a wider last border and one that possibly incorporates blue to help unify all the borders.  Hmmm. 

Red and Green

These were impulse blocks.  The inspiration for these 5" (4½" finished) blocks was a farm stand filled with pots of red roses in bloom.  In 2013!  Since then these have been taken out and put away several times.  I couldn't seem to give up the idea of only red and green blocks and only a layout of circles alternating with sashed four-square blocks.  Either I must reconsider possibilities or give up on these blocks.  I saw a road sign the other day and new possibilities came to mind.

I have a few other scattered blocks, one or two of a kind, which are not enough for me to call them works in progress.  But these, above, are definitely works in progress and need finishes.

Do you notice a dominant color among these quilts?  Gosh, I need to expand my color range.

Being between, I've been trying my hardest not to begin another quilt, but I succumbed.  I don't have a single patriotic quilt in my home and remembered seeing several small quilts with flags on them.  The flags are stitched and are now awaiting the next steps.  I tell myself I might be able to finish a little quilt by July 4th.  Maybe....

What are you up to these days?

I'm linking this post to
> Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun that Housework
> WOW at Esther's Blog
> Let's Bee Social #183 at Sew Fresh Quilts
> Midweek Makers #78 at Quilt Fabrication

Thanks for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.
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A Sad First

This is the first time I've folded an unfinished quilt top to put it away for a while.  With the holidays coming I knew it needed to be up off the floor, but I am so sad to do it.  For me, out of sight is out of mind.  I need to see a work-in-progress to make progress on it.  I'm afraid this will languish in the depths of storage somewhere and I'll never pull it out again. 

But this top had been on the floor for more than a month and I hadn't made a decision about that final border.  I was making no progress (though I was thinking about changing/adding to the second border from the outside).  It had to be moved.

I've put blocks away, in a stack, on a shelf, or in a box, but I don't know how to fold a quilt top that needs another border.  When I open it again I know it won't lay flat and then how will I measure for a second border?

The sadness of it all....  I hope this doesn't become my first true UFO (other than tops waiting to be quilted).

--Nancy.
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Border Four on my Gwenny-Inspired Medallion Quilt

One would think that "something fishy" would work perfectly with my medallion quilt.  After all, a contributing idea for my first border, childhood, was collecting fishing worms after a day of rain so my father and I could go fishing.  Night, stars, fish....  Perfect, right?  But I thought, there is no way I'm putting fish on this quilt.

So I began brainstorming ideas in addition to some already suggested by Wendy who chose the theme for this border.  To mind came scales/scallops, clamshells, starfish (which one would think perfect to go with the star flowers in the center of the quilt), lighthouses, boats, fish shapes, (ever notice how close in shape a fish is to a little boat, except the boat doesn't have a tail), fish eyes, fish tails, fishing poles, piers, the ocean (or any body of water).  But I eliminated actual fish in my thought process for "something fishy."

My first bright idea was sunset on the ocean.  (What could be fishier than the ocean?)  (View some images here.)  I imagined those gold, coral, and rose shades somehow blending into a beautiful "sky" around the quilt.  Except I couldn't quite manage to make it work.  In fact, I couldn't really imagine how create it in fabric.

Admittedly, I didn't try to make those small squares work well because I didn't even sew them.

Then I decided maybe I should go with a strip of red, then "piers" dividing sunset colors along the length of the quilt.  Again, I didn't sew anything.

But neither of these ideas worked for me.  I couldn't figure out where the sun would be setting and how the colors would stretch out around the quilt as they do in a sunset.  And I wasn't sure I wanted a quilt with blue stripes around the edges.  So back to the drawing board.

I thought of starfish, which you can see in the first photo.  Those didn't really work for me, either.

Then I saw this quilt in Liberated Quiltingmaking II ...

... and I thought, Those triangles look like fish tails.  Maybe, just maybe, here was an idea I could use (despite proclaiming that this quilt, my quilt, would not have fish on it).

Still thinking of an ocean sunset, I made some fish tails.  (Just to be clear, fish tails are not the same as flying geese.  Fish tails are deeper and can be narrower or wider than the rectangle shape on which they rest.)  I was interested in having the tails in a variety of sizes and widths, some in the center of the rectangle, some not.

My husband, usually very encouraging, looked at these shapes and said, "I don't think those look like fish tails."  I told him that was okay because I wasn't going for realism.  (Definitely not with cream, coral, peach, tan, and blue fish tails in a narrow sea of red.)

In the end, I cut off 2 1/4" of the last border and added fish tails around the edges.

Laughter bubbles up when I look at this border.  It is outrageous.  It is too narrow.  It's too bright.  The colors overtake the quilt.  And yet I think the colors work with the flowers in the center.  I don't think the quilt is finished.  I think it needs (oh, no!) another border.

The border widths:
1" copper strip around center basket
6" dark blue border with stars
4" log cabin blocks (4 1/2" on bottom edge)
1 1/2" copper border (2" on bottom edge)
3 3/4" light star border (with applique star points)
3 3/4" fish tail border (4 1/4" on top and 4 3/4" on bottom)
The quilt now measures 60 1/2" x 67 1/2".

I haven't spent much time looking at medallion quilts but my opinion at the moment is that they look better when every border is not nearly the same width.  When I add another border to this quilt I think it should probably be as wide or nearly as wide as the blue border.  I have no idea what that border will look like but I sense that it needs some blue, green, and/or copper in it.

This has been an interesting, challenging, fun quilt along.  Thanks to Lori, Cynthia, Cathy, Katy, and Wendy for inviting us to participate with them.  I'm linking this post to Gwennie Inspired Medallion Finale at Humble Quilts.  I encourage you to click through to see the quilts others have created for this quilt along.

I'm also linking this post to
> finish it up Friday at crazy mom quilts
> Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts
> Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.
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A Little Encouragement from Gwen Marston

Earlier this year I found Quilting with Style: Principles for Great Pattern Design by Gwen Marston & Joe Cunningham.  It's primarily a book about hand quilting -- choosing quilting designs, adapting patterns, about marking patterns, etc. -- with quilting encouragement throughout.  When I was reading it I didn't know about the Gwennie Inspired Medallion Quilt-Along, but the words below struck me then and now seem particularly appropriate as I work on my Gwenny quilt.  Great encouragement, I think.

     Working on quilts or any creative process can be lonely.  For us it helps to remember that we are not alone.  We are not the only ones who have ever felt intimidated, who have ever felt inadequate to the task, who have ever wondered why we started this in the first place, or who have ever gotten halfway through a quilt and had a sinking feeling that there was something wrong with it.
     These feelings are all part of the creative process.  Try not to worry about them.  Just keep working and you will soon feel some of the other feelings that are part of it as well:  the feeling that you are the only one who ever made this particular quilt, or that, unlike with many of your daily activities, here you have something to show for your efforts.  And nothing can top the feeling of getting a quilt done and sharing it with those you love.

I love those words of encouragement.  Don't you?  Just keep working.  Just keep going, past all the uncertainties and doubts.  It will become something in the end.

I hope you have a great weekend.

--Nancy.
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Two Things

First.  Too much of a good thing is just too much.

That blue border is very scrappy.  There are at least half a dozen different fabrics but there are many, many more pieces of fabric.  I think it works.  But now that I'm thinking of another border made of several different fabrics, I'm not so sure more scrappy will make this quilt better.  Maybe too much of a good thing is overload, maybe just too much.  (Of course, there are several considerations yet for this border, the narrow border between it and the cabin border (color and width), and the stars.  Where are the stars?!)  Have I mentioned that I don't know what I'm doing with this quilt, or where it's going?  Even so, I'm (mostly) enjoying the creative challenge of it.

Most who are making Gwenny-medallions aren't posting about them until they've finished the current border.  Is that a "rule" for quilt-alongs?  I hope not because here I am with two "non-progress" posts in two days.


Second.  That voice in my head.

Are you like me?  Do you have a voice in your head that sometimes tells you negative things?  The disdainful little voice in my head tells me things like, "You'll never succeed at that.  You'll never be good enough."  Or, "Who do you think you are, trying to accomplish something like that?"  Or, "You may have talents/skills/abilities, but that's not one of them."  Or maybe one of the worst, "You always mess things up and you'll do the same with this."

I rarely have trouble silencing that voice.  I know whose it is and its purpose and I focus on other things, other grander purposes than the negative.  But there are times -- when I'm learning something new or challenging and haven't quite mastered it; when I'm pushing to finish something by a tight deadline; or when I'm tired or don't feel well -- that I have a little trouble ignoring the messages.  Today was one of those days.  I know it's because I'm tired and because I feel achy (which I hope is because I'm tired or slept in an uncomfortable position).  I know I'll feel better after a good night's sleep.  I'll have a better outlook and perhaps I'll dream of a great border idea, or maybe I'll just see the quilt differently when I'm not tired.

At times like this I love to remember this quote by F. Enzio Busche.

When you are physically sick, tired, or in despair, steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in gratitude and love, towards God.

What grand direction, worth heeding and following.  He has more to say, which you can hear in the brief video below.


I'm so grateful for so many wonderful blessings, including the freedom to choose creativity.

I hope you have a pleasant, restful Sabbath.

--Nancy.
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My Mind's Eye Needs Glasses

Sometimes I just have to try things to see how they look.  I imagined that Gwen's liberated stars, cut on the diagonal, with one of "Kathy's Blocks" (described in Gwen Marston's Liberated Quiltmaing II) in the corner would be great for the star border on my medallion quilt.

But oh, no.  Epic fail!  In my mind that half-star did not have an Art Deco look about it but, rather, a liberated look.  My mind's eye needs glasses -- or something.

Now I'm going to fall back and punt -- try out another idea, or possibly two -- or more, however many it takes to make a border with stars. 

I'm glad I didn't wait until next week to try out this idea!

I wish you a good weekend.

--Nancy.
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Little Cabins for my Gwenny Quilt

I chose to make little creamy-light log cabin blocks for the second border of my Gwenny-Inspired Medallion Quilt.  But before that decision I waffled -- not about the colors (which are a little off in the photo) but about the size of the cabins.  They started out about an inch larger, then I reduced the size to 4".  I think they're a good size and color, but what do I know about medallion quilts?  Next to nothing, and my success with borders is variable, so I'm just pleased that this is actually flat and square (despite the appearance otherwise in the photo).

After adding the cabins I wondered if I should have included a narrow border between it and the dark blue border.  I really don't know what I'm doing....  A copy of Gwen's Liberated Medallion Quilts finally arrived at the library for me.  I hope it will help with my decisions about the next borders.

I'm linking this post to Gwennie Inspired Medallion QAL Part 3 at Humble Quilts.  Click the link to look a thumbnails of other participants' quilts and then click through to read their posts.

Five quilt bloggers organized this Gwennie Inspired Medallino QAL and have invited others to participate if they choose.  There's still time to join in if you'd like to participate.  There will be two more borders as part of the QAL and there's a link-up on the first Monday of each month.  Katy of KatyQuilts chose "stars" as the theme for the next border -- your choice about how many and how to you incorporate them, whether appliqued, liberated, star fabric, or some other way.

I'm also linking this post to Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

--Nancy.
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Medallion with Pieced Blocks

I wanted to lay out some log cabins around my basket medallion but Red Wings was taking all the floor space.  So laid the medallion on top of Red Wings.  Hmmm.  Now there's an idea for some future medallion quilt.  Not these blocks but some blocks that fit and work with some center medallion.

Red Wings is finished and the medallion already has another border.  I just thought this might be an interesting idea.

--Nancy.
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In Control, or Not

I want to thank all of you readers who took the time to leave kind, thoughtful, generous comments on my last post.  Thank you!  I appreciate your thoughts and prayers more than you know.  (I haven't responded to your comments yet but I will, soon.)

My husband's surgery went well today.  They let me visit for only a few minutes while he was recovering in intensive care.  He had at least half a dozen tubes including a breathing tube, several IVs, and a few other tubes coming from/going into places that aren't natural openings.  Ugh.

The surgeon quipped that this was a good time to say anything I wanted to my husband because he couldn’t talk back.  And the nurse chimed in, "And he won't remember anything you say, either."  A little levity after a long, serious, grueling day.

Knowing the surgery could last from four to eight hours, I waited at home till four hours had passed, then spent the next few hours in the waiting room at the hospital.  After seeing my husband I returned home.  While at home I sewed and did a few chores.

As I was sewing these liberated log cabin blocks I was thinking, "I can't do this out-of-control block-making.  I need more structure.  I need to be in control."   (It feels like I'm living a life out of control at the moment.)  While I sewed I continued to think about this and it eventually occurred to me that with blocks like this I am in control.  I'm the one who's controlling the size of the logs, the size of the blocks, the colors, the color placement, everything about these blocks.  I think it feels out of control because only a few decisions were made before cutting and sewing.

When I sew a block from a specific pattern with squares or triangles cut to specific sizes, I'm in control, then, too.  It happens before I cut anything, while I cut, and while I carefully sew -- all for accuracy to that specific pattern.

With liberated blocks the control happens throughout the whole process of making the blocks but in a different way.  I will have chosen my fabrics (and therefore colors) and the pattern, but I may not have chosen the exact sizes of each piece of a block.  The blocks may be put together in a way that looks less accurate than a traditional quilt block.  But all of those choices are in my control and will determine how the finished blocks look.

Liberated quilting may look more playful, less structured, and less controlled than traditional blocks but I believe the creator must have as much or possibly more control than with traditional blocks.

I wish life were as easy to control as quilt blocks.  My life is certainly beyond my ability to control it at the moment.  I know He is and was always in control, but when things were going smoothly, I had the impression of having some control over my life.  Now, my control extends only as far as my own actions and thoughts. 

Even so, isn't life grand?!  And how wonderful that we get to play with fabric and make quilts.

I hope you're having a good day today.

--Nancy.
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Life Interrupted

The regular rhythm and routines of our lives have been interrupted this week (and will be for weeks to come).  My husband had a heart attack on Tuesday and has been in the hospital since then having tests and being monitored.  He's scheduled for triple bypass surgery on Monday.  He and I mutually agree that being the patient and being the caregiver are equally difficult and stressful, but in different ways.  He was caregiver when I had hip replacement surgeries a dozen years ago.  Now it's my turn.

Sewing a few (almost) mindless blocks is relaxing during times like this.  I began these weeks ago -- chose the colors, decided the size -- but until I sew more and lay them out I won't know if they will work for their intended purpose.  (They are paler in real life than in the photograph.)

These rust-colored flowers at the far side of the hospital parking lot caught my eye as I walked toward the entrance. 

On the way out I stopped to take a closer look . It wasn't until then that I realized they were orange and maroon/purple/violet.

I doubt I would ever have put those two colors together, but I might now.

I've had to pick up the Buckeye Beauty blocks.  My older daughter, her husband, and their three little ones are coming to visit this weekend.  I know she wants to see her father and I couldn't tell her not to come.  Many years ago my own father went into the hospital on a Thursday having suffered from a heart attack.  I was 8 months pregnant at the time but intended to visit him that weekend.  My mom insisted we not come, that we wait and see.  My father died the following Monday.  I believe my husband will be fine but I would never tell either of my daughters not to visit in a situation like this.

While sitting with my husband at the hospital or waiting while he has tests, I am stitching the binding to the back of the Red Wings quilt.  (I find it difficult to just sit.)  At least I will have accomplished one goal this month.

If you leave a comment I will respond but it may take me a few days or a week longer than usual.

Happy quilting to you!

--Nancy.
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Night & Stars - Gwennie-Inspired Medallion Quilt

The summer nights of my childhood were devoted to being outside with friends.  We played hide-and-seek or tag, badminton, croquet, or rode bikes.  Summer evenings were long and leisurely, at least as long as half a day.  We played until dark began to creep up and we searched for the first star to make a wish.   By then the lightening bugs flew around us like little stars sailing through the dark.  We caught them in jars to watch the magic for a few minutes.  When the dark descended deeper we sat on the porch steps or on lawn chairs, visiting and enjoying the night, until time to go inside and to bed. 

Some nights, after a good soaking rain, my father and I took flashlights out to search the sodden ground for night crawlers.  We had to be quick!  We envisioned our next fishing trip.

On autumn and winter nights my mother and I sometimes went for walks, bundled in sweaters, or coats and mittens.  Down our macadam street away from the houses toward the edge of our little village we meandered with no destination and no hurry, just a time to enjoy the night.  The stars shone bright and high and we came home refreshed and ready for sleep.

Many childhood memories came to mind as I brainstormed ideas for this "childhood" border.  Several would have made great borders, but night and the stars won.

As it is now this quilt measures about 35" x 39 1/2".  The blue border will finish at 6". 

The theme for the next border is log cabins, chosen by Cathy at Big Lake Quilter.  I love log cabin blocks!  There are so many kinds and so many colors to choose from.  They have many more seams and this will be a bigger border:  I better not procrastinate anything about this border.  Another round of fun begins!

If you'd like to see other Gwennie-inspired medallion quilts, click over to Cynthia's blog, wabi-sabi quilts, where you can see plenty of luscious beauty!  It's not too late to join!

--Nancy.
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I Know It When I See It -- #BraveQuilter

Are you like me?  When something's right it goes practically unnoticed: everything is as it should be and nothing calls attention to itself.  But when something's wrong it stands out like a sore thumb:  the furniture askew, the counter covered with crumbs, the crooked painting on the wall, that one weed that was missed.  Wrong practically screams at me, "fix me!"  When it comes to quilting, my imagination can't get past pins holding fabric shapes in place.  It's my misfortune that everything needs to be stitched down before I can see whether it's right or wrong, whether it works or not.  Then, when it all works together, I know it when I see it.

I chose the little butterscotch/gold fabric for the centers of the flowers, stitched them down, pressed the block, and took photos.  Here it is.

Don't those yellow centers stand out like sore thumbs?  The flowers seem say to me, "fix us, please fix us!"  I don't know if the color is wrong, the size is wrong, or the shape is wrong, but to me, those centers are like bulls' eyes, drawing my attention directly to them.

I thought little stars would be great in the centers of the flowers but I don't applique well enough, especially tiny pieces like they would need to be, to create and stitch stars.  The five-cornered centers seemed like they would be a great substitute.  Now I think perhaps not.  But maybe the shape's okay and I just need to change the fabric.  It's back to the drawing board for me.

To some it may seem like a big deal to unstitch the centers, choose and prepare new ones, and applique them in place, but I've learned that sometimes things don't work as I imagine they will and I have to make changes.  For me it's part of the creative process.  And I'd rather make the changes before I sew the next border.  The less fabric I have to hold while stitching those little centers, the better.

My #bravequilter challenge for June was to applique the pieces onto this 21" x 24" block and keep it flat.  I succeeded in those two objectives (even though I will probably unstitch those little butterscotch centers and applique other centers).  And I also managed to add one narrow border as a "buffer" between the center and the next wider border--and the block is still flat and square.   I call it success.  One of these months I won't have to set goals toward bravery!

I'm linking this post to #BraveQuilter Wrap Up Linky for June at Pink Doxies.  Thanks for hosting, Julie.

I'm also linking this post to WOW at Esther's Blog and Let's Bee Social #131 at Sew Fresh Quilts.

--Nancy.
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Slow Stitching Flower Centers

I finally decided on fabric for the centers and middles of these six flowers and I'm excited about them.  Two have the the first center stitched.  I'll finish the other four and then stitch all six middle pieces onto the centers.

I searched for small brown and tan gingham but did not find any, therefore the black and tan is it.  I think it will be fine once the next center is sewn.

Do your applique pieces get wrinkled as you stitch them?  Mine do!  After they're all stitched I'll press the whole block before measuring for the first border.

These flowers are from my Gwennie-Inspired Medallion quilt.  I'm still in the process of sewing the first border but expect to have it finished and sewn onto the center within the next few days.

I'm linking this post to
Slow Stitching Sunday at Kathy's Quilts
Moving It Forward Monday at Em's Scrapbag
Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilts
Main Crush Monday (MCM #26) at Cooking Up Quilts
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.
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Star and Centers for Flowers

I've been working on my Gwenny-Inspired Medallion quilt.  This might look like a small star....

And I'm still trying to decide on the centers for the flowers in the basket in the center of the medallion.  The "perfect" fabric seems to be elusive -- or at least not in my collection.  Ha!

I tried several yellows and they looked garish.  Blues/aquas/turquoises looked bland.  Red won't do it because the flowers are all in the red range.  Brown was too dark.  I don't think I want solid black.  This checked black layered with this yellow/coral may work -- or not.  It works with the basket better than any of the other centers but I need to look at in the daylight, too.  I may finish the quilt and still be trying to decide on the centers for these flowers -- but I hope not!

Thanks for visiting and especially thanks if you leave a comment.

I'm linking this post to
Oh Scrap! at Quilting is more fun than Housework
WOW at Esther's Blog
Let's Bee Social #130 at Sew Fresh Quilts
Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation

Happy day to you!
--Nancy.
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