Quilts

National Park/Anniversary Quilt

August 2, 2011July 23, 2012 Elizabeth E.4 Comments

The first time I went camping as an adult was with my intended husband, my Dave. His brother and sister and their children, and Dave and I and my four children all packed up and went camping to a place where a giant German shepherd terrorized the campground and barked all night, the neighbors drank too much and were too noisy, and we burned our foil dinners. It was perfect. I was so happy to be there with Dave, and the kids and out in nature.

Fast forward six years and we’d been to a lot of the National Parks in the West and a few on the East coast as well (although not always camping in them). He proposed to me in Yosemite. Our first family camping trip was to Zion National Park. We had dated near the giant redwoods up in San Francisco, and had taken a summer camping trip (sans the kids) to Sequoia and to Kings Canyon. And we’re headed to Yellowstone this week.

One of our local fabric stores had printed up several different sets of orange crate labels since our area is home to the navel orange industry. I chose the National Parks set and put the labels in an Attic Window setting, then sashed them to further set them off. I used naturalistic fabrics, and a sky full of stars fabric for the border.

Our local home subdivision is called Canyon Crest, and probably a long time ago before all our homes were built, orange groves probably dotted the area. The best smell you’ll ever smell is in April, when all the citrus flowers burst into bloom. It’s better than candy, just standing on a slight hill above the groves on a spring night, the orange blossoms scent surrounding you in the mild temperatures.

More nature scenes on the back.

I go back and forth on the name of this quilt. Sometimes it’s the National Parks Quilt. Other times it’s the Anniversary Quilt. I can’t believe with all our challenges he and I have made it this far–me a crazy single mom with four children (teenager to kindergartener). He a studious scholar with no children of his own. We took a leap off our own mountaintop, a jump into the unknown, and yet we’ll celebrate anniversary #22 in a week. Happy us!!

Southern Brights–FSF

July 29, 2011April 2, 2024 Elizabeth E.3 Comments

This is my son Matthew and his wife, Kim. Sometimes she likes to be called Kimberly. Other times it’s just Kim. She’s a bright and sunny personality of a gal, and easily matches my son in energy, determination and love of a good joke. They’re great.

This is their family, taken at a family camping trip (quickly! and that’s why Emilee has no shoes on), in the mountains above Phoenix Arizona, a place they call their home. But only for another day or so, because he’s been promoted in his corporate job and they’re off to Cinncinati Ohio. I love that she would follow him anywhere, so I decided to make her a quilt to honor her love of the Southwest and her bright and sunny personality.

Ta Da! I give you “Southern Brights.” It’s a Bento Box block, with lots of wild and crazy fabrics, put together in a bundle by Fabricworm, but of course, I added a few of my own.

My favorite is the little Round Robin fabric with little round robins on it. I also like the punched-up hugeness of those flowers in the middle. Change in scale? This quilt’s got it. Change in color? Yep, yep. Change in value? Not so much (all medium fabrics) so I threw in some lights and brights to keep the eye moving.

Love the Marimekko fabric on the back, punctuated by a strip of the the Anne Kelle flowers. Alas, our Crate and Barrel outlet has closed, so now if I want those fabrics, I need to travel an hour and half–instead the previous half-hour. So I hoard my stash of these, but this quilt just called out for something sunny and bright.

I wish them all success in their new home and new state!

100 Quilts · Creating · Quilts

Cowgirls Write Letters

July 28, 2011July 23, 2012 Elizabeth E.4 Comments

My husband and I lived for a year in Washington, D.C. while he did his sabbatical at the Department of State. (That’s what they call it. Most of the rest of us just call it the State Department.) I investigated any fabric store within reasonable driving distance and one of the ones was Material Girls in La Plata Maryland, about 45 minutes drive from where we lived. Fast forward a year, and I went back for a visit to see my pal Rhonda, and of course, we had to hit some fabric stores. Didn’t have a lot of room in the luggage, so I was drawn to the collection of fat quarters they had, and selected as many of this line as I could find.

But what pattern? Luckily they had a whole rack of Schnibbles patterns, by Miss Rosie’s Quilt Company, and Rhonda and I each chose a couple of them. I decided on this one, Decoy, then enlarged the blocks, cut them out, and had to piece the border because I was running out of fabric.

But what backing? Of course it had to be a Western theme. The cowboys were heavily represented on the front, so I went with the women on the back.

And I had lots of letter fabric, so I envisioned them all out on the plains, posting letters to each other as they herded the cattle wherever cowboys and cowgirls herd cattle.

We all know that the ladies are more frequent letter writers than the men. So I titled it, Cowgirls Write Letters. I made it extra tall for my own cowboy to use while he watches his spaghetti westerns on the television. Thanks, Carrie, for such a great pattern!

WIP

Doing Nothing But Making A Mess

July 26, 2011July 26, 2011 Elizabeth E.6 Comments

This is WIP Wednesday, hosted by Lee of Freshly Pieced Quilts, who is fabulous and writes us all a thank-you note for posting. My mother and grandmother salute you, Lee! (As do I.)

Let’s start with a quote from Andrew Wyeth, a great American painter, culled from the Brandywine River Museum when I visited last fall:

“I dream a lot. When I’m doing nothing is when I’m doing the most. Sometimes when there is great tension, or lots taking place, I may get an idea or an emotion, and it hits me strong. I let it build in my mind before I ever put it down on the panel. Sometimes I do my best work after the models have gone away, purely from memory. (1996)”

I’m kind of in a fallow period right now as well. It’s time to make the shift from an all-quilt life to a life shared with the papers and detritus of my real job: an adjunct professor. I’ve been quieter here on the blog, not because I haven’t lots to share, but I had to get that pesky syllabus over to the Copy Center on campus, as well as the Get To Know You form for the first day. We’re also slipping out to a family reunion and a camping adventure in a National Park before I start back up again, so I’ve been doing the regular things like getting the car prepped, tires checked, laundry. Well–you’ve all been on vacations and you know what’s involved. Perhaps because of this, I relate to Wyeth’s comment “when there is great tension, or lots taking place” it’s hard to be creative.

But since these Wednesday posts are about Work In Progress, I give to you my WIP: cleaning up the sewing room.
No lie.

Another lovely view. Sometimes I just pile the stuff here and there, making way for that next project. I’ve been trying to finish up a few things (two more coming in the next couple of weeks–on Fridays), yet you can see on the corner of my elevated cutting table a stack of reds and whites.

The Red/White Challenge finished ahead of schedule! Here they all are, with my block on the top. I have them up on the pin wall, just percolating there as I think very sweet thoughts about the women who took a chance on me and my quirky idea. September 1st is the deadline for the Temecula Quilt Company’s “quilt show” and I want to have something new to add.