Broderie Perse Traditional

I just finished and delivered a quilt to our local quilt shop for the upcoming Shop Hop.  The shop owner wanted traditional, which to both of us, meant crosshatching the middle.  Now this quilt is large, 104" square.  That means the middle is also large (Huge).  This was a pretty daunting task to accomplish, first marking then quilting.  With a longarm, a ruler is used to guide the stitching process and even with the use of a ruler guiding the hopping foot one still runs the risk of wobbling off the path and varying the degree of "straight line" which is only noticeable once the quilt is off the frame.  Only then does it jump out at you with a "see me!" attitude.

I was told by a few longarmers that I was very brave in attempting to crosshatch such a large area.  I was successful although I'm not sure I'd attempt it again.  It was definitely a lot of work and took lots of time and care to get it right.

I also stitched around each and every motif on the quilt, from the littlest of leaves to berries.  Chevrons were added in blank areas of one border to draw the eye around the quilt and in some areas I quilted ghost branches/leaves.  Piano keys were placed in the 2 busiest borders about 1" apart.

Enjoy.

Advertising

What's with all the ads showing up on blogs these days?  It's irritating and annoying and some of my favorite blogs are allowing it with their choices of security by allowing the advertising.  I don't want more ads in my face.  I don't want anyone targeting me for things they think I might be interested in based on my click of the mouse.  I don't want someone collecting "data" on me.  I even tried to disable the ads by deleting cookies on my computer to "opt out" of ads on a particular blog.  It didn't work - they are still there.

I'm not trying to make money by having ads on my blog.  It's a personal preference I guess.  But it's truly distracting for what I think the original intent of a blog was meant to be.  I vow to never allow an ad on my blog.  Hopefully all of my "permissions" block that type of activity from posting anything on what I have tried to create as something personal and inspiring with beautiful things to think about.

So enough of my ranting for one morning.  Maybe I've gotten it out of my system.

Blooming Pink

The weather has been so unusually warm here.  Spring has arrived and we're in bloom.  Please enjoy.

If only we could get rid of the wind before they all end up here:



Hugs,

Karen

Tea and Friends

I guess I must have anticipated that I would need a morning like today - a day for tea with friends.  I'm so looking forward to it.

They are each getting a hand-painted egg from Poland as well as a little bunny hand-made by me in their "baskets"!  And I'm thinking the French Breakfast Muffins will be enjoyed as well. 

Hugs,

Karen 

Longing for Spring

“I must have flowers, always, and always.”


- Claude Monet

Hugs,

Karen

Changing Seasons

We've sure had a little stretch of spring lately.  It's not going to last.  Except maybe indoors with flowers that don't give way to another wave of chilly air.

Have you looked closely at the pictures and seen the lace?  In the first photo I'm not sure where this originally was used - maybe a sleeve?  The lace in the 2nd photo is Normandy Lace - it's so yummy.    I'm always tempted to store my lace in a drawer - keep it safe.  But then I'm not enjoying it.  So use it. Someone else did at some point in time.

One of the quickie projects I made recently was little notebooks.  I just love them.  And on them I wrote Hopes, Dreams or Wishes.  Notebooks to share with friends for whatever they might use them for or to allow yourself to dream and put it in writing. 

I love to daydream and think about possibilities.   So here's wishing you spring flowers with hopes, dreams and wishes.

Hugs,

Karen

Being Happy

I'm in need of a small project - something manageable and not overwhelming.  My sewing room is a mess - things everywhere - sort of like my life.  So to gain back some sanity I'm trying to decide what to do and what to play with.  Here's a couple of my choices:

 

 

The vintage hankerchief is a very pale pink - kind of a dirty pink.  And of course I love hearts.

Or should I choose this?

I just love the pearls - found them in Frisco.  Some are the typical round with great lustre, some a freshwater pearl, and then the pale pale pink with a more matte finish.

But in the disorder of my sewing room and life (which truly makes me nuts!) I find solace in this thought:

 

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect.

It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections"

(unknown)

 

Hugs,

 

Karen

 

 

A Mountain Respite

I've been working on numerous customer quilts since the first of the year, so many that I've done 13 thus far.  I am pooped!  And so when a highschool friend and her husband were coming to CO for a visit we just had to spend a couple of days in the mountains with them.  A welcome relief from work.  A rejuvination of sorts.  A place for my soul to rest.

We walked, we laughed, we ate and we slept.  And it was a wonderful 2 days.  Here's some photos of some of what we enjoyed.

Our last night we ate dinner at the Blue Spruce Inn in Frisco.  What a delightful place to dine.  We were lucky enough to sit next to the fireplace.

And then it was back to the hotel to sleep - I guess even Holly was tired as she NEVER cuddles but on this night she was content.  And so were we.

More of the trip in a couple of days.

Hugs,

Karen