Highlight Reel

Design Wall Monday

I am working on a triple rail fence with random solid blocks added. I think I have enough to make a table runner from a charm pack and a honey bun!

Any advice on making a quilt from hockey jersey's?

Best Highland Games yet! Hubby took second place. He is doing the caber toss here.

A charm pack and a honey bun...

 See the little blocks on the left? Now sure how the final layout will be, but I think it is going to be a sweet little quilt.

Design Wall Monday

A baby quilt for a friend has been started. I think I will complete it by November! It is a disappearing 9 patch and the tutorial is on PS I Quilt if you are interested, link is on the side bar. It is a great quilt for a baby- quick, easy,  and colorful. All fabrics used so far were is my little old stash!  

Here is the panel quilt I mad last week. Not liking it so much but I will use it as a practice quilt for making feathers on the long arm. I may be more hopeful on this one as giving it as a gift for another baby but we will see!

Want to know more about whats happening in my life? Here are links to previous blog posts: Gardening, Highland Games, long arm blog for recent updates

A peek at the Garden

An early girl tomato, hopefully it will get ripe this year!

a hot pepper! Salsa?

Part of the raised beds we have this year, come on little plants, grow!

A much anticipated event in my garden, the Mr Lincoln rose. Note it had two blooms already this year, the first bloom is in the background. :)

The Good Life

There are moments when we walk away from hearing something that really stays with us. Things like the phrase "carpe diem" from a movie as a teen really struck a chord with me. Recently, I had one of those moments. You walk away thinking, if I can quote the Cake Boss, "that's what I'm talking about, baby!" By the way, the pics in this post are from last weekend, just for fun.

I have been reminded of a movement I learned about in passing many years ago. It was talked about in some of my favorite shows on travelling. Italy has a Slow food movement. It is about "dolce vida" or enjoying the good/sweet life. Slow foods are home grown, hand made foods that are, well , slow. They are ate in season and enjoyed in a relaxed manner. There are groups out there to join about the "slow" movement. In fact, there have been groups out there endorsing a "slow" life since the industrial revolution. That is why I love the arts and crafts movement, it is about highly- crafted hand made items in life that can't be massed produced. I have been part of an informal "slow" life for years.

I may have told you I am not a "joiner." I just like to be part of these ideologies in my life with out the formality of being a member. It is a big deal to me to even be a member of my local church. So joining a chapter of "slow foods" isn't for me. Nor is joining a master gardening group, going to a quilt guild meetings or being a part of a formal music program, it just doesn't work for me.

Instead, I have informally practiced this concept of slow living for years. It is about enjoying the simple things. It is about preserving a heritage of gardening, handmade items and living simply for my overall health. It is about being content in this over caffeinated, high speed, well- connected world. I have found times where I was rushing around to get nowhere only for the sake of rushing around, because that is what a modern progressive person is all about, right? Wrong.

Don't get living "slow" confused with being slow and unproductive. It is about being simple, organized and focusing on the moment. I love the simplicity of chores, weeding and sewing a seam because it is all a necessary part of the process. I can enjoy all of it. I still like to buy pre-made bread and pasta. I like using a computer and having a cell phone, but when I want to use them. 

 I will never be a die hard "slow" living person who does everything from scratch and totally organic, or not using modern conveniences. It is the ideology of rejecting all or part of modern technology  to see the beauty of simple, "slow" living. That includes continuing to have my veggies in my little patch of garden in the back yard. Quilts that are pieced one block at a time. Living a low maintenance lifestyle because I choose it to be that way. I am not joining a group, but I am refreshing these ideas for my life.

Highland Games

Here is the highlights of the festival over the 4th of July weekend. This is my first attempt at taking any video and editing it. More videos to come! It is pretty fun stuff.

I have tons of photos that I will sprinkle in over time.

By the way, I love that guy in the red kilt.

Design Wall Monday - Advice needed

Here is a start to a baby quilt. I cut panels and framed them. Now to decide what blocks to put in the spaces and a layout. Any suggestions?

Here are some hockey jerseys that a friend asked me to make into a quilt. Anyone ever do this and do you have any pointers for me?

last weekend's games

looking down the throw for 42lb weight

hammer is in the upper l corner

I was a wonderful weekend at Canterbury village. It was hot! There were personal best throws made. There is a quilt shop there and I bought a bit of fabric, of course!

The pattern dilemma is solved for my kit. The quilt shop had access to the right pattern so that is what I am making. Right now, I found out one of the athletes that my husband trains with is having a baby in the fall, so that is my next priority.

http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=coa6c9cab&et=1106392262456&s=618&e=001g-wYmDvJTvMVb7P6RZ-AOdtlQBaOzEBNmKT0u0iQz1j0apbE9El-KM6oZ7zEpNhnWxDpaJFCKbcCJy6dSdy0qOKdAWu-yXZbwftRAQH0Yq9J5-IC73i944WqzhXzMAf_mDkf1vCTbTxVtzNb4Yb1ryX_RVs_5NZNyl-pZ9lthNX2mZLxpnmIVUFunVcWvn_N

Here is a link to the newspaper that ran an article and photos of the event.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/embates/sets/72157627109724002/

More great photos by a friend.

IMG_20110701_085502.jpg

Alice's quilt long arm quilting by Marcia (MOM)

IMG_20110701_085502.jpg, a photo by vhollowayus on Flickr.

IMG_20110701_085511.jpg

details of Alice's quilt

IMG_20110701_085511.jpg, a photo by vhollowayus on Flickr.