I really was going crazy ...

Jenny's stocking 2015

This blog post will be a little different than those in the past. Today I am sharing what I was working on prior to Christmas -- a little crazy quilting. I plan to design some CQ blocks for you to download in the new year, but right now I thought I would give you some "eye candy". I had to wait to post these photos, as the projects were gifts for family and I couldn't take the chance that either of these ladies might catch a glimpse of their presents before the big day.

Project One

This stocking was my first project and it is for my daughter-in-law, Jenny. (I forgot to take a "before" picture, so you just get to see the finished product.)

It had to be mailed so I had to finish it first. (I must admit that I was nervous about the mailing part because it would be difficult to recreate this should it go astray in the mail). However, she got the package, just in time and was thrilled.

Gotta have a maple leaf!

(I believe if you click on the image you will see a much larger version.)

Now, if you were not already aware, I'm a Canadian (as is Jenny) so of course I had to add the maple leaf. This embroidery technique (long and short stitches) was a first for me and was made of single strands of thread and took me about 4 hours to produce, so I thought you should see a close up. <pats self on back>

Project Two

My next project (and I really didn't know what I was in for) was a purse for my daughter Rachel. (The embroidery and embellishing was a cinch compared to putting the thing together...)


This looks pretty unassuming and that is the interesting part of crazy quilting. You get to take small scraps of lovely bits and pieces, embroider as you wish and then, the really fun part, is adding the silk ribbon and the bead embellishments.

In the beginning ...

 Starting the embroidery. It's beginning to look a little more interesting.

Starting the embroidery ...

And here is the final product (after much soul searching as to why I attempted this, sprinkled with quite a bit of cursing ... ), but in the end, it was worth it.

The finished purse

Happy Holidays!

Just a quick note to wish each and every one of you a safe and happy holiday season.

May you enjoy good times with family and friends and the wonderful spirit of the season.












<sub>Snowflake image courtesy of emptyglass at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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'Tis the Season ...

I am one who celebrates Christmas, and for me, it is a time for spending time with family and friends.

Christmas Basket quilt block

But really, this is a season of the spirit of good will and, with all of the tragic things happening in the world, it is a perfect time to think about peace.

This quilt block called Christmas Basket, is one of many basket quilt blocks, and due to the name, I chose colours to represent a poinsettia in a basket. (I decided to avoid the obvious red and like those pink poinsettias sometimes.) However, any colour combination can be used.

Many basket quilt blocks are designed on point as is this block, and that leaves it open to your imagination to create all sorts of designs because many secondary patterns can emerge as you rotate or flip these blocks when placing them in your quilt.

The spirit of the season

• "Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values."
  ~ Thomas S. Monson

May your time with family and friends, and even strangers, give you a feeling of joy, hope, love and laughter during this holiday season.

<sub>'Christmas Basket' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
 

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The highest point ...

Zenith quilt block

According to Merriam-Webster a zenith is defined as "the highest point reached in the heavens by a celestial body".

Today's featured quilt block is called Zenith, as you may have guessed, and my thought is that it was so named because it has a highest point (on each of the four sides).

I thought it was time to move away from the most recent colour schemes I have been using ... all seeming to be related to sand and beaches. (Hmmm ... maybe there is a subliminal message there ...)  So today's block is vibrant with some of my favourite colours.

This block is an easy one to construct and contains another favourite of mine ... the flying geese patch. And ... as a surprise, the rectangle patches create a secondary pattern of pinwheels when laid out next to each other.

Download the free quilt block pattern.

Zenith Quotes

• "Each man is always in the middle of the surface of the earth and under the zenith of his own hemisphere, and over the centre of the earth."
  ~ Leonardo da Vinci


• "The zenith of elegance in any woman's wardrobe is the little black dress, the power of which suggests dash and refinement."
  ~ Andre Leon Talley


• "Being on top of the world doesn't mean anything unless you know what it's like to be at the bottom."
  ~ Author Unknown
  
  and finally, some words to ponder ...


• "If you are sitting on top of the world, remember it turns over every 24 hours."
  ~ Author Unknown

<sub>'Zenith' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com

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Mermaid's Hair

Mermaid's Hair quilt block

The colours I chose for this quilt block were derived from the character of Ariel in the Disney movie The Little Mermaid. I also seem to remember while reading Superman comics when I was a kid, that one of his many girlfriends was "Lori Lemaris", a mermaid with red hair. So, how could I tamper with that?

This is an easy five patch block to construct and uses only the two most basic quilt patches -- the square and half square triangle. I choose to construct the block as an uneven nine patch as I find that an easier method than sewing five rows of five patches.

Download the free quilt block pattern for Mermaid's Hair.

Mermaid Quotes just for fun

• "I'm always happy when I'm surrounded by water, I think I'm a mermaid or I was a mermaid."
  ~ Beyonce Knowles


• "The seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake."
  - from the movie "The Little Mermaid" (1989)


• "But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more."
  ~ Hans Christian Andersen [The Little Mermaid]


• "I must be a mermaid, Rango. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living."
  ~ Anaïs Nin

<sub>'Mermaid's Hair' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com

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Fact or Fiction? The Salt Water Taffy Story

Salt Water Taffy quilt block

The tale goes, that back in 1883 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, a candy shop owned by David Bradley, was near the ocean. A big storm hit one summer day and the boardwalk and the shops closest to the ocean were flooded. Mr. Bradley's entire stock of taffy (a favourite of the locals) was soaked with the salt water and he figured it was ruined.

Once the storm had cleared, a young girl entered the shop to make a purchase and Mr. Bradley joked that all he had available was some "salt water taffy". The girl bought some anyway and upon sharing it around, others began requesting the new treat called salt water taffy. True or not, the story continues.

The Salt Water Taffy quilt block is an easy five patch to construct. Although salt water taffy actually comes in a rainbow of colours, I chose to use the colours of the beachfront at Atlantic City. What colours would you choose?

I couldn't find any specific quotes about salt water taffy so instead, here are ...

Some thoughts about the seashore.

• I could never stay long enough on the shore; the tang of the untainted, fresh, and free sea air was like a cool, quieting thought.
  ~ Helen Keller


• The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.
  ~ Isak Dinesen


• I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.
  ~ Isaac Newton

<sub>'Salt Water Taffy' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com


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It's all in the family

Auntie's Puzzle quilt block

Today's featured quilt block is called Auntie's Puzzle. This five patch block is an easy one to construct. I choose to make this block (and many other blocks as well) as an uneven nine patch, rather than sewing as five rows of five patches, as I prefer to work with "chunks" rather than several rows. This is just a personal preference so feel free to construct with your own method.

By using 90 degree rotations when placing the block in your quilt you can achieve all sorts of interesting variations.

Download the free quilt block pattern.

And speaking of family ...

• "You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."
  ~ Desmond Tutu


• "The love of family and the admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege."
  ~ Charles Kuralt


• "Family is not an important thing. It's everything."
  ~ Michael J. Fox


• "The family is one of nature's masterpieces."
  ~ George Santayana

<sub>'Auntie's Puzzle' quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com

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Lest We Forget

Frederick Johnson
1939 - age 17

Each year, at the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month, we take a few moments to remember countless fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters who gave up their lives for their country in one of the many, terrible wars the world has suffered. Around the globe, this day is known as Remembrance Day, Veterans' Day and Armistice Day, but what's in a name?

My dad was a veteran of the second world war. He lied about his age to join the army, but when it was discovered that he was only 17, he was sent packing. Not to be discouraged, he joined the air force as soon as he turned 18 and, as a rear gunner, flew on 21 different missions. His plane was shot down on two occasions, and in one of those crashes he was the lone survivor. These events were the seeds of what was then known as "shell shock", which for him, lasted for the remainder of his life. Today we know this as post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD -- one of the "invisible" illnesses.

Mom and Dad
A love story during the war years

My dad spent over a year in hospital in recovery. During that time he met my mother who was one of the nurses tending to all of the "boys" in the ward of 32 soldiers. After the war, they married and it lasted for over 63 years, until we lost him.

Dad never once spoke to us about his time serving for his country. Any information my family knows is from the few things he would tell my mother over time -- sometimes while babbling and shouting during a nightmare, from which he would wake up shaking in a cold sweat. We, as children, witnessed this many times.

While Dad was in hospital those many years before, one day Mom had offered to stay after her shift to write a letter to his family for him, since he was unable. He told her -- not until over 60 years later -- that he had fallen in love with her that very day, because she was the only one of all the staff in the hospital who treated him as a person, rather than just another patient.

Tyne Cot Cemetery in Flanders Fields, Belgium

Your family likely has a story of love, loss, courage or compassion too, whether it is from long ago or a recent event. I hope you will join me in thanking all of those men and women who fought in any war, or worked tirelessly to care for the wounded. Let us never forget their sacrifices for our freedom.


<sub>Johnson family images © W. Russell
Tyne Cot Cemetery image courtesy http://www.utnrotcalum.org/alumni/FlandersFieldsStory.htm


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