If I had to choose a sister ....

Sister's Choice

My (little) sister has been on my mind a lot lately so I thought this was the perfect time to feature the Sister's Choice quilt block. This selection contains only simple shapes but you can create a really wonderful quilt with just this one quilt block. Download the free quilt block pattern.

Quotes about sisters

• "Sister is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship."
  ~ Margaret Mead


• "Sisters are different flowers from the same garden."
  ~ Author Unknown


• "Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other."

  

  My little sis and me, circa 1961
  Aren't we precious?

  
  ~ Carol Saline

and finally, this following quote will strike my sister as particularly funny ... and probably true ...

• "Big sisters are the crab grass in the lawn of life."
  ~ Charles Schulz
   

Now to follow up on my opening title ... If I had to choose a sister, there would be no other choice than the fabulous sister I am blessed to have.

I'm a Klutz -- What can I say?

Broken Dishes Cross

I've been dropping things frequently and so I thought the perfect quilt block to showcase today would be Broken Dishes Cross.  How appropriate -- I have lots of broken dishes and as my grandmother would say "That makes me cross."  (It's funny how you don't hear that term much any more, but I remember well how my grandma would get "cross".)

What is hilarious to me now, is that I just went on a search for a free photo of some broken dishes. Can't find a free one  -- and since I have already cleaned up my latest fiasco, I'm not about to smash something new for a photo op. I'm sure you can use your imagination. 

So on that note, here are some quotes that struck my funnybone (but didn't break it).

• "I love being married. It's so great to find one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life."
  ~ Rita Rudner
• "In the beginning there was nothing. God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better."
  ~ Ellen DeGeneres
• "Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart."
  ~ Erma Bombeck
• "Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic."
  ~ Dave Barry

and finally, what would a list of funny quotes be without the special take on life by Yogi Berra ...


• "You should always go to other people's funerals, otherwise, they won't come to yours."
  ~ Yogi Berra

_{Broken Dishes Cross quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com}

Earth Day Thoughts

Earth Day - April 22

Today is Earth Day so it is time to take a step back and look at how you might make a difference.

It was interesting to me that many of the quotes I have chosen to feature were made by scientists. Who better to show us the way?

Quotes about nature

• "Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."
  ~ Albert Einstein
  
• "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed."
  ~ Mahatma Gandhi
  
• "Until a man duplicates a blade of grass, Nature can laugh at his so-called scientific knowledge. Remedies from chemicals will never stand in favorable comparison with the products of Nature, the living cell of a plant, the final result of the rays of the sun, the mother of all life."
  ~ Thomas Edison
  
• "Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth."
  ~ Henry David Thoreau
  
• "Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money."
  ~ Cree Indian Proverb

Butterfly Parade

It seemed fitting to show a fun quilt block for Earth Day. The Butterfly Parade block fit that bill. Download the free pattern.

A side note:
Today would have been my Dad's 92nd birthday. I'm sure he is on a heavenly golf green today smiling down on the beautiful earth. You are missed Dad. 

_{"Butterfly on purple flower" - Image courtesy of SOMMAI / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
"Butterfly Parade" quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com}

"Earth Laughs in Flowers"

It is such a lovely sunny day today, that I just had to share this quote ... "Earth laughs in flowers." by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Earth day is later this week too and there are (finally) flowers popping up here and there, after this long and brutal winter season.

Today is Easter Sunday so it seems appropriate to feature the free quilt block pattern Easter Basket, one of many basket style quilt blocks. Use this one block to make your quilt or switch it up and make a sampler quilt using lots of the different basket quilt blocks.

Easter Basket

Flowers and laughter make us happy

• "Won't you come into the garden? I would like my roses to see you."
  ~ Richard Brinsley Sheridan


• "Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into."
  ~ Henry Ward Beecher


• "Laughing is the shortest distance between two people."
  ~ Victor Borge


• "The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."
  ~ e. e. cummings

_{Baby Girl in Garden of Flowers - Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Easter Basket image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com}
 

Hands of Friendship

Hands of Friendship

One of the most special people in your life will be your best friend. Friends are a necessity in life -- to share all those laughable times and those sad times too. Friends are there for all those important life events. So on that segue, how about a look at the quilt block Hands of Friendship?

This quilt block is a nine patch block made with simple shapes -- the half square triangle and the flying geese units. Perhaps there is a future quilt here just waiting to be created for your best friend.

And now for some quotes about friendship ... and from a variety of sources

Best friends

• "Wine adds a smile to friendship and a spark to love."
  ~ Edmondo de Amicis


• "Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."
  ~ Muhammad Ali


• "Being honest may not get you many friends but it'll always get you the right ones."
  ~ John Lennon


• "A friend is one who takes me for what I am."
  ~ Henry David Thoreau

_{Hands of Friendship image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
Cute little girls image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net}

Things that make you go "Hmmm..."

A Spanish castle

Being a quilter for many decades (how embarrassing now be speaking in terms of "decades" ... ), I have always been curious about the names selected for quilt blocks. Who decides these things? And how do they choose a particular name? Many make no sense to me (and I am hoping to others as well). Oh well, as my daughter would say (decades ago) ... "It's just another one of life's mysteries."

Castles in Spain quilt block

A case in point is the very pretty quilt block called Castles in Spain. Did someone actually see a castle that resembled this quilt block? Who can say? Anyway, this quilt block is a little different in its construction, and being different always intrigues me. It does contain some of the most common patches though ... the quarter square triangle and flying geese units.

So going with the theme of this blog post, here are a few quotes that struck my funnybone or made me think "hmmmm..."

"I couldn't hold a tune if it had handles."
~ Author Unknown

"Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart."
~ Erma Bombeck

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."
~ Mark Twain

_{Castles in Spain image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
Castle image courtesy Image courtesy of xedos4 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net}

All Around the Campfire

Campfire Star quilt block

Ever trying to be the optimist ... I am telling myself that spring is here and soon we will smell the wonderful scent of a wood fire, perhaps from a group surrounding a makeshift campfire. So, on that note, how about taking a look at the Campfire Star quilt block? This quilt block is comprised to two nine patch blocks, each containing flying geese units -- a frequently used patch in quilt making.
 
And ... speaking of things in nature ...

Nature quotes for today

Mother Nature at work

• Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy.
  ~ Isaac Newton


• Beautiful young people are acts of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.
  ~ Author Unknown


• If you can't be in awe of Mother Nature, there's something wrong with you.
  ~ Alex Trebek

_{Campfire Star image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
Mother Nature image - public domain}

Happiness is a Pinwheel

Pinwheel Star

When I was a child and off on a family outing to the fair, it always made me happy when I got a pinwheel. Just seeing it spin in the wind, and flipping through its colours was enchanting for me, since I have always been a lover of colour.

Pinwheels are also a favourite of quilters. Even though the word "pinwheel" does not always appear in the quilt block name, you will see their shapes frequently.  One of my favourites is the Pinwheel Star quilt block.

Happiness quotes  for today

...(And doesn't Albert Einstein's picture just make you smile?)

Albert Einstein

"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things."
~ Albert Einstein

"Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon."
~ Winnie the Pooh

"Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see a bird that had the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses."
~ Dale Carnegie

More Happiness Quotes...


_{Pinwheel Star quilt block image © W. Russell, patchworksquare.com
Albert Einstein photo - public domain}