"A very Merry Unbirthday to you, to you. A very Merry Unbirthday to you." from Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland"
Showing posts with label A Cottage Year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A Cottage Year. Show all posts

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Borderless is Decisionless

The Country Cottage quilt top is finished, but not without much too much time spent trying to come up with a border that I like.  Yes, there is much to be said for a borderless quilt, for the simple reason that no time is wasted trying to come up with one.  If now you are thinking, "gee, what did Joanna finally create?"  Yes, what spectacular border did I finish with? 
 How's that for simple?
 This really is a beautiful quilt top.  I ordered a blue wide backing for it, and as soon as it arrives I'll start the quilting.  
 I had spotted a log cabin border that I loved, but it took me too long to make the sample block, so I ditched that idea.  However, I have to try it on something because it is a beautiful border.
Then I tried big flying geese, but they were just too large.

 Then I saw this in a Thimbleberries book, Quilting for Harvest.  The border is really flying geese set side by side.  I love this look.
 

  This border is just two fabrics, the green and blue.  I didn't have enough fabric, but this is another border I like and want to use in the future.

While I was looking for ideas for borders, I found this in the same Lynette Jensen book, and I think it's going to be my next Let's Book It project.  It'll be nice to work on an autumn project during our next heat wave due this week.  
  I have butterfly bushes and phlox that attract butterflies every year, and this year there seem to be quilt a few visiting them.  The other day there was one with beautiful blue spots, but I didn't get a picture. 




I didn't plant this sunflower, but it grew from a seed from last year's flower.
 Sometimes it pays not to  keep an overly neat yard.



I've fallen behind on some of my qal's, but even a not perfect garden requires attention and the grass just keeps on growing.  
Hope you are all having a wonderful day.
God Bless You.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Coffee Grounds, A Year of Cottages and Kats

 I'm showing off my lily because this is the first year in about 4 or more years that it has bloomed, and the secret is coffee grounds.  This poor plant has been attacked by small red beetles every year, and nothing I did worked (I do not use poisons, just bee friendly, butterfly friendly and pet/people friendly things.)  I always throw coffee grounds in the garden and this year I threw them directly on this plant, just by accident.  I noticed after a few days that there were no beetles (after I picked off one.)  So every day this lily was covered by coffee grounds and every day it grew.  And it made me happy by blooming.  Now I'm using coffee grounds directly on any plants that show bug damage.  It's pretty darn good.

 This month we sewed a small portion of the non-black kats bodies together.  So I'm up to date on this project (PatchKats designed by Denise Russart.) 
 A week ago I completed the last little house in the A Cottage Year quilt, designed by Kathy Schmitz and shared with me by Lesley of The Cuddle Quilter.  I devoted whole days to getting the embroidery done and felt great when I cut that last floss.  But now I have to put them all together.  Not sure what I'm going to do.    


I like the way this looks, but have to get the right fabric mix for the log cabin strips that finish the block.


My apologies to Sharon of Vroomans Quilts for leaving out the quilt block charm from my "Let's Book It" prize.  When I opened the package I was so happy with the sewing machine that I stopped looking for anything else.  Isn't it neat?

I have a few more Lynette Jensen books that I'm drooling over, and I'm loving her quilt, "Twilight Village."  It's in The Thimbleberries Book of Quilts published in 1998, and it fits right in with the current house block designs that are popular.  I will probably work on it along with the Cottage Year quilt.  That should keep me busy for awhile.

Hope you are enjoying your quilting time.

God Bless You.
Canterbury Bells
A clowder of kats.