Marian Edwards DreamWeaver

50 & Fabulous...

A sweet friend turned 50 today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Meredithe!!

Last year Helen and Kaye plotted to make a birthday quilt for Miss M's 50th and it was decided that the theme would be ~ BASKETS ~ an obvious choice because Miss M LOVES baskets!! 

So, without further ado they got to work choosing the background & backing fabric. Next, they contacted dozens of quilty friends [incl me] to see if we'd like to make a few basket blocks for M's quilt..well, of course we did.

Within a few days i received an envelope in the mail [from Kaye] with instructions and also some lovely grey fabric..enough for four blocks.  In her letter, Kaye also specified that the baskets had to be made in BRIGHTS. I don't own many Brights, however, i did have one piece that i thought would be suitable. It was a lovely Japanese print with a spray of bright flowers & cranes. I just happen to know that M likes birds & flowers too.,so the Japanese print ticked all the boxes. 

i got to work and had these four little basket blocks made up in no time..aren't they FUN?? 

 

Four weeks ago i was fortunate to get a sneak peek at M's quilt, after Helen picked it up from Somerset Patchwork, where the talented Karen did an amazing job of quilting it. We couldn't wait to get it back to Kaye's place so that we could have a closer look [and feel]..it was STUNNING!!

We knew we had only minutes before M turned up..just enough time to snap a few photos..you should've seen us scurry when we heard her at the front door LOL!!!

a close-up of those darling little baskets...

check out that gorgeous quilting...

a sea of brightly coloured little baskets...BRILLIANT!!

Two weeks ago, Helen presented Meredithe with her 'surprise' Birthday basket quilt. To say she was surprised is a complete understatement! I only wish i had been there to see the look on M's face! i believe her reaction was priceless, as expected!

Here's M's basket quilt proudly displayed in her dining room [courtesy M's blog]

 and i also had to show you a photo of the label [courtesy of M's blog] with the beautifully embroidered pomegranate, by Helen including the names of the 36 quilters who took part in making this delightful birthday quilt.

I was thrilled to be part of it!!

 

Welcome to the Fabulous 50's Meredithe, i hope you had a Wonderful Birthday with lots of lovely surprises!! xx

back on track...

As we're nearing the end of yet another month, i suddenly realized that i was dragging my feet with this month's small quilt challenge.

Kathy's choice was 'Broken Dishes..another little quilts from Prairie Children & their Quilts book.  I was happy with that and got to work choosing my fabrics...only to find that i changed my mind several times over the following days. I can't remember ever being this undecided. This was not a good sign. But i wasn't go to be deterred!

 

WELL. i'm relieved to say that i finally made my fabric selection [last Monday] and got cutting.

i decided to include a few pumpkin / mustardy yellows for a little extra pazazz.

48 hsts later i think i'm happy with the layout..yes? no? maybe??

Oscar senses my indecision and decides to leave..smart move!!

okay, after what seemed like forever, i FINALLY got all eight rows of hsts joined. Next, i laid them out on the deck in natural daylight. Yes, i thought..i'm happy with the layout, but you know what? i don't remember choosing so many pinks..way too many!! don't you hate that!! one thing's for certain no way was i going to unpick those hsts, those pinks would just have to stay..sigh!  

Kathy's version of this little quilt has a double border, but you know what, because i wasn't happy with all those pinks i decided to keep it simple..a single border would do.  Simple enough you might think but noooo.. after umpteen fabric auditions, i was still undecided and tempted to chuck it in. This little quilt had a mind of it's own and i had absolutely no control what-so-ever..it was the strangest thing.

I knew i had to simply walk away and sleep on it.

Two days later i decided i was ready to give it another try. It was now or never!! And guess what?? within minutes of walking into my studio i spotted the blackish/blue hail spot fabric peeking out from under my darks. I was just a tad excited when i trialled it against my flimsy. It worked!! well, you can imagine my relief..phew!

 

Yesterday, i finally got the layers basted and using my NEW Sewline TRIO pen [which arrived on friday, with my order from the Fat Quarter Shop ] i carefully drew the quilting lines and it worked beautifully, made me very happy indeed. Forget the icky, sticky masking tape, this pen wins hands down lol!

 

nice clear lines. i love my new pen.

this morning i got cracking with the quilting and within an hour and a bit i had half of the quilt, quilted.

i love to hand quilt and you know what? as i'm sitting back quilting my little Broken Dishes quilt, i can honestly say that this little quilt is beginning to grow on me..funny huh!!

a small quilt-a-month challenge...

January just flashed by within a couple of eye blinks, or so it seems..how did we get to February so quickly??..it's like we're on fast forward, don't you think?? i sure hope this month doesn't go by in a flash..it's all just a bit too scary :((

Having said that, i'm really pleased [and surprised] at how organized and creative i've been in my studio, this past month.  I've alreday finished one small quilt, and three quilt tops are waiting to be quilted. One of them, Pink Lemonade has been basted and i'm planning to start quilting it tonight. 

As part of the 'small quilt-a-month' challenge, Kathy will be choosing a pattern, for the group, from one of her books, each month. The challenge is to finish the quilt within that month. Each month, Kathy will present us with two choices, ie the pattern as shown in the book or a smaller version which she has designed for us. We're doing it as a small QAL, with weekly prompts on her blog and motivation along the way, to keep us on track.

January's quilt challenge was ::Crosses Mourning:: from 'Prairie Children & Their Quilts'

i chose to make the smaller version....with four crosses.  As i was choosing the fabrics from my stash i knew i wanted to combine a few older cw prints with a few new ones. To my delight i still had some vintage purple paisley fabric from the 1960s, which i've had since my teens....perfect!!!

so, here's the finished top...

sandwiched, basted & hand quilted....

it's all a bit too much for Elmo...time for a cat nap on my fabric, if you don't mind!!

Oscar's happy to nap on the floor...on my fabric, of course LOL!!

and here's my finished 'January' quilt... 

and in case you're wondering about the dragon....

2012 is the year of the water dragon, which happens to be my sign, in the Chinese Zodiac.  My brother, Henry [who's a potter] made the dragon for me, and i've got a purple one as well..lucky me!! It just so happens that 1952 [my birth year] was the first year of the water dragon, how about that?! It comes around every sixty years, which makes me think it's highly unlikely that i'll be here for it's third incarnation, but you just never know.  OMGoodness, i'll be a really, REALLY old dragon by then LOL!!!

In the early hours of this morning, 1am [est] Kathy announced Feb's small quilt challenge.  She chose another pattern from the same book, this time it's ::Broken Dishes:: the smaller version has redwork embroidery in the centre block..which i really like.  For those who are going to make the smaller version Kathy suggests that we make it in red & white, as a Valentine project..nice :))

i've chosen a few of my fabrics and over the next couple of days, i hope to start cutting & piecing... but first things first, i really should finish quilting my pink lemonade quilt, shouldn't i??..wink!!