Small Wall Quilt for the New House

Today the little hsts I was working on last week are all sewn into a little wall quilt for the new house in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  When we bought the house, the guest bathroom was painted a purplish brown, (or maybe a brownish purple.)  Anyway, I thought I would repaint it when we moved in.  But actually, the color is growing on me.  And this little quilt will look great in that room.

The quilt has 16 broken dishes blocks, each finishing at 3 inches. The sashing is 1 inch and the outer border will finish at 4.5 inches.  The outer border fabric is a similar brownish purplish color as the walls.  I can't wait to take it to the new house and see how it looks there.  Thank you again to my friend Mary Jane Gantzler, for the little fabric triangles.  They finally have a home.

I am recovering from pneumonia, and am feeling much better.  The snow is so beautiful here, but since I'm sick, I only take pictures of it from the car, and otherwise I stay inside.  Here's a picture I took Sunday of the woods:

Doesn't it look like someone had a snowball fight and hit all the trees with snowballs?  Maybe the deer had a snowball fight in the woods.  We came upon about 6 of them playing in the roadway just after I took this picture.

Are any of you going to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show in Newport News, Virginia this week?  It's February 26 - March 1st and I will not be there, but I will have two quilts on display.  Say hello to them for me if you go! 

My two will be in an exhibit of quilts made by The Churn Dashers, a group I am in.  We make replicas of civil war era quilts.   I will have a doll quilt and a bed quilt, both made from baskets exchanged with others in the group.  I wish I could be there to see the show, as it is always a good one.

This picture was taken before they were quilted (taken from the balcony of the cabin).  The quilter was Joyce Brenner, and she did an excellent job.  

Even though it's Tuesday, I will link-up with Judy Laquidara's Design Wall Mondays, because I like to go there and see what others are working on.  

(Here) 

February - Snowed in at the Cabin!

I've lived in Virginia for the past ten years, and have missed the beautiful snow of my childhood in the Michigan winters.  Now that we are back in the snow, I realize just how much I love it.

I love being snowed in, with a beautiful blanket of snow all around.  Here are some pictures taken this week at the cabin...

First, the woods from the road.....wait - you mean there is a cabin back in these woods?

Thank goodness our neighbor plows our driveway for us, or we would never be able to get out.  Picture taken of long driveway to the cabin:

And the cabin, as seen from the driveway - the lake is behind it. 

Pictures were taken right after the "whiteout" when swirling wind and a snowstorm packed snow on every trunk and branch in the yard.

Here's a picture taken from the lake, showing the lake side of the cabin, and the fire pit where we have s'mores at the bonfire in the summer evenings.  The round log seats look like giant marshmallows, all puffy with snow.

My sewing room has the lower windows on the right side, and I look out onto the lake and the fishermen in their little ice shanties.

What have I been quilting on lately?  Well, I managed to start more projects and work on a few that were in the works.  Not much to show you, but one little project is going to be a small doll quilt from scraps that my friend Mary Jane Gantzler gave me.  She had leftover cut off triangles from one of her quilt projects, and gave a tin full of them to me.  I have started putting them into "broken dishes" format and making little blocks.

The unfinished size of a half-square triangle is 1.25 inches, so the triangles finish at 3/4 inch.  I'm making them into blocks of 16 half-square triangles @block, and the block will finish at 3 inches square.  I have enough scraps from Mary Jane to make 16 blocks......and for you math people who are multiplying it - that's 256 itsy bitsy hsts!

Doll quilt in progress:

Notice the seams are normal sized, but pressed open.  Here's the first block made:

In my defense, I am not insane, but have just been diagnosed with pneumonia this week, so my head is like a block of wood sitting on my neck.  This small project is perfect for a winter respite while I heal.  Hopefully, I will feel less conjested soon, and will feel better next week.

I hope you are healthy and that you are enjoying the scenery out your window, wherever you are!