Design Wall Monday - May 30, 2022

 Good Morning Quilters!  

Many countries celebrate their fallen soldiers on different days.  Today is Memorial Day in America, when we honor those who gave their lives fighting to protect our freedom.  This somber poem, In Flanders Field, reflects the tragedy of all wars:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

    The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

    If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

        In Flanders fields.

"In Flanders Fields" is a war poem written during the First World War by Canadian soldier and  physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.  McCrae wrote the poem in 1915 as a memorial to those who died in a World War I battle fought in a region of Belgium known as the Ypres Sailent. McCrae himself treated many of the soldiers injured in that battle and was particularly moved by the death of a close friend, Alexis Helmer.

Flag protocol for Memorial Day is that the American flag is to be flown at half-mast from sunrise until noon, and then raised to full height from noon until sunset.  This is to honor those who have died defending our country for the first half of the day, and in the second half of the day to honor those now living who defended our country.  In honor of the children killed in Texas the American flags have been at half-mast this past week.  Such a tragedy.  

Progress on my May Day doll quilt has been made.  One basket embroidered and six to go:

The 30 block May Day Basket quilt is completely on the design wall, with all embroidered blocks trimmed to the same size, and green side triangles and corner triangles up there too.  Whew!  Glad the block trimming is finished.  This week I will sew it together and decide on a border.

What are you planning on working on this coming week?  Did you make some progress last week?  I am looking forward to reading all of your blogs and looking at your pictures.  Thanks so much for joining The Design Wall Monday Linky Party. Please mention the party in your post and provide a link back here, so your readers can see the other posts that are part f Design Wall Monday.

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Design Wall Monday - May 23, 2022

 Good Morning Quilters!

This past week has not been very productive for me as a quilter, but I did start a small quilt project.  Whenever I make a bed sized quilt, I like to make a similar doll quilt.  While working on my May Day Baskets quilt, I sent away for some small basket embroidery patterns, and they have arrived.

Here is my start on the doll quilt:

 

There are eight baskets, set on point, and I sewed the squares together because I thought the individual little baskets looked pretty small to hold while doing the embroidery.  The individual baskets are about five inches square, and the doll quilt measures about 17” by 26”.

The trimming and sewing together of the squares on the large May Day Baskets quilt will resume today.  It makes me nervous to trim embroidered blocks, and as I said before,  I think of the motto “measure twice, cut once,”  Kathy (Kathy’s blog) told me a friend of hers says “cut once, curse twice”.   She made me laugh.  I will be glad when I have them all trimmed.

The House Finch family has tidied up their empty nest and appear to be about ready to start a second family.  The male House Finch sings often from the peak of our roof above the nest, and yesterday I decided to name him Atticus.  I say Good Morning to him when I am walking Penny Lane. 

What are you working on this week?  It is so beautiful outside this spring and I am reading that some of you are working on your yards and flowers.  I am too, and am enjoying the sunshine.  Thanks for sharing pictures of your flowers and your design walls.

Please provide a link back to this post somewhere within your post, and also encourage others to join our Design Wall Monday Linky Party.  

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Design Wall Monday - May 16, 2022

Good Morning Quilters!

My design wall looks the same as it did last Monday because I had a very busy week.  No quilting done here.  My sweet hubby turned 80 and we had a big party Saturday to celebrate.  Lots of family and friends came and it was a wonderful day.   

The weather has been great and the yearly brood of House Finches flew from the nest on Friday.  There were three fledglings and here is a picture of two of them, just after the first brave one took flight.  I put the fake pigeons above the nest on a  ledge to discourage birds from building a nest in the area.  But the Finch family was not fooled by them.  I like House Finches, but they do make a mess.

What has your week been like?  I am looking forward to your posts and pictures so I can see your progress.  Thank you so much for joining the Design Wall Mondays Linky Party again.  My happy place is when you mention Design Wall Mondays on your blog and also provide a link back here from within your post.   

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Design Wall Monday - May 9, 2022

 Happy Mothers Day!

The plaid quilt from last week's post is finally sewn together and is ready for the longarm quilter.  

I was excited to see the empty design wall, and have started to put the May Day Baskets embroidered squares on it.  Each square has to be trimmed to 11 x 11 inches, and I am slowly getting them trimmed and up on the wall.  The alternate squares of green are very calming, and I think I will like them.  Here are two new pictures of the blocks that I have trimmed and on the design wall:

There are 30 blocks, and these are the first 10 that are trimmed.  I get very careful when I trim them, as I am always saying....."Measure twice.....cut once". 

Here's a Mother's Day flower for you.  The rabbit has pulled several wagons of flowers for me this spring, and this is his last pot of flowers before the Easter decorations get put away.  The hyacinths smell so sweet. 

Yesterday we celebrated our grandson's graduation from MSU.  Here's a picture of us with our new Mechanical Engineer, Hunter.  Do you have any high school or college graduations in your family this year?

What is on your design wall?  Please join the Design Wall Monday Linky Party below and show us what you are working on.  I am looking forward to reading your blogs and looking at all the pictures.  Thank you so much for joining in.  My preference is that you mention the Design Wall Monday Linky Party in your post and that you also provide a link back to this page, so people can get back and forth between all the blogs.  Thank you so much, and again, Happy Mother's Day!

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Design Wall Monday - May 2, 2022

Good Morning Quilters! 

It's May 2nd and I am looking forward to putting together the May Day Flower Basket quilt.  It has been such fun embroidering all the baskets, and it is time to make the quilt top.  I selected a solid green to be used for the alternate squares.  I took a picture of the green with one of the baskets:

Did any of you receive a May Day Flower Basket on your door?   It used to be a common gift for a friend.

I was away all last week at the Jane Stickle Quilt Retreat in Shipshewana, IL.  Here is a collage of four of the quilts that were shown in the "Show and Tell" on Friday night:

The top left is the "Oh my Gosh!" pattern

the top right is a replica of a thirties butterfly quilt.

bottom left is part of an uncompleted Mrs. Billings Coverlet pattern,

bottom right is a quilt made with tiny, tiny bow tie blocks.

What amazing talent at this retreat!

Another beauty that I saw was this crib quilt that a friend bought at an antique store.  Pat Jensen's find is made of very small diamonds, hand pieced and hand quilted.  The closeup picture shows how small the diamonds are.  Such a beautiful work of art, and Pat loves small pieces as much as I do.

What amazing things have you seen this week?  Or should I say, what amazing things have you been working on that you can show to the rest of us this week?  Please join the Design Wall Monday Linky Party below and show us.  Thanks so much! 

Those of you who mention the Design Wall Linky Party in your blog and also provide a link back here are my favorite people.  

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