For this FO, we have to go back in time to June of last year…

I had just finished up a cute little top for a baby quilt I called Bear Mountain. I was going to quilt it myself, but the more Mom and I looked at those long side panels, the more we agreed they needed something fancy. So I left it in Mom’s hands.

It took her a few months (about nine)… but…

She finally finished it. And it was well worth the wait. Just look at all the beautiful quilting magic.

My pictures really do not do it justice.

This quilt came together from a charm pack (making up the bear paw blocks), and a few larger pieces from the stash.

The back is a chunk of blue grey flannel from the clearance bin.

And it’s on the back that you can really see Mom’s quilting talents

She really outdid her self on this one!

Two pairs of mittens have been completed to go with the Kitty Cat hats from last week. I used The World’s Simplest Mitten pattern. It’s free AND has all sizes, and weights of yarn! That’s pretty cool.

I was going to wait until I had a box full of mittens to send off, but I think I’m going to send these ones and the hats off now. I’m a little worried the mittens are on the small side. If I send them now, she can let me know if the fit. If they do, I can keep on making more mittens that size. If they are too small, she can pass those ones along, and I can make some bigger ones for the girls in time for next winter!

 

A short while ago, I learned that a good friend is having a really hard time with clinical depression. I knew he had some mental health issues, but until then, I didn’t know just how bad it was.

I’ve made a committment to check in on him more often, but I’m also big on gestures. Having a physical reminder of someone’s care can go a long way. So yeah, you guessed it… he’s getting a quilt!

I sat down the other day with my graph paper and pencil crayons and planned it out.

It’s going to be log cabins – similar to Cabins at Rainbow Camp, but with a few differences. While I am using scraps for the colour sections, I’m limiting it to the colours above (no pink or brown this time), and instead of scrap neutrals for the other side of the block, I’m using solid black.

After planning things out, the next step was to go through the 2.5 strip bin to see what I had for colours. Rainbow Camp had put a good dent in my supply, and many were chopped up for Whirly Geese, I still had a good supply. Or at least I thought I did…

I’m good for greens and blues, but I’ll need a few more purples. Red and yellow supplies are pretty pitiful, but not as bad as orange, which has one lonely little scrap. I’m going to raid Mom’s strip bin (we organize our scraps in a similar fashion), but I’ll probably have to break into some fat quarters and yardage to complete this one. That’s okay though.

In the meantime, I tackled the green blocks. The quilt only needs three of them, so they were easy to whip up in an hour or so.

I love a good log cabin block! Don’t you?

Blue is up next!

Minerva continues to grow

I’m basically just working until the yarn runs out, so it’s hard to say how big it will get. I think I’m about halfway though.

And Burton is inspecting every square to make sure I’ve got them all going in the proper direction.

After my earlier flub up, things are back on track with Calico Garden. I’ve made two more blocks for the top. And I even surprised myself by having enough energy to do the whole process (make HSTS, cut HSTS, iron HSTs, trim HSTs, and assemble blocks) in one day!

I was very, very proud of myself, until I uploaded the pictures…

How on earth did I not notice that the bottom corner on the left hand block is facing the wrong way?????

Oh well, it’s an easy enough fix, and I’ll tackle it when I get ready to make the last two blocks. That’s right…

Just two more blocks and I can start assembling this big beauty. It’s going to have sashing and cornerstones, plus an outer border. This will probably be the biggest quilt I’ve made so far!

This week has really cooled off compared to last week…

But Relic says it’s not bad if you roll around on sun-warmed pavement.

I’m not about to do that, but I did bundle up against the chilly wind to get some pictures of the new blooms for you!

The big double bloom daffies are starting to bloom, and the mini daffs are still going from last week. I expect to see my pink/white ones in a few weeks.

It was nice to see that my pretty purple hyacinth (from neighbour Krista) has spread and I’ll get two blooms this year.

I don’t remember planting this white hyacinth out back (maybe the squirrels brought it). But Relic could not understand why I wanted a photo of it, instead of him.

My pretty pink Muscari (Grape Hyacinth) are blooming. I had some purple ones too, but they don’t seem to be coming up. That’s ok though – I love the pink – it’s not as common as the purple.

In non-bulb plants, it looks like the Dwarf Columbine and Iceland Poppies will bloom soon too.

Looking around the gardens, it looks like I’ve only lost two plants so far this year. There’s no sign of the pink Bleeding Heart. I have a feeling the Chrysanthemum might have shaded it to much last fall. And my Purple Pincushion plant has inexplicably disappeared. That’s a big shock, because it was a very robust plant.

But those are the ups and downs of gardening. Hoping you’re having more ups than downs this Spring!

Although you don’t see much of her, our pretty senior girl is still living her best life.

I was bbqing dinner the other night, and had left the door open for Rupert (Burton was already on his harness and trying to figure out how to get the squirrels in the cedars.). I turn away from the grill to go in and get some bbq sauce, and there she was!

She sleeps a lot now (more than an average cat), so it was nice to see her up and about.  She had a little munch on the lawn, then went back in to have another nap.

 

A friend and former coworker recently moved from the sun and sand of Long Beach, California, to the cold, craggy wilds of Park City, Utah.

Now it’s definitely a bit of climate shock – not so much for her – she’s originally from Vermont. But her girls – age four and six – have known nothing but summer (except for a few trips to Vermont to see Grandma).

And they’ve run into a problem that every child of winter knows well… lost mittens. My poor friend put a call out on Facebook to all her fellow mothers… “How do you manage mittens? They are always dirty, wet or lost!”

Now I don’t have any mom advice, but I can help her in the mitten department. If there’s one thing I know from my own childhood… you can never have too many mittens.

So… I’ve promised her and the girls a box full of mittens in time for next winter. I figure if I knit a couple pairs a month, I’ll have a nice package to send her by the end of September.

But before I get to the mittens, those girls need some Kittens!

Yep – I’m continuing my mission to dress every child of my acquaintance in a Kitty Cat Hat!

I knit both of them in acrylic, so it’s not itchy, and it’s easy wash for Mom. The pink one is knit in Lion Brand Basic Stitch. The purple one is Red Heart Soft.

It’s tradition to make these in variegated yarns. The pink one makes me think of all sorts licorice (though the official colour name is Rosewood).  The purple one is much more subtle, but still fun! I’ve got enough yarn left from each to make mittens to match.

 

 

 

I had a short window between projects the other day, so I zipped off a couple of log cabin blocks in the dog fabric.

With all the strips cut and ready to go, these blocks are perfect for  those times when you don’t have a lot of time, but really want to sew.

Seeing a couple done up, I’m now very happy with my fabric choices. Since the log cabin strips are narrow (I’m using 2.5 inch strips), you have to be careful about the prints you use. Large ones don’t tend to look as nice, as they get cut off.

But this collection is looking good. And I think I’ve got a nice array of colours on the dark half of the block.

I’ve still got 10 more blocks to make – and they will probably be done the same way – whipped up in a few spare moments between other things.

Progress continues on the Minerva cowl and she’s looking quite fine.

I love the way all the colours are coming together. And though entrelac is pretty easy in theory – you do have to pay attention. Can you see my boo-boo in the above picture? I didn’t until I looked at it on my phone.

I was working away on a left-leaning row, and I must have gotten distracted, and after a couple of rectangles, I switched direction back to the right! Oops! A little frogging had me back to that last left-leaning tier and I was off to the races again.

And now I’m paying EXTRA  attention.