March appears to be going out like a lion here in the Seven Devil Mountains of Central Idaho. My log cabin home is shrouded in clouds and the snow line is just above us. I am going to cover the flowering apricot tree tonight since the forecast is high 20's.
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| Chai waits for a junco to land. |
I have been working on my Ugly Christmas Sweaters as promised, and have proof of my progress. I am having a blast with this pattern and my Christmas/Holiday scraps. I have seven completed sweaters and five in the works. The pattern can be found on
Sew Fresh Quilts, under the quilt-along tab. Theirs are made with tropical solids. I have halfheartedly attempted to choose prints that are low volume. In this photo they seem to work. Yay!
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| Abby has a round butt. |
My
Stash Bee block exchange month is March, and it is more fun than a rodeo clown in a barrel. I picked the pattern
Cowhands, designed by Pam Rocco for June 2014 Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. She adapted the cowboys from the traditional tin man block. Then she made a cow block. The creativity and generosity of my fellow quilters is over the moon. One gal is even sending a purple cow block!
I never saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.
That was written in 1895 by Gelette Burgess and has been favored by lots of silly people ever since. So far I have a dozen cowboys and two cows, and I have also got a cowgirl block coming. Here is a layout of the blocks so far. My new pal, Susan sent a fun print of a cow and calf that looks to be from a feed sack. It might go on the back, where I like to piece the rest of a quilt's story.
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| On my queen sized bed. Quite a posse! |
I will have a good time with some free motion quilting on this bunch of cowhands. Happy Trails.
It is fun to see your cowboys all hanging out together. This will be a fabulous quilt. Your Ugly Sweater quilt is also a fun one.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deana. I got a great sashing idea from Susan, the Missouri Star tutorial here: http://quiltingtutorials.com/product-and-tool-demonstrations-and-reviews/product-demos/layer-cakes/friendship-star-sashing-quilt/ It puts stars at each block corner. The ugly sweater quilt is lots of fun. It is my first Christmas bed sized quilt for myself, and high time! Happy Sewing!
DeleteLove your sweater blocks they are very cute. And those cowboys are just too fab!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shauna. I get big smiles just thinking about those cowboys. Imagine how the quilt will make me feel. Cowboys are my weakness. And the sweater blocks are equally smiley. Almost every sweater has a fun center piece. Yay!
DeleteThe cowboy blocks come together quite nicely. This one will be so charming. It is nice that an entire backstory is connected to this quilt =)
ReplyDeleteThanks Katrin. My quilts always have a story, either the reason for the quilt, or more typically from the fabrics and blocks themselves. I have lived in cowboy country all of my life and admire their skills and rugged individualism. This idea pulled in a purple cow (surprise!) one cowgirl in a white hat, and even a black cowboy with pink hat and boots, obviously an adorable gay cowboy. I am so lucky to have creative spirited hive mates.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am really happy to see your beautiful progress on the Christmas Sweaters..... I must admit I have fallen in love with your cowboys! What a handsome bunch of bronco busters! Yee Haw!!!
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