I Heart February

February is the month of paradoxes. Groundhog day silliness. Signs of spring. Slushy icy on Payette Lake. Gorgeous seed catalogs and dreams of gardens. Mud. Days getting longer. Teaser warm days followed by surprise snow storms. Cold winds.  Lots of time in the sewing studio. Relaxed resolutions and lots of new project starts.

I pieced my wonky churn dash quilt top. The blocks were gifts from my stash bee honeys. I chose the pattern and colors, they sent me the blocks. I love the coral border. It is  "Charlevoix = Summer...Beach...Rural Americana 1910-1935 By Minick and Simpson for Moda." The surprise was how many of the blocks contain my favorite fabrics, prints I assumed were obscure. This is a quilt top I am finishing for myself.

In other cheerful news, I have started making myself a Christmas quilt. The color challenge is red and black, a combination I have never cared for. I am making ugly sweater quilt blocks, in a quilt along offered by Sew Fresh Quilts.

I am falling in love with the color combination. There are going to be 20 different ugly sweaters in all. Each sweater will have a different quilt block in the center. Two blocks a week, stay tuned for more homeliness.

The next photo is a lovely tiny quilt I finished for a friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. My intention is to send her love and happiness, which I believe is the secret to healing energy. Pineapples are the symbol of hospitality and welcome. I did a lot of Free Motion Quilting (FMQ) and was pleased with the results. Yay for my new Brother sewing machine. The binding is striped Kaffe.

The tiny disc says, "handmade." 

Now I return to my secret Valentine sewing.... do you heart February?

My Busy Happy Life

I am always busy at the end of summer, garden produce on overdrive, quilt club starts up again, weather changes and it's time to pull out warmer clothes, fall birthdays coming up, literal and figurative harvesting and storage. I have to keep reminding myself that I have time for all that needs to get done. Enjoy myself, it's later than I think.

I am almost finished with the last bumper pad that I mentioned in the August post. I have one more to sew. Here's a sneak peak, they all have jungle babies on side A as well as some fun zebra stripes, and side B is coordinating with the changing pad and crib skirt.

Prairie Points coordinate with the quilt (see June's post.)

And, my next goal, patiently waiting it's turn, is a little baby quilt for Amber's soon to be born Kinsley. Amber asked for purple, grey, and aqua. I have some left over grey and lavender squares, and will put these pieces together into something modern and sweet.

I think the batiks may pull it together. 

I am settling in to my work schedule, and have found my energy groove. It means letting go  of some other activities, and remembering where I get my strength. Being outdoors and either gardening or harvesting wild plants is my solace. I have harvested hawthorne berries and chokecherries on our road and veggies in the garden. AND, sewing is my solace. I got my beloved Viking machine back and it works great! Yay! I am making time to sew every day.

And, the other fun event in my busy happy life is participating in Stash Bee. This month is my month to post a tutorial and get blocks from the other busy bees. I chose this wonky churn dash:

I have already received 4 blocks in the mail, and they are adorable. How fun!! Dreaming of sashing, maybe in yellow piano keys... I love the impracticality of a red and white quilt in my home with black fur babies.

A couple of eternal optimists.