Friday, April 26, 2019

Catching Up and Expanding My Horizons

While I have been busy over on Instagram, I'm afraid I haven't paid much attention to my blog. My bad.  But I wanted to share with you a little quilt I have donated to Jack's Baskets, a charity associated with Hands2Help spearheaded by Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. Thank you, Sarah!



Baby quilts that are donated to Jack's Basket go to parents of newborns with Down's Syndrome. I really liked the idea of spreading a little love and caring during a time of surprise and uncertainty. Hopefully this little quilt will accomplish that for a family!

It was a long winter in our mountains, but thankfully we were able to spend some time in sunny Arizona. SO MUCH FUN! It snowed only twice in Tucson, and melted by the end of the day. What's not to like about that! My husband and I golfed, hiked, explored, walked and swam to our hearts' content.






Bobcat cruising through our backyard!




With all that, I even had time to complete a few sewing projects. I just couldn't leave my sewing machine at home, lol!

In fact, I made one large quilt, a lap quilt, two baby quilts and four pin cushions. And, I must admit I frequented the local quilt shops and came home with a couple of new patterns and some new fabric. My souvenirs!

I started a quilt with this 22" block of a feathered star. However, I didn't like the way it was coming together, so it is taking a Time Out until I decide to tackle it again.






 


I still haven't got a good photo of the large quilt I finished piecing, but I shall try to do that soon and let you see. It was a fun one to make!

This is what our home looked like when we came back four weeks ago. Made us want to head right back to Arizona!

Thankfully, all that snow has melted and the daffodils have decided to brighten the gardens. We had a terrific thunder/lightning/hail/rain storm last night. So it's official - spring has sprung!



Quilting with a smile,
Barb


10 comments:

  1. It's so good to just get away once in a while. Looks like you had a grand time in AZ. They say it's always great to come home again - I'm wondering if that applies to this year. What a rough winter, huh? Your quilting projects are beautiful, as always.

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  2. I think your feathered star looks really good! I'd like to try making one. Which pattern did you use, and can you recommend it?

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  3. Okay I always wanted to make a feathered star, even have Marsha's book from my bff that I still haven't used. I feel your snow pain; there were a couple of trips, one in particular, a Spring Break one, where I actually broke down and cried on the plane coming home from Florida because I'd had to leave 80+ and sun and knew I was going back to feet of snow and cold for a few weeks...and then there'd be the end of April snow dump, or the mid-May one....do not miss the Alberta weather one bit! Also love how resilient and happy the diffs are, so encouraging right? Beautiful projects you made!

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  4. I had to laugh because of the snow comment. Having lived the majority of my life in southern Arizona, and my teen years in Tucson, I know that the Arizonans were saying, "WhooHoo! Can you believe it snowed TWICE?" LOL. In fact, I was visiting my U of A college roommate when it snowed one time.

    That Feathered Star is gorgeous! The Jack's Basket Quilt is wonderful, too, and I know it will be appreciated. The squares and strips - Myra's? Busy Hands patterns? It looks like you managed to accomplish a lot of fun.

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  5. I'm so glad you had time to work on your quilt projects(work? WHO SAYS that it is WORK!?) while you were gone. Fun is what you did! And a happy time was had by all! Right?

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  6. What a stark contrast from Arizona to the snow when you got back!! I have a sister who lives in Tucson but I haven't had a chance to visit ...yet! Your feathered star is beautiful and I love that it is huge at 22"!

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  7. Love your photos from Tucson! The desert can be so beautiful! Glad you got in so much playtime and some sewing, too.

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  8. I bet it felt wonderful to get away for a little while. That bobcat would've scared me though! Sounds like you got a lot of sewing done - good for you! I hope spring is here to stay, and no more snow for awhile. Thanks for sharing on MCM!

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  9. Nice to read a post from you again! You have the best of both places-a warm, sunny winter in Arizona, and then a warm, not too hot summer in Idaho. I like the quilts that you've made, especially the feathered star. That's one of my favorite blocks, it's so classy looking.
    Happy sewing,
    Judy

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  10. your quilt is perfect for jacks basket! and I bet you had a great time - what a pretty place you were! Sorry about the cold return - haha

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