Archive | March 2014

I love this quilt……

Mar30
Christmas Stars

Christmas Stars

This quilt has been in my life for 20 years, but until yesterday I couldn’t say that is was complete. I started it as a class at Log Cabin Fabrics. It was a block of the month class that met the first Thursday of the month for either 6 months or a year – I can’t remember. Seems to me we got 2 blocks each month. I opted to hand piece the blocks. I made the decision to hand piece the blocks for a few different reasons.

First, I love to hand piece, second, there are a lot of points in these blocks and I wanted to be sure to have pointy points, third, I love hand piecing!  I loved the fact that I could take the work with me where ever I was, in the car, at a field hockey game or the orthodontics office.  Those places were all part of my life when I started this quilt.  How life has changed.

So you wonder, why if I loved the blocks so much and took them with me just about everywhere, did it take 20 years to complete.  It became a UFO (unfinished object) for a few reasons.  After piecing all of the blocks they were all different sizes, not because I pieced them wrong – the idea was to trim the blocks to all match.  The problem with that was that I would need to cut off my precious points in order to have them all the same size.  They were stuck in a box to wait til later.  I would pull them out a few times a year and try to come up with a solution.

Well after 20 years I have progressed as a quilter and an idea finally came to me.  Add background borders to all of the blocks and them trim them so that all of the points would show and the blocks would all measure 17 1/2″ square.  Next step – put the quilt together – add sashing and borders.

Then it needed to be quilted.  I could not hand quilt it or it would take another 20 years to complete.  I don’t feel skilled enough to quilt it on my sewing machine.  A good friend suggested a long arm quilter that she has worked with.  I packed it up and sent it to Shirley York of Blue Moose Quilting.

Well, Shirley is truly an artist!  The quilting that she did on this quilt is wonderful, whimsical, it “completes” my quilt in a wonderful way.  Here are some pictures to show you how special it is.

 

Water Wheel Star

Water Wheel Star

Octagon Star

Octagon Star

Radiant Feathered Star

Radiant Feathered Star

St. Louis Star

St. Louis Star

Mariner's Compass

Mariner’s Compass

Castle Wall

Castle Wall

Blazing Star

Blazing Star

California Sunset

California Sunset

Interlocking Block

Interlocking Star

Hearts Design

Hearts Design

Flying Swallows

Flying Swallows

Snow Crystals

Snow Crystals

If you click the pictures you can see the quilting details a little better.

Happy Quilting and hopefully Happy Spring soon too…

Be Kind…

Faith

 

 

 

 

 

 

A walk in the Park….

Mar11
Carriage Path

Carriage Path

Friday morning we loaded the car and took a ride.  After a quick stop in Belfast to conduct some business, we were on our way to Bar Harbor.  It was a beautiful sunny day, no wind, just sunshine.

We stopped by the closed Visitors Center to see what paths were available to snow shoe on.  We met 2 wonderful dogs one English Mastiff named Gwenny – she weighs in at 210 and another beautiful dog named Aikera.  He had had a botched surgery when he was younger so he had a contraption strapped on that allows him to walk like a normal dog.  He was a very sweet dog but I am not sure what his breed was.

I love to meet dogs

I love to meet dogs

We stopped for lunch at one of our favorite spots – The Side Street Café.

Blackened Haddock Sandwich Special

Blackened Haddock Sandwich Special

I got the special and Chuck got the Lobster Roll – as always it was delicious.  We have had both lunch and dinner here and it is always lots of food at a reasonable price.  I look forward to eating here.  We did a bit of shopping and I do mean a bit because most every shop in Bar Harbor is closed for the season – some open in April most open in May.  I did stop into Fiore – this is a wonderful shop that sells different olive oils and vinegars.  I bought 3 different oils including a Truffle oil – I can’t wait to drizzle that on some wonderful goodies.  The flavored oils that Fiore sells are a wonderful way to add something special to your meals.

On Saturday morning we had breakfast at 2 Cats – it is a wonderful breakfast spot.  We were there at 7:00 AM and we had the place to ourselves – Blueberry Pancakes for me and Apple Cinnamon Pancakes for Chuck.  We knew that we would be working it off so this was a no guilt meal.

Chuck on Snowshoes

Chuck on Snowshoes

Yours truly with Snow Shoes strapped on.

Yours truly with Snow Shoes strapped on.

We headed over to the Park to snow shoe – It was a beautiful day – bright sunshine, warm and perfect. The Carriage Paths are groomed so that you can cross country ski, snow shoe or just walk on the paths.  We met a few walkers on the path and a few dogs.  It was a great day to be outside and the views were amazing.  We felt very fortunate to be able to be outside enjoying the park on such a great day.

photo 4

photo 2 (9)

We met 2 young men at the park – they were college kids who go to the Maine Maritime Academy.  They were wondering if there were paths that they could hike on.  We explained where we had walked and told them that there were lots of trails with good signage so they should have no trouble.  They then asked us where they needed to go to pay for the use of the park – I explained that it was free to walk on paths and enjoy the beauty of the park.  They were amazed and decided that they needed to come up to the park more often.  The Maritime Academy is in Castine, Maine which is not far from Bar Harbor.

We enjoyed the park for a couple of hours and then we headed down the coast.  We stopped at a few towns along the way to see the sights and have some lunch.  It was a wonderful way to spend a day and we felt very fortunate to have such a beautiful area to visit.

We once again decided that our move to Maine was a good thing – we love living here and we do not take for granted the beauty that is all around us all the time.  The weather was amazing and it gave us the feeling that Spring may not be to far away.

Have a wonderful day – enjoy the view.

Be Kind…

Faith