Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Granny and Me

Months ago, I bought a jelly roll of Botanics by Carolyn Friedlander.  Now, I've never bought a jelly roll before, so it took me a while to decide what to do with it.  I'm more used to grabbing bits of this and bits of that and sewing it up, so a whole line of one fabric was a quandary to me.  I doubt that I would do it again, as there are many fabrics in the roll that I wouldn't necessarily have bought singly.

Anyway, I decided to make a granny square quilt using a tutorial from Blue Elephant Stitches that I had bookmarked long ago.  (I know, why would I need to use a tutorial for a granny square, but I did!)   So that's what I've been toiling away on while waiting for spring.

I decided to use navy as the background fabric and, honestly, I'm not sure about it, but I'm pressing on.  I think it's one of those decisions that might work out once it's all bound and quilted.  Maybe it needs a contrast sashing, maybe........ OK, I haven't got there yet, but anything's possible. I also think the rest of the blocks will have as little of the orange as possible--I find it leaps out at me!



I like this block, probably because it's more restful to my eyes.


Finally, spring has sprung in our area--and not before time!  It's still jacket temperatures, but I can feel some warmth from the sun.  My daffodils are putting on a brave show as they love this cool weather.  I planted them 30 years ago and they still reliably make me happy every May.

There are lots of early flowers in the woods as well, like these dogtooth violets that bloom everywhere.


Another common flower is the red trillium (or stinking johnny as it's known locally).


One last sign of spring is one that any rural dweller knows well, the road breakup.  Each spring we drive our cars on a slalom track, avoiding frost heaves, pot holes and sink holes.  I hate the sound of the bottom of my car dragging through mud and stones and often wish I had some big honking SUV to get around.  Why is it so many urbanites have them and all they do is drive on paved roads! (I'm just jealous)


Today I'm linking up to The Needle and Thread Network and Sew Fresh Quilts, so go have a look!

6 comments:

  1. I love the orange. Makes for some lovely pops of colour!

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  2. Like Pam, I like the orange, too. There is a high contrast to the blue, but I like that! I would recommend using sashing, even if you use the same colour as your background. Will sure make piecing the blocks together sew much easier! Please check out this post... http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.ca/2014/03/granny-square-quilt-block-tutorial-part_11.html

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  3. I like the navy background, i think it's a great choice!

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  4. Your area is very much like ours. I had a picture on my blog of a red Trillium which we call stinkpot here and the Lily we call Trout Lily that you had a photo of. Don't you just love this time of year you can see all the wildflowers so well

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  5. I love how the colors pop on the black background!

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