Quilts ~ Looking Forward Looking Back

Hi everyone! What would  Quilt blogging be without the traditional yearly round up. My successes are quite meagre---I never really recovered momentum after my Nobody Loves Me/ My Quilts in May  HERE, exacerbated by poor vision and the shocking return of Covid.  My dream of doing a big Thanksgiving failed, then Christmas, New Years followed behind. And while the rest of the country seems fine, the NYC area is hard hit by both Delta and omicron , and friend after friend has become very ill. [You may recall I am immune suppressed, so it is an issue to consider, despite vaccines and boosters.]

I made/ completed only one  full sized quilt: Blue Pineapples. Machine pieced, machine appliqued, machine quilted [by Lori C.]

Some small quilts:

Brown doll quilt, using a postage stamp remnant of a 19th century quilt block. I dyed the binding to include it in my Lucky Series of small make do quilts.

Next an exchange with a friend who is far far away: "One for you, One for me.'' The plan was we'd each make two quilts from the TQC mini a month postcards of 2021, exchange them at Christmas.

I chose this bright cutie. I think its asymmetry creates a textile that could be useful, under a candle or bowl, for displays. Her quilt is at the top, somehow I lost all my photos.

 My friend wasn't totally on board, though I may challenge her again this year! She sent me and Mo a beautiful flannel lap quilt in prim Autumn into Winter colors instead of a TQC mini. We love it!

My Christmas mini treat project was inspired by Fun with Barb's IG and blog posts about the mini tree pattern from a few years ago. I loved the Swedish or Nordic Marimekko vibe of her colorway, and shamelessly copied for my little version. Tiny Trees

Isn't the backing darling! Fairy toadstools.

Teeny Tiny, the mini-est of minis 3" square:

Also, barely-there micro quilts, gifts for friends. 

Ongoing:

I spent a lot of summer deck time working on my Welcome Pineapple wall quilt, then set it aside unfinished as Fall arrived, too soon. "The pleasant summer was a fading memory as September dragged us to Autumn." [you know I collect quotes: this is from a J M Dalgliesh book I'm reading, see below]

Pattern photo, NOT my work.

          

Deck time sewing.

Worked on and finally banished Silent Night. Really struggled with the dark wool applique, due to my vision difficulty. I need a bunch of boring pieced Stars, just can't face them right now.

Lori [Humble Quilts]'s antique block challenge: Madder Anvils [madder is the rust-red dye]

I keep changing my mind.

Two antique quilt tops are still in work. Cartwheels needs its borders.

And Watermelon Wine needs a good press and check for loose seams,

then I need to piece the green backing before it all goes off to be quilted. I needed 5 yards of green backing and was very happy to find the green at Keepsake Quilts catalog sale for only 5.95 a yard. It is Annette Plog's line for Marcus Brothers called, I think, Petite Perennials. [sold out now, sorry]  Check out the sale if you expect to need some yardage soon. SALE

This was the double pink from the same fabric line. Cute but too much pink.

And last I sewed these wool herb pillows. They were fun and fast and easier to see to hand sew.

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Not quilt related but I spent a delightful if imaginary summer and fall in Venice Italy, reading the entire Donna Leon / Inspector Brunetti police crime fiction series.  here 

Now I'm reading a rather gory detective series by J M Dalgleish/ DI Nathaniel Caslin, set in the city of York in northern UK. here

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 Upcoming, I have a special order to sew, then will get on with projects, hopefully finishing Cartwheels and beginning my winter version of When the Wild Geese Fly. Unless I have eye surgery I hope to start that project February 1st, I am basing it on Jan Patek's Morning has Broken, if anyone else wishes to make it with me. My version will be very low key, a personal utility quilt. Nothing fancy and OMG no embroidery! First blocks are the Crescent Moons. My colors are of winter, blue, grey, white, black. HERE

Book on Jan's website:

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My dog walker has Covid and is out indefinitely, so Mo and I are on our own. I suppose the extra exercise is good for me, lol. Truth is, I only love winter if I am inside looking out, or rambling on the beach in many layers of warm clothes. The third winter of Covid has begun.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

Fog sunset