Pokeberry Quilt Update

Hi! It's snowing!

What a surprise Mo and I had walking back from a long ramble.

I've been working on Pokeberry again. I was going to juggle it with Summertime, but the Pokeberry blocks went together so nicely and so enjoyably that I decided to give this project all my attention til it's done.

I sat outside to finish the hand applique yesterday. The ocean was hypnotic, loooong oh so slow rollers, big waves from far out at sea, ahead of the snow squall. Almost in slow motion......

I had the last three blocks waiting for me, after I put this project aside last fall. Now I'm sure it's just ME, but I couldn't make head nor tail of Jan Patek's instructions or wobbly drawn pattern bits. I decided to take the time to redraft each block on graph paper and I was soooo happy with my results. I think making one's own patterns works so well because as the design is drawn one has to think through the details of the sewing. And this preliminary thoughtfulness makes the actual sewing go much better.

For whatever reason, no one make patterns for me as good as the ones I make  myself. They look pretty! They fit together! Hooray. [colors are a bit off/ washed out in the pix. Indoor winter photos, not great.]

I come from a garment sewing background [though my dad taught me to sew, embroider, and quilt as a young child]---I use scissors and templates and an old 18" ruler, plus a big stainless steel 45" ruler that is the kind used in laying out patterns for production cutting [pre computer/ laser etc.]. These old rulers were supposedly made to exact specs and overseen by the ?? Bureau of Weights and Measures? Back in the day. I got mine from an old timer production guy who taught me how to figure yardages when costing garments. [I always enjoyed the tech side of the ''rag biz''.]
So here we go:
Original pattern photo, for comparison. By Jan Patek.



This beautiful block is called Hovering Hawk. No clue why.

This block was  a church on the original Patek quilt. I made a small beach cottage with a big [little]  flag that I made last summer. My quilts almost always have a flag somewhere.

And this guy was quite a challenge.

The original did not have a smooth edge along the horizontal top of the basket. I redrew this and added the needed the blue HSTs.

Then it was supposed to be appliqued? Nooo. Too hard to fold in all those bulky little points. I made the entire bottom section pieced. Redrew the handle, still wonky,  and changed out Patek's horse applique for a calico kitty.

[inspired by the cat on Lynda Hall's Front Porch quilt. My world does not include horses, though I admire them greatly. Instead this kitty will represent the calico cat and two tabby striped tomcats of my childhood.]

The snow is still falling. I am going to start piecing the sections of Pokeberry and then finishing the appliques over the seams. You'll see I 've circled the set in corners for the final step later.

I had planned to make stuffed cabbage rolls today but I d rather sew. I'm going to try this Deconstructed Stuffed Cabbage instead. You can see it HERE on my Pinterest foodie folder. I'll let you know how it comes out. EDIT Ugh, no! Nasty. Threw it out. A FAIL. And so much work, so many pans---it was more work than simple stuffed cabbage would have been. Poor quality gloppy rice added to the ''ick'' factor.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach~~~~~~~

PS Today Mo chewed the tube of Lanacane I use on my painful hand. Then he's sad when he gets sick? Bad doggy! He didn't actually eat any but what if! Rush to ER in the snow....bummer.

Hinting at Spring

Hi!  I had a nice quiet weekend here with Mo.
It was warm:

But alternating fog ---

and rain.

This is the weekend---after the holiday things are sadly, carefully, tucked away for another year and the house is again blue and white and calm and normal---this is when I like to start my indoor spring bulbs.

If you forgot to buy bulbs in the fall I noticed this year there are two other fun options: there's a lot of boxed ''gift packed'' bulbs on sale, in groceries' floral departments. Good prices!

And the preplanted bulbs are in extra early:

I had to have the daffodils in the delft pot. It was 11.99 and I can use the planter again for years to come.

I tried to resist buying the big pot and first I got a purple hyacinth. 2.99. How can I say no?

It grew really fast on my sunny table.

I rescued these daffodils from my friend's garden, he of the tropical garden. The squirrel was digging up the bulbs. My friend didn't care for the cottage garden-y daffs last spring---we pulled most of the daffs out before they even fully bloomed, so I picked these up and brought them home, knowing he wouldn't care or want them. Mason jar and beach pebbles.

And I'm always finding branches to lug home, like this wonderfully gnarly crabapple branch. Look, it may get leaves?

On Sunday I started my paper white narcissus.

You can see they are sprouting, they're ready to go! To grow.

I gathered my clean faux beach glass ...

and after a lot of dithering I decided to use my favorite spongeware bowl for the planter. It's usually my knitting bowl and I do hope the water doesn't damage it.

Two kinds of bulbs---6 from the flower nursery, rather $$$ at I think 3.oo each. Supposedly unscented.

And a box of sale narcissus. 10 total.

Nestle the bulbs into the bed of pebbles then put a bit more around to steady them.
Add water to touch the bottoms of the bulbs. Keep an eye on the water level.
In dry winter the water evaporates daily sometimes. On the other hand don't drown the bulbs or they'll rot.

Some people add rubbing alcohol or vodka to the water. It supposedly keeps the daffs from being leggy /weedy. I always forget.

They should bloom in about 10 days and will last maybe a week. We'll see!
If you buy the box of gift daffs, save the little pot and disk of starter soil. You can use it in a couple months to start some herbs or Easter grass.

Mo enjoys my projects. He finds his human's antics fascinating. I notice that if I let him watch from a chair he is less likely to jump up on the table to investigate up close.

Have a great week. I hope it's not too too cold? I loved everyone's staying-warm ideas! I'm going to make potato leek soup this week. Mmmmm.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...