Running and Runners

Good Morning!

I hope each of you is well. The last two weeks have been physically challenging for me as my MS is causing my speech to slur. I weally hate dis new sympom. (you have to laugh!). We've tried IV steroids and now we're just watching to see what happens. Meanwhile my husband's family  arrives in eight days for a family reunion at our house!

I've been playing with paper piecing. I like it! I also decided it wouldn't do to have a store bought runner on the dining room table, so I made one.

I really like the colors and I'm pleased with how it turned out. The pattern only called for three blocks, so I added two more to make it long enough. I also added a piping at the edge of the binding for a little accent. It's made out of red and very light green linen. I loved working with linen. The floral pattern was a heavier fabric with a sheen on it, much like decorator fabric. It was more difficult to work with, especially when it came time to hand sew on the binding. (the back is all floral fabric).

Here in the States this is a holiday weekend with Monday being Memorial Day. We are honoring those who served in the military and died protecting our freedoms. Let Freedom Ring.

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Finished (finally!) quilt and Gift Idea

Well, I finally finished my first queen sized quilt. Whew! I don't understand how folks just punch these out. This quilt is a pattern from Moda Bakeshop and uses Kate Spain's "Verna" fabric line. I'm really pleased with how all of it came out.

I used a friend's long arm to quilt it. That was a blast,  kinda like driving a race car really fast. Takes your breath away. I used an overall stipple pattern. I also made pillow covers and pillow shams. This bedroom has pale yellow walls and a light blue carpet so it really works well together.

For your interest I'm including photos for a gift or decorating idea. These are my baby clothes framed. It seemed a shame to just put them in a closet so I put them in a deep frame (actually graduation frames). I used baby scrapbook paper, shrank my birth certificate down and framed some baby photos to put inside. The pink one is a pale white dress that I stuffed with pink tissue to puff it out.

Wouldn't this be a nice gift to give your child? Perhaps when they graduate, get married or even have a child of their own. Or it could be a cute decoration in a child's room.

Have a nice evening!

Melanie

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Adorable!

We just got my grandson's first birthday photos. Wanted to share his cuteness with you. Have a great day!
Melanie

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Laundry Day Face Lift

In a previous post I showed you photos of a small applique I made for my laundry room. The more I studied it the more I was dissatisfied with it. The stitches weren't perfect, the background blah, the patterns for the dress were not fussy-cut the best possible way. (no, I'm not getting help for OCT!). So, I scrapped the first one and started over. As my mom used to say "A job worth doing is worth doing well".

Introducing Laundry Day, Version 2. Final Version I promise!

I completed the quilting using wool batting. I stippled the background and then came in and carefully outlined each dress which caused them to puff out quite nicely. The stitching is now invisible and you can see in the blue dress close up I added a few beads for bling. My only dissatisfaction is my choice of thread color for the clothesline. It disappears in the background. I think I'd chose brown next time. However, this color is 100% better than the teal blue I used in the first project. I used regular 60 weight thread versus ribbon thread.

I'm glad I took the effort to redo this project. I am proud of it now and look forward to casually pointing it out. (with great modesty-of course!) LOL

Have a great day.
Melanie

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Oil Slick Concerns

We're very concerned here in Florida with the oil spill that took place in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20th. It is reportedly leaking 42,000 gallons a day. They are having difficulty stopping the flow of oil. Meanwhile, outer bank islands in Louisiana are starting to get the oil.

Here is a NASA satellite picture (Sunday) of the oil spill to give you an idea of its size.  It's the swirly thing I've circled next to the coast of Louisiana.

As I understand it, the oil slick could be caught in the gulf's powerful loop current. The loop current flows north from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula but then makes a clockwise turn and flows south.
If that happens, then the oil could be carried "toward the Keys and points up the east coast." The Keys are the barrier islands at the very tip of Florida and includes the Everglades.

I can't begin to tell you how fragile the coast line is around the Keys. The birds, butterflies, plant life are breathtaking.

Of course, if they can't get that oil stopped quickly it will pollute all of our gulf coasts.  The beaches here in Sarasota (about two-thirds down the west coast of Florida) are just breathtaking. Beautiful white powdered sand with all manner of birds, flowers and wildlife.

My heart is heavy with the destruction that looks inevitable.

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