Lovely World

quilt top

I just put together this quilt top, inspired by Erin over at House on Hill Road. It is 5 squares by 6 squares, although you can't appreciate that in the top photo because one of the rows is hanging over the back of the railing. Each square is 13" x 15.5". I wanted a fast but satisfying project, something I could complete in a reasonable amount of time. I've already purchased my batting, backing (cream), and binding (brown) fabrics. The quilt top fabrics were ones I already had in my stash. I have been amassing far too many pretty fabrics and wanted to get them out to see the light of day. I'll certainly post the finished project.

quotable sunday

When will you have a little pity for

every soft thing

that walks through the world,

yourself included?

Mary Oliver

from Blue Pastures

locket

I was happy to receive this lovely locket in the mail the other day. I had pre-ordered it from the Black Apple back in July. Emily Martin offered a limited quantity of lockets in varying designs, and I chose this one with a little bee perched on a pensive lady's shoulder. There is space inside to insert two small photos or drawings.

The box is almost as good as the locket. "The Black Apple Presents Social and Sentimental Fancy Wearables." It's almost too good.

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I have managed to put together a few pairs of baby shoes. I'm hoping for more concentrated work time starting next week as the kids start school. I love these little embroidered flowers.

birds

Lately, every day has been busy and every day has lacked any sense of routine. I crave time for creative work, as I have done so little the past two weeks. I have been looking for inspiration, though, and finding it everywhere.

These are beautiful little collector cards that Church & Dwight Company (makers of Arm & Hammer) made back in the early part of the 20th century. The back of the card describes the pictured bird. It also notes that if you want a set of all thirty cards, you can send 6 cents in coin or stamps and one will be mailed to you. What a deal.

wildflowers

School starts in just over a week. We are trying to savor the last little bits of summer. I found these wild flowers on a recent walk down our driveway. The purple vase to the right is one that was made earlier in the summer at the clay camp my kids attended.

yellow owl

I bought these beautiful stamps from Christine and Evan at Yellow Owl Workshop a while back. They came in sets but are great to mix and match. Having lots of ink pad colors on hand is helpful as well.

Have a nice weekend. XO Maribeth

quilt improvisation

My kids handed me these woven paper "quilts" yesterday. They had been squatting on the floor, quietly at work with scissors and paper. I was pleased with the results. They immediately reminded me of a book I own, "Who'd A Thought It: Improvisation in African-American Quiltmaking." I pulled the book off my shelf and flipped through it. I hadn't looked at it in quite a while. I bought it back in the late 1980s when I attended an exhibit of the quilts featured in the book. At the time, I was busy working on my college thesis examining quilts as women's art.

The book discusses the ways that African-American quiltmakers have taken traditional designs and improvised in new and flexible ways to create these stunning quilts. There is quite a bit of comparison to improvisation in Jazz music, another gift African-American artists have given us.

Having grown up learning to sew with a mother who emphasized and excelled at straight edges and precise piecing, these quilts were an amazing breath of fresh air for me when I first discovered them. I hope you are inspired by the few I show here.

handwork

I needed a little bit of handwork to occupy my evenings while we were at the beach these past two weeks. I had planned on bringing some knitting, but at the last minute grabbed my embroidery basket instead. These felt badges are about 2 inches wide. The first photo shows flowers that were growing in the garden of the house we stayed in. The second photo is a piece of seaweed seen on the beach. The third photo includes a red cross, inspired I think by the life guard stations. The final photo is a starfish. I didn't find any of these creatures on the shore, but I did read about them in my "Golden Guide to Seashores" book.

Badges have been on my mind. My kids are participating in our public library's summer reading program. Each week they have received a small embroidered badge for reading a certain number of books. You can see one here that I stitched onto my son's new explorer bag. I have also loved these Mama Merit Badges I came across a while back. A wonderful twist on the Girl Scout merit badges I earned as a young girl.

quotable sunday

I go to nature to be soothed and healed,

and to have my senses put in tune once more.

- John Burroughs

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We are back from the beach. We had only one day of rain out of fifteen, an amazing stretch of days for a summer full of so much rain. Sunsets over the ocean are a treat for me. We live in a narrow valley bordered by two mountain ranges, so our view is never long. On the shore, I can see forever. It's nice to see things a little differently from time to time.

Happy Sunday, all. XO Maribeth

abc

This is an alphabet sampler I embroidered on linen. I found the pattern on Orange Flower's tutorial blog. It is about 8 x 11 inches. I was able to print the pattern onto my fabric with my computer printer. Orange Flower backed her piece and bound it with a contrasting fabric. I think I am going to frame mine, when I get around to it. Luckily, it looks nice the way it is, hanging on the wall of my work room.

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I'll be taking a little break for the rest of the week. We are on the beach. Hope everyone has a nice week.

XO Maribeth