First weekend of Autumn and last weekend of Summer

Several years ago I used to make mohair teddy bears, this little guy is completely hand stitched and represents the season of Autumn.  I also made ones for each of the other seasons that I will share as they arrive.

 

 Our last weekend of Summer was a lovely warm sunny one and I took advantage to take some photographs along the quay.  A lot of bugs were out enjoying the day.

 I like the colours in this pink and white dahlia.

 These marigolds had a housefly checking them out.

 I'm not sure what this long tailed insect was, but it let me take it's picture before flying off.

 The sunflowers looked amazing framed by the blue sky.

 Saturday morning we woke up to dull, cloudy skies, the water was from sprinklers, not rain but made for pretty accents on the flowers.

 I love the colours this oak leaf hydrandea turn in the Autumn.

 The witch hazel leaves are starting to turn.

 An unusual coloured lady bug.

 Fushias still blooming prettily.

 Water droplets on a marigold.

 Morning glory changing colours.

 Verbena with it's tiny florets.

Enjoy the coming season, I know I do.

Cinnia Block of the Month

Last year The Cloth Shop a local quilt shop offered a Block of the Month called Cinnia.  The idea was to fuse and either satin stitch or machine button hole the blocks.  All we knew was that it was going to be a garden of flowers in different sizes done in batiks.  They had the firs sunflower block on display.  I decided to sign up.

 Shortly after receiving my first block I broke a bone in my left foot and could not easily access my sewing machine so I decided to do traditional freezer paper applique by hand instead.

 The echinacea blocks are some of my favourite.

 This whimsical flower brought in some more pink/wine tones.

 Lots of sunflowers, each month one of the fabrics from the previous block was brought forward into the new month,

 Can't you just see the bees buzzing around this garden?

 The largest block was 12" square. The largest rectangle was 9" x 14".

 How are we going to get all these blocks together?

 More sunflower blocks, but more of an aster this time.

 The final block!

 Here is my top before the borders.

 The top with borders, my friend Ethel reversed the triangles and has already machine quilted hers. 

I'm going to hand quilt my piece over the winter and have it ready for next autumn.  It is bound with a green batik.

Quilts, Flowers and Bugs

Summer has finally arrived after a very wet Spring here on the west coast.  The colours are just exploding everywhere you look.  This daisy almost looks hand painted.

 The sprinklers had just turned off and some of the blossoms still held droplets of water sparkling in the sun.

 The contrast of the light mauve against the darker pink/red and green just gives light to the picture.

 It is hard to see, but there is a lady bug on the 12 o'clock petal.  It is close to the centre of the sunflower.

 What lovely shades of green, the droplets on the far leaf looks like someone dropped them there for effect.

 A yellow/red lady buy enjoying a meal.

 A more traditional red lady bug a bit farther down the walk.

 A quilt challenge!  The Needle and I in Burnaby set out a challenge; there were two brown fabrics that were to be used and your quilt had to have 200 2.5" squares in it.  Here are the results.

 She sold 28 packages and got 23 back.  A friend ran out of time so there were almost 24!

 The sizes and ideas were great.

 I love how this one has folded squares and then curves to change things up,  The brown swirly fabric was one of the challenge fabrics.

 More quilts.

 The lower level.

 Even more.

 Lots of shades of brown.

 I like the sailing ship with the squares on point.  I love how she gave the impression of a sunset.

 I like the asymmetry of this piece.  The centre "panel" is a paper napkin that has been treated with a medium to make it more like fabric!  I also love the applique she put on the piece.

If you are in the Vancouver area, drop by and cast a vote for your favourite 3 pieces!  Good luck to all!

Happy Thanksgiving weekend...Friday I found some frost along the quay! I walked down to my friend Rita's to visit and quilt with some friends. This sunflower is one found in my friend Rita's garden.

This one has a different centre than the one above.

This one was being visited by a ladybug.

These two were being close and cozy, but are from two different plants.

This one was just starting to develop its lovely yellow petals.

This chocolate coloured flower looks good enough to eat and appears to be floating.

This bee was busy on this flower for quite some time.

All these sunflowers were in Rita's garden! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend.