New Baby Quilt Top

I have had these blocks on the design wall for a couple of weeks.  Now they are sewn together.

Most of the fabrics were left over from my great-nephew Lucas's quilt that started with ten-inch squares.  I added some pinks for this version, which will be for his cousin Holly.   I originally wanted to just make half-square triangles, but half of those ten-inch blocks looked a little too large for a baby quilt.  I cut each HST in half again.  I lost a lot of the fabric that way when they were squared up, but I like the look much better.

These could have been set in hourglass style with the darks together and lights together, but I opted to set dark against light.  It makes a pinwheel set on point.

I auditioned several fabrics for inner and outer borders, and finally decided to just use this dark butterfly print.

The dark background makes the bright colors pop, and the colors in the print echo the fabrics in the blocks.

Lately I have been trying to use up my fabric stash instead of purchasing more.  The last few quilt backings I have made have been pieced.  I spent a good part of the afternoon piecing the backing for this quilt from coordinating fabrics.

I had to ask myself, "Why didn't I just spring for a few yards of fabric instead of doing all this piecing on the back?  But it will make the back of the quilt more interesting and colorful.

Now I need to find time to go out to Clayton to visit my Gammill at its foster mother's house.  We set it up out there to make my home look more spacious as it is on the market.  I sure do miss it!  We thought we had found some buyers last week, but the offer did not come through.  It's a process!

Book Review: The Giving Quilt, by Jennifer Chiaverini

I recently had a giveaway provided by Plume Books, publishers of the Jennifer Chiaverini Elm Creek Quilts series.  I have given away The Giving Quilt to our winner Linda James, but they sent me an extra copy of the novel for a review.  Here is the review, and then the extra copy of the novel will go to Karen L for entering the drawing.

The Giving Quilt, by Jennifer Chiaverini

The Giving Quilt is the latest in the series of books about the quilters of Elm Creek Manor, an old estate that is the setting for weeklong quilt retreats.  The books in the series are always best-sellers.  This particular novel takes place during "Quiltsgiving" Week at the Manor.  The regular staff offer a week free of charge to quilters who will make quilts for Project Linus during their stay at the manor.  Let me just say, that offer sounds too good to be true.  Three fabulous meals a day, a free room, quilting supplies including sewing machines and a longarm!  I would take up that opportunity in a heartbeat!

My usual novels of choice are thrillers and mysteries, so I thought this novel began rather slowly.  I did not really need to hear about how they set up their registration materials on the tables, you know?  But the novel really becomes intriguing when you hear the stories of the participants in the quilt retreat.  There are chapters devoted to several of the quilters, and each has a compelling background story that is very related to today's societal issues.  Unemployment, budget cuts, death in the family, unfairness, even the typical frustrations of dealing with difficult members of a quilting group are all interwoven into the plot.  I enjoyed hearing how each quilter resolved their challenges and issues.

The Elm Creek Quilters offered a lesson in making a quilt top.  Instructions for the quilt are provided in narrative format as the quilters attend the daily lessons.  I personally would have liked for the quilt instructions and a photograph to be included, perhaps as an appendix at the end of the book. I only saw the paperback edition, so perhaps they are included in the hardcover edition.

If you enjoy quilting and enjoy Chiaverini's well-developed characters, you will like The Giving Quilt.

Mountain Weekend

Here it is Saturday again, and I see that I have not posted since last weekend!  The weather turned out to be beautiful for Amanda and Natty's outside wedding.  We had a nice time visiting lots of friends and family.  

Baby Charlie turned out to be a good mountain baby!  She loved riding the Gator, enjoying the shade down by the creek, dressing up for the wedding, and meeting her baby cousin Lucas.

Here she is, kicking back in her wedding outfit.

We had a beautiful sunset ride to the top of the mountain, and saw the perfect triangle alignment of three planets.  (Not visible in this photo)

My sister and her husband have started a hobby farm.  They now have two pygmy goats

six piglets, some chickens, and they are planning to get some miniature cows!

Speaking of cows, I went to Jerry's Art-a-Rama in Raleigh a couple days ago, and there was this lovely painted bovine just inside the entrance to the store.  I think they must have bought it from the auction last year.

I will end with this shot of flame azalea, which grows wild on the mountain in varying shades of orange.  Beautiful way to light up the mountain!

The Giving Quilt Give-Away Winner

The winner of the Jennifer Chiaverini novel, The Giving Quilt, is Linda.  I will be sending her book and quilt pins in the near future.  Thanks for playing!  Another copy will be going to Karen as soon as I finish reading and reviewing it for the publishing company.

Our weather has continued to be stormy for the past few days.  We got a lot of yard work done on Saturday before it started raining.  On Sunday we went to my brother's house to visit my cousin David and his wife, who were visiting from California.  We went to a French bistro in Chapel Hill, NC. 

It is so nice to catch up with family, especially those that we don't get to see very often!

On Monday, I found out that some buyers that looked at our house on Friday wanted to come back again to see that afternoon.  My plans for the day changed drastically as I polished and shined and vacuumed and weeded the gardens.  We have heard from their agent that they liked!  Keeping my fingers crossed!

Tuesday and Wednesday were my days with baby Charlie.  I treasure those special times with her!  Every day we go for a stroll around the neighborhood, and I stop to take pictures of her by some of the pretty gardens in the area.  Sometimes she begins her morning nap while we are walking!

Today is National Happy Turtle Day!  On Wednesday a tiny baby box turtle was crossing the street during one of our walks.  I stopped and gave him a hand across the street.  He was only about as big as a quarter!

We drove up to the mountains for the Memorial Day weekend.  The rain has continued to come and go.  When we left it was raining buckets.  We stopped in Yadkinville for a seafood dinner, and scurried out of there as another huge storm approached.

But this morning it is a beautiful sunny day.  All of our family will be here later today except for Emily, who will be attending a bridesmaid function in Chicago.  Even Baby Charlie will have her first mountain experience!  There will be a wedding on Saturday at our neighbors' house, which should be lots of fun.  Let's hope it won't rain on Amanda's beautiful outdoor mountain wedding!

New Watercolor of One of my Favorite Spots

I just finished up a new watercolor painting of one of our scenic spots on our rides over the mountain in Laurel Springs, North Carolina.

View From the Top, Jeanne Turner McBrayer, 2013

 

 

I did this mostly in one afternoon, with finishing touches today.   Sure makes me want to go back up there and gaze at that scene again!  (And smell the Christmas trees!)

 

We stayed home this weekend.  Yesterday we had a showing on our house, so I spent the afternoon cleaning.  Today we worked in the yard until a gentle thunderstorm passed through.  Tomorrow we will visit family, including one of my cousins who is living in California and we rarely get to see.  It is nice not to be traveling on a weekend for a change.

 

 

Blog Give-Away: The Giving Quilt novel by Jennifer Chiaverini

Sometimes I am contacted by publishers of quilt-related books to do book reviews or give-aways for my readers.  Today I have a chance for you to win a copy of Jennifer Chiaverini's latest Elm Creek Quilts novel.

 

Here is the information sent by the publisher.

 

 

Thanksgiving inspires generosity once a year, but what happens to the spirit of giving on the other 363 days?  In THE GIVING QUILT, now available from Plume, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini offers an affecting novel that imagines what good could come from practicing the holiday spirit year round

 

With numerous New York Times bestsellers, Chiaverini is undoubtedly one  of the masters of both modern and historical women's fiction.  In the last year alone, her Elm Creek Quilts novels have graced the bestseller list twice, first with The Wedding Quilt, a twenty-first century celebration of a treasured romantic tradition, and again with Sonoma Rose, a prohibition-era novel about one woman's courageous fight to save her family.

 

Year after year, Chiaverini takes a page from her own life to deliver an emotional and poignant story very close to her heart.  As a long-time member and advocate of Project Linus, an organization dedicated to providing handmade quilts and blankets to children in need, Jennifer decided to donate a very unique and special gift- a prime spot in one of her bestselling novels.

 

At Elm Creek Manor, the circle of quilters is hard a t work preparing for "Quiltsgiving."  Held annually the week after Thanksgiving, expert and novice quilters from near and far gather for a special winter session of quilt camp to make pieces for Project Linus.  As the week unfolds, the quilters respond to the question, "Why do you give?"  in ways as varied s the life experiences that drew them to Elm Creek Manor.  Each of the quilters, including a librarian, a teacher, a college student, and a quilt shop clerk, uses her unique talents to teach, inspire, and give back to her fellow campers.

 

Once a gain Chiaverini delivers the complex characters and rich descriptions of setting and mood that fans and critics have come to expect.  Featuring not only well-loved characters but intriguing newcomers, THE GIVING QUILT will remind us all that it is truly better to give than to receive.

 

And now for the give-away:

 

Leave a comment on this post telling about any charity quilts or blankets that you or your quilt group have made.  Do you participate in Project Linus?  Leave your comment (and be sure to include your e-mail) by Monday,  May 20 at 9:00 PM. 

 

The winner will receive a brand-new paperback copy of THE GIVING QUILT, along with three quilt pins symbolizing three of the Elm Creek Quilts novels.

 

 

 

I have some extra quilt pins to give away, too, so if you enter the drawing you might win a lovely quilt pin.

 

I am currently reading the novel, and will post a review within the next few days.

 

Good luck if you enter the drawing!



 

 



Jewelry Organization

Yesterday I decided to do something about the collection of boxes in my dresser that contained my collection of costume jewelry.  I purchased a hanging jewelry organizer from Tuesday Morning, a sort of overstock store.

It has clear, zippered pockets on both front and back.

 

 

And after finding a home for all my necklaces, pins, and bracelets, I was able to get rid of all these cardboard boxes that were making it hard to close my dresser drawer!  I love having them in plain sight in my closet.

 

Here is a picture of me enjoying our Mothers' Day visit with baby Charlotte.  I am getting ready to head out there right now to babysit.  It is a beautiful day, and I predict we will be sitting right back in that porch swing!