The Pink Pillow

The hand-quilted cushion I have been working on for my mom is done. I always look forward to seeing how the fabric will pucker after a washing. I like the texture created on the cream cotton with all the lines of stitches.

My youngest son showing me his favorite part.

He said, "Let me put my head on it." and then he told me it works just right. We will give it to my mom tomorrow.

"Display"

I borrowed an idea from Jude, Judy and Jeanna and set-up a fabric wall to have a better look at some of my quilts and squares in progress. It's a little busy to see them all at once. But, I noticed right away how most of them relate to each other, even though I always feel like I am jumping all over the place as I start new things. I now have new ideas of combining some of these quilts. It's pretty clear I have a circle, triangle and square thing going on. They are hanging at the top of the stairs and am reminded of them each time I pass. I put them up on Friday and so many new thoughts have come from this already. It helps in the moments I cannot work on them to think of where they are going - in different directions than I may have originally thought.

My sons love to make displays of their own with their figurines and Legos. They are constantly working on their displays and talking about them - changing them, asking me to photograph them as they have seen me take photos of the things I have created. I put up the fabric wall and quilts while my 6-year-old was at school on Friday. He noticed it right away when he came home and said, "I really like your quilt display." He said this with the confidence of an experienced display creator to me - the beginner. We have worked on his displays together a lot, but he was clearly pleased I decided to try this on my own. I just have to include one of his displays too.

Fossil Pinwheel

Fossilized

Thinking about my childhood always brings me back around to thinking about fossils. When I was little, taking walks with my parents and grandparents always involved looking for fossils. I was fortunate to grow up right next to a creek that was (still is) full of fossils. Everywhere you step - there they are. The gravel in the creek bed is made of broken fossilized shells and plant stems and ancient ocean animals. I like being part of a timeline that is so impossible to comprehend.

I have been playing with my new free-motion foot. Not as much as I hope to - too beautiful outside to sit at the sewing machine.

These ones found several weekends ago - hunting fossils with my boys in the same creek I played in when I was little - at my parents' house.

While I am walking in the creek, I like to think about the fossils embedded underground that I can't see - and how many there must be - so many. Some of them look like this - complete with roots...

My boys and I admired this and many more amazing Indiana fossils at the State Museum one afternoon several weeks ago. My boys like fossils too.

Spring Pinwheel

Blue skies, fern fiddle heads, grape hyacinths and bubbles = Spring.

Front Porch Piecing

I carried my sewing supplies out to the front porch one evening last week and hand-pieced blue and green triangles. I think I am hooked on hand-piecing for now. I love that I can take it all outside. It is also so much easier for me to get the center points to line up.



I am working on an idea for a larger quilt. Seasonal colors, small doodles and drawings on fabric using a combination of the pinwheel block and card trick layout. I am trying to use some of my painted fabrics - I have a habit of hanging on to them rather than using them.

* Jeana's comment below reminded me I that I forgot to include this photo of what the boys were up to at my feet while I stitched. *

The Spin Again

I spotted this while walking the yard last night - looking at the emerging plants - hours after I had made my previous post. Sweet woodruff whirls - they have the most lovely spin when you look closely.

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!