I started something new...

I saw something out in blog land that caught my eye.  That often happens.  Anyway, this morning I chopped up fabric and put together a bunch of 9 patch blocks.  But not your everyday average 9 patch blocks.  These ones have a whole lot more white in them than you would typically do.  Yep.  The disappearing disappearing 9 patch is in the works.  At least that is what I am calling it.  The story being that a clever quilter, Kristy Daum, decided to modern-up the disappearing 9 patch by reducing the number of prints and upping the solids.  That way when you chop up the blocks and reassemble them, you get a whole lot more negative space.  Cool!  So I used up some Nicey Jane fabrics, a little bit of Lizzy House and a pink print from a way back along with a pile of white.  12 blocks done.  Time to chop them up and see what happens.

Linking up with Judy's Design Wall Monday.

Be still my beating heart!

The other day, I noticed in the Simple and Sweet Scrappy Swap group on Flickr that Barb had made a pouch, to die for, and had a stack of what appeared to be Heather Ross charms ready to pop in the mail!  I had all my fingers and toes crossed, hoping that this amazing package might head my way.... and it did!!!!!!!!!!!  The pouch, is gorgeous with all that Heather Ross goodness and Denyse Schmidt's brown posy!

And then Barb dug through her stash and cut 5" charms of only Heather Ross fabric to send me.  Seriously amazingly generous!  I think even Husband was impressed.  He is quite fond of the fish in the bags.

Check it out... seriously amazing!  I cannot believe it.  I am having a fabric love episode.

Even the card has Heather Ross fabric!  Eep!  Squeal!  Thank you so much, Barb!!!  And if you click on Barb's name, she posted about the pouch just the other day!!!!  And I think I commented, and I quote, "OMG send it my way!"  Yep, I did.

Meet Marvin

Can you see that fuzzy black shape past the compost bin?  Yep.  That is Marvin.  A teenage black bear that Husband met the other day.  Husband was outside spraying wasp nests on the out buildings when he noticed Marvin just a short distance away.  Marvin was enjoying a nice late summer snack of apples from a tree on the other side of the fence.  Husband said he could hear him smacking away on the apples.  Marvin hung around all day much to Husband's annoyance.  Marvin enjoyed snacking on hazelnuts on several of our trees, tested the chicken run fence and found it to be bear proof.  I don't think he tried that hard, I think he was just showing off.  Husband yelled at him a lot and banged things with a baseball bat  but Marvin did not seem to care. Typical teenager!  We now have an air horn to welcome him with if he comes back.  That will apparently scare him away.  
And maybe Marvin would like this?  We certainly did!  It was oh my goodness good.  Burst Tomato Galette from the Smitten Kitchen.  Try it.  Man, it was deadly!

The pastry was so good that Husband tried it with transparent apples (yellow summer apples) from our tree.  It was fabulous!

Linking up with the randomeers for Random Thursday!

Hmmm, what am I doing?

On the sewing front I started another bag because the first one was just so much fun.  I am using Elizabeth Hartman's pattern again because it is such a great pattern!  I used a home decor weight fabric (from the thrift store, I might add) for the bottom and the top.  That is the small black and white check.   I used the same for the facing so by the time I got that altogether, it was just too thick on top.  So I ripped the facing off and I will use quilting cotton to face the bag with.  Then I will be a happy camper.  I am back to work this week and think that this bag might just be a bunch of fun to lug my junk back and forth in.

And I started and finished a vintage sheet quilt for the medical room bed at school.  They had a bunch of those scratchy grey blankets on the medical room bed.  Yuck.  That is the last thing a little sick child wants to be snuggled up with.  I have completely forgotten to take pictures so I must do that.

I also transformed with Husband's expert help...

 
into 28 quarts of  bread and butter pickles.  We like our pickles.

So that is my work in progress list for the past while.  Happy Wednesday!  Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for work in progress Wednesday and the Needle and Thread Network.

Thrifty summer finds...

I haven't shared any thrift shop finds for awhile.  When Mum was visiting a bit ago, we totally hit some of our favourite thrift shops.  I found a BIG bag of wooden thread spools.  Gotta have that.  And then this vintage apron caught my eye.  I think it was about a $1.  It is very cute and I think before I give it to daughter, I will make a pattern from it.  Love the slit pockets in the polka dots.  The fabric is a good weight perhaps even a linen blend.

BUTTONS!  and these ones were sorted into mostly blues with a touch of green.  Nice!

And some snazzy vintage sheets and pillow cases.  I am really picky about vintage sheets because I have a really good stash but these ones hit all the right notes.  Bright, sturdy and fresh looking.

I might just be working on a vintage sheet quilt as we speak.

Sunday Stash...

Lush Uptown.  Seriously.  Erin Michael for Moda.  I have loved this fabric since I got my copy of Elizabeth Hartman's first book, a Practical Guide to Patchwork, because she has a quilt in the book made out of the original line. So when I heard a new line was coming out with some reprints,  I ordered it from Pink Castle.  Seriosuly.  Paint by number fabric and paint pots.  Love it.
 

It looks like my garden...

Name:  It Looks Like My Garden

Design: Playing with values, 6" HSTs, inspired by Katie Pedersen tutorial

Size:  approx 84" by 90"

Fabric:  assorted fabrics and scraps in light and dark values

Quilted: by me with Aurifil 50 wt in light grey (2615)

I finished my values quilt.  I am in absolute love with this quilt. The explosion of colours and the play of values just hit all the right notes for me.  My friend Sue saw the quilt when it was on the design wall and she said, "Hey, it looks like your garden."  And it does so that is what I am calling it.  I have wanted to make a values quilt for years.  I have drooled over the values quilts that Katie Pedersen has made and I finally just had to do it.  I used a variety of fabrics from my stash. Scraps, samples, bits of odd fabric.  I was able to use up a lot of fabrics that would have lingered in my stash for who knows how long because they just work here.  There are some bits of Anna Maria Horner, some Sandi Henderson, some Kaffe Fassett and a whole bunch of who knows what.  There is even a print that may be a Martha Negley or Kaffe Fasset that has turnips and asparagus but chopped up in this quilt, it all works.  

 I took a lot of pictures at different times of the day because I was finding it tricky to photograph the colour intensity.  The evening shots like this one by the garden are a bit washed out but I wanted a picture by the flowers.

 So so details... The fabric is cut into 6" squares and then I made a zillion HSTs with light and dark volume fabrics.  Sometimes, the light volume fabric turns up as dark volume fabric in another HST. That is part of the fun.  I absolutely needed the design wall for this one.

The quilting was a workout.  I went for straight lines, 2 rows on either side of the seam lines vertically but not too close to the seams.  I used light grey Aurifil 2615 because I wanted the thread to blend more with all the colours.  I do love straight line quilting.  Really. Love. Straight line. Quilting.  I used a tone on tone purple fabric that has a flower print on it.  I actually got it at the thrift store some time ago and I think there must have been about 8 or 10 metres of it because I have been using it in quilts and for binidngs for years and it just keeps on delivering.  I find it to be a really lovely purple.  I used it in the quilt too.

And the back is a bunch of fabric.  Pieced bits of leftovers and a lovely text fabric from Stof.

See... it looks like my garden.

Linking up with Amanda Jean for Finish it up Friday.  This is a good finish.