Flax

Flax, dianthus, and Ohio field daisies

This doesn't do the flax flowers justice.  I'm trying to figure out a way to represent these flowers in applique. The long, strong, slender (but we knew that.  It's flax) stems droop slightly with the weight of the very light flowers.  I may have to settle for using the color but not the plant itself.  Otherwise I see a lot of stem stitch embroidery in my future. FYI, when pioneers of European descent came to my part of the West in the mid 19th century, there was wild flax growing in the meadows. Wild flax still grows on the hills and even along state highways.  The plants in my flower plot are domesticated; the smaller ones are seedlings.   

The flower applique project is part of a projected plants and animals quilt.  The sort of project which can spend years moseying around in the far reaches of my brain for months or even years.  Is there a web icon for "I'll keep you posted?"

"2 Pounds  18 Inches" 

The legend:  In 1915, AFW pulled a rainbow trout out of Huntington Lake in California.  He weighed and measured it, and laid it on a board and traced around it.  Later he took the board and hung it up in his cabin with a note on the back with the information.

This fish applique was created by tracing the fish outline from a raisin paper pattern taken from the original wooden fish, then back-basting and needle turn appliqueing.  We added the stream-bed mosaic of one inch squares and the random width stream bank panel.  The batting is wool, which gives great dimension to the quilting.  All of the piecing and quilting was done by hand, as was the binding.

You can see this quilt during the Utah Shop Hop in June.  It will be at Village Dry Goods www.villagedrygoods.com in Brigham City.  After Shop Hop, all of my fish quilts will be in West Yellowstone for the summer at the Send-It-Home shop.  We'll be doing drop in classes at the shop in June and sign-up in advance classes later in the summer.www.send-it-home.com

Pinecone Playhouse has moved to the Mack's Inn Dinner Theater in Island Park for Summer 2013.  The Heritage Quilt Workshop will continue, with locations and classes to be announced.

Spring Gardens

Peonies in my garden

After a long winter of chipping ice and shoveling snow, it is wonderful to have Spring in full bloom.  I'm back, and I have no excuses.  Here's a little of what I've been doing.

During the winter, I had the pleasure of making lots of  soft flannel blankets, knitted caps, and tiny zippered sleepers in expectation of our new grandson.  Fox arrived a bit late, but he and his mom are doing well and his big brother is as happy as a kid can be.

One of my more recent projects was piecing the center of another Christmas Quilt for one of my mother's grandchildren.  The tradition she started with giving each grandchild a quilt block for Christmas each year has resulted in 14 finished quilts made as the grandchildren married.  Here's the center of Elise's quilt for her June wedding:

Elise Christmas quilt center

The outer borders and quilting I passed off to my mom and sisters in Idaho.  The variations in the finished quilts never cease to amaze me.   The concept is simple, just one block a year per child.  When the project was started, no one knew just how many blocks would be needed over the years.  When the per year count went over thirty, Mom decided that nine blocks was enough for a good quilt and since then she's only make blocks for the younger grandchildren.   The blocks are 16 inches square and are in mostly Christmas greens and reds with some blue and gold accents.