Thursday, April 29, 2021

Quilts and Classics: Kaleidoskop/1937 Ford

Here is it April 29 and I just realized that I never did a post on one of my most epic quilts ever, Kaleidoskop, photographed with an equally epic car, a gorgeous 1937 Ford.

This quilt was the last one to be photographed for the calendar and I knew that the vehicle choice and backdrop needed to be stellar. For years, I have passed this house on the way to see my good friend, Dotty. What I didn't know for a long time was that the owners were also collectors of classic vehicles. Dotty approached them with my calendar idea and they said I was welcome to not only use one of their cars but also photograph in front of their beautiful home with the circular driveway.

Our first choice was this beautiful 1938 Babe Ruth Nash. 



However, the brakes were not working on the day we chose to photograph. The owners offered to roll it out into the driveway but that made me really nervous. So instead we decided on the Ford. Actually, I think the gorgeous deep red was a better backdrop for the quilt and the home.











Kaleidoskop evolved slowly over the period of four years. The pattern was designed by Katja Marek and the blocks came from her book,  The New Hexagon. When it came to naming the quilt, I searched the word "kaleidoscope" in several different languages. I ended up with the German spelling, as Katja is German and it seemed like a way to honor her roots, and mine as well.

Although I had done a bit of English Paper Piecing before starting this quilt, I had never done anything more complicated than a few hexies, and I certainly had never actually finished a project.

At the time I began this quilt, I already had an extensive stash of fabric by Denyse Schmidt. I had never made a quilt with many different fabric lines from one specific designer, but decided this was the one. 

It all began with this little pie hexie.

This pink and orange medallion remains my favorite of the entire quilt.


Many of Denyse's fabrics lent themselves beautifully to "fussy" cutting, and I spent a lot of time choosing just the right fabrics for each medallion. Choosing the specific colors for each medallion was fun as well.







Along the way, as I always tagged Denyse in my Instagram posts, she asked a couple of times if I needed fabric from an upcoming line. You better believe I never turned down that offer! At the time of completion, I had at least one fabric from every single line she had designed to that point. And one time this block even made it on one of her videos for Free Spirit. 
I was able to get signatures from both Denyse and Katja--a very special part of the quilt.


And of course, various parts were photographed here and there. This is my favorite--Pismo Beach, California, technically where the city marked the sewer for some work to be done. But it seemed custom made for me. :)

Huntington Lake.

Of course, there had to be a beach shot too.

Completed!

I have ongoing English Paper Piecing projects but this first fully completed quilt will always hold a special place in my heart.

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Really Random Thursday, 4/22/21

 Not much going on this week. But I DID find some funny memes here and there.

@letterfolk always makes me laugh.

I guess I'm not the only one who gets confused when I see this on my phone.

Oh Pickles. You make me chuckle  nearly every day.

Our church had the Sunday service in the parking lot again. And Charlotte was part of the worship team. She has a beautiful voice and seems very comfortable singing. So proud of her. 

I follow Amanda @a.crafty.fox for her beautiful quilts. She posted these in her stories the other day--signs on her local grocery store.


And that's it for this week. I wasn't kidding when I said there was not much going on. :)

Happy weekend.


Thursday, April 15, 2021

Really Random Thursday, 4/15/21


Our irises are blooming this week. I love these flowers. Mark is not such a fan--he thinks they look like the ears of a poodle. That's okay--it doesn't diminish my enjoyment of these gorgeous purple flowers in the least.

Last week, the grandkids began two days of school on campus. Such a change for them. Gabe and Ella are of course at the nearby elementary school. Levi is at the junior high about 20 minutes away.

Charlotte is a freshman at the high school about 20 minutes away, but in an entirely different direction.

Not everyone has chosen to go back to school--many students are finishing out the year online--so in a couple of classes there may be only one other student. And they still have to wear their headphones in order to communicate with the students online. So it's like normal but not normal at the same time. 

Hopefully by the time fall rolls around....

 The logistics of getting them to school in the morning (they all start at 9 a.m.) and picking them up (they each get out at a different time) is somewhat challenging. While Charlotte and Levi could take the bus, they would have to catch it at 6:45, get to school at approximately 7:20, and then wait until 9 for class to start, not an ideal situation. So between Christa, Mark and me, we have figured out a schedule to make sure everyone is delivered and picked up on time. Mark and I are happy to provide bus service as it gives us yet another chance to have one-on-one time with them, one of the best bonuses of this very strange year.

I picked up three quilts from my awesome longarm quilter, Darby. Once they have been trimmed and bound,  you will be seeing more of them.

This one is unnamed at this point.


Flower Bubbles (thanks, Paula--you named this one)

Third Time's a Charm.

I organized my solids shelves. It was something fun to do while on the computer with tech support one loooong afternoon...

I'm optimistically joining the Nightingale quilt-along with @loandbeholdstitchery and hope to keep up with the schedule. Usually I have high hopes, but after a week or two I kind of fade out, and then a year later I get around (maybe) to completing the quilt. But nevertheless, here are the fabrics I will use.

I'll close with this.


Therefore, obviously I need this candle.

Happy weekend.