Me and the Dodo

It is Sunday, time for Sunday Stash with www.mollisparkles.com  and it has been just over a week since I last blogged. I was so shattered after my holiday, aren't holidays supposed to be restful, and there of course was the hen party. And what with so much sport on tv there hasn't been time for much else. Except that's not true. I have been catching up on sewing, doing lots of reading and a visit to the dodo.

When I came home from said holiday, I was delighted to see an envelope waiting for me and even more delighted that it wasn't a bill. It was in fact from Sandra. She of www.mmmquilts.com , a very talented quilter and a good quilty friend. And why I have not revealed this parcel before today?

Delayed gratification my friend. Delayed gratification.

I wanted to time my "publicity" with Sunday stash, but I was too knackered last Sunday after the hen party.

Sandra, like myself, loves a bargain, especially those once in a lifetime offers you can't live without. So, in the FQS flash sale she kindly facilitated me to buy a charm pack. She's a great enabler is Sandra.

She also included this gorgeous miniminiquilt. I make no secret that I love miniminis and that I struggle with flying geese. Or I did until "I faced the fear and did it anyway last month." These flying geese are beautiful, and they are true Canadian geese.

The backside fabric has the Canadian flag on it. The quilting is exquisite, straight line, swirls and geese shaped. Its beautiful and I will treasure it.

What Sandra doesn't know is why geese are special to me. About 1999 or thereabouts I was walking with my daughter and a flock of geese flew overhead. I explained they could be Canadian geese flying south (or back north, I'm not actually sure) and that there was a patchwork square called flying geese.  By the time we got home, my daughter had decided I was to make a cushion depicting our walk with the geese flying over head. (a kind of Children of Lir thing going on here I thought). In no time at all, this had progressed to her deciding I was making a wall hanging with lots of important family stuff on it. This ended up as our millennium family quilt which my husband later framed for me. It hangs in our hall and does indeed have lots of important family stuff on it. I think I may have blogged about it in the very early days. Maybe time to tell that story again.

My stash out has of course been wedding quilt sewing. I have concentrated on the blue tones this week and last, using mostly darker tones. I made a few named blocks and also some generic star blocks. I also made a load of geese! Some of these are truly flying and are sewn into blocks, some will be random geese used as fillers. I think it must be time to lay them all out on the floor again.

hourglass block, block no 59

the block with no name (sorry Game of Thrones) block 61

open window block , block 62, my favourite

variation on above, doesn't quite work!
 

father's choice block (not so puckered irl)

my geese! I'm so proud

the dodo

For those still with me, the dodo is alive and well and living in Mount Stewart, a National Trust property in Co Down, N Ireland. The house belonged to the Castlereagh family and overlooks Strangford Lough. The gardens, designed by Lady Edith, 100 years ago, have been restored and are magnificent, as has the house. Well worth a visit if in our neck of the woods.

Now to get back to the sport, Sunday seems to be sport day. Andy Murray has won Wimbledon and Portugal are currently thrashing it out with France for the UEFA Cup, nil all if you are interested at 38 minutes.

Helen x