Oh the irony of it at all. Two weeks ago I had a FINISH. The same week as bloggers all around the world were linking up their finishes in the Finish A Long. Not me, I hadn't signed up for last quarter. I have signed up for this quarter, in my last post, but this quilt sort of fell between the goalposts so to speak.
Anyhow, I have a finish, or what seemed to be an interim finish. My son, daughter in law and grandson were over for a visit. I gave them the choice between two quilts for my grandson. The first was made for him, blocks from a bee I was in when he was born. My What's Out the Window quilt, backed with planets fabric. Not all of the blocks have children's fabric, it is still bright and jolly.
I had also been making this economy square quilt from charm squares of kokka fabric, bought for me as a year's subscription from the Eternal Maker by my daughter in law. I started making this before he was born, but gradually began to realise it would make the perfect I spy or story book quilt. So, there was a mad spurt to finish this so he could choose.
Really, at 2 years old, he doesn't really understand the history of them both, but he did like them both. If this was a Referendum vote on Brexit, he gravitated 52% towards the story quilt. He will ultimately get them both, but for now, it is the story quilt.
I promised to finish the quilting and deliver it next visit. I just did straight line, not in the ditch quilting, in what seemed a neutral aurifil. Not so straight at times, and not so neutral in the darker toned blocks! Over a public holiday, we were heading to visit my sister in her caravan. We were driving "the scenic route" so took the quilt for an outing.
We took the photos at the Spelga Dam reservoir in the Mourne Mountains. Not quite "where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea" (Percy French 1896 song beloved of ex pat Irish people everywhere), but near enough. I don't want to link to you tube, in case of copywrite of a singer, but go there and listen. Lovely. I love Spelga Dam. It is not far from where I grew up in a nearby town. We often drove through the mountains, sometimes a destination and walk, not hike, in itself, sometimes en route to the seaside. For a child, there is something exciting about Spelga Dam. I still don't understand it but a parked car, with its handbrake off, appears to run backwards up the hill. It is some sort of freaky physics thing. No idea, but it is fun. And last summer, the summer was hot, the submerged buildings under the reservoir all reappeared. People were queuing up cross the hidden roads! I have linked to a news report, hoping this works.
I hope you enjoy these photos, and attempt at a video!
How do these vloggers do it?
I particularly love the granite walls particular to the Mournes. It is a real skill for the stone masons to repair the walls. It really is a patchwork of green fields and granite walls. Also particular to the Mournes area, are pointed gate posts. This was so the faeries couldn't sit on the gate post and magic your cows. They went to annoy the cows of another farmer instead. As kids we loved these stories, and always watched for faeries, but never ever saw one, no matter what my brother said.
After we came home, we looked again at the quilt. My husband suggested a bit more quilting to hold it together for all the rough and tumble it will hopefully go through. And so it started. The quilting is a blog post in itself. Let's just say, the handover is imminent and the clock is ticking! As always, a bit more quilting takes a lot more time than anticipated. I always did work well to a challenge!
Helen x
linking up with Beth Cooking Up Quilts
Anyhow, I have a finish, or what seemed to be an interim finish. My son, daughter in law and grandson were over for a visit. I gave them the choice between two quilts for my grandson. The first was made for him, blocks from a bee I was in when he was born. My What's Out the Window quilt, backed with planets fabric. Not all of the blocks have children's fabric, it is still bright and jolly.
I had also been making this economy square quilt from charm squares of kokka fabric, bought for me as a year's subscription from the Eternal Maker by my daughter in law. I started making this before he was born, but gradually began to realise it would make the perfect I spy or story book quilt. So, there was a mad spurt to finish this so he could choose.
Really, at 2 years old, he doesn't really understand the history of them both, but he did like them both. If this was a Referendum vote on Brexit, he gravitated 52% towards the story quilt. He will ultimately get them both, but for now, it is the story quilt.
I promised to finish the quilting and deliver it next visit. I just did straight line, not in the ditch quilting, in what seemed a neutral aurifil. Not so straight at times, and not so neutral in the darker toned blocks! Over a public holiday, we were heading to visit my sister in her caravan. We were driving "the scenic route" so took the quilt for an outing.
We took the photos at the Spelga Dam reservoir in the Mourne Mountains. Not quite "where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea" (Percy French 1896 song beloved of ex pat Irish people everywhere), but near enough. I don't want to link to you tube, in case of copywrite of a singer, but go there and listen. Lovely. I love Spelga Dam. It is not far from where I grew up in a nearby town. We often drove through the mountains, sometimes a destination and walk, not hike, in itself, sometimes en route to the seaside. For a child, there is something exciting about Spelga Dam. I still don't understand it but a parked car, with its handbrake off, appears to run backwards up the hill. It is some sort of freaky physics thing. No idea, but it is fun. And last summer, the summer was hot, the submerged buildings under the reservoir all reappeared. People were queuing up cross the hidden roads! I have linked to a news report, hoping this works.
I hope you enjoy these photos, and attempt at a video!
How do these vloggers do it?
I particularly love the granite walls particular to the Mournes. It is a real skill for the stone masons to repair the walls. It really is a patchwork of green fields and granite walls. Also particular to the Mournes area, are pointed gate posts. This was so the faeries couldn't sit on the gate post and magic your cows. They went to annoy the cows of another farmer instead. As kids we loved these stories, and always watched for faeries, but never ever saw one, no matter what my brother said.
After we came home, we looked again at the quilt. My husband suggested a bit more quilting to hold it together for all the rough and tumble it will hopefully go through. And so it started. The quilting is a blog post in itself. Let's just say, the handover is imminent and the clock is ticking! As always, a bit more quilting takes a lot more time than anticipated. I always did work well to a challenge!
Helen x
linking up with Beth Cooking Up Quilts
Love this quilt. I have a pack of fabrics that could make a similar one. I'm am truly impress with the video Helen.
ReplyDeleteI love it! And I definitely enjoyed the photo shoot. Such a lovely place!
ReplyDeleteSuch a pretty quilt. I did a similar one as an I Spy for my granddaughters. Beautiful photos, love the stone wall!
ReplyDeleteLove the quilt, and enjoyed reading the post. Those faeries never seem to show themselves when we are looking for them! :-) I can relate to the straight-ish quilting; I do quite a bit of that. My mind wanders while I'm quilting, and before you know it, the lines aren't so straight anymore!
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful quilt - fun and colorful!!! It shines and lights up the dark green backdrop of the location. I am sure it will be loads of fun for the recipient.
ReplyDelete