have you discovered bloglovin yet? i just did and i think i really like it -
now you can follow me (and all of your other favorites) there!

mini quilt top is done! and i'm unsure -

don't get me wrong, i'm very proud of myself for how well all of my corners line up and for measuring everything correctly - in fact, measuring and sewing well enough that my quilt top is exactly the size i wanted it to be. its the fabric choices i made that i'm unsure of (good news is that the bed size quilt i have planned that is based on this will be much more calm color wise. so calm that i'm only using two fabrics). for the most part, i love how the blue stands out and contrasts against the green and orange prints. but there are two big blocks of orange that just stare at me. i don't like them. one bit. and if i could go back and re-cut and reposition, i would.

but its just an experiment. just a mini mock up.
and it will make a beautiful doll quilt for frankie's friends.
(after i piece together a back and quilt and bind, of course)

new mini quilt in the works -

i'm trying to decide if the bed size quilt i have planned would really work.
although it seems that i've taken this mini mock-up in a different direction than intended.

so far all of my triangle points are matching up (!!!) and even though i cut the wrong number of triangles from one specific fabric, i'm pretty excited to see how this one comes together. and the nicest thing about making a mini quilt? i might be able to get it made in a reasonable amount of time - considering i have a wild toddler and a full time job.

frances mae's patchwork

and another quilt - done!

sixteen nine-patch blocks
two patchwork borders
six triangles to add some detail to sashing
three fabrics for an interesting binding







and now, on to another
that i think i will be calling
"catch me if you can".
more on that later.

what would it be like to be a tree with
roots sunk deeply into the earth - to watch the
seasons passing around you the same way the
wind passes through our branches?

and a happy mother's day to me (and every other fabulous mama out there) - happy with a new book in hand. migrant by maxine trottier is the somber story of anna and her canadian mennonite family traveling to mexico to work. the ghosts of past workers haunt anna's mother in the empty farm houses that shelter her family. anna and her sisters curl up like kittens to sleep under one blanket, while her brothers whimper like puppies, trying to steal a corner of warmth under a too-small-for-growing-boys quilt.

not only do i find the story incredibly inspiring - my paternal grandmother's family is canadian mennonite - the illustrations are equally fascinating. bits of cut paper, pen and ink, pencil, and watercolor all combine in beautiful shapes and colors that would be perfect for, you guessed it, a quilt! flying geese - both the quilt pattern and the actual thing - open the book while patchwork fields scatter the pages. now i know what to do with my scrap pack from hawthorne threads - flying geese, here i come!