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And ready for its close-up.

I have not made a quilt since forever, so I am over the moon that I actually made and finished this one.

So much fun.

Inspired by this skirt.

Next up, it’s off to the Aspire Show House for its debut.

Mary Douglas Drysdale, an outstanding interior designer and supporter of craft artists, sent me a note explaining that she is the design chair of the Aspire Show House and was wondering if I would be willing to make a throw for the master bedroom. She included a picture of my pieced skirt.

I thought two things, it would be a fun project, so yes!

And, exactly how big is a throw?

I googled, it’s about 5 by 4 feet. So, bigger than the original skirt.

My general formula: start with enough fabric for two times the size of the finished project, plus plenty extra, because my formula is never exactly correct.

This design is pretty random, there is no set formula and no set outcome.

First step, I cut the fabric into various pieces and then sew chunks together, then I recut and sew again and repeat, until I have a pile of blocks, each unique and different from all the others.

Then the fun part, figuring out how it all fits together. The blocks, you can see some in the upper right corner, are odd sizes and shapes so there is a lot of adjusting, usually by adding more fabric.

I lay the blocks out on the floor, shifting and adjusting until it looks right.

I add a bit more here, cut off a bit there, shift and rearrange.

When it was close to the correct size, I cut off any raggedy edges and squared it up.

The final step is quilting, when you sew the top, middle and back layers together. I’m not set up for that, so for me it’s best done by someone with a long arm quilting machine. Which is Nancy Stovall, quilter extraordinaire, who has experience with designs from the traditional to contemporary.

It’s there in her studio now.

Stay tuned.

How was your spring this year? Pretty different from any other spring?

Yeah, mine too.

I’ve been going through my photos from these last months and keep coming back to the ones below. I like them because they capture moments of no worries, no thoughts of lockdowns, travel restrictions or cancellations. Instead, calm, joy and delight.

Maybe number one? A wonderful trip to the most fantastic and perfect little cabin right next to the Sandy River up on Oregon’s beautiful Mt. Hood. In just less than an hour drive from Portland you are there, deep in the forest.

I sat there in that wicker chair for what seemed like forever, just breathing, looking at the water churning, the leaves flickering in the trees, the occasional bird flying by. Bliss.

Sitting by the river may have been the high point, a close second? S’mores.

The first since,… well, since a very long time.

What an amazing idea. A melted marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker. So good.

Another moment, a hike in a wooded city park where I saw, …

can you see it?

In the tree! A beautiful owl, just sitting there, calmly watching and hanging out.

Spectacular.

After a few minutes, it spread its great wings and with a quiet whoosh, flew off.

I took this picture in the beginning of the lockdown when there was a toilet paper shortage and my sweet neighbors, who after hearing me complain that there was none at the store, stopped by with these.

Talk about generous.

The Agave Montana, remember? I posted about it just as it was starting to open. A visit a few weeks later and it was covered with flowers.

The yellow caution tape set up along the street so people could stop and admire, safe from cars.

My orchid! A gift from my brother. Continuing to bloom well over a year since he gave it to me. A big deal for someone who habitually forgets to water her plants.

A special visit from my friend Kayo. She has a day job, but photography is her passion. She had an idea to offer a photo session in exchange for a donation to a Black Lives Matter organization.

Such a good idea! I’d been wanting pictures of my hands sewing and I loved the idea of donating to a worthy cause, so we set up outside, 6 feet apart. I brought out my scissors, pins, measuring tools, thread and one of the appliqué projects I’ve been working on.

I sewed and Kayo took picture after picture.

So much of my sewing is slow hand work, it’s wonderful to have it documented.

Thank you Kayo for these beautiful photographs!

And thank you for the perfect little cabin and the owl in the tree and places to hike and Mt Hood and the Sandy river, my brother, my neighbors, the gardener who planted and tended the Agave Montana and I must not forget, a huge, well deserved thank you to whoever thought of S’mores.