Hello everyone, and happy spring! We are in full bloom here, and the weather has been really nice. It feels so great! Of course, it also feels kind of sneezy and scratchy, but who even cares? It's like waking up from a very, very long sleep. I have been sewing quite a bit lately, so you know I'm feeling quite a bit better. I think getting the vaccine helped me a lot, and so does the sunshine. Not to mention that this nightmare semester is almost over! Pandemic teaching has been the worst, but at last we are coming to the end. Hurray for that!
I have yet another small quilt top to show off today. I actually already basted it and it's ready for quilting up, but this top has to wait its turn in line. Here's this fun top:
If you have children, or know any children, you might recognize Brown Bear of Eric Carle fame and the book of the same name. Long ago (the selvage says 2008) I started collecting kits and fabrics and putting them aside in what I called a "grandma box." In case I ever had grandchildren, you know. A couple of years ago I pulled out this kit and found a poorly-cut panel:
Yeah. Always check as soon as your fabric arrives! Or check it in the store before you purchase a kit of any kind. Once I saw this, I took the kit apart and have used some of the fabrics for other things. I kept the panel in case I had another idea, but it just made me upset so I didn't do anything with it.
And then my almost-youngest granddaughter fell in love with the Brown Bear book and pretty much memorized it. What's a grandma to do but find a way to make it work? So, of course, I did, and I'm pretty happy with the results.
I can't wait to quilt this one up, because it's going to live here at Grandma's house. With all of us having gotten vaccines, I expect that my granddaughter will actually get to visit again pretty soon, and it just makes me happy to think about having this one ready so she can tell me all about Brown Bear. That's some pretty strong incentive to quilt up the others ahead of it in line, too!
Before I made this quilt top, I also completed another project-- a new ironing board! My husband cut the plywood for me, then I covered it with a layer of 1/2- inch foam and two layers of (the cheapest possible big box store) batting, then a final layer of cotton duck. I'm still going back and forth about covering it in the silver reflective cloth, but so far it's working great for me. And it's 54 inches wide, so pressing yardage is soooo much easier.
Finally, last Wednesday this little blog turned 7 years old! I have no idea how this happened. I think next week I'll have some kind of a giveaway or something to celebrate, but for now, thanks for hanging around for so long, and special thanks for bearing with me through the really hard times we've been having. Quilty friends are the best!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! My plan for the weekend is to haul out the patio furniture. Lunch on the patio, everyone! Hurray!
