Round up

Our lives have been readjusted lately...my husband has a new & intense work gig, that has been taking him out of town for the whole work week at least twice a month. Luckily for us, my parents live about 3 houses away, so Susannah can go there after school.  But I definitely miss having my laundry folded for me.  I have managed to complete a few small projects and a quilt over the past month.  Once again,  I neglected to take photographs as I finished things, so some of the following were taken by other people, using iphones and the like.  A couple of these are pretty blurry, but it's all I have.  I suggest squinting.

I made a throw pillow cover for my Mom, who loves flowers and bright, clear colors.  The minute I saw this fat quarter of Jane Sassaman fabric, I had a plan.  Like the other pillows I've made recently, it's a simple envelope closure.  I really do know how to sew in a zipper, and the next pillow I make will be zippered.  The back fabric is more Jane Sassaman from an earlier collection, that I had in my stash.  The quilting is just a machine serpentine stitch, but I think it gives a bit more interest.

Next up, another banner, this time using stars.  I made this for Tausha, who admired the heart banner.  Tausha does so much volunteer work, and I thought it would be nice for her to get something for no reason at all (start squinting):

I made another pillow, this one with applique and inexpert embroidery.  This was for someone I greatly admire, and who LOVES her dogs. You probably can't see it, but I embroidered the word 'devotion' on the back. 

 Okay, one more pillow to show (better pictures, I promise).  It's another version of the dog pillow.  I like the concept so much that it was fun to play around with different fabrics.  I found My friend Erin picked the PERFECT print to use for the golden retriever silhouette.  With every fabric line they design, Basic Grey includes new shades of grunge, and I love the stuff.  It's one of those not-quite-solid prints that I just want more of, like "Painter's Canvas" prints by Laura Gunn, Moda cross-weave, and the teeny stripe in Momo's "Just Wing It!"  "Origins" by Basic Grey is a current favorite fabric collection, and I have some pre-cuts and yardage waiting patiently to be put into a quilt.

In the meantime, I cut into some of it for this:

This pillow actually went to a friend of a friend, who recently lost her beloved dog.  If you don't have pets, then you may not understand the emotional bond.  And if you do have animals in your life, then you know that some are just really, really special.  This dog was incredibly important to this woman and her son, and I felt the pain of her loss even without knowing the dog.

I finished a quilt for the little girl next door, who is not only super-cute, but deep in the throes of the dress-up, shoe loving, princess-y, pink-purple-sparkly stage of little girlhood. Far, Far Away (I & II) to the rescue:

Hey, I think that's the Wood Cutter holding up that quilt (you can't see the wood shed in this photo).












Here are the four blocks, each about 26 inches square:

 The back, along with an appliqued & embroidered shoe that someone happened to lose in the garden:

And finally, a week ago, a sign of spring after this long, long Vermont winter:

Uh huh.  It's about time.