Gratitude & Glimmers #95

The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.

-Ashley Montagu

That was one of the quotes this past week on the Mindfulness Calendar that Dayna gave me a couple of Christmases ago. I think it’s another perfect description of a glimmer, those moments of joy and happiness that surprise and delight us.

Welcome to my post for the month of all things I like and for which I am grateful. You can find links to more posts like this one at LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color. Glimmers are the little things that give me a frisson if you will, of joy or happiness or excitement or all three.

One was getting this Canada t-shirt (on sale!) from Black Maple Trading, a Canadian company based in Montreal. They have a lot of wonderful designs and I will be back when I can decide which one I want next! I don't mind paying a little more if it is designed and made in Canada.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Update: Green

Green is the colour for May and oh, how I do love green: the feel of green, the smell of green, how lovely it looks with blue😊, how it is the colour of magic, and how it fills my sewing room windows that look east. My Project #1 is a churn dash block made with crumbs and strips. Each block has a centre 'feature' block, either one image or a special fabric in that month's colour.

I love that green owl fabric. I won it, along with a few other scraps in that line, from Michelle at From Bolt to Beauty in a giveaway she had a couple of years ago. Speaking of Michelle, have you seen that she is now a published author? She’s just released her first book and it sure looks like a good one, Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts. 

Glowing Hearts

The last several days have been absolutely dismal so I was able to get my Glowing Hearts quilt finished.

I am so pleased with it!

Glowing Hearts QAL - Quilt Top Assembly

As always, when I first start my Quilt Along, getting to the quilt top assembly stage seems awfully far off. Yet here we are. I have been thoroughly enjoying seeing the variety of glowing strippy heart blocks!

It's time to put our nine blocks together.

Trippy Totes

How's that for a catchy title with a double entendre?! I've taken the tote bags I've made (three from this pattern so far!) with me as a carry-on on the plane, and I use them to hold my yoga stuff for classes I teach. They'd make great grocery or shopping of any kind bags too. Very versatile, with the interlocking plus blocks, and two completely different sides... trippy

Once in a while, well, no, actually rather often, a certain fabric has me all excited with the colour combo, and I use it to curate a bundle from my stash. I did this with these two several months ago, the one above a little over a year ago when I made a baby quilt for one of last year's Project Quilting challenges.

Glowing Hearts QAL - Make Four Hearts on Light Background

Wow, are there some gorgeous heart blocks out there! I know of several more that are in percolating stages, and do not worry, I will show them in a post once they're emailed to me, or tagged at me. And, it just hit me: I will extend the linkup for another week. I have the power, ha, and why not?! Know that we've got lots of time yet before the parade on June 15, so please don't stress.

As always, I am just thrilled to see what you are doing with the quilt design! Some are doing all one background as opposed to two, others are making twelve instead of nine blocks, and still others are adding wider borders... I look at patterns once I've bought them as my jumping off point. Some I sew just as they are designed, while others I change them up to suit my tastes or needs. You do you! We do us!

Love in a Mist

Finishes fast and furious this past week! 😊 Today I have the throw in my newest pattern Winter Blues to show you. It is yet another spin on this (if I may say so myself) wonderful pattern!

The light pink and dark pink magnolias close to the lake are at their finest right now, just jaw-dropping magical. When I walked by this old girl on my morning walk on Thursday I knew it would be a great spot for a glamour shot.