DJYota's Crafty Endeavors

I was caught up in a flurry of half-square triangle piecing this weekend...it was a lovely way to spend the time, and I am almost sad to be finishing this quilt top. It all started with a charm pack of floral fabrics.  I played around with a few different block ideas and decided on the half square triangles.  I cut fabric squares at 5 1/2", paired them up right sides together, sewing 1/4" on either side of a diagonal line. I love the bright colors.  I dabbled with different color combinations for a bit, then I eventually took over the entire kitchen table.  My husband is a patient man =). Squaring up those half-square triangles is a laborious process, but there is also something soothing about it.   I love watching the flannel "quilt wall" fill up.  The fabric combinations begin to take on a unique personality.  I was in a happy mood working on this one! Speaking of Happy, she was my furry friend through the entire process.

My son and husband planned a hike for Mother's Day today, and what a glorious day for a hike it was!  Beautiful blue skies, and the desert trails are in full bloom.  I am ever so grateful to live in an area with so many outdoor opportunities.  The quality time with my fourteen-year-old was the main event, of course.  I'm a lucky mom =). I've been on a very weird pastel adventure these past couple of months.  First, there were the color choices in the kaleidoscope wall hanging that I completed last month, and now this project's pastel floral hues.  I was poking around on the Thousands of Bolts and Only One Nut website, and I saw a selection of floral prints.  I am a deep hues and bold print girl generally, so this is out of character for me.  But when the muse speaks, we must follow.   I first played around with some more solid prints to go with the floral, but it just didn't feel right.  I finally decided to just go with only the floral print

One snowy day this winter during our Christmas break, I sent my two dudes off on a snowshoeing adventure while I hung out with my sewing machine.  I had been eyeing some plus pattern quilts and came across this free pattern from The Cloth Parcel website:   make-this-proof-positive-quilt-tutorial As luck would have it, I had just picked up a roll of Kaffe Fassett floral fabrics, and the purple batik seemed like it would be a nice background. I was pretty carried away with the stitching, until a closer inspection revealed some sadly misaligned pluses.  So I spent a bit of time with my trusty seam ripper (grrrrr).  From that point on, I used a fabric pencil to mark the center rectangles so the bottoms of the pluses would align. I thought this floral border was a nice touch.  I have some pink fabric I am considering for the backing.  It was a satisfying day of quilting.