Thanks to Audrey @ Quiltyfolk.blogspot.com for hosting Brambleblooms 2 linky party now in progress! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

My Brambleblooms 2 inspired quilt top, Four Tiles with Borders.

 Thank You Audrey for all your inspiration and sharing!

I was inspired and enjoyed all your insight and projects. I look forward to more this coming year.

 Happy Holidays

I haven't been much of a blogger this year. Frankly I will be happy to see 2024 in the rear view mirror. A close friend had spinal surgery in May and is still in rehab. It has been a slow and arduous journey back to health or what will pass for it. He is in generally good health but now has significant physical limitations due to the underlying condition and surgery. I will help with his care going forward and he should have gone home this week. The universe threw another obstacle in our path when I tested positive for Covid four days ago. I hope I didn't infect anyone else as at first I thought it was a bad cold. When I lost my sense of smell and taste, I took a Covid test which was positive. I have had the vaccine and all boosters, so presumably my case was not so bad. Mainly I have extreme fatigue, breathlessness, and congestion. I have turned a corner and can tell I am getting better, but it has not been a speedy recovery. I am observing CDC guidelines and observing the required quarantine of five days. Longer if I don't test negative.

I haven't sat at my sewing machine in over a week - no energy or desire to do so. I will get back to it at some point, I am sure. I delved into a large basket that sits next to my recliner, curious as to what was in it. I found a long abandoned counted cross stitch project which I have been working on. It is quite fiddly and I wonder how I ever made much progress on it. It has been several years since I touched it. I still really like the project but my eyes and manual dexterity have really declined. I found a pair of lighted magnifying craft glasses and they really help. Here is the pattern, "Halloween Fairy" by Mirabilia. It is stitched on 28 count linen, hence the fiddly bit.

I have decided to stitch a Christmas stocking for our family's newest addition - a baby boy born in February, two months early. I was planning on a rather elaborate quilt for him, an Elizabeth Hartmann pattern but I am abandoning that idea and will make him a simpler quilt from the  tutorial "Dancing Plus" by Jan Ochterbeck.I have made this several times, most recently for a neighbor's baby. See the pattern here: https://thecolorfulfabriholic.blogspot.com/2015/08/dancing-plus-blocks-tutorial.html

Christmas Day will be low key here. My daughter and I don't exchange gifts these days. We have what we need. We will have dinner with our extended family on Christmas evening. My youngest brother is hosting this year. My contribution will be a vegetable side dish - cauliflower au gratin. Basically it is oven roasted cauliflower florets finished off with grated cheddar cheese and bread crumbs.

Wishing everyone happy and healthy holidays!

Ad Hoc Improv News! Improv Art Quilt Fun with Borders!

My Improv Rail Fence Blocks Medallion with Border small art quilt top.

Sunflower Panel with Borders top finish.

 Hello quilt friends!

Improv art quilts with borders have been on my to do list and quilt tops are getting finished.

Do you have any Improv borders or art quilt tops finished?

I entered 3 of my small improv art quilts in the Washington State Fair for the first time.

And one of my quilts won a first place blue ribbon for its class. I am excited, the fair will finish in a few weeks and then I'll get it back, photo will follow.

What quilting adventures have you been up to?

I'll be by to visit!

Improv Bramble Blooms 2 Quilt Along Design Decisions Progress

I added sashing and sawtooth borders here, using fabrics from my BB1 project and older fabrics.

I started with 4 'Old Italian' type blocks at Audrey's prompting.

 

Hello quilt friends!

Here's my quick progress report on BB2 QAL from Audrey at quiltyfolk.

Visit my post for more info at crazyvictoriana.blogspot.com. 

Happy Quilting!

 

Finally, a finished SAHRR

 Finally, after a sewing mishap (see what I did to myself), a trip to the machine doctor, and loss of courage, I finally got back my machine and I finished quilting my SAHRR.

Made it into a baby quilt for St. Anne's Sewdality - our church group which makes baby quilts for low income first time mothers. I hope they like it.  Your quilts were spectacular! 

Update on Improv BoM

Hi all, just a quick reminder that the new improv block comes out on the first Friday of each month, so April is now available.

Here's a review of what we have so far: January's Scrambles

February's Stripbusters

March's Skinnies

April's Floating Dots

If you're playing along, don't forget to post pictures on the Facebook group site. Have fun creating dots, Mary

Always Late, but Still catching Up With the Prompts

 A little catch up post here for the latest challenges that I've been working on! I finally got the Positive Thinking quilt finished up. You can read more about it here if you like. This was an amazing outcome for a little seed of an idea that didn't seem super promising right at the beginning. For one thing, the color palette felt a little iffy to me!

And look at it now? It's the sort of thing that makes me so resolved to always try and meet these challenges, slow though I might be. It's just a good thing in terms of stretching ourselves! Just can't believe some of the quilts that I end up with by giving a little time and effort to an idea that maybe didn't feel genuinely inspiring at first. You know, because it didn't come from the heart. More like determination to see it through by hook or by crook? 

The free-spirited Sun of My Life quilt!

This quilt top is a result of working with the AHIQ:Sun prompt. Had to use up few yellow fabrics in another quilt before my mind would give me permission to start in on the 'real thing'. It's been quite the journey and yet, I'm so, so, so happy with the way it turned out. And with barely any yellow included? Isn't that interesting? These colors mixed with the improv. background, larger scale applique flowers and a funky sun? Too much fun. I find myself wanting to make more of these. Yes please!

Another sun 'cuz apparently one isn't enough!

Of course, I can see all the things that should've been done differently with the improv. pieced background, but how to successfully plan that part out  beforehand? Obviously more experience would help. You can read more about this project over here if you want. This has become a very late night for me trying to get these posts up so gonna have to keep this short and sweet!

I still intend to start a quilt with intended improv. borders like Janie has suggested for a new challenge. It feels like a good one! Really, really looking forward to this one after contemplating a half dozen possibilities.  Have to clear up my list a little bit and also, give time to one or two more starts before I dive into the brand new prompt. Just can't quite let a couple other ideas go in the event they languish too long and fizzle out on me....

p.s. I'm pretty sure these small, darker brown hourglass blocks were the abandoned parts from an earlier AHIQ prompt. I did eventually meet the challenge, but these hourglasses were the wrong size and had to be discarded. Love that they ended up in another AHIQ challenge attempt!