Welcome to July

Right end of our mantel 

(the half-gallon canning jars were my maternal grandmother's)

Center of the mantel

This sign encapsulates so much of my Michigan childhood

from herds of holsteins grazing in the fields,

frequent family outings to regional ice creameries, 

my maternal grandfather's stories of life on the farm,

and so much more . . .

. . . including the sign on September's barn

in my book's cover quilt See Rock City. 

Left end of the mantel

Left end of the hearth

Right end of the hearth

Fourth of July (2021) on one living room rocker

Hello July (2021) on the second living room rocker

The cedar chest's orphan block runner

The Kitchen Door Quilt (2016) on one side chair

with a pillow made from Finnish linen purchased 

the summer between my junior-senior year of college 

while I was part of an all-Michigan orchestra tour 

that criss-crossed Finland.

Inspi(RED) (2020) on the second side chair

with a second pillow made from another piece

of that well-aged Finnish linen.

Gotta Love It (2011) on the back of the couch

And Moments in Time (2016) on the back of my recliner

* * *

Wishing each of you a safe (!!) 

and satisfying Fourth of July weekend. 

Quiltdivajulie

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“Purer colors…have in themselves, independently of the objects they serve to express, a significant action on the feelings of those who look at them.”

Henri Matisse

Ready to Pin Baste

WHEW -- the 70s quilt is ready to pin baste.

(click on the label at end of this post 

to see previous posts for this project)

Left to right (rolled on extended* pool noodles):

Back, batting, liner for top, and the top.

(* extended pool noodles - two full length noodles 

with a 4' dowel rod slid through 

the hole to strengthen/stabilize)

(in keeping with the scrappy, make-do nature of the top,

I'm using a low volume print (reversed) for the liner)

This project is SO MUCH larger than what I normally quilt.

Wish me luck!

In other news, almost three years ago (gasp)

I painted our two front porch doors red

which led to the making of the Kitchen Door Quilt.

I liked the red doors so much,

I announced that I was going to paint

both of the back doors red.

(lots of time passes)

Last Wednesday, DH took down the sunroom door

and did extensive cleanup around the multiple panes of glass.

And now the door has been painted by yours truly

and re-hung by DH with new hardware.

(once the paint fully hardens, I'll clean up the glass

and remove any stray smudges of red around the edges)

Only one more door to go . . . 

but not until after the 70s quilt is D-O-N-E.

Quiltdivajulie

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“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or self-confidence.”

Robert Frost

Seasonal Scraps

In that same now-emptied project box, 

were these bits and pieces from 

Dumpster Diving IV - The Christmas Edition

and Feliz Navidad. 

With a bit of stitching and trimming,

they became this scrappy slab.

The slab was squared up into a rectangle

and prepared for quilting.

The finished piece measures 11" wide x 22.25" long.

Quilted with Glide thread in Apple

using long liberated wavy lines.

A bit of leftover red and white striped binding finished it off.

Four scrappy squares from the making of

The Kitchen Door quilt turned into this 8" x 8" mug mat.

Backed with the last of this loud but fun print

and bound with the last of this leftover binding.

Quilted with Glide thread in Apple

using Leah Day's super wobble approach.

* * *

Four scrappy projects finished

with one more to share on Friday.

The remaining scraps in the box

have been sorted into eight color groups

and will be used to make my

Instructor Showcase sample

for my JCCFS class in September.

Yes!

Quiltdivajulie

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From Dictionary.com -- REIMAGINE (verb)
"to reinterpret (an event, work of art, etc.) imaginatively; rethink."