Heart of Winter Quilt Finished

Heart of Winter Quilt [wall hanging]

This was a pattern and kit that I bought at Going to Pieces Quilt Shop in Appleton, WI, last year.  I was enamored with some of the winter fabrics and bought extra for the Winter Blues [Starlight] Quilt.  I fell in love with those silvery, frosty trees. So many good winter memories!

It's quilted with a simple 2-inch grid on the diagonal with the walking foot.   This seems to be my go-to gitt'er done quilting design these days.  I started with the red heart square and tried to make the diagonal lines highlight that one especially, so it would pop out.  That seemed to work out well, though the quilting lines didn't quite line up right for some of the other squares. 

I altered the pattern [and kit] slightly to add this single cranberry red square.  The overall theme is chickadees -- which I absolutely love!  But I was also thinking about my mom having died earlier in the year, which made me think of cardinals -- another one of my favorite winter birds in WI.  

 

I've been attaching the quilt labels in one of the lower corners of the quilt, so that the seam lines mirror the binding and don't otherwise take away from the quilting on the front. 

I used to always use Hobbs 80/20 batting, but since I started using wool bats, I feel the need to include that info on the label so I know how to launder / care for it in future. 

Previous Posts on this Project:

Heart of Winter Quilt Top

Mesmerized: Winter Mindfulness Glitter Calm Down Jar

Winter Mindfulness Glitter Calm Down Jar

Here's  a short video to show it in action.

Relax and catch your breath.

[You can see a bigger view by clicking on the YouTube icon in the lower right of the screen.]

I've been wanting make one of these sensory meditation bottles for quite a while.  Several years ago, I was experimenting with metallic paint cut with water in a spray bottle.  It was mesmerizing--like northern lights to see it swirl!  I would have kept it back then, but I didn't think it would keep very well.   Now I know that it would have been fine.  I just wish I still had some of that paint -- or remembered what it was!

I've even been saving a Voss-look-alike water bottle for just this occasion.  Too bad it turned out to leak.

I am also conscious of the problem glitter causes in the environment.

Blue with silver and white or black sparkles.  Maybe even some snowflakes, stars and sequins. 

The basic ingredients, according to this teacher's instructions are as follows:

Bottle

1/2-inch of glitter in the bottom of the jar (Choose a variety of fine and chunkier glitters.)

Hot water from the tap

Glycerine

2-3 drops dish soap

You may choose to glue the top shut, but since I'm in a household with no kids, I did not take this step.

Through the Woods

Finished this little wall hanging of winter trees.  I cut out the trees last fall at Quilt Camp, and am just now getting around to stitching it all down, quilting it and binding it.  Just in time for Spring!

The pattern is by Laundry Basket Quilts.

The fabrics came in a kit purchased at the quilt shop in Antigo, WI -- back when they had a quilt shop.   It came with some wonderful fabric suitable for the trees.  I'll be keeping the scraps for future trees in other projects.  ;-)

 

Out in Nature : Week 10 Let's do 52

Out in Nature

Skeleton Leaf  in Winter

Sorry to say, I didn't keep very good notes on the processing of this image.
I will say that I used a couple of textures --
Out-of-the Fray's Light Grunge Texture and one of my own Glasgow Cemetery textures (8140) and a Texture 30.  The snow background in the original was so nondescript, it needed something texture-wise. 

Once I had the textures set, I merged all the layers, and took it over to Rad Lab and played thil I had something I liked.   

I am participating in Denise Love's 2017 "Let's Do 52 : 52 Weeks of Photo Prompts" to kick start the lull in my photography.   If you'd like to join us, find out more at the link above.  The more the merrier!

Winter Quilt : Gift from my Mom

Look what my mom gave me for Christmas.    ;-)   She knows me pretty well after all these years!  It's me in a quilt.   She even named it "Michele," because I love winter so much. 

 

The funny thing is, we went to the local quilt shop on Christmas Monday so I could use up the GC from last year.  And I saw another version on the wall--I didn't notice it until AFTER I had checked out.  I was seriously thinking about purchasing the pattern and materials to make it myself.  Now I'm chuckling thinking about what excuses they might have come up with to NOT sell it to me--knowing full well that Ma was giving me a completed version for Christmas.

I hung it outside my sewing room, so I can see it every morning when I get up and head downstairs for breakfast.  Thanks, Ma!

Winter

Yesterday, I needed a break from cleaning and reorganizing my creative space, so I went cross-country skiing at Menominee Park on Lake Winnebago.    It was a beautiful, bright clear crisp day!  Enjoy the pictures.

I actually had a chemical hand warmer in my camera bag so that the battery would not die from the cold.  It worked like 2 charms!

 These are ice shoves.  For those of you who don't live near a lake that freezes, ice shoves are frozen chunks that get pushed ashore.  Wave action continues even while the lake is in the process of freezing and thawing.    I thought they looked kind of monolithic (even though there are 2 or 3 here).   And I liked the stripes on the ice behind it ...  I'm always on the lookout for pattern, textures and colors.

A little more color to the sky as I finished up my late afternoon ski.