{ perfect . . . just perfect }

All art requires courage.

- Anne Tucker -

I have this pesky tendency to think

perfection is not only possible, it is required.

I was so excited about how this quilt top turned out.

I was making this quilt to celebrate the

arrival of a new baby girl across the street.

I made sure the mother loves pink & gray and

found the perfect pink polka dot flannel for the back.

I am learning to machine quilt using the

Bernina/Grace Company Quilt Motion setup.

I learn something new with each quilt.

I had skipped 'ahead' to quilt the borders

and center and planned to do the straight line work

off the frame and with my walking foot.

I thought I was paying attention but when

I took the quilt off the frame and looked at the back,

I found I had quilted in a couple of small tucks

because I hadn't smooth the flannel back enough

as I rolled the quilt ahead.

I could have cried (I almost did).

This perfect top RUINED!

As I fussed and teared up, my husband reminded me

that not one of my quilts has ever been refused

by it's new owner because is wasn't PERFECT.

I calmed down, unpicked enough stitching to smooth out the tucks, sewed
the binding on, and stepped back to admire the quilt.

I have determined to never let 'imperfection'

rob me of the joy of creating again.

(I think I need a sign.)

I love this quilt!  It's perfect because it was made

with love and, hopefully, will be loved by it's new owner.

I love the bias stripe binding!  I love the floral border!

I looked up the definition of the Greek word teleios

that was translated into perfect in the New Testament.

Teleios is defined as "brought to its end,

finished wanting nothing necessary to completeness".

And so I can honestly say that this quilt is simply perfect!

{Did I mention that after washing and drying this quilt
you would never know where those pesky tucks were?}

Quilt Information

Finished size 39 inches square

Center - White Kona Cotton 25 inches square

Center circle - 9 1/2 inches across

Dresden petals - 5 1/4 inches long finished

(6 inches unfinished)

Border - 7 inches wide finished (7 3/4 inches unfinished)

Quilting - Straight stitch & Linda's Daisy digital design

Center quilting design came with Quilt Motion

{ in the leafy treetops quilt }

I love the the robin IN the bird bath and the look on the other robin's face.

As a child, I loved the song

"In the Leafy Treetops" (the birds sing "good morning").

I still love birds singing in the tree tops.

After reintroducing quack grass to our yard,

Mr. W. and I made a compromise that I would

only use black sunflower seeds in my bird feeders.

This spring my bird bath has been a beehive of activity.

I have been delighted to see multiple birds

drinking and bathing and vying for a spot.

I saw this pattern and loved the two colored twist.

Using this as my inspiration, I set out to create my own.

(I would have been ahead time wise to have

bought the pattern but this is what I came up with.)

 In the Leafy Treetops Quilt

The solid colors are Kona cottons.

The leafy treetop fabric is a Cloud 9 fabric from JoAnn's.

The back is a Peter Pan fabric I purchased in the 90's.

(I'm trying to 'shop' at home more . . . )

The quilt design is a beautiful bird and flower from

Quilts Complete.

Quilt information

Finished size - Width 39" Length 48"

Orange border 1/2" finished (1")

Bird border 5" finished (5 1/2")

{ He knows me }

 Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings,

and not one of them is aforgotten before God?

 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered

Fear not therefore: ye are of more value

than many sparrows.

- Luke 12:6 & 7 -

{ 24 Carrot Quilt }

In honor of spring and bunnies everywhere,

I present my Fancy Nancy Original 24 Carrot Quilt.

This quilt makes me smile!

I LOVE the orange/blue/brown combination!

Look really close for my quilting

I'm really proud of my 'carrot quilting'.

Loopy loops on the carrot tops and

'carroty' texture on the carrots.

My quilts tend to 'evolve' more than be planned in advance

and so I was delighted to find the perfect border

and binding fabric after the carrots were pieced.

(The carrot fabric was already in my hoard collection.)

The carrots on the back make me smile.

My sweet helper/photo bomber is currently

serving as a LDS missionary in Uruguay.

I had to include her sweet baby blues.

And her shadow hand puppets.

I paper pieced my carrots (I was struggling with

accuracy on biased edges) but the shapes are

simple enough that you could add seam allowances

to the shapes and piece them that way.

The blue border is 1 1/2 inches (1 inch finished).

My Mom's clothes line

The floral border is 4 1/2 inches (4 inches finished).

The striped binding is on the biased (my favorite).

I cut my binding 3 1/2 inches wide,

use the right edge of my walking foot as my seam allowance, and stitch it by hand.

It finishes to a beautiful 1/2 inch binding on the front

and a little wider on the back.

Link for a pattern for the carrots

Link for a pattern for the carrot tops

The quilt finishes at 43" x 65".

{ happy st. patty's day! }

Today is one of the worst holidays for 

my severely red/green color blind Mr. W.

He went through school, year after year,

never quite sure if he was wearing green

on St. Patrick's Day.

It wasn't until he was 17 that he was officially

diagnosed as red/green color blind.

Every morning I make sure he 'matches'

and today we tucked a pen with a green cap

into his shirt pocket just in case.

He is so color blind that before we were married,

he bought a grass green suit thinking it was brown.

It was our first donation to DI as a married couple.

Here's to the wearing of the green

(even if you can't see it)!

My Kona Cotton Rainbow

Tennessee Williams said

"Luck is believing you're lucky."

I consider myself one very lucky girl!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

{ buttons }

A very nifty tip for placing buttons

before you start stitching.

Let me introduce you to one of my

ALL TIME FAVORITE notions -

* * * Roxanne's Glue-Baste-It * * *

After I decided on my layout

for my Loving Hearts stitchery,

I put a dot of Roxanne's magic glue

on the back of each button.

This stuff dries FAST and clear.

One dot held those buttons firmly in place.

It can be used anywhere you need a pin,

extra 'finger' or a 'temporary' basting.

It comes out in the wash and this little bottle

lasts a very long time.

I continue to find new uses for it.

Check with your local quilt store
and if they don't carry it, request that they do.

Or you can always check online.

{ charity at a stop light }

I heard a talk a while ago about judging.  

The speaker suggested that when someone acts in a way

that appears to us to be less than saintly, 

we should think of the most magnanimous explanation 

for their behavior.

For example, we're cut off in traffic.  The explanation could be that the driver

is rushing to the hospital to see his baby born.

The speaker pointed out that we can't change situations

BUT we can change how we feel about them.

This thought has helped me in many situations.  

I will admit that one circumstance was so bizarre

that the only magnanimous explanation I could come up with was

that the person had an inoperable brain tumor and couldn't help herself.

Saturday, I was headed to Pleasant Grove to watch grandchildren 

while their parents and sister attended a 'Daddy Daughter' date.

I had a lot on my mind as I stopped at the end of my street and waited

for a speeding car coming up the hill to go by.

I pulled out after it zipped by but must have forgotten to look right

one more time before I did.

As I went to pull in to the 'driver's' lane, I was met with a looonnnggg honk.
I quickly turned left and watched as a car passed me on my right.
I unknowingly had almost sideswiped a car.  Deep breath.

At the bottom of the hill, the light had turned red.  

I was now waiting side by side with the car 

that had honked.  I debated about whether to look over 

and mouth 'Sorry' or just keep looking ahead.  

I decided to look over and saw the driver motioning 

me to roll down my window.  I did.

And then, at the red light, I was shown charity.  

The driver explained that she wasn't being rude 

when she honked, she just wanted to warn me 

and avoid an accident.  I explained that clearly 

I didn't see her and was so sorry that I had almost 

caused an accident.  She acknowledged that she knew 

I hadn't seen her and was just glad 

that we were both okay.

The light turned green and we were on our way.

Charity at a red light.  What a great way to start your day!

{ Oh Scraps! }

Have you ever meet a person and immediately known 

that you've just met a new dear friend?

That's how it was with Renee.

Had to fix my 'caught' rick rack before my birthday delivery.

My uprooting had been difficult and I was in need of

good friends that would welcome me to the neighborhood.

Renee was one of those women.

I love a stripy binding!

She's a Provo gal like my Grandma Adamson.  

In fact, she lives at 591 East - my Grandma's address!  

When I realized that, it was a done deal.  

This friendship was meant to be.

I named Renee's quilt "Oh Scraps" because Renee

has shown grace and humor as she deals

with the horrible disease of rheumatoid arthritis.

The 'real' name of the quilt is "Oh Crap" - 

it's been that kind of a year or two health wise for Renee.

I didn't think that looked quite proper

on this beautiful quilt and so I added 

a couple of Ss to make it more lady-like.

Renee is that great blend of 'real' and 'optimism'.

She has been a sounding board for me

and a source of friendship and love.

The butterfly quilting reflects a tender symbol 

for her family with the loss of a sweet granddaughter 

to cancer and of course I needed hearts 

to reflect her deep and abiding love for her family, 

the restored gospel and me.

I love my birdie clips!

I hope that when she warms her sore joints under this quilt,

she will remember how much she is loved 

and how much I appreciate this Provo gal 

at 591 East making room in her heart 

for a newcomer to the neighborhood.

Quilt facts - Quilt layout- my design

Quilt front is made using Kona Snow

and fabrics by Bonnie and Camille.

The binding is cut on the bias.

Quilt block pattern is Buttoned Up

from the book A Cut Above by Gerri Robinson.