March 20, 2024: Birthday Getaway; Donation Quilt Completed; and More!

Greetings dear readers! Last week Al and I celebrated my 75th birthday with a 2 day getaway to the “Downeast” coast of Maine on western Penobscot Bay. We stayed in picturesque Camden and what really made it special was that our dear friends, Paul and Lee, were there from Nova Scotia with us! Highlights included a visit to the Farnsworth Museum next door in Rockland, which specializes in art by the Wyeths, and exploring both Camden and Belfast, which is up the coast a short way. I didn’t get a photo of all 4 of us together, but here are 2 photos from my very special birthday dinner. Lee and I look rather sedate, but the one of Al and Paul is much more representative of our happy time together!😊

I’m always inspired by art of almost any kind so it was a treat to spend some of my birthday at a good museum. On exhibit were some of Andrew Wyeth’s botanical paintings, an exhibit of prints and lithographs from the American Art Association, and some works from other collections including some by N.C. Wyeth. Some highlights:

I’m a big fan of etchings and lithographs; an example:

There was only one piece of textile art on view – cloth mounted on canvas, but it reminds me of a modern quilt:

I love the many shades, tones, and hues of blue in this N.C. Wyeth painting:

Another of his:

There was a room of interesting work by Marsden Hartley:

When we were walking around in Belfast, of course I had to go into one of my favorite quilt shops, Fiddlehead Artisans! I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but I’ve been keeping my eye open for a background fabric for my next big appliqué project and found something! I bought this Kim McLean pattern last summer:

My plan was to use mostly Tilda fabrics on a yellow background, but after prepping some pieces for one of the blocks, I decided I didn’t want to use yellow 🙁. I found a dark blue in my stash but only had 1/2 yard and couldn’t find any more anywhere. So nothing has happened for months. At Fiddlehead I found a beautiful “peacock” color fabric for the background that I’m really happy with!

It’s a cotton/linen combo by Kauffman and slightly thicker than 100% quilting cotton so I will eventually likely use very thin batting – but that decision is a LONG WAY off! This is going to be one of those “long journey” projects 😊. I might not even get it started for a few more weeks.
Just before leaving for our little getaway, I picked up my library donation quilt from the long-armer (Sue Foster) and after returning I finished putting on the binding. So happy to have this done on time! It’s such a cheery, happy quilt – perfect for spring!

Here is my week’s set of 9 patches:

I also put my “leader/ender” quarter square triangle blocks (easy to make these with all the chain piecing for the 9-patches) on the design wall to assess where the project is; I like this setting:

The blocks are 3 inches square and will finish at 2 1/2 inches. 12 blocks across would be 30 inches. I think I will add a few rows to make it a rectangle and then keep it small – a crib quilt. I plan to add a border. However, this looks so much like autumn and I want to be working with brighter colors right now, so I think this will go into the “time out” pile for a while 😊.

I love “woods” walks, but sometimes I stick to the road and enjoy some open spaces and skies; those, too, are earthly delights:

I enjoyed all the “lines” created by the branches, trunks, and reflections in this view:

Happy spring to all my northern hemisphere readers! I’m truly looking forward to the return of light and color!
Be kind, be grateful, and cherish each day, Gladi