Cutting Garden featured in Homespun - and a giveaway!

If you've never had the pleasure of reading Homespun Magazine from Australia, I hope perhaps my latest quilt pattern will encourage you to order a copy! This has always been one of my fav sewing publications due to the varied projects (quilting, embroidery, sewing, collaging), gorgeous photography, matte paper, designer biographies and glimpses of quilting life DownUnder.  I wish it were easier to find in Canada. If you search online there are a few retailers in North America from which you can order copies.

 

Here's the adorable cover and a little detail of my quilt on the contents page!

The story of Cutting Garden is kind of a long one. You may recall that last year I worked with many neighbourhood friends (as well as others from my local quilting community) to make a Scrappy Sprouts quilt for our friend who was diagnosed with cancer.  The quilt we made was inspired by a quilt my friend Tracey made with sewing buddies the year before for her friend with cancer.  We both feel that the block is sweet and hopeful and I know that both quilts brought so much joy to their recipients. 

The location photos in the magazine are just stunning and make me so proud to have a project included!

Well, the editors at Homespun saw a photo of my quilt online and approached me to create a similar one, but they wanted a design with more flowers and a darker "ground".  I first asked Tracey if she wanted the gig, after all, it all started with her block design and quilt.  The timing wasn't right for her, but she graciously allowed me to go ahead with a quilt using a smaller version of her block.  Because of Tracey's generosity and the origins of this quilt, I've donated my modest design commission to cancer research - that just felt right.

The scale of a dresden plate flower didn't work with these smaller sprout blocks, so I designed some folk-art inspired flowers that are made up of two pieced quarter circles, some bias tape applique stems and machine appliqued circles.  I love how they look on top of those pretty rainbow sprout stalks.  It is really difficult to showcase the scrappy low-volume background fabrics in photographs, but trust me, there are tons of prints in there!

One of my fav things about the quilt are the two Heather Ross bumble bees on the flowers (Briar Rose fabric line).

This quilt is a fabulous scrap-buster. There is a lot of piecing, so it takes a while, but the results are so pretty. I cut the squares from pressed scraps using my Accuquilt GO!Baby cutter, which saved lots of time.  I have a little stash of leftover HST's, squares and stems that I saved for one lucky follower along with a copy of the magazine if you'd like to make this quilt yourself.  

Please leave one comment below for a chance to win. Your email MUST be linked to your comment, or appear in the comment itself, in order for you to win.  I'll choose a random winner next week on my birthday: July 22nd. Good luck everyone!

ETA: comments are now closed. Congratulations to comment #74 chosen by the random number generator! The Rx Quilter, you've won!! I'll email you for details on how to get your prize to you.

A Closer Look

It has been ages since I took my camera out. I'm talking about the one with the lenses, the strap and the memory card. As opposed to that other thing that's called a phone, but is really a flat camera for me. iPhone photos look great on an iphone, but I find them altogether unsatisfactory for blog posting....they are dark, typically grainy, high contrast, and while fun, they are not the kind of images I like to share here.   I've been missing my Nikon and spending time focusing on a subject and composing an image, so I decided to spend a few minutes in the garden yesterday doing just that.  I feel really out of practice, but here are a few of the shots I took.  And just for the record, I find the new and ever-changing Flickr interface extremely difficult to use, so that is another reason I am struggling share much these days.

All of these images were shot with my Micro NIKKOR 40mm 1:2.8 lens.  The lens was a Christmas gift from B in 2012 so that I could take more detailed photos of my work. It's an amazing lens!

This is my favourite shot from the exercise. The light, layers and bokeh effect all make me happy.

The vast majority of my sewing time over the past several weeks has involved many, many yards of Spandex. You see, it's show time again. In fact, the curtain opens at 12:30 on Thursday for the first matinee and we still have plenty to do. I've been doing 4 or 5 hour shifts three times per week. It's actually a lot of fun as the volunteer team is really great and we're enjoying the process of cutting, serging, trimming and fitting the costumes to the performers.  Racks of bodysuits on hangers aren't really suited to blogging....

Quilting will be back on the program starting Friday morning. It's the VMQG's first sleepover retreat!! I'm sad to miss a lot of the show action, but I'm also excited about retreating with my modern guild peeps at the beautiful Edenvale Retreat Centre. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous, so hopefully we'll get to see some sweet trilliums and wild orchids on the forest walk behind the house. I'll be working on a comfort quilt for a friend who is in need of a miracle.  Thanks to the generosity of local quilt friends and moms in our community I have almost 70 blocks to sew together and get basted this weekend. That's another thing that's been occupying my mind a lot over the past few weeks: our friend community has really suffered a tremendous amount of heartbreak over the past year.  It's a real time of reflection and introspection for me. I know you understand.

Krista
xo

Sunshine, Cycling, Scenery and FOOD

Yesterday we participated in an amazing family activity not very far from home.  Two hours north of Vancouver lies the picturesque and fertile Pemberton Valley. Most people who live here have never seen it, because they stop 32 km short of the destination in Whistler for their summer and winter adventures.

The valley is bordered on both sides and the south end by rugged, scenic peaks. The valley floor provides over 40 km of flat cycling on quiet farm roads populated by small family-run organic and salmon-friendly farms. Yesterday was the 8th annual Slow Food Cycle Sunday and friends invited us to join them for the day. What a day it was! Sunny with a scant breeze and about 28 degrees Celcius. Perfect.

After a casual free check-in, which as far as I could tell was a just a simple way to collect email addresses and get rough participant numbers, we were off. Our group consisted of 6 adults and 6 kids (aged 15.5 down to 11 yrs). There were several munchkins on push bikes or training wheels who started off the day with great enthusiasm but they were the ones asleep in the bike trailers with push bikes bungeed on top by 2:00 p.m.!  The counter lady at the 1/2 way mark told us on the way back that she'd counted almost 3300 participants.

The whole idea of they day is to celebrate cycling, sustainable farming practices and healthy food.  Folks filled their handle bar baskets and paniers with organic produce, and their tummies with yummy snacks at each stop.  Having set off from our Whistler hotel rather early in the morning, I was most excited to see this sign on the route!

Each of the participating 14 farms featured different small portion meals or snacks made from locally grown ingredients including baking, frittatas, tacos, smoothies, beef burgers, salads, potato vodka iced tea (B and SIL both enjoyed a refreshing glass of this elixir, but stated a second one would effectively render any cyclist eligible for a DUI charge), samosas, BBQ pizza, pulled port, bannock with preserves and gelato. A pocketful of small bills was super helpful as it was an all-cash day. I think as a family we spent about $80 and that included bringing home a bit of produce and a pound of espresso beans from the fair-trade roaster.

My fav stop featured this super fun human powered Pedal Smoothie stand (below) where B put his cyclist's quads to good use. The kids and I opted for incredible gelato (I enjoyed raspberry/pomegranate) and chef-prepared sampler plates of new potatoes done 3-ways.

There were so many great things about this day including leisurely flat riding for family fun sans helmets (we made the executive decision to go helmet-less which is a rare treat for all of us since our province has a mandatory cycling helmet law), incredible scenery, delicious fresh food and friends. I hope we can return next year! Here's a mosaic of some more shots from the day (I took my point and shoot, a 5 year old Cannon Powershot SD750 that I have hardly touched since I got my DSLR - it was fun to go lightweight for a day!). Check out the last shot. That was taken 10 minutes into our drive home!

....and for all you knitting enthusiasts out there, a super cool bracelet spotted on a produce purchaser!

Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Good news for all those worried about the west coast ice age. Summer arrived on the weekend and we couldn't be happier! We had a great family weekend visiting our friends just south of Portland (that dreamy kind of weekend where kids get along, grown ups get along and the livin' is easy!). We just loved Lake Oswego and all it had to offer for a long weekend; lake swimming & grilling dinner on the shore, hilly walks through wooded neighbourhoods, farmer's market, fabulous local coffee (Peet's...yummm) and quiet evenings chillin' on the back deck.

Perky sunflowers at the Farmer's Market

Fresh dill, anyone?

Swimming easement, Lake Oswego, OR

There was time for fabric, too! The Pine Needle had a great selection of Marcia Derse prints (which thanks to Michelle I am apparently collecting now) as well as a few other goodies I could not resist. I am even more motivated by Amy's newest design in the latest issue of Fat Quarterly...have you seen it yet? Simply gorgeous and a fun piecing challenge, to boot. If you are not yet a subscriber to Fat Quarterly, what's the holdup? Best few bucks you'll spend on quilting inspiration all year, I promise.

I also picked up some other bits and pieces, just for fun.

On Monica's suggestion, I managed to veer off the I-5 and into Bolt for a fabric fix on our way south. This shop is in the greatest neighbourhood - we loved it! While my family ordered lunch at the brew pub down the block, I managed to find a few yards of fabric and assorted trims to take home. Then, I got a little giddy when Elizabeth herself strolled in and couldn't contain myself from an impromtu introduction (sorry, no photo, I'm not that well trained in stalker procedure).

A great time was had by all.....until we hit the border line up returning home.

Yup, we really were a 1/2 mile from the gates and we'd already been sitting there for half an hour....90 minutes was our total wait time. Longest ever border crossing, and a reminder of why we rarely travel on long weekends!

We're in the Pink

Our Japanese Dogwood is blooming. Like crazy.

I guess it is taking kindly to our wettest spring in 50 years. Me (and my poppies)? Not so much.

Sun please.

Amazing Allium

I think I'll do a series of single flower posts, taken with my hipstamatic app. I could stare at an allium blossom (ball? globe? sphere?) for hours.

Nature so rocks.

Saturday sunshine

Finally! After record rainfall, the sun is shining and suddenly everything is blooming, hungry for the rays.

How does that yellow, orange, green and blue grab ya? Hope you are enjoying the weekend....I'll be back soon with some long overdue photos from my lovely retreat a couple of weeks ago.

Wee Bit of Weekend Work

I managed a bee block over the weekend. While my family watched our homeboys, the Vancouver Canucks, kick some serious Dallas a** last night (sorry Texas bloggy friends, but I ask you: is hockey really supposed to be played in Texas? Seriously!), I was busy next door in my sewing lair creating this for Amy :

Amy sent lots of fun fabric, plus the white and peach borders, and asked for a block made with only triangle shapes. Fun!

The sun shone brightly all weekend. I considered cleaning up all the dead stuff from last fall still standing/lying/dying all over the garden. I considered it again. Then decided to photograph the new stuff that isn't clued into the fact that it's only February 20.

Like the hellebore. An early spring keener, who loves her spot and grows defiantly where no other plant cares to grow: under the cedar tree.

Even the poppies are anxious. Fuzzy foliage is up 8 or 10" already!

I used to have hundreds of crocuses, but now only a hardy few remain. Truth be told (as has been done here a few times), I am a confirmed "plant it and hope it lives" gardener. My garden doesn't get a whole lot of Tender Loving Care from me - it is on its own. The lawn is another story. I love me a good push-mower session.

Is your garden still sleeping under a blanket of snow? I fear mine may be in for a nasty late-winter shock. We had a thunder and lightening hail storm on Friday night just to remind us that winter may still have a few plans for us yet!