Those Baby Blues

I am loving this soft blue colour this month and have created a couple of sprouts to get me started. I seem to have alot of those vintage light blue and florals or from the "Remember the Calico" period of my quilty life.

I found enough (it takes 12) yellow 2" squares to make one more yellow sprout. I expect that this is will be how it goes in this challenge, as the more that I rout around looking for the next colour, I will find more of a former. Not necessarily a bad thing.

All this while working on my Plenty of Fish MQ, picking that name up from a popular on-line dating service. In keeping with the spirit of the fun I have named mine "50 Shades of Grey" and I am on Step 7, while others have theirs finished I know. This mystery is hosted on FB by the girls at the Prairie Quilt Mercantile.

Check out this amazing patty pan squash I 'found' in the garden this week. To prepare I steamed it for 10 minutes in large pan (resting on a custard cup) in a hot water bath.  After I removed the seeds I then scooped out the flesh with a melon baller to within a 1/2 of the skin (which is totally edible). These I chopped roughly and added to a mix of sauted bacon, onions and garlic. I piled that mixture back into the shell and before I put the lid on, I finished it off with about a 1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan. The two halves back together and roasted for 20 mins. mmmmm. Love this time of year. I am also happy to report that is was great as leftovers in my lunch on Tuesday.

I think the other one will be cut in half, seeded, sliced about 1/2 thick, dredged in egg then dipped in seasoned panko crumbs and either fried or over roasted. I will keep you posted on t he variety of ways it will take to comsume all of these beauties. Anyone with another great recipe is to please chime in.

I did a Sketchy Challenge page, hosted by The Canadian Scrapbooker, of my granddaughter's new LadyBug Boots. It is a fun little exercise to do with the pictures I have already and an hour of time to really showcase the little people that I love so much.

While I had the materials out, I also did a page of my granddaughter and her Auntie Cyndi on their epic "Madi's Awesome Mountain Adventure" that they took to Jasper in June 2013.

To see what other blue loveliness is going on over at SoScrappy, check in here.
with love and hugs

Kathy

That's it for Red

Out goes August (and red with it) and now onto September...what will the colour be?

I have added to the red sprouts - which I just love!!

And I found some yellow squares that somehow were missed during what ever that month was.

I have worked on some scrap booking pages for gifts (this is what I give my kids for gifts now...is scrap-book-ready-pages of their own families). In this case I re-purposed a set of photos that I had given to MY mother for Christmas in 1979. These had been set into one of those collection frames in a very inexpensive frame and was looking very shabby. I took the pics and tossed the old frame. These pictures are from a pack horse trip my kids, and along with my sister's family, into Willmore Wilderness Park.

I have done a bit of house cleaning, or at least washed out a few kitchen cupboards and washed the floor with my new handy squirt 'n mop thingy. No one needs to see a picture of my new mop!

I took apart my bird feeders and gave them a thorough cleaning, including removing the "windows" and washing those in the kitchen sink. All set for another season of keeping my little bbb's feed for a long cold Canadian winter. I only feed shelled sunflowers to maximize their time and energy at the feeder, and they go through a bag of seed every 2-3 weeks.

I had the best treat last night. This weekend in Edmonton is the 19th Annual Symphony Under the Sky. Five performances over four days of the most beautiful music in the most beautiful setting in Edmonton. Last night's featured guest artist, with our incredible Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, was Ellis Hall and his tribute to Ray Charles performance. He rocked the joint!

I will be back to the park for the final performance this afternoon....then I will be in a very relaxed and refreshed back to work mode for Tuesday.

For more happy red scrappiness check here.

Love and hugs to all
Kathy

Seeing Red

And so, tell me. Where is the time going? Already the 24th of August and I am barely keeping  up. However, I did make a few more red sprouts

and while I still had blue green 2" square I made a few more sprouts to add to that part of my garden.

and we celebrated my oldest son's birthday, here shown with his two of his neices and nephew. As little Madi calls him...Uncle Warry.

This Puffin on Red string blocks I made for our "Little Birdie Told Me" EDQG Endowment challenge. I had pressed it and scorched it and was so dissappointed about getting it into the raffle, however I have washed in the kitchen sink, laid it flat to dry on a drying rack and it has come through almost perfect. I will have to hang this in my office now anytime I want to celebrate the colour red.

Embroidery pattern courtesy of 2008 Canadian Quilters' Assoc St. John's local organizing committee

Last weekend the Alberta Regional Lily Society met at the garden of my good friends Shauna & Terry Willoughby, Lily hybridizers and fancy fowl aficionados. Their chicken, Silkie, was keeping track of me that I did not disturb the koi fish in the pond.

Their lilies are spectacular this year.

To check out other red quilted loveliness, be sure to check out SoScrappy's Rainbow Challenge over here.
love and hugs to all
Kathy

The Colour Red

This past week has been a busy one. Was travelling on an overnighter to Calgary, had 3 grandchildren for 3 days and then back to work. With a small effort in the studio this week, I was able to add one more red sprout to the growing stack. Have I told you how much I love these sprouts and sooooo look forward to the coming together of my proposed scrappy sprouts garden quilt, with generous thanks to Tracey Jay Quilts. My sprout block are made up of 2" unfinished pieces and will finish at 5" x 11". But it has been a great way to use up some of those colourwash squares. I am also expanding on my definition of neutrals as I move through the "garden".

While on a road trip organized by Sparrow Studioz, we played I Spy on the QEII, based on the 9 patch of design compostition as defined in Colour & Compostition for the Creative Quilter by Katie Pasquini Masopust and Brett Barker. AND I got another 30" round selvedge rug crocheted for my friend Kim Caskey.



The Ricky Timms workshop and entertainment was sponsored by Bernina and Calgary's "My Sewing Room". Ricky educated and entertained us with stories and lessons. One of the things that many of us came away with was to use the term collection vs. stash. So, while we shop hopped our way home; My Sewing Room (Calgary), Traditional Pastimes (Calgary), and The Pieceful Patch (Blackfalds), we were all adding to our collection. So in keeping with this month's colour, I added this fabulous print to my red/white, white/red collection. There is a plan to transform this to an expanded 9 patch design so that I can best use of those fabulous females.



While also on the RED beat, I added the Red Tea Rose Best Press. I love this stuff! and my studio just smells so nice when I even just leave the lid off and use it as a room freshener. (ps: must also clean off my pressing station)

To see what other red loveliness is going on, check out SoScrappy's linky party here.
love and hugs
Kathy

August Summer Garden

Well I have talked about the garden, but maybe it is time I showed you what I get to enjoy in my own back yard.

The scarlet runner beans are being very aggressive in getting wound around their stakes.

The tomatoes are ripening every day, trying my best to keep up.

And I do love a feed of yellow beans.

And I do love sunflowers, this is the first one to bloom. I planted a variety of colours this year, so it will be fun to see them show their true colours.

A little hand holding the promise of a giant summer spaghetti squash...to be served later in the fall with garlic, EVOO and Parmesan...yum.

Nastersiums are always so fresh and cheery.

For this one I wish we had smell-a-vision...pineapple sage.

Colour, fragrance and delicious taste abounds, and some excellent garden helpers. It is the most wonderful time of the year.

Love and hugs
Kathy

Holiday Monday and Sprouts of all kinds

August Long...ah the images that conjurs up. Lazy mornings, sun drenched garden, raspberries, watermelon, reading, sewing, and most of all cuddles with three of my grandchildren. Brian & Falon's three little ones are here for the weekend and we have done all of the above. They will have to go home later today, but in the meantime we have some more fun to have...spray park in on the agenda today. Last night we went to see Despicable Me 2 (in 3D) it was very very good.

But there have also been time for Grandma to get into my studio chair. While Hanna sorts red 2" squares for me, Ty and Madison are doing their patient best to see past me and watch their show on my computer.

So here is my colour sample of my sprouts collection so far. I have a lot of orange sprouts, and a lot of the sapphire blue. I did not do any green sprouts - I made FWQ blocks in green instead. This is going to make an outstanding quilt put together in the 'modern' format with a sashing treatment of grey...now to pick the perfect one.

Take some time to head over to SoScrappy and see what other RED loveliness is going on for the month of August.
Love and hugs to all
Kathy

Finding Inspiration in Yellow

I recently saw a picture of an Italian lemon stand submitted by Mark Lipinski on Facebook.This photo inspires me on many levels...to make a monochramitc lemon/yellow/dusty pale orange quilt. And also inspired to travel to Italy and find a lemon stand of my own.

I have a fondness for yellow myself. My mom always called me her Golden Girl, perhaps because I wear yellow so well, or she held out hope that I would perform well in an Olympic sport (sorry to dissappoint on that front).

There would be a challenge in making a yellow quilt, as some self-appointed quilt police, say that yellow should be used very sparingly in a quilt.  I loved making the yellow slab blocks for our Alberta June Monsoon Relief Quilt. and the yellow sprouts also found in the same post.

The more I mull this over, the more I want to get into my studio and pull out every piece of yellow I have and rev up the Bernina and see where it takes me.

love and hugs
Kathy