"On the plains of Oklahoma, with a windshield sunset in your eyes like a watercolor painted sky, you'd think heavens doors have opened."
Fly Over States



Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Paradise in the Icestorm


This is my late mother's teddy bear.


During the time she was sick, I had a heck of a time keeping Jezebel from stealing it. I kept having to take it away from her. She'd sneak in when Mom would leave the door open and run off with it.


Mom insisted when she was dying that she wanted it to go to her first great grandchild. I doubt if she thought about how that could set up a fierce competition but the kids don't seem too worried about it. It would be a sad state of affairs if they had a falling out over a stuffed animal.


I suspect it still has Jezebel's scent on it.


So anyway, we were iced in so I finished quilting the Amish Nine Patch, this afternoon. We had about three inches of snow covered with a thick sheet of ice. Evelyn wasn't too thrilled with it and kept breaking through the top crust. She decided she'd rather stay indoors. Sometimes I wonder if she is really a Samoyed. She stayed with me in the quilting room most of the day. She is darn near as good a quilting buddy as Jezebel was. I don't have to step over her to get around but I am not sure if that is a bad thing. I was always having to worry about dropping the iron on top of Jezebel because she was under my feet. Evelyn picks wide areas and sprawls four paws up.


I started out custom quilting it but it looked horrible. I ended up spending an hour ripping out stitches and then decided to just use my Flower Power panto.


I used a mulberry colored thread by So Fine. Blessedly, I had excellent tension and I think the color worked well.


Here are some pictures of the quilting. It really showed up on the black.






Here are some parts of the quilt that show the quilting.










The backing I used was "Paradise" by Michael Miller. Husband wears lots of Hawaiian shirts and I bought this fabric years ago with the idea that I would make a quilt for him. It is so bold that I haven't dared do anything with it. Well, and I lost it, too, but that is another story.



You know, I think I like the backing better than the front!


This only goes to show that buying fabric you just fall in love with sometimes pays off - even if it is psychotic and doesn't go with any of the rest of your stash.



It wasn't perfect, but the backing goes well enough with the front, I think.




Evelyn jumped up on the bed as soon as she saw me lay out the quilt top. She knows this is the time to howl!




There has been a lot of discussion on the news, today, related to President Obama's comment about closing the schools in the District. He was bemused that they did so and said that they needed to bring some "flinty" Chicago toughness to our Nation's Capital. He pointed out that in Chicago, not only don't they close the schools in icy weather, they still send the kids out to play at recess. The news networks apparently thought this would ruffle some feathers and went looking for a story of disgruntled and insulted residents. No luck. I think most of us agreed with the President. Wimpy Washingtonians!!!But I still enjoyed quietly working on my quilt, at home. The tropical backing made me forget all about the ice outside.

6 comments:

tisme said...

Penny, I love that quilt! both sides. :)
My friend just bought a long arm quilter, a Gammil. I was wondering what would be a good gift for someone new to this. Thanks for any ideas you can give me.
My email is Tisgingy@msn.com, if you want to reply there. I love all your pictures with your babies in! :)

Thearica said...

Penny...Your quilt looks great! You are doing a wonderful job with your longarm!

I can't wait for our classes with McTavish!

ranette said...

Very pretty quilt and I think the flower power panto looks wonderful. You did a great job quilting it.

My hubby wears a lot of Hawaiian shirts too...not sure why, guess he just likes them.

Lady Beekeeper said...

Ranette, I must just assume that men think Hawaiian shirts make them look studly...

InfinityQuilter/Knitter said...

The picture of Evelyn's head on the teddy bear is so cute! The quilting looks GREAT!

JessicaSews said...

Dear Penny,

Oh, that teddy! Looks as soft as Evelyn! It looks like Evelyn has claimed it for herself!

The quilt - well, the quilt is just gorgeous. I like the backing as much as you do....it's wonderful to look at those pictures. The quilting is pretty!
Looks like Evelyn has claimed that too! Just makes me giggle - those pictures of her!
Those dogs are expressive!
Precious!

Try to stay warm and watch the ice!
~ Jes