Hummingbird #4

Posted in Hummingbirds, Quilting by paulasuequilts

Block #4 For Dad

This block is dedicated to my Dad. He has the flu and I am worried about him. Sending prayers and thoughts to you Dad. Love you.

Dad is just as creative as my Mom. My parents owned a flower shop/bakery combo and thanks to them, I can make a bow better than anyone I know (including dad ;-)). I also know a lot more about house plants and flowers than anyone in IT should. Several years ago, my parents sold their shop and moved away from our home town. I think it has had a couple of owners since, but it still bears his name. The current owners seem very nice and have named the shop dog after my dad. The story goes: they got so tired of people coming in and asking for Dad, that they got a dog, named it after him and now when people ask to see Andy, they point to the dog.

What I want to know is why I was never allowed to have a shop dog when I worked there. Seems a bit unfair.

Thoughts on This Project

I am struggling on how to photograph these guys consistently. I am almost ready to break out the tripod. Almost…

January 4, 2015
Block #4
Days on Project: 4
Blocks Made: 4
Quilts Dad already has: 1 Snuggly Rag Quilt

For Dad

3Jan2015

Hummingbird #3

Posted in Hummingbirds, Quilting by paulasuequilts

For Brittany

This block is dedicated to my cousin Brittany. She is having a baby TODAY! And in honor of her, and for good luck, she is getting a bird.

Brittany is a wonderful person, beautiful inside and out. She is going to make a great mother and we could not be more excited for her.

Happy Baby, Brittany!

Thoughts on This Project

This isn’t exactly my first rodeo; I have paper pieced many times so I am mostly just frustrated that each bird is taking an hour. But today’s bird was even more difficult. Maybe its because it is dedicated to a woman that is currently in labor. Maybe…

Lesson learned for today: If you are printing your foundation paper with your inkjet printer, double check that is it printing at full size and is not scaling. UHG. So this little birdie is, in fact, little. But it still counts…

January 3, 2015
Block #3
Days on Project 3
Blocks Made 3

For Brittany

2Jan2015

Hummingbird #2

Posted in Hummingbirds, Quilting by paulasuequilts

For Mom

Another one bites the dust…

I dedicate this second block to my mother. I had a hard time writing this post. I love my mother and she is wonderful. I could tell you about how she can cook, sew or make just about anything, how she took care of me while I was sick, how she is my biggest fan and loves me no matter what. But, I imagine this is true of most mothers. So what can I write that you don’t already know?

She passed those mad skills down to me (aside from the cooking). She also passed down some personality traits as well. Like her, I am fiercely independent and a bit stubborn. Admittedly, I am decidedly more stubborn than she is (I find these things only intensify through the generations). So when mom taught me how to sew and bought me my own sewing machine, she knew I wouldn’t listen to anyone trying to tell me how to do something and just gave me the manual. If it weren’t for my parents encouraging this independent streak of mine, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. They taught me to think and learn for myself. They encouraged my creative spirit but let me make my own path.

Love you mom.

January 2, 2015
Block #2
Days on Project 2
Blocks Made 2
Quilts Mom Already Has: None (Can you believe that?? How did that happen??)

For Mom

1Jan2015

Hummingbird #1

Posted in Hummingbirds, Quilting by paulasuequilts

Block #1 For Maimie

Why does everything have to be so hard…

Today is the first day on this project and it almost didn’t happen. At 9:00pm last night we lost power to my temporary sewing room, and I wrecked my back so bad early this week I can barely sew. But I did it anyway. After all this fuss, I certainly couldn’t miss the first day.

So today, I dedicate this block to Maimie. Maimie is my co-worker, friend and fellow quilter. From what I can tell, she has quite the stash (way more impressive than mine) and helped me out earlier this year by giving me the perfect fabric for a last minute quilt for my nephew who made a pretty sudden, unexpected arrival. I could not have done it with out her!

I call Maimie “The Finisher”. She finishes everything and has finished more projects than I have started. I, on the other hand, have more than a dozen projects that have never been finished (otherwise known as “UFOs”. This is for her, in hopes that by dedicating this first one to her, it will inspire me to finish this project and use 2015 to finish a few other projects as well.

Today was my first real test. I could have thrown myself a pity party and parked my butt in front of the TV, but I got up and got something done.

January 1, 2015
Block #1
Days on Project 1 (One Long Day…)
Blocks Made 1
For Maimie

31Dec2014

One More Day…

Posted in Hummingbirds, Quilting by paulasuequilts

I have one more day until I start this new project to make a block a day for 365 days, dedicating each block to a friend or family member. In the last few days I have been prepping for it. I have picked a block, organized my fabric and practiced making the block. There are a few things I have come to know:

1. There is no way that making a block every day for 365 days is going to happen if I don’t get faster at this. If I don’t, it will remain just a romantic notion and I will have a cute wall hanging by April.

2. I need organization and planning (see #1)

3. The title I chose for this project is pretty lame. Since the block is going to be a hummingbird, we will just call it Hummingbirds.

4. The original thinking behind who would get a block dedicated to them was just as lame. Mostly because I want to make blocks for people that have brought joy and laughter in my life but I probably wouldn’t make them a quilt as I don’t know them anymore, not really (Facebook doesn’t count). And the converse is true as well, there are a few people who have the lion share of quilts and they are totally getting a bird.

Here are some facts and thoughts about hummingbirds.

1. When we bought this house this year, the first thing we noticed were that there were dozens and dozens of humming birds living in a tree. They are magnificent and are so loud you can hear them from inside the house. Until then, I had never seen one sitting still perched on a branch. It was just perfect.

2. If you google them you find some interesting quotes:

“The hummingbird spirit animal symbolizes the enjoyment of life and lightness of being.”

“Appearing out of no where the Hummingbird springs joy in the heart, and there is magic in the air in this moment of fleeting serendipity”

Who doesn’t need a good spirit animal, right?