Let's Be Social: Socialize

Do you have a shelf full of quilty books and magazines with oodles of projects that you would love to try? I know I do. I also bounce from one idea to another recklessly. This is why I have abandoned my list of projects for the Finish Along over at The Littlest Thistle and have set my quilty bucket list on the back burner! 

The project was featured on the cover of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine July/August 2007. The magazine provides templates to paper piece the compass blocks of a much more complex pieced and appliqued quilt called Sunshine Rose Garden by Kathy Nakajima. 

I feel that I am on a path of quilting discovery. I enjoy paper piecing, I enjoy improvisational piecing, I like both modern and traditional designs. I guess I'm trying to find out how to best utilize these methods, practices and concepts to make what is my own. Adrianne at On The Windy Side posted a great interview fiber artist Chawne at completely cauchy. I'm not sure how to explain this, but I think I needed Chawne in my life. I happened upon her first today while perusing instagram and then as I opened up my blog dashboard, there she was again, the subject of Adrianne's interview! While all of this may be coincidental, I find most surprising that Chawne has perfectly created the quilt that I have been mentally designing for over a year and bravely started setting to paper earlier this morning, but she finished her's in 2012! Why today?

Have you ever had a moment where it feels like the universe is conspiring to lead you down a specific path?

Linking up with Let's Be Social at Sew Fresh Quilts and the lovely Lorna McMahon.

So, yeah. This happened today.

I felt like such a grown-up adult today. I was awake and ready to go by 8:00 this morning and it was my day off! I had a plan to check a few more items off my spring break to-do list and as I'm realizing there isn't enough time in the day to do all of things that I would like to do. 

The first stop was the farmer's market to get strawberries for the second annual spring break jam session. A tradition that started last year when my mom came to visit and one that I want to continue because of memories, love, and deliciousness. 

I thought there was something quietly beautiful about the berry tops in the sink. As I cut the berries this morning, I thought of my grandfather. 

One time while peeling and preparing apples for applesauce, grandpa picked up an apple, looking at it closely and said "Here it is, the one I've been looking for." As a small child, I was astonished, how could he know that apple was the one, and what was so special about it? 

"Why were you looking for that apple?" I asked. "It's the last one" he replied. 

The whole process would have been quite lonely if it hadn't been for my intrepid kitchen helper, Mr.Potato Head. He was in charge of making sure all of the jelly jars were in tip top condition.

The berries are beginning to boil. The first of two batches to be made. 

Mr. Potato Head holds his wand high, admiring the hard work.

After jammin' in the kitchen for a bit. I decided it was time to cut into my coveted quilt expo fabric. It seemed fitting with the strawberry day that I was having to work with stunning strawberry colors in fabric.

I hung them in a tree. Why? Why not?

I followed the method that I was practicing yesterday with some scrap stripes. The scrap stripes are a very even, reliable, predictable stripe. The new fabric has the look of a batik, and perhaps that was the way it was made. I was told that it was hand painted. There are certain irregularities in color from one selvage of the fabric to the other that create really nice variety in the little blocks. 

Barni approves of both projects for the day. He would also like to Live a Colorful Life and randomly join the Let's Bee Social party at Sew Fresh Quilts that I was invited to. I'm not sure that pets are allowed though, so he'll have to sit this one out.