Monday 10 January 2022

Scrappy Dresdens, La- D- Da Finish, Table Topper Finish, Very Peri

 It's take stock time in the sewing room.  This could get ugly.  Who knows what I'll find in the WIP department and will that make me sad is the question. Mind you it is not a complete free for all down there. My decades as a teacher made me organized and I continue to try to make my sewing stuff fit the labels I've put on the boxes, bins, etc. But when I worked on the Jewel Box quilt, the room looked like a bomb had exploded and I haven't quite cleared up since then. 

 I wrote that yesterday and on my first dive I came across these...Leftovers from the Scrappy Dresden Plate quilt I made several years ago. They were rejects because of the inconsistent size of the moons.

But thrifty me had sewed them together like this to make a little table topper. I think I'll put this at the top of the TO DO pile for this week. I've mentioned we have a lot of little tables here and they all could use a topper. 
Speaking of which, I finished the Snowmen runner.  I liked Roseanne's-Home Sewn By Us- tip about using white fabric to photograph against and decided to use my brightest piece of white for the sashing.  I do think it gives the piece a certain clarity it was lacking. 
I also used Wendy's-Pieceful Thoughts- tip to photograph in the mornings close to a window to take advantage of as much natural light as possible. That's the pretty white Kalanchoes flowers there and the white polka dot plant has really taken off. 

On the weekend I also finished Fraktur Flowers.  I haven't put my initials on it.
La D Da Design stitched on 28 ct Cashel Linen 2 over 2

I listened to the CBC radio interview with the Pantone colour of the year expert, Leatrice Eiseman. It was interesting to hear their take on colour in our lives and how they come to a decision about what the colour should be each year. This year it is a colour they actually formulated. One of a Periwinkle shade. They used a violet in the mix which makes the blue then unique. Newness was what they were going for. Here is a link to that interview if you'd care to have a listen. Do you like it? Cute name.


Wow, so many of you tried Wordle! And let us know that you liked it. As far as I know it is not an app and the designer doesn't want to make money off it. This Power Language link is the only one I know of. I've been doing it every day and it consistently takes me four tries to solve it. Anybody figure out some shortcuts or tips for solving it quicker?
Hope your week is off to a great start!
It's also great to visit linky parties...Texas Quilt GalMy Quilt InfatuationAlycia QuiltsFor the Love of GeesePowered by Quilting and The Inquiring Quilter.

27 comments :

cityquilter grace said...

as annette funicello said 'life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful' and that goes for quilting as well...love your dresdens and will make a very nice topper...

andy's colours said...

Hello Jocelyn,
I know we're well into January, but let me wish you a happy, healthy year 2020! I love your snowmen, dainty but expressive, with a perfect surrounding. That new colour has also been predicted as the new trend colour in Germany. Not sure if I like it as I am no great friend of purplish tones. But I also usually need a season to get used to new trend colours, so maybe next year ... Oh goodness me, everyone is into sorting out their sewing room. I don't really have one so am forced to keep things relatively tidy in my daughter's room which I may use in her absence. But there are plenty of other rooms and wardrobes etc. that need my attention. Sometimes just looking through fabrics reminds me of the projects I had planned and forgotten, so it does pay to go through those too. Thanks for your nature pictures - 20° below?! We've got exceptionally warm temperatures up to now, but winter may still come ...
Andrea

Jackie said...

The runner is gorgeous, love the white slashing and border.

God bless.

Brian's Home Blog said...

Your ready for a colorful quilting explosion!

Ray and Jeanne said...

For some reason I did not know you were a teacher. What did you teach? I am also a retired educator and so happy I am not in the classroom during this pandemic. I had to check out Wordle - looks like fun. ~Jeanne

PaintedThread said...

I like those Dresdens. And another beautiful cross stitch.

Terry said...

Oh I need to make another Dresden plate quilt! I made one but gave it to my sister-in-law. Love the snowmen! :0)

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

The Dresden will be a nice table topper! I do not play that game and had never heard of it. I have neaten up my sewing room at the beginning of the year and now can find things again

Jenny said...

Looking through the sewing room checking things in bags, oh dear, that would be a big job for me here. So I'll ignore it for a while, I think. You can tell I'm not a tidy Kiwi.
Your cross stitch us lovely, not a craft I have explored.
At the moment its 8.40pm and we are both sitting outside enjoying the cooler air after another hot sunny day. And catching up with my blog reading.

Libby in TN said...

Son-2 and family have gotten into Wordle and GS-3, who is a computer genius (if I might say so), got into the source code and discovered there are only something like 2000 correct 5-letter answers. I hope that doesn't spoil your fun ...

Cheree @ The Morning Latte said...

Always love Dresdens but that Fraktur Flowers is just gorgeous!! Will you be framing it?

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

I loved the Wordle game and have been trying to play it everyday! Sometimes I can get it in 4 tries, but not always. Jocelyn, I love those scrappy little quarter Dresdens! I may have to make some.

Chopin - A Passionate Quilter said...

Your F Flowers is a master piece Jocelyn. I am anxious to start 2022! Already behind but I will get there Hugs

LA Paylor said...

I like your dresdens with uneven centers so much I want to make one too. I just tried wordle... and I got it the last try, which is about when I got the picture of what I was doing and it said, "whew!" which made me laugh. That's fun thanks for it.
I photo things on a white countertop, or on the nearly black table for paintings. I want side light in studio and having only one window, I like afternoon light before 4. Digital picks up every nuance and angle of light that the human eye doesn't so I take a lot of photos to get one I can crop and balance. It's a different beast from film when I used to take slides to enter shows

audrey said...

Your little Dresden table topper is cute. Love the idea.:) Taking stock of the quilt room sounds like a great idea for this time of year. It really helps me to make room for projects that are more quiet and not shouting out for their turn in the queue.:)

Jennifer Fulton Inquiring Quilter said...

Lovely snowman runner! Using the tip you got a pretty good photo of it! Thanks for sharing it on Wednesday Wait Loss.

Angie said...

Jocelyn - I love your snowmen runner. I asked for a holiday runner and some holiday towels for Christmas - of course, they are behind at least three other projects in the queue!!! (Do I see a jigsaw puzzle peeking out from behind the runner?) Thanks for the photo tips!

Siouxzq64@gmail.com said...

Great idea to use the Dresdens. The Snowman runner is lovely. I cannot seem to keep a polka dot plant alive. My latest one is long and leggy with few leaves. Sigh. Giggle when hearing about your sewing area and a bomb going off. I keep trying to contain mine, it is slow going getting things cleaned and neatened.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I love the cute snowmen and always enjoy seeing what quilts you are making! You are so talented! Hugs, Diane

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I really like your snowman runner - I like blue of course so there's that about it, but I like that you didn't use the more traditional red.
Yay for you for your finish of the cross stitch project! It's wonderful...reminds me of folk art, but in a more modern way.

Linda said...

Oh Jocelyn that Snowmen runner is beautiful! Love the white flowers on it, such a pretty wintry look. Periwinkle is one of my top 2 favorite colors, so I like the color and the name. Fraktur Flowers is magnificent - will you frame it?
Thank you for linking to To Do Tuesday!

Rebecca Grace said...

Your cross stitch is spectacular, Jocelyn! As for Pantone's Color of the Year -- this is my perspective as a former interior designer. It always struck me as a bit tyrannical that these giant corporations dictate something as personal as color palettes, and on a global scale. It's not just Pantone choosing the one color each year as a suggestion, because of the production lead time involved in bringing not just fabrics but accessories like lamps, mass-produced artwork and knickknacks, dinnerware, rugs, etc from conception to market. So these industry color experts come up with color palettes, introduce them as trends at international trade shows like Maison et Object in Paris, and then hundreds of thousands of companies around the world churn out whatever products they are making in whatever colors have been prescribed as "on trend." When consumers go shopping for new bedding, rugs, or fabrics, they are walking into stores where the only options are pretty much the ones those color experts prescribed. The upside to this is that, if you're redecorating an entire room yourself from scratch, it's easy to source elements from different suppliers and have the colors go well together if you buy everything all in the same year. However, if you're trying to find a new rug that works with the sofa and draperies you bought 10 years ago, you might find it impossible to find anything in a color that coordinates. Another drawback to the way the industry works together behind the scenes on color is that, if everyone is restricted to the same color palette every year, then everything in your home is kind of "date stamped" and that makes it more difficult to create interiors that don't look outdated long before your fabrics and furnishings need to be replaced due to wear. So there's a "built-in obsolescence" motivation for the companies who make these products to collude on color options as well. You know, you see a room with Harvest Gold and Avocado and you immediately know it was decorated in the '70s. Mauve and dusty blue is going to be 1980s. If it's forest green, burgundy, and navy blue, it's '90s. 2000s move into that whole Mediterranean palette of golds and terra cottas...

Marie said...

I LOVE periwinkle so this year's Colour of the Year was a very pleasant surprise. It can be difficult to find that colour in quilting cottons but maybe this will prompt a few more suppliers to put their creative juices to the task of creating a few beauties; I will have to keep an eye out. Your baked goodies look fabulous, as does that raisin bread. Think I need to go and find a snack ;).

K Reeves said...

Good luck when you head down to the sewing room! Mine was looking that way last week, but I have been trying to clean up an area each day, and things are looking up! They will for you too!

The Joyful Quilter said...

Lovely finishes, Jocelyn!!

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Digging in can be scary - but!!! Would it be better to bring those projects to the light rather than hide them away!!

Have fun sorting thru things!

Rose Marie said...

Cleaning up and digging in always results in something interesting. What will you make? That needlepoint is lovely and the snowmen runner is nice at this time of year.