Happy New Year!

One of my collection of pincushions, not exactly practical for size and I'm constantly jittery in case it gets knocked off the table so it's more or less an ornament but attractive to be the header on my blog for this new year, 2013 - wow!  Remember all the fuss about the year two thousand? which surely was only a year or two ago.....

Once more I shared the evening with my family, great BBQ and salads but eaten indoors.  Windy Wellington lived up to its name, the proposed fireworks display was cancelled because of the wind and the fear that people could be harmed.


We enjoyed a film, Anonymous, which had me furiously wracking my brains to remember English history and marvelling that anyone survived the conditions of the days of the first Queen Elizabeth.  It's the story of William Shakespeare sort of, did he really write everything? and what about the great power of the monarchy and the ministers.  Echos there in the present day of various countries.....

And now, back to quilting and the one I want to share with you today is the one I referred to as The Marriage Quilt - here it is with the border on  correctly.  All the blocks were made from various vintage fabrics where the actual pattern was in stripes.

When it was finished - and I will be making the setting triangles smaller when I bind it - when?,,,,,
I found I had several blocks that didn't make it into this top, probably because I just went ahead cutting and piecing various sizes, so I started putting them together -

The sun on the design board means it's about 4.30 in the afternoon......

Decided on a bit of order in diagonal lines - and of course there had to be one with a patterned setting..

There had to be uniformity of a sort, at least as far as size is concerned.  I did enjoy myself digging through the scrap baskets to find something that spoke to me.....

And here it is all sewn together, and here's a couple of close-ups showing one square that was the standard size

And this one with a border made from a favourite blouse I bought when I was in Picton about forty five years ago, I needed a long sleeve blouse to protect me from the sandflies!

I had such fun making these two tops and if I have made any new year resolution it would be to concentrate on the positive; no beating myself up about making another top before I have made them all into quilts.  It gives me pleasure and harms no-one...

And wow, the quote for today is, "Whatever you are by nature, keep to it never desert your line of talent.  Be what nature intended you for and you will succeed." by Sydney Smith

Thank you for your comments, they mean a great deal to me.
Talk again soon
June