Enchanted

Happy New Year! I hope 2017 finds you all well, happy and healthy and surrounded by those you love. I also hope that it is a year of enchantment for you.

May each day that greets you be filled with the sort of charm that leaves a smile on your face.

2017 begun at Tops to Treasures with a new quilt for Moda Bake Shop.

I believe that this is my 27th Bake Shop project. When I try to think of one thing that makes me happy, one thing that I can do....I always come back to writing patterns. I am more nerdy than even I thought was possible. I really do enjoy writing directions. My goal is to make a quilt "do-able". The directions should tell you what you need, what you need to do, when you need to do it, and maybe even what you should NOT do. In short, they should be directions. I'd have no UFOs on my watch! I hope that this one does not disappoint. 

The finish quilt measures 74 x 89 inches. It is just right for a twin sized bed. It can be made in a relatively short amount of time....provided you keep at it. I was able to make this quilt from start to finish in one week....with a little bit of help from my wonderful mom and husband. Construction wise - there is nothing more complicated in it than a small half square triangle.

I used Pondicherry by French General. It is everything that you have come to expect from French General...pretty, and sophisticated, a charming palate of airy prints and soft colors. It was a joy to work with. You should be able to find it in quilt shops next month. I suspect it would look absolutely charming in a Joanne and Chip Gaines renovation....lots of soft gray and cream.

If you are new to my blog, welcome! Feel free to look around. I have gotten a little off tract of late. My posts are not as frequent as they used to be. Just when I thought life would get more simple, with all of my boys packed off to college, it got more complicated. I am busier now than I have ever been. This is not how I imagined my empty nest. 

We have a new puppy.....check out #gulliversharp on Instagram....are planning a wedding....doing some home improvements....wondering when we got so old....living life. I hope your days are similarly enchanting.

Things change

I know, it sounds trite when someone looks at their kids and says, "Don't blink, they grow faster than you think. Next thing you know they will be grown". The older I get the truer the words seem.

Things change. Whether we notice it or not, things change. Summer gives way to Fall. Fall bows out to Winter. Winter melts away to Spring. Spring slowly out blooms itself and we are back where we started...but not quite. 365 days makes a difference.

Today my 23rd pattern publishes on Moda Bake Shop. It has been fun. I love getting to play with their latest lines. More than that, I love writing patterns. It is always, always time spent in my happy place. The only thing better than writing the patterns is getting mail from people who have used them.

So, my latest work is entitled Migration. I named it that because of the butterflies and feathers in the fabric line...and because the pattern of half square triangles make a funny path...a migratory path.

Just like the seasons, the pattern in this piecing appears to finish where it started, but not quite, and that is okay. It is normal, natural, a reflection of how God created our world. Things change. It isn't a bad thing, although it might be a bit sad. It is equally exciting. You never know what might lay just out of sight, around the corner, over the next hill.

I hope you enjoy my pattern.