life — Page 253

Hand Quilted With Love by Sarah Fielke

June 3, 2013 at 9:30 am by Claudia

I have another book from CICO Books to share with you today. CICO is an imprint of Ryland, Peters & Small, Ltd., based in London, and they have asked me to occasionally review one of their books for you.

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Today I’m reviewing Hand Quilted with Love by Sarah Fielke. I have long been a fan of Sarah’s work. One of my favorite books in my personal quilting book library is Material Obsession: Contemporary Quilt Design by Sarah and Kathy Doughty. Sarah is based in Sydney, Australia. She tells us in the Introduction that, unlike her previous books which had a theme, this is a collection of quilts that she had ‘been wanting to make for ages.’

There are 16 quilt designs in the books, beautifully photographed from various angles. They range in difficulty from easy to advanced. There’s something for everyone here.

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Paint by Numbers (photo courtesy of the publisher)

I love Sarah’s use of color and contrast. Everything, from her designs to the choice of fabric for bindings, is a feast for the eyes. These quilts make you smile.

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Made in Cherry (photo courtesy of the publisher)

See what I mean? Lovers of red, this one is for you.

Or how about this one?

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Bangles (photo courtesy of the publisher)

What I love: I have lots of quilting books. So I know what I want and need when following a pattern. As always with a CICO book, the layout is clean, crisp and eye-catching. The directions are easy to read.

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The material requirements are listed in both inches and centimeters. The cutting directions are precise and clearly laid out.

Each quilt is photographed from a distance as well as up close.

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And glory be, there are instructions for changing the quilt size for every quilt design in the book. Rather than counting, measuring and hoping that I’ve figured it out correctly, there it is, right on the page. Yay!

There are helpful hints throughout the book – tips that will help any quilter; novice or seasoned pro.

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Millefiori (photo courtesy of the publisher)

There are also sections on choosing fabrics, sewing techniques, appliqué, constructing your quilt, quilting, and binding. There is a helpful glossary and a wonderful introduction by the author.

And the quilts are simply wonderful.

rosewater

This is one of my personal favorites – Rosewater. I love the simple but powerful graphic design. I find the horizontal placement of strips very striking. Can you tell I want to make it?

Sarah is passionate about making quilts and it shows on every page of this beautiful book. CICO really excels at this kind of book; they know how to make it as user-friendly as possible, all the while providing us with lots of eye candy.

I’ll close with my favorite part of Sarah’s introduction:

“One more thing. Try new things, be adventurous, and crack your own quilting code. Don’t be hung up on whether something is right or wrong, or on whether you are a “modern quilter”, a “traditional quilter”, or even an “art quilter”: just be a QUILTER, be creative and love what you do. It’s what I do every day – and I can tell you, I’m a happy girl because of it.”

What a breath of fresh air! Just what I needed to hear.

If you love quilting, this book will be a wonderful gift to yourself.

Hand Quilted with Love is published by Cico Books for £19.99/$27.99 and is available through CICO Books. It is also available stateside at your local bookstore and through Amazon.com. (I am not affiliated with any of these links. I receive no money. Just trying to be helpful!)

I’m off to dream a little about future quilting projects!

Happy Monday.

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Cluck, Cluck

May 30, 2013 at 8:23 am by Claudia

I spent most of the day yesterday being a slug. It was still a little rainy, the skies were gray, I couldn’t get motivated. By mid-afternoon, Don felt we needed to get out of the house, so the three of us got in the car and went for a ride. We stopped at a charming family-owned nursery that’s about 10 miles down the road from us. I’m trying to find something other than impatiens to plant in the barrels by the funky patio. Couldn’t make up my mind. Any ideas?

As we toodled around the nursery we met up with these guys:

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Dueling iPhones

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The minute they heard our voices, more and more chickens appeared.

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That’s a peacock in the background. There was another gorgeous male peacock in the pen but it was too dark in there to get a good photo. I’m well aware that every blogger out there seems to be raising chickens, so if you’re suffering from an overabundance of all things chicken, forgive me. And don’t ask. No. I’m not going to be raising chickens. I would get too attached and there are too many predators around here. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to one of them. And, in typical me fashion, if everyone is doing it, I tend not to.

We returned home and then, as if someone zapped us with a burst of energy, we mowed, weeded, planted seeds and, seeing that we are due for 90 degree temperatures for the next few days, put in three window air conditioners.

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By the way, the day I came home from Hartford, Don and I checked to see if the quilt top will fit in the place I had in mind for it – the stairway wall. Hurrah! It fits perfectly.

Don loves this design so much that he wanted to hang it right away. I explained that it isn’t a quilt yet, that I have to add batting and a quilt back.

Then I have to quilt it.

His disappointed reply: “How long will that take?”

Happy Thursday.

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A Thank You & Winding Down

May 23, 2013 at 8:56 am by Claudia

feather

I found this feather smack dab in the middle of a city sidewalk. It’s about 4 inches long. Is it from a Finch? A Baltimore Oriole? What do you think? It’s going home with me.

Edited to add: It’s from a Northern Flicker (Yellow-Shafted) – which is in the Woodpecker family!

Oh my! Thank you, thank you for the incredible conversation we had yesterday. For those of you who missed it, you can read it all here. I had no idea as I was wrangling with this topic yesterday morning that it would elicit such a strong response from all of you. Obviously, it struck a chord. The blogging world is ever changing. Some of the changes are wonderful; some not so wonderful. I’ve always compared blogging to being in high school and I’ve said that time and again on this blog. Wonderful friendships can be made, creativity can be encouraged and rewarded. But there are cliques. There are the ‘popular’ girls. There are mean girls. There are those who do their own thing, regardless of what is deemed popular. I had a great time in high school, but I was not one of the in crowd. I was in the theater/music crowd. I was never going to be a cheerleader and that was fine. I thrived where I was and found myself in the process.

Same thing for blogging, don’t you think?

Anyway, thank you. I found your comments stimulating and wise and funny and profound. Many of you raised points that I hadn’t thought of. What a great conversation!

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Two more days in Hartford. One last Preview performance tonight and then Opening Night tomorrow. Once again, I failed to ride the carousel. What can I say? And once again, I didn’t tour Mark Twain’s house or Harriet Beecher Stowe’s house. But, I’ll be back again in about 7 weeks. I’ll do all of it then. (Fingers crossed.)

Today I have to find a pair of shoes to wear tomorrow night. (I really hate shopping for clothes or shoes.) I’m hoping that I find something quickly because I have to be at a short rehearsal at 2:30. All I want is a comfortable pair of black shoes. I’ll let the younger members of the cast wear the strappy high heels.

It feels like a Friday to me, but Happy Thursday.

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Hand Quilted With Love by Sarah Fielke

Cluck, Cluck

A Thank You & Winding Down

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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