Monday, March 6, 2023

Lovebirds quilt block 2.3 - house

Spring has sprung here in North Carolina.... 



and I finally started the Lovebirds Quilt for Tommy and Camille, who will be getting married in May (!).   The quilt is not "due" until Christmas;).  

The blocks are going to be very improv, in the style of folky Jan Patek quilts. 

I have made a basic sketch of the quilt, and divided it into five main sections, although I'm not making the blocks "in order."   Sections 1, 2, and 3 have 3-6 blocks each; section 4 is a side border with three blocks, and section 5 is tentatively a top border of leaves and flowers.

The overall vibe will be:

    primitive pictorial appliqué  (Camille and Tommy asked for certain motifs, totally cute) 

    random, asymmetrical layout 

    all the colors - with plenty of dark blue, green, lavender/pink, and pops of brights.


I started with the House block - the biggest block and closest to the "center" of the quilt.  


Last week I spent three days and two nights at Kaela's, to help their Au Pair, Ina,  with the babies and Charlotte while Kaela and Joe were out of town.   It was both great fun and super hard, all at the same time.  ;).   


Back on the home front,  I am finding such pleasure in spending time in the sewing room.   I listen to music, podcasts, or books, losing track of time as I putter or sew. 

Books I have read (or listened to) in recent weeks:  

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng - highly recommend it.  It is dystopian, so moving, thought provoking, really hard to put down.  

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles.  An enjoyable listen, several narrators.  

Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg - an oldie but goodie from 1995.  Really struck me this time, the lack of cell phones back then.  We actually paid attention to the people right in front of us - just something that occurred to me over and over as I re-read this thoughtful novel.  


I hope if you are reading this, your week is off to a beautiful start!  

Cynthia 






10 comments:

  1. It sounds like the Lovebirds Quilt will be a story quilt with special blocks and designs. That will be fun to work on. The sun is shining here today. No springtime flowers blooming yet. Hopefully, it won't be long. But usually, March is one of our snowiest month. That's okay. All that needed moisture keeps the summertime flowers blooming.
    Enjoy your week.

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  2. The house block on Lovebirds quilt is so neat--What a fun piece to be working on...
    Those babies are just so darling--I'll bet you were bushed but happy;))) when you got home. I helped my daughter when her twins were born and the other two were 4 and 2--know just what you mean..hugs, Julierose

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  3. Lovebirds with that folky vibe will be a fun quilt to make--pure happiness! The Lincoln Highway is on my to-read list :) The birds are singing but we still have a way to go until spring officially arrives. Can't wait!

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  4. Oh, is that what spring looks like?!? LOL--we just had ANOTHER foot of snow in the last couple of days.
    I love your house block. Looks like you are doing things just as requested. Great touches of whimsy and the unexpected.
    "Great fun and super hard" seems like a good way to sum up your experience with the babies. So good of you to help them get away.
    So good to hear you are getting pleasure from your time spent in the sewing room. :)

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  5. Spring still seems far away as we had snow last night and tonight's low is expected to be in the teens and more snow on the way by weekend. What a fun quilt you have planned for the Lovebirds. It will be great fun watching this one progress.

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  6. Your house block is so charming. I especially like the heart in the tree.
    Your grandgirls are adorable. I can imagine you fell into bed exhausted while you were there helping. I know I would have.
    Of the books you mentioned I've only read the Amor Towles book. I was thoroughly disappointed and wished I hadn't wasted my time.reading it. I thought the twist at the end was not in keeping with Emmett's character throughout the book. They are not the same but the end brought to mind Lord of the Flies. Maybe it was better listening to it....
    I hope you enjoy your spring. We've had temperatures in the 50s and we see daffodils, but I don't know what happened to the crocuses.

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  7. P.S. That last comment at 11:54 was from me, Nancy, ndmessier @ gmail, https://joyforgrace.blogspot.com. I keep forgetting to add my name after comments on your blog, Cynthia. Sorry.

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  8. The quilt will be so special! I love that they asked for motifs! It will make it so unique and personal to them. The babies are getting so big!

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  9. This is going to be such a great quilt. I love the colors and the dark blue house. So nice. Look forward to seeing your progress.

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  10. What fun you've been having with your Grandbabies!
    I'm so glad to hear that you are getting lots of sewing time in and have a fun and meaningful project at your fingertips. December witll be along in no time!

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