Monday, September 14, 2020

LANDSCAPES, QUILTER'S PLANNERS AND DUCK LOVE

This past week I finally finished my beach landscape.  I am really happy with it.  

I added some grasses, shells and a few beads.  I am particularly pleased with the quilting especially the very bottom of the piece.  I am not a free motion quilter.  So, it was a real challenge for me to finally decided I was going to make a real attempt at that skill. 

Last month I ordered my Quilter's Planner.  It arrived just last week and along with it I received this pattern for a bookmark for it.  I decided a quick one day project was a perfect plan after finishing my landscape.  Something accomplished in an afternoon was what I needed.

I occasionally do paper piecing.  It always takes a few tries, tear it out, and do it again before I get back into the groove of doing it properly.  

Once I got the paper piecing down it was a very quick finish.

It is done and ready to start the new year in style.  I have used the planners for several years now.  I was a controller for a non profit for 40 years before retiring.  I used planners to keep myself organized and found that I liked the ability to know what was accomplished and where I was with final  project completions.  It seems it carried over into my home life and especially into what was going on in my sewing studio.  I am very active with my local quilt guild, serving as treasurer multiple years along with other quilting activities.  I think it keeps me grounded and at least sometimes organized.

Of course I had to start a new project.  I happened on to a blog this past week of Wendy's Quilts and More.  She featured her Turkish Coffee Quilt and Kaffe Fassett's Quilts in Burano.  I have a bin full of Kaffe scraps and it was the perfect way to work with them.  Simple to make and fun to deal with all those crazy prints.  So that should keep me occupied for the next couple weeks.  We have just slipped by the 6 month anniversary of stay in place Covid lock down here in the mid valley of California so finding something to occupy your extra time is good.

And here is a bit of duck love.  This is my youngest grandson Ben.  As many of you know my daughter has a whole zoo of pet animals.  Besides the chickens and peacocks she has 14 ducks.  This is one of the ducklings that were hatched earlier this year.  She just loves a belly scratch.  The minute Ben comes out in the yard to feed them, she runs up for a bit of attention. 


 

   



 


 

18 comments:

  1. Hi Donnalee! Aww, I love the picture of Ben with the duck. The duck has some unusual coloring - he kind of has a rooster crest. Your beach landscape turned out just great! Yay you for giving FMQ a shot. That size project is the perfect thing to get your feet wet or get back into doing it. Besides there's no right or wrong with FMQ! Finally, your bookmark with pen holder turned out just fab. Thanks for linking up this week! ~smile~ Roseanne

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  2. Aw on the duck. They do love attention. I'm guessing all God's creatures do. I'm in the central valley of California. We much be pretty close to each other.

    Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. ♥

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  3. love, love your finished landscape piece!
    nice!
    the bookmark is great too!!

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  4. Beautiful calming landscape! I really like the little details. I’ve never been a quilt planner person, partly in response to being planner-dependent in my old job, but yesterday I realized what I miss. I couldn’t recall what batting I had used in a quilt. My plans are all chicken scratch on scraps of paper that later mean nothing. Maybe it’s time to start keeping track a little better. Your bookmark is a fun addition to your planner.

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  5. Of course you had to start a new project, no question about that at all! Nice to see the duck enjoying a tummy rub with your grandson.

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  6. You have captured the beach beautifully. Good progress on the new project.

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  7. Hard to go wrong with Kaffe Fassett prints I like what you are doing with yours. Your quilt journal and coordinating book mark are such a good idea. And more feathered friends that like petting, who knew?

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  8. Ben and the duck who loves her tummy rubbed are definitely my favorite part of this post. :-). But I also love the new project using KF scraps, and the bookmark looks clever, too. It looks like it's on a loop of elastic with the elastic going between the journal pages and the pen pocket on the outside? Something similar might be really useful for keeping track of the Apple Pencil stylus for my iPad, too. Hmmm!! Ideas brewing!

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  9. LOVE how your landscape turned out!! and the bookmark is perfect. I too love planners - they just make me happy.

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  10. I like having a planner! I’m not very good at keeping one! But I understand about the need to “keep track”. I’m a work in progress on that front! Love all the photos you share about the pets in your daughter’s yard. Ben and the duck is great!

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  11. What beautiful fabrics you found to play with. What could be more fun than a new quilt?

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  12. Your beach landscape is beautiful! I like the addition of the beads to it. Looks like you've found other fun projects to play with this week, too. Love the photo of your grandson and his duck - who would think the ducks could be so people oriented?!

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  13. Enjoyed reading your post. Thanks for sharing.

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  14. Cutest thing to start my day.a duck belly scratch session. Awwww niw i want a duck. Your beach quilt is cute.your planner is beautiful. Hmmm maybe I should plan instead of doing willy nilly. At least a planner would look good right?

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  15. Your daughter's menagerie is always good for a big smile. Imagine! A duck that likes being tummy scratched! Your bookmark turned out lovely - I hope your 2021 journal will be full to the brim with finishes. Thanks for linking to Clever Chameleon.

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  16. These are all wonderful projects! My favorite is almost always going to be any project with Kaffe Fassett fabric. Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing with Creative Compulsions.

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  17. Congratulations on your landscape quilt! I agree--the quilting is wonderful. Love what you're doing with the Kaffe fabrics! Thanks for sharing on Wednesday Wait Loss.

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  18. Great work on your landscape quilt! And that is one special duck!

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