Throwing Back For Jen

It's Thursday, and Jen over at A Quarter Inch From The Edge has asked to see some of the bygones, the unblogged, the quilts of prezzies past...I gave this one to my Mum a few years ago. She took such good care of me when my jaw was broken and I was all wired up that I wanted to do something really special for her in return.

I saw this sampler pattern by Liz Lister in a McCall's Christmas Quilting magazine. Had to make it...I loved all the wee scrappy bits, different blocks and the challenge of all those pretty points. The design pleased me...it was not symmetrical, didn't have sashing (I hate sashing), the blocks were all different sizes, and while there was a lot of repetitive sewing of triangles the fabrics were not repetitive so I managed... but mostly, it pleased me because there is movement. This design begs your eye to travel, to look at all the little things that make it whole yet are independent in colour and form. It was simply beautiful. I had no plan of making mine in Christmas fabrics simply because at the time I was having a love affair with the civil war reproduction fabrics...rich earth tones, warm and cozy...yum.

Truth be told I still have affection for all those fabrics, colours and patterns though rarely use them anymore. And it's a damn good thing I still kinda like them...surviving the Stashpocalypse is going mean bringing some of those oldies back into the limelight. Dear Dog. Brace yourself...anything could happen around here this year. It's all stash afterall, and I paid top dollar for all those meters too.

Maybe Ma will end up with another quilt...or seven. Yeah, it's like that.
Holy boat load of earth toned textiles, Batman! Such testament to a long ago (perhaps better left forgotten) era! Rumor has it we'll love polyester again too one day...anything can happen I suppose if certain designers say it's "the thing", but if quilts start turning up bearing patchwork stitched of spandex, I'm out. Just sayin'....   Pay all you want for those tights, Lulu...but they'll  never upcycle like a good plaid shirt or your grandpoppys tie.

And, while we're tossing around old pictures and memories...have a look at this one taken right around the same time! My Springy Things, all of them; unusually still, in one photo, laying down as if they weren't springy things at all...ready to do the Hokey Pokey or begin a new round of "Rah-Rah-Wreck-The-Place!" Pictures like this are rare...well, maybe not rare like hens teeth but certainly uncommon, like the elusive blue lobster. Let me clarify too, when I say "all of them", I mean: all of them at that moment...there were no "squatters" here at that time as I had taken time off from the rescue world to heal.

These dogs,
Old Dog, Blind Dog and Stupid Dog,
Brought and continue to bring so much love and laughter, and dirt, into our home.
Now we are two.
Old Dog left us behind in 2013 but she's not really gone....

Art is a wonderful thing.
Thank Dog for art...
and the talent of neighbour, friend & dog loving artist Sarah Irwin.