Today we went out to the Orange Patch. The oranges and orange juice sold at the Orange Patch are from the oranges grown on the property. The best tasting orange juice I have ever had has come from the Orange Patch.
This is the newest quilt that I am working on. This year, I wanted to focus on making the quilts that I was dreaming about making when I was on vacations and buying all the great fabrics that would later remind me of the places that I had visited. I rarely buy the traditional tourist souvenirs when on vacation. I now look for fabrics that invoke memories of the place I am visiting.
My husband and I cruised to Hawaii in the fall of 2010. While visiting the Islands I collected cotton fabrics that reminded me of the thousands of Hawaiian shirts I saw people wearing.
This is what I have assembled so far on my design wall. The quilt will be queen size (90″ x 102″) when I am finished. The pattern calls for cutting 2 of the large 8 in x 8 in squares from 21 different fabrics for a total of 42 squares. This photo shows the first 21 squares and their sashing.
This pattern is from Terry Atkinson’s line of patterns and is called, Slide Show. 
My quilt will finish with a border of blue batik with a white hibiscus flower on it. I searched for a blue fabric the colour of the ocean for the border to remind me of the endless blue ocean we sailed across for 5 days before we came to the Islands. Five days of sailing on open water with nothing to see but sky and water is worthy of a memory in this quilt! 🙂
I was asked if I would like to write a review for this e-book about Log Cabin Quilts by Fons and Porter’s Love of Quilting.
I have seen several people write favorable reviews about this e-book. I am not so enamored by this book as others seem to be. It might be that I am not ready for this type of technology. I still like the look and feel of the traditional paper books. The thing I don’t like about this book is that when I view this book on my laptop I can not view the entire page of the book on my screen–I need to scroll up and down the page. If I play with my zoom so that I can view the entire page on the screen at once, I can’t read the words because the image is too small.
This e-book might work on those e-readers that are out there, but it does not work for me on my laptop.
Sorry, Fons and Porter’s Love of Quilting, I prefer the traditional paper books.
Have a look for yourself and see what you think. Follow this link and and get your own copy: http://www.fonsandporter.com/landing/free-log-cabin-quilt-patterns
My husband surprised me tonight with an early Valentine’s gift–this Singer Featherweight 221-1.
She is still unnamed although we know she was born November 7, 1949 in the Clydebank, Scotland factory of Kilbowie with serial number EF563501. She is missing her bobbin case so she will not be pressed into service until I am able to locate and purchase one.
I have been on the hunt for a Featherweight for some time now. I recently lost out on one on an e-Bay auction and then lost out on a white model because someone got to the seller before I could. I was beginning to think I was never going to lay my hands on one of these precious machines. That is until, tonight. 🙂
EDIT (Feb 9, 2013): My Featherweight now has a name! My husband and I have named my Featherweight, Charlotte–a Scottish girl’s name.
Cleo was my Christmas present from my husband and kids this past Christmas. As near as I can determine, she is a reproduction of the Singer model 15. (Serial number NTL 4209555)
My husband and son worked on making a new base for her and included the name plaque which says, “Silver Thimble Quilting”.
Cleo was purchased by my son at a police auction so she does not have a manual. I threaded her tonight and took her for a test drive. Unfortunately, the fabric is not advancing as she stitches. I am not sure if I have her set up wrong or if something needs to be adjusted as I don’t have the manual.
It doesn’t matter that I can’t currently sew with Cleo as she is beautiful and she will look great in the foyer of our house.
