My kind of canning

I created a canning jar quilt using Lori Holt's new book, Farm Girl Vintage.  I thought it would be the perfect September quilt to put on display.  When a young mom during the first time I lived in Utah, I would always can fruit just as my mother did when I was a girl in Idaho.  I can't even fathom how many pears I have peeled in my lifetime.  No more canning for me, so a canning jar quilt was perfect.

I used a bit of this and that for my jars but mostly Pot Luck fabrics by American Jane.  I added two borders that Lori did not in her pattern.  The red is from her new line of fabrics, Modern Vintage, and if you look close you will see that the print is canning jars.  Happy canning season and happy Fall!

A tree grows in Provo

A dozen years ago we purchased this lovely town home in Provo, Utah.  My husband loved it because all those east facing windows gave us views of the Wasatch Mountains just like he had enjoyed as a boy at his grandmother's home in Draper. My daughter took this picture near the time of purchase. Just look at those little trees out front.

Twelve years does make a difference.  Look at those tree now.  They are as tall as the house!

Now when we look out our windows in summer, we feel like we are living in a tree house.

It provides shade from the morning sun and feels charming.  Luckily, there are also still views of the mountains.  This morning I noticed that the trees are starting to turn yellow.

Grandma, you can sew pictures

I have been participating in the Fat Quarter Shop sponsored Snapshots Sew Along during 2015.  Each month on the 15th day a new pattern is released.  Those using the patterns are encouraged to donate to Saint Jude's Children's Hospital.

I loved these big blocks of snapshots so quickly joined in.  January was a fancy cake and February a sewing machine.

By March, I began to take individual snapshots of my "snapshots."

Once this puppy landed on my bulletin board, my five year old grandson was on board.  During a sleepover at breakfast he suddenly exclaimed, "Grandma, you can sew pictures!"

He was right, I was sewing pictures and I loved the way they brightened up my sewing area.

April found me sewing an apron with April Showers fabric from Bonnie and Camille forming the outside ruffle.  The original Snapshots Quilt was created from their fabric line Sail Away.  I decided to make my snapshots from my leftovers of all my Bonnie and Camille fabrics.

And now there were five,

June brought us an ice cream sundae.

 And there were six and the bulletin board was full!

So I started over with a hot air balloon for July.

A fat tired bicycle in August.

And much to my grandson's surprise, a black cat modeled after his cat Scratch in September.  This has been a fun project.  Just three more to go!

Quilts as art

At the end of August, my sister and I stopped in Brigham City, Utah on our way to Idaho.  We drove through the cemetery where ancestors are buried, drove through neighborhoods looking at old houses, and stopped to take a walk around the fairly new Brigham City Temple.

It is directly to the west of this building, the Brigham City Tabernacle which was built in the late 1890's and is on the National Historic Register.  I love this unique building.

Notice the texture of stone and red brick with stand out mortar.

After lunch at Maddox Ranch House, we returned to downtown Brigham City and the Museum of Art and History which is located in the basement of the Senior Center.  From July 1 - August 29, 2015 the "International Quilt Invitational Exhibition" was on display.  It was spectacular!  One knows they are fine company when a quilt or two is labeled "one of the 100 best quilts of the 20th Century."  These were quilts of art.  This quilt was in the lobby as one entered the museum.

I loved the story and I loved that fabric and trims can be used to create a portrait.

They can also be used to create a landscape like this one with a myriad of fabric pieces.

I really enjoyed the charming quilts where fabric and embroidery were combined to create this magical land of children and seasons.

They emerged from the ground in Spring . . .

where it was summer . . .

and then Fall and Winter.

The second quilt was an ode to the Christmas holiday.

So charming and full of Christmas cheer and hospitality.

There is order in the universe and in this circle of flowers.

The black background of this quilt really made the colorful blooms stand out.

A entire garden complete with insects all in fabric and thread.

This beautiful quilt was the one which I felt that I could actually make in the future.  That is the applique, I'm not sure that I will ever be able to hand quilt like this quilt has been hand quilted.  It was also the quilt that I might want to display in my home.

The exhibit was definitely worth the drive north and it was interesting to see this show with the work of some of the world's best quilters after visiting the Springville Museum Art Show of local quilters the week before.