This winter was probably one of the worst winters of my life. I was sick for eight weeks, with who knows what. I never go to the doctor. It was just a super bad flu that never seemed to want to go away and if it started to go away, then bam, it was back again with different symptoms. I think I spent most of the winter in bed watching tv, which was so discouraging because I actually look forward to winter to unwind from the busy gardening season and do indoor redecorating/home improvement projects and/or craft projects. I was depressed that my sickness robbed me of that time. Then my beloved cat Jackson died. That was one of the most heartbreaking things our family ever went through. I've rarely experienced such pain in my life. I've had pets die before of course, but always of old age, so it seemed so much harder to lose a pet so young. I am so ready to put this horrible winter behind me and move on to spring, but as a Wisconsinite, I know that is at least another month away.
Well, eventually my illness did fade away and I was happy to get back to work. I really made up for lost time too! In just a few weeks I managed to finish a quilt, do four scrapbooks, and redecorate my family room, which I've been trying to finish for five years! I will share the redecorated family room in a later post. In the meantime, here is the quilt I finished: a sawtooth star quilt,
Many years ago I used to work for JoAnn's Fabrics and Crafts and employees were allowed to take classes for free. These classes were pretty expensive, so I was sure to take advantage of them. The problem was, I took so many classes, that I started quilts, but never finished them before it was time to start another class. So I ended up with a lot of quilts that sat untouched in my craft room for years. I therefore made it a goal of mine to try and finish all these quilts, and by golly, I did it! This was the very last quilt that needed to be finish! So I am done! It feels like such an accomplishment
The quilt is a sea theme. There are squares of fabric that have sea scenes on them and then the rest of the fabric is either a coordinating color or a sea-theme related pattern, like seashells or grass you'd see by water.
I showed a quilting friend a photo of my completed quilt and she asked what type of quilt it was. I really couldn't answer her because I felt the quilt used so many different quilting bocks like a "Sawtooth Star", "Flying Geese" and a "Square in a Square".
All the detail with the different shapes yet coordinating fabrics make it quite the interesting quilt.
I did the "Stitch in the Ditch" method to finish the quilt.
The border is a lovely sea-themed script.
And since JoAnn's is going out of business, I thought I could include an old photo copy of the pattern for those who are interested.
If you're interested in seeing all the other quilts I finished since my employment at JoAnn's, here are some other posts:
Have A Great Day! Amy
Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!
What a tough winter you've had, Amy! I'm so sorry for the loss of your precious Jackson and for your long lasting illness. So glad you are feeling better! You really jumped back into things and accomplished a lot! The quilt is beautiful - I love the details!
ReplyDeleteYes, it was hard. Thanks so much!
DeleteOh Amy, I'm sorry that winter has treated you so unkindly. Here's to springtime's golden breezes, warmer days, and lots of fresh air.
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda! Hopefully it'll be a wonderful spring.
DeleteI am so sorry to hear you lost Jackson, our pets become such big parts of our lives. Makes me so very sad :(
ReplyDeleteYour quilt is gorgeous and how nice that you could take free classes at Joann's. I have never tried making one, it looks like a complicated process but so worth it!
Thank you Ellie. It was a difficult loss. Quilting looks harder than it is. Once you get the basics down, it's easy, just time consuming.
DeleteSorry about losing Jackson and I hope you feel better as spring goes on. That is a very beautiful quilt.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much.
DeleteI can appreciate your rough winter! I had influenza A and influenza B at the same time, followed by bronchitis, and I think I got hit by a cold or maybe two after that. It hit January 28 and I'm still sick. Ug. I'm SO impressed with everything you did--I know you mentioned in a comment on my blog how disappointed you were to not be scrapbooking, so hooray for finishing 4!! :) I love this beautiful quilt. WOW. I'm such a beach girl. Totally in love. You did an amazing job. Visiting from The Crazy Little Lovebirds linkup.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say "I'm glad I'm not the only one" BUT, it is good to know I'm not the only one. Well I'll probably get sick again, right before our spring vacation, because my son has been sick the past week. It just doesn't seem to want to end this year. Thanks so much about the scrapbooking. I was so happy I finished, but then Walgreens messed three of my four books up. I asked them to reprint them, so hopefully they'll be right the next time I pick them up. Thanks about the quilt too.
DeleteOh, Amy, what an accomplishment. Congratulations on finishing all of your quilts. This one is truly a work of art. First, the color palette is just gorgeous. Give me all the greens and peaches and other earth colors. And then the beach theme. And the combination of different quilting patterns. I love the use of the script print fabric on the border. Everything is just perfect. So proud of you to complete all of the quilts.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Leslie.
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