Quilting

Taken with my cell shortly after dinner at a pho place

The outside temperature has been around 40C (104F) lately and I am determined not to expose myself even a little bit to the hot sun. The quilts are all put away. Even my quilt-addicted kitties are rolling up their mini quilts so they can sit on the cool, bare surfaces. Yes, they bundle up their quilts with their forepaws when they don’t want to use them. Hot summer days are perfect for rummaging through photos. I did exactly that and found a few that I would love to share.

This is a photo of all the bits and pieces of discarded index cards. I had to restart quite a few of them because of mistakes and bad or unexpected results. The fanned-out stack of cards on the right is where I practised drawing circles over and over until I could draw them without having the marker leaving a darker dot at the start and stop points. I couldn’t bear to throw those cards away. When I get frustrated of my ineptness, they serve as a reminder of the age-old saying – Practice Makes Perfect.

Recently I got a set of lovely soap moulds along with a set of essential oils from my DH. The oils make the house smell amazing while the soap cures. Now I have enough moulds to make a double batch of soap.

I used the Panorama feature of my phone to take this picture. I am at the bottom left corner, being pinned down by these two kitties. I was positively cooking under the bulk of the quilt and two hairy cats. No wonder it took me so long to finish hand-sewing the binding of the Greekness quilt!

This was a few months ago. I couldn’t sleep, so I worked on the binding of the Castles In The Air quilt. I was glad of his company in those wee hours of the night.

Purchase Aran Star Pattern

Lastly, Fort Worth Fabric Studio featured my Aran Star pillow on their blog. I am stoked!!

Thanks to my friends Susie and Lara, I entered this post to Pets On Quilts 2015

I hope you enjoyed photo-rummaging with me. If you are in the area of this extreme heatwave we are having, I hope you stay safe and cool.

Until next time,
-Soma

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Greek Letters Quilt Patterns | Whims And Fancies

Purchase Greek Alphabet Pattern

I got the name of this quilt, To Hellenikon or Greekness, from Herodotus. The shared sense of identity among the ancient Greeks as described by him is perhaps the reason behind the everlasting legacy of the Greek civilization. Its presence permeates almost everything I encounter from literature to science. I got the idea of making a Greek alphabet quilt a couple of years ago. Shortly after that I found myself designing these Greek letter quilt patterns like an addict and very soon I was finished. Then we purchased a house, moved 400 miles and experienced a few unsavory events. I had to shelve this quilt for a while, but earlier this year it was time to start working on it again.

Greek Alphabet Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

Purchase Greek Alphabet Pattern

I love to visit old, tranquil abbey ruins. The colours of this quilt were drawn from the colours of Monks’ habits. The khaki and brown seemed like perfect symbols for something old and hard-wearing. I used the same set of fabrics for the letters, the shashing and the borders. Only the binding is done with a different brown fabric.

As for the layout, I finally decided to mimic a page from an exercise book used by someone who is learning how to write . That in turn dictated the horizontal quilting with cream coloured thread. I tried a different design on the border but it looked too busy compared to the simple design of the rest of the quilt. At the end I framed the “page” by quilting rectangles around the border with variegated thread. I love quilting with variegated threads. Now my idea of this quilt is finally a reality and ready for us to use!

Since many have asked, I have the set available in my shop. Thank you so much!!

I have a few more index card drawings to share this week –

Icad 2015 - Ice Cream | Whims And Fancies

Ice Cream On A Hot Summer’s Day

Icad 2015 - Shel Silverstein | Whims And Fancies

I express myself best in writing. Pen and ink took the centre stage on this one, alongside my favourite poem by Shel Silverstein.

Icad 2015 - Broken Clock | Whims And Fancies

An Exploding Clock with its pieces floating away into nothingness

Icad 2015 - A Windy Autumn Day | Whims And Fancies

Even though wind has hijacked many of my umbrellas, I love a blustery autumn day.

Icad 2015 - Man Men | Whims And Fancies

My version of Mad Men – unplugged and mad with ideas!

Icad 2015 - On The Road In The Morning | Whims And Fancies

I love to drive during pre-dawn hours. A sense of independence engulfs me.

Icad 2015 - Self Portrait In The Forest | Whims And Fancies

Self-portrait – walking into the unknown most of the time

I played with different ideas on these but “movement” seems to have found its way into almost all of them. Thank you for following me on the journeys of The Greekness quilt and the index card drawing projects. Your encouraging words have been very motivating.

Happy Crafting,
-Soma

Hot Days Of Summer

To Hellenikon And Drawing Cards