Sewing

Purchase Firefighter Quilt Pattern

I feel exceptionally lucky to be able to sit here at my desk today, writing this post. As you have probably heard, last week California was burning to ashes. After working in the garden last Sunday morning, we spent a quiet day at home since my broken toes are still healing. As we were getting ready for bed, the wind started howling around us. I had an umbrella shading one of our gardenias. We went outside to remove it and then we smelled it, that all too familiar wildfire smell in the air.

Firefighter Embroidery Pattern | Whims And Fancies

~~Firefighter Embroidery Pattern~~

We went to sleep wondering where the fire was. Next morning, as I sat down to work, I noticed the sun.

I started reading the news, and shock took over me. While sleeping Napa got lucky, the same wind that we heard the night before spread the fire across the mountains to the West and ravaged the city of Santa Rosa.

Northern California Wildfire Napa County | Whims And Fancies

This was the view just outside my window

I love fire. I make excellent campfires, BUT I also have great respect for fire, a reverence if you will.

Having lived in southern California where October is wildfire season, wildfires themselves are not new to me. I have gotten ready for evacuation once before. We have seen smoky skies and burning hills more times than I care to remember. We have camped under a red sun looming overhead, but it’s different. Seeing this right outside our home still makes me very nervous.

Northern California Wildfire Sun | Whims And Fancies

Tuesday, as I saw smoke growing on the west side where the fire was closest to our home, I started packing. Soon thereafter we got notification that the very north end of our street had received evacuation orders. A young man wearing a particle mask was going from door to door, making sure we were aware of the notice.

Napa California Wildfire Sunlight | Whims And Fancies

Charlie has taken the colour of Quinacridone Gold from the wildfire sunlight

The hardest part is that if you do need to evacuate, you don’t know what you will come back to. I started with the kitties’ supplies, their boxes, food. Then came the necessary items for us and after that, a box of would-be-nice-to-save things. On Wednesday, I packed a few more things ignoring the throbbing in my broken toes. Whole place reduced to 2 boxes.

Napa California Wildfire Map | Whims And Fancies

Fire burning on both sides

All of us are ever so thankful to our First Responders. They worked around the clock, shift after shift, 80 hours straight without any sleep to keep the fires away from us. When the wind died down they made progress, only for the wind to return again the next day.

We got help. All the neighbouring states, and states as far away as Florida, South Carolina, Indiana, New York and Alaska came to our rescue. 13 states in total. We also got help from Canada and Australia. The National Guard, police, firefighters – everyone pitched in stop the insatiable fire from raging across the state. Our heroes!!

Thank You First Responders! Firefighter Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

Our city was saved thanks to these wonderful people. After multiple wind advisories, we finally got a respite on Saturday. On Sunday the evacuation orders were also lifted for our Northern neighbour, the city of Calistoga, our usual weekend haunt. A bit of blue sky even showed up. The streets were still quite empty, but signs of life were returning slowly: A couple of children playing outside, a group of teenagers walking together, a few open restaurants.

Elsewhere however, others didn’t fare as well. First Responders saved quite a few homes, but a great many were destroyed. Nothing was left of entire neighbourhoods except for fireplace chimneys and foundations.

I learned that the line between the destroyed and the saved homes was called the Line of Sorrow.

Love Our First Responders! Firefighter Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

Everyone showed extraordinary compassion. That’s the thing about humanity. We saw the worst of it last week, and we also keep on seeing the best of it alongside.

Well wishes continued to pour in. Neighbours checked on each other like the young man who came by our place, while people offered their places to the evacuees. Multiple animal rescue areas opened up for both large and small animals. These are only a few examples. The number of volunteers and donations in goods were at max capacity.

Businesses started collecting donations, and we gladly stepped up. However, I wanted to do a bit more.

Firefighter Quilt Pattern / Firefighter Embroidery Pattern | Whims And Fancies

Purchase Firefighter Quilt Pattern

~~Firefighter Embroidery Pattern~~

So, on Monday, I started drawing these Firefighter pictures. That was followed by creating the pattern and writing the pattern file, testing and making the block, along with making the necessary edits, all in the last 3 days. Every time I wanted to stop and rest, I kept myself going thinking about the firefighters who didn’t give up.

Firefighter Quilt Pattern

It is my 12″ Firefighter quilt pattern. I included instructions to make the block without fire for easier piecing. I am sure any child or adult who gets wide eyed by firetrucks will love it!

I would really love it if you purchase this pattern from my shop.

Firefighter Embroidery Pattern

For those of you who want to do a bit of hand sewing, I have a Firefighter embroidery pattern for you too. Sadly, I ran out of time to stitch a sample, but the pattern is colour coded and has suggested stitches. ~~You can get that from my shop too~~.

I will donate all proceeds from both patterns to the Firefighters Fund.

Heroes are not born, they are made.

Lets help these heroes a little further.

Thank You!!
-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. Please pay a visit to some of them, they are a lot of fun!

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Purchase Scottish Penguin Glen Pattern

On Monday I sat down very decisively to work on something happy. Meet the newest member of my penguin fold – a little Scottish penguin named Glen. When I shared the initial sketch, Kris asked what a penguin keeps in his sporran. As I was sewing, I thought of a little story.

Glen had always loved wearing his kilt, but the other little penguins made fun of him. Instead of changing himself to fit in with the others, he spent his days roaming the hills and dales alone, having his own adventures. Although he was happy to go about on his own, he sometimes wished he had a friend with him. During one of his excursions, he found a new hill. As he walked up the hill slowly – he was a little penguin after all – it started getting colder and darker. Rain clouds covered the sun and very soon, strong gusts of wind started blowing him all over the place.

Scotland | Whims And Fancies

He hurried up the hillside and found an old broken ruin there. The hill was in a remote area and the entrances to the ruin were all overgrown with brambles. He took a little knife out of his sporran to clear a path so he could get in without spoiling his clothes. As he was cutting the brambles, something pink plopped down along with a few Thistle flowers. He loved Thistle. When he bent down to pick up the flowers and put them in his little sporran, he found a small pink stone among them. By this time, big raindrops had started pelting down on him. He hurried into the ruin to sit inside a big stone fireplace. There he sat, thumbing the stone and looking at the sky, waiting for the rain to let up a little.

Penguin Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

Purchase Little Penguin Polaris Pattern

A flash of lightning, and he suddenly found himself elsewhere, facing two other penguins. One was dressed in woolens and the other in Viking clothing. They were as surprised to see him as he was them. After a little awkward introduction, Glen learned their names were Polaris and Olaf. He also found out that they had been lonely penguins too, before they met each other. Polaris loved his matching woolens, he had quite a few sets.

Purchase Viking Penguin Olaf Pattern

As for Olaf, not only did he love his Viking clothes, he also insisted on having horns on his helmet even though he was told Viking helmets didn’t have horns. He thought the horns made him look very mighty and formidable. They both welcomed Glen with open arms.

Scotland Thistle | Whims And Fancies

Polaris gave Glen a little snowflake that sparkled in the moonlight. Olaf gave him a little fire-stone which glowed in the dark. Glen remembered the thistles in his sporran and gave each of his new friends a thistle. He showed them his pink stone too. All three wondered if rain and thunder somehow activated the stone and if there were more penguins like them. For now though, they were delighted to have found each other. Sometimes you just have to look a little farther to find what you are looking for.

The photos were taken by me in Scotland. I took the photo of the Thistles in the mountains standing outside, buffeted by wind gusts of 40 – 50 mph. It was quite a difficult task, and I feel like I brought a little Scottish spirit home with me captured in that photo.

Scottish Penguin Glen Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

Purchase Scottish Penguin Glen Pattern

Glen doesn’t always like to wear his tie or his belt buckle. So I included additional sections in the pattern for easier piecing without the tie and the belt buckle.

Since I always get asked about pattern links, here are links to all three penguin quilt patterns –

Scottish Penguin Glen – The newest member!

Little Penguin Polaris

Viking Penguin Olaf

Penguin Quilt Patterns | Whims And Fancies