Wordless Wednesday

St. Valentine's

Much to my husband's obvious relief, I'm not really into February 14th and all it brings BUT...

Wooden hearts from Hus and Hem

..that doesn't mean I have a wooden heart.  Happy Valentine's Day!

*I bought these two wooden hearts for my husband and son a couple of years ago from here*

Decisions, Decisions in The Land of Oz

My family is not known for its ability to make decisions....

... and when it comes to selecting fabric I am no exception.

With a diminishing stash (in fact it's more a stashette really) I spend hours and hours looking online. Site after site.  Filling my cart with swatches...sometimes in yards and sometimes in meters...perhaps some yellows and greens, sometimes blues and purples...fancying florals from Philip Jacobs on one day and  fun colourful designs from Jennifer Paganelli on another.

After carefully making my selection, I then decide to abandon my cart (like a supermarket trolley in a disused canal), believing that perhaps what I've chosen is not quite the right thing, colour, or design...and so the whole process starts all over again the next day.

Today, I found what looks to be a great site in the States, http://www.emeraldcityfabrics.com.With a wider selection of fabrics and cheaper by the yard than many of the UK sites, I acted out of character and decided to just go for it. I took the plunge.

I ordered this from Alexander Henry, a yard of this from Anna Maria Horner, some of this from Anthology, this from Amy Butler, this beauty from Kaffe Fassett and this from Jennifer Paganelli.  The fabrics are coming direct to Morocco - much to my mother's relief (who regularly hauls over my internet purchases leaving her just enough space for a shirt and a pair of jeans - thanks Ryanair).  When they arrive, or rather, if they arrive remains to be seen.  Fingers crossed.

The Project

So this is 'the project' (aka Zaki's quilt top) - the thing that got me started on this mild obsession.

Zaki's quilt top

Here it is, all (artistically - well trying to be) squidged up as quilt tops can look a little sad until they're actually grown-up quilts with their batting in.  The truth actually being that I find them difficult to photograph. You can't really tell but each 10" block is made up of three equal rectangles and each block is set at right angles to the next one...if that makes sense. It's Moda's Arcadia and I love it - it's all blues, browns, yellows and oranges with circles and dragon flies, flowers, leaves, birds and butterflies. My mum says it reminds her of patterns from the '50s.

I'm still in two minds as it whether to put a border around it or not.  I go back and forth depending on my mood.  If I do, it will fit a single bed and if I don't, it will be Zaki's quilt until he outgrows it and will then be used as a throw or a lap quilt.  Whichever way, it will be a much loved quilt.

Enough is Enough

So today I finished the Union flag cushion cover front using the pink and green Rowan fabrics.  It measures 13"x13" and on the whole I'm pleased with how it's turned out.  I may put a border round it.  I may not. I do like the fact that it's not immediately obvious that's it's a flag design because the 3 fabrics used have such a similar colour palette.  It was a little fiddly though (for me) and I now know that I prefer larger and more gutsy pieces to work with.

Pastels Union flag block

Detail

Hmmm. I'm not entirely convinced that it will become a cushion cover.... I may just stick some glass over it and frame it! What I do know is that's it.  No more Union flag quilts, cushion covers, hangings....or anything - at least for the time being.  I'm moving on...

Beauty

I mentioned in my last post that my friend Deborah had visited me here in Marrakech.  Well one day, Deborah, her girlfriends, my son and I headed for the mountains - the Atlas mountains to be exact, and they looked just like this.

The snow-capped Mount Toubkal

This photo was taken from The Kasbah Toubkal in Imlil - possibly one of the most beautiful places on earth.  To access the kasbah, you have to walk up a fairly steep and rough path or if you're feeling less energetic, you can catch a ride on a donkey.

While the views are stunning, life isn't always easy for the people who live here.....

Sometimes, you just have to take a rest....and catch up on the local news.

It really is the most beautiful place, but if I lived at the top house, the hike up there may get me down...

Even in the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco, inspiration for quilting can be found.  These tiles at the kasbah remind me of the 3D quilts you see...

I found these beautiful tiles at Kasbah Tamadot, Richard Branson's swanky retreat in Asni - where we stopped, shopped and enjoyed a pot of tea in front of a roaring open fire in the library.

It really is a gorgeous spot where rose petals are scattered on courtyard pools...

and indulge a mother with this last photo...

My beautiful boy caught in the sunlight.  What beauty we saw that day.

Grrrrr

For the past week, my very old (we've known each other a long time) and dear friend Deborah has been here in Marrakech and it's been bliss! We have had such an amazing time - chatting, reminiscing about our days at law college together, laughing and plenty of crying (from laughing so much) - that I had no time to blog.  It was only yesterday that I was able to re-focus and sit down to do some patchwork.  I planned to make this from the amazing Anna Maria Horner with this lovely fabric from Amy Butler but my printer had other ideas and would only print out half a page of templates. Grrrr.

So instead, with the sun pouring in the window.....

I decided to get the graph paper out and plan out a Union flag cushion cover.

It was harder than I thought but I got there in the end. This morning, I went to the gym and on my return planned to cut out my fabrics and assemble said cushion cover.  Grrrr again.  I'd made the newbie's mistake of not pre-washing my fabric and so now I've washed it and it's drying in the sunlight.  One of the advantages of living in Marrakech is that things dry very quickly.  Perhaps I'll get it cut out this afternoon.  May be....

By the way, Deborah left me with quite a bit to think about but that's for a later post....may be...