Knitting, Sewing and Secret Projects

I have always been someone who likes to get a head start on projects with a due date...I did this in school with essays and assignments and I do it now with gifts for special occasions such as birthdays or Christmas. So, yes, I have already started to make some Christmas gifts, which I cannot share on my blog for fear that the recipients will see them here before they unwrap them in December.  I am also working on a 20th Anniversary challenge for the Elgin Piecemakers Guild which I cannot show yet either.  All that being said, I did start a new quilt for our bed this week. 

Six years ago, my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary by taking a two week trip to Iceland. We rented a car and drove around the perimeter of the island, stopping often to take in the views.  We were there in June, when the days were long and the lupins were in bloom, everywhere.  Purple flowers for as far as the eye could see in many spots...the lupins left an impression.   Fast forward to QuiltCon 2019 in Nashville where I was shopping in Gudrun Erla's booth.  I purchased her book:

The quilt at the top of the cover caught my eye along with the picture of the lupins.  I decided then and there that I would make this quilt and started to collect purple and magenta fabrics whenever I had the opportunity.  The fabrics, along with the background fabric and the book, were placed in a bin in my sewing room.  I have been itching to start this quilt for months now, but was determined to finish my UFO's first, before tackling a new project. Last Sunday afternoon, I caved. 

I made my first 4 blocks of the 48 that I will need for my queen sized quilt.  The purple fabric in these blocks was purchased in Scotland last summer at this time (our 30th anniversary trip).  It features thistles.

The plan is to make 4 blocks every week and hopefully, have a completed quilt top sometime early in 2021. I will keep you posted on my progress. 

In the meantime, I am still knitting facecloths and dishcloths to practice my knitting skills. I completed the  green facecloth I started last week.

I am using the leftover yarn from this project to make a dishcloth. 

I will work on this again tomorrow for slow Sunday stitching with Kathy. 

I have now made 5 Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks, which you can see in my previous post.  My turquoise block is cut out but not sewn together yet. 

A couple of these fabric scraps are from a quilt I made for my daughter when she was in Grade 7. It's funny how these little scraps bring back memories. 

I have many types of Hostas in my garden and this one is in bloom this week.  

The Gentian is also starting to show off this week. 

When I was little, my bedroom was purple and my aunt made me this petit point picture of violets to hand on my wall.  I found it this week in a box and it is now hanging up in our guest bedroom.  I sent a picture of it to my aunt and she remembered making it for me all those years ago. 

Take care.