Where Poppies Grow in June

Oh dear, I guess June got away from me in respect of posting this block. Oops.

For this month the name given to the star block is "My Country".

I'm not sure that there is enough contrast with those small triangles at the end of the horizontals and verticals but it's done. And in the spirit of getting this posted I don't have a fun photo of the block posed. Sorry about that.

June was significant in Grandpop's war service because on June 17 1918 his active service ended with his being detached to the United Kingdom.

TOM 6 Salem Star for Charlotte Forten Grimke

Sorry, I'm a little out of order here and you might be wondering about the June Poppies block. It will show up soon though.

 On Saturday I was out at my guild Saturday Sewing event and Pinkdeenster and I were trying to select and cut fabrics for our blocks. That fabric on the outer edge I have had for a while but had not yet found a good spot for it. When I measured the width of those pointy bits it was just the width I needed but then Pink suggested adding in a little of the diagonal line because it would act as an outer darker frame. So that's what I did. Wasn't it a great suggestion? Thanks Pink!

At this point in the project I am watching all the other pretty blocks getting put up on flickr and sighing and wondering if I made the right decision with my own which cannot be called pretty. But, it is what it is. In each block my rule is that I have to use that chartreuse green, I have to use the solid grey as a background and I have to have a bird fabric in there someplace. For the other fabrics I can use what I want so long as it has not already been used.

H'mm, now I am at the halfway point I am thinking it might be an idea to use those fabrics one more time each, maybe in a different combination that the first time around. So we'll see what the block looks like next month and see how that plan works up.

There was a lot of story associated with this block but my usual creativity in matching a fun photo with the block did not bring up anything good at all. The birds therefore provided my subject.

 We like to feed the birds and they do enjoy stopping off at the feeders. Usually there is just the one feeder up and we stock it with sunflower seed which keeps the little birds, who can get through the outer protective cage, quite happy as the squirrels cannot access the seed.  However last time we were at the bird feeder store I suggested we again try the safflower seed as it had been quite a while since we last put it out in a feeder.

Within a day I remembered why we stopped using safflower. The chipmunks love it and can empty the feeder in a day. Here I caught the critter in the act. That animal was so delighted with the new food source it did not want to run away and I got really close with the camera before it took off.

The runaway slaves that we hear about in the monthly stories were never this brazen in their actions!

TOM5 Madison Star for Delia Webster

There is quite a story associated with block 5 - both on the Barbara Brackman Civil War blog and in my sewing room.

 For flickr purposes I usually take the photo square on but my plan is to set the blocks on point so just twist your head a little when looking at this one.

When I first saw the star I noticed that there was really only three different areas for color change and since my self designated "rules" require me to use the solid grey as the outer background, to include a small flash of the chartreuse green and to use a bird motif somewhere in the block. So that is three fabrics right there. I debated putting the bird in only one star point but I wanted to keep it balanced and since Delia Webster herself was all over the place and helping numbers of people I decided I could go ahead and use birds in all eight of the star points. These two fabrics are from the same line so they go well together.

The chartreuse green rule requires only that one fabric so I couldn't have just one star point or it would have looked really out of whack.

Construction was challenging as I not only had the eight set in seams to deal with but I also needed to pay attention to the way the birds were facing. With the fussy cutting required it seemed the method of construction best suited for the block was to make and use templates. Note to self, check templates for accuracy next time before spending hours wondering why the segments don't seem to fit together well. sigh.

 For my fun photo I noticed in the story about Delia Webster that she often hid in brush heaps so I first headed to the brush heap in my own back yard.

 Flowers are now blooming in my garden so it is hard for me to resist placing my block with a flowery background. The shot above was valid, I decided, because there are some small volunteer violas hiding under the garden bench. I doubt Delia could have hidden herself very well there.

And then there is the clematis on the archway on the front wall. This clematis was purchased and planted last year when I had been working on my purple, green and white Women's Suffrage quilt for many months; I noticed it impacted several color decisions I made during that time. But somehow I don't think we will see a profusion of grey flowers in my garden next summer!

Wonder how many set in seams there will be in block 6?

Thoughts of Summer

The past several weeks have been really hectic and I am all out of order in posting my projects.

Some months ago I "acquired" the job of exhibits chair of an art group I belong to. For the month of June we had scheduled to mount an "all member" exhibit at our local library. Since I am now the one who is "where the buck stops" it was up to me to pull together an exhibition so I thought I better at least make a piece myself in case there were not too many entries for the show.

Now you surely know I like to title things in advance and work the fine details. For this show I decided to have a theme and I chose "Thoughts of Summer" thinking that would give a lot of scope for the artists as it could be items iconic to summer or, at the opposite end of the spectrum, it could be cool wintery thoughts to get you through the hot summer days.

My projects are usually lengthy time wise. But this one I started work on during the weekend of May 16 and now, here it is, hanging in the show on June2.

The title of the piece is "The Thinking Chair" meant to invoke the concept that this is where I might sit to have my "Thoughts of Summer". Initially intended to have a lot more embellishing than this I began with some pennant flags on the masts of the sailboats, added a few colorful fish and dropped a pair of sunglasses on the sand by the chair. Once it comes down off the wall I've got some paua shell pieces I'd like to add and maybe some beads and other bits and bobs.

Being a detail person there are little splashes here and there throughout the piece that depict what I might be dreaming of as a summer vacation. The background was intended to be somewhat pale as, after all, it is just thoughts. But look closely and you'll see images of things associated with relaxing and taking it easy.

Guess where I'd like to be vacationing this summer!

The artists came through and there are forty pieces on view. Tomorrow night is the opening reception so I look forward to hearing what the community thinks of our exhibition.

Where Poppies Grow In May

Block 5 in the Remembering Almo project is titled The Airplanes.

 This block gave me some angst in the making. As directed by the provided pattern the striped area is meant to be pieced. Oh no, I thought, that belongs in the "too difficult" basket. Instead I decided to use a striped fabric. H'mm, the idea was sound but the execution? I was away sewing with friends for the weekend and did not have access to a printer much less all my usual supplies; I decided to foundation piece it. Not a good choice as it turned out.

However, I thought about all those servicemen in World War I and how they continued to persevere under very dire circumstances and decided I better persevere too and carry on with the plan.

In May Grandpop was involved in significant action at Gallipoli. Having landed on April 25, his 4th Otago company was involved in a battle from May 2nd through 4th. That battle took the lives of 143 men from the Company but Grandpop was a lucky survivor although he did sustain a gunshot wound to the right shoulder. This took him away from the frontline to an army hospital In Birmingham, England.

 As Grandpop was a foot soldier in WWI he was not involved with airplanes. But my Father-in Law served in WWII in the US military as a pilot in the Airborne Troop Carrier division.

For this month I am honoring his service.

We are fortunate to have my FIL's uniform jacket and I have used it to pose the May block.

TOM 4 Canada Star for Lucie Blackburn

I have only just remembered that I have not put last week's Threads of Memory block here on the blog. Oops.

I am trying to get used to a new camera and the technolgy that goes with it - this is a steep learning curve for me!

When this block came out last week I was away at a quilt retreat. Once the block was finished I'm not really sure if I like those four grey squares but, for now, this is my block four. In reality the dark fabric of the star points shows better. 

That solid grey I am using in all the blocks? If I had realized the challenges of photographing it when I started I may have chosen another fabric. But I also understand that everyone has their computer monitors set differently which accounts for one person in the flickr group who keeps commenting that she loves my purple block. The pale grey floral fabric that I have used here to frame the center star was originally going to be the background fabric that I used in every block for this project until I switched my plan to the solid grey.  

Additionally, remember that I am going to be setting my blocks on point so the little bird will not be running uphill as it is here!

For my fun shot I had to accent the Canada portion of the story. My dear Canadian friend Rhonda has contributed most of the items in this setup - you just have to smile at those owls she made for me. Thanks Rhonda!

Does anyone else find themselves second guessing their color/fabric plan at this point in a project? Or am I more of a perennial ditherer than most of you?

Where Poppies Grow in April

April is a particularly poignant month for the families of New Zealand and Australian service members as Anzac Day, a solemn national day of remembrance, is marked each year on April 25.

The block for this month had a variety of ways to color it. In some methods you get the impression of a layered look with the outer triangles peeled back. I ended up making mine with the center cross dominating given the significance of the month of April.

For Grandpop  April had a number of important happenings in his service history. On April 12, 1915 his unit embarked for the Dardanelles. On April 28, 1916 he entered the NZ Convalescent Depot in Codford, Essex, England. In April, 1917 he was admitted to the No. 7 General Hospital in St Omer (near the French town of Calais). And lastly, he disembarked from the troop ship SS Corinthic at the New Zealand port of Lyttelton on April 22 in 1919 at the end of his overseas service.

My extra photo this time represents three generations of my family - there is a poppy on the left for my Grandpop, 1st Battalion Otago Infantry Regiment, one poppy for my Dad, 36th Battalion and then from my generation, the block I made and the contribution of the ribbon for the 2014 Anzac Day commemoration produced by the Te Awamutu RSA from my sister who lives in Te Awamutu.

Anzac Day - Lest We Forget.