A Bit of a Diversion

Seeing as how we are about one month into our first experience as "snowbirds," we are spending quite a bit of time making this house our home. Most of our neighbors have decorated the exterior of their places. There's all manner of ornamentation, but no one has a barn quilt! Going for a distinctive look, and to be a little different while showing our neighbors a bit of our true selves, we decided that a quilt square was in order. We could think of no better way to represent Ohio than with an Ohio Star.

 DH cut a board for me and I drew out the design. I had already determined the colors based on the exterior colors of our house - pale yellow with green shutters. I added a third color, navy, and I like how it looks. 

One thing I did not anticipate as I planned this out was the need for a border. Back to the store for either brown, dark gray or black. I basically had to choose from the limited options available. While this looks black, it is actually called "Pavement" - a very dark gray.

I had hoped to be able to include a photo of this hung on the house; alas, I sealed it with polyurethane and it is still drying. I'll show you next time.

Instead, I will leave you with a breathtaking view of the lake which borders our neighborhood. DH took this photo this morning while he was fishing with two friends. This is Lake Tsala Apopka in Citrus County, FL. 

Now, back to making 9-patches. I fear I am going to get bored with them, so I am considering changing things up in the coming days. I need variety!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Front Porch Addition

I mentioned a few posts back that I wanted to hang a barn quilt on our front porch. Miraculously, I have followed through on this.  

Miraculous, because I am notoriously poor on my follow-through. I'm more of a mind to do stuff "when I get around to it." Case in point, that vintage sheet on the settee was purchased a year ago in January for this exact piece, yet I've just this last month covered the cushions with it.

Timeliness aside, DH found a nice board that he gladly cut to 21" square. I already knew I wanted an Ohio Star, and I had a few craft paints stashed away in a drawer. I used what I had as this project didn't warrant buying more.

The Ohio Star is easy to draw, but painting took some time as the taping-off  - especially the triangles - overlapped. Oh well, it was worth the extra time as it made me do a neater job of painting.

The white paint seemed too stark for me, so I added a stain to give it a more aged look. This photo above is without the stain. I'm thinking it was just fine, and I should have left it like that. I suppose if I continue to prefer white over aged, I will just paint over it all, and put it back the way it was.

 That is, if I have any remaining follow-through!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

A Project in My Future

 You know I've spent a portion of this summer making pillow covers for both our front room and family room sofas. Well, I have been mulling around a design for another sofa pillow based on a neighbor's barn quilt. 

Tell me, now, will this make a pretty couch cushion or what?

It's a variation of the Carolina Lily block, and I am sure I will have to modify some patterns I have seen, but I am confident I can do it. The more I look at this, the more it grows on me.

These colors are quite pleasing, and even though it matches none of my current decor, I can see myself going with them in my pillow. Gosh, I could make a couple - one like this, and one to match my decor. That would be a pair, and that would be a "look." Right? Is that how home decorating works? *Ha*

Have a great day! I am enjoying my Myrtle Beach vacation with the girls. I planned a few posts before leaving just for you!

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Taking a Drive

In the last post I mentioned something about "a substantial amount of running around" which seriously bites into my sewing and quilting time.

Yet, I admit when it's my DH who suggests taking a drive, I face the temptation of begging off because so much has to be done. Shame on me! We so enjoy a pleasant drive around southern Ohio with so many interesting places to see within an hour of us.

One such place which we gravitate to more and more frequently is Hocking Hills. Even though the forecast was rainy and gray, we headed east to Vinton and Hocking counties yesterday for a little drive around.

The three pics above were all taken from the front seat of a moving car in between swipes of the windshield wipers. Finally, some fall color is showing up and I wanted to document it. I do not have any memories of a fall in which the colors came so late in October.

Take a closer look at the middle picture. On the left, the stone outcroppings are visible next to the road. This area of Ohio has the most cavernous rock formations! Our family had a weekend in Hocking Hills earlier this month, and I will write about it as soon as I sort out the gazillion pictures I took. The area is a true gem tucked into a very out-of-the-way spot.

On the way to Hocking Hills, we pass this barn with a fantastic quilt block. This is also the same road to Athens/Ohio University where DD2 Emma attended from 2011-15, so we have driven past this barn often. I don't think this block has faded one bit in all these years. I've always intended to make this block, yet have never done it.

Still rainy and gray here today. A good day for sewing.

Happy Quilting, Friends!

Nature Study

Since I haven't done much if any quilting this week, I will share a couple of nature-related pics I have taken recently.

A couple of weeks ago when I was sewing at Sharon's house, she pointed this out to me.

This bush is just outside her front door, on the way to the car. Look what was down inside it.

Pretty little speckled birds' eggs! One got shoved out, so I assume this is how birds deal with non-viable eggs. I  have no idea what kind of bird these eggs belong to, but I suppose bird enthusiasts know how to identify them. I just thought it was cool.

Now, if you can handle just a little bit more nature, take a look at what we could see beyond our back yard yesterday morning.

Can you see the deer? Actually, there are 2, one standing in front of the other. And there were 4, but by the time I got the camera ready to go (needed batteries! aarrgghh!), the others had walked on to the right and out of view. They stayed for the longest time just grazing there in the woods where DH has cleared away the underbrush. 

I know city dwellers and those in more suburban areas see deer in their yards quite often, and consider them pests. It's sort of unusual for us to see them, though, out here in the country. And we are really out in the country.

Now, since this is a quilting blog, I will share something that relates. It's a barn on the way to Athens, where my DD attends Ohio University. She snapped this pic for me as we motored past it.

Isn't that pleasing to look at? I love how colorful it is. Makes the long drive to and from Athens a bit more pleasant, know what I mean? It's out in the middle of nowhere, so I often miss it.

Well, that combines quilting with the nature study. It was the best I could do!

Happy Quilting, Friends!