Butterfly thoughts

You know something, that prospective Lubeck wallhanging has obviously not lodged itself far enough into my psyche to reach my fingers - it's hovering around there in the brain (? is there one?) and doesn't want to play on the cutting table and sewing machine yet.

I've also had a yearning to do a random applique quilt a bit like the ones Jeanne has done - there are loads of lovely ones on this site - but while I love some of the little bits featured on them again this is only a germ of an idea. Eventually it will be the Bebbington quilt and I aim to add things special and/or pertinent to each of us along with our hands drawn round and appliqued in our favourite colours - but this is all hovering in the ether too.

My mind is very much like a butterfly on the sewing front at present - flitting from one thing to another but not settling to very much of consequence - I obviously used this months allocation of concerted effort on the scrappy hearts and stars and the baby quilt.

Then when I was scanning through lots of blogs this morning I came across Nancy's 'Kaffe Gone Primitive' up in beautiful Montana - the scenery and wildlife pictures in her blog make me drool each time I drop by to see what she's up to.

I love this idea - a simple horizontal strippy, brought to life by some 'larger than life' applique.

So it set me thinking...................

And then it occurred to me I had just the thing lurking away in a drawer. A quick and easy quilt top I ran up in an afternoon for Katrina all those months ago. Then I'm ashamed to say it got stuffed in a drawer on an emergency tidying session - you know the sort of thing, the MIL's coming and always looks down her nose exclaiming 'You can tell children live here, can't you?' so everything on the floor gets stuffed into the nearest drawer not to surface for another half century! :o)

I went to get it out thinking in my hazy memory that it was all watery blues and it might be nice to applique bright fishes and seaweed all over it.

Yeah - great idea - but where do all those red and white beachballs I'd conveniently forgotten about fit into the equation?

Rapid rethink on the feet required............... bright red and white stars in the non-beachball areas might just give it the lift it requires.

On Saturday 17th March not only is it St. Patrick's day but it's also IQD - International Quilting Day and our county group which meets monthly to listen to a speaker has decided to have a quilting day in a local hall to make charity quilts

This is a first for us and was my initial suggestion - they do sometimes have to be forced to think outside their cosy little box - so I should give it my wholehearted support. We aim to put some quilts together from start to finish but also think it would be good to work on some already completed tops so some people can be cutting, others piecing, some sandwiching (not me please!!) and others quilting.

The charity to receive the products of our labour will be the local women's refuge for families fleeing domestic violence. It's a needy cause but not one that will bring the group publicity as by the nature of things the anonymity of the victims is paramount. However fame and fortune was never the aim of the project anyway. They have specifically asked us for bright and cheerful children's quilts for the kids who turn up often in the middle of the night with only the clothes they stand up in. They then get to keep 'their' quilt and take it with them once the family is rehomed.

So I guess the stars had better add a bit of zing to it as it looks a tad dull as it stands at present - maybe I should add other primary coloured stars too - what does anyone else think?