Sumardagurinn Fyrsti

The third Thursday in April is a public holiday in Iceland, it's Sumardagurinn fyrsti, The first Summer Day. An old tradition dating from the 8 - 9 hundreds when the Icelanders made their own calendar. It was based on the Old Norse calendar that only had two seasons, summer and winter. It was a mass day until 1744, when the Danish church found out Icelanders were going to church for mass on a (normal) Thursday and banned it. (We were one of the Danish colonies at that time).

Iceland is the only nation that celebrates this event. We also celebrate the First Day of Winter which is always a Saturday, usually the third in October, but we don't celebrate it as actively and it's no longer a public holiday. In reality the first Summer Day is actually the start of spring.

Anyway, on the first Summer Day I allowed myself to play a little and start a new project that I know will go on the back burner, but that's okay, I've wanted to start this for two years and am so happy I finally made it happen. It's a quilt (no surprise there) and is called Basket Weave and there are no real blocks, but it's put together with inserted seams which I love doing. Yeah, I know, I'm weird. I just love making it all come together and FIT together. 

I took this idea from http://scrapsandthreadtales.blogspot.com/ a wonderful blog that has been a great inspiration to me. If you go to 2012 and then to April you will see Siobahn's wonderful top and how she made it. (Don't know how to link to individual posts) She chose black for the squares and triangles and reds as the constant coloured strip. I didn't want to be a total copycat so I'm using dark grey shirt fabric for the squares (black/grey shirt fabric for the triangles) and greens for the constant strip. The lights are shirt fabrics and the rest of the strips are what I had in the 1 1/2" strip box.

The biggest reason this will go on the back burner is the quilt I'm making for DD1 who is getting married in June (28). She chose the colours for Bonnie Hunter Celtic Solstice mystery and it's taking me awfully long making it. Something or other always intervenes (mostly the dratted fibromyalgia) But I've finished the Star blocks. DD said this reminded her of Christmas.

Now I'm stuck making the Chevrons for the alternate blocks, I have all the grey triangles done and have started on the neutrals. It's so utterly BORING. But it will be fun finishing making the Chevrons.

I love making these units and do one now and then  in between the Chevrons to keep the irritation at low level.

Same with the Pin Wheel units.

This is how the alternate block looks like.

My design wall (fleece throw pinned to the wall) is not looking good on these photos with all the threads littering it. But I wont let it bother me. Now I better get some sewing done.

                  Sunna.

Class with Gudrun Erla from GE Design

Waiting for the teacher to arrive (by plane).

The first block done

Then we took a brake and our teacher, Gudrun Erla from GE Design showed us some of her work. They are so great up close and I am so thankful to her for taking them all with her on this short journey, she flew back to the city with the afternoon plane.

I bought the pattern for this quilt.

And for this one.

Two in our guild are making this one.

This one is special.

And would you look at that quilting, sadly I don't remember the name of this talented quilter. All free motion.

This is the pattern I was making in this class.

Here is a Round Robin project Gudrun did with three very talented designers. You can read about it here. All of them are totally gorgeous.

Quilted by the same quilter as above, absolutely fabulous.

The back.

The other quilt that we could choose to learn how to make.

Guess which one is mine, my MIL knew it right away. I'm using only from stash this year and I want to add two extra blocks to make this a quilt instead of a table topper so the patterned background was the only fabric I had enough of. And it's scrappy, so what else is new.

Here are blocks for the other project.

A very enjoyable day to say the least.

                         Sunna.

Starburst

Here it is, quilted and bound.

And the back.

There was a reason I finally sat down to finish this quilt after it had been an UFO for two years. Or since I went to a class to learn how to make it using the 8" 60° ruler from creative grids I had bought the year before. But never used. Because I didn't know how.

The reason....... another class with Gudrun Erla from GE Design

I took lots of photos that I'll use to make another post.

     

                 Sunna.

A Litlle Ipad Bag

I needed a birthday present for DD2's fiancé and she told me he had been unhappy with the Ipad cover he owned and had thrown it away. So I decided to make him a little bag for it.

I never let pass by an opportunity to use up leftover batting.

First I laid out the lining (which can't be seen) and then strips of batting over the lining. 

Then another row of batting. To make the bag thicker and more secure for the Ipad.

Then I was going to take step by step photos, but forgot myself and just rushed on. I'm going to show you the backside first, I'm not sure you can read the words, but it says:

A sailor's answered prayer in sight.

The shining fortress. A guiding light.

And the fabric is signed by D. Morgan

The front has words too:

 On silver ship or - barnacle boat

A fisherman's life for me

And that's what the new owner is, a good fisherman.

                             Sunna.